HeroQuest: What do YOU think?

[RaconteurX]

HeroQuest is, simply put, as far above Hero Wars in sheer genius of design as HW was above all prior roleplaying games. I was, as you might surmise, a huge fan of HW and embraced it from the start. The system turned so many RPG standards on their heads that I believe the problems most people had were more perceptual than mechanical. HW required a paradigm shift in one's approach to scenario structure and task resolution, as complex activities could be rendered in a single extended contest rather than as a series of independent activities.

An example from my playtest campaign: the heroes commit to the task of assassinating Fazzur Wideread, Governor-General of Dragon Pass. I set a single extended contest before them, with the heroes pitting their abilities against those of Fazzur's personal security staff of guards and magicians. Together the heroes had to eliminate the physical and magical defenses, scout out the perfect location for the triggerman, calculate escape paths taking into account troop positions, etc. The degree of victory achieved would determine the type of test the triggerman would need to make, as follows:

[*]complete victory = automatic kill, no roll required;
[*]major victory = kill on successful ability test, dying otherwise;
[*]minor victory = kill on any victory in simple contest vs. 14 resistance, dying otherwise;
[*]marginal victory = kill on complete or major victory in simple contest vs. 8W resistance, dying on any other victory, incapacitated otherwise.[/list:u]

The penalties for defeat were increasingly horrendous, culminating with the capture and swift execution of all the participants, their conspirators, their bloodlines to three generations, etc. on a complete defeat. Rather than weeks upon weeks of scenarios coping with each aspect of the plot, we resolved it in one contest, the centerpiece of the evening's play. That was when I realized how powerful HW was... and HQ kicks HW's butt on so many levels. You need it, you want it, you will never forgive yourself if you fail to acquire it.

After all, how many other games do you know that can model the drama of a courtroom battle with the degree of nail-chewing, spine-tingling, seat-of-your-pants tension normally reserved for a massive melee, using the same mechanics and without any added complexity? I will do the math for you, my friends... exactly ZERO. Run, do not walk, to your FLGS or Warehouse 23 compnode and loudly declaim your God/dess-given right to own a copy today!

[pete_darby]

Having finally got some time to start reading HQ, I 'm going to launch into something that could cause me trouble if a certain comeone reads it...

You see, I've been with my SO, Kelly, for over 9 years now. When we met and got together, it was so natural we arranged to rent our first flat together without actually discussing it (it was kind of, "Hi, how are you, so where are we spending the rest of our lives?"). We have two kids, and I'm damn sure I've never once regretted our lives together.

Now, since the start of this year, kelly, mainly through sheer bloody mindedness, has lost getting on for four stone in weight; that's otherwise known as about 60-70 lbs, or about 8 european dress sizes, or more than our two children (aged four and two) combined. She's lighter than she's been since a couple of years before I met her. She's actually started wearing clothes that not merely hint at the existence of limbs, but actively flaunt them. Just before a recent family wedding, she decided to dye her hair bright red: my father nearly accused me of setting up with another woman and bringing her along with Kelly's kids before she opened her mouth.

She's always been, in my opinion, the finest human being in the world. She is now also one of the most confident, self assured, and, dare I say it, sexy women I know. Ah, she always was, but formerly only I had the good taste to see it.

I am a very happy man. And have taken up the same diet.

What, you're probably wondering, has this to do with Hero Quest? Apart from attractive, confident women dyeing their hair red?

I've lived a pretty large part of my life with my mind in a number of worlds apart from the one my body resides in. Perhaps the most frequently visited has been Glorantha. When HeroWars came along, it was a head over heels perfect (as I saw it) match of amazing world and fabulous game mechanics. Maybe not the perfect game, but perfect for me.

Then Heroquest came out: it's shed a few rules here and there, rewritten a few more, got it's act together, got it's physical layout and design together, it's got a wider view of Glorantha for beginners. Where HW lurked at the back of the FLGS, enchanting anyone who could get past its shy exterior, HQ invites everyone to the party.

I am a very happy man. And demoing at the local games club AGM next week, and the local convention in October...

Now, I'm not directly comparing my other half to an rpg (heaven forbid), but when a friend of ours asked how I was finding HQ, I fired a version of the above across his bows without thinking. And I think it pretty neatly sums up how I feel about HQ.

[Syam Lantri]

Great post Pete, kiss your deer family for me!