What is better for Solo Play

[TheIrda]

Hi all,

I'm following this forum from a couple of weeks and I've decided to ask your help on a question I have in my mind...
Let me introduce myself before...
My name is Mirko and I've started playing RPG (D&D) something like 22 years ago. I've played it actively till 1996/1997, mainly AD&D, but also MERP, GURPS, and other Games like Advanced Heroquest. Talisman etc..
After the group I was playing with has disbanded I was not able to find / join another group both for time constraint and because I followed some other interests (like WHFB and WH40K )
Now my time contraints are even tight and will remain so at least for 1 year. So I'm looking for a solo Dungeon Crawl system to spend my small time... and I'm really undecided between AHQ and WHQ.

Which one do you think will suits better for a solo campaign?

Thanks a lot for your opinion!!

cheers

[MortiS-the-Lost]

Hello Mirko, welcome to The Lost and the Damned Forum
be sure to post your introduction over on The Introductions Page so our members can all welcome you

TheIrda wrote

Now my time contraints are even tight and will remain so at least for 1 year. So I'm looking for a solo Dungeon Crawl system to spend my small time... and I'm really undecided between AHQ and WHQ.

Which one do you think will suits better for a solo campaign?

Out of those 2 I'd recommend Warhammer Quest for solo-play

WHQ quest wins out for solo-play because it's card based dungeon mechanic means that generating Dungeon Rooms/Passages, Monsters and Random events is just a matter of drawing cards from the top of shuffled decks, which makes the game play fairly fast, when compared to the time consuming process of  rolling on page after page 'Matrices' that AHQ employs to generate every feature.
This card based mechanic also makes WHQ easier to expand and customise to suit your play style and miniature collection - just add more cards! in AHQ you'd need to sit down and re-write the Matrices for every little thing you want to change

The problem your likely to have with either game in availability - you will find both games rather difficult/expensive to get hold of in their original form, but with the internet being the way it is PDFs of the card components for both games are only a Google search away - as for miniatures if you collect miniatures already chances are you'll have enough to get started with and a quick browse around the forum here will soon point you in the direction of any miniatures you need to plug any 'gaps' in your collection.

It's also worth considering the dungeon crawler games that are currently available; CasTle RaVenLofT by WotC and Descent: Journeys in the Dark by FFG both support solo-play (and out of those 2 I'd recommend CasTle RaVenLofT for ease of learning the rules)  

[guzzi]

I recently started playing Solo AHQ using HQ cards for monsters & heroes, so much quicker than all that dice rolling with AHQ rules. Also use HQ treasure cards, and one or two other alterations to make the games flow.  Have a look at the AHQ-HQ treead on this topic.

[TheIrda]

Hi both,

thanks a lot for your reply.  I agree with you that in solo play card are far much better than tables. I've got a bad experience in this trying DungeonBash in solo mode... after spending so much time in creating the room and his content, I was no more in the mood...
I'm fully aware on how hard it is to find AHQ/WQ... In fact I've started with my self created box :) waiting to find it original or GW to reprint it....

regarding Castle Ravenloft it is already in my collection. Very good material but I found myself allergic to the 4E...
Jokes apart, I've tried the first solo adventure with the cleric a couple of time and I've not really enjoyed it ... The move on or monster appear rule is something I've not liked a lot... I've read around that the second solo is way much better so I've promised myself to give it another try.
I also have some D&d tiles I've bought...  something like http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0786955554
maybe I can try to create my own rules... but probably it will require too much time....

I was not aware of possibility to play descent in solo mode... In any case I think it miss the "campaign" feeling... I would like to try also jurney rules in WHQ.

I will try WHQ and give another chance to CastleRavenloft... then maybe I can write down my comments!

Thanks again!!

[guzzi]

I look forward to reading your comments!

[TheIrda]

Hello,
as promised here I am with my little comparison of Warhammer Quest  and Castle Ravenloft.
I'd like to start saying :
- Both have been real fun
- I've played only one game with both products, so my review is far from being complete and dept
- my knowledge of teh rules was not really deep, so maybe I've done some mistake ( I'm sure I have  :) )


Warhammer Quest :
As it is quite impossible to find the game on the market I've used tiles, cards and miniature from PDFs, cut and glued . So the quality of the material was quite low.
I've played the  "save the prisoner" mission, that has no special ruels, with the 4 standard player. The comment is "Magic Rules!!" -. the game has proceeded quietly ( only 2 rooms) before theObjective room, that, on the other hand, was quite full : 6 Orcs archers, 6 Orcs Figther + 1 minotaur . Luckly the Wizard had Fireball as a spell, nd all these monster in a so small space were perfect for burning like a torch. 2 fireballs and a fire bomb, and the most was done. I saved the prisoners and won the adventure.





Castle ravenloft :

I have the original game so material quality was much higher :)
I've played mission 2, the one where you have to find the icon of Ravenloft and leave the dungeon, using a group of 4 players : wizard, cleric, fighter and rogue. What to say : no bore at all. The monsters appers constantly, encounters are usually a real pain, and sometimes also treasures are not so nice ( like eagle eyes... a treasure that make me discover a new tile with a monster on it... and it was a treasure!! )
I 've found the chapel tile, but the party was already near to the death, and I draw an event card making each player taking 1 damage for each monster he control. That was the end of my adventure.




So, as already said it was real fun on both games but my choice, as solo dungeon crawl is Warhammer Quest.
CR can be played solo, only if you use onlu 1 character... otherwise, for each Character you have :
        - characted card
        - 5 powers
        - 1 treasure
        + all treasure nad monster found during the adventure...

If you look to the piture it was quite a mess... impossible to really leverage on that... maybe after you have played many games so that yo ureally know all the option for each warrior...
Also the explore at each round or event will occur seems to me too much... I would have preferred something based on dice roll, but that is something easily done with house rules.
On the other hands I see WHQ really simple and linear. I also think that, in case I have to interrupt a game and recover it a couple of days later it will be easyer with WHQ  than from CR. I also like the idea of Hazards and travels between adventures.

I will play another couple of games with WHQ to understand if this is really the game I was looking for ( even if I still have a voice in the back of my mind asking to adapt it to AD&D 2E :) )

[guzzi]

There is quite a lot of WHQ on ebay uk, complete sets fetch real money, but rooms & corridors, cards etc seem reasonable. Also some miniatures. The originals are really thick card, perhaps yours could be a little thicker? Thanks for telling us your experiences.

[guzzi]

Here is my latest Solo Quest, using AHQ and HQ combined.
Prince MagnusGold
Heroes are; Nugent the Necrophile, Wallace the Wookey, Harriett, the Howling Hag (Witch), and Boc-Vurst, Dwarf. He is the third dwarf I have used so far, first two were killed in earlier battles. Chairmoin is a friendly skeleton, buddy of Nugent, who rescued him from a fate worse than death.

I looked at the HQ Quest, and modified it slightly. I wanted to bring in the new Artefact, Borins Bow. I placed it in the Weapons Rack, in the 2nd Normal room, with 4 Orcs, and our old Friend, Orc Cymbals. He has Four Body Points for this Quest. Our new Dwarf is Boc-Vurst, from the same tribe as the deceased Brian.
The first picture shows Our Heroes.
A normal Room has been rolled up, with 3 Wandering monsters on the Room Contents matrix. Our Heroes won the Roll For Surprise, and placed the monsters as far away as possible.

The Second Normal Room comes up, Nugent wards off two attacks, then retaliates, an Orc goes down! He steps aside, and his buddy, Chairmoin rushes in to the den, attacks an Orc! It goes down. Wallace rolls 2 for movement, left standing. Harriet and Boc don’t make the door on their Movement Rolls. Orc Cymbals attacks! C-M parries. The Orcs slash at him, one complete miss, but the other, three hits. He fails to defend, down to one Body. Harriet casts him a Waters of Healing, he’s back to Five. He attacks Cymbals, two hits, Cymbals cops one wound, down to three body. C-M backs off, Wallace rolls to move, a 1, not good. Boc rolls 5, gets into the action, 1 hit on Cymbals. He takes the hit, down to 2 body. Harriet makes a Magic Pass, hits him with Fires of Wrath, he is down to 1. He fights back, 1 hit on Boc, who shrugs it off. The two Orcs attack. Boc, he takes a hit. A sharp riposte, he misses Cymbals, and steps back, leaving the Orcs access through the door. Cymbals gives a mighty Clash! and blunders through the door, swipes at Boc, misses. His buddies stand impotent, he’s blocking the door. Nugent swings his Halberd, 3 hits, on Cymbals, who rolls 2 Black Shields, but it’s not enough, he is down and OUT.


His corpse is kicked aside, as the troops rush in on the last two Orcs. Wallace finally rolls enough on movement to reach an Orc, he gets 2 hits with Orcs Bane. It’s enough. Harriet chances her arm on the last Orc, a miss. Boc gets a good roll, hits the last Orc, but it survives. The Orc slashes at Harriet, but she defends well. The Orc has no where to run, Nugent & his buddy, C-M cannot reach it, but Wallace can, one hit with Orcs Bane, & it’s all over. Boc-Vurst goes over to the Weapons Rack, curious to see what’s there. He gives a gasp, then a shudder. Harriet, all Mumsy says, “What’s up?” “It’s Borins Bow, I am sure”, mutters Boc. He pulls down the bow, & dusts it off. “I cannot believe it”. He tells the story of how the bow & Borins Armour were stolen from his tribe centuries ago, and he has found it! He slings the bow over his shoulder, and our Intrepid Heroes journey on.
After interminable passages, plus four more Normal rooms and two Lairs, we finally find the Quest Room. We roll on the Matrix, and come up with 6 Orcs, 6 Goblins, Gulthor and a Troglodyte. Gulthor has 4 body, the Trog also. We roll for surprise, the Heroes win, and place the monsters at the far end of the room. Harriet casts the Genie on Gulthor, only 1 hit from 5! But he loses the Body Point. Boc-vurst is miles away, comes running, he rolls a 5 for movement.

The first wave of monsters attack, Wallace is hit by an Orc, but he shrugs it off. Harriet plays Courage on him. The others in the anteroom cannot get through the door so Wallace attacks the Orc blocking the doorway. One down. Wallace rolls and moves into the Quest Room. Boc rolls a big 11 on movement. The Monsters attack, Gulthor faces up to Wallace, 1 hit, but he shrugs it off. One Orc attacks him, a miss, the Orc steps back, allowing the Troglodyte to swing his battleaxe. 2 hits, but Wallace is too strong. Two more Orcs attack, but our Wookey is too good, no wounds. Harriet casts Pass Thro’ Rock on Nugent, he slips in behind the Orcs. He slashes wildly, 2 hits, but the Orc rolls with the blows, 2 Black Shields. Chairmoin reaches the door, but it is blocked by the press of bodies.

Wallace attacks Gulthor, 3 good cuts, 2 Body Points, he is down to 1. Broc rolls a big 11 for movement, he reaches the Anteroom. The Monsters attack, Gulthor swipes Wallace, 2 hits, but again his luck holds. Gulthor steps aside, to allow an Orc in. Wallace loses 1 Body. Harriet casts Heal Body on him, he is re-invigorated, takes a swig at his Martini. The Troglodyte attacks, 3 good hits on Wallace, he loses 2 Body. It’s Our Heroes turn to draw blood. Nugent rolls a big 10 to move, he attacks the Trog. It bleeds heavily, down to 2 Body. Wallace hits an Orc, it goes down. He rolls to move, and clears the doorway. He stands back to back with Nugent, ready to take on all comers. Harriet makes a Magic Pass, casts Fires of Wrath on Gulthor, he is Down and Out! Boc sidles thro’ the door, hits the Trog. 2 good Body blows, it’s gone.
The Monsters are reeling, but they come again. An Orc savages Nugent, but to no avail. Another comes in, he defends well. An Orc blocks the door, attacks Chairmoin, he loses 1 Body. The melee continues.

Harriet casts Waters of Healing on Chairmoin, he is back to 5 Body. Boc rolls 12 to move, gets clear, and let’s fly with Borins Bow, brings down an Orc. The Monsters come in again. Two Goblins attack Chairmoin, trying to get to Harriet, but no dice. Harriet checks her Spell Book, not much left, should she enter the Quest Room? Discretion prevails. With weakened arms, the Monsters swing again, no real damage. Harriet casts Rock Skin on Chairmoin, the Monsters are down to three Goblins. They go for Boc. They are too much for him, he goes down, KIA.  The Heroes clear out two Goblins, one left now. He goes for Harriet, she defends well. She hits back with the Sleep Spell, but Our Boys roll low for movement, and cannot reach the Goblin. It can’t roll a 6, so slumbers on. Harriet lunges in with her dagger. She breaks the skin, green pus pours out, the Goblin is gone. The Troops regroup. Harriet, Chairmoin and Wallace grab the three Treasure Chests. Nugent picks up Borins Bow from the fallen Dwarf, and leads off for the Stairs Out. On the home stretch, the GM hits back with a Wandering Monster on his roll, it attacks Wallace, he defends well. Nugent steps back, and kills it with Borins Bow. Two more rolls, nothing for the GM, and they have reached the stairs. They are out! What a Journey, took three and half hours! The survivors share the reward. Harriet checks her Spell Book, she has cast 11 Spells on this Quest, must be a record. She started with the standard 4 sets, and bought 1 Fires of Wrath, and 1 Waters of Healing to add to her Spell Book with her gold from the last Quest.

[TheIrda]

Great report Guzzi,

What is worrying me is 3 encounters, 4 other empty rooms, 3.5 hours game... a bit too much for my possibilities... if I'm lucky I have 1h or so... thet's what I've loved from WHQ... in  1 h i made it :)

[guzzi]

What I do is set a limit on the number of rooms I visit, before reaching the Quest Room, usually the fifth room I make the Quest Room. This gives about one & half , to two hours. Depends of course how much time I have available. I also map as I go, like AHQ, so can stop at any time, then resume later. Also, I am working through the HQ Quest book, so try to fit as much from the original as possible.

[seanpatrick]

I finally managed to download all the rules & cards for WHQ and ran a short game last night as a test.

It was fun and worked fine but I got my ass kicked because I was only using the Dwarf and Elf so we were massively outnumbered and the Minotaurs were very tough.  We got rubbish rolls though and without the wizard we had no sorcery to use.  

Where can I find the wizard's spell cards online?  Someone must have them...

[MortiS-the-Lost]

I do have a PDF containing all the cards from WHQ including the wizards spells ... the bad news is it's a very large file and I don't have anywhere to host something this large - I'll see what I can do in the week

[seanpatrick]

Thanks mate.  I've noticed everyone on this forum is very kind - top notch place to be :)

[seanpatrick]

I've just started a topic about my resurrected Warhammer quest game if you want to share any experiences of your own on there...? :)

[The Skald]

I'm hoping to start a campaign using old Warhammer Fantasy Battles (3rd edition) for major encounters and the Warhammer Skirmish rules, both with a concoction of solo rules I'm cooking up from "Solo Wargames", "Isildurs Bane" and "Mythic".
The plan is that any heroes will be able to go off adventuring, but this is where I need a little help
I could use WHFRP along with Mythic but this would probably be a bit too deep or "clunky" for what I've got in mind and I'd prefer Advanced Hero Quest (or more likely Mortis Quest) along with the solo game mechanics from Warhammer Quest.
The problem is that I don't have a copy of WQ ~ can anybody point me in the right direction to pick up copies of the parts I need (rules and cards I believe) for the solo element please?

I'd also be interested in any other ideas for solo play you might have, and I'll certainly be posting the results of my own attempts to let you know how I get on

[The Skald]

Well and truly stuck  - I've managed to get hold of everything on my "rules wishlist" except for a set of Warhammer Quest cards (Event, Treasure and Dungeon decks)
I know they're out there on the interweb, but my internet providor (Virgin) blocks me from the infamous Torrent sites  If any of you guys has a pdf of the cards and could be so kind as to help me out I'd be forever in your debt

I keep putting copies of the game on my eBay watch list, only to dilute my coffee with the tears of disappointment as it spirals out of my budget - especially since I really only want the mechanics of the game.

[MortiS-the-Lost]

I will email you what you need

[The Skald]

Wa-Hey  
Many thanks Mortis, I'll be eagerly waiting by the in box  

[The Skald]

Today was a GOOD day
I dropped in to Nottingham and picked up an almost complete copy of Hero Quest I'd got in under the radar and snagged on eBay - the figures have gone straight onto the bench for painting, and more importantly the full set of "furniture" has started my "Dungeon Dressing" collection
Then when I got home I found a couple of "Eparcels" in my Email!!
Many thanks Mortis, I certainly owe ya big time!

[The Skald]

I reckon I'm about ready to start a new thread

I've got all the "paperwork" sorted, and I dug out the one and only fantasy figure that I kept from over 14 years ago - well, it was a prezzie from my (then) girlfriend (now my wife, and I cunningly avoided the "what happened to that figure I bought you?" pitfall ),................



(Gloss varnish was de rigueur back then! I'll fix it as soon as I tackle the base!)

The rest of the party have been acquired........



seen here in undercoat, but currently going under the brush in priority over the various "monsters" patiently waiting their turn
Time to "Let playtesting commence"