Potions, Traps and Throwing Weapons

[Ethica]

I want opinions on the following rules. Because in my opinion they're not quite right, or I'm not reading them right. (English version)

1)Potions

On the potion of healing card (and some others) it says "You may drink the potion at any time". It doesn't make sense that a character would be able to quaff a potion between being attacked by a number of monsters on the same turn I think.

I'm thinking of playing it so a character can only use a potion when it's their turn. When do others allow the drinking of potions, would some even allow it after the character has been reduced to 0 body points?

2 Traps Through Dooways

In some of the main game quests there are pit traps the other side of doorways.

Would a character need to check specifically for a trap the other side of the door and move on their next turn? There's no rules about this. It would make the game less exciting if everytime a character goes through a door they have to cut their move short and do a trap check. Or, if these traps could not be found by searching characters could not avoid falling into them (a bit unfair, though maybe sometimes hard cheese is ok)?

3 Throwing Weapons

According to the rules- When you throw a spear or hand axe you lose it.

I don't think this makes much sense either. Why would you lose it? Surely you would just go and pick it up, or pull it from your victims body?

We play it so you can re-use thrown weapons, I don't see anything wrong with this. The location of the thrown wepon is marked with an upside-down tile. Monsters can also pick the weapon up and throw it back, if they have the intelligence to.


Opinion of these matters?

[Ethica]

ALSO

The rules are ambiguous about when you search for secret doors and traps, whether this is 2 different searches, 1 for traps and another search on another turn for secret doors, or 1 combined search which reveals secret doors and traps on the same turn.

[Phoenix]

1)Potions

On the potion of healing card (and some others) it says "You may drink the potion at any time". It doesn't make sense that a character would be able to quaff a potion between being attacked by a number of monsters on the same turn I think.

We have always played it to where a Hero may use it at anytime, specifically to save their life. I clarified this rule in my "Imperial Academy" addenda.

2 Traps Through Dooways

In some of the main game quests there are pit traps the other side of doorways.

Would a character need to check specifically for a trap the other side of the door and move on their next turn? There's no rules about this. It would make the game less exciting if everytime a character goes through a door they have to cut their move short and do a trap check. Or, if these traps could not be found by searching characters could not avoid falling into them (a bit unfair, though maybe sometimes hard cheese is ok)?

According to the rules (as I interpret them), a Hero MUST be in a room or corridor that is being searched. So, a Hero cannot search a room (or specific tile in a room) without ACTUALLY being INSIDE the room, ergo, no searching through doorways.

3 Throwing Weapons

According to the rules- When you throw a spear or hand axe you lose it.

I don't think this makes much sense either. Why would you lose it? Surely you would just go and pick it up, or pull it from your victims body?

We play it so you can re-use thrown weapons, I don't see anything wrong with this. The location of the thrown wepon is marked with an upside-down tile. Monsters can also pick the weapon up and throw it back, if they have the intelligence to.

I agree, however, the rules were designed to be simple (don't have to track the weapon(s)), and it's a good way for the Heroes to burn up Gold Coins. It's more of a limitation to they're ability to throw, kill, retrieve; throw, kill, retrieve, etc. We follow this rule, as written.

[Phoenix]

ALSO

The rules are ambiguous about when you search for secret doors and traps, whether this is 2 different searches, 1 for traps and another search on another turn for secret doors, or 1 combined search which reveals secret doors and traps on the same turn.

Searching for Secret Doors
Searching for Traps
Searching for Treasure

each is a separate search and counts as an action for the Heroes turn. Later on, when Heroes forget to search for traps and immediately start searching for treasure first; I like to add a trap, just to remind them to be cautious.

My Heroes got so lucky finding and disarming traps and getting awesome treasure cards, I nearly caved in an entire room with Falling Block Traps, just because they ticked me off.

[drathe]

Yep, potions anytime. Traps beyond doors are in separate rooms and you must already be in the room to search there and searching for traps and secret doors are separate actions (although, I believe the rules for that were a bit vague in the first edition of HeroQuest in Europe and clarified in later editions).

I've been playing around with the trap beyond the door rule. Most of my players get ticked that they have no way of searching the one square on the other side of the door, yet they can search every square down a corridor from one space. Doesn't make much sense. Lately I've been testing a tweaked rule where they can search a room or corridor and if the one square beyond a door is within their line of sight and there are no monsters in that room, they may also include that square in their search. So far, they are much happier about it and it seems more fair.

[polymathis]

My group (playing with the first edition of the UK rules) have taken a slightly different approach, especially with potions andd searching:
1.) Potions - may only be drunk during the players turn, but at any time during that turn - e.g. they are a free action, in addition to searching, attacking, moving, spellcasting etc. - definitely no drinking a potion of healing to avoid death during Morcar's turn!
2.)Searching through doors - not allowed - you have to be in a room to search it, as per the strict reading of the rules - adventuring is a tough life and some traps are just more dangerous than others!
3.) Throwing weapons - play as written - the heroes have enough gear and money already so the one-shot nature of thrown weapons helps to keep game balance by whittling this down.
4.) Searching - we play traps and secret doors as a single search, as this seems to be implied by the first edition uk rules - a single search for anything 'mechanical' in nature just seems both more logical and more intuitive to us, and it speeds up gameplay too!

[drathe]

As a Game Master, I do enjoy having Traps and Secret Doors as two separate searches. It may slow things down a bit, but Traps are searched for all the time, whereas Secret Doors seem to be a second thought much of the time and can be missed. I find it amusing when the Heroes need to go back and discover the Secret Door they missed.

At some point in the future, I may try the all-search-in-one rule, as it does make logical sense that one searching for Traps would likely come upon a Secret Door at the same time.

[joec]

I allow my players to do a separate search through a doorway for that initial square, but only if there are no monsters in the room. That way, they can generally get a shot at it. If I have monsters in the room though, I can then bait them into coming in and triggering the trap.... until they get the crossbow. Then I'm screwed with that tactic.

[ndsandman]

Potions, Traps and Throwing Weapons

We do the potion drinking during players turn only, but not during monster attacking them, thats the Game Maters turn.
But I like they idea at anytime, so I dont have to hear in my mind (Red Wizard is about to die !!) name that video game, old timers.

As for searching:
searching for Secret Doors is one action, searching for Traps is one action, searching for Treasure is one action.
This is how it was written in my rule book.
Now as for traps on the inside of a room, right in the door way, well in my world I got you.... Unless you walk through rock and search from another location in hte room

As for throwing weapons, I was looking at it another way:
If throw its not really lost, more like it broke while being thrown.
Spear hit rock and snapped the tip off, or the hand axe thrown broke the head of the axe from the handle.

[torilen]

As for drinking potions, I gotta agree with drathe and phoenix on this...and being that they seem to be the senior players here, I would
defer to their judgement.

As for throwing weapons - maybe instead of losing them (which I personally think sucks), I would take a look at the weapon damage
chart phoenix created, or make one of your own.

As for searching for traps and other searches - yes, definitely different searches for each. I've been playing around with the whole
search thing - I've been working on it as the character needs to be within 4 spaces of a secret door in order to find it, and within
2 spaces of a trap in order to find it. In addition, I would include a roll to find traps - perhaps roll one combat die - if they roll a skull
they have found it and may now attempt to disarm it. Maybe, for those traps that are beyond doorways - they have to roll two
combat dice, and must roll 2 skulls in order to find it.

These rules might bog the game down a bit, so I don't know if they would work - it would add a little mystery and exciting, though, and
when they're making searches for all this stuff, since it would require more searches to be made, you as the evil wizard can make a secret
roll to see if a wandering monster shows up during the searching.