> Guy Hoyle wrote:
> >
> > One of the groups I used to play with doesn't see the value of building
> > clans and tribes when gaming. They don't see the entertainment value in
> > most activities that involve "heroic quests" (by which they mean
> > vanquishing monsters, getting treasure, and going up in levels as
quickly
> > as possible). They mostly play the typical wandering mercenary band
typical
> > of many RPGs.
>
> What do they like about playing a game? Being a wandering mercenary
> band is part of the game world background information, rather than
> what they get out of the game itself. What is it about playing that
> they find enjoyable? Ian Cooper recently (on the hw-rules list)
> brought our attention of Ron Edward's ideas
> http://www.indie-rpgs.com/articles/gns/gns_chapter2.html
> It might be useful to analyse your group in those terms.
I'm not sure where they fit in that scheme. They like defeating monsters, grabbing treasure, and improving their abilities, like most gamers. But they regard anything that doesn't lead directly to that as a waste of time. They play D&D3 and the Hero System, mostly. They regard material components for spells as a nuisance, and rarely pay attention to their use. When I suggested that the search for material components could be used to start some great adventures, they complained that they didn't want to play greedy rat-bastards.
>
> '[don't] see the value of building clans and tribes when gaming.'
> Not simulationists? Or they don't like nitty-gritty settings? Would
> they be happy building up an empire (e.g. playing high ranking Lunar
> nobles)?
They probably wouldn't want to play nobles and be tied down to a particular area. I've pointed out that that would give them opportunities to overcome different challenges, but they don't regard that as adventuring.
>
> '[don't like heroic quests such as] vanquishing monsters, getting
> treasure,'
> They don't like fantasy settings? This could be the biggest problem.
> Would they like playing mostali in a steampunk style?
They like fantasy settings, but pretty much only as things to kill and loot.
>
> '[don't like] going up in levels as quickly as possible'
> Not actually part of doing 'heroic quests'; heroic questing is part
> of the setting. They don't like playing as a competitive game? That's
> OK.
They certainly don't like to compete against each other.
>
> ...
> > I'd like to rejoin this group using Glorantha and Hero Wars, but I'm
not at
> > all sure they will enjoy it very much. But perhaps I've misjudged them,
and
> > they just haven't been exposed to any other style of play.
> ...
> Perhaps. I was a simulationist at heart, but I've moved towards the
> narrativist camp.
I'm pretty much a narrativist myself. They seem to be more like tacticians and powergamers, really. I wouldn't mind if my character died, as long as it was done in an entertaining manner that served a purpose.
Guy
Powered by hypermail