Prince Magnus' Gold - what is this and how do I fix it?

[SirRick]

The locked chests were not my idea, I just copied the text word-for-word from the NA quest book. The only differences are the notes B and C that I added.

If the Heroes don’t find the secret doors, they don’t really miss anything and can finish the quest quickly and move onto something more interesting. The most common complaint about this quest is the long boring trek back through the dungeon.

Honestly the best “fix” is to just simply end the quest as soon as boss fight is cleared, as most people frequently do.

[Bareheaded Warrior]

Sorry I hadn't spotted that your text was exactly the same as the NA edition, but as that edition went with the "sealed chest" option, perhaps I should do the same...rework coming on...

Prince Magnus Gold

And Admiral I agree about The Trial, in my version I have renamed it as The Tomb of Fellmarg and placed it between Bastion of Chaos and Barak Tor - Barrow of the Witch Lord and inserted a new first quest.

[Zenithfleet]

Each to their own, but I agree with you on 'The Trial'. I would never send a new group on this quest first, it's a sure way to put some people off and who wants to do that? If I was playing through the Base Game quests again, which I probably will never do, I would put The Trial last, as a final passage to becoming a true hero. I wouldn't start with The Maze either, it's way too easy and boring, I think this might put some off as well. I would go straight for Sir Ragnar as a great first quest.

In my opinion, 'The Trial' is the tournament demo quest. Or the 'advertisement' quest.

It's the quest you play to show off how cool HeroQuest is when you only have time for ONE game and you might never see the players again. Or the players are kids who need to be hooked NOW. Not several hours and quests from now.

That's why it uses every single item of furniture and every single monster--rewarding impatient kids with the joy of exploring and finding cool stuff, instead of forcing them to slog through mostly empty rooms, the way several early campaign quests do.

And that's why it has incredibly simple rules (at least in the EU version). No secret doors, traps, new equipment, or even search rules. Just, "Explore, find cool dollhouse dungeon furniture, find gold, fight monsters, die!"

It's so hard because it's a complete experience in itself. Can you make it to the boss and win? It's tough as nails because it's short and sweet, like an arcade video game.

And, having got a taste of the HeroQuest experience by playing 'The Trial', players will want MORE! Even if they died. Especially if they died. They'll want to try again. At which point they can be convinced to play this strange newfangled 'campaign mode' where results carry over from game to game.

Interestingly, the later GW game Warhammer Quest takes a similar approach. It can be played as a one-off boardgame with randomised elements: you just open the box, play a game, and put it away again, like chess. Alternatively, you can play it as an ongoing campaign of linked quests. But because it's tuned to provide a challenging one-off experience, getting past the first quest in a campaign can be like pulling teeth. The first quest of a WHQ campaign is notoriously hard to survive.

If I were playing HeroQuest with a group who had all agreed to play a campaign, I'd start with the Rescue of Sir Ragnar.

But 'The Trial' is the one you pull out when you've only got two hours before their plane leaves and none of them have ever played a game like this before and you might not see them again for three years.

(Well, okay, if you're playing with adults, 'Melar's Maze' might be a better one-off. But for kids, it's 'The Trial' all the way.)