[WIP] Serving the Empire [9 quests]

[Pancho]

Good work has been done here to breathe life into this pack! The new artefacts and bosses especially are very good.

There are some really nice ideas in most of these quests, it just needs a bit of work to link the pack together overall I think.
I want to make some specific suggestions for each quest in another post, these are just my overall suggestion’s;

Quest 9 shouldn’t be the last quest as it has fewer monsters than any other quest except 1 & 3. You could either move it to be the 2nd quest, or use it as the first part of a double quest, i.e. an entrance way into the final quest much like in the Elf & Barbarian expansions.

Quest 7 in my opinion should really be the final quest; Mekis is a real tough bugger to fight, and he’s backed up by a Chaos warlock to defend him further. There are lots of monsters even before the Heroes can get to that pair of bosses, depending on which route they choose. If you put quest 9 immediately before this, with no health recovery, you can make a really challenging adventure.

Quest 8 is just a “clear-out” quest in the same vein as Bastion of Chaos. It needs to appear a bit earlier in the sequence, and certainly not after the quest against Mekis.

My suggestion is to rank these quests by difficulty and importance, and then tweak the stories to link it all together. Have Mekis mentioned earlier on, maybe by Sir Senet or one of the gargoyle bosses, or the Fimir that captures the Heroes.

[lestodante]

Can't wait to hear specific suggestions... feel free to post any idea you have in mind!
Quest 8 and 9 are still the original quests, I still have to rework them. In particular quest 9 seems unfinished as it has no intro too.
For Quest 8 I think I will do a band of Orc to team up by a Chaos Sorcerer that can give them special weapons and add a special rule for the maze.
Quest 9 has no story at all so I am more free to change almost everything, and will probably link to Quest 10 that I wrote as a few days ago. So there will be more monsters or they will have some power up.

The original author only used components from the Game-System so my idea was to collocate this beetween the Game-System and Kellar's Keep; this is why I made the new artifacts to become useless very early. I don't want the Heroes to save any new weapon for the later questpacks (KK or ROTWL) and compromise their difficulty level.

There are apparently lot of monsters in quest 6 and 7 because the Heroes now own the special arrows from Lord Lane. I often placed 3 or 4 monsters in the same row so they can be shot at once to add some fun! Even Mekis can be easily rebalanced: if the heroes are a bit smart they can shot diagonally hitting a skeleton and the Sorcerer together, leaving Mekis exposed to any spell.
Also I want to feature at least one more Chaos Sorcerer because there is only one in the whole questpack and it's not even a boss or able to cast spells. So the chaos warlock figure can finally have his starring role later!
As for the stories of each quest, an intro and an outro, if you wish to suggest something in particular or to better link the quests, I will appreciate it a lot. I can still change everything.

[Pancho]

That all makes sense. I agree that a proper Chaos sorcerer would fit in nicely. I’ll wait til you’ve done quests 8, 9 & 10 before I make any suggestions for storyline as they seem as if they might be important for the overall theme.

In terms of specific points about the other quests;
Quest 1
(A) personally I wouldn’t give out the healing potion so early in the quest. Make them work for it. Treasure like this is better placed in a furniture room anyway.
(B) should say “...are not useful”, rather than unuseful.
(C) it took me a while to figure out what was the point of this, then I saw the falling block trap that can trap the rest of the party. Very clever idea!
(D) Maybe reduce damage from the chest traps to just 1BP. It’s the 1st quest so the party may not have a tool kit (I know it’s supposed to come after the game system but people might just play it with fresh Heroes) and it seems a bit harsh to punish them so much here.

Quest 2
I don’t like the word “goodies” here, it should be a more serious word such as supplies, provisions, victuals etc.
(B) I love this room! I can imagine a Hero attacking a harmless sleeping Fimir and falling down the pit for his troubles!
(C) nice spell scroll for an often neglected spell.
(D) this is great Too!
(E) text should read “gargoyle is slain” and “lose consciousness” rather than lost senses.

Quest 3
Nothing to say here other than it’s another great spell scroll and a nice use of Fimirs.

Quest 4
(B) typo on strength
(F) Lord Lane’s Quiver looks like it might be fun to use! If there are any arrows left it could even be used in Kellar’s Keep next to take out some of those monotonous rooms of greenskins

Quest 5
(C) I think this trap is fine as by now they should have a tool kit, especially after the lesson of quest 1.
(E) movement of 7 squares is too much for someone who has been a prisoner in a dungeon for several years! Alternatively, say that Sir Senet has only been missing for a few months. More realistic maybe, as these are Morcar’s dungeons after all.

Quest 6
(B) another typo on strength.
(C) should say “the” Fear spell. I really like the bosses in these quests, they are fun and dangerous at the same time.
(E) the letter is missing on the map, I assume it’s supposed to be in the other little room to the right of the room with the wandering zombies.

Quest 7
This is my favourite quest. I like the ambush at the start and the Chaos warrior bosses.
Just a few things. Maybe “necessary” rather than mandatory is a better fit in the intro text.
I like the name “potion of retribution” rather than counterattack. I love the art and the special rule though.
(B) I think the special rule to get the keys can be improved. The Heroes will probably never get to open door 3 because it’s hard to roll a black shield on one die when they might not get many attempts (Wandering monsters might not come around when you actually want one for a change!). Maybe eliminate room 1 and say that the key to room 3 is discovered on either a black or white shield. Also consider a note to prompt Morcar to send in a monster with a set of keys if no Wandering Monster cards are drawn?

Looking forward to version 2 of the next quests.

[Daedalus]

. . . Anyone that wish to review the text or contribute with ideas is welcome.

Okay, here are my suggestions for the cards:

b Spell Scroll Clairvoyance You may ask the evil wizard player to lay out the contents of one room anywhere on the board at once. If that room is empty you may not try again, though the spell isn't cast until a room on the map is found. Scroll crumbles to dust after it is used.

b Spell Scroll Stone Dust This spell may be cast by any Hero on a stone item. A stone door or wall, a fallen rock, or even a Gargoyle will be suddenly reduced to a pile of sand. Scroll crumbles to dust after it is used.

b Lord Lane's Quiver This ancient quiver contains nine special crossbow quarrels. They are so powerful that one bolt can hit every monster in an uninterrupted line with a single shot. Monsters defend with one less die than usual. Discard after all arrows are shot. b

b Gem of Restoration The magical properties of this stone can heal any Heroes in the same room. Each Hero rolls a red die and recovers up to that many Body Points. Further uses will subsequently restore 1 less Body Point until this artifact becomes useless.

I'd say the stone could work as you had laid out in your earlier post, but it could be understood that new rolls with an increasing penalty are also possible. In the latter case, only the artifact use need be tracked, either on the Hero's player sheet or with counters on the Artifact Card.

=3, -1=0, -2=0, -3=2, -4=0, -5=0
=5, -1=4, -2=2, -3=0, -4=0, -5=0
=2, -1=3, -2=3, -3= 2, -4=2, -5=0
=64, -1=3, -2= 1, -3=0, -4=0, -5=0

Since we're dealing with Hero Quest, I'm fine with either interpretation being possible--they both work.

[lestodante]

well, thanks to all for the revisions, I'm already at work to fix them.
As for the GEM, I think it is less confusing with one single initial roll for each player. The Gem interact with each hero in a different way, so it doesn't shares its power in equal parts (the dice will decide).
So it can happen that a player rolls a at the first use; in this case he is only allowed to take advantage of the Gem once.

[lestodante]

In Quest 4, I just added a riddle for the central room with the tomb, may need some help to spell it in a proper way:

C. This is Lord Lane's tomb. The inscriptions on the tomb say:
"Being egocentric doesn't pay. When you'll see you in a corner you'll find your path".
The secret passage can not be found with a normal search. When a Hero steps on of a tile maked with a X he will hear a click but nothing else will happen. When at least 3 Heroes will stand on the X the passage will open.
Other ideas:
1. "I never liked to be put in the centre. Only when you are in a corner you can find your way".
2. "Only fools stand in the centre of the battle. The smartest stay in a corner to find their path".
3. "Meditating in a corner will help you to find your path".

[lestodante]

Uploaded new version of Quest 8, some changes in the map and completely new intro and notes.
Posted another card, Potion of Rage; I still have to rework its text because I want that as long you continue to lost more body points, you can continue to add dice to your attack.
Did some minor changes in Quest 3 (that is now linked to Quest 8): the Heroes will find all their equipment but not the Spirit Blade; it will reappear in Quest 8.
Also I am going to revise the Counterattack Potion, it will not let you counterattack every time but only when you succesfully parry an enemy attack.

[Drew]

I saw u updated Q8 so you know ill give you my update as well .
Since more people started contributing to this lately I will tell you my opinion on all their ideas too. I only mention points were I disagree with Pancho.

Q4 Note C: I think the riddle you chose is the best to go with.

Q8 Story: "He is a necromancer and is acting a ritual with the purpose of destroying the Spirit Blade." id say "Gegel, is a necromancer, who is preparing a ritual that will destroy the Spirit Blade."
Q8 Note B: typo "which"
Q8 Note C: playerS plural. Also "Even after the Heros pass through the door it will again close after 5 turns." i think this line is unesessary and adds confusion, id just remove it, it makes perfect sense as is.
Q8 Note D: heroES plural
Q8 Note E: add a Sorcerer's Table, room looks too empty for been important.

Pancho:
Q1 Note D: strongly dissagree, I think you should turn it back to the original damage. Here is why: Its the last room, and they players know it cause they see the Chaos Warriors. If they are hasty to get the treasures before looking for a trap cause they think thats it then they should be "punished" for it. So they can learn early on that a quest might not actually be over when they think it is. And if they dont have disarming kit they have the Dwarf. Plus most luckily one wont even die if he gets hit by the original trap cause its a fairly easy quest so they'll have lots of HP remaining, but they''d still learn their lesson.
Q7 Artifact: I think you should stick with "potion of counterattack".
Q7 Note B: Pancho has a point here, Heroes might have a problem gathering the 3 keys. My suggestion: throw in a wandering monster every 15 minutes, i do it to some of my quests for other reasons but it could work here very good.

[lestodante]

Finished quest 9, which was totally reworked, using my own map. I hope it is not too much hard as Mind Points are involved in this, so Barbarian and Dwarf could be the weakest characters this time and must be very careful.
I also changed the order of the cards just to avoid wasting Stone Dust in Quest 6, it is more useful in the last one.
Added a "Mind Recovery" scroll in Quest 3 that will be very precious in Quest 9. Also the Talisman of Lore will have its importance here.
I just need to write intro and epilogue for the whole questpack and then it is finished.
Again will need your help for revisions.

[Pancho]

Quest 1 - I now agree with Drew that Potion of Counterattack is a better name. I Have no problem with it being moved to quest one and I think the rule tweak makes the power level just right.

Quest 4 - Of the riddle versions you posted I prefer "Only fools stand in the centre of the battle. The smartest stay in a corner to find their path".
The current riddle ("Being egocentric doesn't pay. When you'll see you in a corner you'll find your path"), has potential to be the better option but the second sentence doesn't make sense grammatically. It could be "When you're in a corner you'll find your path", or "When backed into a corner you'll find your path".
I'd actually prefer a combination of the two options - "Only fools stand in the centre of the battle. When backed into a corner you'll find your path".

Quest 7 - I like how you've changed the key-holders to any orc, rather than just a wandering monster orc. The problem is that there is only one orc in the quest!
Edit - I just noticed that a genie can be used to open a locked door. I think the balance is about right now.

Quest 8 - I like that there are so many monsters! Is there a specific reason why the Spirit Blade was lost to the Hero's? I might have missed it in the text. I think there needs to be a reason linked to previous events.

Quest 9 - Very interesting quest. I share your concern that the damage to mind as well might make it too difficult. We need a playtester or two...

Quest 10 - Is there going to be a tenth?