My recollection is that I objected to the augments because they were 'phoned in'.
Under HQ1 people got very used to making statements like 'I use my sword fighting augmented by my Bladesharp charm'
Dull beyond belief. It is just being used as a way of gaining a higher target number. It is predicated on the idea that the npc has some fixed resistance that I can 'outgame' by finding suitable augments. It is a 'game within a game'. How good can I get at finding augments.
When our group first started using HQ2 they had to unlearn the bad habit of using abilities to 'power up' You go through a phase of unlearning the desire to always seek an augment, usually prompted by the narrator denying you attempts to 'phone in' augments. Once you get used to it you starting using augments in a better way, because you have something generally interesting to add beyond the direct skill.
Nowadays members of the group often just use the direct ability, if nothing immediately springs to mind. And when something does spring to mind, it is interesting enough that it gets readily accepted.
I also ran the game that Chris referred too. The interesting thing is that this issue came up far less, because the players were not locked into 'hunt the augment' behavior. They did not suffer from it.
So, with apologies, I rejected your augments often in that game (and other players too) because they were just based off 'find a second ability to increase my TN'.
After a while the HQ1 'augment hunt' reflex drops away, and the game becomes much more enjoyable for all.
Powered by hypermail