Elf Spells

[Superzook]

I own the USA 1990 HeroQuest, but am using the Hasbro/Pulse iOS app to play solo. The app has Elf Spells, but the original 1990 game does not have these. Do these come in an expansion? If not, what are the Elf Spells? If the Elf uses these spells instead of picking one of the 4 spell types, does that mean the Wizard gets all 4 sets of spell cards and the Elf gets the Elf Spells?

[j_dean80]

The Elf Spells were released in Mage of the Mirror expansion. The Elf can pick that set or an elemental set. The Wizard still only gets 3 elemental sets.

[Superzook]

Thanks for the info. I finished the base game, Kellar's Keep and am halfway through playing Prophecy of Telor.

I own Spirit Queen's Torment, Return of the Witch Lord, The Frozen Horror, The Mage in the Mirror & Rise of the Dread Moon, but haven't opened these yet so I didn't know the Elf Spells are in MitM.

[j_dean80]

If the Elf picks the Elf Spells, they get to choose which 3 of the 8 they want.

The deciding order for the Wizard and Elf is still the same. Wizard picks one set first, then Elf picks, then Wizard picks their next two sets if more than two elemental sets remain.

[Kurgan]

One day (in the not too distance future) we may get an official remake edition of Wizards of Morcar. In this European expansion, both the Elf and the Wizard get three new groups of spells to choose from, meaning they can freely substitute these for one (or more) of the groups of elemental spells they normally choose from. Granted, many have pointed out that these need tweaking, but there you go.

The idea with the Elf Spells was to give that character something unique, but personally I think having only three from that group of Elf Spells is pretty tricky... best left to experienced players who have already stocked up on other items they need (like healing, and armor!), though some spells are indeed very powerful (see "Hypnotic Blaze").

[TheLastChaosWarrior]

Yeah, as an owner of the original WOM pack, them new spell sets, spells of Darkness, spells of Protection and spells of Protection Detection (I think) were pretty lame.
My dad, even when offered these as a substitute, still always went with Fire, Earth and Water.
What a combination they can be together!!
Air is lame as well really, only worth it for genie, which can be wasted with one poor roll.

[wallydubbs]

The Wizard should only use 3 spell sets despite having access to more. If and when the Wizards of Morcar expansion comes out the Wizard should have access to 3 additional spells sets: Darkness, Detection and Protection. In the original version these spells were nowhere near as powerful as the Elemental Spells, but we can hope adjustments will be made to bring them up to par.
However due to the uncanny difficulty of later Quests Packs: Frozen Horror & Mage of the Mirror, there's no harm in giving the Wizard 4 sets of spells in these brutally hard quest packs.

Some players don't add these extra spell sets and treasure cards until you reach that particular quest pack, but I see no harm in adding them to the very start, I think it adds flavor to the game. You could play it whichever way makes you more comfortable.

As for the Elf spells, some of these require specifications that we're not gonna get and Zargon will need to use his discretion (the same could be said about Wizard's of Morcar spells): Disappear doesn't take into account if the Elf is wearing Elven Boots and casts it on himself, not does it say if the hero can pass through monsters under the effect of the spell; Hypnotic Blaze doesn't designate if the spell takes effect on other heroes that enter the room after it's cast. Time Stop should be more specific if the hero takes his extra turn immediately after the Elf or immediately after his next turn. And Twist Wood, good God, we need to know which monsters this spell can effect.

Some of us at the Inn find it more balanced if we take these Elf spells and categorize them into their own groups only accessible to the Elf. We've combined Flashback, Slow and Time Stop into the Time Spells Set: Disappear, Double Image and Hypnotic Blaze make up the Illusion spell set; and Deep Sleep and Twist Wood are combined with a made up Healing Spell to form a Nature Spell Set. Lestodante first posted this idea as I was formulating it in my own mind. But you're free to play it the original way.

[SirRick]

Yeah, as an owner of the original WOM pack, them new spell sets, spells of Darkness, spells of Protection and spells of Protection (I think) were pretty lame.
My dad, even when offered these as a substitute, still always went with Fire, Earth and Water.
What a combination they can be together!!
Air is lame as well really, only worth it for genie, which can be wasted with one poor roll.

Tempest is an awesome spell. The target loses its turn! No defense allowed. Useful for so many situations, the most common being then chance of giving your party another full round on the boss or monster before they can do anything. If I remember correctly only three enemies are immune to it: the Witch Lord, Kessandria, and the Guardian of KK. There is a reason Chaos Sorcerers later get access to spells like Dispell and Mirror Magic from MotM.

As kids, my friends and I found the spell so annoying that all our big bosses were immune to it in our custom quest packs.

[Kurgan]

A Tempested monster can still defend normally, you're thinking of Sleep...

[SirRick]

A Tempested monster can still defend normally, you're thinking of Sleep...

No, I am not. The monster can still defend from attacks but Tempest works automatically and there is no defense against it. The enemy still loses its turn, preventing it from attacking or summoning monsters or whatever they would do instead of nothing.