Some Redesign Notes on Combat, Damage, Healing, and Wounds

[RECIVS]

I agree that nostalgia is often prioritized over real improvement.

You made yourself very clear. Yes, that’s the core of the issue in my opinion; nostalgia doesn’t do AHQ any favor, quite the contrary, actually. It's misplaced nostalgia in the end, though.

In what parallel universe is the doorway exploit acceptable in a game like AHQ that, in principle, should rely on variety and avoid repetition?

Realistic? One Hero literally blocking groups of monsters in a room all by himself (with a healing wizard behind him), waiting to knock them down one at a time at his convenience while the creatures wait in line? C’mon!

Fix the doorway exploit and see what real dread and danger feel like in AHQ.

[Punked20]

I agree that nostalgia is often prioritized over real improvement.

You made yourself very clear. Yes, that’s the core of the issue in my opinion; nostalgia doesn’t do AHQ any favor, quite the contrary, actually. It's misplaced nostalgia in the end, though.

In what parallel universe is the doorway exploit acceptable in a game like AHQ that, in principle, should rely on variety and avoid repetition?

Realistic? One Hero literally blocking groups of monsters in a room all by himself (with a healing wizard behind him), waiting to knock them down one at a time at his convenience while the creatures wait in line? C’mon!

Fix the doorway exploit and see what real dread and danger feel like in AHQ.

Something I’ve done (and I based this on a fan-made Spanish version of Heroquest called Fetenquest) is that, to reveal the contents of a room, the hero must move at least one space into it.

(Logically, they must have enough movement, and once there, the monsters are deployed, a Surprise roll is made, etc., etc., etc.)

This is how I’ve been able to fix the doorway exploit.

This works whether you use one-square doors or two-square doors; it’s true that the two-square doors already fix the bottleneck, but doing so also adds an additional risk.

(In EAHQ 2nd, there’s also diagonal movement, which allows for even more dynamism and danger. This rule has worked very well for us, and now people think twice—or even three times—before entering a room. Realistic? Well, if you want to look at it from a realistic perspective, you’re supposed to burst into a room, but it’s more like a tabletop game—sometimes realism ends up undermining the concept of the game.)

[RECIVS]

Something I’ve done (and I based this on a fan-made Spanish version of Heroquest called Fetenquest) is that, to reveal the contents of a room, the hero must move at least one space into it.

Every time? What's the incentive to move more than one space into the room? Do you let your adventurers heal when surrounded by enemies?

How many room encounters does a dungeon have on average? 10-15 (3-5 per level) in my experience. How do you keep gameplay fresh and varied, particularly in solo mode?

it’s true that the two-square doors already fix the bottleneck

That's still a bottleneck that allows you to keep exploiting doorways every time, just bigger ones. I'd suggest you read this thread.

realism ends up undermining the concept of the game.

My point exactly! "Realism", by the way.

[Punked20]

Every time? What's the incentive to move more than one space into the room? Do you let your adventurers heal when surrounded by enemies?

Yes, every time! The rule I borrowed from Fetenquest is quite simple: to open a door and reveal the contents of a room, a Hero must have enough movement remaining to step at least one square inside. You can't simply open the door, reveal the monsters or hazards, and safely remain in the corridor.

I agree that this doesn't completely eliminate the bottleneck, and you're absolutely right that players may still prefer fighting near the entrance. However, it does make encounters noticeably riskier. The first Hero is now exposed inside the room, potentially surrounded or attacked from multiple directions, especially with two-square-wide doors. HeroQuest had a similar doorway problem, and this small change made a surprisingly big difference in my experience.

For context, I'm playing Enhanced Advanced HeroQuest 2nd Edition, which already allows diagonal movement, including for monsters, but doesn't allow moving through friendly models. Healing potions also restore Wounds at the beginning of the following turn, rather than immediately. I've also borrowed Warhammer Quest's 1-on-1 approach to distributing monsters among adventurers, which helps create more varied encounters instead of having everything revolve around the front-line fighter.

That said, I think your post is completely valid. What I'd really like to the game is something to make fighting inside rooms a viable tactical alternative, rather than having doorway camping remain the most rational choice every time. Ideally, I'd love to achieve that through a few lightweight adjustments without having to restructure the entire combat system, since I genuinely enjoy how EAHQ plays.

I think your approach raises some excellent points, particularly about how combat positioning, survivability, and healing are interconnected. It's definitely given me something to think about!

[RECIVS]

What I'd really like to the game is something to make fighting inside rooms a viable tactical alternative, rather than having doorway camping remain the most rational choice every time. Ideally, I'd love to achieve that through a few lightweight adjustments without having to restructure the entire combat system, since I genuinely enjoy how EAHQ plays.

You might want to check out my approach, which is certainly up for debate. I've omitted some details for simplicity, though.

I genuinely enjoy how EAHQ plays

Could you be more specific? What do you enjoy so much about it that's not in the vanilla game?

[Punked20]

*Fix combat bottlenecks. What I do: if the Heroes are surprised, they're moved into the room a number of squares equal to the difference in scores and can move one additional square; the monsters are then placed as in WHQ and act first. If the monsters are surprised, they are placed two squares away from the doorway, and the Heroes can decide whether to enter. I see that's practically what the artwork depicts. Ultimately, it's all about obtaining the most variety of possibilities with the least complications.

I'd really love to try out this rule! I think it would be an awesome addition to the game!

Could you be more specific? What do you enjoy so much about it that's not in the vanilla game?

What I really love about EAHQ 2nd Edition is how it expands on the original game without losing what made Advanced HeroQuest special in the first place.

The biggest improvement for me is character creation and progression. Having more classes, heroic abilities, and meaningful ways to develop your heroes makes long-term campaigns much more interesting. I especially like that character progression isn't just about getting better equipment, but also about developing your hero's own skills and abilities.

I also appreciate the expanded magic system, the additional content from Terror in the Dark and White Dwarf, and the quality-of-life improvements, such as diagonal movement, wider doors, and simplified spell components. The dedicated solo rules are another big plus.

But what I particularly appreciate is that EAHQ 2nd Edition isn't simply a nostalgic revision that preserves old rules for the sake of nostalgia. It actually brings a lot of new ideas and content to the table, building upon official material alongside carefully chosen house rules.

And despite all those additions, it never really feels like a different game to me. It doesn't pile on so many mechanics that it loses sight of what made Advanced HeroQuest special. The procedural dungeon exploration, deadly combat, old-school atmosphere, and sense of danger are all still there.

To me, EAHQ 2nd Edition strikes a really nice balance between expanding the original experience and respecting its foundations. It feels less like a complete overhaul and more like Advanced HeroQuest reaching its full potential.

[RECIVS]

a nostalgic revision that preserves old rules for the sake of nostalgia.

This is the issue this thread is about.

Advanced HeroQuest reaching its full potential.

By keeping the doorway exploit? Isn't that precisely what keeps AHQ from reaching its full potential? See what I propose, and we can discuss wasted potential afterward.

[Punked20]

I think there's been a slight misunderstanding about what I meant by "reaching its full potential", haha!

I absolutely agree that AHQ has wasted potential, and that some of its original mechanics and design decisions could be improved considerably. The doorway exploit is a great example of that, and I'm certainly not defending it!

What I meant was that EAHQ 2nd Edition explores what the *classic* Advanced HeroQuest experience can offer while remaining faithful to its original framework. There's a distinction worth making between revisions, new editions, and full remakes. A revision can improve, expand, and polish the existing game, but a remake has the freedom to rebuild entire systems from the ground up.

Personally, I'd absolutely love to see a proper AHQ remake with a more streamlined and dynamic combat system, solutions to problems like the doorway exploit, and a willingness to move beyond some of the nostalgic design constraints. I think that would be fascinating!

And don't get me wrong, I love the nostalgia and old-school atmosphere! But preserving the 1989 experience in a modern game is ultimately a design choice, and one that inevitably limits how far certain mechanics can evolve without fundamentally changing the game.

The funny thing is, I'm not even nostalgic for AHQ itself! I never played it back in the day. I actually come more from HeroQuest, but there's something genuinely fascinating about Advanced HeroQuest that keeps drawing me back.

That's also why I appreciate these more conservative revisions. They preserve the core experience while improving or expanding individual aspects of it, and they allow for a lot of modularity. You can introduce house rules, borrow ideas from other systems, or replace certain mechanics without having to rebuild everything else.

But that doesn't mean I believe the original design is perfect, or that its underlying systems couldn't offer much more. Quite the opposite! When I talk about EAHQ reaching its potential, I mean the potential of the classic ruleset within its own design philosophy, not the absolute potential of Advanced HeroQuest as a game concept.

And regarding your proposed solutions, I actually really like them!

The idea of allowing monsters to push adventurers away from doorways is excellent. Fetenquest uses a similar mechanic, and it's a great way of addressing that kind of exploit without introducing unnecessary complexity. I can definitely see it working in AHQ too, so I'll give it a try!

I also really like your approach to combat bottlenecks and surprise, especially how the positioning changes depending on which side wins. It's such a simple concept, yet it creates more interesting tactical situations without requiring an overhaul of the combat system. That's exactly the kind of elegant solution I enjoy: more possibilities, fewer complications.

Ultimately, I think we're looking at two different, but equally interesting, ways of improving AHQ. One is about getting the most out of the classic system, while the other explores what the game could become if we were willing to rethink its foundations.

And I'd genuinely love to see both!

By the way, English sometimes makes my comments sound more serious or argumentative than I intend, since Spanish is my native language, haha. Everything I'm saying comes from a place of genuine enthusiasm for the game and its community. I really enjoy exchanging ideas like these, and I appreciate the work you're putting into improving AHQ!

[RECIVS]

I mean the potential of the classic ruleset within its own design philosophy, not the absolute potential of Advanced HeroQuest as a game concept.

AHQ was rushed to market and, unfortunately, wasn't well playtested; the point is to honor its original design philosophy, which is what I mean by “doing it justice” by taking advantage of its full potential. Preserving faulty mechanics out of nostalgia alone is the problem here. I remind you about what we said here.

[Punked20]

I mean the potential of the classic ruleset within its own design philosophy, not the absolute potential of Advanced HeroQuest as a game concept.

AHQ was rushed to market and, unfortunately, wasn't well playtested; the point is to honor its original design philosophy, which is what I mean by “making it justice” by taking advantage of its full potential. Preserving faulty mechanics out of nostalgia alone is the problem here. I remind you about what we said here.

I think what I'm trying to say is that, quite often, nostalgia is prioritized over actual improvement.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

There are several revisions of AHQ out there, and I actually play and love one of them! But that's exactly what they are: revisions. Their purpose is to refine, correct, and expand the original game while keeping its core mechanics intact. And is there anything wrong with that? I don't think so. Quite the opposite!

As you mentioned, and rightly so, AHQ was rushed to market. So having a properly polished and refined version of that classic is absolutely worthwhile. I think there should be a version that brings out the very best of what the original game had to offer.

But when I talk about nostalgia taking priority over improvement, and about the game's full potential, I'm referring to something beyond the original ruleset. I'm talking about the potential of Advanced HeroQuest as a game concept.

To truly explore that potential, I believe we'd have to be willing to change things at their very foundations. Combat, monster balance, equipment, progression, and other interconnected mechanics would probably need to be redesigned and rebalanced together.

And that's no longer just a revision. That's a remake.

What I'd genuinely love to see is someone taking the original concept of AHQ and rebuilding it from the ground up, addressing its fundamental design problems rather than simply working around them. Not necessarily making it more complicated, but finding better, more elegant ways to deliver the experience that made the original so special.

And that's where I feel nostalgia and conservatism can sometimes get in the way. We often seem more concerned with preserving the familiar than exploring what something could become if we weren't so attached to its original mechanics.

Don't get me wrong, I love classic AHQ and the revisions that preserve its identity. I think they're necessary and valuable, especially for a game that never received all the development and refinement it deserved.

But I also think there's room for something much more ambitious. A remake that isn't afraid to leave the 1989 rules behind, while preserving the spirit, atmosphere, and core ideas that made Advanced HeroQuest fascinating in the first place.

Ultimately, I see these as two different goals: making the best possible version of the original Advanced HeroQuest, and making the best possible game out of the Advanced HeroQuest concept.

Both are worthwhile, but they don't necessarily lead to the same result. And personally, I'd love to see both approaches coexist!