Ye Olde Inn

There are very good treasures in these three quests so I understand why they are so hard. But if the hero dies he will play the game again (probably the GM will change some monsters the next time) but the player will know where the dangerous rooms are, so he can avoid them. Of course it is nice to remove the hug but with the American rules if you have a healing potion you can revive even if your body falls below zero, so if you have a potion you have more chances to kill it. It’s up to you, and I agree that if your player is a “casual player” by just removing the hug you will have a smooth game.

About the warbear, the room has a longsword as treasure which is good, so, if you have enough potions you can make it or you can escape by running to the exit.

Good point about the potions.

I don't think the potions would work against a Yeti's hug which "continues until either the Hero dies or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." The NA Instruction Booklet states that "As a Hero, you die if your Body Points are reduced to zero, and you do not have a Healing Spell or Healing Potion to save yourself." To die you can't be at zero and revive. Instead, "As a Hero, if you die, you are out of the game for the rest of the Quest."

Patroclus does have a nice option, though it may be necessary to add in a Healing Potion in the Quest. Simply substitute in the Yeti hug description "continues until either the Hero is reduced to 0 Body Points or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." Stupid Yeti. I'm not dead yet!

Daedalus wrote:I don't think the potions would work against a Yeti's hug which "continues until either the Hero dies or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." The NA Instruction Booklet states that "As a Hero, you die if your Body Points are reduced to zero, and you do not have a Healing Spell or Healing Potion to save yourself." To die you can't be at zero and revive. Instead, "As a Hero, if you die, you are out of the game for the rest of the Quest."

Patroclus does have a nice option, though it may be necessary to add in a Healing Potion in the Quest. Simply substitute in the Yeti hug description "continues until either the Hero is reduced to 0 Body Points or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." Stupid Yeti. I'm not dead yet!

Doesn't it do damage over time? If so, then it would reduce the hero to zero, and thus a potion can be used.

I haven't played this one, but maybe, like the trial, it is supposed to be hard. To teach the Barbarian that he can't do it on his own. If you are by yourself and you see a yeti, make a mad dash for the stairs and pray the layout of the dungeon doesn't change too much the second time.

Teaching someone by forcing them to lose only teaches them not to play again.

"You want to play a cool game, it's called HeroQuest? Great! You're a Barbarian. This is a Yeti. Oh, you lost! Want to play again? Don't worry, now you've learned that I can make you lose at any time without warning! Isn't this fun?"

Sounds like this expansion pack simply wasn't playtested.

it wasn't. but you're Morcar, so houserules apply

Fullork345 wrote:

Daedalus wrote:I don't think the potions would work against a Yeti's hug which "continues until either the Hero dies or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." The NA Instruction Booklet states that "As a Hero, you die if your Body Points are reduced to zero, and you do not have a Healing Spell or Healing Potion to save yourself." To die you can't be at zero and revive. Instead, "As a Hero, if you die, you are out of the game for the rest of the Quest."

Patroclus does have a nice option, though it may be necessary to add in a Healing Potion in the Quest. Simply substitute in the Yeti hug description "continues until either the Hero is reduced to 0 Body Points or the Yeti is killed by the Hero's companions." Stupid Yeti. I'm not dead yet!

Doesn't it do damage over time? If so, then it would reduce the hero to zero, and thus a potion can be used.

Yeti continues until the Hero dies: Yeti hugs Hero to 0 Body Points. Hero drinks potion. Repeat until all potions are used. Yeti hugs Hero to 0 Body Points and Hero dies.

Yes, a potion can be used, but it will not break the hug. Without the Yeti being killed by another Hero, there is no way for a solo Barbarian to do anything but delay death a few turns.

Daedalus wrote:A player going into this Quest Pack for the first time doesn't possess knowledge of the "hug" ability, so scratch one Barbarian. Is the point of this futile encounter to demonstrate the brutal, life-is-unfair nature of the Barbarian's world, or was this Quest Pack not playtested?...

I haven't yet played this Quest Pack, so I'm not speaking from experience. Am I off-base here?

From p.9 of Setting Up The Game in the (NA) Instruction Booklet, Monster Cards are to be placed alongside the gameboard for easy player reference. That makes the special ability: Hug attack known to the Barbarian player. However, the hug attack is only detailed in the Monster Chart at the back of the Frozen Horror Quest booklet.

Page 6 of the Game System Instruction Booklet states that the Quest Book is for your (the Zargon player's) eyes only, though noted paragraphs are to be read aloud to the other players. Has anybody shared the special ability information in the Monster Chart with the Barbarian player to avert an almost certain solo death?

I think modifying the yeti or the mechanics of his hugs is not the best solution of this obvious error. Being held tight and taking continous damage is exactly what one would expect of a yeti hug. Requiring collaboration to break it is also a nice in-game feature.
So just replace the yetis with warbears in the solo quests. It's both the most simple and the most logical solution.