Veil of Mist spell

[The Admiral]

Yes, it's definitely one of those spells that doesn't often get used, or is used when not really needed just so it doesn't get wasted, but I would rather keep it and not use it more often then not, so that I have it available for those occasions when it is the perfect spell for a particular circumstance.

[wallydubbs]

It's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

[Jalapenotrellis]

In quest 6 with Grak, I blocked the stairs with all my minions but the heroes cast Veil of Mist to ensure they won the quest whether or not the survived and sent a low Hp char out while the last 3 fought (and won) against Grak.

It is an escape spell. No need to really modify. Not all spells need to be awesome. I feel like there are 3 escape spells (the other being the speed boost and walk through walls).

[Jalapenotrellis]

Today I played quest 1: the Trial with a new group. They used veil of mist when the dwarf was surrounded by 3 monsters on the other side of the door in order to help out. Otherwise the dwarf would have been boxed in. I was impressed. It helps either with escape or positioning around a door when the monsters have the current position advantage.

[wallydubbs]

Today I played quest 1: the Trial with a new group. They used veil of mist when the dwarf was surrounded by 3 monsters on the other side of the door in order to help out. Otherwise the dwarf would have been boxed in. I was impressed. It helps either with escape or positioning around a door when the monsters have the current position advantage.

I think that's what Baker had in mind when he came up with the idea.
The first time I played The Trial, Veil of Mist was actually the only spell that didn't get used. Although it would've been useful towards the end, the Elf had the water spells and was more pressed into a combat position.
As the Elf, Barbarian and Dwarf cleared out Fellmarg's tomb, Wizard stayed back for spell casting support, but then wandered off to check out the rest of the map.
Everyone seemed to have a suspicious agreement that Verag was in the Central Chamber. The Wizard stood outside the central room as the other heroes were coming back from the Tomb, he opened the door at the start of his turn, cast Swift Wind on himself and ran away.
The rest of the fighting took place in the hallway around the central Chamber. Verag plugged up the hall just above the weapons rack room, fighting the Elf, the Barbarian couldn't get into the fray, as the north side of the central room was plugged by the Dwarf, Orc and Chaos Warrior. It would've taken the Barbarian too long to run through the 2 rooms and attack the gargoyle from the south... so Veil of Mist would've been very useful, but the Elf found attacking to be his best option. Fortunately the Wizard still had Pass Through Rock, which allowed the Barbarian to bypass the weapons rack room and attack the gargoyle... just in time too. Another attack by the gargoyle would've killed the Elf.

However in the Rescue of Sir Ragnar, the Dwarf opened the southern most door while fighting the goblin and the orc ran over and plugged up the room before any heroes could get in, forcing the Dwarf to fight on 2 ends. This time the Wizard had water spells and cast Veil of Mist on the Barbarian, granting him access to that room and attacking the orc from behind.

[Pancho]

I think it’s a decent spell, even it won’t get used in every quest. If you’re playing as the Wizard and you’re separated from your buddies with no offensive spells or healings left, then Veil of Mist could very possibly save your life.
I enjoyed reading the examples given in the last few posts.
There is also the example of the Gargoyle on the stone bridge in the solo quest Running the Gauntlet, with the doorway beyond that is small enough for the Wizard to escape into. I think Dave Morris intended Veil of Mist as a possible solution to that particular riddle.

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Next to casting a Genie spell to open a door, I think the Veil of Mist spell is the least useful spell (and in need of adjustment):

Veil of Mist

This spell may be cast on any
one Hero, including yourself.
On the Hero's next move, he may
move unseen through spaces that
are occupied by monsters.

Here's a spell that let's you get behind the lines...for what? If you use it to attack, chances are you'll be attacked back by whatever monsters are in the rear. If instead the spell is used to escape an uncertain random move must still be rolled after the spell is cast. This move suffers from a 2 square movement penalty just to get on the opposite side and adjacent to a blocking monster that will likely pursue and attack that round. Both options usually expose the Hero to an attack in the same turn he moves...weak.

To strengthen Veil of Mist, certain interpretation is in order. Assume the spell is active once cast, making the Hero unseen by monsters in general. This lasts until the conditions of the spell are satisfied, namely when the Hero's next move occurs. Note that a Hero always has a move on his turn, even if he choses not to move any squares (found under On Any Player's Turn and Hero Movement in the NA Instruction Booklet, p.12). Two variations arise depending on when the Hero moves:

1. Should the Hero's move occur after the spell is cast but before Zargon acts, then the spell is limited to only affecting the Hero's movement, with no additional effect. This occurs when the targeted Hero follows the caster in turn order.
2. Should the Hero's move instead occur after the spell is cast and after Zargon acts, then the spell makes the Hero unseen from the time it is cast until the targeted Hero's next move. This means that on Zargon's turn following the casting of the spell no monster can attack or cast a spell on that Hero (and he can move through monsters on his turn, as well). This variation is only possible if Veil of Mist is cast on a Hero who goes before the caster in turn order, of if the caster is the target of the spell.

To further strengthen Veil of Mist, allow it to last until the caster's next turn. Similar to variation 2 above, this makes any Hero unseen on Zargon's following turn, regardless of turn order. Now, not only do all Heroes benefit from not being visable to monsters for a turn (regardless of turn order), but it's also possible for a targeted Hero other than the caster to move and then attack a monster behind the lines without retaliation for 1 Zargon turn. (The caster can't do this because he cast a spell- he may only move.)

Hmmm. Just checked out Wizards of Morcar. I thought all this Veil of Mist hupla was justified for those who don't own/haven't printed the Invisibility spell card for use in their game. Turns out I've remade Invisibiliy and stacked it with moving through monsters and allowing attacks. Makes Veil of Mist overpowered, and Invisibility a poorer cousin. I guess Veil of Mist should be cancelled if an attack is made, as with Invisibility.

I still think Veil of Mist sucks. I think I'll use some the guts of this in another house rule effort soon.

Never mind. -Emily Latella

I agree that Veil of Mist is probably the least useful spell, but then one spell has to be the least useful. Pass through Rock is a better infiltration spell, especially if you consider that to allow movement through monsters.

As others have said it is mainly used either as an escape spell to get out of a tricky situation (and ideally to the other side of a meat shield - Barbarian/Dwarf) but in those cases the OP point about the two square movement penalty is valid (there is no movement penalty officially but the fact that you would probably have to use two squares of movement to get through the monster to the other side, to then start to escape, means the pursuing monster effectively gains a two square bonus on their pursuit) OR an infiltration type spell to be able to bring another hero into a combat that they would otherwise be blocked from (and I have used it against enemy spell casters to infiltrate the Barbarian or Dwarf through the protective screen of monsters to strike directly at the target.

Boosting it as the OP intended does clash with the Invisibility spell, so you could either boost it to affect more than one hero, those adjacent or next to or all in sight of the caster, but that runs into an issue if the caster is not the first in the turn order (and if you B-D-E-W then they never will be*) as to how you handle the effects during the EWPs turn

*After much experimentation with variable turn order and skipping turns, I have now reverted back to a fixed initiative based turn order of E-B-W-D, but note that just because that is the turn order it doesn't mean that the heroes must proceed in that order, if the group wants the Dwarf to lead then they just need to not overtake him...

So perhaps the best way to boost Veil of Mist, is to enhance its escape function by treating it as the hero equivalent of the Escape spell, giving the caster the ability to move instantly to any already revealed and unoccupied square on the gameboard. "The caster becomes veiled in mist and when it clears they have disappeared". I think the Japanese version of HeroQuest does something similar but with the Swift Wind spell.

[wallydubbs]

Veil of Mist is brought down all the more by Dust of Disappearance, not allowing it to work on Ogres, and by the fact that the Rogue has combat mobility, which is essentially the same thing. It is one of the least used spells and is arguably the worst (Swift Wind being a notable contender).

Part of this also depends how you play. Some Zargon's are open to changing the turn order, which could essentially nullify this spell. As noted, it can be used to make an escape if surrounded or "get behind the lines", as you say. However sometimes heroes get stuck behind a doorway and due to the turn order have to wait around for another hero to finish battling a Fimir/Abomination before they can pass. In such scenarios Veil of Mist can allow another heroes to get in and finish off the monster more quickly.

I've seen it used in different and somewhat creative ways. I've seen the Wizard use it to get past an orc to escape the Maze. In Legacy of the Orc Warlord all the monsters from the middle room chased the heroes down to the armory where they got their weapons back, the Wizard cast Veil of Mist on the Dwarf, who ran through them to the end of the line and started attacking from the rear. There's also the traditional use, where the Wizard was cornered by 2 Chaos Warriors and dropped to 1 BP, using it to make an escape.

All spells are situational: healing spells should only be used when a hero needs healing, Fire spells and Genie are offensive spells for the Wizard, Rock Skin provides formidable defence and Tempest has a valid use. Veil of Mist, Pass Through Rock and Swift Wind are all movement spells with various uses. Sleep has its uses as well, none more prominent then it's use on a Giant Wolf, but I find Sleep seems to be the only elemental spell that can possibly be restricted from a quest; mainly in Return of the Witch Lord. If you're fighting strictly undead, this spell won't have a use; plus the probability of failure against a Chaos Warrior can be disheartening. This is why I find Earth spells to be much more prevalent and useful than Water. It's also why I feel Holy Water should have been a Water Spell too, replacing Veil of Mist, water spells would've ranked much higher.

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Dust of Disappearance is the "potion" equivalent of the Veil of Mist spell, but I don't think that having a potion equivalent of a spell necessarily brings it down, after all the Courage spell has Potion of Strength, Rock Skin has Potion of Resilience/Defence, Healing Spells have Healing Potions, Swift Wind has Potion of Speed all of which, to a greater or lesser extent based on your version are all potion equivalents of spells.

The Ogre point is valid but they are a rare type of monster, so most of the time, that doesn't matter and my version doesn't have a Rogue so again valid point but not one that concerns me.

I think on balance I would probably leave this spell as it is, but I retain the right to change my mind at any time (and potentially flip-flop for years...)