Re: status of hq publications

From: Ian Cooper <ian_hammond_cooper_at_...>
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:57:29 -0000

>HQ has a reputation, unfairly, as a difficult and elitist game.

I've not really seen this. Where are you seeing evidence of that reputation? We need to try and change it.

I see broad acceptance in many threads across communities like rpg.net, story games etc for the HeroQuest game system. While this is not an 'average' sample, I would have thought it reasonably reflective of the non-D20 market. I'm not sure how much the D20 market really strays outside that domain.

While Hero Wars was pretty novel when it came out a whole range of 'storytelling' games: Sorcerer, My Life With Master, Spirit of the Century, Polaris, In a Wicked Age, Dogs in the Vineyard, Prime Time Adventures, The Mountain Witch etc. have created a broader understanding of its design goals and play styles.

If anything I think what tends to put people in that market off is a perceived elitism to Glorantha as a setting. I think that is also a myth, but a different one. Sadly we grognards, despite wanting to support Glorantha are often its own worst enemies, because we struggle to make it simple in discussion with newbies.

Nothing beats talking about play.