> The definition the Forge gives of "Simulationism" may be accurate, but
> is certainly misleading if it includes HQ 2 and excludes Hero Wars ;)
The definitions aside, and taking your comments in a possibly more serious tone than intended; no one is saying that Hero Wars was Narrativist and HeroQuest 1 & 2 are Simulationist, but the leanings of the play advice, the tone of copious examples and the change in mechanics over the three versions have slowly altered the way that HQ supports agenda. From experience I have found it increasingly difficult to use HQ for Narr style gaming.
The irony has always been that HW helped spawn a number of very narrativist focused games, The Pool and AFAIK The Mountain Witch being just two examples.
The blog advice purports to lend some support for a Narr agenda but it can't enforce one. It could work, depending upon the group, but fiddling with the advancement system is a relatively minor consideration given that advancement in itself is not particularly supportive of Narr.
Given that Robin is apparently not on-board with the whole agenda thing AFAIK, and his recent games have a heavy slant towards simulating (with a small s) genre story structure , it is hardly surprising that HQ is often labelled as Sim. But the truth is that no game text enforces agenda, the players at the table do this IF they are all in agreement on why they are playing in the first place. (A rare thing in my experience.)
Jamie
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