>From: "Silburn, Luke" <luke.silburn_at_...>
>Oh yeah, very old school. Lotsa treasure hunting adventurers, lotsa bars
>(mostly run by retired treasure hunting adventurers...)
I think that looking at the new forms of play that HQ opens up, that people somehow have a tendency to avoid the very traditional sorts of fantasy tropes and situations that lead to the old sorts of play. Basically "dungeons," to put it frankly. And while I'm not advocating a move back to these older forms of play, what I think is interesting is how the new system handles these old situations. Put another way, I always had a vision of how a "dungeon crawl" should go, and somehow other fantasy games never did it right. I wanted Middle Earth, but got D&D instead. Well, with HQ I can get something much more like what I want than the dungeon crawl, even when the trappings of such a situation are present.
Give it a try.
>I'll prolly opt for a 'baby-steps' game based on a Heortling Sartari clan
>when I finally take the plunge...
Nothing wrong with this, of course; it's got the most support out there. But I'd advocate discussing it over with your people before hand, as you mentioned, and going with what you all come up with. The game that's best will be playing the group that everyone (you included) are most excited to play. So if they all think that playing Praxians would be a hoot, I'd heartily suggest going with it. At least discuss the options.
May turn out that Heortling Sartar folks are what floats their boat anyhow.
>I'm aware that this might indeed be the case, but I'm also conscious that
>I'll probably only get one shot at selling the game to my group. I did a
>short run of sessions using HQ mechanics for a Pendragon campaign I've been
>running off and on over the years and got a somewhat mixed reaction...
It sounds to me like these individuals simply don't get the HQ system paradigm (it's not the setting since you haven't broached that yet). Not uncommon. But there's nothing that a good presentation can fix there. I'm betting you're going to be a really good narrator - you're already showing your concern here, and that's a good sign. So all I can say is don't worry about the players not taking to the system a sign that you're not doing a good job.
Instead worry about them learning what the system does. The only way to do this is to present it to them clearly. That means do not under any circumstances fudge or make up rules as you go. That'll only tell them that indeed the system doesn't work as written, and needs to be fixed up as you go. Instead present the system to them as it's written, and let them see it for what it is.
In most cases, people are won over by it when presented this way. That said, there are always the rare few individuals who don't want to get it, or really just find this paradigm somehow uninteresting. But you aren't going to win these folks over by messing with the rules. You'll probably just lose the people who do like the rules. If there are some who still can't take it, consider playing something else with those individuals.
Rob:
>>I quite agree. I would not like to play a game where I thought the
>>Narrator was 'making it up' as he went along!!
>It can work I think. But its not right for everyone. And its *definitely*
>not right for a couple of my players.
Actually it can work, yes, in contradiction to what I'm saying above. The thing is what you're talking about is what's sometimes called "freeform." Sure you're using the rules, but they're simply inspiriational and you're making up the rules as you go. The rule becomes that the rules are whatever the narrator is using at the time. And that's fine for players who have agreed to play that way (even if only tacitly after learning that this is how it'll go). But for players expecting to play a game with fixed rules that they can count on, this is a disaster.
Yes the MGF rule sorta allows this, but I'd suggest trying the game as written at least once. Stick to the rules like glue, and let them understand that there's a system in there that works more than servicably without adjustment. Then you'll really know where you stand.
Mike
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