What is your story was Re: Terror in War - Short

From: Ian Cooper <ian_hammond_cooper_at_W7qvVxjtuvOh2ni4ysL0MQMgmN15o85nmkRn5CTwX4VaGM8jHbWc3ps13>
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:24:06 +0000 (GMT)


I am not sure that this 'quest for truth' we seem to embark on regularly is ever productive. I do not think that you really want to ask the Heortling rebels commit atrocities. What you want to answer is: in my game do I want to represent the rebellion as having commited atrocities?

HeroQuest, MRQ, Burning Wheel - whatever you use to play a Gloranthan game, play is the thing. So what matters is what makes the game you are playing interesting. Asking Greg to rule on the 'truth' in these matters does not really help most people play their game, because if the issue of whether the rebellion has ever commited atrocities comes up in play, then you probably already know what the answer should be for your game, or want to decide in play.

Has Kallyr ever authorized atrocities in the name of the rebellion. Yes, if it comes out in play that she has, or it is important to your story then she has for your game.

It would be much more productive for people to ask questions like: "Kallyr has commited an atrocity in my game; what is the likely fallout" or "I need Kallyr to have commited atrocities, what might they have been"?

Of course we would hope that people who respond should do so in terms of the question, not to challenge the premise.

For interest, I know from personal experience that Greg responds to authors in a similar way to these questions: why is it important to your story that it is so. So you are doing nothing different by making these kind of calls for your own game.

If you want to tell a story that includes these elements then go for it. It is a game and as such it is a tool to explore ideas. it doesn't really matter if Greg thinks it is so, or later produces a supplement with a different opinion of Kallyr, it just matters that you play the game that you want.  

Ian Cooper

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