First Quest with the kids
Posted: August 9th, 2014, 12:02 pm
My two kids, Liam and Moira, are boardgamers at heart, despite my attempts at getting them interested in RPGs. They love Dungeon, Talisman, Pathfinder the Adventure Card Game, and all sorts of fantasy literature and media, but couldn't follow me into my love of D&D.
A week or so ago I remembered HeroQuest from my youth. Brilliant! Off to eBay I went and got my set Wednesday.
They loved the "toy value" and customization options. Having reread the simple rules form this website (thank you, Inn!) we set forward to do the Trial. Knowing that my kids would find more ownership in the game if I let them select their miniatures from my pile of D&D minis instead of unpainted and bright red (but awesome!) stock minis from the set. Plus, of course my daughter needed a girl piece.
Unfortunately, I'd forgotten just how tough this first quest was, and although they figured out right away where Verag was hiding, they got crushed by him. OK, rewind that, let's play a different mission!
The mission I found was on this website, part one (Goblin Caves) of Carlos' Starter Pack, and it looked perfect. Nice simple goals (kill the 15 goblins), no deadly enemies, and enough room to spread out and learn the game mechanics without a bunch of Chaos Warriors pounding them into dust.
They LOVED it. Since they were going in as a duo, I beefed them up again, letting Liam (Elf) have an eagle companion (his selected mini has one) that flies at one red die, attacks with one die, and must always end it's turn within LOS of him or be discarded. The Wizard, I allowed her to "recharge" Fire of Wrath every other turn, giving her a spell she could use more often. Neither were game-breaking, both excited them, and it helped even out the fact that there were two heroes missing!
(I may play a barbarian "duh" henchmen in their next game... all fight, no choice making, just to shrink that gap further.)
HeroQuest has returned to me with a vengeance a good 20 years after I first played it! And this time, with a new generation of gamers hacking down goblins, looting treasure chests, and daydreaming at the armory. YES!!
"Liam Jr. the Elf" and his hawk companion, Wings, facing off against several goblins in a corridor.
The nameless Wizard is surprised by a goblin charging through the door. FIRE OF WRATH!
VICTORY!
A week or so ago I remembered HeroQuest from my youth. Brilliant! Off to eBay I went and got my set Wednesday.
They loved the "toy value" and customization options. Having reread the simple rules form this website (thank you, Inn!) we set forward to do the Trial. Knowing that my kids would find more ownership in the game if I let them select their miniatures from my pile of D&D minis instead of unpainted and bright red (but awesome!) stock minis from the set. Plus, of course my daughter needed a girl piece.
Unfortunately, I'd forgotten just how tough this first quest was, and although they figured out right away where Verag was hiding, they got crushed by him. OK, rewind that, let's play a different mission!
The mission I found was on this website, part one (Goblin Caves) of Carlos' Starter Pack, and it looked perfect. Nice simple goals (kill the 15 goblins), no deadly enemies, and enough room to spread out and learn the game mechanics without a bunch of Chaos Warriors pounding them into dust.
They LOVED it. Since they were going in as a duo, I beefed them up again, letting Liam (Elf) have an eagle companion (his selected mini has one) that flies at one red die, attacks with one die, and must always end it's turn within LOS of him or be discarded. The Wizard, I allowed her to "recharge" Fire of Wrath every other turn, giving her a spell she could use more often. Neither were game-breaking, both excited them, and it helped even out the fact that there were two heroes missing!
(I may play a barbarian "duh" henchmen in their next game... all fight, no choice making, just to shrink that gap further.)
HeroQuest has returned to me with a vengeance a good 20 years after I first played it! And this time, with a new generation of gamers hacking down goblins, looting treasure chests, and daydreaming at the armory. YES!!
"Liam Jr. the Elf" and his hawk companion, Wings, facing off against several goblins in a corridor.
The nameless Wizard is surprised by a goblin charging through the door. FIRE OF WRATH!
VICTORY!