There and Back Again: When do YOU end the Quest?
Posted: December 5th, 2015, 3:09 pm
Question 1: What is your opinion of the "return to the stairs to end the Quest" rule?
For Quests with only one way in/ and one way out, (usually the spiral stairs) the system rules indicate that the Quest is not over until all the surviving Heroes have returned to the starting point. Of course, in most cases, the dungeon will be cleared of all monsters, hidden traps are revealed-- this would make for a very uneventful trip back for both the evil wizard and the heroes!
Many players forgo this trip back, and house rule that they may end the Quest successfully as soon as the objective is met.
Here at the Inn, we've come up for many solutions of what Morcar/Zargon can do to challenge the Heroes when no monsters are on the board, whether this is by the addition of The Evil Wizard deck: http://english.yeoldeinn.com/downloads/ ... wizard.pdf or a random events table: http://yeoldeinn-heroquest.blogspot.com ... earer.html Does this make a return trip worthwhile to play though?
Question 2: If you houserule that the Heroes may end the quest as soon as the objective is met, does the addition of random events/an evil wizard deck, etc. change your opinion of a return trip to the stairs?
If the Heroes must strategize their survival not just to complete the objective, but to return alive after navigating challenges on the return trip, it could make for some exciting tension, and put less emphasis on the quest objective to serve as the climax, so that if the boss battle is not as epic as you would have hoped, the return trip could be what is remembered as a greater challenge for the Heroes!
I've played through some quests with the solo tool Game Master, http://aginsinn.yeoldeinn.com/gamemaster/index.html adhering to the "return to the stairs rule" and using some of my own Evil Wizard cards to create events/wandering monsters etc. during those turns when no monsters are on the board. I found this created utility for certain underused spells like veil of mist, and pass through rock to allow some exciting moments when a Hero needed to sneak past monsters to reach the exit, or critically-wounded Heroes would exit early, while others stayed behind to help others. Sometimes, a hero might die on the way out, and others would have to hang back to collect their belongings, or lose them forever! A hero might even make a noble sacrifice to save another, knowing that their lost life will do more to help the others escape alive. After all, the player can create a new hero, and even utilize the recovered equipment, and a cool story comes out of it!
I argue that playing by the return-to-the-stairs-rule can give you more "bang for your buck," instead of relying on a sprawling dungeon, or putting all your hopes on special monsters to offer up a challenge, the return trip back can offer its own variety of hazards, and memorable moments. I felt like this is how the Quest designers and rule makers intended the game to be played, as certain mechanics are underutilized when a return trip is skipped, however, the return trip could use help in boosting its "fun factor."
Anyway, what do you think?
For Quests with only one way in/ and one way out, (usually the spiral stairs) the system rules indicate that the Quest is not over until all the surviving Heroes have returned to the starting point. Of course, in most cases, the dungeon will be cleared of all monsters, hidden traps are revealed-- this would make for a very uneventful trip back for both the evil wizard and the heroes!
Many players forgo this trip back, and house rule that they may end the Quest successfully as soon as the objective is met.
Here at the Inn, we've come up for many solutions of what Morcar/Zargon can do to challenge the Heroes when no monsters are on the board, whether this is by the addition of The Evil Wizard deck: http://english.yeoldeinn.com/downloads/ ... wizard.pdf or a random events table: http://yeoldeinn-heroquest.blogspot.com ... earer.html Does this make a return trip worthwhile to play though?
Question 2: If you houserule that the Heroes may end the quest as soon as the objective is met, does the addition of random events/an evil wizard deck, etc. change your opinion of a return trip to the stairs?
If the Heroes must strategize their survival not just to complete the objective, but to return alive after navigating challenges on the return trip, it could make for some exciting tension, and put less emphasis on the quest objective to serve as the climax, so that if the boss battle is not as epic as you would have hoped, the return trip could be what is remembered as a greater challenge for the Heroes!
I've played through some quests with the solo tool Game Master, http://aginsinn.yeoldeinn.com/gamemaster/index.html adhering to the "return to the stairs rule" and using some of my own Evil Wizard cards to create events/wandering monsters etc. during those turns when no monsters are on the board. I found this created utility for certain underused spells like veil of mist, and pass through rock to allow some exciting moments when a Hero needed to sneak past monsters to reach the exit, or critically-wounded Heroes would exit early, while others stayed behind to help others. Sometimes, a hero might die on the way out, and others would have to hang back to collect their belongings, or lose them forever! A hero might even make a noble sacrifice to save another, knowing that their lost life will do more to help the others escape alive. After all, the player can create a new hero, and even utilize the recovered equipment, and a cool story comes out of it!
I argue that playing by the return-to-the-stairs-rule can give you more "bang for your buck," instead of relying on a sprawling dungeon, or putting all your hopes on special monsters to offer up a challenge, the return trip back can offer its own variety of hazards, and memorable moments. I felt like this is how the Quest designers and rule makers intended the game to be played, as certain mechanics are underutilized when a return trip is skipped, however, the return trip could use help in boosting its "fun factor."
Anyway, what do you think?