The thing with the Wizard is... Although he's pretty much as strong at the beginning as he is later on, it's the player learning how to use him well. The other players get stronger where as the wizard needs to use his MIND to figure him out. If you're already over 12 and well accustomed to these style games, that doesn't work out.
ShadowHawk wrote:and a way to stop the heroes from dragging the game out when all visible enemies are dead.
Take a look at the links in my signature...
The
CHAOS DECK (Evil Wizard Event Deck) is the best solution, If you don't have time to print one or amend it to suit your rules, use the
CHAOS TOKENS, from ADVANCED HEROQUEST (I sell these on ebay), if anyone wants a set, I'll do it for postage covered. With the Tokens you can tweak the rules as it's not on the card (see the table in my sig for how I use them).
Make the dungeons of your quests extremely hazardous. Make every roll a threat. The roll of double 1... Call out a hazard e.g. “You stumble on a loose stone!” “Rocks fall from above!” “In your desperate attempt to escape, the floor greets your face!” Now every roll is a threat. A Hero must roll even if deciding not to move. A Hero may still move but rolls
1Cd6, Skull: -1BP. WS: Blocked. BS: Stunned, no attack. This makes for some very concerned Heroes, battered and wounded, rushing to leave the dungeon. The idea stemmed form the opposite of Monopoly, a double 6 being exciting but not reflected in HEROQUEST. They're less likely to waste turns, especially with the surprises Chaos Tokens can unleash.