Ending the story

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

As I mentioned a while ago, our long-standing Hero Wars game is coming to at least a temporary end. My reasons for calling it finished are mainly based on the fact that it was so successful - we have produced, essentially, an extraordinary trilogy of linked novellas, and I'd hate to see it turn into a "series."

We could do that, I suppose. Player commitment to the characters is very high, and they show a seemingly inexhaustible willingness to delve further into the Gloranthan setting. I find that prepping, running, and getting inspired about the scenarios is easier and more rewarding in Hero Wars than in just about anything else beyond Sorcerer and The Pool. However, on an aesthetic level, my artistic sense is saying, "Damn, that was good. Let's call it, and admire it for a while."

It all comes down to Thed, the Goddess of Rape. It comes down to issues of alienation, rage, and grief, yet finding a personal ethic upon which to build one's life. It comes down to being the child of unacceptable sexuality, and finding a place in society or reality in which your voice can be heard. My two chief NPCs are Aething, leader of the clan, the daughter of incest (think Antigone), and Tenslayer, a broo warrior, determined to renounce Chaos not only for himself but for Thed herself. The player-characters are these characters' mentors, advisors, staunch followers (in the case of Aething), and chief influences.

Is that a little abstract for you? Try a pitched battle in troll territory, as Yelornans and Vingans each try to seize a wagon of "white flax" (*cough* cotton) from the heroes as well as kill one another. Yet what's really up is that our heroes are the only folks who can initiate the Kistralde heroquest, to bring a shocking and embarassing historical fact into the realm of myth, and these two groups are trying to co-opt the quest once it's started. Oh, and let's not forget the Lunar sorcerer who's helping our shaman crack open the boundaries between Hero Plane and Spirit World - directly into the secret rite of women of all religions, being carried out across the land. And if the Kistralde heroquest begins in the context of this radical act, then it can directly impact the Ernaldan heroquest currently underway across Dragon Pass, regarding whether Orlanth is truly her consort.

Try the ethical question: what is the honorable route of a woman pregnant through her rape by her husband? Try the violent/dangerous question: are you a rebel or a sympathizer, especially when both sides (or factions among them) are trying to kill you? Try the magical question: can you redefine the fundamental question of women across the land from "who is my husband" to "who am I?" Try the political question: is the Lunar alliance worth the power it offers?

It's amazing - we have fantasy, myth, magic, violence, loyalty, betrayal, romance, and blunt questions. After this, frankly, my "piece" of Glorantha is done, given what we started with. I'd be happy to play in another Hero Wars game, but for these characters and this situation, at this time, it should finish.

Later, we might return to them - I could see starting up ten or fifteen years later, for instance, with characters suitably re-written or replaced by updated versions of favorite NPCs. I could also see playing in a trollkin-only game, based on the new (and excellent) material in Uz, the latest supplement. For now, though, we have one, at most two runs left. It's hitting me now, and will probably hit the players later, but man, what a sense of accomplishment, as well as a certain sadness that it couldn't go on forever.

Best,
Ron

[J B Bell]

Thanks for sharing an inspiring post, Ron.

I think you raise an important, neglected issue:  knowing when to call it quits.  Seeing your sagas as linked novellas, as opposed to a TV show, must have helped you scale matters so that you could feel the proper culmination & resolution of the overall story.  I hope that your players are comfortable with your decision--I definitely think it's best to quit while you're ahead, or at least give it a rest.  Too many games die ugly, gasping deaths from everyone's scarcity-driven desire to try to wring all the possible fun out of a given setting & bunch of characters, when it's not those trappings that are fundamentally responsible for delivering the entertainment.  (The parallel with modern fantasy tridodecalogies¹  is an apt one, though the "consumers" driving the squeezing are different.)

I think this applies even on the session level.  Being constricted to a two-hour time slot drove me nuts the first couple of times I did it, but last night, it paid out very nicely, and rather than flopping around toward the end because I had nothing prepared, I was able to identify that I'd delivered appropriate Bangs to get people where I wanted them to be and call it a few minutes early, leaving us time to de-brief.

Well, just a couple random thoughts there.  As they say, Hope This Helps, too.

--TQuid

¹My mangled Greek is trying to say "three dozen", referring to Contractual Obligation monsters like Eddings' regrettable maxi-series.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi there,

One point I left out was that the original plan had been to play only one overall "story worth" of sessions. That ended up being about ten runs (the first "novella") and no one showed any desire to stop - in fact, I probably would have been taking my life in my hands to suggest it.

That's another reason why I think this particular time is enough. We really have gone that extra mile to work through the major issues at stake, twice more beyond the initial framework for play.

Best,
Ron

[jrs]

I hope that your players are comfortable with your decision--I definitely think it's best to quit while you're ahead, or at least give it a rest.  

Being one of the players in Ron's Hero Wars game, I am more than satisfied with our story and do not have any problems with bringing it to a close.  Actually, I would have been perfectly happy if we had stopped after the second "novella", and this coming from someone who enjoys long running games.  

I also like Ron's suggestion to re-visit the game after a 10 year hiatus.  However, I probably wouldn't play my current PC, I'd rather play the NPC I've recently turned into a secondary PC.

Julie