I was a fan of Heroquest 1, and enjoyed it, running a Wintertop Exiles game based on Unspoken Words supplements. I reviewed HQ 2 when it first came out, and ran a couple of games -- a few sessions of a heist movie game, and a couple of months of a Bonnie & Clyde era game about midwestern bootleggers - more Beverly Hillbillies than a gangster epic.
Recently I have finally got to play HQ2 set in Glorantha, having finally after a bit of an epic struggle managed to buy both Sartar Kingdom of Heroes and the Sartar Companion. Having a full review of HQ2 I wrote after my initial brief experiment with the system and reading through the rules, I will finally publish it soon, but I thought a few words on thsi list rather than my blog on how I'm finding it would perhaps be of interest to some.
I was initially enthused by HQ2, very much so - but I was not sure I liked getting rid of Keyword listed abilities, and I was also sceptical about the Pass/Fail cycle, as i thought it moved away from my simulationist tendencies and my players more gamist attitudes. I can see how you prevent absurdities like a dragon with a low resistance - you narrate encounters in any order after all, and a GM can always improvise a minor obstacle or six, but ultimately as the rules clearly state a Dragon will always be an Impossible or Nearly Impossible foe, unless you are Alakoring Dragonbreaker. In fact re-reading HQ2 the rules clearly allow for stating up key NPCs and monsters if you want to, but there is an emphasis on dramatic storytelling over fixed systems.
Now actually most rpgs are a bit like HQ in this respect - encounters are scalable, and the computer game Skyrim shows this rather well. When you first set out you are bothere by oversized rats called skeevers, wolves etc, and then you fight a dragon and wow! Later in the game when you have reached level 20 or so Ice Trolls, bears and other tough critters bother you in the wilderness - and the drgaons you are fighting are just as tough as the one you faced at 1st or 2nd level. In D&D 1st level characters go in to dungeons filled with goblins and orcs, not the Tomb of Horrors - though in the very tactical/skirmish wargame feel of 4th ed encounters are scaled, and 1st level characters again face a dragon in the sample scenario. HQ2 does not take things anywhere near as far as that - dragons will always be tough as dragons are in Glorantha, unless you know the right myths, sacrifice for bonuses and Heroquest to get the right tools, and even then they are a deadly challenge.
>From my first two experiments with HQ2 I knew that character generation was wonderfui, rewarding creativity. Our first session was fouir hours doing the clan up - luckily all the players had a little experience with Glorantha at least from playing Dara Happa Stirs with Mongoose Runequest rules, but the Second Age setting in Peloria meant their knowledge of Orlanthi culture was from dealing hostile clans as they trekked across Peloria, Fronela and Ralios, and so the thirteen page link which provides a brief overview of what you need to know was invaluable. It also contains a summary of the runes and someof the character generation stuff from HQ2, and while we drew up the charactere before we started, and i copied off the players cults for them to take away and read, I think it really helped them get a grip on the game.
I think we all struggle with opposed simple tests a bit: we are used to Pendragon after all, and other systems, like Call of Cthulhu, but I have finally got to grips with it, and the players don't really care - they know they have to roll low, and can spend hero points in extremis, like when they were about to be forced from the village after attracting the fury of king Kangharl upon the clan by delivering a positively obscenely limerick about him, bats and the Red Goddesses nether-regions as a gift-poem. As it was judicious expenditure of hero points saved the day - Blackmoor hates them, but our Orlmarthing clan is not find of Blackmoor either.
Describing the crossing over to the God World in the opening session of the Colymar Campaign worked well, after advice i had read on the World of Glorantha list, and since then the game has been a pure joy to run. The first extended contest saw two women player characters, the wicked and wanton bonded trickster Jaraneessa Jump-Yer-Bones and her childhood friend Ereneessa clash as they fought over a man who Erenessa was hoping to marry - the marriage is off, as Jaranessa representing the forces of transgressive sexuality threw all her Illusion, Disorder and trickster abilities in to his seduction. The characters hate one another, and their are tensions with the unfortunate Orlanth godi who has the Triockster bonded to him - Ereneessa may just slay Jaraneessa soon, as the godi's protection does not extend far. The relations between the two women were explained in a flashback to the women's initiation when the childhood friends at 15 had first found the Trickster within Jaraneesa, and only mistaken compassion h as meant she was tarred and feathered and driven from the village rther than slain. Ereesa has spent years mourning her friend, moved by compassion - now she understands why the clan hate the Trickster, since Jaraneesa has returned.
The rune rules I had read, but never really used as I had not run HQ2 in Glorantha. The players got them immediately, and have been improvising magical effects with skill. I was unsure about how to handle when the rune magic extends beyond the personal or one target, or is extended in time -- for really big effects the story calls for a ritual clearly, but for smaller things HQ1 gave a chart which showed penalties: I was not sure if it should just be a stretch. I asked about this on my last post to the list, and hope someone can provide guidance.
Anyway I have to go out, but so far story has dictated one extended contest a session - the second one involved a conflict between two parties of cattle raiders meeting on Starfire Ridge, and while a Group Extended Contest worked beautifully, showing the power of the system in framing different outcomes. Jaranesssa who has been off talking to ghosts used assists when she returned but stayed out of the min conflict, the Humakti Star led the raiders against the Greydogs who had flown in on the wind, and determined the fate of the NPCs in the battle, and Desduvar ought to defeat a Greydog warrior in personal combat. Ereneesa just wanted to get away, and her contest was framed in those terms.. Everyone was overjoyed when on the final round Lloyd as Stark rolled a 1, and I rolled 20 - a complete success: the shamed Greydog were overpowered, tied up, and led back to old Man village in disgrace.
The Sartar Companion is worth every penny, and while using the main adventure thread from S:KoH (they have just set off to Boldhome to try and retrieve the Red Hands) I have used elements of two other scenarios, the Ghosts of the Ridge and Apple Lane, introducing those themes. The gHosts of the Ridge scenario is running at the same time, in the background, and Ereneesa the Lawspeaker is already planning to heroquest for the Justice Staff when time permits. Anway the fact we played Sunday, then rearranged our schedules to find time to play Monday night as well I think is testimony t the quality of the Moon Design books.
I would write more but I have to dash
cj x
CJ's uneventful life is now blogged: http://jerome23.wordpress.com/
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