I use my Broadsword. Let's play HeroQuest!

Mogri · #1 11-04-2012, 05:46 PM

What's all this, then?

Milton Bradley is a board games megalith, responsible for household titles like Scrabble, Stratego, and Yahtzee. In 1989, the stars aligned, and in a complete fluke, Milton Bradley released a legitimately interesting board game: HeroQuest. It may or may not surprise you to learn that Games Workshop consulted on the development of this game; in addition to designing the miniatures (of course Games Workshop designed the miniatures! It all makes sense now), they supplied some of the art and flavor for the game. The miniatures are awesome as a result.

Naturally, HeroQuest didn't sell as well as, say, Jenga or The Game of Life, but it was successful enough to spawn half a dozen expansions (take that, Carcassonne) and a second edition called "HeroQuest Advanced Quest." Unrelatedly, but relevant to the interests of this forum, HeroQuest is also the game that forced Sierra to change the name of its game to Quest for Glory. As a kid, I played Hero's Quest on my PC, a name that looks weird when I type it now.

I also played HeroQuest, though! My parents bought it for me who-knows-when, and would later go on to donate it or trash it or something, which is a real shame, because not only is this a fantastic game, but it's selling for upwards of ninety US dollars these days.

No, really. What's the game about?

HeroQuest is a dungeon crawl board game in the vein of Dungeons & Dragons, back when Elf was a class and not a race. It uses a fixed board with modular parts to allow for a variety of dungeon layouts. The rooms are the same shape and relative position from game to game, but since not all of them are used in any given quest, the overall shape of the dungeon is a mystery, exposed piece by piece as the adventurers explore around.

And speaking of adventurers, the game plays two to five, with one player acting as DM and the others controlling four heroes of varying abilities. (If you have fewer than five players, someone will control more than one hero.) Included in the game is a Quest Book containing fourteen scenarios, with the intent that players will carry their characters from quest to quest, accumulating goodies all the while. Character growth comes entirely in the form of equipment. The Wizard will never learn a new spell in his entire career.

The game is not only homebrew-friendly, but homebrew-encouraged -- the Quest Book comes with a blank page and asks you to write up your own quest. Quests also appeared in magazines and the aforementioned expansions. There are fan communities for this game out there, and in general, there's just a ridiculous amount of content available.

We'll be sticking to the original Quest Book, since I'm boring, and we'll go until I get sick of drawing maps in Paint. You players can come and go as you please. Don't feel like you have to stay for the entire campaign. In the event that I really like making maps, we might go onto the expansion quests -- but here we're getting ahead of ourselves.

Anyway, I didn't know this as a kid, but apparently there's some sort of backstory. I've reproduced it faithfully here, punctuation errors and all.

Quote:

Heed well my words, for I am Mentor, Guardian of Loretome. (No, seriously. That's what it says.) I will tell you of times past, of darker days when the Empire was saved against all hope. For I fear the darkness is about to return...

The sinister forces of Zargon, the Evil Sorcerer, had swept all before them. At the sight of the Black Banner and the massed hordes of Chaos, even the bravest warriors of the Emperor had fled, the land was laid to waste and all men despaired.

There then came a mighty warrior Prince from the Borderlands -- Rogar the Barbarian. He bore a glittering diamond on his brow -- the Star of the West. Hope returned and men flocked to his standard, leaving their hiding places in the hills and forests. Other great Heroes joined him: Durgin, the fearless Dwarven warrior from the World's Edge Mountains, Ladril the Elven fighter mage from distant Athelom, and Telor the Wizard whose sorcery was to save Rogar on many occasions.

For many years Rogar trained his army, being careful to avoid open battle with Zargon's general until all was ready. He ever harried the Chaos supply lines (they supply you with Chaos; that is where Chaos comes from) and wiped out countless Orcs and Goblins.

Then came the day for which Rogar had waited. His army had grown strong and was well practiced. Camping in thehigh passes, Ladril saw the Black Hosts from afar and bade Durgin blow the call to arms on his mighty horn. Rogar's army poured down upon the enemy from two sides and battle was joined. Many foul creatures and good men perished that day. Yet, as the light of day faded, it was Darkness that fled the field. But the victory was not absolute. Zargon and his general escaped beyond the Sea of Claws, and even now they plot their revenge. Soon their plots will be ready and the Empire will have need of a new Rogar. But where are the heroes to equal him?

You have much to learn if you are to become as great as Rogar and his companions. I will help all that I can. The book I protect -- Loretome -- was written when time began. All that ever was and all that ever will be is recorded in its countless pages. Through Loretome I may guide you, but I may not intervene, lest a greater evil befall the World, and the evil forces of Chaos triumph forever.

You can forget all of that immediately. No, really -- you should completely forget that you read that (assuming you did), because outside of the expansions, I don't think Mentor is ever mentioned again and I'm almost positive Loretome won't be. Isn't that a great name, though? Loretome.

Then, in as campy a fashion possible, Zargon addresses the players. It's kind of that "I'm your enemy and I'll destroy you, but here's how you're supposed to play" sort of thing, but it does a good job of explaining the game.

Quote:

Heroes, your goal has been made clear. I, however, have my own goal -- to destroy you! You will begin this first Quest in the room with the stairway. I will show you its location by placing the stairway tile on the gameboard. On each of your turns, you will discuss with your comrades where to move and what to do. Beware! Your decisions will affet all players.

You will move square by square along corridors and into rooms. The distance of your movement will be determined by a roll of two red dice. Fate, you see, is really nothing more than chance. Where you move is within your control. What you find along the way, however, is within mine, for I control the gameboard. Let caution be your guide. Danger, you will soon discover, lurks in every shadow.

As you look down corridors and into rooms, I will reveal to you many things, including closed doors, pieces of furniture, hideous monsters, blocked squares, and dangerous traps that you have sprung. I will place these items on the gameboard for you to see. Their locations are known to me long before you, for they are shown to me on my Quest Map -- a document never to be seen by your eyes! To discover that which I already know, you must move cautiously. Peril lies in each step you take.

As you venture deeper and deeper into the underworld, you will be confronted by many foul monsters. These creatures will greatly test your strength and courage. Some of you will battle them using only your sword and armor. Your success or failure will be determined by a roll of the combat dice, for these special dice reflect your attack and defend strength. Others of you will have the mighty power of magic spells to assist you. You must cast your spells wisely!

While you may use your turn to engage in combat or to cast a spell, you may instead choose to perform another action. These include searching for treasure, secret doors, or traps. You may even try to disarm a discovered, yet unsprung, trap. You must choose your action carefully, for you may only perform one action on your turn.

Once each of you has completed a turn, only then will I take my turn. Prepare yourselves! My forces strike in great number. I control every monster present on the gameboard and may move all of them on one turn! Heed this warning. I am also armed with the power of magic. Dare you test your magical strength against mine?

Your journey awaits. Prepare to meet the unknown! Will you survive the battles against my monster forces, or will your body and mind be forever weakened? Will you suffer the damage of hidden traps, or will you be able to locate and disarm them? Will you be trapped by walls of stone, or will you discover secret doorways? Will you find fortune through hidden treasures, or will greed and carelessness be your downfall? We shall see where fate takes you.

Come. Let the Quest begin...

In case you're playing, you'll be interested in the nitty-gritty, so here it is. You can instead read the full rules if you're so inclined.

Quote:

Moving
Movement: Roll 2d6 and move that many spaces. You can pass through heroes, but not monsters. You can't share a square with another hero, except on the stairs or in pit traps. You have to take your movement all at once -- you can't move, act, then move. However, you can choose whether to move before or after acting.

Look down a corridor: Is not an action and does not cost any movement. You may want to pause your movement halfway through to figure out what's there. For the sake of this LP, you can declare your full movement and I'll let you take it back if the corridor ends up with anything interesting.

Open a door: Is not an action and does not cost any movement. Usually performed during your move. Once opened, a door can never be closed.

Jump a trap: Is not an action. If you have discovered a trap, you can attempt to jump over it if you have enough movement: Roll 1d6. On a 4 or above, you have successfully jumped the trap and can move to any space adjacent to the trap (and onward, if you have enough movement). Otherwise, you trigger the trap and your turn ends immediately.

Acting
Only one action per turn.

Attack: If there is a monster adjacent to you (orthogonally, not diagonally), you can attack it. Roll d6 equal to your weapon strength. On a 4 or above, you score a hit. Then, the monster rolls for defense, reducing your damage by 1 for each 6 rolled. (When you are attacked, this works the same way, except your defense succeeds on a 5 or 6 instead of just a 6.)

Magic: You need line of sight to cast a spell. You have line of sight if you can draw a line from the center of your tile to the center of the target's tile without hitting a wall. Furniture does not usually block line of sight. Spell effects are detailed in their descriptions.

Search for treasure: If you are in a room (not corridor) that has no monsters, you can declare a search for treasure. If the room doesn't have a treasure chest or any other special treasure (as mentioned in the Quest instructions), you draw from the Treasure deck. About half of the Treasure cards are bad stuff, and the good ones don't get shuffled back in until the end of the Quest. You can search a room that someone else has searched, but no one Hero can search the same room twice.

Search for secret doors: If no monsters are in your line of sight (see "Magic," above), you can search for hidden doors. This will reveal any secret doors in your room or corridor. The door is not open initially; it behaves like a normal door.

Search for traps: If no monsters are in your line of sight, you can search for traps. Like with secret doors, this reveals traps in your room or corridor. A side effect of these rules is that a trap located directly beyond a door is unavoidable. You can't attempt to avoid traps you can't see.

Disarm a trap: If you are the Dwarf or you have a tool kit, you can attempt to disarm a trap. Move onto the trap's tile and roll 1d6. On a 4 or above, you disarm the trap and it is gone forever. Otherwise, you trigger the trap. The Dwarf succeeds on a 2 or above and does not require a tool kit.

Miscellaneous
Items: If you have a potion or something, it can be used at any time, no action needed. This includes quaffing a potion of healing upon receiving a killing blow, for example. However, if you want to use it on someone other than yourself, give it to someone else, or in general affect someone that's not you, you have to do it on your turn.

Let's meet our cast

This big fella is the Barbarian. The Barbarian is secretly unspectacular in most respects, but he does have the most health and the best starting weapon.

The Dwarf has the innate power to disarm traps. He doesn't need tools, and he does it better than everyone else. The first Quest has no traps, but soon enough, the Dwarf will be indispensable. The hand axe he is holding in this picture is a weapon that does not exist in this game. It's probably just a prop.

The Elf gets one set of spells (as opposed to the Wizard's three) and, unlike the Wizard, doesn't have any pesky equipment restrictions.

The Wizard gets all of the other spells, but he has half as much health as the Barbarian and can hardly equip anything. Seriously.

The only numbers that matter on these character cards are the Body Points and Mind Points. The attack score is dependent on your weapon, and 2 is the base defense score for all of the characters, none of whom starts with armor.

Actually, for a long time, Body Points is the only number that matters on those cards. Mind Points are used to defend against mental attacks, and you won't see anything matching that description for quite some time. (As soon as you do, though, prepare for the Barbarian to turn into a vegetable.)

Appendix A: Magical Spells
There are four schools of magic, corresponding to the four generic fantasy elements. At the beginning of each quest, the Wizard will choose one set, then the Elf will choose one set, and the Wizard will get the two remaining sets.

Quote:

WATER SPELLS
Healing Water: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. Contact with this revitalizing water will restore up to 4 lost Body Points, but will not give a Hero more than his starting number.
Veil of Mist: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. On the Hero's next move, he may move unseen through spaces that are occupied by monsters.
Sleep: This spell puts a monster into a deep sleep so it cannot move, attack, or defend itself. The spell can be broken at once or on a future turn by a monster rolling dice equal to its Mind Points. If a 6 is rolled, the spell is broken. May not be used against Mummies, Zombies or Skeletons.

AIR SPELLS
Swift Wind: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. Its powerful burst of energy enables that Hero to roll twice as many dice as normal the next time he moves.
Genie: This spell conjures up a Genie who will do one of the following: open any door on the board (revealing what lies beyond), OR use 5 combat dice to attack any monster within your line of sight.
Tempest: This spell creates a small whirlwind that envelopes one monster of your choice. That monster will then miss its next turn.

FIRE SPELLS
Fire of Wrath: This spell may be cast on any one monster, blasting it with flames. It will inflict 1 Body Point of damage, unless the monster can immediately roll a 5 or 6 using one die.
Courage: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. The next time that Hero attacks, he may roll two extra combat dice. The spell is broken the moment the Hero can no longer "see" a monster.
Ball of Flame: This spell may be cast on any one monster, enveloping it in a ball of fire. It will inflict 2 Body Points of damage. The monster then rolls two dice. For each 5 or 6 rolled, the damage is reduced by 1 point.

EARTH SPELLS
Heal Body: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. Its magical power will immediately restore up to 4 lost Body Points, but does not give a Hero more than his starting number.
Pass Through Rock: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. That hero may then move through walls on his next move. He may move through as many walls as his dice roll allows. Caution! There are shaded areas on each Quest Map which indicate solid rock. If a Hero ends his move in one of these areas, he is trapped forever!
Rock Skin: This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. That Hero may throw one extra combat die when defending. The spell is broken when the Hero suffers 1 point of Body damage.

And our players for today

Eddie as the Barbarian!

Loki as a person of diminished stature!

Aerdan as an Elf!

SladeForrester as the Wizard!

And me, your host, as the Evil Sorcerer Zargon! I will be in charge of trying to make the monsters kill the adventurers. The Heroes never interact with Zargon directly -- probably in the name of being able to sell more expansions later -- but they will hew down his minions while he attempts to ambush the Wizard.

Dear players

Mr. Forrester will please choose a spell school, followed by Aerdan. After that, it's questin' time. We will be using the rulebook-suggested player order of Barbarian - Dwarf - Elf - Wizard.

Please use Invisible Castle for your rolling needs. I don't expect anyone to cheat, but it makes results easier to tabulate and helps me make sure you know what you're doing. Invisible Castle supports the syntax "3d6.hits(4)", which means "roll 3d6 and count the number of dice showing 4 or above," which is handy, since you can move some numbers around and replicate how most rolls work in this game.

Dear readers

If you would like to participate in a future installment of HeroQuest, all you have to do is say so. If you have a character preference, you can state that as well. I'll be keeping a running queue. Players who leave the game are also free to requeue, and slots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.

Mogri · #2 11-04-2012, 06:04 PM

Current players

Barbarian: Eddie
Dwarf: Loki
Elf: Gerad
Wizard: SladeForrester

Player queue

Shinkirou (prefers Wizard or Elf)
Büge
namelessentity
narcodis
Destil
Kalir
Lilfut (prefers Elf)

Loki · #3 11-04-2012, 06:15 PM

And my implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol; that has many forms and specialized uses but generally consists of an head with a handle, or helve!

Mogri · #4 11-04-2012, 06:58 PM

That sounds suspiciously unlike a shortsword!

Shinkirou · #5 11-04-2012, 07:27 PM

There are a lot of board games I have never heard of out there. Then again my family is one of those boring people who think playing phase 10 for 16 hours counts as quality entertainment or some such.

I wouldn't mind joining in the future I have a preference for spell casting.

Eddie · #6 11-04-2012, 07:53 PM

HA! NOT ROGAR. GUTS!

Shinkirou · #7 11-04-2012, 07:57 PM

I am already having fun.

Büge · #8 11-04-2012, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shinkirou

There are a lot of board games I have never heard of out there. Then again my family is one of those boring people who think playing phase 10 for 16 hours counts as quality entertainment or some such.

I wouldn't mind joining in the future I have a preference for spell casting.

I would also like to join if other brave warriors fall.

SladeForrester · #9 11-04-2012, 10:13 PM

My initial choice of Spells will be Fire.

Having owned this game before, there are a couple things I noticed that have stuck in my memory about the Wizard, mainly that there are special Artifacts later that are Wizard-only that give him better survivability than wet tissue paper.

Also, about Mind Points: While not actually stated, we always used the belief that the number of Mind Points was like an Intelligence score and determined how many spell schools that character could use. The Elf has 4 and gets one spell school, the Wizard has 2 more than that, so 2 more spell schools. Later on when there are Artifacts and effects that change the number of Mind Points a character has, you can gain or lose spell schools as appropriate.

Shinkirou · #10 11-04-2012, 11:27 PM

The method of determining spell schools feels a bit odd.

How does spell casting work in this game anyway?

Mogri · #11 11-04-2012, 11:31 PM

You can cast each spell once per Quest. Wizard gets three sets (for a total of nine spells) and Elf gets the other set (three spells). There are artifacts that change the rules a bit, but that's the basic rule.

It's not that odd; you're basically drafting spells. Wizard gets first pick because he is the Master of Magic.

breakman · #12 11-04-2012, 11:50 PM

Hey, I (vaguely) remember this! I think this is the only non-video role playing game I've ever tried.

Sarcasmorator · #13 11-04-2012, 11:55 PM

Not sure I'd call this a role-playing game.

Eddie · #14 11-04-2012, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarcasmorator

Not sure I'd call this a role-playing game.

GUTS ROLL TO GET DRUNK.

Aerdan · #15 11-05-2012, 12:02 AM

Then I'll take Air.

SladeForrester · #16 11-05-2012, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerdan

Then I'll take Air.

Spiffy, that puts Water and Earth in my arsenal as well.

Mogri · #17 11-05-2012, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarcasmorator

Not sure I'd call this a role-playing game.

This is quite a lot like the old Dungeons & Dragons board game. There's no real character advancement, and there's no requirement to actually play a role, but it's very Gygaxian otherwise. (Oldschool Gygax was all about the metagaming anyway.)

Loki · #18 11-05-2012, 12:26 AM

I make out with Guts.

SladeForrester · #19 11-05-2012, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mogri

This is quite a lot like the old Dungeons & Dragons board game. There's no real character advancement, and there's no requirement to actually play a role, but it's very Gygaxian otherwise. (Oldschool Gygax was all about the metagaming anyway.)

I remember reading somewhere that Hero Quest actually ties in a bit to Warhammer Fantasy Role Playing, which kinda makes sense.

Eddie · #20 11-05-2012, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loki

i make out with guts.

DO YOU LOVE ME CHECK YES OR NO

[ ] YES OR NOcaps baaaaaan

Mogri · #21 11-05-2012, 12:54 AM

QUEST 1
The Trial

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mentor, presumably

You have learned well, my friends. Now has come the time of your first trial. You must first enter the catacombs which contain Fellmarg's Tomb. You must seek out and destroy Velag, a foul Gargoyle who hides in the catacombs. This Quest is not easy and you must work together in orderto survive. This is your first step on the road to becoming true Heroes. Tread carefully my friends.

Mentor is a terrible liar: the monster selection for this quest is a bit higher-tier than the one for the next, but come on, it's still the first quest. That said, while there are no traps or secret doors in this quest, the combat is actually pretty heavy compared to the next few quests. If you all go running off in different directions, you probably will get a party wipe. Later quests find their difficulty more in the hazards of the dungeon.

That's Wizard, Elf, Dwarf, Barbarian, if you couldn't tell. You can't see it, but you're sitting on a large staircase (and you'll start every quest in the base set on that staircase). That thing sandwiched between D18 and D19 is a door, currently closed.

In fitting Games Workshop fashion, here are our Hero miniatures, and here's someone's paint job.

And that reminds me... speaking of roleplaying, three of you Hero types haven't named your characters. What sort of fantasy geeks are you, anyway? GUTS, you're up, and you're free to go, but the rest of you have to come up with fitting names for your dudes (ladies?). Zargon demands it.

SladeForrester · #22 11-05-2012, 12:59 AM

Call me Roku.

Eddie · #23 11-05-2012, 01:11 AM

GUTS' HEART MOVE NEARLY AS QUICK AS FEET..

Move: 2d6 =10

I'm going to open the door and head left to A18 if i can. If I can see that way is blocked, I'll instead head to H19.

Mogri · #24 11-05-2012, 01:17 AM

By my count, you have two points of movement left. You can continue to A16 if you want.

Eddie · #25 11-05-2012, 01:21 AM

I mistook which fuzzy little icon I was! (Is it possible to get the with different colours?)

I'll continue moving to A16.

SladeForrester · #26 11-05-2012, 01:43 AM

Can you move diagonally in rooms and 2-wide halls?

Loki · #27 11-05-2012, 01:45 AM

I am a dwarf and my name is Chroyikis Dadreechinthleeblifus Frupladlusfidrotus, but I've gone by just Frupladlusfidrotus since I was 16. First I'd like to nose for treasure. Then, I move 2d6 = 7 to B19.

Then I use my axe.

Torzelbaum · #28 11-05-2012, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mogri

In fitting Games Workshop fashion, here are our Hero miniatures, and here's someone's paint job.

That's a funny-looking short sword.

Aerdan · #29 11-05-2012, 02:53 AM

Blessings of the Earth-Mother be upon ye, for Sylvis has come to save the day. </cheesy>

Elf's named Sylvis. Moving right along...

Büge · #30 11-05-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mogri

In fitting Games Workshop fashion, here are our Hero miniatures, and here's someone's paint job.

Crappy paint job? Get on my level.