Plate Mail, shock, and magic interaction

[Daedalus]

Plate Mail only allows a Hero to roll 1 red die for movement. The rules for going into shock from both the Elf Quest Pack and the Barbarian Quest Pack limit a Hero to rolling 1 red die for movement as well. How do these rules interact?

1. They do a lot- reduce movement to 0 red dice. The Plate Mail must be removed, or magic must be used to compensate (a Potion of Speed, Elven Boots, etc.)
2. They do a bit- reduce movement to a d3, halving the result of 1 red die (round up).
3. They don't- simply assign a single red die for movement.
4. They don't, even a little- 0 Mind Points is dead in a real Hero Quest game.

Option 1 doesn't work well with Swift Wind. The spell doubles the dice for movement (0)to 0 (2x0=0).
Option 2 would require "calling" the d3 if it were combined with magic that added a movement die.

That brings up another question: How do Elven Boots (1 additional red dice to move) and Plate Mail (1 red die to move) interact? Normally, 3 red dice are rolled, and they wear out if identical numbers are rolled on any 3 dice (1 in 36 odds).

• They wear out quicker by requiring identical numbers on any 2 dice (1 in 6 odds) while wearing Plate Mail.
• 3 dice are still rolled--the 2 movement dice and a 3rd for checking if they wear out.

Note that if Plate Mail, Elven Boots, and the shock rule are combined using option 1 above, then there is just 1 die to roll and it's impossible to have an identical number result for them to wear out--unless 2 dice just for the wearing-out check are additionally rolled.

Here's another: How does a Potion of Speed (12 squares of movement, don't roll dice) combine with Plate Mail and/or shock?

• Movement is 0 squares for Plate Mail and shock, using option 1
• Movement is 3 squares for Plate Mail and shock, using option 2
• Movement is 6 squares for Plate Mail and/or shock, using option 3
• Movement is 6 squares for Plate Mail only--cuz 0 Mind Points is DEAD, using option 4
• Movement is 12 for Plate Mail and/or shock (potion trumps all)

What about Swift Wind (doubles normal dice?) Can it combine with a potion of speed for 24 movement, or is it incompatable, as it requires dice to double?

[Goblin-King]

This post gave me a headache...

Can't wait till I come home from work to *really* read it.

[el_flesh]

2 dice just for the wearing-out check are additionally rolled.

Why not? that's a cheq roll - happens all the time in RPGs

[Goblin-King]

Okay... Here we go!
This is how I would rule in those cases.

Chock + Plate Mail:
I kinda prefer the hero to just move 0. But for gameplay reasons I think D3 would work best.
Both moving 0 and loosing all your defense is a death sentence. So one vote for D3.
Swift wind would restore it to a D6 (or 2D3?).

Elven Boots + Plate Mail:
Definitely use 2D6 for actual movement.
I think It would be most fair to roll an additional die just for the wearing-out check.
But again... For gameplay reasons it is easier to just roll 2. The movement roll shouldn't be an entire phase in itself.
And it's an Artifact anyway. Once past MotM you can never acquire it again, so let the player have fun while it lasts.
One vote for just using 2D6.

Potion of Speed + Plate Mail / Chock:
Potion of speed is a one use item.
Not being able to just move 12 makes it useless. Keep it as is.

Swift Wind + Potion of Speed:
Potion of speed has no dice roll to double, so incompatible. I don't really think this one is debatable.

But how about this...
Swift Wind + Elven Boots:
Do you roll 6 dice and have an extremely high wearing-out rate?
(Yes you do... That's the price of being Sonic!)

[cynthialee]

I agree with the statement that in real games of HQ 0 mind points means you are dead. So it is a moot point in my book.

[torilen]

Personally, I give Plate Mail just a penalty, usually somewhere around -3 or -4 to movement, with a minimum of 1.
Shock (0 Mind Points) is a coma...no movement. (I know it is a game, but think about shock in real life....)

As far as magic spells, magic items, and potions...being that shock is a coma...they wouldn't work. I would let them
work normally for Plate Mail - they are magic, after all.
The only difference would be, perhaps, the Elven Boots. The idea of wearing out implies that they are "working" to move
the character, even though they are magical. So, they would be working harder to move a character in Plate Mail.

Just my thoughts.

[Nephew of Mentor]

I wasn't certain why the rules change so much about mind points. For example, In return of the witch lord, quest 5, the gargoyle Bellthor is apparently inflated with poison that does mind point damage. If a character is reduced to 0 that character is removed from the board but not dead, as a matter of fact, advancing the game depends on all characters having their mind points reduced to 0 and rendered unconscious, hence captured. Maybe this would be a thread all its own.

[Daedalus]

@ Nephew of Mentor-

Thanks for bringing that up, I forgot about that one. The Belthor Gargoyal is a good example of special Mind Point damage called out in a Quest's notes section. Those notes trump other rules. The Shock condition I was refering to is a catch-all for all other situations, found in both the Elf Quest Pack and Barbarian Quest Pack introductory sections. To briefly recap for everybody's benefit, when a Hero reaches 0 Mind Points, he isn't dead, but in shock. He rolls only 1d6 to move, attacks with only 1 Combat Die and defends with only 2 Combat Dice. Armor, weapons, and most artifacts don't affect these totals, but some spells and spell scrolls do.

I included the zero-Mind-Points-is-dead option because that's how the European editions treated it in the Rules of Play book. Some people prefer it because it's what they know, or else they like the grittier feel.

[cynthialee]

Seems to me that the Plate Mail cuts movement in half and going into shock will reduce movement in half so being in platemail and in shock could be rulled to reduce movement to 1D3.

Edit: I think the reduction in movement rules for platemail is bunk. I have known guys that are the types of power nerds that go to ren fairs and SCA events in armour and a well fitting suit of plate armour certainly doesn't reduce a persons movement by 50%.