FIRST LIGHT discussion

[Gatch]

I do admit, I am looking forward to First Light; hope it's that cheaper option I've been looking for. Though since the niece and nephews already own the core game as it is, and their parents already said they don't want too many boxes clogging their space up, the material from this may have to be given to them another way, but we're fine with that. That said, for other relatives, this could be a good entry point for peoples.

[Kurgan]

Booklet, 5 miniatures and one card should fit into the game system box

[j_dean80]

Booklet, 5 miniatures and one card should fit into the game system box

Don't forget new board that folds smaller.

[Kurgan]

Of course! Can't forget the board... it has the caverns.

[Markus Darwath]

The new quest book by Stephen Baker is the best part.

If you're heavily into the Lore, then yeah. In terms of just playing/collecting the game then not overly much.

[SirRick]

The good thing about the original big box, is you have room to store stuff under the cardboard platform that was included for some reason. You could probably fit the new board/dice/figures under that if you wanted. I doubt the dragon would fit without getting rid of the inserts.

[Kurgan]

HEROQUEST: FIRST LIGHT "Game System" set for release [Feb 4, 2025 so far in Spain, UK, Germany and the US/Canada]:
[New info 10/3/2024:

It will be a "Target Exclusive" (at least for now) in the US, and will come to various stores in other countries, for example Gamestop in Canada. The movement dice are red with white pips (a predictable change from how they appeared at GenCon). There are extra cards in the box than were shown at GenCon which are a matter of speculation at this time. Germany is the only country showing having the OLD Clark Mitchell artwork... which is hopefully just a goof up on the website and not evidence they will miss out on the new cover art. Pictures appear starting here of the new box back and other things including what appears to be small dice rolling box:
https://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=143&t=6796&start=150#p132427

HeroQuest First Light Pulse page (Europe)
Target (US) pre-order page... showing "out of stock" at time of writing but it is being worked on, I'm told, pre-order date should also be Feb 4, 2025

]


As we approach the end of the third year of the HeroQuest relaunch...

Due to negative fan feedback, the previously shown cover by Clark Mitchell was replaced by a brand new (and much better) cover by YellowFly (the same company that made the Talisman 5th Edition cover). This new cover was featured prominently at GenCon in the glass case, but there was no back cover shown. The rulebook retains the "dragon scales" artwork motif from the original cover, which was a tease for what we later learned about the contents...

First Light is now confirmed to include components sufficient to play all of the 14 Game System quests (FL is billed as an 'alternate' game system for the retail market and the release date is rumored to be this November... otherwise it was suggested for a January or February 2025 release). It's expected to appear on big box retail store shelves (Target exclusive then other stores like Wal-Mart? unconfirmed officially last I checked) and MSRP of $49.99. The box is the same size as MOTM/FH/ROTDM/JoD but is a stand-alone product... and yet it is also fully compatible with all official expansions yet released. It goes without saying that this will be a retail product, not a limited time release (even if it starts as an exclusive to a specific store, as people have mentioned with Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion with which FL is frequently compared--that started out as a Target exclusive but now can be found in other stores too).

There are four brand new sculpts for the four (red plastic) heroes. Based on fan feedback: the Barbarian is no longer standing on rocks, the female Elf has more traditional plate armor instead of "boobplate," the Wizard has a full beard (and cool spell effect in his hand), and the Barbarian is a bit more proportional and in an action pose. The new dragon (steel gray plastic) is standing on a regular (double-wide) base instead of being perched on a pillar, and has a "I'm going to get you" pose. The only other plastic in the box are the 6 combat dice (in ivory/bone white but this color may not be final), 2 movement dice (referred to as "movement dice" rather than red dice in at least some of the text references as these were off white plastic with red pips though this may not be final) and the clear round bases that all other characters (and doors) use.

The rest of the monsters are cardboard standees (with clear, round plastic bases that attach to the thick cardboard) with artwork designs of the front of each character on both sides (with a black background) in the same distributions as the original GS (8 orcs, 6 goblins, 3 abominations, 4 dread warriors, 1 dread sorcerer, 2 mummies, 2 skeletons) with examples of each of the designs that occurred in the plastic (so there are multiple designs of the Orcs and Goblins). There are also round cardboard tiles of the Rats (but no skulls) and all of the furniture pieces are cardboard tiles (and new full color artwork, so not necessarily copied from the companion app as previously guessed) that take up precisely as much room as the icons do in the questbook map. The doors are also cardboard placed into the same plastic bases as the rest of the cardboard characters... and the "open" doors have a black void in the center instead of having an actual hole punched out. Some may be reminded here of the 1993 Portugese edition of HeroQuest released by Estrella in Brazil, but while there may be influence there are certainly differences as well (that one still used plastic with most of the furniture and the standees had a white background, and modified gray door type bases for them, for example).

The gameboard uses new artwork but the rooms are the same distribution as before (but there is another design on the back: the caverns) and is now a 6 fold so it can fit inside the smaller box. The cardboard is a bit thinner than used in the 2021-2022 GS and the finish is smooth instead of linen.

The tiles appear to be identical to the ones included with the 2021-2022 GS including the Mentor's Eye/Zargon's Skull symbol "mystery tile."

The quest booklet and rulebook appear to be of the same quality as those found in other official expansions but may include alternations or tweaks that are yet unconfirmed.

There are 10 quests in the booklet designed by Stephen Baker (all group quests) with a storyline that takes place at the same time as the original GS (Quest 1 confirmed to take place sometime after the Rescue of Sir Ragnar) and the storyline introduces the fact that you will be playing Kellar's Keep or Return of the Witch Lord after this (and probably Kellar's Keep first). The difficulty and complexity appear to be a bit higher than the NA GS (which as we recall was pretty easy other than the Trial and the last two quests) so the early reports of "simplified gameplay" seem to have been false. The pack is designed for new heroes (and newcomers to HeroQuest who may not own the GS at all) but has those extra content and easter eggs to entice hardcore fans and owners of the 2021/2022 GS to want to pick up a copy anyway.

The pad of Character Sheets is a bit thinner than the one included with the GS. The general design is the same albeit now with purple (rather than dark gray) color scheme and it lists only 10 numbers for the quests (since there's only 10 in the pack). Don't recall if the paper sheets themselves were thinner or about the same. At the convention there were pads of Adventure Design Kits given away (this time with the same purple scheme and the "caverns" on the back of each sheet) but they were in very short supply, unfortunately. Scans can be found online for free (don't pay scalper prices, please!).

The Equipment deck contains the same distribution of cards as the 2021-2022 GS, so there are duplicates of certain Equipments (3 of BattleAxe/Crossbow/Longsword, 2 of Helmet and Shield) and the "extra" artifacts are included (Phantom Blade, Rod of Telekinesis, Ring of Fortitude, Fortune's Longsword) even if they may not all be found in the course of these specific quests (they are found in other expansions as we know that are now in retail such as SQT & PoT).

Don't expect a new Alchemist Shop or mercenaries, instead you get everything you need to play expansions that were intended for the original GS, even if there are a few new things included.

The plan suggested by Patrick O'Rourke is that it will not result in the existing expansions being re-released as cardboard standee packages, nor will it set off a divergent sequence of expansions that are only compatible with it. They also denied rumors that the release of First Light means they will stop producing the previous AH Game System(s) when those stock run out. This is intended as a way to attract new players (whether younger or casuals who haven't heard of HQ, are new to fantasy tabletops in general or feel "intimidated" by the large, expensive boxes and maybe don't frequent FLGS), not to erase the previously established canon or cause a division within the fanbase. They are not abandoning the old "canon" so to speak.

Gameplay differences (from 2021-2022 GS) for First Light known so far: (please note, it's possible that some small things could change between that first week in August when it was shown and the actual release, for example we were told the plastic colors of the dice were "not final")...

Comments made about translation of the cards leads me to believe this is not planned to be an "English only" release.

As we know, often there is a letter in a room in HeroQuest (for Zargon's eyes only) noting something special in that room. Without such a note, normally it's just a straightforward battle against monsters, traps, and each hero can search for treasure in turn when the room is clear, to draw a treasure card each. However there are some general modifications notified to players at GenCon:

'Sly Storage:' the first (?) hero who searches for treasure in a room with an un-noted Cupboard gets to draw TWO cards from the Treasure deck instead of one. I think this is done only once per quest, so after one of the heroes has drawn two cards, everyone else simply draws 1 card when searching for treasure in that room. There is only one cupboard in the normal arrangement so no worries about having "double sly storage."

'Healing Hearth:' a Hero searching for treasure in a room with an un-noted Fireplace can decide to restore 1 lost BP instead of drawing a Treasure card. This can only be done once per quest.

Dwarf: this hero begins with a Hand Axe instead of a shortsword (the weapon is identical except it can be thrown and then lost of course). None of the other heroes had changes to their starting gear, despite speculation based on the new sculpts (Barbarian is holding his sword in one hand while Elf is using two for hers and once again the Wizard wields a staff but his card says he begins with a dagger as before). It's worth mentioning that the "Explorer" hero (who is also a dwarf) in JoD begins with a Hand Axe. So the weapon is getting some more early usage here!

Dragon: the Dragon mini takes up 2 squares and features as a recurring bad guy across more than one quest. It is of a gunmetal gray type plastic (different than the Dread Warriors/Dread Sorcerer/Gargoyle we've already seen) and the webbing on its bat-like wings are thin enough that holding it up to the light you can see light coming through a bit. Movement: 10, Attack: 5, Defend: 5, Body: 7, Mind: 6. This Dragon can freely pass through any other characters (including heroes) with "Draconic Flight" (can pass through enemy squares when it moves, move/attack/move AND use Ball of Flame at will. As with other named characters in HQ, individual quests may modify it a bit but this is more powerful overall than the CoPD Dragon ("Venim") of Joe Manganiello's mythic booklet that is only encountered once and has the stats: 9, 6, 6, 5, 4 (with spells Cloud of Dread, Fear, Command, Sleep and "Acid Breath" which Firestorm but with "Acid Damage"). Interestingly the Dragon uses the same map icon as Joe's Dragon, except it takes up two squares.

Caverns: The reverse side of the gameboard (which is still 26x19 squares, that are 1x1 inch in size) shows a new arrangement of rooms that includes several dead ends plus a familiar arrangement of the "Arena" (introducing the "Tournament" rules early, as found in Against the Ogre Horde remake). I believe the caverns themselves were inspired by the draft notes for the unfinished Dwarf quest pack although their precise usage may be different (in DQP you could go down certain tunnels and appear within the new section which was assembled with tiles rather than a board; there was also a large outdoor area in which you moved the parties as single units but it used the main board ignoring walls).

There is a new mechanic called "blessings and curses" but the precise nature of how they work is not yet known.

Expect some other advanced rules to appear like multi-stage monsters.

Alterations/Clarifications/Tweaks:
In general, cards have altered/added flavor text (when they didn't have any before, or wording is changed that doesn't affect usage). The one exception to this is Tempest, which has had its flavor text removed and just explains the mechanical workings of the spell in-game. [recall that the 2022 GS edition included the fixes for the Hand Axe, Helmet too AND still included the "bonus" artifacts that were not used in the original 14]

Courage explicitly lasts for a single attack only (and can be wasted if monsters move out of sight after the spell is cast but before the attack can be made).

Command (Dread Spell) only allows Zargon to move and use the weapon attack of the affected hero against other heroes.

Orc's Bane: the two attacks only go against a single Orc (also assuming that this works like other multi-attacks as clarified in Rogue Heir of Elethorn, meaning one of the two is unblockable). It doesn't say anything about a Commanded Hero using Orc's Bane against the Bard, but we could imagine it!

Potion of Speed (Equipment): You're not allowed to "stack" multiple copies of this potion on a turn (a similar limitation occurred previously with Potion of Dexterity, though that was back in the classic era, and retained in the AH remake era).

The card text generally reminded me of the tweaks introduced in SQT/PoT and ROTDM, so you'll see that the Handaxe can't be used by the Wizard and the Helmet is mentioned to be made of metal, potions have those extra flavor texts, etc.

The artifacts in general that are found (and when) may be differently this time, according to info I have obtained. There may be at least one new artifact not previously seen.

There may be other possible clarifications in the booklet we haven't seen or heard about yet. There's a boot tile on the board once again. Was this just for nostalgia or is there a new rule in there? I'm guessing the former but you never know!

Any other info I'm missing? In the months to come we have Spiel Essen (Oct 3-6) and LUCCA (Oct 30-Nov 3) which may reveal even more info as PulseCon 2024 didn't even mention Avalon Hill much less HeroQuest (within a few days we learned of the JoD limited edition dice coming out Dec 1st with the tin but no dice tray for UK/EU unfortunately and that was it!).

I might point out here that fans are also still waiting for the PDF release of ATOH remake (only German fans have their version) and the companion app hasn't yet been updated with Jungles of Delthrak (or Rogar's Hall, or the Guardian Knight variant from ROTDM).

Cover image re-shared from seekhashem on HeroQuestFans discord (if anyone has a better quality one let me know. I was so focused on getting the cards, tiles, and other things I am not sure I got a better one than this):

Edit: We've learned how the "Blessings and Curses" work via the App (and thanks to Fair-Weather Man for clarifying his findings too):
Blessing means you can either re-roll your dice OR reveal a room without opening the door one time. Curse means you (I guess until the curse is lifted) have to re-roll your dice and take the worse of the two rolls. You can have the curse lifted by donating 800 gold coins to charity between quests.

Speculation is that three of the new cards might be dread spells.. Synchroform, Dread Flame, and Meteor (?). Then again the blessings and curses might have their own cards, who can say, and of course the Hearthkin Horn. The App of course will present new art that may or may not actually have a card. But the new box details numbers for everything so it's only a matter of time...

Oct 3rd updates coming in from Spiel Essen... added back cover image:

[HispaZargon]

I have read comments in media speculating about if the character shown in the new cardboard screen prototype for First Light box is actually the Zargon character... well, just doing a bit of retrospective, this is what Zargon 'himself' said back in the day about the Mentor's figure shown in the Game System game:

AH_Twitter_2022-04-07.JPG

[Daedalus]

HEROQUEST: FIRST LIGHT "Game System" set for release Q4 2024 / Q1 2025 (?) recapping what we know so far... (as of 9/17/24):

. . . Any other info I'm missing? In the months to come we have Spiel Essen (Oct 3-6) and LUCCA (Oct 30-Nov 3) which may reveal even more info as PulseCon 2024 didn't even mention Avalon Hill much less HeroQuest (within a few days we learned of the JoD limited edition dice coming out Dec 1st with the tin but no dice tray for UK/EU unfortunately and that was it!). . . .

The game will also supply 4 player-aid cards that list actions. I seem to recall that they were separate from the hero cards.

I believe the reference about "simplified gameplay" was meant to apply to the Instruction Booklet layout and explanatory text rather than Quest difficulty. It's a bit different.

About the new lore, I can say with certainty that the Star of the West is not used as I had speculated. (A swing and a miss!)

[Kurgan]

The game will also supply 4 player-aid cards that list actions. I seem to recall that they were separate from the hero cards.

The 2021/2022 edition had these already. The 1990 edition I grew up with had the four hero "tiles" (or "boards") with the character description and stats on the front and the generic actions a hero could do on their turn on the back. The remake put stat info on the front of a standard poker sized card and the "description" text on the back. Then they took the generic actions and put it on the front of another card (which just had the HeroQuest logo on the back). The nice thing about this is that you could have the card next to you at the same time as staring at the hero stats since they were separate cards.

Edit: I was wrong...