How do you play your HeroQuest ?

[Captin Kabeered]

Hello Everyone, It has been a while since my last post. Have all been questing well these days and nights ?

Alright. Here goes :

I am interested to find out which rules are used for Hero Quest and its off shoots/ branching games.

For example: Which of the official  and published rules do you prefer to use?
Do you link the quest packs and game versions together in any particular way ?

I know that some people like to play with American rules and monsters as that version had monsters with body points of more than one.

HeroQuest Versions:

English UK 1sted edition - with the Maze as the 1st quest in the quest book.
English UK 2nd    edition - with the Trial as the 1st quest in the quest book.
English UK Advanced Quest edition - This is the same as English UK 2nd edition
Plus the last expansion Quest the Dark Company.

English UK expansion packs :

Kellar Keep
Return of the Witch Lord
Adventure Design Kit
Against the Ogre Horde
Wizard of Morcar
The Dark Company for the Advanced Quest edition : The big red fold out map.

Magazines:
Marvel UK Winter Special
WD issue 134 - quest
WD issue 145 - quest

there were others but I can not remember them at the moment.

American Version

American Expansion Packs:
Kellars Keep
Returen of the Witch Lord
The Barbarin Pack
The Elf Pack

Japanese Version

Advanced HeroQuest UK
Expantion Pack Alone in the Dark
WD issues as well.

Also Space Crusade and its expansions

For years I have been wondering how these games might have been linked together.

I know that the Hero Quest game and expansions are / were linked to the older War Hammer  versions 1st - 3rd editions.

My assessment is UK editions and Japanese edition are closely linked together. = War Hammer 1st edition.
UK Advanced HeroQuest and the American edition are closely linked together. = War Hammer 2nd edition.

In advanced HeroQuest the levelling system has always struck me as odd and difficult to use.
Recently I was thinking about the older edtions of Blood Bowl. It then Hit me look at Using the experience and advancement system form Blood Bowl 1sted  and 2nd edition.

I need to find Blood bowl 1sted expansion pack Death Zone. If anyone can help that would be a big help.

I used to really enjoy the old Citadel Combat Cards game ( GW's Take on Top Tumps ) In fact I would still enjoy playing  
Top Trumps if I could find people to play with and my old packs... (Not to self I need to find some berried TOP Trump Treasure one of these days while I am out questing and sailing the bireme seas..)

Here is a link to White Dwarf issue 114.pdf -18MB
http://www.mediafire.com/download/00g4m42rt86f4rt/

Also White Dwarf issue 115.pdf -18MB
http://www.mediafire.com/download/2b8137x7b3widfk/

The above issues are great for the Hero Quest adverts and especially good for the Combat Cards games. They also give a way to convert older war hammer 2nd, 3rd and WH40K 1sted Rough Trader profiles into Combat Card Ready playing pieces. I always thought The Toughness value was always a bit odd. Then I remembered the Old Blood Bowl 1sted game.
Use the armour value form Blood bowl 1sted to help convert over the armour save to Combat cards Toughness + wounds value. BB1ste armour save bonus + WH Toughness + WH wounds = CCC Toughness value.

The Lethal Lairs game is a proto type Advanced HeroQuest and may even been a pre-cures / alternative dungeon bowl
2nd edition layout. With the Combat cards articles it may be a little easer to convert from War Hammer 2nd 3rd in to Advanced HeroQuest.  

White Dwarf issues 113.pdf -19MB
http://www.mediafire.com/download/bhddxu76gs3u186/

WD 113 has the 1st half of the 2part Magic Article that is finished in WD 114. They revise the magic rules form 1st and 2nd editions set up the Magic schools which are then used in the later games form 3rd and 4th edition onwards.
 
Back to Hero Quest :

The main thing I would do to my games of Hero Quest world be to play a combined English UK 1st and 2nd edition rules.

As an aside : Looking in the 1st edition rulebook it puzzles me why there was never a practice Arena for the Dwarf as part of Way of The Scout.. Yes (yes) someone will point out that the 1st Maze is the scouts area. I would have to say that in my opinion the 1st quest : The Maze is the groups test and not the scouts (Dwarfs). Where as both the Warriors way and Wizards way both get there own rule book solo practise arena. I have always thought it was a bit odd not to round out the rule book with a scout solo practice arena.

The important quest is Prince Magnus' Gold - As this the Quest witch will set up the adventures.

I always wondered what would happen to the adventures if they decided to keep the gold. They would not be able to become champions and would then become outlaws. What might happen. [ The Japanese edition of the game. ]

This is how I would distribute the Quest Treasures :
Barbarian Resaves = Talisman of Lore
Dwarf  Resaves  = Orcs Bane
Elf Resaves         = Wand of Recall
Wizard Resaves  = Borin's Armour , and Spirit Blade

Also I would Keep the upgraded Mummy from Quest 14 Return to Barak Tor and use this upgrade for all future Wandering Monster Mummies.

So just like the Hero's improve and upgrade through out the game by way of their equipment, Quest Treasures adventuring and gold. So do the Monsters. The monsters improve by way of the wandering monster system. Any monster that can be used as a wandering monster can be used again later on.

The normal progression is weakest to strongest. i.e. The un dead Mummy card then gets upgraded in Quest 14, also how the Skeleton card gets upgraded into a Grim Reaper Wandering monster from the Marvel UK Special.

Also note the quest are repeatable this means multiple Quest Treasures can be obtained Thanks to the Larger Quest log  from the Adventure design Kit.  Just in the same way as Equipment cards can be acquired multiple times.

Before the Adventure design kit's larger Quest Log the different cards could only be obtain as many times as they were cards for them most of the time 1 time for equipment and quest Treasure. After the Adventure Design Kit the as many times as cards are available restriction was removed for Equipment cards. The restriction had always been lifted in terms of the quest treasures as it is stated in the main rule book:
HQ UK 1sted rule Book Page 15  'Completing Quests lines 4 to 6:
 
' Of course, serving player characters (and or new ones) can always attempt the same Quest again, but the evil wizard player always starts a quest with a full complement of monsters.'

I also Like the Champion promotion Gift of 500 gold coins.

Once the main quest book is completed the Hero then move along to the expansion packs
The Turning point for me was Against the Ogre horde. As this the stepping point from 1sted edition War Hammer towards 2nd and 3rd editions.

I have a question When are the extra Magazine Quests played i.e. WD 134 , WD 145 , along with the Marvel UK special and others. Are they played before or after Against the Ogre Horde ? (For example: between the ATOH and WOM but before the advanced Quest.)

As far as the Quest Treasure goes Sognirstane The magical Hammer from WD 134. I would give it to wizard so that he has a ranged attack. This means by the time the wizard gets to The Wizards of Macar expansion pack he now has a reason to choose the new spells as they are not elemental spell. This means the wizard can use the new spells and his Magical Hammer.

As an extra side quest I would think the wizard my need to buy or find a rat bag from AHQ and get some rats. This way he would be able loose a rat and hopefully defeat it on his next turn with magic hammer. Once he as let go of the hammer her would be able to cast an elemental spell on his next go and then on the following turn walk over to pick up the hammer again. Ready for battle on the 6th turn after releasing the rat.

If the Heroes are able to complete The Wizards Of Marcar  NOTE: The wizards then become reusable as wandering monsters in future quest and adventures. The Wizards go from being Strong  special characters to Wandering Monsters.
A reverse of the un dead upgrade. From strong to week instead of week to strong.

I always wondered why there were never any Ogre heroes. The Ogres are at the same level of strength as the hero champions with their equipment and treasures.  Plus they are all red. This mean if the hero dies in a quest and Marcar has placed all the ogres the next monster he puts down could be the dead hero. Which he would then control in place of the Red Ogre.

The next and final UK adventure would be The Dark Company Advanced Quest.
This is one massive quest. It has loads of thing going on. The special treasure items. A step between Treasure items and no wear near as good as quest treasures. These would be similar to the American artefacts. Useable special items that are given back to the evil wizard player and lost from the champion that finds them.

If the heroes are able to survive this they all receive the UK games final Quest Treasure the Ring of Brilliance.

Unfortunately the quest treasure was never revile on the quest note or as a quest treasure card.
This is one of the this that has puzzled me.  
 
Oh fish tails... This is a mega long post...I had better sail on for awhile and catch you all next time. I shall type again soon..
Happy questing until next time . I had better go off and find some squid ink for the next post.