>Besides, giving the impression that there is
>anything clear about the rules is misleading...
I agree. After reading all the published HW materials through about 3 times and reading every single post to hw-rules and HeroWars forums for many months (along with 1000's of prior posts top these forums), I find the rules to be quite good in concept but VERY confusing. I have played probably 10 different RPG systems in my 20+ years of experience and nothing has come close to being as confusing as the HW rules which I feel could be quite simple with proper organization, tables, examples, etc..
Many excellent areas of consensus have cropped up in this forum yet I have not seen a clear extract, even in the form of e.g. 'recommended house rules'. The system is ultimately not very different than the White Wolf/Ars Magica system if you peel away the exterior; it is at a similar level of abstraction.
It is great that HW does have several nice ideas added (such as APs and template-like keyword groupings). However, the White Wolf system can be learned in about 20 minutes and is nicely organized into a 3 page *rules* section, then a 10 page *system* section followed by clear and specific examples. They have gone through many editions and I realize that HW is still quite new. I'm just hoping that the developers at Issaries realize that much more important than coming out with the many excellent books planned, is getting the base rules in a format that can be understood without reading through 1000's of hw-rules forum posts. I look forward to seeing this great product go through the normal growth process to excellence =)
A.K. Berner
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