[HeroQuest] Fields of Freedom

[Matt Snyder]

Note: This first long post discusses HeroQuest in general, but "Fields of Freedom" not at all.  Rather, it focuses on my group's makeup, our recent gaming history, and a profile of each player and their interests, play styles, and relationships.

When I got my hands on HeroQuest last year, I was really intrigued. I had read a lot about it, especially on the Forge via Ron. I didn't have much inkling of what Glorantha was all about, but the game really was appealing to me. So much so, that I featured it in the first issue of Daedalus.

At the time, my group was playing The Riddle of Steel. I had started and stopped GMing a handful of games with the group, while another member (Tony) ran our TRoS game. I brought the book to show and talk about with fellow group members. They weren't especially interested at the time, and they found the book and Glorantha immensely unappealing. I don't find Glorantha itself very appealing either, frankly, but I loved the hell out of HeroQuest. So, I kept reading and re-reading, and thinking how and what I could do with the game.

Over several months, our group played a handful of other games (usually short-lived), among them Nine Worlds, a funky World of Darkness carnival game, Pendragon, and some good ol' fashioned Shadowrun. Our group make-up changed some, too. Last winter, shedules and conflicts and people moving kept us from playing regularly. We did have one interesting Come-to-Jesus meeting involving me, Flash, Lisa and Tony. Our group seemed to invariably involve us four, plus other members off and on, including Wendy, Dave, and Sai ... and an occasional guest star (e.g. Hobart, who is in the army, and played once or twice while on leave).  We talked in that meeting about what we wanted, why interest in previous games waned, what we wanted. I arranged the meeting, and my agenda was clear and open -- what can I do to meet people's needs and run a longer-term game?

We came out of that meeting enthused, I recall. Lisa coined the phrase "gaming on purpose" in reaction to our groups often too-casual approach to gaming. I liked that attitude quite a lot. I worked furiously at the time to put together some ideas for a game I would run.

Life, as ever, intervened. My wife and I had a baby, and Flash and Lisa sold their house and moved to another one (actually closer to me now!). Tony, who had lived with them, moved to an apartment. In short, gaming was less frequent, though we did enjoy some continued Shadowrun games enthusiastically.

In the late spring or so, I sat down with Flash and Lisa to "pitch" HeroQuest to them. I explained how it differed from other games, how it was similar, what interesting features it had, and why I really liked it. We all talked through it very optimistically, and they seemed genuinely interested in the game, especially after understanding it a little better. Lisa liked the narrative character creation (she wanted more than 100 words!), and Flash really liked the followers treatment. Those were some of their initial impressions.

So, I continued working on some ideas for a HeroQuest game. My ideas finally settled on some specifics. But, when that happened, it appeared that just the three of us (Flash, Lisa, and me) would play. Our group was, effectively, scattered.

I decided to press on. I created a setup for HeroQuest using a fantasy world of my own creation. I call it Ulthara. It's a setting I created during my very active AD&D 2nd ed. days in college, and kept tinkering with via my own early, clumsy fantasy heartbreaker-type designs later. The main reason I was so excited about HeroQuest was that it captured almost exactly the kind of play I tried to achieve in my tinkering and hopeless attempts with AD&D 2E. I couldn't wait to try HeroQuest in the Ulthara setting.

I sat down with Flash and Lisa and explained the setup. They liked the setup, I believe, and we talked about what characters would be appropriate, how to go about creating them, and so on. We decided to create characters a week later.

By the time a week passed, I had easily recruited my brother Dave to join the game. When we arrived at Flash and Lisa's (new!) house, Lisa's best pal Wendy was there. Lisa had earlier said she wasn't sure Wendy was interested in playing anything at all, but Wendy shot that theory out of the water. As we spent the evening making characters, she joined in. The group was set at four! Excellent. They all created characters. Flash and Wendy used the list method for character creation, while Dave and Lisa used the narrative method.

One week later, we played our first session. I'll explain the setup and characters in the next post, then move to the actual play events. Tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 12) is our second session. Tony, another group member, will be joining the game after tonight's session. (We play Tuesday nights.)

To wrap up this one, I'll attempt to describe all the people playing the game and their relationships to one another:

First, there's me, of course. I'm the GM, and I introduced the group to HeroQuest as well as our previous long-running game, The Riddle of Steel. I am long-time best friend of Flash (we went to high school together), and we've gamed together for years, among many other activities. I have the ugly reputation (much deserved, alas) of getting excited too frequently about new games or new game ideas, and not sticking to my guns long enough to see any game to its completion. ADHD gamer, you might say. That will be my challenge in this game -- staying focused and dedicated to the idea, which I think is a really good one. I'm a game whore, eager to gobble up and play many types of games. Given my druthers, I seek to create powerful stories as evidenced by my Narrativist designs in Dust Devils and Nine Worlds. I'm a long-time fantasy nut, so having a fantasy-oritented Narravist game like HeroQuest is a godsend.

Flash is a long-time gamer. He's fond of fantasy games, generally, but has played many types over the years. Some of his favorites are D&D, Earthdawn, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. He also played Vampire and Werewolf extensively with he and his wife's "college group" with whom I generally did not play games (occasionaly "guest star" game) until the last 2-3 years. Flash tends to focus on his character and accruing abilities and effectiveness. As a generally laid back kind of guy, he's sometimes a quiet gamer, and we often kid him about being the slowest gamer in the world. I've found that he really gets into the game, is indeed excited about it, and becomes very deliberate to "make the right choice." I believe that means a couple things: He's looking for the best strategic choice, often. But, I think he's also looking for the "right thing to say" such that his fellow players have the most fun. Flash is almost always a player, not a GM. Also, our games are almost always at his house (and Lisa's of course).

Lisa is also a long time gamer. She's in it for the story, and she says so unapologetically. Lisa has often been a GM, but less so over the last couple years. She has an excellent grasp on setting up dramatic conflict, but I believe she is sometimes frustrated when fellow players miss those cues or perhaps ignore them. Lisa dislikes what she terms "pointless combat." She wants combat and/or action to be dynamic and relatively quick. But, above all, it should propel the larger drama in the game. Lisa tends to simplify or skirt rules, and greatly dislikes time spent detailing and resolving complicated fight scenes or any handling time. She wants the game to move at a good clip, be exciting, and above all be worth telling.

Dave is my younger brother. He's easy to please, and a generally laid back guy. But, beneath that easy-going, often humorous attitude is, I think, a real interest in exploring characters on a serious level. He has played several games with me over the years, most of them fantasy oritented. Dave has an good ear for in-character dialogue, and I think he surprises his fellow players (and perhaps himself) with his character portrayals that elevate the game's sincerity and meaning. Dave often has a vision for his characters, and he strives in play to meet those goals he sets. Dave has played less often with this current group than I have.

Wendy is Lisa's best friend from Flash and Lisa's college days. She's infamous among the "college group" for playing the oddball -- the iconoclast player character who quietly goes along with the group's activities until her domain is challenged. She loves to "lie in wait" until her niche role is needed. Then, she shines. Wendy really gets involved in those cases, eager to show the group her value and ability. She often plays a misfit who defiantly, eagerly resists the norm. Wendy proclaims Vampire as her favorite game, but bemoans the fact that she can't get others to play. She often shows mild interest in a game until she recognizes her niche, at which point she becomes very enthusiastic about the game to everyone's surprise and delight. Her characters are often very strong, defiant, and determined. After that point, with her role often defined, she elevates her involvement, more sure of what, when and how to participate.

Tony is another best pal Aaron and Lisa. He was among the "college group," and in fact lived with Aaron and Lisa for about two years or so, having recently moved out. In recent years, Tony has been the primary GM of our group. He ran a long-lasting Riddle of Steel game, and our more recent back-to-basics Shadowrun games. Tony enjoys action and adventure, and his games are enjoyable action-dramas. I think his ideas about running games shifted dramatically as he ran our TRoS game. As a player, he's superb at creating a backstory loaded with dramatic potential and interelated with fellow player characters. My experience in GMing with Tony are always exciting. He's eager and attentive, and he often shakes things up with daring choices and kinetic danger! Tony adores TRoS, not only for its combat emphasis, but also its powerful Spiritual Attributes mechanics. I think that is a perfect example of the kind of gamer he is -- and "old schooler" who has a relatively new-found respect for the power of drama and story.

[Matt Snyder]

Phew. Ok, now that I've set the social scene, so to speak (and bring on the questions, of course -- I'm sure I forgot something worth telling), on to the game itself.

First, here is the "white paper" I put together, sans visuals that I ... um ... appropriated online. Imagine a really cool picture of charging knights.

There is a village on the edge of the Kingdom of Coradria. Haven is its name. It is your home. Haven's people have lived peacefully for years, after King Leoric Arundel withdrew from the last of the border wars two decades ago. The younger generations know only peace and prosperity. Their forbears doubt the young could have survived dark and troublesome times as they knew then.

On a bluff above the village is the castle of Lord Alvar Ganeston, cousin of the king and overseer of the northwestern borders of Coradria. He and his garrison of knights keep an easy peace in these quiet times. There is a division between the old veterans and young knights seeking their approval, especially the lady knights Oliva, Josianne, and Reyne. House steward Durmond Bleys deals often with the townsfolk, while Brother Aldus, devout follower of the King's patron god, Ardan, spreads the light of his religion among the populace.

The village houses a number of artisans and feudal servants. There is the mill, run by the enterprising Tunrick Kynes. Nearby, Achard Cordon tans hides and his brother Emric fashions shoes and boots from the leather. Kenrick, a hefty aging man and veteran of the old wars, is the town blacksmith. He pounds more ploughshares than swords, more horseshooes than armor. At the center of town is Wackrill's tavern, the heart of the community. Here the portly proprietors welcome townsfolk and travellers for some of Madam Galida's delcious pies.

Near the village are many families working their farms and tending their lands. You know them well, much like the artisan familes in the village – families like Fossard, Gillain, Walder, and Tiriel herd cattle and sheep and raise barley and wheat.

Other familar souls live just beyond the village, like old Old Quint, the hermit and supposed wizard.

Life is simple and peaceful, but dark tidings hint at coming dangers. The Anduren freelords have begun to raid their neighbors. There is something sinister in their recent violence, and they may reach Haven in coming months and years.

Will the younger generations live up to their forbears' greatness? Will they risk their lives as their parents and grandparents did in the past? Will it be enough? What will they do for freedom?

With that, and other discussion, the players created characters.

Flash plays Squire Gwyn. He's a cowardly squire whose father earned knighthood as a commoner during the border wars. Gwyn is squire to one of the new lady knights, Dam Josianne. (The King recently mandated that ladies may become knights, a decree met with a variety of emotions and issues). He works very hard to not work very hard at all. He's also half-smitten with Josianne, who is quite beautiful. And fiercly independent, every trying to prove her place. One of Gwyn's followers is a page who's too eager to please to rat his laziness out. Flash intends to see where his character might learn bravery and become a hero after all.

Lisa plays Gabrielle, a member of the townsfolk with an uncertain past. She was adopted by the town healer, and apprenticed to the town apothecary. She has a knack for elixirs. Now, she's beginning to wonder about her heritage.

Wendy plays Asheria, a young woman from another kingdom. Her step-father is the castle kennelmaster, a cruel man named Gant. Asheria is a natural-born spiritist, and has incredible affinity with certain wilderness spirits (currently, the Red Bear).

Dave plays Squire Thomas Bleys, son of the castle steward. He is an educated squire, and uses his clever, quick thinking and lore to compensate for his fairly ordinary knightly skills. He dreams of being a respected field marshall for the king.

Tony has not yet created a character.

Interestingly, with the possible exception of Dave's character, each character involves a serious conflict regarding the role of women in Haven and in the Castle. I'm milking that for all it's worth in tonight's session (second session), believe me! More on the first session soon ....

[Ian Cooper]

Hi Matt,

I hope you have fun with HeroQuest. You have not asked for any advice but a couple of quick tips:

Lisa dislikes what she terms "pointless combat." She wants combat and/or action to be dynamic and relatively quick. But, above all, it should propel the larger drama in the game. Lisa tends to simplify or skirt rules, and greatly dislikes time spent detailing and resolving complicated fight scenes or any handling time. She wants the game to move at a good clip, be exciting, and above all be worth telling.

Here the distinction between simple and extended contests is your friend. One thing I took a lot of time to grasp was when to use the different types of contest. When I started I was fooled by the expectations of other rpgs. Combat has detailed resolution in other games so I tended to use extended contests for combat. Wrong. Let the drama off the event to the story be your guide (and the potential for interesting actions).

My usual rule of thumb is to go by player demand. Does the player want to play this out moment-by-moment or find out the result and move on.

Sometimes I still miss too, I missed a storm at sea the other night that would have been a good extended contest, but its a great pacing tool.

Second - pay attemtion to augments, particularly ones related to relationships or passions. Bring them to your contests whenever you can.

Good luck with the game

[Matt Snyder]

Our first session of the "Fields of Freedom" game was meant as a way to introduce the system among the players and to set off some initial conflicts for each player character. Actual time for the first session was relatively short -- slightly shorter than our normal 3+ hour sessions.  The players were: Flash (Squire Gwyn), Lisa (Gabrielle), Wendy (Asheria) and Dave (Squire Thomas).

So, to get everybody involved, I explained that it was early summer in Haven, and that Lord Ganeston was hosting a small tournament. It was a "county fair" atmosphere where farmers and traders exchanged goods, met to talk shop, and the village itself reveled in the all-day party. The knights of the castle -- all 12 or so of them -- would take part in a melee and joust as part of the festivities, of course.

Play began with Wendy's character, Asheria. For the first actual conflict of the game, she faced the challenge of calming a spirited horse who had trampled a stable boy. She successfully did so, and earned the notice of the stable master. This was the first among several simple contests for the evening.

Next up was Flash's character, Gwyn. His mistress (as in, the woman knight he serves), Dam Josianne, prepared for the melee with her two fellow lady knights (they sought to ally with one another to face off against the men and prove their worth). She send him on a errand back up to the castle to fetch her armor. Gwyn promptly convinced his cousin and subservient page boy to fetch it instead. The eager-to-please boy did so, and Gwyn managed to laze away and take the credit. His first in a series of such "efforts."

Lisa's character Gabrielle mingled with merchants and farmers, looking for herbal ingredients. In so doing, she heard rumors about a visitor from the capitol of Coradria to visit the faire. Her master, apothecary Ewmond Hurrell, urged her to look for ingredients from merchants.

These episodes involved much discussion and dialogue among the players, and relatively few rolls. The players struggled a bit to learn how to apply augments, but it generally worked out. Next up, however, was an extended conflict -- a good learning exercise for everyone, I think. The reactions amond the players were actually pretty mixed. They soldiered on, however, and seemed better attuned in the second session.

The extended conflict involved Dave's character, Squire Thomas. His master, Sir Baldwin, is an older knight. He is loud, fat and boisterous, and he drinks like a fish. With the onset of the melee, he was too drunk to fight. So, he granted his squire, Thomas, permission to fight in his stead, with the lord's approval.

Thomas entered the ring with two dozen knights. Dave said he wanted to ally with the youngest knights, Sir Carras and Sir Rahier. The three of them began facing down other fellow knights and knights from other counties.

I probably botched the mechanics for this first extended conflict, to Dave's favor. But, the results were quite enjoyable. Dave set himself between his comrades, and they began fighting waves of other knights in "first blood" style combat. For 3-4 rounds, the results were generally good for them. The opposition began to take shape in the form of a general pool of AP representing "unnamed" knights, a pool of AP representing the female knights, and a pool of AP representing 3 older knights from Haven. Those pools fluctuated up and down slightly. Thomas and his comrades managed to whittle down the "general" pool of knights reasonably well. Meanwhile, the ladies and the older knights had a bit of back-and-forth.

I may have forgotten the precise progression, but the dramatic scene involved the following: First, the lady knigthts performed well. Between them and Thomas' group, the general pool of knights disappeared. I kept narrating this round to round as knights getting "tagged" with a sword, and leaving the fenced area. The ladies then staged a "rear attack" on the veteran knights, who were themselves attacking Thomas, if memory serves. The ladies started well, but soon fell (losing all AP) to the veterans. Meanwhile, Thomas' team held their own, but nothing extraordinary.

In the "final" face off between Thomas' group and the veterans, things got interesting. As he began losing AP, Dave decided to switch his ability. His character, Thomas, is fond of martial history and aspires to be a tactician in the king's service. So, he used his leadership-like abilities to issue a rally cry to his comrades, who repsonded well after a successful bid.

In the next round, however, Dave really stole the show. He then used his historical knowledge to recite a popular poem glorifying the border wars, which involved these very veteran knights he now fought. Overtaken with their nostalgia, grief, and respect, and honored by the young knight's (squire's) gesture, the veterans simply stopped fighting and left the melee quietly. Dave had won the contest.

Of course, the melee was to the last man. At that point, we decided that his comrades -- fellow knights to his lowly rank of squire -- took a knee and ceded the melee to "Sir Baldwin." Because Thomas fought in Baldwin's stead, and wore his colors and arms, Baldwin took the trophy. Thomas earned much respect, but could not actually reap the rewards he'd won for his master. Baldwin was overjoyed, of course, and Thomas earned himself a night of beer and good fun. His fellow squires are now mixed with jealousy and admiration.

Late in the knight, near midnight, Dam Josianne summone Gwyn from the festive parties (and girls!) to prepare their horses for a ride. They were to escort the Lord Ganeston himself to the county border to the south. Other knights also rode along. The commotion also alerted Asheria, who overheard something about escorting a special guest to the lord's manor. She followed on her horse and with her loyal pack of dogs.

The knights arrived at the border near a small bridge. There, they waited until a small group of knight escorts from the next county arrived with a finely dress woman.

Meanwhile, Asheria had spied an Andurian bandit sneaking towards the troupe with his bow readied. She flushed him to the roadway, where the knights captured the bandit. Wendy had won a simple contest, but I confess I can't recall exactly how she scared the bandit toward the knights.

She then decided to check the other flank. Good thinking on her part. There again was another Andurian bandit making his way toward the lord's troupe, now in much disarray with the first bandit in hand. Asheria again worked to somehow stop the bandit.

At this point, Flash's character Gwyn, part of the knightly troupe, decided to enter the conflict. Flash wanted to use his character's cowardly abilities to run into the woods, hoping to literally run into the second bandit. He succeeded! I narrated the scene thusly: I described Gwyn's spooked flight in the woods. His horse ran him under a low treebranch in his blind flight, and knocked Gwyn senseless on the ground ... right where the bandit emerged from the woods onto the trail and fell overy Gwyn. The bandit cursed as Gwyn's mistress and fellow knights captured a second bandit.

The knights returned to the castle with a mysterious lady guest. Asheria followed along, with the knights unaware of her aid. Back at the tourney, Gabrielle and many other party-goers noticed the arrival of a lady, but none knew her identity.

The session ended there.

The players liked the game session, but had mixed feelings about the game system. They remarked that Dave stole the show. He certainly did, and my intention was to devote his scene as the one and only example of an extended contest for the evening. Regarding the system, the near-unanimous complaint regarded masteries like 1W or 2W (we use 1M or 2M, btw). They didn't like how they failed with a roll like 13, while their opponents succeeded with a roll like 12 and won a marginal victory. I reminded them about the bump, and that their abilities (say 18 vs. 1M or 2M) are actually quite close. So, a marginal win for the underdog isn't too unlikely). During the second session, they were a bit more enthused about the system, as some criticals and fumbles occured, both to their benefit and detriment.

I felt like I didn't involve Lisa's character enough, though Lisa was also feeling very much under the weather and not as attentive as normal, which was understandable. The other players, Flash and Wendy, seemed very much interested in their scene with the bandits in the woods. Dave very much liked his romantic victory during the melee, and I appreciated his ideas to bring his lore and poetry into the scene. It really brought out some of the community's emotional involvement over the old wars and the general skepticism of "today's youth" in terms of honor and ability.

More to come! Session two was a huge success, and the players greatly enjoyed it. We've planned session three for Tuesday night (tomorrow).

[Matt Snyder]

Good comments on the extended conflits, Ian. Thanks!

In our first two sessions, we've had one extended conflit each. Both have been combats, but involved non-combat abilities with interesting twists. I look forward to non-combat extended contests, and I expect them to occur soon. I think you're right -- they aren't "combat details." They are dramatic pacing techniques. I'm very enthused about them for that very reason, and I hope to show my players how that happens.

We have used augments, especially relationship augments, in every single conflict thus far. The Haven community is essentially a big relationship map, lots of family relations, but also hierarchical feudal relationships. The players caught on to that really well.

[Mike Holmes]

Matt, I could go on and on about the dice mechanic and ratings. It'll have to suffice to say that everyone has these initial feelings (I certainly did - played an alternate method for a while), but that they just go away after a while as players understand the system better. You are right about the scale - have them annote things without masteries for a while if it's a problem. And hit them with a 65 rating at some point (3W5) to show them how small the 18 to 21 difference really is in the scheme of things. After a while you really get to appreciate the output. That's been my experience, anyhow.

On that same count, rate resistances and opponent abilities appropriately. That is, don't be afraid to put the character up against some rating that's way higher than them. For one, they might win (especially with HP). For another failing in HQ is really fun. Remember to give out "injury" penalties for whatever hit them. These give them things to think about and either color future conflicts, or become the source of them.

And most importantly, again, they see that the difference between 18 and 21 isn't all that significant.

If they're augmenting with relationships now, great, for every relationship have them find an associated personality trait - at least ask them to look. These relationship/personality combos are great because they really inform on the current status of the relationship, and how it's being employed. Loves Elaine plus Valiant says something quite different from Loves Elaine plus Jealous. You'd be surprised how often personality traits can get squeezed in there. Once players are used to this, they'll be hooked on how often they can get +8 or more from their personalities.

And this makes the character seem very invested in what's going on, leads to better player characterizations, etc, etc, etc.

Just some hints.

Mike

[Matt Snyder]

Cool. Good points, Mike.

We are using several personality traits as well. Flash has milked "Craven" for all its worth so far.

But, that said, you're right to point it out. We've used relationships abilities nearly every time, but personality abilities slightly less (still quite frequent).

But, I really like the kinds of contexts you suggest. Love vs. Jealous, for example. Hadn't thought about it in those terms.

Another thing I've got to get a better handle on is a workable amount of Hero Point awards, and also GM awards. Things like abilities, cementing and the like. I haven't really wrapped my brain around that in practice as yet.

[Mike Holmes]

Another thing I've got to get a better handle on is a workable amount of Hero Point awards, and also GM awards. Things like abilities, cementing and the like. I haven't really wrapped my brain around that in practice as yet.

As far as HP, the rules say to give out a few per "adventure." I'm guessing that you play like I do, however, and that you don't have discrete adventures. What I do is award each session. Overall this leads to more than normal HP, probably, but it seems to work for me. In fact, I find that some players are constantly running out in play. To be really precise, I decided last session that I wasn't handing out enough, and will be using a range of about 5-8 per session.

Basically, that will be about 2 per cool decision that the players each got to make. That's my rating system, the idea being that the more the characters are revealed, the more they may need further enumeration on the sheet. I've gone to 2 per because that leaves one per for spending in play.

This is all somewhat non-standard, again, and you might want to come up with your own scheme, but it works well for me.


As for cementing, you're really not on your own here in terms of not having a clue. From one POV, we do it all the time. That is, cementing is merely taking a HP and making an ability out of somebody or something discovered in play. So, if a player doesn't want a magic sword to go away, then the player cements it. If they want to have a relationship with a narrator character, they cement that.

Where there's sorta more opportunity to play with this is that you can theoretically temporarily assign players abilities at higher than normal starting levels. For instance, if you want the sword to seem more kickass, then you can give it to the player at 5W in the middle of play. Cementing then means that he gets the sword at that level permenantly.

Now, you can see that this is wildly unbalancing, potentially. To raise that sword to a 5W using the normal method would take 13 HP over as many sessions. So you have to be careful here. What I've started doing is finding some one thing to give at some higher level for the session to each character. So, if the level is 17, then one character gets Sword 17, one gets Friend of Dude 17, another gets Valiant 17 - the point being that they all get the same option to cement.

Three things. I have yet to remember to do this in play, I have only done this once post session ("Oh, you had a relationship with him at 17 - I just didn't mention it!"), and one player commented, "I love a sale!"

All players love a sale. This is another potential problem with this. It's almost too good to pass up, even at 14. So you're almost making adjustments to the player's character automatically. Soo....

Basically I've not come to terms with it, either. Let me know what you come up with. :-)

Mike

[The GM]

Hey all,
It's been awhile since I've posted, but I'm back! ;)
Matt has done a pretty good job describing the events of the Hero Quest game that we've started, so I'm going to add a player perspective. I'm not going to talk about the in game events much, Snyder will cover all of that. Rather, I'm going to talk about what works, and my opinion of what doesn't. This post isn't strictly a critique, more of a parsing out my thoughts on the matter at hand. Here we go.

As Matt as stated, I am unapologetic about the telling of a good story. This is why, at nearly 30 years of age, I still game. I could be doing a lot of other things with my time, but I *choose* to engage in this hobby for its creative potential and the emotional satisfaction that comes from hanging out with my pals and designing a tale that is meaningful and worth remembering. For me, that's that bottom line. When Matt originally pitched the HQ idea, I'll admit I had my reservations. Matt has a tendency to like the flava of the week. What that means in practical terms is that he jumps from game to game, system to system, and it's hard to get excited about something you know you're only going to play once or twice. He has assured the group that this isn't the case with HQ. I know he's been researching games for their long term play potential for sometime. I think this kind of diligence is important to Matt as a GM as it makes him confident that This Is A Game he will run Long Term. Good stuff.

Having said that, HQ would not have been my first choice for a game, matter of fact, it wouldn't have even hit my radar. I'd never heard of it, and if I had seen it at the game shop, the ugly cover and less than appealing layout would have had me skimming past it to look for something else. My actual handling time of the text over the last few months has been next to nil. I depend on Matt to know the rules and explain them verbally. He's quite good at the task. The same goes for the rest of the group. No one besides Matt has actually read the damn thing. No biggie, we trust him to know his stuff.

Matt has also taken a different tack in running the game. The heavy emphasis is on N with a smidge of the other categories thrown in for good measure. As a group, we all agree that to date, this is easily the best game Matt has run, and we're only 3 sessions in. Flash, who has gamed with Snyder for probably 10 years or more, is positively beaming about the difference in Matt's style compared to say, last year. Why is this game different than the others Matt has run? I think it's a couple of things that may or may not touch on CA. For the sake of simplicity, I'm not going to try to tie Forge terminology in here opting to just talk about what's going on.

1.   Matt has decided to Game on Purpose. This included canceling a session after everyone had shown up, but no one was really focused on playing. Instead of trying to fight the tide, Matt saved himself some frustration and let the game go. We used the time as a purely social hour instead. Right from the start, Matt set the tone. If we're gamin', we're gamin'. This little (and in my opinion) critical decision sent the message loud and clear: This game, this story, these characters are important and I'm gonna treat 'em that way, and so are you.

2.   Matt has really solidified his grasp on two really important concepts: Personal conflict and Public conflict. Public conflict is something that everyone can sympathize with or at least care about to some degree ( i.e. a bus load of kids getting hit by a drunk driver.) It triggers a response, perhaps not a strong one, but there is a reaction. Personal conflict hits closer to home (i.e. my spouse was the drunk.) Thus far Matt has set up scenarios that everyone in the group can care about and then whammies his victim...er...the individual player by striking close to home. This leads to conflicts that have powerful emotional appeal and the decisions players make are Important and Critical to what is going on in the game world. In this way, Matt gets everyone vested in scenes, even if their character isn't there for the action.

3.   Matt has picked a large cast of NPCs that are interesting, complicated, and fun to interact with. As players, we feed off of each others reactions to the NPCs, giving each other ideas about what to say, what to do, and how to go about accomplishing certain tasks. Again, everyone is involved, even if they aren't actually in the scene. This makes for a tight focus.

4.   If I had a complaint, last night would have been the showcase of my woes. There was an extended combat. I'll be the first to say, when the dice start endlessly rolling, I want to spork my own eyes out. To me, it's dreadfully boring stuff. However, that's just my preference. I can't let that be a deal breaker because if I did, I'd never get to play with this particular group. The scenario wasn't as long as say a D&D combat, nor was it as complicated as a SR vehicle collision test, but it just ain't my thang. So it goes. Everyone else reacted favorably and the evening ended on a high note. Matt is really getting the hang of pleasing the masses.

5.   My role in this game is a bit different. I'm not sure if it's an adjustment in my play style or what the deal is. Usually I like to kick start things as a player to keep the ball rolling. In HQ, I'm content to sit in the background, watching and waiting to see what will happen next. I had far less 'star time' than everyone else, but it didn't bother me. Perhaps this is because what everyone else is doing is so engaging that it's no big deal if I'm getting play time or not.

Holy cow, look at the reams of text here! I'll close this one out and let Matt continue his commentary! :)

[Mike Holmes]

Matt? Any comment on Lisa's post? I found it very interesting, personally.

How often are you guys doing extended contests? Have you had any simple contests for combat?

Mike

[Matt Snyder]

Hey, Mike! I am planning on posting session two as soon as I can. Session three went well, though not quite as gloriously as the 2nd.

To your questions: Lisa made really interesting points, and she offered viewpoints I hadn't  considered. She and Tony said they thought some of my perspective and opinions were mostly right, but somewhat off regarding other people. I think that's great, really. The beauty of her posting is that it lend more perspective. I've never claimed to be providing objective truth of our actual play and social identities.

Thus far, our extended contests have been combat. In that, we've not experimented as much as I'd like, and I'm the one to blame for framing those conflicts in that away. However, the players have performed very creatively in those contests, and the "combats" involve many non-combat abilities that really enliven the story.

We have used simple conflicts for combat / physical confrontations. In the third session (last Tuesday), Tony's character tried to assassinate a jailed bandit prince. He failed in the simple contest, and in fact used a hero point to avoid some real injury (can't recall the appopriate category off hand -- the level of injury that incurs 50% penalties). I'll explain that one more in detail.

I believe we've used simple contest in other physically threatening situations. One involved a bear hunt gone wrong, so it wasn't quite combat, whatever that means.

[Matt Snyder]

Our second session of "Fields of Freedom" was one of the finest games I've run and participated in throughout the course of my hobby. I doubt I'll do it justice in this write up. And, indeed, it's taken me long enough to get to this write up, that I've no doubt conflated events with those of session three. Here goes:

My fellow players for the session were Flash (playing Squire Gwyn), Lisa (playing Gabrielle), and Wendy (playing Asheria).

We began with Asheria. Her step-father, Gant, ordered her to accompany him north of the county where some wild game, probably a bear or maybe a boar, had killed some livestock. With her dogs (which are her Followers) and her step-father's pack, they set out.

Gant is the castle kennelmaster. He is a mean-spirited man, and his dogs are likewise. Asheria and Gant first spoke with the farmer who spoke of a bear, then entered the north woods, beyond which is the kingdom's border. Within several hours, they had tracked the bear.

Asheria is a spiritist, and her practice spirit is the Red Bear. She has a natural fondness for the wild, including a Personality ability of something close to "Dedicated to Wild Animals."

Her step-father doesn't share her fondness, apparently. He charged the bear, spearing from horseback it as his dogs attacked. Then, Gant proceded to butcher the bear. Now, Wendy was getting into the situation. She portrayed Asheria as calm but angry. Asheria demanded Gant let the bear be. He scolded her. She then fired an arrow near his feet. And another after he yelled again. She was about to shoot him directly, when I elevated the situation. Behind Gant appeared a dozen Anduren bandits (outlanders). After a curt warning, they quickly fired their own arrows, killing most of Gant's dogs.

Asheria then leaped into action, racing down to Gant's position, and putting herself between Gant and the bandit assailants. This made things very interesting. Just at the moment Wendy had decided to risk hurting or even killing her character's step-father, she instead decided to save his life! A simple-contest fight ensued. Asheria ended up escaping while the bandits captured Gant.

Asheria followed and discovered the bandits were part of a 100+ member war clan. All males, most fast cavalry raiders. She immediately travelled through the night to Castle Havenford.

...

Meanwhile, Gabrielle attended her ailing father. Her parents are older -- a nice old couple. While she sat at his bedside, Gabrielle's father informed her that she was not truly their daughter. The local hermit, Old Quint, brought her to them as a babe rescued from the aftermath of the last of the border wars. She was found in a small abbey, the last survivor of the town of Aldren. Her origins were unknown, but she came swadled in a fine cloth and Quint also brought a tome, which he kept, found near the baby. (Lisa included these as possessions in her character creation write up). Gabrielle was devastated by the shocking news of her origins. Lisa portrayed Gabrielle's concern for how others in the village knew her origin, but never spoke of it. And, Lisa wanted to visit Old Quint right away.

Before she could, however, Gabrielle met new visitors at her master's workshop. Gabrielle works and studies with Ewmond, Haven's apothecary. The visitors were three young ladies-in-waiting and their mistress, a regal beauty named Lady Thorel, who had very recently arrived to Havenford Castle. Ewmond informed her that the lady wished to speak of her needs with another woman, and he needed Gabrielle's help in the matter. He then left the cottage shop.

The lady excused her servants to speak in private. She then, as appropriately as possible, informed Gabrielle that she was with child and sought a "remedy" for the situation. Lisa played on, with Gabrielle naively assuming she meant a medicine for morning sickness and so on. No, Lady Thorel insisted impatiently. "I am with child. I am a LADY. There is no LORD. Ahem. I wish to have an elixir that will make me no longer with child. Immediately. I am a lady." Lisa's played along. "Ohh.....!" So, she arranged to consider it overnight, and return to Lady Thorel in the morning at the castle.

(My memory lapses -- it may have been that Gabrielle didn't "get the message" until a second meeting in the castle, but I can't recall specifically.)

At this point, I could see Lisa was really into the situation. She really gave it some thought as to what she would do. Her course surprised me a little, but was very interesting. When Gabrielle revisited Lady Thorel, she proposed that she would find an adoptive family for the baby among the farmers in the area. And, she would help Lady Thorel through the pregnancy and deliver the baby, then take it to the adoptive family. Lady Thorel, apparently relieved, agreed.

Later, Gabrielle visited Old Quint. This was, for me, the weakest part of the session because I was ill-prepared for Lisa's good questions to Quint about her character's origins. Quint explained the situation in some more detail, but I think Lisa was looking for something more compelling in her history. I dropped the ball here, in my opinion, not thinking on my feet well at that point. Quint handed over the Tome of the Ancients, although Lisa hasn't yet made use of the unique possession.

...

With Asheria's warning, Lord Ganeston dispatched four knights and their squires to see to the bandits, ill aware that their numbers were so daunting. Sir Krenner, a middle-aged knight, led the young knights Sir Carras, Sir Rahier and Dam Josianne. Josianne is the lady knight who commands Squire Gwyn (Flash's player character). Asheria also followed along in secret, partially in hopes to rescue Gant.

The knights found the Anduren warband's encampment at the vague border of the kingdom. Sir Krenner decided, amid some uneasy discussion among the knights, to approach the bandits and parley. He and his squire were quickly overtaken by a mob of the Anduren clansmen, their fate uncertain. At that point, the mob began moving toward the remaining knights.

At that point, Sir Rahier and Sir Carras fled into the woods. This was THE crucial moment for Flash and his character, and I deliberately set it up this way. His lady knight, Josianne, constantly tries to prove her worth and valor to the men who are her superiors and comrades. She stood her ground, and scowled at her famously craven squire "Stand your ground!"

Flash squirmed a bit. He's famous for taking his time during games. He laughed, a bit axiously perhaps. I think the situation made him re-think what he was going to do. He decided to use his character's magical "Weasel's Luck" ability to convince Josianne to "go around the mob." He won a major victory! I narrated the success that some absurd motion on his character's part distracted Josianne's focus on the oncoming warriors. Thus shaken, she took Gwyn's advice and led him on a charge around the mob ... and THROUGH the camp!

At the same time, Asheria approached stealthily from the opposite direction. She infiltrated the camp, found Gant, and started to make her escape. But, two bandits intercepted them. Wendy started an extended contest with superior odds. She fought with her knife, then even resorted using her magical spirit-based abilities (Bear's Paw attack thingy). Boy, was she unlucky! I really enjoyed this extended contest, however. It was only our second one, and it helped me figure out how to run them better. It also demonstrated how failure didn't require death, hit point loss, etc. In fact, the failure really made things interesting, and set up another great conflict for session 3. After some incredibly unlucky exchanges, Asheria received a hurt, and I declared her and Gant captured by the bandits.

As Josianne and Gwyn rode through the camp, they searched in vain for Sir Krenner and his squire. Josianne fought well, while Gwyn clutched of for dear life. Flash kept up Gwyn's desperate, fearful pleas to flee the scene. In the end, they saw a pair of figures being dragged through the dirt (Gant and Asheria), but they clearly weren't Sir Krenner. So, they fled.

...

That was the end of the second session. My write-up is probably too focused on the "in-game script" and not enough on real player interactions. Let me know if I can clarify or explain more. Hopefully, my fellow players will clarify with posts of their own at some point.

I will say I received great feedback about the session. I had prepared three key conflicts for the session -- one for each player. Lisa's was the decision to help Lady Thorel with an abortion, Flash's was whether to flee or fight with Josianne, and Wendy's was what she would do when she saw her family member butchering one of her beloved bears. The players really responded to these situations.

Flash said it was the best session I've GM'ed in years, which I consider extremely high praise coming from him. I don't peg him as a Narrativist-preferring guy, and this game is Narrativist, overtly. What's more, nearly every game I've played in ANY capacity for 10+ years as a GM involved Flash. Wow! It was really great to hear such high praise; I needed it! Wasn't sure I was up to this stuff. So far, it's going great!

Session three involved two more players -- Dave and Tony. We're gearing up for Session 4 tonight! I have some doozie conflicts coming their way. Hopefully, I'll catch up on Actual Play posts!

[The GM]

The shortest version of session four that I could possibly write would say something like this: OMFG!
What a game! I didn't know if Snyder would be able to top session two for its pure dramatic impact, but he went well beyond the call of duty last night. Unbelievable! I'll let him post the in game events, but suffice it to say, it rocked. Again, I'm going to talk about what worked, and what didn't, IMHO.
1.   Gaming on Purpose works. I can't recommend this method highly enough. As a group, we're focused, jazzed, and on the same vibe. I'm certain this all ties into CA, and to a lesser extent, SC. However it works matters less than the fact that it *does* work. We show up, everyone is excited and ready to rock. What a difference attitude makes in the story that's being painted here.
2.   Snyder has nailed to perfection the type of conflicts he creates and then who he's pitching them to. I had a great dialogue scene with him about the consequences of guilt and remorse. Tony had a fabulous scene about vengeance and honor. Dave shone in his bit about justice vs the order of law. Flash got a great scene about discovering strengths he never knew he had. Wow. Powerful, emotional, very cool.
3.   NPCs are continuing to develop and become more and more interesting. The cast Matt has created is right on target with what we, as players, want to see. After Matt left, Tony, Flash and I were talking about this very topic. Matt has really come a long way in establishing personal relationships between the 'cast' and the 'crew' of characters. This is a far cry from the way Matt used to run things. It's chewy morsels of goodness, and we're lovin' it.
4.   If I had a critique, it would be that Wendy got no play time to speak of. She never said much, but I could tell by her body language that this was far from pleasing. She had stuff that she wanted to do, she came into the game excited, but her cues didn't get picked up on.
5.   The range of emotion in the game went from laughter to outright silence during one particularly disturbing scene. It was a real rollercoaster ride, one that everyone enjoyed, even if their characters weren't in the scene. Matt really dropped the floor out from under us at one point and everyone just stared dumbly at him for a second as if to say, 'Did he really just say that?!?!' It was great. Matt should rightly feel that this session was a feather in his GM cap. After it was done, we were all asking, 'How the hell do you top that?'  I dunno, but I can't wait to find out.

[Asaraludu]

Last night was session four (my second with the group after a long hiatus away from my group), and so far I think it's the best game Matt has run for me.  Lisa is right on when she says Matt pulled off a some great scene conflicts.

I won't attempt to analyze any particulars until Matt posts comments about last night's game (hint-hint, Matt), but I will say that I jumped in on session three with no clear picture of HQ's game mechanics, and came out of that session feeling like I'd made some bad choices during character creation, and overall was frustrated that I hadn't been able to accomplish things in a way that made me appreciate my character.  After talking to Matt later, I realized it really boiled down to consistently poor luck on dice rolls and my own limited understanding of the game mechanics.

In a complete reversal, last night's session was incredibly fun for me.  In an email earlier yesterday, I'd informed Matt of a decision I said my character would make (given certain circumstances).  It appears that he liked it so well that he used it to tie my character (until that point, he had tenuous bonds to the rest of the group) into the story much tighter, and gave him a socially respected (perhaps I should say "feared") position in the game world.

This is what appeals to me moreso than most any other after-effect of gaming - when player characters create ripples in the world.  I'm an old-school gamer, and remember so many times having built these long-standing characters in our gaming worlds that had achieved high levels (or karma, or legend points, or insight points, etc. - you get the picture) without having any real influence on the world around them.  As if they were slogging through a static landscape with no hope of creating any lasting impression on their surroundings.  It was horribly unsatisfying.  Thankfully, I haven't had that issue often with this gaming group, and we've been gaming for over 10 years now.

The point to this ramble is that right out of the gates with HQ, our characters are being woven into the deepest fabric of this story, and Matt has used a keen sense to toss interesting conflicts at the characters, especially with Squire Gwyn last night.

Matt, when you post comments about last night's session, I think you ought to mention the concept of granting Hero Point awards from fellow players, as well as from the narrator.  It's a great way for us to let each other know what we liked about each session.

[Mike Holmes]

Cool stuff, Lisa. I have some questions about how these things occured...

1. Gaming on Purpose works.

How is it that this game has this quality? Put another way, why didn't previous games? What was done this time that has changed the attitudes of all of the participants? Was it Matt's refusal to play the one night when people didn't seem engaged? Did that send a message? Is it something about Matt's attitude? This is, indeed, a social contract issue, and my question is how it was established? Was there a piece of paper with requirements on it?

2. Snyder has nailed to perfection the type of conflicts he creates and then who he's pitching them to.

What do you think he's doing to come up with these conflicts? What's his inspiration? I'm actually interested more in what you think it is, than in an answer from Matt.

3. NPCs are continuing to develop and become more and more interesting. The cast Matt has created is right on target with what we, as players, want to see.

Again, what did he do that made them better? Was it better characterization? Or was there something about the composition of the NPCs that made them seem interesting to what was going on?

4. If I had a critique, it would be that Wendy got no play time to speak of.

Do you feel that Matt has made it clear that people should speak up if they want to do something? Basically, is this Matt missing cues, or a player too shy to make her wants known? A bit of both? Something else?

5. The range of emotion in the game went from laughter to outright silence during one particularly disturbing scene.

So, how was it that Matt nailed making these things emotionally engaging? Was it the situations or NPCs or what that caused the action to be so engaging? Again, what do you think inspired him to come up with the things that worked? Compared to other games where things might have been less engaging?

Matt really dropped the floor out from under us at one point and everyone just stared dumbly at him for a second as if to say, 'Did he really just say that?!?!'

I have to ask. What did he say? Why was it such a shocker? Again, how did he know it would be. Anyone can make up a surprise, "There's an earthquake, and the tower begins to fall!" But whether or not it's engaging has more to do than it just being a surprise. What did he use that existed already to make this statement a real shocker?


And from another country...

Matt, when you post comments about last night's session, I think you ought to mention the concept of granting Hero Point awards from fellow players, as well as from the narrator. It's a great way for us to let each other know what we liked about each session.

A rule hack! Do tell, Matt; what's this all about?

Mike