[WIP]The Faceless Sorcerer - a solo questpack

[lestodante]

Well... the title says it all.. or maybe not.
This is a solo questpack inspired by a Dungeonquest character named Azoth the Faceless.
He is a Wizard using Chaos Magic but seems his only purpose in life is to collect treasures and not to serve any villain.
So I decided to adapt the character stats and spells to Heroquest rules and I think he's very interesting.
Also his miniature is very well known and was also featured in an early concept sketch for Heroquest by Les Edward, so he MUST have his role in!!

pic656736.jpg

I also did some research about a background story for this character and he is in some way a transposition of the Swedish character from the game Drakborgen (the original version of the game Dungeonquest) and he has some different spells too.
So I took both English and Swedish spells with both their rules variations and mixed them together to create a full set of eight new spells: the Dark Force spells.
I posted the questbook cover in another topic before ("what you're working out today?") but now I can provide more details of what I am working on and hope you'll find it interesting.
The cover artwork is painted by Luis Octavio NB. This will also be used for the back of the Dark Force spells.

facelessprev.jpg

[Pancho]

This looks really interesting. How close is it to being finished?
I like the idea of a villain whose primary motive is going for treasure, which makes him quite similar to the Heroes rather than just another servant of Morcar.
I never played Dungeonquest, but I’ve always liked the model for Azoth, as well as the horned Barbarian figure (both would look great on a Heroquest table).

[lestodante]

Here we go with the stats of this character.
Movement: 2 dice
Attack: 1 - Defend: 3
Mind: 7 - Body: 6

At first I was not sure about giving him so many Body and Mind Points but I looked at the four Wizards of Morcar and realized they seem to be even stronger than a Barbarian. Also this Sorcerer will need to use Mind points very often to cast some of his spells.
Like the Wizard Hero, he also attacks with only 1 die at the beginning of the quest but will soon find a weapon to increase his strength.
As he is wearing an helm he can roll 3 dice to defend. This is a special helm that is "sealed" on his head and can't be removed in any way. This is also why he is called "the Faceless". as the Heroes, he need to roll WHITE shields to defend, not black.
He can't eat or drink any food or potion, he can only recover lost body points by using the Dark Force.


Now, the cards. They include eight new spells and one weapon.
All the artworks for the cards are drawn by Alberto Macari.
The first three spells are discarded after use as every standard spell in HeroQuest. They work very close to the original Dungeonquest cards.
Dark Force is a recovery spell; you can go very easy and regain 3 BPs or take a chance at the lottery and try to recover some more, including MPs.
Stasis can be used to play more turns without suffering damage but for each turn it will cost you one Mind Point.
Warp Door is similar to Pass Through Rock but works very different as you can create a passage that connect two points on the board and can be used several time but it may close in any time.

azoth1.jpg

The second set of cards are three spells that the Sorcerer can use several times without discarding them.
Eyes of Doom is the only one I reworked and changed completely; the original version was just infonding fear in the enemies making them flee away in terror. As I wanted to give him some help with the fight he can now use the spell to enslave a monster and use at his will like a second character.
His Fireball can be very powerful but also very dangerous, as you decide to increase its offensive power you will also increase the risk to hurt yourself. This charging method was not featured in the UK version of the game but only in the Swedish version.
Invisibility can be very useful to hide or to attack without being seen by your opponents. It is stronger than the Wizard spell but it also reduces your MP each time is used.

azoth2.jpg

Last three cards are featuring the two spells included only in the Swedish version plus the only weapon he will be able to use (as the Wizard he can't use standard weapons).
This two spells are also used once. Giant's Strength gives you a bonus for both attack and defense ad last about two turns (until the end of your next turn).
Transformation can be used to emulate any another monster and get its stats. Very useful if you transform into a great monster like a Gargoyle or an Ogre, the only problem is that you must meet them in person to take their shape.
Dagger of Doom is the only new weapon, it is inspired by the one attached to his belt (check the miniature). It allows you to roll 2 combat dice but highly increase the chance to hit your opponent as the black shields will be considered skulls (so it's 4/6 chance to roll a skull for each dice).

azoth3.jpg

[lestodante]

This looks really interesting. How close is it to being finished?
I like the idea of a villain whose primary motive is going for treasure, which makes him quite similar to the Heroes rather than just another servant of Morcar.
I never played Dungeonquest, but I’ve always liked the model for Azoth, as well as the horned Barbarian figure (both would look great on a Heroquest table).

Yes, I love all the Dungeonquest miniatures (especially from Heroes for Dungeonquest expansion), they were the first set of alternate miniatures I got to increase my HeroQuest party!
I did all the cards related to the main character. Got a lot of ideas but still have to put down a map for the quests.
I have the background story I had in mind to write 3 quests linked together. The "Hero" will be trapped in some kind of nightmare and will have to understand what's happening. Some parts of the maps will not be accessible until he reaches something in the following maps and there will be some kind of loop that he has to play the maps several times until he unlock all the areas of the three maps and reach the truth behind his nightmare.
I wish to put a lot of Dungeonquest elements into this quest, like the rotating room tiles and the related amulets.

[Pancho]

Wow, I really like this spell set. I like the capricious nature of Fireball & Transformation, and how the player will have to decide how powerful Stasis will be, knowing that the strength of Invisibility, Eyes of Doom and Warp door might be negatively affected. Of course, he can use Dark Force to boost his Mind back up again, but even then he might roll a one!

A few minor typos; it should say “do not discard this spell”, not spells, and “...not work on the undead”, not undeads.

[torilen]

Hmmm....I'm intrigued.

[lestodante]

Some FAQs about this character's spells.
Here I try to clarify some doubts may occur while playing with his new cards.

Dark Force:
- as always the spell will never give you more Body and/or Mind Points than your starting number.

Stasis:
- because of its large size you may never cross a tile occupied by an Ogre even when you are using Stasis.

Warp Door:
- although it doesn't cost any Mind Point to use, you may have at least 2 Mind Points left to open a Warp Door.
- you can open a warp door only into a wall, the same rule apply to its exit.
- if you end your movement in a dark shaded area of the map while using a warp door you fail to use the spell and discard it, you will not be trapped and will stay still as you are.
- you can't see the content inside the rooms you cross while using a warp door.

Eyes of Doom:
- you may use the enslaved monster as your secondary character; it may attack and perform searches for traps but not for treasures.
- although you can't drink any potion you find, your servant monster can, taking advantage of their effects.
- other monsters will not attack it unless it will attack them first.
- undead monsters will attack your servant monster anyway.
- since it requires concentration to use the spell you may only cast Eyes of Doom on a monster that is alone
- if you have already a monster under your control you may try to replace it with a better/thougher one; the previous monster will be free as soon as you try to use the spell on the new monster.

Fireball:
- the number you declare before throwing a fireball corresponds to its power and to the number of dice the monster will roll to check for damage.
- you may throw a fireball at doors or portcullis to force open them but it requires the fireball to be at least 3 points powerful.

Invisibilty:
- you may decide to leave the spell active for an additional turn at the start of your next turn (at the cost of 1 more MP).
- while you are invisible you can't cross tiles occupied by monsters.

Giant's Strength:
- you can use this spell to open a portcullis or a stone door with no effort.

Transformation:
- you can only transform into a monster you can see.
- while in monster shape you take the monster's stats, including its BP; once you die in monster shape you will come back to your original shape and the same stats you had before the transformation.
- monsters do not attack you while you are transformed, unles you attack them.
- unless you've become an undead or a Chaos Warrior, the undead will attack you anyway even if you are transformed.
- you can transform yourself into the same magic-user characters you may encounter, including their stats, but you will not be able to use their spells.

[lestodante]

NEW DUNGEON FEATURES:
This questpack introduces a number of new features to the dungeon which are explained below.
There will be a random system to manage what you'll find in treasure chests or other places to randomize when you can access to some areas of the map and other events.
Almost all the Amulets, Magical Rings and Spell Scrolls listed below are taken from Dungeonquest and adapted to the HQ gameplay.

Stone Doorways:
They work as seen in the Against the Ogre Horde questpack and are large slabs of stone which must be pushed out of the way using brute force before you can pass. The sorcerer in this quest (as the Wizard Hero) is not strong enough to try to open them unless he is under the effect of the Brute Force spell, is using a magical ring or by throwing a Fireball at them. If the Sorcerer is controlling a monster (with Eyes of doom spell) he can let the monster try to open the door; the stronger the monster is, the the highest is the probability the door can be pushed out.

Portcullis:
Portcullis may be already closed or open. In this case, they will smash behind you as soon as you pass through them. Unlike the Stone Doorways you can't try to push out Portcullis but you can force open them by using Brute Force spell or a Fireball or with the help of a magical ring.

NOTE: you can't throw a Fireball at Stone Doorways or Portcullis from an adiacent square or you will suffer one Body Point damage from the explosion.

Rotating Room:
a rotating room is a 1x1 large tile featuring only an entrance. Once the player enter the room, it automatically rotate 180 degrees giving access to another room but blocking the way back. It can not be rotated again unless you've found the Amulet of Control which allows you to decide which direction the room should turn to.

In the following example you can see a rotating room (marked in red). When the player enter from the left central corridor, it will rotate giving access to the central room with the stairs. The player can not come back to the corridor and is forced to go on in the central room. The two corridors on the top and bottom of the rotating room will be accessible only when the player will find the Amulet of Control.

rotating room.jpg

Magic Rings:
Usually work only once.
- Ring of Blindings: This ring causes a flash of light that will blind any monster. You may use it as soon as you ancounter monsters on your way. They will be blind for 1 turn, unable to attack or defend.
- Ring of Healing: At the start of your turn you may decide to use this ring which will restore two Body Points and two Mind Points. You can't do anything else in this turn.
- Ring of Opening: This ring will magically open one portcullis or a closed door of your choice. It works once per quest.
- Ring of Warning: This ring will detect one trap which you avoid automatically. It works as soon as you trigger a trap; you will not take any damage but your turn ends immediately.
- Ring of Vision: Use this ring when you have to draw a card from the treasures deck. You may draw three cards and decide which one to keep. Discard the other two.
- Ring of Transformation: This ring affects the very walls and floors of one room of your choice. You may use it to move and reposition all the doors in your room from a wall to another (of the same room you are in). Be careful, once you change their positions you can't move them back anymore.
- Ring of Luck: Increases your luck on dice rolls by six points. When you have to perform a dice test you may chose to add from 1 to 6 points to your score. You must declare the amount you wish to add before rolling your dice. Once you've used all the six points the ring becomes useless.
- Ring of Teleportation: Using this ring will immediately teleport you to the starting point of the quest. Unfortunately some items may not be teleported with you: roll a combat die for EACH item you are carrying, if a skull is rolled that item must be discarded.
- Ring of Light: As soon as you enter in a "Chamber of Darkness (which works as the Magical Darkness/Cloud of Chaos from KK) the ring will shine cancelling the darkness and turning the room into a standard room.

Spell Scrolls:
Standard magic scrolls, they work only once then crumble to dust.
- Scroll of Vitality: You may regain all your lost Body Points (but no Mind Points). You can't do anything else in this turn.
- Scroll of Vision: Use this scroll when you have to draw a card from the treasures deck. You may draw four cards and decide which two to keep. Discard the other two.
- Scroll of Teleportation: Using this scroll will immediately teleport you to a place of your choice on the map. It must be a place already explored (unlike the ring this time you can teleport all of your items with you safely).
- Scroll of Regain: This scrolls allows to recover one previously used spell of yours.

Amulets:
Each amulet works only once you have decided to place it round your neck. You will not realize their effects until a specifical situation will happen.
- Amulet of Control: As soon as you enter a rotating room you'll hear a voice saying "where do you wish to exit Master?" You have found one of the amulets used by the Wizard to control the movement of the rotating rooms and you may now turn it to face any direction you want (this is the only item that is really mandatory to find in order to complete the quest and discover all the secrets because it will give you access to areas otherwise unreachable).
- Amulet of Luck: It increases your luck on dice rolls by one point. It acts as soon as you have to perform a dice roll test, it will adjust your score +1 or -1, as required.
- Amulet of Levitation: You may ignore and walk over pit traps or chasm and consider them as normal ground (until the end of the current quest???).
- Amulet of the Undead: Undead Monsters will not attack you (until the end of the current quest???).
- Amulet of Death: (this is the only negative amulet and works like a trap) as soon as you place the amulet round your neck, you feel the chain start to thighten and strangle you. You must roll your current Body Points score or less on two movement dice or you will lose one Body Point. If you fail, roll again the dice, until you can break the chain or die horribly!

[lestodante]

All nine Magic Rings are ready to be discovered!
All rings works only once except the Ring of Luck that can be used more times.
Still working on Amulets and Spell Scrolls.
(artworks by Alberto Macari)

[The Admiral]

Well I'm in. I just bought Slargash the Defiler off ebay!