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Introduction Page from Valley of Plenty


Shawn Carpenter

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I thought some of the folks here on the forum might want to see the introduction page for the Jonstown Compendium book Peggy Carpenter and I are working on. We expect to release it in two or three weeks (the long Memorial Day weekend took some of the wind out of our sails). 

I'm really happy with the work that Dixie (our layout guru) did on the page design! I hope you like it, too.

If you have any questions about the book, don't be shy!

 

Introduction.PNG

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Interesting... I thought this was just a straightforward HQG book.... why make it also into a QuestWorlds book? Because you have custom house-rules for playing kids and a few other things?

Also, the capitalization of "Heroquest" is incorrect in that first header there (I'm available for more proofreading  :D )

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Ludovic aka Lordabdul -- read and listen to  The God Learners , the Gloranthan podcast, newsletter, & blog !

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Thanks!

I'm using the spelling provided in the SRD licensing chapter. Here's an example:

Quote

We refer to this as HeroQuest 1e to disambiguate.

 

We're writing this for QuestWorlds because that allows us to support Chaosium's new product. Since QW is substantively similar to HQ, that's no impediment to folks using the book for those rules instead.

 

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8 hours ago, Shawn Carpenter said:

We're writing this for QuestWorlds because that allows us to support Chaosium's new product. Since QW is substantively similar to HQ, that's no impediment to folks using the book for those rules instead.

 

Ooh, and for cheap ol’ bastiches like me the rule system is free, as an SRD, no? How is it for running in RQG, if I would prefer to play it in that system?

Edited by Bill the barbarian
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33 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Ooh, and for cheap ol’ bastiches like me the rule system is free, as an SRD, no? How is it for running in RQG, if I would prefer to play it in that system?

Unless they have some special appendix for converting it I imagine you'd essentially have to work out all the mechanical stuff out yourself, given how hugely different the two systems are in what they focus on.

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Disregard what I said above. I misread RQG as HQG. 

RQG would require some hacking.

The source material and scenarios would still be useful. You'd need to cook up some stat blocks. 

I have some ideas on how to handle kid skill levels, too. I'll post them  up later.

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OK complete n00b comment here - I assumed, very clearly incorrectly, that Quest World was a reference to the old circa RQ2 product Questworld (which I happen to have a boxed set of sitting on my shelf), essentially RQ mechanics in a non-Glorantha setting.

Am I to understand that it is, in fact, what Hero Quest is now called?

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8 minutes ago, GAZZA said:

OK complete n00b comment here - I assumed, very clearly incorrectly, that Quest World was a reference to the old circa RQ2 product Questworld (which I happen to have a boxed set of sitting on my shelf), essentially RQ mechanics in a non-Glorantha setting.

Am I to understand that it is, in fact, what Hero Quest is now called?

No, QuestWorlds is the open-source version of the HeroQuest ruleset; the name is in reference to that original product, and is intended for the same purpose. That said, there are some tweaks and such to the rules that come from feedback and playtesting since HeroQuest 2e came out, so there are some tweaks and minor differences that one might like to 'port back into HeroQuest.

At least, that's my understanding of it, I might be wrong.

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12 minutes ago, GAZZA said:

OK complete n00b comment here - I assumed, very clearly incorrectly, that Quest World was a reference to the old circa RQ2 product Questworld (which I happen to have a boxed set of sitting on my shelf), essentially RQ mechanics in a non-Glorantha setting.

Am I to understand that it is, in fact, what Hero Quest is now called?

Yes. What was previously HeroQuest has now been updated and released as Questworlds, primarily to avoid confusion with the HeroQuest board game if I understand correctly. It's an OGL system, using a (far better) variation of the one Chaosium used for the recent BRP SRD, and the QW SRD is available for free if you want to check out the changes (to start, AP contests are back and character growth has been completely revamped). There's also a new core rulebook in the pipeline, with examples and art and stuff, which hopefully should be out soon, along with three very unique genre packs.

Edited by Richard S.
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1 minute ago, Richard S. said:

Yes. What was previously HeroQuest has now been updated and released as Questworlds, primarily to avoid confusion with the HeroQuest board game if I understand correctly. It's an OGL system, using a (far better) variation of the one Chaosium used for the recent BRP SRD, and the QW SRD is available for free if you want to check out the changes (to start, AP contests are back and character growth has been completely revamped).

Thanks guys - I'll check it out. I own Hero Wars and Hero Quest, though I've never actually run or played either - will be interesting to see what's changed.

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5 minutes ago, Leingod said:

No, QuestWorlds is the open-source version of the HeroQuest ruleset; the name is in reference to that original product, and is intended for the same purpose.

No, QW is a brand new edition of HQ, not just an OGL version. There's a new core book coming soon to supercede the HQ2 one.

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Here's one idea for converting the childhood adventures of the Wildlings to RQG. It relies on some storytelling game-style abstractions, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

  1.  Determine basic traits like STR, DEX, CHA, as usual, but assume that they are only comparative to other children. When the Wildlings grow up, their stats will be comparitive to other adults. 
  2. Assign each character a skill called Child's Play with a base rating of 50%. This skill represents a Jaldonkiller kid's basic proficiency in childhood activities. 
  3. Determine each character's primary trait. Do they bull through games by relying on their STR? Or do they relay on the INT to find a smarter way to win? The bonus associated for whatever trait you choose is added to your Child's Play skill.
  4. Use Child's Play in place of all other skills on the character sheet. Want to punch someone? Child's Play. Want to jump across a creek? Child's Play. Want to win a game of Finding Ernalda? Child's Play.
  5.  All of the Wildling's opponents will also have a single skill: Bully. Set an opponent's Bully skill to represent how much of a challenge you want them to be to the Wildlings. If they're a push-over, make it a 30%. If they're average, make it 60%. If they're tough, go with 75%. Really dangerous foes might be as high as 90%.
  6.  Determine Hit Points normally.
  7. Determine damage normally, but bear in mind that unless a scenario states otherwise, damage to children represents bruises and scratches, not great gashes and severed limbs.
  8. Armor doesn't count. Kids don't have it and their opponents don't need it. They're tussling with KIDS.
  9. Nobody has any spells or magic abilities other than those described in a given scene.
  10. Once the Wildlings reach adulthood, work out their normal starting skills based on their traits. If you think they've done things as kids that might give them an extra bit of skill as an adult, award skills or bonuses at a level that suits your style of play.

If you guys like this and think it's workable, I'll add it as an appendix to the book.

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2 hours ago, Shawn Carpenter said:

Here's one idea for converting the childhood adventures of the Wildlings to RQG. It relies on some storytelling game-style abstractions, so it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Thank you , I feel pretty confidant taking the usual HQ/HW games and translating them into RQ (have not yet, but there are some great threads in the fora that expound on the simplicity of this) so I hoped yours would not be too difficult. 

2 hours ago, Shawn Carpenter said:

If you guys like this and think it's workable, I'll add it as an appendix to the book.

Great idea about adding conversion tips! I have not parsed it enough to say this is the approach I like, but the idea is great. HQ is great for many reasons (my reason is one of gratitude, I thank HQ for keeping Glorantha alive after the untimely death of RQ3), but unfortunately it is a niche of Glorantha. If you have a way of tapping into the larger RQ market while still being an HQ product, I say go for it. 

Ludo (Wind Words’s expert in things HQ and a loving dad) gives a big thumbs up to your product! (I hope I got this right, Ludo, let me know if I misunderstood).

Cheers

Edited by Bill the barbarian
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... remember, with a TARDIS, one is never late for breakfast!

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2 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

I feel pretty confidant taking the usual HQ/HW games and translating them into RQ (have not yet, but there are some great threads in the fora that expound on the simplicity of this) so I hoped yours would not be too difficult. 

I don't think it would be difficult at all. A lot of the content focuses on social RP, which is system agnostic. The rest should work as a strong outline for a reasonably experienced RQ GM.

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6 hours ago, Shawn Carpenter said:

If you guys like this and think it's workable, I'll add it as an appendix to the book.

Interesting, thanks! But I don't think it's worth it publishing untested rules in a published book... posting them (for now) as an extra resource on your blog/official website seems more appropriate to me. Or even just leaving them here as you did.

These rules also smell a bit too much of HQ's style to me.... I have some tentative RQG rules for playing kids too that I think may be more "integrated" with RQ's philosophy (they're partially based on the aging rules from CoC/BRP), and, more importantly, allow for a season-by-season growth into adults (that is: they're designed for interacting with adults while being kids, and for gradually ending up where adult characters are when you reach the age of normal RQG starting characters). However, I have only playtested them by myself by making a few sample characters and doing mock improvements, so they have no real value so far... I'll try to dust my notes up, see what I can steal from your suggestions here, and send that to you in the near future in some form or other if you're interested.

3 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Ludo (Wind Words’s expert in things HQ and a loving dad) gives a big thumbs up to your product! (I hope I got this right, Ludo, let me know if I misunderstood).

Hah well sadly I'm no expert in HQ since I have never played or GMed HQ! (although it might happen in the summer, so I'm getting interested in HQ rules again). Joerg is, as always, the most knowledgeable of our crew! (that's why we hired him, right?)  Also, I am definitely eagerly awaiting Peggy and Shawn's book (I was on record saying it was my #1 "looking forward to read" book of the upcoming month), but I'll reserve revealing my thumbs' orientations until after they have been able to turn a few pages :)   (even though I have no doubt it will be an excellent read).

Edited by lordabdul
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Ludovic aka Lordabdul -- read and listen to  The God Learners , the Gloranthan podcast, newsletter, & blog !

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37 minutes ago, lordabdul said:

Interesting, thanks! But I don't think it's worth it publishing untested rules in a published book... posting them (for now) as an extra resource on your blog/official website seems more appropriate to me. Or even just leaving them here as you did.

After talking to my smarter-half, I've come to the same decision. :D I'll make sure that these guidelines are posted on our FB page and my blog (and here, of course) and point folks at 'em untested suggestions.

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