Legacy of Sorasil inspired new Quartet

[Kurgan]

Regarding the Mystic...

I realize the way I wrote the rules and the upgrade rules it sounds like I was saying that the Mystic at Champion level ONLY gets to pick a 6th spell if she sticks to the Elementalist deck. Originally I must have been thinking, this is a way to show mastery of those spells, as opposed to the "new" spell decks I've come to allow as expansions for the Mystic (the Necromancy, Forest, and Sorcery decks originally created by Ethica on the Inn pages). She after all can't summon an elemental unless she's using this Deck (for Knight level upgrade).

The same would apply for the Wizard/Alchemist. If he picks the Darkness, Protection and Detection spells guess what? No chance to summon an element at Knight level (unless he happens to have saved up enough Spell Scrolls). Of course once I introduce the Wizard's Arsenal, and allow the Wizard an opportunity to have more than 9 spells at a time, then all bets are off!

But a Mystic who chooses Forest spells doesn't get to summon a "wood" elemental (though that might be cool). Actually the Forest Spells let you summon a Spirit of the Forest or Herne type character, and the Sorcery let you summon a (weaker) Fire Elemental. And the Necromancy lets you summon some Skeletons (or Chaos Mutants!). So I guess that is the consolation.

The Summon Elemental ability could be a game changer. It will let you steam roll a room full of enemies (even a boss character) rather easily, if you get a lucky roll on 1 red die. You see, the Elemental survives for as many turns as 1 red die + 1. So it's guaranteed to last 2 turns. But could last for 7. Most bosses are TOAST unless they can escape out of there or case an appropriate "counter" element spell (douse the Fire Elemental with water for instance). You have to sacrifice three spells though which is a huge loss. Talk about gambling with your abilities! If you saved enough spells you could theoretically summon THREE elementals (one per turn, since it counts as an action to summon), in a Quest. Maybe more if you had enough Spell Scrolls. The Mystic could potentially Summon 2.

So yes, I wanted to make the Wizard gain power over time, and I wanted the Mystic to be more immediately powerful, but still behind the Wizard in terms of his flexibility. So yes, the Mystic has better fighting prowess, but the Wizard has more strategery with his powers and ultimately more awe inspiring moments if he plays his cards right later on.

So long story short, I would consider it appropriate to let the Mystic pick a 6th ability from the Forest, Sorcery, or Necromancy decks after winning 10-14 quests, it doesn't seem inappropriate, even if I didn't write that originally. I don't feel like printing the card again just for that though...

[Kurgan]

So far I have play tested a Champion Elf and Barbarian in battle (they work well!), but none of the others. Players mentioned that they liked the attack upgrades but wondered why there were no armor upgrades (the only one was given to the Wizard, which hasn't been used by anyone yet, and he has to have the Wizard's Cloak to benefit).

I plan to introduce the Scrolls of Battle later on which allow the Heroes to start using Black and Green Dice a lot more often, when they cluster together in battle "formations," so that is where it would come into play. So far no use for Purple, Orange or Yellow Dice. I imagine those would come into play through the Wizard's Arsenal most likely.

The "draw potion" ability is fun, but I did have a player draw "Poison" so her (base level) Wizard started with 1 less BP as a result. I guess I could "play nice" and remove the Poison (there are four of them) cards from the Potions deck for the between Quests draw since you have potential to get TWO of them and potentially (if you roll a skull on 1 white die, so 50% chance each) start with half health. Of course the Wizard HAS to have at least 1 healing spell, so he might just be forced to use it "early" at some point. Still, most of the time you get something good (even if it's a specialty potion that only one Hero can use, you just pass it to him). I also allow the Heroes to sell back some of the potions (that have gold values on them) right then and there at full price because you didn't use them, and they can also "buy an extra copy" of any of those they like if the have enough gold between quests too. This is a "free" upgrade I provided for the Elf and Wizard after they complete one quest. TO clarify, I don't mean they buy/sell potions during the quest, only between quests.

The "draw potion card" mechanic still comes into play in my house rules whenever you search for Treasure in a room with an Alchemist Bench (and no Quest Treasure) or if you draw one of the homebrew Treasure card additions ("Mystery Potion" draw 1 from the Potions deck).

[Kurgan]

As a test, I printed some new tiles, you can view here. I probably will end up doing the same for the other new heroes eventually.

[Odanan]

I found this female wizard mini would be perfect for the Legacy of Sorasil's Cleric:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1147574262/female-wizard-sorceress-for-heroquest-as

[Kurgan]

She fits pretty well with the aesthetic suggested by the Amiga game. I chose a more monastic design for mine.