Corridors, treasure and traps

[Ketran]

Hello all I had a question I was hoping you could answer. How do you go about enforcing the search rules in the corridors outside the rooms? Like how do you define the length of a hallway and do you allow the searching of treasure. I allow searching for traps and doors since in some scenarios hidden doors have to be found to progress; but searching for treasure doesn't sit right with me for some reason.

[cynthialee]

I over rule the Hallways may be searched thing altogether.
Pits may be searched, and maybe I might indicate that Hallways may be searched in the quest introduction for some quests.

[Goblin-King]

I play that you search corridors for your entire line of sight (ignoring models) but only in one direction: north-south or east-west.
So if you stand in the corner of the map and want to search you have to say in which direction you are searching.
If a corridor is blocked off you only search in the part of the corridor where you are.

We recently started playing with no treasure searching in corridors. I agree... it just doesn't jive.

[lucasdp]

NA rules say "Treasure is found only in rooms, not in corridors," which I always interpreted as, Heroes can't search for treasure in hallways. I have always allowed searching for traps and secret doors in corridors, but I think I like Goblin King's idea to only let them do so in one direction.

[Count Mohawk]

NA rules say "Treasure is found only in rooms, not in corridors," which I always interpreted as, Heroes can't search for treasure in hallways.

Hah! The rules and the game are once again contradicting themselves. As a case-in-point, I must direct your attention to Quest 4 from Kellar's Keep, "The Great Forge". The treasure chest in the tiny corridor at point F contains 300 gold coins, but if the Heroes can't search this area for Treasure, what's the point? (The game does refer to that spot as a "special room", but it seems unlikely that the Heroes would think that themselves). Not to mention, the inside of a Pit Trap is treated as its own separate room for the purposes of searching (see the top of page 19...).

[lucasdp]

NA rules say "Treasure is found only in rooms, not in corridors," which I always interpreted as, Heroes can't search for treasure in hallways.

Hah! The rules and the game are once again contradicting themselves. As a case-in-point, I must direct your attention to Quest 4 from Kellar's Keep, "The Great Forge". The treasure chest in the tiny corridor at point F contains 300 gold coins, but if the Heroes can't search this area for Treasure, what's the point?

Wow, that's pretty funny! (My group(s) haven't made it to Kellar's Keep yet) Taking that into consideration, I would update my interpretation to say that Heroes cannot search for treasure in the corridor (meaning they don't get to take a Treasure Card, as they normally would when the notes don't give a specific treasure), but they may search a piece of furniture in a hallway. I mean, how often is there furniture in a hallway? I feel like a random chest where there usually isn't one should be a big, waving flag to the Heroes.

[cynthialee]

NA rules say "Treasure is found only in rooms, not in corridors," which I always interpreted as, Heroes can't search for treasure in hallways.

Hah! The rules and the game are once again contradicting themselves. As a case-in-point, I must direct your attention to Quest 4 from Kellar's Keep, "The Great Forge". The treasure chest in the tiny corridor at point F contains 300 gold coins, but if the Heroes can't search this area for Treasure, what's the point?

Wow, that's pretty funny! (My group(s) haven't made it to Kellar's Keep yet) Taking that into consideration, I would update my interpretation to say that Heroes cannot search for treasure in the corridor (meaning they don't get to take a Treasure Card, as they normally would when the notes don't give a specific treasure), but they may search a piece of furniture in a hallway. I mean, how often is there furniture in a hallway? I feel like a random chest where there usually isn't one should be a big, waving flag to the Heroes.

Agree.
Anything that seems out of the norm must certainly be taken as a red flag to any hero.

[torilen]

If I had a group to play with, I would allow searching in the hallways. This allows for more quest design
options. I would allow for treasure searching, also.

In my mind, searching should be done only on the spot which the hero occupies, and two spots to either
side of the hero (So a total of five spaces).

Of course, if the heroes are spending too much time searching and slowing the game down, start sending
wandering monsters and "wandering traps" after them - roll a combat die, and if a skull comes up...they
run into something dangerous.

[whitebeard]

For traps, we search entire rooms but in corridors we use 2 spaces in front of the hero (and to the side in the wide hallways). The action is typically taken at the beginning of the turn and applies though out the movement. Typically the search for traps is abandoned once a monster is located in the hallway (e.g. the next hero run forward and attacks, the searching hero's action is of course already used). I believe that technically you cannot search with a monster in the area but we are way past standard rules at this point... And I would allow it.

[sajungzak]

That's great, whitebread! erm beard. . HeroQuest is awesome for homebrew.

I'm a stickler for rules "as written" ( usually ). Here is my interpretation:

No searching when a monster is present, and
No treasure searches in corridors.

The action of searching involves an assumed movement. If a hero searches for treasure or secret doors before all traps are disarmed, they jump to the square with the trap and suffer the damage.

If a hero searches for traps in a corridor, they can "see" a trap a ways away ( "assumed movement" within "line of sight" of the hero's position ) but it is still active until a hero walks up to it and disarms it ( US rules ). Perhaps searching for traps and searching for secret doors could be combined into a single action called "scouting". The danger of searching for secret doors before disarming any traps would be negated, but this might be worth it for the sake of time.
*Edit42 This would be a good ability for the elf.

Treasure associated with furniture is found when the room is searched. I thought of making treasure chests an exception, but then I would have to consider balancing it with traps on chests requiring the searching hero to be next to it for it to be found and I think this is taking too long. Nope, I'll stick with the first sentence of this paragraph. Keep it simple stupid.