US or UK edition?

[Scipio]

Hi all! I'm new to this forum, drawn here by my very own hero's quest...

I have a question for the collective expertise of the venerable members of this forum, but first, context:

I played HQ a lot in the days of yore, but never owned my own copy. In a fit of nostalgia I'm in the process of collecting and building my own custom version of the game, scaled up to accommodate the Warhammer miniatures I collected in the mid-'90s.

However, I want the rules of the game to be the original ones. I suspect the Norwegian/Swedish version I played back when (based on the UK version) wasn't perfectly translated, and in any case I want to use all the expansions -and those are only available in English. I understand that most of the expansions are available for the English version, and for the US version as fan-localizations. A couple are only available for the US version, and I assume they've been fan-localized for the UK version.

The US version seems more of a "proper" RPG, with more and more powerful monsters and Chaos magic as well as multiple copies of equipment available (no fighting over the single battleaxe card!). This appeals to me.

The UK version has more expansions that are not dependent on the quality of fan-localization. It's also closer to the version I played as a kid. Both of those appeal to me.

So, I'm asking for recommendations. What are the relative strengths of the two versions? Are there significant changes in the rules that need to be considered?

Thank you -I hope I'm not opening some old can of worms that will get me banned immediately. If so, I'm sorry

[Maurice76]

Welcome to the forums!

The way I see it, the European version was version 1.0. A year or two later, they released version 2.0 in the US. Not all changes from the European to the American version are good, in my opinion, however. Monsters having multiple body points was a good thing, for sure.

Also keep in mind that the American expansions were only very poorly playtested (if at all) and are therefore significantly imbalanced, as opposed to the European expansions.

Basically, the only way to encompass all of those expansions would be to embrace custom rulesets; either made by yourself or made by others. There are numerous threads from people who designed their own rules and shared them in those threads. Otherwise, you will probably find that you won't be able to accomodate all official material in your HeroQuest experience.

[Stoner81]

Do what I did and combine them both and make your own



Stoner81.

[Scipio]

The way I see it, the European version was version 1.0. A year or two later, they released version 2.0 in the US. Not all changes from the European to the American version are good, in my opinion, however. Monsters having multiple body points was a good thing, for sure.

I've been looking for a comprehensive guide to the differences between the versions -I have had no luck finding a good one, though I get there are harder monsters and more equipment/spells for the US one.

Can the UK expansions be used for the US game without tweaking, or will they be too easy? I can live without the Elf and Barbarian quests for starters.

Do what I did and combine them both and make your own

That might very well happen, but I'm trying to avoid it

[Anderas]

Good in the UK version: Cards! You get them, you have them, you lose them. Because you have something in your hand, it feels like property. That's the point. Feel.

Also, you read a lot of rules on the card, so you don't need to read the rulebook. Only Morcar needs to do it.

US Version: Monster BP are a biggie. They're worth copying. Courage spell is better. Skull marker and ? Tiles are good. And apart from that... nothing. That's it. yes I am an European.

Welcome to the forums!

[The Admiral]

They really are very interchangeable. All packs can easily be played with either set of rules and a bit of common sense. Like most I think, I play a combo of the two with my own rules added. Off the top of my head I think the biggest rule differences are that in EU one search finds all traps and secret doors, while in US each must be searched for separately. In US each Hero may only search a room for treasure once. I don't think there was that restriction in EU.

As to system differences the Body points and chaos Spells were the biggest changes from EU to US.

There were many minor tweaks. e.g. the Ball of Flame and Fire of Wrath spells became less effective in the US version. So I just go with the EU versions as I think the Wizard needs the help. That is the sort of thing that you can decide for yourself.

[mitchiemasha]

I'm sure we have a thread here that goes through the different version. Most of us take what we like from both. I wouldn't say there was any difference between the 'RPGnes' of the versions. It purely up to players to get involved as much as they like or simply play it purely mechanical.

And, welcome. Good to have you.

[Scipio]

Thanks for the heads-up. A composite version doesn't seem entirely unlikely, but I'd prefer not to... at least not for starters! I haven't played the game in ages, so I don't really feel up to fixing the rules myself.

On a related note: I notice that I can't access the remastered NA versions of the UK-only quests because I'm a lowly peasant. Do I have to save sir Ragnar to gain access, or what?

[Anderas]

Just write 14 meaningful postings and you become a champion.



If you use the US Monsters, take a look at the quest book in my signature. It is my try for balancing the base game with hero strength and numbers.

If a PDF version is ok instead of the print version on the home page, try googling "Phoenix Heroquest Yeoldeinn". Phoenix made high quality PDF for nearly all quest books.

[Scipio]

14! That's a fairly random number, but I'll persevere.

I'll definitely have a look at your resources and Phoenix's as well. So much to keep track of! Starting to wish I just caved and sold a kidney for one of the complete sets that occasionally pop up...