Prince Magnus' Gold - what is this and how do I fix it?

[SirRick]

The locked chests were not my idea, I just copied the text word-for-word from the NA quest book. The only differences are the notes B and C that I added.

If the Heroes don’t find the secret doors, they don’t really miss anything and can finish the quest quickly and move onto something more interesting. The most common complaint about this quest is the long boring trek back through the dungeon.

Honestly the best “fix” is to just simply end the quest as soon as boss fight is cleared, as most people frequently do.

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Sorry I hadn't spotted that your text was exactly the same as the NA edition, but as that edition went with the "sealed chest" option, perhaps I should do the same...rework coming on...

Prince Magnus Gold

And Admiral I agree about The Trial, in my version I have renamed it as The Tomb of Fellmarg and placed it between Bastion of Chaos and Barak Tor - Barrow of the Witch Lord and inserted a new first quest.

[Zenithfleet]

Each to their own, but I agree with you on 'The Trial'. I would never send a new group on this quest first, it's a sure way to put some people off and who wants to do that? If I was playing through the Base Game quests again, which I probably will never do, I would put The Trial last, as a final passage to becoming a true hero. I wouldn't start with The Maze either, it's way too easy and boring, I think this might put some off as well. I would go straight for Sir Ragnar as a great first quest.

In my opinion, 'The Trial' is the tournament demo quest. Or the 'advertisement' quest.

It's the quest you play to show off how cool HeroQuest is when you only have time for ONE game and you might never see the players again. Or the players are kids who need to be hooked NOW. Not several hours and quests from now.

That's why it uses every single item of furniture and every single monster--rewarding impatient kids with the joy of exploring and finding cool stuff, instead of forcing them to slog through mostly empty rooms, the way several early campaign quests do.

And that's why it has incredibly simple rules (at least in the EU version). No secret doors, traps, new equipment, or even search rules. Just, "Explore, find cool dollhouse dungeon furniture, find gold, fight monsters, die!"

It's so hard because it's a complete experience in itself. Can you make it to the boss and win? It's tough as nails because it's short and sweet, like an arcade video game.

And, having got a taste of the HeroQuest experience by playing 'The Trial', players will want MORE! Even if they died. Especially if they died. They'll want to try again. At which point they can be convinced to play this strange newfangled 'campaign mode' where results carry over from game to game.

Interestingly, the later GW game Warhammer Quest takes a similar approach. It can be played as a one-off boardgame with randomised elements: you just open the box, play a game, and put it away again, like chess. Alternatively, you can play it as an ongoing campaign of linked quests. But because it's tuned to provide a challenging one-off experience, getting past the first quest in a campaign can be like pulling teeth. The first quest of a WHQ campaign is notoriously hard to survive.

If I were playing HeroQuest with a group who had all agreed to play a campaign, I'd start with the Rescue of Sir Ragnar.

But 'The Trial' is the one you pull out when you've only got two hours before their plane leaves and none of them have ever played a game like this before and you might not see them again for three years.

(Well, okay, if you're playing with adults, 'Melar's Maze' might be a better one-off. But for kids, it's 'The Trial' all the way.)

[wallydubbs]

I just played this quest with a new group: Elf, Berserker, Explorer & Rogue.
This one I liken to "Murphy's Quest" as anything can go wrong most certainly almost did. The treasure deck was so unkind.

The first thing the Berserker drew from the Treasure Deck was a Wandering Monster. Filthy Abomination followed the heroes in through the stairwell. But the Berserker avoided damage with 2 s!
In the next room after the goblins were killed the Explorer draws a Hazard! But wait, Danger Sense kicks in and her gets a redraw: Hazard again!
Out into the long hallway I placed an Orc Archer. The Explorer makes the first charge down the hallway since she has TrapSmith ability, while the Rogue throws Daggers, but none take out the Orc Archer. The Elf covers the Explorer with his Disappear spell. So when it's the Archer's turn he hits the Rogue. On the Explorer's next turn she rolls a , cancelling the Disappear spell. The Rogue managed to get 1 with a throwing dagger, but the Orc Archer blocked and fired an arrow into the Explorer. The Explorer and Rogue finally make it down the hall, killing the Orc Archer. The Berserker and Elf lagged on their movement.

Explorer leads the charge into the next room. TrapSmith activates as she goes in for the attack against the two Orcs. The Rogue and Explorer took them both out. On the Explorer's next turn she goes to disarm the spear trap: ! Followed by ! The Explorer's skills are failing her and she's down to 2BP.
Rogue searches for treasure and draws Poison! But rolled to keep his mind point.
Elf & Berserker finally make it as they continue to the next room and take out the next 2 Orcs. Berserker searches for treasure and draws another Wandering Monster! The Abomination lands on its initial attacks, and on its 2nd attack, bringing the Berserker down to 2 Body Points, she uses Retaliation, and doesn't roll a single ! After all 4 heroes trying they finally kill the Abomination.

Into the following hallway the Explorer's TrapSmith goes off and she successfully disarms the pit traps. Berserker and Elf take out the goblins in the torture rack room while the Rogue and Explorer check out the little closet, Explorer finds a Potion of Healing. Considering both she and the Berserker are down to 2 Body Points and this is their only Healing Potion, everyone insists she give it to the Berserker, who does most of the fighting.
The Elf also finds a Heroic Brew in the Torture Rack room.

The Explorer leads the way, discovering the traps in the mini hallway, so the heroes decide to take the other door and kill and Orc in that room. Berserker draws Hazard from the treasure deck, dropping to 1 Body Point. She drinks the Potion of Healing for , up to 3BP.
Into the room with the Secret Door the Rogue draws 15 gold from the treasure deck, Berserker finds the secret door.

The heroes proceed cautiously, careful with their checks and spot the spear trap, which the Explorer disarms. Into the room with 3 Orcs the heroes are able to subdue all 3 without taking any further damage. But the Elf's treasure search yields a Wandering Monster, and the Abomination robs the Elf of 3 Body Points before they take them out.

Out in the hallway the Explorer takes out the Orc guarding the entrance to Gulthar's room. Knowing the center room is probably the boss room the heroes prepared for a final assault. The Rogue passes his Potion of Magic Resistance (found in a previous quest) to the Berserker.
The Explorer leads the charge to utilize TrapSmith, none detected as she takes out a Goblin. Elf follows in and drops a grsnage, casting Hypnotic Blaze. Explorer rolls a , unaffected! An Orc, Abomination and Gulthar all roll a ! The 2nd Orc rolls a and the remaining Goblin gets a , the only monster to resist the spell. The Berserker drank the Potion of Magic Resistance to avoid the effects. Rogue rolled a .

Berserker ran in and activated Frenzy against the hypnotized Orc, Abomination and the unaffected Goblin, clearing them all out in 1 swoop. The Explorer took out the last hypnotized Orc. Gulthar was defenseless for 2 more turns, handing the win to the heroes. The Explorer found Jewels when searching this room, activating Treasure Hunter as well.

It started off dire but the Heroes had the best luck at the end.