HeroQuest vs. RuneQuest

[Bill the barbarian]

11 hours ago, Ian Cooper said:

And it's possible to like both, for what each does, not 'choose a tribe'. In fact, that always feels like the smart choice.

Well said, as always! 

[Lordabdul]

14 hours ago, Ian Cooper said:

Ultimately it's matter of taste. S. John Ross describes games like HQ as being 'high trust' meaning that they work well where players trust the GM's rulings. But another way of interpreting that is if you get entertainment from 'winning' against the GM and the challenges he sets, HQ is probably not the game for you.

Well said indeed -- I'm just going to add a couple comments here:

• Narrative/rules-light systems are "high trust" not only in terms of players being able to trust and go with the GM's decisions, but also in terms of the GM trusting him/herself with making the correct decisions in the first place.
• In my experience, players who like "crunchier" rules are not necessarily of the "winning against the GM" type (a type of player I actually try to avoid in the first place anyway). Generally, I find it's either because they enjoy a little session of board gaming every now and then ("let's break out the miniatures and do tactical stuff for 2 hours!", a.k.a the players who like board games as much as RPGs), or simply because they want more detail and choice to their actions (the players that have a disappointed look when we "skip" a whole scene in one roll but they really wanted to play it beat by beat because they wanted an interactive experience instead of an ellipsis).

14 hours ago, Ian Cooper said:

And it's possible to like both, for what each does, not 'choose a tribe'. In fact, that always feels like the smart choice.

Yep. Given how HQ take very little space, I wonder if it would be possible to release most Gloranthan scenarios with dual stats? I'm still undecided myself about whether to pick RQ or HQ for my next campaign... I might just start 2 campaigns instead

[Bill the barbarian]

3 minutes ago, lordabdul said:

Yep. Given how HQ take very little space, I wonder if it would be possible to release most Gloranthan scenarios with dual stats? I'm still undecided myself about whether to pick RQ or HQ for my next campaign... I might just start 2 campaigns instead

Or await the RQ G hero quest rules (they should be coming soon, based on past promises in past incarnations of RQ <grin> ) and have your cake and eat it too. Mmm, cake!

[Christoph Kohring]

3 hours ago, lordabdul said:

Yep. Given how HQ take very little space, I wonder if it would be possible to release most Gloranthan scenarios with dual stats?

Except for mentioning their three (or more) Runes, there are no NPC stats in HQ:CR/ HQ:G & that's the beauty of it!

[Shawn Carpenter]

I agree completely with your comparison of the two rulesets, Lemurion, and I give a hearty "Hear him! Hear him" to your final statement:

14 hours ago, Lemurion said:

A good group can create almost any experience with almost any ruleset, but it's always easier if you choose one that's focused on those elements of the roleplaying experience that your group wishes to highlight. 

 

[davecake]

On 9/9/2019 at 10:27 AM, Bill the barbarian said:

Or await the RQ G hero quest rules (they should be coming soon, based on past promises in past incarnations of RQ <grin> ) and have your cake and eat it too.

Hero quests don't really have all that much to do with HeroQuest. 

I really do want RQG heroquest rules, but the choice between HQG and RQG is about gaming styles. 

[jajagappa]

19 hours ago, davecake said:

Hero quests don't really have all that much to do with HeroQuest. 

Although I must say that over the last 5 years my HQG campaign to date has had plenty of heroes and plenty of quests!  (Not too often since early on when they haven't been questing!)

 

 

[Lordabdul]

On 9/8/2019 at 10:33 PM, Christoph Kohring said:

Except for mentioning their three (or more) Runes, there are no NPC stats in HQ:CR/ HQ:G & that's the beauty of it!

So you mean there are stats (the runes) and, indeed, they don't take much space 😉 I also thought a few keywords were typically listed, but checking back on some of my HQ books, it doesn't seem like that's the case.

To those running both RQG and HQG, I'm actually surprised that you're not reporting the HQG campaigns being higher-powered, as in: more grand feats being accomplished, tribes and factions being moved, heroquests being completed, deities and spirits being bargained with/fought against/brought back, and so on... not necessarily because HQG supposedly better handles this, but more because, when given all the nitty gritty stats of RQG, players would instinctively (I figure) have more "down to earth" preoccupations (dungeon crawling! loot! more stuff with stats!) and concerns (let's not do this dangerous thing, I don't want my left leg to be crippled!).

[Shawn Carpenter]

1 hour ago, lordabdul said:

I'm actually surprised that you're not reporting the HQG campaigns being higher-powered, as in: more grand feats being accomplished, tribes and factions being moved, heroquests being completed, deities and spirits being bargained with/fought against/brought back, and so on... 

That seems odd to me, too. Granted, I haven't run more than a couple HQ:G games since its release, but I ran RQ1, 2, 3 for years. Players in those games were a LOT more cautious than the players in my current HQ:G campaign. They generally look for the most heroic way to approach a problem rather than spending a lot of time trying to stack all the odds in their favor. The game has seen some truly memorable feats of derring-do and its only just now approaching its first anniversary.

[g33k]

1 hour ago, lordabdul said:

... let's not do this dangerous thing, I don't want my left leg to be crippled!).

I think, after a bit, many RQ players with high-powered healing available begin to internalize "'tis only a flesh wound" and "I got better!"

 

I mean, sure -- let's still do the "fight smart" bit -- ambush, missiles, outnumbering the foe, etc -- but really, Heal 6 and such begin to make those beginning-character cautions a bit less necessary...

[jajagappa]

6 hours ago, lordabdul said:

To those running both RQG and HQG, I'm actually surprised that you're not reporting the HQG campaigns being higher-powered, as in: more grand feats being accomplished, tribes and factions being moved, heroquests being completed, deities and spirits being bargained with/fought against/brought back, and so on... not necessarily because HQG supposedly better handles this, but more because, when given all the nitty gritty stats of RQG, players would instinctively (I figure) have more "down to earth" preoccupations (dungeon crawling! loot! more stuff with stats!) and concerns (let's not do this dangerous thing, I don't want my left leg to be crippled!).

I think the reason why is that I find both systems flexible enough to run the games I like to run. My games (including my old RQ3 campaigns) are what I'd term "mid-tier". The PC's are important enough to be tasked with important roles and quests, but not yet movers and shakers.  I've never really had players into dungeon crawls, loot, etc. Regardless of system, the PC's have heroquests, bargain with spirits, fight demons, search for knowledge, trade with dwarves, etc. 

As for danger, extended contests in HQG against difficult opponents can be really hard on PC's. It may not be explicitly that your left leg is crippled, but you can be hurt pretty bad and on the brink of death, and hoping that someone has an ability to help restore you.

[Ian Cooper]

On 9/9/2019 at 3:22 AM, lordabdul said:

Yep. Given how HQ take very little space, I wonder if it would be possible to release most Gloranthan scenarios with dual stats? I'm still undecided myself about whether to pick RQ or HQ for my next campaign... I might just start 2 campaigns instead

Maybe. I think that RQG and HQG are like a venn diagram for scenarios. About 30% of scenarios are the intersection, and work perfectly well in either game. About 35% each are RQG or HQG scenarios that don't work as well in the other game.

[Bill the barbarian]

3 minutes ago, Ian Cooper said:

Maybe. I think that RQG and HQG are like a venn diagram for scenarios. About 30% of scenarios are the intersection, and work perfectly well in either game. About 35% each are RQG or HQG scenarios that don't work as well in the other game.

I have discovered a use for those scenarios that do not work as well in RQ thanks to soltakss. Use them as background or as news of the world when running other scenarios. Your news reports and stories from elsewhere delivered by travellers, NPCs the adventurers interact with or town criers or what have you will sound better then anyone else not taking advantage of this idea.

Cheers

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Use them as background or as news of the world when running other scenarios.

I've used my HQG campaign as background in my RQG campaign. There's a 7 year time gap so it works out pretty well, and the couple players who are in both get to see odds and ends of events, people, etc. reappear.