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"Dark Magic" & "Waagh" Spell Lists - WIP

Topics related to Games Workshops Advanced HeroQuest.

"Dark Magic" & "Waagh" Spell Lists - WIP

Postby MingTheMirthless » March 21st, 2026, 3:44 am

I've been playing around with the spell lists I found on https://greywolf.critter.net/ahq/spells.htm

The Dark list doesn't really suit what I'd like to use for a Warlock, (It's heavily Necromancy/Undead vibe) and the Ork Waagh list is very incomplete.
All spell names and ideas are taken from some version of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I'm going to take a break and then do some comparisons between the other spell lists. The original Dark Magic spells from AHQ are in the Grey Seer Skaven list

DARK MAGIC :chaoswarrior:

Doombolt (B)
A bolt of black fire bursts from the caster's palm and streaks toward an enemy up to 18 spaces away, to which the caster has complete line of sight. The model suffers 7 damage dice of injury.
Drain Life (B)
Upon a successful close combat strike against an enemy, 5 damage dice of injury are inflicted, rolled against Intelligence instead of Toughness. For each two Wounds inflicted, the caster is healed one Wound.
Witch Flight (B)
The caster is carried on howling black winds of magic, transported anywhere within line of sight, up to 48 spaces away.
Transformation (B)
The caster raises their arms, incants, and transforms into a roaring creature of Dark Magic! Upon a successful Intelligence test, the caster transforms himself and gains +5WS +5St +5T. This transformation lasts until dispelled, until the next exploration turn, or the caster is slain. While transformed, the Sorcerer cannot cast spells.
Word of Pain
Target one model within 24 squares. Word of Pain may be cast into close combat. Until the start of the caster's next Magic phase, the affected model has their WS and BS reduced to 1.
Blade Wind
A dark glittering wind of twisting blades falls upon the caster's foes. Place the fireball template anywhere within 12 spaces and line of sight of the caster. Any model at least partially under the template is hit by 6 damage dice of injury that are applied against the WS of the victim, not against Toughness. If the caster fails an Intelligence test, this drops to only 3 damage dice.
Skull Of Terror
The caster takes on a bestial, monstrous visage that strikes fear into any who gaze upon him. He is treated as a Fearsome Monster until the next exploration turn.
Black Horror
The caster is surround by a growing swirling black cloud. All models within D12 squares take a Strength test or suffer a Wound, no armour saves allowed. Any unit that suffers one or more Wounds must immediately test for Fear
Power of Darkness If Power of Darkness is successfully cast, the wizard immediately can to dispel a single spell in play or remove a spell effect from one target.
Battle Lust
The builds within those near to the Dark Mage, filling them with a terrible lust for bloodshed. Until the end of this turn, the target unit gains the Berserker special rules. A berserker receives one free attack per turn, which must be made at the same time as its normal attack. Treat the berserker as having a Weapon Skill two lower than normal when opponents work out their hit roll. A berserker must always move towards the closest enemy and engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Berserkers recover from being berserk at the end of combat.
Phantasmagoria
Place the Magic Circle template anywhere within line of sight and 24 spaces of the caster. Any model, friend or foe, covered by the template – or passing through the template must take a Fear test. If they fail they lose 1 Wound. The Spell effect lasts until the next exploration phase and does not move
The Flesh is Weak
The Caster points their dagger at a single model within line of sight. The target gains the Diseased Effect, and loses one Strength and one Toughness point. Between expeditions, the victim must visit a Healer to have the disease cured. If the disease is not removed for any reason, the victim must have his Strength and Toughness reduced by one. This will happen each time between expeditions until the disease is cured, or until one of these scores has fallen to zero. If this happens, the victim dies.

WAAAAAGH! :orc: :goblin:

Ard as Nails (B)

The power of the Waaagh! flows out from the shaman and into any one Orc of his choosing, rendering them able to ignore battle damage or problems of being winded and also have hatred for all combat opponents for a limited time. The detriments of being dismembered still apply. Greenskins gain Regeneration until the next exploration round
Brain Bursta (B)
Projecting violence in a mental wave, the shaman glowers at his target and lets loose a bolts of brain-melting force. The bolts are centred on a 5x5 on the Shaman. All models failing a Speed test take 5 damage dice
Eadbutt (B)
As the shaman chants and thrusts his head forward, a wave of potent green energy emanates outwards, forming a shockwave of of power that assails an unfortunate enemy. The Shaman smashes an enemy with an 'eadbutt of pure Orc-power. Both players roll 1d12 and add it to their respective Intelligence scores. If the Shaman's total is higher, the defender is immediately reduced to 0 Wounds, rendered unconscious.
Ere We Go! (B)
As the shaman chants his gibberish, he seems to visibly leak fighty energy, which boosts the aggressive zeal and close combat prowess of nearby mobs of Orcs gain Berserker status until the Shaman’s next turn
Fist of Gork
In a fighting fury the shaman's gnarled fists grow large, becoming harder than iron. The Shaman gain Two Attacks until the next exploration round
Foot of Gork
The shaman raises his arms and implores the sky with wild gesticulations. An almighty green foot descends to crush the foe, making a resounding krunching sound as it does so. The mighty foot of Gork stomps down to squish the enemy into splutchy pancakes! The "foot" template may be placed in any area within the Shaman's line of sight, up to 12 spaces away. (This covers a 5 by 3 area.) On a roll of 1 to 3 on 1d12, the template will drift in a random direction (1-3: forward, 4-6: right, 7-9: backward, 10-12: left) that many spaces. Anyone under the template takes 8 damage dice of injury.
Gaze of Gork
A 24 square destructive blast of seething magical energy shoots out of the shaman's bloodshot eyes – all models in the front facing line take 4 damage dice of injury
Mork Saves Us!
The impassioned pleading of the shaman summons the protective power of Mork against the enemy's spells. Any enemy spells affecting the Shaman or his allies in the same dungeon section or passage are immediately dispelled, and no further offensive spells are possible against them until the Shaman's next turn
Hand of Mork
The shaman's eyes roll back and an enormous, ghostly green hand materialises in order to pick up a nearby mob and plonk them down where the fighting is fiercest within 12 sqaures. On a roll of 1 to 3 on 1d12, the template will drift in a random direction (1-3: forward, 4-6: right, 7-9: backward, 10-12: left) that many spaces.
Mork Wants Ya!
A gigantic green claw descends from a pulsing hole in the sky just above the target's head, grabbing and lifting the victim high into the air. After 4 turns The claw then vanishes back into the hole, which closes behind it. The captive must pass a Strength Test to Escape - If the victim fails to escape before the spell ends, then the claw drops them as it disappears, takeing 3 damage dice inuery.
Raise Great Idol Straining and grimacing, the shaman wills an Idol of Gork (or possibly Mork) to rise out of the ground. Under the stony gaze of such an idol, Greenskins are inspired to further acts of extreme violence. All greenskins gain an extra Crit Level. Ie 12 becomes 11-12. Spell remains in effect until next exploration round
Waaaaaagh!
The power of the Waaagh! surges from the shaman in an unstoppable flood of magical energy, increasing the strength of the army. The Shaman floods the dungeon section or passage with the power of the Waaagh! All enemy Wizards in range must pass an intelligence test or immediately suffer 1 Wound, and will not be able to cast any more spells until the Shaman's next turn. All Orcs and Goblins within the area gain +1 to WS and are immune to fear until the next exploration turn.
D4? D6? D12? D100? Doesn't matter - you can still roll too many 1s...
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Re: "Dark Magic" & "Waagh" Spell Lists - WIP

Postby Thanquol » Yesterday, 5:41 am

Ming, I believe you're attempting to integrate an Orc Hero archetype and a custom Warlock class directly into the Advanced Heroquest matrix. However, several of these spells do not translate smoothly to a confined dungeon environment, appearing far better suited to open outdoor combat scenarios.

Placing the Waaagh! list onto an Orc Shaman boss miniature inside a specific Quest room could give the dungeon an incredibly cinematic, terrifying encounter without permanently breaking player character progression.

I'll focus on handful of specific spells from your list that I want to focus on for refinement or comment on in more detail.

Dark Magic

DRAIN LIFE
The current classic roleplay mechanics risk interrupting interrupting natural flow of combat. Therefore, combat resolution for AHQ would be better measured against the standard Strength versus Toughness, but simplifying the recovery mechanic:

"If the attack inflicts 2 or more Wounds, the Caster instantly recovers 1 lost Wound."

This change would delete any potentially messy mathematical divisions and restores the game's core combat momentum.

WITCH FLIGHT
There is no logical reason for the range to extend up to 48 squares; the model is still strictly bound by line-of-sight constraints. Suggestion:

"The Caster teleports to any unoccupied square within the same visible dungeon section, provided they have a completely unhindered Line of Sight."

BLADE WIND
This spell can be significantly tightened for flow.

"Place the Fireball template within 12 squares. The magical blades execute a sudden, automated strike against all models under the template. Roll 6 damage dice against each victim's standard Toughness score. If the Caster fails an Intelligence test, the magical gale falters and only 3 damage dice are rolled."

THE FLESH IS WEAK
This is largely redundant if utilised as a Hero spell, given that Monsters do not embark on: Between Expeditions.

PHANTASMAGORIA
Most Hero players would never find a good occasion cast this, yet as a Monster spell, it is completely broken. Creating a persistent, stationary 3-by-3 square area of effect within a 24-square range that forces a Bravery test on anyone passing through it – causing a flat 1 Wound loss on failure – is far too easily exploited. Conversely, if a monster casts this directly across a narrow corridor or a vital choke-point, it creates an inescapable, ticking damage-over-time obstacle that halts the game entirely.


WAAAAAGH!

BRAIN BURSTA
Utilising a Speed test is a somewhat eccentric choice for avoiding a psychic shock-wave. A more cohesive alternative would be:

"All affected models must immediately pass an Intelligence test to shield their minds. On a failure, the model suffers 5 damage dice of injury applied against their standard Toughness."

EADBUTT
Greywolf's original house rule design correctly restricted this spell to opposing wizards for obvious thematic reasons, as they typically possess the requisite high Intelligence scores. To prevent the spell from becoming entirely overpowered by high status modifiers and the volatile spikes of a D12 roll, it could be modified as follows:

"Both players roll a D12 and add their respective Intelligence scores. If the Shaman's total is higher, the target is immediately stunned (reducing their Weapon Skill to 1) and forfeits their next Combat turn."

FOOT OF GORK
Wonderfully cruel, and its capacity to chaotically backfire on the Shaman – fits the Orc archetype perfectly.

HAND OF MORK
The Hand of Mork remains an excellent piece of creative, old-school magic that works remarkably well within the system framework


It is completely written on the face of these spell choices just how much you enjoy the Greenskin archetype. The flavour text and mechanical concepts showcase a real love for Orc lore rather than just simple stat-blocking. If these rules are restricted to an environmental Quest Room boss encounter, you have the makings of a genuinely memorable, chaotic tabletop experience for your players.

Sarcasm: The great Thanquol knows-sees! Fool-meat green-things have no control, no grasp or control of the great-true power-magic! None-none! They use-thieve magic scraps from the great Horned Rat himself! /Sarcasm
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Re: "Dark Magic" & "Waagh" Spell Lists - WIP

Postby RECIVS » Yesterday, 10:07 am

I see we’ve gotten much better at analyzing AHQ spells here. Keep it coming! |_P
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