Line of Sight

[arntisdale]

It also confused me when i was reading the rules.
The only logical explanation i gave was to consider all figures as circles within their squares.

I agree, that explanation does fit the rules they have presented.
Once upon a time, I used 'The Nickel Test', by placing a nickel in the square and seeing of the LoS arrow would cross the nickel or not. It worked okay, but was also prone to ambiguity.

[Cael Darkhollow]

Ok, let's suppose the Elf Hero can see the orc in question due to how the line of sight rules are given, would you allow range weapons and spells attacks then? Or is the wizard hero too close and an attack would be too risky? Would vital areas be too narrow in profile or partially obscured for a fatal shot? I wonder about that kind of stuff with the orc around the corner but partially seen top left, and the orc diagonal down right through the door frame too. If you put a book down to represent the line from the door frame or wall corner to the elf only half those monsters or less would be visible to the character.
As a board game I would want to make it as simple, concise and clear as possible, to me that would mean straight and diagonal grid system only. But if they are allowing realism creep, such as "I can see that guy even if it's just a little," how far should that go?

Rules are rules, so according to the printed rules it would be a fair shot with an arrow, dagger or hand ax or spell effect, but do think it should be?

[Cael Darkhollow]

I guess that's the part that bugs me, is it comes down to opinions instead of clearly defined rules. When it comes to game mechanics, I'm a fan of clearly defined rules.
If you count that orc as plenty visible, and therefore a viable target for a ranged or spell attack, then when do you count the corners as nicked too much (by the LoS arrow) to allow line of sight, and when do you count them as not too nicked? It would always come down to judgement calls, which can lead to arguments in ambiguous cases.

I would call that shot as blocked.

I guess in a nutshell, I don't use HeroQuest LoS rules, I use Descent 1e LoS rules.

I've never played Descent but if you are calling that a blocked shot I can assume that Descent uses the grid system to determine ranged attacks, just like any other dungeon crawl board game such as the D&D board games such as Wrath of Ashardalon or Ravenloft for line of sight rules.
I agree completely, the rules as written here in this HQ diagram allow too much ambiguity or uncertainty.
It needs to be simple, immediately understandable and recognizable because it is a board game.

[HispaZargon]

Ok, let's suppose the Elf Hero can see the orc in question due to how the line of sight rules are given, would you allow range weapons and spells attacks then? Or is the wizard hero too close and an attack would be too risky? Would vital areas be too narrow in profile or partially obscured for a fatal shot? I wonder about that kind of stuff with the orc around the corner but partially seen top left, and the orc diagonal down right through the door frame too. If you put a book down to represent the line from the door frame or wall corner to the elf only half those monsters or less would be visible to the character.
As a board game I would want to make it as simple, concise and clear as possible, to me that would mean straight and diagonal grid system only. But if they are allowing realism creep, such as "I can see that guy even if it's just a little," how far should that go?

Rules are rules, so according to the printed rules it would be a fair shot with an arrow, dagger or hand ax or spell effect, but do think it should be?

Well of course this is something should not had to happen in a board game, the rules must be clear... I hope the HeroQest app could be an official aid to clarify how the line of sight rule applies in these cases.

[Daedalus]

I like how Sotaris' LOS diagram with circles aligns with what Kurgan has pointed out about the new AH figure bases being circular. That's what Bob Ross would call a happy accident.

(Found under A Good Rule Of Thumb)
Draw an invisible straight line between the center of the square the spell caster is on and the center of the square the target is on. If the line does not cross a wall, closed door, Hero or monster, the target is declared visible, even if the line just touches a corner or wall edge. The following diagram shows an example of what is visible.

Consider the base of a figure as part of the Hero or monster that the line passes through. No more concerns about how the off-square base is facing, no more judgements about how the line crosses an irregularly shaped figure with arms and weapons akimbo. Easy as pi.

[Kurgan]

There we go, somebody fire up the App and try firing at the four diagonal squares at monsters (as close as you can get) with the crossbow.

Try buying the bracers and combining them with stuff (I assume you can still buy them in the game system).

Can you replay quests to grind gold? Get multiple copies of the same artifact? I'm thinking of all the oddities from the 1991 PC games here... do they let you share gold? Stack potions? Exchange stuff? Can you hold the Shield but not "equip" it? Does carrying Plate Mail but not activating it slow you down? Can you save yourself with a healing spell if you die on Zargon's turn?

Granted there could be mistakes in the App, but I'm curious what they programmed it to do, presumably understanding the intention of the rules.

[Cael Darkhollow]

the APP isn't the game, it doesn't incorporate any different weapons, armor, line of sight rules for combat etc. it just has an attack button, then you tell it if the monster was defeated or how much damage was accrued. It basically is a monster and game board room and hall revealer, and monster mover (and attack roller) on Zargon's turn, designed so that those who have never played can be surprised in a solo venture. It is a game aid for playing by yourself with the app acting as Zargon, but the human still needs to interpret the rule book.

[Kurgan]

Interesting. So it doesn't automate visits to the Armory/Alchemist shop? (I guess not the Alchemist shop because it only covers the Game system for now).

So you can play with the number of attack/defend dice that heroes have on the fly? Give them whatever cards you want? I presumed it automated that stuff, but since I can't run it I can't see for myself.

[Cael Darkhollow]

Interesting. So it doesn't automate visits to the Armory/Alchemist shop? (I guess not the Alchemist shop because it only covers the Game system for now).

So you can play with the number of attack/defend dice that heroes have on the fly? Give them whatever cards you want? I presumed it automated that stuff, but since I can't run it I can't see for myself.

you don't even have to let Zargon move, you can just keep telling it how far you moved. None of the character sheet stats (treasure, weapons, armor, HP, etc. are tracked.) It has no idea what weapons you use, how much health you might have, what you rolled...
the armory effectively doesn't exist or doesn't matter as it happens between quests, no mention is made on the app.
The App reads the "for the characters intro" highlighted in the actual physical Quest Book, then reveals monsters and areas based on where you told it you moved to. You can walk through the whole board opening doors and never fight anything if you want to. If you push the Zargon's turn button, any monsters previously revealed will use their move rate to get adjacent to any Hero, then you are shown what they rolled for their attack. During searches (I only did the trial so no secret doors, or traps) It tells you what the quest notes treasure is if in that spot, or tells you to draw a card and has a wandering monster button in case you drew one. It is just a solo play aid you you can have the quest map set up for you with no spoilers. It tracks character and monster positions and how much of the board has been revealed only.

[Kurgan]

Interesting, so it's more or less on the honor system except Zargon predictably attacks with monsters he has available.

So this might make it easier to use homebrew rules and play around with things... except for the lack of a quest-builder (being restricted to whatever they program in, I assume just the Game System for now).

Can you play with Monster stats/abilities too?

And does this also mean that if a monster kills you, you can just pretend it didn't happen and keep going?

It's a way to cheat then too, because you could explore everything ahead of time, but if that's your game, you could just read over the pdf of the quest book(s) even easier.

It sounds like it really is a "companion" to the board game, just showing you where to put things, vs. a full game in itself. That makes a lot more sense, I was wondering why they'd just replace the game they were selling with a video game that does it all for free (minus the homebrew options).

Is there "multiplayer" at all or is it just the phone's player controlling all the heroes? (I guess you could do "hotseat" and hand the phone to a friend for the hero they wanted to control). I presume all the Mythic heroes are in there too, can you queue up more than 4 at a time?

Does the game have limits based on the assets in the game or could you run from room to room triggering monsters and not run out of them?