Is 2 red dice for Hero move best?

[Daedalus]

That said...I vote for the fixed movement, as well...while giving the dwarf and smaller creatures
less movement. (for example...why the hell does the goblin move so much??? it makes no sense)

My pet peeve was the Chaos Warrior moving 7 squares in Plate Mail. After retrofitting Hero movement to work with published fixed movement, I can see it now. Compare a Chaos Warrior's move of 7/defend 4 to that of a Mercenary Swordsman's move of 5/defend 4. They both wear Plate Mail and a Helmet, but the +2 move bonus is there to off-set the Chaos Warrior's 1/6 black shield defend die vs. a Mercenary Swordsman's 1/3 white shield defend die. Also, Chaos Warriors live in their armor, further justifying the bonus.

Admittedly, a Goblin's move of 10 squares tests fixed movement in HQ to it's limits. How do I rationalize it? I assigned the Dwarf a move of 7 to keep up with the Heroes and yet reflect a shorter stride. A Goblin moves like an unarmored Dwarf, but +3 better because of their reckless nature (compare a Dwarf's 2/3 starting defend chance vs. a Goblin's 1/6). Fewer, less-valuable, black-shield defend dice result in less-cautious, faster movement.

The Mercenary Scout also moves faster than his armor should allow, but his reckless nature gives him +3 move (from a base move of 9) at the cost of starting with 0 defend dice. Slower Mercenaries start with 1 defend die (the Crossbowman and Halberdier) or 2 defend dice (the Swordsman).

I was considering assigning a Dwarf Hero a starting move of 6, which is more in line with D&D. I chose a 7 move because it fit more symmetrically with the other Heroes' moves and still kept him a desirable choice. It also left a Dwarf's move equal to an Elf's while wearing Chain Mail, but faster while wearing Plate Mail (which feels right to me). To fit with a Dwarf's move of 6, the Goblin example above would further need to increase to a +4 move for reckless nature.

[torilen]

I gotta tell you, you're explanation here is truly excellent...truly a piece of work.

But...my lord, how in the hell would someone have come up with this thought
from the beginning. Yeah...looking back on things, it makes a lot of sense.
I think they just kind of threw movement numbers at them at first, though...
there is no way they could've come up with an explanation like that from
the start.

I see what you're saying, though...and with that explanation in the background,
I would probably be very tempted to leave the fixed movements as they are, as well.

[torilen]

Oh yes - that said, however...taking the reckless nature of the goblin in mind (with the large movement),
is there a way to use that in the game?? A way to take advantage of that?

[ken]

Oh yes - that said, however...taking the reckless nature of the goblin in mind (with the large movement),
is there a way to use that in the game?? A way to take advantage of that?

Don't you think they are reckless enough? Charging in with Attack 2 Defence 1?

[torilen]

I was thinking, perhaps, if a character was able to cast some sort of pit spell
or some sort of spell that blocks and does damage - the goblin would just charge
through it.

Or maybe, the goblin sets off traps in the game...if a character is in a straight
line from the goblin with the trap between.

[Daedalus]

HeroQuest relies on 2 red dice to create random Hero movement. Is it worth the trouble?

The Good:

Adds tension in a pursuit

Tends to separate Heroes so that monsters stand a better chance against early arrivals

Boosts the drama as a Hero randomly rushes to another's aid

A broad range of movement is possible with a simple rule

The Bad:

Rolling low and not getting into the action isn't any fun

Mandatory rolling of dice adds to game length

Heroes that stick together spend extra turns doing so, again adding to game length

Red dice are often visually lost on the game board, requiring search time

Another way for young players to knock down the furniture and figures, or roll 'sloppy dice' off the table

Same move mechanic as Monopoly

Could the game be improved by removing the dice mechanic for Hero movement and replacing it with a static number, like mercenaries, sorcerers, and elven warriors have?

While I like fixed movement to speed play and eliminate wasted turns due to poor rolls, I don't like giving up on the merits of rolling movement dice. As the game stands, movement dice kinda function like a surprise and initiative system: Roll well, and your Hero attacks first. Roll poorly, and your Hero may not be able to partake in a combat turn or be overextended, attacked by a monster first. Random movement also provides less certain, more interesting evasion/pursuit. So I've been thinking of a hybrid movement system that also accounts for the uncertainty of joining or leaving combat.

Whether moving and attacking or attacking and moving, combining Hero movement with unpredictable combat results in a random move. To better fit with fixed movement, only 1 red movement die is rolled and added to a fixed-move "base" of four less than a Hero's fixed movement value. For example, a Wizard with a move of 8 that attacks an Orc and then moves away would move (8-4)+1d6, or 5 to 10 squares. A Hero may elect to use random movement to attempt to reach a monster that is up to his maximum random move value away. Using the previous Wizard example, he may use random movement if a monster is 10 or less movement squares away to try to reach it.

A Hero that moved with his fixed-movement number and then decided to attack a monster would need to retroactively figure his movement with the method above. This might require the Hero to move back up to 1-3 squares, possibly spoiling the attack, or it might instead provide 1 or 2 squares of extra movement, affording the Hero a chance to switch the attack to a newly-eligible monster!

Fixed movement applies to all other (non-combat) situations. If a Hero doesn't move to attack a monster or leave a monster (dead or alive) that he attacked that turn, then he may use his fixed-movement. For example, a Wizard with a fixed-movement value of 8 that was exploring an empty corridor could move 8 squares without rolling dice.

A Hero necessarily uses reduced fixed-movement if a threat is very close. This "gimme" is equal to a Hero's fixed-movement value minus three (same as if a 1 were rolled). For example, a Wizard (with a fixed movement value of 8) that was located from 1 to 5 eligible squares of movement away from a monster could simply move adjacent to the monster and attack without rolling a movement die.

Certain spells, such as Tempest or Sleep, temporarily neutralize a monster's combat threat so that fixed movement may be used despite a Hero's attack. Another special case is Swift Wind, which no longer doubles movement dice. Instead, the spell now adds 2 dice of movement, but if Plate Mail is worn then only 1 movement die is gained.

To ease the implementation of these rules, both a Hero's fixed movement and random movement (fixed move-4 + 1d6) should be recorded on his character sheet in the Move section.

[sadkitchen]

We just move 12 when there are no monsters and roll movement when there are. Makes it go way faster.
Also whenever I Zargon, I always have goblins (and skeletons and zombies as well) Reckless charge the closest hero. (Regardless if it is a good idea or not)

-Sad Kitchen

[ken]

We just move 12 when there are no monsters and roll movement when there are. Makes it go way faster.
Also whenever I Zargon, I always have goblins (and skeletons and zombies as well) Reckless charge the closest hero. (Regardless if it is a good idea or not)

-Sad Kitchen

I like your movement idea, makes a lot of sense, what's a Reckless charge? Where have you been, thought we had lost you.

[sadkitchen]

Reckless charge is not so much an ability but a description of how they act.
Instead of trying to place themselves into positions of greater advantage, all 5 or 6 goblins will charge the barbarian directly in front of them instead of "thinking" and running around him to the squishy Wizard.

The story of where I have been is a long one best not told in civil message boards. Lets just say there was 1 unemployed HQ fan, 1 month of door to door vacuum sales, and 1 broken computer. Add that all together and you get me not being on the site for a few months.

-Sad Kitchen

[ken]

I like "Thacking" (old Norfolk Saying) squishy wizards. Much more fun than Barbarians. Good to see you back.