[Quest Pack] [12 Quests] - Heralds of Chaos

[Gold Bearer]

How did you manage that If I don’t overwrite anything then the new icons don’t show up. If I copy the batch file and overwrite the old one it doesn’t do anything when I try to run it. If I copy over the new jar file it says “Cannot find main class”. I think it needs the new jar and batch files to access the new icons?

[mitchiemasha]

I'm yet to venture into the Heroscribe world... I can only ponder the trials and tribulations that await.

[Count Mohawk]

It's possible that the Objects.XML file has two icons with the same name. If so, HeroScribe will be unreasonable and refuse to start under any circumstances. Also, it is best to install to a location that is not normally administrator-access only (those would include "Program Files" or the "Windows" folder).

[ruiza97]

i too had a hard time but was able to finally figure it out. But then i felt overwhelmed with all the icons and haven't opened it up since.

[Gold Bearer]

i too had a hard time but was able to finally figure it out.

How did you solve it? I get "cannot find main class" because of the jar file from the all in one pack and I can't figure it out, I think it needs that to run.

But then i felt overwhelmed with all the icons and haven't opened it up since.

I think you can rearrange them, so you could bring the ones you need into the main folder and have all the others in a different folder.

[ruiza97]

i too had a hard time but was able to finally figure it out.

How did you solve it? I get "cannot find main class" because of the jar file from the all in one pack and I can't figure it out, I think it needs that to run.

if i recall, i couldnt get it to run on the work computer but figured it out at home. trying to dl it to another work computer but can't get the program to run.

[Count Mohawk]

Smal update: I've finished writing a first draft of all 12 Quests in this pack. Before I post the v1.0 of the pack itself, I'm going to finish writing the Mentor parchment text for the new Quests, gather up all the materials I need to include with the Quest Book and go back over the Quests themselves to make sure the various themes (Monsters with equipment and the 5 new Monsters) are present throughout the entire book. No word on how long that will take; if I gave a word, it would probably take longer.

[Daedalus]

Great looking Quest Pack densely loaded with fun content! Have you had a chance to play test it yet, or do you have plans to? I have some suggestions that may help, but they're not necessary as your Quests work well.

In Quest 3, The Crags of Black Fire, mention that the Hero who kills Farod should get the Baal'roth's Flamberge Artifact Card. Also, shouldn't a sword as huge as Baal'roth's Flamberge include "may not be used with a shield"? Diagonal attack already provides a good defense. What happens when a Hero's Mind Points are reduced to 0? In shock? Dead? Out for the Quest? Controlled by Morcar/Zargon?

In Quest 4, The Chapel in Shadow, a blocked square tile is needed at the outer end of the middle-right corridor, under the two Paladins. May the Underworld Trident be recovered if thrown by a Hero, or is it lost? Also, a Chaos Fury makes it's first appearance. What figure should be used? Perhaps some advice for proxy figures should be included in an introductory section or on the last page with the monsters.

In Quest 5, Corridors of Unrest, the Enchanted Daggers might benefit from their own Artifact Cards for reference.

In Quest 7, crates are used and noted in room B. While this became clear upon reading, there was a moment of confusion when taking in the map. Maybe the icon should be identified beforehand in a Quest Pack introductory page. Also, the effect of the Gargoyle's Spirit Attack isn't detailed. I suppose it reduces Mind Points, but mentioning that in the notes takes away the guesswork. Perhaps you plan to include houserules before the Quests?

In Quest 8, The Silent Streets, there is a wooden shield. Is it the same as a shield, or does it have a certain property to differentiate it, such as breaking? If the former, I'd change the wording to "shield"; if the latter, I'd say some more detail about function is needed.

In Quest 9, Ritual of Eternity, is the A-B teleport one way--as with WoM--or both ways? The ending text could be taken to imply the latter. I think an explanatory notes of WoM spell traps and the AtOH swinging axe trap in an introductory section would help make this a stronger stand-alone Quest Pack. Finally, what attack options and/or spells are open to Bane as a Lich? Are they the same as the Sorcerer Bane? Can the Spirit Blade affect him?

[Count Mohawk]

Ah, a reviewer! I am always appreciative of thoughtful critique.

Great looking Quest Pack densely loaded with fun content! Have you had a chance to play test it yet, or do you have plans to? I have some suggestions that may help, but they're not necessary as your Quests work well.

I have no idea if or when I'll be able to playtest this one myself. I've shown it to my partner in crime (read: brother), who thinks it's well-made, but I doubt if we'll actually have the spare time at the same time to try it out. I suspect the Quests as currently written lean slightly in favor of being too hard, especially #12, which I haven't revealed yet. (Spoilers: it's another double-length Quest.)

In Quest 3, The Crags of Black Fire, mention that the Hero who kills Farod should get the Baal'roth's Flamberge Artifact Card. Also, shouldn't a sword as huge as Baal'roth's Flamberge include "may not be used with a shield"? Diagonal attack already provides a good defense. What happens when a Hero's Mind Points are reduced to 0? In shock? Dead? Out for the Quest? Controlled by Morcar/Zargon?

Good catch on the Flamberge vis-a-vis a Shield; I have made that change. I also made sure to indicate that the Heroes can take the sword after killing Farod.
Now, you might expect that a Hero who loses his last Mind Point to Baal'roth's Flamberge would become a servant of Chaos forever or something, but actually he just goes into Shock. I wanted to make sure the Heroes would actually use the weapon every so often; as written, the Dwarf or Elf can probably get off two or three good swings per Quest without going brain-dead. I also made sure to add a section before the Quests to describe the additional rules, including those for Shock.

In Quest 4, The Chapel in Shadow, a blocked square tile is needed at the outer end of the middle-right corridor, under the two Paladins. May the Underworld Trident be recovered if thrown by a Hero, or is it lost?

Fixed the missing block.
The Underworld Trident, as written / as intended, is currently not lost when thrown and can be retrieved after the figure hit with it dies. But I am starting to wonder, is the ability too strong? Given enough turns, the Trident will eventually kill off any monster, potentially trivializing combat.

Also, a Chaos Fury makes it's first appearance. What figure should be used? Perhaps some advice for proxy figures should be included in an introductory section or on the last page with the monsters.

Um. I haven't given this any thought at all. Rather than shell out hundreds for a complete collection of miniatures, I generally use various chess pieces from my hoard to represent monsters for which I don't have good substitutes. You may judge me for this moral failing if you want.
As far as representing the 5 new monsters on the board goes: Orc Chieftains can be either well-decorated Orcs or, failing that, use notched-sword Orcs from the original system. (There's only one room with more than one Chieftain; namely, Farod's boss room.) The Chaos Priests can be differently-painted Chaos Sorcerers, while Paladins and Death Knights can both be represented by properly-designated Chaos Warriors. The Chaos Furies I had imagined as classical bat-winged demons, which is not well conveyed by their current choice of icon. I may need to scour HeroScribe to see if there's a better option for them. If necessary, extra Gargoyles could be used to represent the Furies on the board.

In Quest 5, Corridors of Unrest, the Enchanted Daggers might benefit from their own Artifact Cards for reference.

Not a bad idea. I will add them to the queue.

In Quest 7, crates are used and noted in room B. While this became clear upon reading, there was a moment of confusion when taking in the map. Maybe the icon should be identified beforehand in a Quest Pack introductory page. Also, the effect of the Gargoyle's Spirit Attack isn't detailed. I suppose it reduces Mind Points, but mentioning that in the notes takes away the guesswork. Perhaps you plan to include houserules before the Quests?

I'll be adding the Crates to the beginning explanation section of the Quest Book.
As you might be able to tell, I got a little keyword-happy when I was designing this Quest Pack (see also the Priests in quests 5 and 6). You have read "Spirit Attack" correctly - it deals Mind damage instead of Body damage. That said, it doesn't need to be keyworded here, so I have edited the text on the Gargoyle's stat line to just say the full meaning without abbreviating anything.

In Quest 8, The Silent Streets, there is a wooden shield. Is it the same as a shield, or does it have a certain property to differentiate it, such as breaking? If the former, I'd change the wording to "shield"; if the latter, I'd say some more detail about function is needed.

That's just a normal shield. Although, I do have an unpublished WIP armory which does include specifically a wooden shield, which differs from the normal one in that it is destroyed if its bearer suffers Fire-elemental damage.

In Quest 9, Ritual of Eternity, is the A-B teleport one way--as with WoM--or both ways? The ending text could be taken to imply the latter. I think an explanatory notes of WoM spell traps and the AtOH swinging axe trap in an introductory section would help make this a stronger stand-alone Quest Pack. Finally, what attack options and/or spells are open to Bane as a Lich? Are they the same as the Sorcerer Bane? Can the Spirit Blade affect him?

The teleport trap is in fact one way. However, when I went back over the full set of Quests, I notice that this trap is the only Teleport Trap in the entire book, so I will probably be removing it to save on complexity.
Lich!Bane is intended to be the same as Sorcerer!Bane stat-wise, except he effectively has infinite Body Points. If he has any remaining Spells from before his transfiguration, he can continue to cast those as well, including the infinite-use Deathbolt.
To explain the interaction between Bane and the Spirit Blade, I will have to be a little more in-depth than what is revealed by the Quest Notes. Basically, Bane sealed his soul in a magical jar while he was still normally alive, making him a "phylactery lich". Since Bane's soul is not contained in his body, the Spirit Blade can't kill him off just by hitting his physical body. Two caveats apply, though. First, Lich!Bane can be stunned for one turn by dealing Body damage to him with any weapon, or two turns with the Spirit Blade. (This rule is used extensively in Quest 12.) Secondly, Bane's lichness is not on the same level as the Witch Lord's: while the Witch Lord can apparently reanimate any number of times, given a few hundred years between his various defeats, Bane will be rendered properly dead the instant the Heroes break his soul jar. If this explanation is inconsistent with the establish Hero Quest lore, please let me know so I can adjust the storyline.

Once I have some artworks for the artifacts in this set, I will update the first post with "v1.-1 alpha" of the Quest Booklet, at which point the Pack will basically be done, barring any further edits. Again, thanks for the critique.

[Anderas]

Me personally, i have some difficulties with the custom orcs as well. If an orc with a shield/armour/spear/crossbow is shown, what kind of stats does he have?
Maybe there is a common understanding about the changes; but me personally, i don't get it yet.