Brainstorming: All those "realistic" house rules you wanted?

[Kurgan]

Okay this is one of those topics that is perennially touched on, hinted at, gossiped about but I think rarely covered comprehensively or concretely. Aren't there a ton of little things in HeroQuest that people say are "unrealistic" or "not historically accurate"? Armchair nerds are constantly nitpicking little things, and I ignored you folks for years or dismissed your opinions with a wave of my gamer magic wand... well now I am giving you my full attention!

Now I am not talking here about turning HeroQuest into a full fledged RPG on the level of a CyberPunk, where you are constantly referencing tables and adding modifiers to multiple types of multi-sided dice to account for every possible thing and having character sheets that start to look like legal documents, but...
I am as usual starting with the NA/Remake rules as the base and then moving on from there...

Rather, I am talking about the kinds of things, that I probably will never use, but people talk about... it seems a lot of people get upset at some point in their HeroQuest careers because they learn about something in history or from some youtuber sword enthusiast that differs from how HeroQuest does it and wants more "realism" in their game. Usually they stop short of overhauling the whole thing, and just implement one or two little changes. What might those be?

Now obviously I am not alleging that real magic and monsters actually existed in the middle ages or that HeroQuest takes place on earth. I'm just having a bit of fun here to help people think about what everyone talks about at some point or another. Are all of these things practical? At the end of the day you may end up with a completely different, even "broken" game rather than the one you grew up enjoying (fair warning!). And yes, you'd be mixing time periods and regions here too if you really wanted to separate things out. HeroQuest is supposed to bring together characters from around the world to have their adventures not just a single culture or kingdom.

What is an "Elf"? Or a "dwarf"? Is the Dwarf a human with dwarfism or is he some kind of fictional "race" of creature like the Elf who has different abilities to you and me? How does the Wizard's magic really work? We might be back to inventing rationalizations for why the gameplay works the way it does vs. changing it to conform to what we think might be "realistic" but that stuff is more speculative. Most of this conforms to the "coat of paint" and how the hero's equipment works.

I'm going to start a list just to help get people started...

1) Terms are inaccurate. This is a controversial one because many of the terms we use for stuff from the middle ages/medieval period are not the terms anybody back then actually used. Nevertheless "that's not a ___" is a common retort. Chainmail should just be "mail" and "Plate Armor" (or Armour if you prefer) is what the other stuff should be called. That's not a broadsword. Why is the helmet open-faced like that (yes, such helmets existed).

2) Plate doesn't slow you down. Even if you found an "ill-fitting" suit of armor, generic armor did exist and there's no reason why all four heroes can't wear it with no penalty. Is it a complete suit of armor or just a breastplate? Does the armor provide full coverage or does it have gaps and things? Yes, it was possible for a knight to put on his own armor (not as easy as throwing on a sweatshirt, but quite possible without a "squire" to help him). Yes, Jousting armor was more restrictive and heavier but still no cranes required to lower you onto your horse and you weren't a helpless turtle stuck on its back if you happened to fall down.

3) Why is the Wizard limited? If he's a normal, able bodied human adult, then there's nothing stopping him from using the same gear the other heroes use. How do his spells work? Maybe there's nothing stopping his magic from being used by other heroes as well?

4) Limited Carrying Capacity. Here is that rule some people love so much. How much can a hero realistically carry and still be combat ready? You're going to have to drastically limit his money (how big are those coins? are they pure gold?), how many weapons he can carry, etc. How big and heavy are potions? Are they fragile? (glass or ceramic bottles? or maybe heavier metal or wooden jugs?)

5) Limited stock. Yes, armories may have limited stock, but probably they have enough for all the heroes to spend all their gold if they wanted to, they just can't carry it all into each quest!

6) Upkeep, room & board, taxes... the heroes will have to spend some of their money in tribute to the King or whatever, medical expenses, paying the innkeeper, blacksmith and tailor making repairs between quests, etc. They'll also need time to rest ("a few days/weeks later" does the job). They will also be making reports to their benefactor(s) and paying for travel expenses (horses, ferries, trail guides, maps, etc). Anything a medieval person might have to spend money on (or forage for) the heroes will do, but a lot of this can still be left out of gameplay for brevity's sake even if acknowledging it. Simply camping for the night and resting for a few hours before they walk through the exit door or head back down the stairs makes sense. Hiking back out to the next town to buy things also makes sense. You could also have your gear modified.

7) Haggling and barter. When they buy stuff, why does everything just have a fixed cost? Perhaps some shop keepers are willing to bargain or accept things in trade. Why only get half your gold back for a piece of equipment you never even used? This could be tinkered with quite a bit.

8) Two handed. Why does the staff require two hands? You could wield it in one but maybe it's more useful with two. Why can't you use it with a shield? How big and heavy is the shield? You probably could wield a shield with a staff or Battle Axe, actually. Or maybe the longsword actually would require two hands (for full effectiveness). What kind of crossbow is that? Doesn't it take two hands to load and two to fire? (or is it some kind of shorter range/less accurate pistol crossbow that can be fired AND loaded if you're clever, with one hand?).

9) I don't worry about crossbow limitations or range limits on dagger throwing because world record holders can achieve some pretty awesome feats with these and you're "heroes." I also don't worry about running out of arrows because you probably carry enough for what you'll need (but they WILL require gold and WILL affect your carrying capacity/weight). Don't worry about wind speed because you're indoors most of the time, right? Not only can the crossbow hit all eight squares surrounding you, but it should also be able to fire at point blank range.

10) Wounds. How are you staunching the bleeding? Magic healing can't always be the thing, so that wound is going to get infected. I hope you bought bandages and have room to carry them as well (are you tearing off strips of your clothing)? Are you going to simulate disease? (have the heroes had all their shots)

11) Loot the bodies. No reason why you couldn't other than honor or law... why would monsters not be able to use your gear just as you could use theirs?

12) Searching. The existing mechanics kind of make sense but you could change it to say that the first searcher is so thorough he finds everything and there's no need for anyone else to search. Why would seeing a monster in the distance stop you from searching? (perhaps you just search the "safe" area only). Searching for Traps is thorough too, right, so why would you still get "Hazards" and undetectable traps (are they magic??). And well of course you have to "open the chest" and move up to it to get what's inside. You probably have to touch nearly every square of the room to get what you want. Why would you not be able to search corridors ("passages") for treasure as well? Again if you can search safe areas that includes your buddies holding the bad guys back while you check each square or whatever. You can search again and again but you won't find anything because you've already stripped it bare. Is that furniture worth anything? Maybe you can chop them into firewood or sell some of those books from the bookshelf? (if you have the inkling to lug it all the way out of the quest!).

13) Death saves. As you are dying are you really able to reach into your bag, find the right potion, pull it out, uncork it, drink it and the magic works that fast to heal any injury? (It's MAGIC after all, what are its limits?). Maybe you can, or maybe you can't do this. Maybe a hollow tooth that holds that healing juice or a bag that's always in your mouth you can bite down on, or like one of those "beer hats" with the straws? If a monster stole your potions couldn't he do the same thing?

14) Darkness. Are these sealed dungeons or treasure vaults or tombs? Because how can you see in the dark? Do Elves and Dwarves have magical vision, or are you fumbling around constantly. Are you carrying a lantern? Because sources tell me that "torches" like you see in the movies are usually terrible... too bright in your eyes, smoky (cough cough even harder to see in narrow passages, soot and stuff falling everywhere and they don't last very long unless you carry many of them or supplies to make more... with limited carrying capacity of course). Then again there are longer torches that last longer but are even harder to carry (maybe require two hands). Are you dropping the torch and pulling out your weapon every encounter? What are those lanterns burning? Are they fragile or a fire hazard with dry materials in those dungeons (or is it mostly slimy stones and such?). Magical flashlights?

15) Navigation? How do the heroes know where they are going? Does their compass work in the dark or do they have maps? We players have a 360 degree God's eye view of the dungeon (as does Zargon) but do they? Do heroes have to shout or blow whistles to keep in contact if they split the party? How do they know where everyone is (magical walky talkies?). Shouldn't monsters have the same limitations or do they have a hive mind or something? Are there communication tubes like on a ship where monsters would have to stop and ask for orders?

16) What are those monsters doing before they're discovered? Also, they should be able to move about the dungeon and open doors, move furniture, move treasure, re-stock weapons, re-group, etc, right? Or are they magical guardians that only come to life when the heroes open the door? Can monsters hide inside cupboards or spring out of pit traps? And yes, you should be able to dig through sprung falling rock traps (did you bring the right supplies?) or fill in pit traps or brace them, etc. (assuming you had room in your pack/on your back for that stuff!).

17) Movement. Why is movement limited to 2d6? Shouldn't heroes just be able to keep walking and walking (or running for short distances) if they want? Is it because of their heavy packs? Can they set those packs down and move faster, then go pick up their gear again? Maybe their combat movement is different from their "everyday" movement? Do heroes get tired and need to rest?

18) Food & Water. How long are these quests? Other than needing to rest or even sleep, is there room in their pack for provisions? Is there anything to eat in those dungeons? Are they eating the rats and spiders raw or did they bring supplies to make a fire and cook them? Maybe they feasted before they got there, but at least they should have a canteen. Potion of Hydration??

19) Bathroom break. Hey, how big are their bladders on this trip? Are they vulnerable when taking a "pit stop"? Do the monsters have a privy?

I'm probably missing some big ones, so please let me know what else you think of.... again, not trying to design a new system I plan to use here, just mostly brainstorming because it's one of those things that come up so often...

[Kurgan]

Shout out to Youtubers Skallagrim, Shadiversity, Jill Bearup, Tod's Workshop, Metatron...

[Kurgan]

Then there's the historical tone... a lot of fantasy fiction either over-glamorizes the middle ages (think SCA and fairs) or caricatures it in the other direction of the outdated "dark ages" idea (Warhammer Fantasy turned up to 11). There was a lot of good and bad about the actual time period(s) we're talking about. People didn't all have constantly dirty faces and rotten teeth (refined sugar wasn't part of most people's diets). Things like "science" and "women's rights" weren't completely foreign either, not to get into politics, but a lot of the stereotypes born out of political tracts and fiction of later ages (and taking satire too literally) have skewed people's ideas of what the past was probably like. Even so, the heroes may not have lived like peasants or kings...

I figured it would be fun to discuss and share ideas of what might be "plausible" for these characters and their adventures, if people really want to go there!

[Kurgan]

Throwing in the remake rules... why can't you use bracers (which actually should be Vambraces which are made of metal... bracers are for protecting the forearms of archers) with body armor? You can combine various types of armor and there's no reason why various character types can't use "metal" armor (but can use "armor" made out of other materials).

A cloak isn't armor (unless it's magic), but you could use a cloak or cape to distract the enemy, hide weapons, or maybe use it to toss in his face or wrap around his arm while grappling or whatever... otherwise it would tend to get in the way while fighting and be more a utilitarian piece of clothing for keeping you warm/dry.

Even smaller, less muscle bound warriors can wear armor and wield weapons (many historical swords weren't THAT heavy). Plus, unlike modern people, medievals often had experience training with archery and cutting wood or hunting with weapons from their youth even if they weren't wealthy, professionally trained soldiers (knights).

So if the Wizard is good enough to defend himself with a dagger and a two handed staff, he can probably wield a sword and wear a breastplate too. Why can't he wear a helmet? Exactly. He can carry all those heavy (?) magical spells around (what are they? books? scrolls? they seem to be physical objects, but this is your game now you can make it whatever you want, maybe he has inner strength or the will of the ancients (or magic ammo aka "mana"?) or something that lets him use them more than once per quest like now). The limits and physics of magic are a whole 'nother debate of course because we're not talking about medieval alchemy, medicine or engineering but some theoretical ahistorical super powers...

ikarith reminded me of the "noise" caused by metal armor clanking around in general, not to mention marching through echoey tunnels and across stone floors..

[cornixt]

In Warhammer, magic was affected by metal, so wizards couldn't wear armour or carry non-magical weapons (magic-ized metal was okay) or they would lose their spell casting. Never was clear why they couldn't have leather body armour or wooden shields. I'd bet they took this concept to HQ. I don't think it is unbalancing to let the wizard have all that good stuff, they have so few body points that he shouldn't be on the front lines anyway.

I would have liked there to be some Barbarian-only, Dwarf-only, and Elf-only equipment in the base set so that each could improve to earn something that embodies a skill the other party members could not have. Then the wizard could freely use any of the other equipment without ending up the best at everything.

[Kurgan]

Interesting, because while I'm no lore expert, I thought Warhammer Fantasy also was big on Chaos Warriors (who are human, last I checked) having magical weapons and quasi-magical armor, and those are pretty clearly meant to be metal. Is this just a rule for good guys? Or is having the magic be "inside" an object a work around for "throwing magic out of your hands"?

Edit, you DID say "(magic-ized metal was okay)" so there you go. Wizards can use weapons and armor that are more expensive, due to the magicization process.

I should also mention here that the Dave Morris trilogy of HeroQuest novels from the 90's contain some more lore (namely things like how to kill Zombies and why Wizards don't use heavy armor and large weapons) even though its popular among fans to say the novels are "not canon" (I guess because of the divergence in geography from the Warhammer Fantasy Old World, which was based on a which that happened during the publishing process, not really the author's fault). Other lore data can be found in the Marvel Winter Special (a whole extended segment of Skullmar talking to and about his minions is included). Some will point out that "none of this is canon" for the North America release and hasn't (yet) been acknowledged by the Remake edition (some might not because of connections to GWS properties but much of it could easily be kept), but still, you may find some other justifications and rationalizations there. I sort of remember the dagger (which wasn't part of the EU rules) being a traditional weapon kept by Wizards in the "Screaming Spectre."

Yes, magic can be a work around for lots of things. What sense does it make that only one type of Hero can use a particular weapon or armor UNLESS the magic is somehow "keyed" to that hero or his physical type or whatever (arguments that the Dwarf has "smaller" armor or something is cool though how do we know his body type is that radically different than the other three?).

[Kurgan]

Yes you could rationalize the other things too... instead of imagining "If monsters and magic were real" and just transforming them into known real world analogs (with changes of course)... the fantasy creatures are just exceptional humans, perhaps with rare genetic mutations or modifications. Species strength or whatever could be simulated with something like armor.

Potions are easy enough to understand, a drug that gives you an adrenaline boost, perhaps making you impervious to pain (you may injure yourself), healing is not instantaneous, but a soothing balm and bandages may keep you from passing out or giving up the fight. CPR could save you from death in rare occasions (it doesn't work as perfectly as in the movies, sorry).

The Wizard's spells as gadgets would be interesting similar to Alchemy in my de-magicified mod. Pass Through Rock is right out, but mining equipment would be unrealistic to carry in and blasting charges would be pretty risky to cause a cave in (and if they brace the tunnels others may follow after them!). A tempest is a net of some kind to entangle a foe. Ball of Flame and Fire of Wrath of course would be primitive firearms and Greek Fire (via a siphon even if we don't know 100% how that actually worked in history). Rock Skin I proposed as a hardening coating that one puts on their skin but how well this would work in real life according to known science probably not very well (are we allowing cutting edge modern technology to these characters or keeping it to historical precedent from say pre-industrial times)?

A Genie could be another type of firearm... an explosive missile strong enough to take out a single enemy or blast open a wooden door (gotta aim the thing of course).

Swift Wind could be another accelerating drug or maybe roller skates! (my idea of the Warhog Bladder was a giant balloon which works more according to cartoon physics logic)
Sleep would be a tranquilizing drug probably administered via a blow-dart.

A team of porters to carry gear and provisions would seem to be a requirement (probably with lanterns and compass too).


Chaos Warriors are just big guys, fanatics in armor. What are undead? Humans drugged up to be immune to fear and pain, who fight with the ferocity of wild animals with no regard for self preservation. Holy Water is some kind of chemical that works upon them in this state to derail the whole thing (perhaps a fatal overdose of the same thing?). A gargoyle is just a human fighter with even stronger armor than a Chaos Warrior. Real life "Zombie" drugs are poorly understood, but the nearest I've been able to find is where it puts something into a near death state and then attempts to revive them with brain damage so they are more suggestible to control by another person, but often it doesn't work and they just die. The whole thing requires a much more elaborate plan than just tossing a potion over someone's head or gesturing to "cast a spell." But "command" would have to be something like that probably (you can't hypnotize someone to do something against their will, as far as we can tell, though a drunken or drugged person is more suggestible).

So spell effects would change and monsters would change a little. Orcs and Goblins would just be bigger or smaller humans with monstrous behavior. Same with Fimirs.

Monsters would be able to open doors and search for the heroes. Why would searches be limited? All four heroes would probably be able to just search at once the room for all three types of things and find whatever was there all in one go. Looting the bodies (on both sides) would seem not to be off-limits... bad guys patrolling, discovering the heroes early by accident, sounding the alarm, all those sorts of things would seem to be logically possible and thus more realistic. The "monsters" may know the dungeon or they may be in the same boat as the heroes using their own porters with compass and lanterns and possibly crude maps to guide them...

[lestodante]

3) Why is the Wizard limited? If he's a normal, able bodied human adult, then there's nothing stopping him from using the same gear the other heroes use. How do his spells work? Maybe there's nothing stopping his magic from being used by other heroes as well?

I found an interesting topic on BGG linking to an external page http://arcana.wikidot.com/vancian-magic
It was about how spellcasters usually only cast their spells and why only once per quest. I think it is interesting and give a nice answer to the question.
You can read the whole page on the link above but I prefer to quote the text here to prevent page deletion or lost links in the future:

Vancian Magic is the depiction of magic found in Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories, rather rich and arcane version of Rule Magic. Vance's books were a big influence on Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn influenced most every RPG since. As a result, a number of Roleplaying Games feature Functional Magic that has more in common with Vance than with real-world occult theory (or the sort of magic that appears in TV and movies). Even some games that deviate very far from D&D's other paradigms in other areas still subscribe to Vancian magical theory (example: the Sorcery system in Amber DRPG).

Vancian magic is defined by a few key traits:

Each magic spell does exactly one thing, you generally can't improvise a new effect.
Spells must be prepared in advance. Wizards can prepare only a fixed number of spells, and can use each one only once before having to prepare it again. Spells are like magical ammunition, and you have to reload.

The individual spells have names, which are often colorful and sometimes mnemonic or alliterative. The names also often credit the creator of the spell, being the magical equivalent of eponymous naming structures in science, like "Hawking Radiation" or "Lorentz Equations".

Key to understanding the system is to realise that Vancian magic is meant to be largely empirical - most wizards don't know how or why a spell works, simply that it does and that developing a new spell is typically the result of a great deal of time, effort and luck. Hence the name checks. Also, the "preparation" of a spell is actually a process of pre-casting: the caster performs most of a potentially long and complex ritual in advance and then triggers it when required with a short gesture or mnemonic phrase.

The Gygaxian implementation of Vancian magic also tended to require "material components" which, whilst not actually power components in the modern understanding, were still (be default anyway) vital to the spell. They were also something of a marmite mechanic as they tended to be thematic, which whilst possibly intended to be a cunning application of some of the laws of magic, came across as a series of bad puns. Also, early edition wizards were restricted enough by the game's very intentional restrictions on their access to fresh spells - a lack of (even fairly mundane) material components could handicap them further and was a common source of adversarial GM behaviour in the form of gleefully restricting access to some or all components.

[Kurgan]

Prior to Avalon Hill's taking up the HQ mantle it seemed that the size and heaviness of the weapons and armor were what the Wizard was said to be unable to use, not that they were composed of metal. And really the "metal" thing only comes up with regard to OTHER hero characters (Druid, Bard and now Rogue). If it was done to merely save space "cannot wear non-metal armor" takes up more room than "can only wear bracers." (I guess "can only wear bracers as armor" or "can wear bracers but not other types of armor" would be necessary for clarification). I wonder if they came up with the "non-metal armor" thing first and then decided that bracers were not made of metal? The original EU illustration clearly makes them a reference to Wonder Woman's magical bracelets (which are magic, and also made of metal).

That is of course, interesting. We can see the clear influences of D&D on HeroQuest, but the Warhammer Fantasy ones are much closer to hand (even if WH as well is influenced by D&D just as both are influenced by Tolkien who is influenced by myth and legend as well as contemporary fairy stories). Even looking at the influences on HeroQuest yields mixed results (Gandalf wielded a sword in Lord of the Rings and before anyone said "yes but a magic sword" so too do other characters who are not Wizards, like Hobbits; Conan the Barbarian wears armor made of metal at times not just a loincloth or leathers).

My current rationalization for how the spells work (and have worked) in HeroQuest is that they are magical texts, physical objects. These contain the power to create the magical effect and only certain characters with the proper wisdom and training can activate them (in this case, Elf and Wizard). But their power is such that they need time to "recharge" (hence coming back into use the next quest). The Spell Scrolls are simplified such that anyone can activate them, at the cost of self destructing upon use. And maybe some device can recharge them faster (but have its own cooldown time) like the Spell Ring. Perhaps there is some amount of fatigue they cause too, which prevents a character from normally just using 2 or 3 (or 9) of them all at once... and somehow a device like the Wander of Magic/Recall compensates for this.

The only thing this explanation doesn't answer is why can't the Wizard or Elf trade spells mid-quest like any other object (Spell Scrolls CAN be passed from one hero to another like any other piece of gear). For that I would add something about how they are written in a language only that character type can understand (which doesn't answer how they can change their spells between quests... I guess the Elf got the Elvish version of those spells this time and the Wizard got the Wizardish version of those spells). So why can't they just learn new languages? "takes too much time..." etc.

But providing in-universe lore-matching rationalizations like this is much like saying well in this world they really do make plate armor that is so heavy/unwieldy that it really does slow your movement by half (unless you're a Knight who I guess is really just that much stronger when it comes to bearing weight around but somehow it doesn't make his attacks stronger or his movement speed greater without it) and they really do call those things broadswords and bracers, etc. "Plausible in real life/history" I think is what the "realism" people are going for, but maybe not. Otherwise any old BS explanation will do, right?

[CavemanLogic]

3) Why is the Wizard limited? If he's a normal, able bodied human adult, then there's nothing stopping him from using the same gear the other heroes use. How do his spells work? Maybe there's nothing stopping his magic from being used by other heroes as well?

I found an interesting topic on BGG linking to an external page http://arcana.wikidot.com/vancian-magic
It was about how spellcasters usually only cast their spells and why only once per quest. I think it is interesting and give a nice answer to the question.
You can read the whole page on the link above but I prefer to quote the text here to prevent page deletion or lost links in the future:

Vancian Magic is the depiction of magic found in Jack Vance's The Dying Earth stories, rather rich and arcane version of Rule Magic. Vance's books were a big influence on Dungeons & Dragons, which in turn influenced most every RPG since. As a result, a number of Roleplaying Games feature Functional Magic that has more in common with Vance than with real-world occult theory (or the sort of magic that appears in TV and movies). Even some games that deviate very far from D&D's other paradigms in other areas still subscribe to Vancian magical theory (example: the Sorcery system in Amber DRPG).

Vancian magic is defined by a few key traits:

Each magic spell does exactly one thing, you generally can't improvise a new effect.
Spells must be prepared in advance. Wizards can prepare only a fixed number of spells, and can use each one only once before having to prepare it again. Spells are like magical ammunition, and you have to reload.

The individual spells have names...

I always assumed the Wizard's limit of "non-metal armor" was a function of the type of magic being cast.

If you are familiar with MERP (Middle-earth Role Playing), published in the early 80's through the mid 90's by ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises), which was undoubtedly also influenced by Vancian Magic, that system also limits what armor its spellcasters can wear. In MERP, there were two different Realms of power that your character's magic could originate from: Essence or Channeling. Rolemaster, the system that MERP was based on, added a third realm: Mentalism. Here's what the Rolemaster Spell Law supplement book has to say about these three Realms of magic...

-----
"Essence is the power that exists in everyone and everything of and on a given world. It has been known in other sources as the Tao, Magic, The Force, etc. A spell user of the Essence taps this power, molds it, and diverts it into his spells. Most of his powerful spells reflect this and are almost elemental in nature: fire, earth, water, wind, light, cold, etc.
Restriction: The more inert material that is on the person of the spell user of Essence, the more difficult it becomes to manipulate the Essence. Thus, when casting or using an Essence spell no armor, heavy clothing, or helmet may be worn."

"Channeling is the power of deities of a given world as channeled through their followers or other spell users. It is spiritual in nature and independent of the Essence. A spell user of Channeling draws directly on the power of his deity, even though this doesn't 'usually' require the conscious cooperation of the deity. Thus as long as the spell user is using relatively subtle spells (e.g., healing detection, etc.). More powerful and significant spells such as death spells and revival of the dead might require active consent of a deity, depending upon the world system being used by the Gamemaster.
Restriction: Metal interferes with the drawing of power from deities, so no metal may be worn when casting or using a Channeling spell (any spell of this realm). In addition, only a small amount of metal may be carried on the person of a spell user of Channeling when casting or using spells; this should be determined by the Gamemaster dependent upon his world system."

"Mentalism is the power of the Essence channeled through the mind of the spell user, who in effect acts as a very, very minor deity for these purposes. Thus, Mentalism is a very personal power and even the most powerful spells are usually limited by the senses and perceptions of the spell user. Similarly, his spells are usually limited to himself or to one particular target.
Restriction: Any head covering interferes with the power of Mentalism spells, so no head covering (especially helmets) may be worn while casting or using a Mentalism spell."
-----

I'm not saying that magic in HeroQuest necessarily fits perfectly into any of these three Realms of magic, but the Restrictions on armor usage in HeroQuest always made sense to me because of my familiarity with MERP and other systems. Since RPG systems such as D&D and MERP were already popular when HeroQuest was first published in 1989, I suspect something like that was the inspiration for the armor restriction for the Wizards in HeroQuest.


As an aside, I am also quite familiar with the Amber: Diceless Role-Playing system (based on the Amber series of books by Roger Zelazny -- an excellent series if you have not read them!), which was also mentioned in the Vancian Magic quote by Lestodante above. I particularly enjoy the way that Magic is handled in that system. A sorcerer can create spells by basically "pre-casting" them, and hanging them on their source of power (the Pattern for Amberites, or the Logrus for those from Chaos). You will leave out a few key words, called Lynchpins, when creating the spell, which then need to be spoken when casting the spell to "fill in the blanks." Here's what the Amber DRPG book says about lynchpins...

-----
"...Other common lynchpins [do such things as} define the target of the spell, the duration, and the conditions for turning the spell off.
Although lynchpins make stored spells flexible, the have disadvantages.
Lynchpins take time. Each lynchpin adds time to the Base Casting Time. Lynchpins also add time to the unleashing of a spell. The more lynchpins there are, the more opportunity there is for others to interfere in the spell."
-----

Cheers!