Azure's Additional Rules // And the Use of Mind Points
Posted: February 10th, 2021, 11:28 pmGreetings fellow adventurers. After a long, long odyssey, I return, with a few new ideas that I want to share. These extra rules are to be implemented by experienced HeroQuest players, in order to avoid confusion and also to obtain the full effect/feeling of renewal with the game system. It's not complicated, it's quite basic - and it might put a big dose of fresh air in your gameplay. Let's check these out.
MOVEMENT
I do enjoy rolling dice as much as you do for movement - I even use them in my current mod. However, if you feel like your gameplay is slowed down and you could cut down on all these rolls, movement would be the right place to start with. I suggest to bring the maximum movement to 7 squares as a flat movement allowance. You have the choice ; try it out, or not. Another choice you have would be to give Heavy Fighters a roll of 1d6 + 3, Magicians & Spellcasters 1d6+2, and Dexterity-based Fighters a roll of 1d6+4//or 1d6+5.
MIND POINTS
Over the last 2 years, I've encountered multiple people, newbies, veteran players and DMs alike - who all have the same following question ; ''Is there a way to make Mind Points more useful ?''
The answer is YES. Mind Points - as much as I understand the CORE RULES, correspond to your ability to resist Zargon's mental influence. So when you roll Mind Points, you would roll a number of d6 that correspond to your Mind Points and hope to get a ''6'' on at least one of these dice. Then ; if you succeed it means that you resisted Sleep / Command / or some other curse.
Fine. What's Next ?
Firstly, I decided to make the heroes faint when they reach ZERO MP, instead of dying. They will ''recover'' from fainting, losing 2 maximum BP, 1 maximum Attack Die, 1 maximum Defense Die for the remainder of the quest. Everything comes back to normal after the current dungeon. The no-death aspect facilitates the regular use of Mind Points - - follow along !!
Secondly, I decided to put some weakening curses in Zargon's spellbook. Since spellcasters were not so common in classic HeroQuest, I created 3 different evil mages that can be present randomly in any given dungeon. The new spells are :
MIND BLAST : Takes away a Mind Point permanently for the rest of the quest. Anybody who is in a 4-square radius from the enemy spellcaster when the spell is cast suffers the loss of 1 MP. The MP is recovered when the dungeon is finished. // This means that your character will succomb more easily to Sleep, Mind Control and all other ailments.
COMMAND (updated) : Here, you can apply the exact same rules told by the COMMAND card. Except this time ; if you want to instantly break the spell, you have to spend 2 Mind Points instantly. Or else ; keep rolling your MP on each turn and see if Zargon uses your hero to his advantage. That means your Barbarian will faint and crumble on the floor instantly hahaha. All that - just to avoid turning against the other heroes.
MIND LEECH : Target must be in line of sight - - the evil spellcaster who uses this spell on a hero will leech a Mind Point from the target and gain an additional Body Point. This makes combat just a little bit edgy and fresh.
TORMENT : Directed at any spellcaster (Elf/Wizard/any other magic user), this evil spell will torment the hero every time he/she uses a spell. Any time the targeted hero casts a magic spell, they lose a Mind Point. This will actually restrain their use of magic to a bare minimum, render combat really dicey and risky.
COWARDICE : Zargon tries to manipulate your mind and trick you into thinking you are weak and cowardly. Target : line of sight. If you fail your Mind Roll, your movement is reduced by 3 and you also lose 2 Attack Dice on your next turn.
SPELLTRAP : When an enemy spellcaster uses this incantation on you, you must defend with your Mind Points. If you fail, Zargon takes away one of your spell cards at random (cards must be shuffled before removing one). Of course you regain your missing spell on the next quest.
SILENCE : The targeted hero must roll his Mind Points as defense using the combat dice. If you have 2 white shields, you are safe. If you fail, you lose the ability to use magic for 3 turns. Break the spell immediately by spending a Mind Point.
SPELLS AND MIND POINTS
Another mechanic that you can use for your HeroQuest table, is the Re-Cast mechanic. Let's say that your Wizard wants to re-use a spell. He needs that very spell that he just spent a short while ago. Fine. Make the player lose a Mind Point in order to allow re-casting that same spell. Heavy attacks like Genie or Ball of Flame will require 2 MPs. Healing spells will require 3 Mind Points and will also require the spellcaster to flip another spell from his un-used deck (Muahahahahahahahahaharrrrrrr). Otherwise, healing could be overly exploited on a constant basis. Ask your DM about the Re-Cast mechanic and which spell would be more costly on the MP.
EQUIPMENT AND MIND POINTS
If you happen to be very crafty and you decide to create special weapons with special magical effects, include the use of Mind Points in the process. The hero who carries this special gear cannot lose more than 1 MP, otherwise his/her concentration will become insufficient to carry the magical properties in this item/artefact.
ENEMIES ARE TOO EASY ?
- Easy peasy solution : make all of them defend on the White Dice. If you are still cake-walking ; apply the same rule and add 1 defense die on top of that.
- Add dopplegangers of the heroes - who will possess the exact same talents and Stats that those of the heroes. I promise you'll have a good time.
- Make some enemies cast defensive spells, or additional Buffs on their attack. Can an infuriated Fimir break your wooden shield to smithereens ? Maybe !!
- Create an enemy who has better defense against sharp weapons. You'll need magic or blunt weapons against it.
FINAL WORDS
Have fun and tell me if my ideas are total crap !!
: D
ALSO - - IF YOU FAINT TWICE DURING COMBAT, YOUR HERO DIES. (Yeah, I think the 2nd fatal impact should be fair enough)
MOVEMENT I do enjoy rolling dice as much as you do for movement - I even use them in my current mod. However, if you feel like your gameplay is slowed down and you could cut down on all these rolls, movement would be the right place to start with. I suggest to bring the maximum movement to 7 squares as a flat movement allowance. You have the choice ; try it out, or not. Another choice you have would be to give Heavy Fighters a roll of 1d6 + 3, Magicians & Spellcasters 1d6+2, and Dexterity-based Fighters a roll of 1d6+4//or 1d6+5.
MIND POINTS Over the last 2 years, I've encountered multiple people, newbies, veteran players and DMs alike - who all have the same following question ; ''Is there a way to make Mind Points more useful ?''
The answer is YES. Mind Points - as much as I understand the CORE RULES, correspond to your ability to resist Zargon's mental influence. So when you roll Mind Points, you would roll a number of d6 that correspond to your Mind Points and hope to get a ''6'' on at least one of these dice. Then ; if you succeed it means that you resisted Sleep / Command / or some other curse.
Fine. What's Next ?
Firstly, I decided to make the heroes faint when they reach ZERO MP, instead of dying. They will ''recover'' from fainting, losing 2 maximum BP, 1 maximum Attack Die, 1 maximum Defense Die for the remainder of the quest. Everything comes back to normal after the current dungeon. The no-death aspect facilitates the regular use of Mind Points - - follow along !!
Secondly, I decided to put some weakening curses in Zargon's spellbook. Since spellcasters were not so common in classic HeroQuest, I created 3 different evil mages that can be present randomly in any given dungeon. The new spells are :
MIND BLAST : Takes away a Mind Point permanently for the rest of the quest. Anybody who is in a 4-square radius from the enemy spellcaster when the spell is cast suffers the loss of 1 MP. The MP is recovered when the dungeon is finished. // This means that your character will succomb more easily to Sleep, Mind Control and all other ailments.
COMMAND (updated) : Here, you can apply the exact same rules told by the COMMAND card. Except this time ; if you want to instantly break the spell, you have to spend 2 Mind Points instantly. Or else ; keep rolling your MP on each turn and see if Zargon uses your hero to his advantage. That means your Barbarian will faint and crumble on the floor instantly hahaha. All that - just to avoid turning against the other heroes.
MIND LEECH : Target must be in line of sight - - the evil spellcaster who uses this spell on a hero will leech a Mind Point from the target and gain an additional Body Point. This makes combat just a little bit edgy and fresh.
TORMENT : Directed at any spellcaster (Elf/Wizard/any other magic user), this evil spell will torment the hero every time he/she uses a spell. Any time the targeted hero casts a magic spell, they lose a Mind Point. This will actually restrain their use of magic to a bare minimum, render combat really dicey and risky.
COWARDICE : Zargon tries to manipulate your mind and trick you into thinking you are weak and cowardly. Target : line of sight. If you fail your Mind Roll, your movement is reduced by 3 and you also lose 2 Attack Dice on your next turn.
SPELLTRAP : When an enemy spellcaster uses this incantation on you, you must defend with your Mind Points. If you fail, Zargon takes away one of your spell cards at random (cards must be shuffled before removing one). Of course you regain your missing spell on the next quest.
SILENCE : The targeted hero must roll his Mind Points as defense using the combat dice. If you have 2 white shields, you are safe. If you fail, you lose the ability to use magic for 3 turns. Break the spell immediately by spending a Mind Point.
SPELLS AND MIND POINTS Another mechanic that you can use for your HeroQuest table, is the Re-Cast mechanic. Let's say that your Wizard wants to re-use a spell. He needs that very spell that he just spent a short while ago. Fine. Make the player lose a Mind Point in order to allow re-casting that same spell. Heavy attacks like Genie or Ball of Flame will require 2 MPs. Healing spells will require 3 Mind Points and will also require the spellcaster to flip another spell from his un-used deck (Muahahahahahahahahaharrrrrrr). Otherwise, healing could be overly exploited on a constant basis. Ask your DM about the Re-Cast mechanic and which spell would be more costly on the MP.
EQUIPMENT AND MIND POINTS If you happen to be very crafty and you decide to create special weapons with special magical effects, include the use of Mind Points in the process. The hero who carries this special gear cannot lose more than 1 MP, otherwise his/her concentration will become insufficient to carry the magical properties in this item/artefact.
ENEMIES ARE TOO EASY ? - Easy peasy solution : make all of them defend on the White Dice. If you are still cake-walking ; apply the same rule and add 1 defense die on top of that.
- Add dopplegangers of the heroes - who will possess the exact same talents and Stats that those of the heroes. I promise you'll have a good time.
- Make some enemies cast defensive spells, or additional Buffs on their attack. Can an infuriated Fimir break your wooden shield to smithereens ? Maybe !!
- Create an enemy who has better defense against sharp weapons. You'll need magic or blunt weapons against it.
FINAL WORDS Have fun and tell me if my ideas are total crap !!
: D
ALSO - - IF YOU FAINT TWICE DURING COMBAT, YOUR HERO DIES. (Yeah, I think the 2nd fatal impact should be fair enough)