From: David Dunham (ddunham@radiomail.net)
Date: Thu 27 Jan 1994 - 20:20:55 EET
Joerg wrote (in reply to me)
>> Sheesh, I hate more skills. I always used to use Ceremony as a
>> general-purpose magical knowledge skill: do you know what those runes are,
>> is he casting defensive or offensive magic, etc. I'll buy having Magic
>> Lore, but now you want to make players specialize even further? This is
>> skill dilution. Yes, it might improve "realism," but at an expense in
>> playability (more complexity) and fun.
>
>In general, I can but agree to David. In this special case, I don't see
>the problem.
But that's exactly the problem. In actual fact, lots of the subskills make
sense. Of course one pantheon uses different rituals from another (or from
sorcerers).
But once you start making one exception, you have to make others, or you're
inconsistent.
Let me repeat myself:
>> Let's have as few skills as possible. Let's have individual GMs and their
>> consenting players make RuneQuest complex, not the basic rules.
If you want to have suggestions for doing so, like "Some GMs may wish to
split Ceremony into a separate skill for each pantheon," that's OK (though
probably a waste of space since such GMs would do it anyway). But to start
out with the complication isn't worth it.
John Medway rightly complains how the system's complexity is biased towards
fighters. We're probably stuck with that, but that's no reason to make
everything else as complex.
We all agree RQ is for more mature players, right? But that's not the same
as being a game for complexity fans. And I know I have less time for rules
as I get older.
Anyway, I don't think this complexity, while it does reflect the reality of
the game, makes sense for the play of the game. You ought to be able to get
the feel of Gloranthan pantheons without needing a subskill.
David Dunham * Software Designer * Pensee Corporation
Voice/Fax: 206 783 7404 * AppleLink: DDUNHAM * Internet: ddunham@radiomail.net
"I say we should listen to the customers and give them what they want."
"What they want is better products for free." --Scott Adams
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