TPK, total party kill

[Ethica]

If a character dies they can join the next quest along with the other heroes while they can have their stuff back if the hero who picked it up wants to give it to them. This tends to be the accepted process doesn't it.

If the whole party dies then realistically they shouldn't be allowed to repeat the quest, in effect the campaign is lost. I have about 3 or 4 campaigns which I feel are suitable for fresh heroes, so if everyone dies then they do have to make new characters but can start a different campaign. So this makes death undesirable but not boring.

[Sjeng]

When can a Hero pick up a fallen comrade's belongings? Only when he's killed by a trap or a spell, right (or crossbows)? Because, if a monster kills him, the monster is right next to him, and will take his loot...

[Ethica]

When can a Hero pick up a fallen comrade's belongings? Only when he's killed by a trap or a spell, right (or crossbows)? Because, if a monster kills him, the monster is right next to him, and will take his loot...

Hmm, that is true. The rules do state if a monster is in the room then the goods are lost.

[bruenor]

I find letting them start again with all the gear very boring and un-interesting, hence why I winged it with my scenario.

If a hero dies, he dies, unless the heroes have enough to pay for a Resurrection at the church/temple which is super steep in cost or have a Resurrection potion with are uber rare.

[Goblin-King]

When can a Hero pick up a fallen comrade's belongings? Only when he's killed by a trap or a spell, right (or crossbows)? Because, if a monster kills him, the monster is right next to him, and will take his loot...

I'd say the goods doesn't disappear until Morcar's turn. The heroes get a couple of turns to rush in and grab the remains. Too bad if the wizard (last player in the round) is killed

[Daedalus]

Like Goblin King said. Found in the Combat/Defending section at the top of p.11 of the British EU Rules of Play:

Eliminated characters and monsters are immediately removed from play. Any
Equipment or gold the eliminated character had may be picked up by another
character, who searches for treasure in the room or passage in which the
character was eliminated. However, the evil wizard player may also claim the
Equipment or gold if, on his next turn he moves a monster into the same room
or passage, in which the character was eliminated.

If a monster picks up the possessions of the eliminated character they are removed
from the game, the monster may not use either the Equipment or the gold.

The attacker may now move if he has not already done so. Play then continues
with the player on his left.

The italics used for next aren't mine, but are in the Rules of Play to emphasize the evil wizard player must wait a whole turn to claim possessions. This gives the Heroes that much time, 1 round of turns, to claim the dead Hero's possessions first.

As a side note, I wonder if the condition that the evil wizard must move a monster into the same room or passage to claim the Equipment or gold is mistated. If it read "...he moves a monster in or into the same room or passage...", then a lone monster wouldn't need to leave and then return to claim the Equipment or gold. This would more closely resemble the NA rules. This leaving requirement is thematically strange to me. I guess if the intervening time was thought of in reverse, where the monster first loots the Hero and then leaves the room or passage, then it could work.

There is also a potential problem game mechanics-wise. If a lone monster moves before it kills a Hero, it must spend its next turn leaving the room or passage before it can move back into it to claim the possessions. In large rooms or long passages it isn't always possible for slower monsters to make it back in time for the evil player's next turn, thus it sometimes can't claim the treasure using the rules as written. I feel requiring a slow Zombie 2 turns to loot and escape with a dead Hero's possessions would work fine, however, so I'd suggest this fix: "...The evil wizard may also claim the Equipment or gold if, on a following turn he moves a monster into the same room or passage, in which the character was eliminated...."

I prefer the second rules fix to the first one I suggested, as it better represents slower monsters making off with Equipment or gold at a slower pace. The awkward exiting and re-entering is primarily there as a mechanical timer (usually), so it can be thought of as the monster needing that much time to loot and then move out of sight. If a situation arose where an exiting monster was then in line of sight of a ranged attack, I'd allow the attack as a kind of parting shot to perhaps down the looting monster before it escaped.

[Daedalus]

I too like bruenor's life after death idea. I think it would also work for a single Hero death, as it would give the player something to do for the rest of a session. Simply place the Hero in a blocked-off quadrant of the board and play a seperate Quest for him on his turns. If he can fight through back to the light at half Body Points, then he could survive for the next Quest. No need to start a new character sheet (but maybe some erasing if he was first looted ).

Should dead Heroes retain all of their Equipment in the afterlife struggle? Perhaps they should be bumped down to starting gear, or worse still, nothing! Skeletons and Zombies would be enough for that. Maybe a timer could be included, such as finishing before the other player's main Quest is complete (so the Hero isn't left for dead), or lasting until the main Quest is complete, when proper aid can be attained. For a TPK (or solo death), a number of turns could be set as a limit before the light at the end of the tunnel closes off forever. Place a skull tile on the "H" of HeroQuest on the bottom of the board. Every evil wizard player turn move it along one letter. If after 8 turns the skull tile moves off of HeroQuest, the Heroes are forever dead.

[mako-heart]

I too like bruenor's life after death idea. But I love the term TPK!! That term is going Worldwide! Evil wizard's everywhere smirk at TPK

[Nephew of Mentor]

That's actually a common phrase in Dnd circles around my neck of the woods.

[Sjeng]

If a lone monster moves before it kills a Hero, it must spend its next turn leaving the room or passage before it can move back into it to claim the possessions.

I don't think that's what they meant to be honest. If a monster kills a hero, he's mostly already next to him/her. Then on the next turn, it can loot the corpse if it wasn't looted by another hero (which can only be done by searching for treasure, and that can only be done by killing the monster near the corpse). So you better kill that monster, or he takes the loot.