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[MetalSlimeHunt]

For me, KoDP is important because it did what only Tolkein and Morrowind accomplished otherwise - an original fantasy setting. I genuinely have to invest myself to keep track of the world and events, because it isn't actually subject to the most boring kind of derivative standard. With that, it's also awesome because it is maybe the only role-playing game I've seen where you are actually required to role-play. With most modern fantasy games shoehorning modern western moral aesops in, the bizarre standards of the Orlanthi are refreshing.

And then there are the little things. I could see the average developer setting up the event where the angry ghosts of your dead ancestors burst into your hall and chastise you for your misdeeds. But the average developer wouldn't set up the event to also fire as a false positive, allowing you to tell your dead ancestors that they're full of shit and you've been honoring them just fine.

Or your elf-obsessed clan ring member going balls to the wall crazy the second there's a report of an elf attack, grabs a dozen weaponthanes, and then just goes off on a very unapproved crusade instead of getting the event like normal.

Or trickster events. Just all of the trickster events. That one is the real test, in my opinion. If you can understand tricksters, then you understand the setting enough to make good choices. That's the big thing about KoDP. Your choices don't matter so much as your choices vitally rely on you being well informed and having good judgement, which is half the game. (The other half is cattle raids.)

Or launching a lawsuit against a ghost.

[Teneb]

I am sad no one mentioned that in one event you can sue a ghost haunting a house... and either win (and have the ghost comply with the court order), or lose (and have the ghost gain the rights to the house). That is by far my favorite event.

Also in the The Making of the Storm Tribe quest, you can tell... the god of knowledge, forgot his name, who is trapped in a dwarf-made box to sue the box. He'll outright tell you how moronic what you just said was... and the box will commit suicide in disgust.

[Neonivek]

For me, KoDP is important because it did what only Tolkein and Morrowind accomplished otherwise - an original fantasy setting.

-_-

There are plenty of "original fantasy settings". Come on man don't throw all fantasy under the bus like that just because a LOT of fictional settings like to be Middle Earth except slightly different.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I am sad no one mentioned that in one event you can sue a ghost haunting a house... and either win (and have the ghost comply with the court order), or lose (and have the ghost gain the rights to the house). That is by far my favorite event.

Yep, mentioned by no one.  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also in the The Making of the Storm Tribe quest, you can tell... the god of knowledge, forgot his name, who is trapped in a dwarf-made box to sue the box. He'll outright tell you how moronic what you just said was... and the box will commit suicide in disgust.

Didn't know that one, fucking hilarious. Frankly, all the "alternate history" paths in heroquests are amazing.

For me, KoDP is important because it did what only Tolkein and Morrowind accomplished otherwise - an original fantasy setting.

-_-

There are plenty of "original fantasy settings". Come on man don't throw all fantasy under the bus like that just because a LOT of fictional settings like to be Middle Earth except slightly different.

[Throws Bus Internally]

[Neonivek]

Frankly, all the "alternate history" paths in heroquests are amazing

Ehhh, quite a few just sort of end.

And some are quite sad in that they don't give you the more... obvious alternate histories.

But that is because Heroquest is linear with the alternate history just giving you a bit of flavor instead of just booting you out.

[Teneb]

Frankly, all the "alternate history" paths in heroquests are amazing

Ehhh, quite a few just sort of end.

And some are quite sad in that they don't give you the more... obvious alternate histories.

But that is because Heroquest is linear with the alternate history just giving you a bit of flavor instead of just booting you out.

I think managing to Alt-History things may make it easier to do it again later. Also in Orlanth and Aroka (sp?), if you kill the drought god at the start (instead of running away like you should), you gain some pretty big rewards.

[nenjin]

With that, it's also awesome because it is maybe the only role-playing game I've seen where you are actually required to role-play. With most modern fantasy games shoehorning modern western moral aesops in, the bizarre standards of the Orlanthi are refreshing.

This is what a friend of mine who is also fairly critical of modern fantasy said. The game actually allows for you to roleplay with the options, there's actual attitudes expressed in the options, belief systems articulated as sensible choices for the world, and maybe all your choices do or don't have a lasting impact. (Some obviously do.) Kill/neutral/save has kind of stripped away a lot of other potential possibilities in other games because it's simply easier to write and make content for those outcomes. And a lot of games don't even do that well.

[Parsely]

PTW

[Ibid Straydrink]

I adore KoDP and am going to be starting a game of Runequest (the tabletop it's taken from) with some friends soon. PTW!

[BFEL]

And now I'm pretty much the only person on the forum who didn't "get" KoDP. I mean, I've played it and its fairly fun, but I can't figure out what decisions are going to be good or bad, to the point that to me it feels like I'm not so much playing a game as a random number generator.

Is this hero quest gonna work? Lets ask the magic 8 ball! Nope, no it is not. And neither is anything else you try because you don't know the square root of an antelope.

Also the whole "can never fully defeat an enemy tribe" thing is pretty sucky. Makes war tribes feel pointless imo.

[hops]

I get what you mean, but KoDP was pretty great while it lasted. You gotta remember that it was a 1999 game. Hopefully Six Ages will retain the sense of not having to crunch numbers, while making your actions matter more.

[Teneb]

And now I'm pretty much the only person on the forum who didn't "get" KoDP. I mean, I've played it and its fairly fun, but I can't figure out what decisions are going to be good or bad, to the point that to me it feels like I'm not so much playing a game as a random number generator.

Is this hero quest gonna work? Lets ask the magic 8 ball! Nope, no it is not. And neither is anything else you try because you don't know the square root of an antelope.

Also the whole "can never fully defeat an enemy tribe" thing is pretty sucky. Makes war tribes feel pointless imo.

So in general when making decisions, you need to act like your ancestors. It means acting according to the answers you gave at the very start of the game, and sometimes based on past decisions you made during gameplay. If that is not applicable to the situation, you then need to consider what an orlanthi would do. Having a trickster is also incredible since they are great ways to tell what needs to be done; that is because if everyone and the trickster agree on something it's the right choice, and if only the trickster suggests something it is then the wrong choice (there are a few exceptions, but they are pretty obvious).

For questing, higher magic is good, as is having allies send helpers to you. The magic resource is literally your luck, so having high magic is just good no matter what. High stats on the quester is good, as is investing in the sacred time in the quest category. And, of course, only go for alt-history in the quest if you somehow fail the regular course (I see it happen more often on Elmal's quest) or are feeling bold. Some quests are harder than others. Orlanth and Aroka, Elmal's, and particularly Uralda's are pretty brutal. Making of the Storm Tribe is probably the easiest.

On war: orlanthi go to war to raid and weaken, not to exterminate. That said, setting your tribe as a war tribe is a terrible idea. You want peaceful or balanced based on how often you want to raid.

EDIT: All that said, sometimes RNGesus just hates you and then you are screwed.

[umiman]

Yeah, there's no point trying to be a warmonger. You can, but you won't really achieve anything and it's not how you win the game either. Not to mention all that happens when you get massive is your tribe has to split.

[nenjin]

I did a lot of testing in Hero Quests and from what I can tell there's a large degree of randomness involved. Which I kinda didn't like. Ok, you know how the myth is supposed to work. You get your magic together, find the best person to undertake the quest and.....they fail, die and there are other knock one effects for your failure.

That could get a little annoying. Like an old school game that wouldn't tell the player shit, KoDP was often hard to figure out the right thing to do because you a) didn't know your chances of success and b) didn't know why you actually failed. It drove me to cheating just so I could understand more of what was going on under the hood.

[Ibid Straydrink]

And now I'm pretty much the only person on the forum who didn't "get" KoDP. I mean, I've played it and its fairly fun, but I can't figure out what decisions are going to be good or bad, to the point that to me it feels like I'm not so much playing a game as a random number generator.

While there is a an RGN element to every choice, choices that follow Orlanthi cultural customs tend to yield the best results. There is a wealth of information on this, but within the game itself, it's basically a matter of applied anthropology, and it helps if you have an interest or a knack for that.

Fundamentally, to play KoDP well, you need to get inside the heads of these pseudo-Germanic barbarians and try to approach events with their worldview in mind, rather than metagaming with with modern or scientific values.

One concrete thing that helps is sticking to clan traditions. Your ancestors didn't survive by pick fights or making friends with anyone and everyone. Another is showing respect and awe for the gods with your offerings, without constantly pestering the same ones for their blessing or favor. Being a kiss-ass to deities like Humakt, for example, tends to do more harm than good.