Ye Olde Inn

WELCOME TO HEROQUEST GOLD EDITION

What is this project about?

This project is intended to produce an updated, polished version of the original English, British language edition of HeroQuest by identifying any flaws, gaps and inconsistencies, in the First Edition (4271GB489), the other, later, First Edition (4271GB889) and the Second Edition (4271GB490) game rules and associated card decks (4271GB389 and 4271GB490) and quest books and then filling such gaps, smoothing them over and polishing them up, hopefully resulting in the production of a smooth, simple, consistent version.

Starting with the material from the above edition(s) I have tracked every change in a change log and every change is linked to relevant discussion here at the Inn so you can, if you wish follow or contribute to those discussions.

The result will be presented as an updated version of the Rulebook, Card Text and Quest Books

My own experience of these type of projects is that they often flounder and tail off without being brought to completion for various reasons, one of which is that the objective and scope of the project aren’t clearly defined, tight and small enough in size (too much bitten off and not enough chewed) and that the artefacts/outputs that the project intends to produce aren’t stated.

So, learning from my previous mistakes I have defined the scope and the objectives of the project in the next post.

Why this project?

I feel that over thirty years of active play and equally active discussions needs to be fed back into an updated version of the text to create an improved basic game both for my own use (and to ensure consistency of rule application in my own games) and for others. I have at all points tried to keep to the original where possible, and where that isn’t possible, keep any changes simple and minimal.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote:A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

I suppose that this document is my attempt to answer the question, "If Hasbro/Avalon Hill had approached you and asked you to produce the text for the 2021 version, what would you have produced?" (Sadly, or fortunately, they didn't ask me!)

Project Brief

Objective

The objective is to review and rewrite the material covered by the original English, British language editions of HeroQuest with the intention of producing revised versions of the material that improves on usability, clarity and makes the “fun engine” more efficient.

Outputs

It is my intention to produce and share the following artefacts (in the sense of documents rather than magic swords) off the back of this project. To keep me true I’ll list them here and then when each is done, I can simply add a link to the material which will give a progress tracker.

Original Second Edition Material

Original text from SE materials (in Word format) – I’ll need this as a starting point and intend to share it in its raw form to save anyone else from having to go through the effort of typing it up, feel free to make use of it for your own purposes, I just ask in exchange, if (when) you spot any typos and similar inaccuracies please do let me know so I can amend the document.

I've split out the Quests development from the rules cards and similar, the list for the original and polished quests is HeroQuest Gold: Quests

• Original Second Edition Rules of Play [DOC]
• Original Second Edition All Card Text [DOC]

Scope

What is in scope: All material from the original English (British) editions, the various versions of the Rules of Play, the various card decks and similar material and the Quest Books. All material within the first two expansions published: Kellar’s Keep, Return of the Witch Lord

I may later expand this scope to include Adventure Design Kit (including Plague of Zombies), Against the Ogre Horde, Wizards of Morcar.

I own the original game and the first two expansions only: Kellar’s Keep and Return of the Witch Lord, but sadly was never lucky enough to get hold of the others back in the day* and have printed out the material relating to the other expansions listed, courtesy of the material hosted on the Inn (thanks). I have arranged all this in a physical file, if it is in there, then it is in scope, if it isn’t then it is out of scope. Simples.

*Note to admins: we could really do with an icon for the world’s smallest violin to better express our poor expansion deprived youth!

What is out of scope:

Material from other Editions, NA Edition, HQ2021 Edition, Japanese Edition, Dark Company, Homebrew content, White Dwarf, Marvel, authorised novels and so on. Obviously, this material is available and can be mined for inspiration for fixing issues within the original but the material itself is out of scope for now.

Expansion Packs that were planned or released for NA Edition only.

Latest Working Version

Polished version of the above material, link is to the latest version, including a version controlled Changelog detailing all changes made to the originals

HeroQuest Gold

The principles

When putting together a game, it is best practice to document both the contents of the game itself i.e. what is in the box, components, rulebook, cards and so on, but for continuity to also produce (but not necessarily publish) and maintain a "design guide" containing the principles that you have used, the spirit of the game and so on, for us for those who are creating future expansions, rule clarifications and similar material, so that they can use this as a framework to keep true to the original spirit and principles of the game. This is my attempt at reverse engineering such as Design Guide from the published material.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.

For each proposed modification, post the perceived problem, along with any related material and we can review and decide whether the stated problem is actually a problem or actually THE problem, before considering solutions. If we don’t agree that there is a problem, then we don’t modify the material. I’ll include a few perceived problem below, to give examples of a suggested format.

“Less is more”.

Only change what needs to be changed, if something can be fixed with one rule change then don’t make more. In the same vein, if a rule is superfluous to requirements, then remove it. The only exception to this is situations like the “search rules” where there are so many issues that patching each one is a greater cumulative change that a rewrite of the whole section

“Stick to the subject”

Keep this project thread for materials and discussion about the project itself but keep discussion around the rules themselves to the appropriate area of the forum Official Rules and discussions around Quest pack contents to the relevant channels like Kellar’s Keep

“Rules are rules”

Rules cover how something is handled and must be in the Rules of Play, other material describing what happens and narrative text are not rules and should not be in the Rules of Play it should be on the cards or in the Quest Books.

“KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid”

One of the appeals of HeroQuest is its simplicity so keep it simple. Consistency and clarity go hand in hand with simplicity, so if a word or phrase is used to refer to something specific then use the same word or phrase each time you refer to that same thing.

“Little and often”

A step in the right direction is sufficient to include, we don’t need to entire resolve a problem in a single step.

Share material every time modifications are made, however small, to allow others to review and provide feedback that we can incorporate and share again.

“Increase modularity, reduce duplication”

Arrange the rules in a modular way to improve the usability, to allow others to use the structure to plug their own house rules into and to reduce duplication, the same rule appear in multiple places, which causes issues around ensuring that modifications that are made are applied to every appearance of the same rules otherwise you get problems around inconsistency.

“A Murder of Morcars”

Whilst accepting the principle that every Morcar (and Zargon) is the ultimate authority at their own table, this forum and the internet in general, gives us the ability to come together as a collective and discuss issues discovered in play and the modifications that we apply at our own tables and discuss the better options from the bunch and perhaps even document the best ones.

“Consistency is Simplicity”

Inconsistently referring to the same thing by different names causes confusion and equally if you have a particular mechanism for handling a situation then don't introduce a different mechanism for handling essentially the same situation as that again causes confusion and requires more mental effort to remember which mechanism is used in which scenario.

"Minimise Book-Keeping"

Some book-keeping, jotting down of notes on character sheet and similar is inevitable but as a general principle HQ and SE in particular discourages excessive book-keeping.

"Increase Utilisation of Mind Points"

The infamous line in the rulebook "Mind points are not used in the initial Quests. They will become more important in future expansions to Hero Quest." feels like a cop-out, so making more use and better use of Mind Points from the beginning so that line can be removed would definitely be an improvement.

"HeroQuest uses the Vancian system for spells"

The magic system used by HeroQuest drew inspiration from the Dying Earth novels by Jack Vance, for whom the Vancian magic system is named.

Magical effects are packaged into distinct spells; each spell has one fixed purpose. A spell that throws a ball of fire at an enemy just throws balls of fire, and generally cannot be "turned down" to light a cigarette, for instance.

Spells represent a kind of magic bomb which must be prepared in advance of actual use, and each prepared spell can be used a limited number of times, generally only once, before needing to be prepared again. That's why it is also known as "Fire & Forget magic."

Magicians have a finite capacity of prepared spells which is the de facto measure of their skill and/or power as magicians. A wizard using magic for combat is thus something like a living gun: he must be "loaded" with spells beforehand and can run out of magical "ammunition".

In HeroQuest this translates into the following principles

A spellcaster can only prepare and store into his mind a number of spell sets, each consisting of three individual spells, equal to each point of his mind value over 3. So a spellcaster with a Mind value of 5, can only prepare 2 sets of 3 spells.

Selection and preparation of spells from those known to him, generally kept in the form of a spell book, is time consuming, complex, elaborate and intensive, so can only take place between quests, and results in the spellcaster having a number of spells "prepared" or pre-loaded in his mind ready to be "cast", activated or released, in the quest as required.

"Advancement mechanism"

HeroQuest has an in-built advancement mechanism that works as follows:

1. Killing monsters is rewarded in the form of gold and items with a gold value.
2. Gold is used to purchase Equipment between quests.
3. This equipment boosts the stats of the Heroes, advancing them

Rather than killing a monster giving you 6 gold coins for example, to minimise book-keeping, in HeroQuest this translates into killing all monsters in a room allows you to search for treasure resulting in a treasure card being drawn. The "value" of monsters in a typical room matches the average "yield" from a treasure deck draw. When a particular room or quest has above average monsters this excess is rewarded through chests containing gold and other treasure and/or a quest reward, particularly when killing a monster is the quest objective.

Initiative mechanism

HeroQuest has an in-built advancement mechanism that works as follows:

One side, the Heroes, have variable movement 2D6, the other side have fixed movement, the variable roll acts as an initiative roll which combined with the distance between the figures and the monster fixed value movement determines who gets the initiative, the first strike.

Other principles to follow, no doubt, as we work through…

Why the English (British) Editions as your starting point?

I started back in 1989 with the First Edition, playing with family, but a little later and in parallel I was playing with friends using the Second Edition, and as you might expect it was clear that the Second Edition was an upgrade to the First Edition and better in almost every way*

Many, many moons later on this very forum I discovered the North American edition of the game and assumed like many that this was an upgrade, however after much investigation, discussion and play, I realised that whilst including Chaos Spells from the start and boosting Monster Body Points were clear and positive changes, the rest of the NA rule changes were more of a fork from the previous editions, taking the game in a subtly different direction.

In addition, many of the flaws in earlier editions were not addressed, many new ones were introduced, and many of the unwritten principles and hidden mechanisms of HeroQuest which made the experience simpler, more immersive, and intuitive seem to have been ignored, overruled, or simply forgotten and the quality of the rules was lower, possibly due to less extensive play testing.

*Except possibly, the changes to Courage and Rock Skin, the concept of the Introductory game, The Trial as the starting quest (although The Maze wasn’t great either) and half-baked move away from physical cards limiting equipment (which continued under Adventure Design Kit, but never seemed to be fully implemented), which may have been motivated by production costs.

#1 Weapon function and prices - RESOLVED

Problem statement:
1. The Dwarf and the Elf are equipped with some form of starting weapon that enables 2AD to be rolled against adjacent target but the weapon isn’t named and isn’t available on the equipment cards for purchase by the Wizard (no one else would be interested).

2. The shortsword allows 2AD and diagonal attacks for a cost of 150, the Hand Axe allows 2AD attacks and the ability to throw it for 150GC however the spear allows both diagonal and thrown attacks but still costs the same 150GC – extra functionality for no extra charge!

3. Wizard weapon upgrades go from his base unnamed weapon allowing 1AD adjacent attacks, his next and only purchasable weapon upgrade is the staff that gives him 2AD and diagonal attacks. What happened to the 1AD, diagonal and 2AD non-diagonal, logical steps in his weapon upgrade path, particularly as we know that a 2AD non-diagonal weapon option must exist (see last point).

4. The staff has all the properties of the short sword but costs 100GC, 50GC less than the short sword at 150GC

Proposed changes: Inspiration from NA edition

1. Short sword text changed to allow 2AD attack but remove the diagonal attack ability and reduce the cost to 100GC

2. The Dwarf and the Elf to have the Shortsword called out as their starting weapon on their character board. Following this logic, the Barbarian to have the Broadsword called out as his starting weapon and the Wizard the Staff.

3. Modify the text on the Spear card to remove the ability to throw the weapon

4. Modify the text on the Staff card to make that 1AD and diagonal, cost 50GC to act as the starting weapon for the Wizard (and maybe ‘both hands’)

5. Modify the text on the Short sword to allow the Wizard to purchase it

6. Port the Wizard’s Staff Quest Treasure from NA edition to restore the Wizards 2AD and diagonal maximum upgrade

Discussion topic: Rejigging the Equipment Card Deck [SE]

Additional material: Short sword (Huh. Good God.) What is it good for?

Implemented changes:

## [0.0.5] - 2023-04-29 - Fixed Problem #1

### Added

- Scrolls (Character Cards: Barbarian): Updated to reflect Starting Weapon: Broadsword
- Scrolls (Character Cards: Dwarf): Updated to reflect Starting Weapon: Shortsword
- Scrolls (Character Cards: Elf): Updated to reflect Starting Weapon: Shortsword
- Scrolls (Character Cards: Wizard): Updated to reflect Starting Weapon: Staff and also updated with text "You can only use Weapons and Armour labelled as “Basic”."

- Scrolls (Quest Treasure Cards: New): Ported Wizard's Staff from NA edition and reworded to fit the SE standard

### Changed
- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: Shortsword): Shortsword modified to remove diagonal attack ability and cost reduced to 100gc
- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: Staff): Staff updated to 1AD only, cost reduced to 50gc
- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: Spear): Modify the text on the Spear card to remove the ability to throw the weapon
- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: All): Replaced text "May not be used by Wizard." with label Basic and converted "WEAPON" or "ARMOUR" to same label format

#2 Handling chests - RESOLVED

Problem statement: The mechanism for handling treasure chests in the SE is not actually stated anywhere in the Rules of Play, it must be inferred from various pieces of text scattered through the Quest notes.

Proposed changes: Use the text describing the mechanism for opening doors and adapt it for opening chests.

Discussion links:
How Treasure chests work in the EU rules (LONG)

Implemented changes:

## [0.0.3] - 2023-04-24 - Fixed Problem #2

### Added

- Rulebook (Book of Exploration): "Heroes may open a chest by moving onto an adjacent square. Heroes do not have to open a chest if they do not wish to. Opening a chest does not count as an action. Having opened a chest, a hero may keep moving, if they have any squares left to move.
As soon as a chest is opened, the Evil Wizard player must tell the player what they have found.
Any treasure found should be recorded on their character sheet.
Monster cannot open chests."

#3 Search range in passageways - RESOLVED

Problem statement: When searching for treasure or secret doors and traps in a passageway, it isn’t clear what area of the passageway is covered, especially around corners and intersections.

Proposed changes: The rules already state that the whole passageway is searched and that passageways are always straight (need to double check that bit) so just need to add some text that states, if you are on a square that is shared between two passageways then you must declare which one you are searching.

Discussion link: Corridors, treasure and traps

Additional Material: Search – The Binding Topic

Implemented changes:

## [0.0.6] - 2023-04-30 - Fixed Problem #3

### Added

- Rulebook (Book of Exploration): Added the text in italics - Passageways may be one or two squares wide and are straight. Passageways that go around corners are considered as separate passageways with one or two shared squares.
- Rulebook (Book of Searching): Added the following text - If they are standing on a square shared between two passageways, then they must declare which of the two passageways they are searching.

#4 No limit on the number of searches - RESOLVED

Problem statement: There is nothing in the rules that state whether you can only search a given area for treasure or for traps and secret doors, once or an unlimited number of times. There are no markers provided to indicate that an area has been searched for treasure or for secret doors and traps and secret doors or for treasure, but in the case of searching for treasure allowing that to be unlimited creates a flaw that could be exploited by heroes simply searching the same area repeatedly until they have picked the treasure card pile clean of gold and then exit the Quest and purchase a load of equipment, then rinse and repeat.

Proposed changes: In the case of searching for traps and secret doors, this isn’t so much of a problem, if the same area is searched again then nothing will happen, only the player will waste an action. In the case of searching for treasure, an area once searched, must be recorded as searched by placing a tile (any tile face down will do) somewhere in the searched area to indicate that it has been searched

Discussion topics:
Search – The Binding Topic

Implemented changes:

## [0.0.7] - 2023-05-01 - Fixed Problem #4

### Changed

- Rulebook (Book of Searching): Changed the following text: Once a room or passageway has been searched for treasure, it must be recorded as being searched by placing a tile (any tile face down will do) in the room. This room or passageway cannot be searched for treasure a second time.

#5 Throwing weapons rarely if ever bought and thrown - RESOLVED

Problem statement: Throwing weapons, the Hand Axe is rarely bought as it is a one-shot weapon but with a significant cost, the Spear, whilst bought is rarely thrown for the same reasons.

Proposed changes: Change to the current throwing weapon lost when thrown, to throwing weapon lost when thrown and miss, that is no skulls rolled. Can be recovered automatically by a character stepping onto the target square or when the area containing the square is searched for treasure (need some sort of tile to indicate target square)

Discussion topic: Potions, Traps and Throwing Weapons

Additional Material: A Simple House Rule for Recovering Thrown Weapons

Implemented changes:

## [0.0.6] - 2023-04-30 - Fixed Problem #5

### Added

- Rulebook (Component List): Also included an optional component of thrown weapon tiles in the component list

### Changed

- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: Throwing Knife): Change the text to say "may be lost"
- Scrolls (Equipment Cards: Hand Axe): Change the text to say "may be lost" and renamed to "Throwing Axe"

- Rulebook (Book of Combat): Change the rules on throwing weapon use: "Thrown weapons are lost if you roll all white shields on your attack roll but otherwise can be picked up from the target square or are recovered automatically when the area is searched."