HQ2 – Community abilities (2013)


Submitted by Charles on Fri, 31/05/2013 – 05:53

I am deeply familiar with ‘community generation‘ for HeroQuest.

However, I have a question on how games have used the resulting community. How do you use the community powers in play?

My original concept (for a Gloranthan game) was that almost all of the powers could only be used by the clan chief or by someone else delegated by the clan ring. Only those abilities specifically noted as being for clan members could be directly used by the heroes and other clan members.

I’m beginning to suspect that this is much too limiting and all clan members should be able to use the clan magic. Perhaps this use could be limited to be ‘mundane’ use (i.e. not overt flashy magic) or as augments to other abilities?

What do you think?

regards,
Charles

Submitted by tindalos on Fri, 31/05/2013 – 08:53.

I think the community abilities would make a good source for augments, when performing duties for the community.

To use the example Varmandi clan from the Sartar book, when the clan’s dishthane prepares a feast, they might call upon the Wyter’s ability to Fill Hungry Bellies to aid their cook delicious food ability.

Likewise a hero belonging to their fyrd might use the clan’s War resource as an augment when fighting the neighbouring Hiording clan, to represent aid from the other fyrdsmen and thanes, the leadership of the clan’s ring, and their eagerness for plunder.

However, if the dishthane and fyrdsman were off adventuring, away from the clan, they couldn’t call upon the clan’s resources unless they asked before leaving specifically. The fyrdsman couldn’t rely on the clan’s thanes, and the wyter is concerned with the clan’s tula rather than aiding the cooking of the wandering dishthane.

how about?

Submitted by Charles on Sat, 01/06/2013 – 02:38.

All members of the clan in good standing can use clan magic as augments. The chieftain can use the clan magic actively. Other clan members that have been delegated can use clan magic for specific purposes, maybe on a one use basis and maybe only one specific powers.

I see no reason to limit the augments to the tula only. I’m not certain of active use of clan magic off-tula.

Submitted by tindalos on Sat, 01/06/2013 – 22:30.

I was more intending that you wouldn’t be able to use it for personal use, only when it’s of benefit to the community. After all, trade caravans (where Wealth, or a Shrewd Deal Wyter ability may be useful) are likely to happen off Tula, so it makes sense to make it available.

But when you’re doing your own thing, unconnected with your clan, you wouldn’t be able to use the clan abilities for help, at least without requesting them specially.

The clan are all

Submitted by RoM on Mon, 03/06/2013 – 08:02.

I would not make any distinction based on the intended goal, whether it is for a community or individual purpose. The clan usually benefits from every successfully accomplished individual task.

A merchant’s trading magic, a peasant’s farming magic and a thanes battle magic all make the clan stronger (except for kinstrife but that is chaos). On the other hand if an individual task goes wrong it also weakens the clan. In my opinion the entire concept of individuality differs from our modern real world perspective. Usually the clan comes first anyway.

In my series clan abilities can be used with the clan keyword (although my players hardly ever did it). Having the keyword below 1W would only allow augments or mundane uses. Having the keyword on 1W and above does also allow obviously magic uses. Either way the abilities can be used from anywhere in Glorantha. However, using the clan resources is an entirely different matter and needs direct contact to the clan’s wyter (in our case a stone snake). The wyter can only be used regularly by the chief and the priests. But other members can get permission by the clan ring, if the clan deems it promising and beneficial.

Submitted by Tim Ellis on Sun, 02/06/2013 – 12:37.

It might depend, to an extent on who or what your Clan Wyter is, and how it can interact with the clan.  A clan whose wyter is the spirit of a landscape feature or otherwise immobile will find it difficult to offer help to clan members when they are absent from the tula (and the smaller the group and the further away the harder it will be…) A wyter may be able to help via some sort of “blessing” that can be invoked outside of the tula – (whatever flavour of magic it happens to be).

A more mobile wyter can, of course travel with a group – The orlmathing’s are the “Red Woodpecker” clan, so when danger threatens, Red Woodpeckers in the vincinity may call an alarm.  Whether or not the “ordinary” members of the clan recognise this, and are able to translate the warning is a whole other matter…

Finally you may have a wyter that is not self-mobile but is housed in something that can be carried (Robin’s original Playtest scenario for Hero Wars involved the theft of the Black Spear, for example). In these cases the community can send the wyter with a party leaving the tula, but potentially depriving themselves of it’s benefits.

In HQ1, it was fairly explicit that any and every sort of community (and Heroband) likely had a wyter – so not only was there a clan wyter, but also a warband wyter, and probably a craftsmans wyter, a trading caracvans wyter etc etc.  These have been de-emphasised in the current version (I suspect they were part of the “pages of augments” problem that could cause problems with HQ1) – but if you want to give the PC’s access to (more/different) magic then this is a way to provide it

ping-pong 🙂

Submitted by Charles on Sun, 02/06/2013 – 01:48.

What is a community for if not its members? And for MGF and colour, why shouldn’t everyone have that little bit of odd magic that can’t by itself do much but…?

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