A few questions

[Mike Holmes]

I like heavily action/combat orientated play from small to epic proportions but I just loath the gunk that usually accompanies it.

Here's what's really cool about HQ. The "gunk" becomes fun. In HQ, you might actually end up adding more numbers together to get your total in the end. Here's an actual example from my game of a total compiled by Brand.

Protection 18, augmented by Grant Strength +2, Bull's Strength +2, Durrant +2, Combatative +2, and Stern +2 for a total of 28

The thing is that he basically scanned his sheet and came up with these. That is, he may have missed one or many abilities that pertain. Basically, what happens in a contest is that the player decides what they think is important, and put as much effort into finding those things as they want. So he could just have gone with Protection 18, but it was important enough to him as a player to find ten more points here and there.

In this way, the game is precisely as detailed as the player wants it to be. It also means that the slowdown in processing only occurs when it actually adds to the tension of the moment. Basically, instead of being a duty, determining your bonuses is a fun "right" that the player has.

Mike

[buserian]

I like heavily action/combat orientated play from small to epic proportions but I just loath the gunk that usually accompanies it.

Here's what's really cool about HQ. The "gunk" becomes fun. In HQ, you might actually end up adding more numbers together to get your total in the end. Here's an actual example from my game of a total compiled by Brand.

Protection 18, augmented by Grant Strength +2, Bull's Strength +2, Durrant +2, Combatative +2, and Stern +2 for a total of 28

One thing no one has made clear about this, just as a caution -- magic cannot be stacked quite so freely as non-magic. That is, you can usually augment with any number of mundane abilities (including personality traits and relationships) as you want. But when it comes to using magical abilities, even as automatic augments, you may not be able to use more than 1 or 3 at a time without taking extra time to prepare.

Also, so you know, the rules have an automatic augment and a variable augment system. The auto augments are what people have been describing. They have a set level based on ability rating, and there is no chance of problems with the augment itself -- it just happens.

Variable augments must be rolled for against a resistance, and so can fail. (Failure = you don't get that bonus, or you even get a penalty instead.) But, if you succeed well enough, you can get a larger bonus than if you just went ahead and used the auto augment.

This is somewhat akin to the difference between simple and extended contests. Most of the time, the augment isn't going to be important to a hero, and so you just use the auto augment. But sometimes, the auto augment won't be enough -- the player might need more than the auto augment can give him (perhaps to achieve a certain rating), or the player might feel that the augment itself is very important to the hero (such as the relatively low Relationship to Sister 17 being more important than just a +2 when she is raped and murdered by a Lunar soldier), and he might want to roll against it to get a +4 or +6 from it (to express his sheer anger and hatred at her death).

buserian

[Brand_Robins]

In this way, the game is precisely as detailed as the player wants it to be. It also means that the slowdown in processing only occurs when it actually adds to the tension of the moment. Basically, instead of being a duty, determining your bonuses is a fun "right" that the player has.

This, combined with the stuff buserian said about variable augments is all true, good stuff. I just wanted to give testimonial that it does help the game and does make the game fun.

It also does let “sword guy vs. fireball guy” work out interestingly and dramatically in the game. The example Mike gave above was (I think) from a fight were my holy warrior PC Thomas was in a fight with a Sorcerer who was casting a death spell at him. The sorcerer got to cast a spell, and Thomas got to resist with the things that make him who and what he is.

I really love that aspect of the game, because what makes your character special, what makes them the person that they are, will be relevant in game terms. The game actually supports your character becoming a protagonist by making the things they care about fuel them. Thomas is a holy warrior, and he uses magic fairly often, but he almost never casts spells – the holiness is a part of who he is and what he is, and the gamesystem lets that work for him. On the other hand, someone that is a spell caster can cast spells, and supplement them with the special features that make them unique (Iron Will, Knowledge Man Was Not Meant To Know, etc).

Really, it’s a great, great thing about HeroQuest – the players get to decide what matters, and make things that matter to their characters matter to the game.

[Harrek]

Thanks for chipping in, all.

I have one other bit of advice for you BluveOak (and any other fence-sitters out there):

Make sure the other players in your prospective group are on board for HeroQuest. Sit down and talk about it first, maybe give them some examples from this forum and the free Issaries material. Especially focus on the mechanics - that's a sticking point for many people. If they know in advance what they're getting into, they're going to be more receptive.

I don't know why, but this game does not click for some folks (guess that's more-or-less true of all games). Don't let that kind of misunderstanding fester - get it out in the open, and if someone is sure they don't like it, don't try to force them. (If they waffle, sure, bring 'em in for a spin.)

Search this forum for Scripty's threads: he had a particularly memorable group implosion. That's the kinda uglyness you want to avoid.

Welcome to Glorantha, I hope you like it.

[Mike Holmes]

I don't know why, but this game does not click for some folks (guess that's more-or-less true of all games).

It's quite simply because it does some fundamental things in ways that are very different from how other RPGs handle things. So 'Gamers" who are used to RPG meaning thus and such sometimes have trouble wrapping their heads around it. Interestingly, people who've never played RPGs find it easier to learn than other RPGS.

But here's the thing - I really think that it can appeal to anyone. Even the stodgiest gamer can enjoy it if you get them to agree to try it honestly.

Unlike Scripty's players, who really never wanted to learn. Take that example with a grain of salt. These guys weren't worth playing any game with, their behavior was despicable. Given relatively normal human players, HQ works great.

Mike

[Harrek]

But here's the thing - I really think that it can appeal to anyone. Even the stodgiest gamer can enjoy it if you get them to agree to try it honestly.

Sure - I think that's what I was trying to say. I'd guess most people on this forum had to cope with that "head-wrapping" - if HQ wasn't the game that did it, some other game did. For some it's easy; this may even be the game they've always been looking for (and never knew it). Others never get past that point.

It's that "honestly trying" bit that's tricky. That's why I recommend talking about the game first. I'm not trying to scare anyone away, not at all. I just want to warn newcomers of potential pitfalls.