Saving HeroQuest - RandoQuest?

[Davane]

Okay, now for the last three monsters - the forces of Chaos starting with, the Chaos Warrior!

Chaos Warrior
Move 6 Squares
Attack 3 Dice
Defend 4 Dice
Body 1
Mind 3

Chaos Warrior

Movement Attack Defend Body Mind
Squares Dice Dice Points Points
7 4 4 3 3

Here, we see one of the bigger changes between the UK and the US versions of HQ Monsters - Chaos Warriors not only get +1 Move, but also get +1 Attack Die, and +2 Body Points. This makes them even tougher than Fimir or Mummies, as these are the true foot soldiers of Chaos.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Chaos Warrior
Move 7 Squares
Attack 4 Dice
Defend 4 Dice
Body 3
Mind 3

---

We have now reached the signature boss "monster" of HQ, the dreaded Gargoyle!

Gargoyle
Move 6 Squares
Attack 4 Dice
Defend 4 Dice
Body 1
Mind 4

Gargoyle

Movement Attack Defend Body Mind
Squares Dice Dice Points Points
6 4 5 3 4

Like the Chaos Warrior, the Gargoyle gets +2 Body Points in the US edition, but they also gain +1 Defend Dice, making them truly tough to bring down. They are truly now the toughest monster in the HQ Game System, with the exception of named villains which were detailed in the Quest Book.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Gargoyle
Move 6 Squares
Attack 4 Dice
Defend 5 Dice
Body 3
Mind 4

---

So, that's all the Monster Cards done, right? Well, yes, if we are only counting Monster Cards from the original game. However, there was an additional Monster Figure - the Chaos Sorcerer. The Chaos Sorcerer figure was used to represent a host of different unique villains, which were always described in the Quest Book. The Chaos Sorcerer was often also used if there was an NPC in the adventure, like when representing Sir Ragnar.

For consistency, we are going to create a Monster Card for the Chaos Sorcerer, even though every entry is going to be See Quest Notes. It would be nice, if in the longer term, we could create a generic Chaos Sorcerer Monster to go alongside this card, but for now, we are just going to have a placeholder for him.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Chaos Sorcerer
Move See Quest Notes
Attack See Quest Notes
Defend See Quest Notes
Body See Quest Notes
Mind See Quest Notes

[Kurgan]

So I've been wrong about the Crossbow. Yes you can throw daggers AND shoot crossbows at the four diagonal touching squares for your Hero. It never says you can't. This all started because I was looking at the Magical Throwing dagger card (which allows you to throw it at any monster you can see, no restrictions) and it got me thinking. But now its clear to me that the only restrictions on missile fire is that the Crossbow can't shoot the four adjacent squares around you, it has to be one square away. The regular dagger has no restriction on throwing to adjacent squares either (though no real benefit to doing so).

So yeah then a discussion ensued about whether that ruins the Longsword. I would say the Longsword becomes a compromise purchase. Many other things come up like why would you ever buy a shortsword, why buy weaker armor/weapon then sell it to buy a stronger one and so on. As is though, that's how it is. Make of it what you will...

[Davane]

So I've been wrong about the Crossbow. Yes you can throw daggers AND shoot crossbows at the four diagonal touching squares for your Hero. It never says you can't. This all started because I was looking at the Magical Throwing dagger card (which allows you to throw it at any monster you can see, no restrictions) and it got me thinking. But now its clear to me that the only restrictions on missile fire is that the Crossbow can't shoot the four adjacent squares around you, it has to be one square away. The regular dagger has no restriction on throwing to adjacent squares either (though no real benefit to doing so).

So yeah then a discussion ensued about whether that ruins the Longsword. I would say the Longsword becomes a compromise purchase. Many other things come up like why would you ever buy a shortsword, why buy weaker armor/weapon then sell it to buy a stronger one and so on. As is though, that's how it is. Make of it what you will...

Personally, I would argue that adjacent covers all 8 squares around the user, whether orthogonally or diagonally... Else, why would anyone both with diagonal attack weapons when they can just throw a dagger or fire a crossbow? In order to preserve the uniqueness of diagonal attacks, I would say that being diagonally adjacent to your enemy is still enough to have them whack the weapon out of your hands!

Of course, as worded, you can still throw a weapon or fire the crossbow at enemies that are further away, even if you have an enemy orthogonally adjacent to you.

AHQ, however, gets around this by the use of "Death Zones" - areas that Monsters control to prevent you running past them or using ranged attacks next to an enemy. WHQ goes one step further, in that all Heroes can move and attack diagonally, but that they have to make a Pinning Test to be able to move away from being adjacent to any Monster, and cannot shoot whilst pinned.

I look forward to finishing up the HQ CERB in due course, so that I can get on with doing versions for AHQ and WHQ, so we can actually get started on RandoQuest. Or, maybe I should name it AWHQ or AdvancedWarHeroQuest?

[Davane]

Moving on from Monsters, we get to the next section, and the next set of components to cover - Equipment Cards. At least, in the UK Edition, they were cards. In the US version, all the Equipment was listed on the Armory insert. There have been some considerable changes with the Equipment between versions, as the US version changed some things, added others, and removed a few bits more. The Wizard Only Equipment became Artifacts found in Quests as part of the US edition, leaving the Wizard without many options for upgrades between games. I will compare these Artifacts as if they were Equipment cards for the purposes of this section, although under US house rules, these will remain Artifacts.

Let's kick things off, with some weapons. All weapons give the Hero a specific number of Attack Dice in combat, and often several other abilities, when used. Some weapons had limitations, such as not being usable with a Shield. Let's start off with a classic - the Battle Axe...

Battle Axe
The Battle axe allows you to roll four combat dice in attack. You may not us a shield when using the Battle axe.

Cost 400 gold coins

May not be used by the Wizard.

WEAPON

Battle Axe
450 Gold Coins
Weapon
This heavy, double-edged axe gives you the attack strength of 4 combat dice. You may not use a shield when using this weapon. May not be used by the Wizard.

This classic beast of a weapon ranks amongst the best top-end weapons you can buy in HeroQuest. Both version give you 4 Combat Dice when attacking. Both versions are 2 Handed (Cannot use a Shield) and cannot be used by the Wizard. The only real difference is that the US version costs 50 Gold Coins more than the UK version. This seems down to a trend to inflate the Gold Coin costs for most Equipment, since this is the primary means of character advancement beyond finding Artifacts or Quest Treasure.

Although the UK format for the Equipment card is fine, I feel that the US text is a bit more informative, and putting the Gold Coin and Equipment Type near the top is quite useful for organising purpose. Since the ONLY difference is the cost, I think we will use the US cost for the Battle Axe, although some rebalancing may be needed in the future. So, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Battle Axe
Weapon
450 Gold Coins
This heavy, double-edged axe allows you to roll four Combat Dice when you attack. You may not use a Shield when using this weapon. May not be used by the Wizard.

---

Next up, probably the most famous weapon in the HeroQuest game - the Broadsword...

Broadsword
The Broadsword allows you to roll three combat dice in attack.

Cost 250 gold coins.

May not be used by the Wizard.

WEAPON

Broadsword
250 Gold Coins
Weapon

This wide blade gives you the attack strength of 3 combat dice. May not be used by the Wizard.

Although the most famous weapon in the game, made famous by the TV commercials, it is not the most exciting weapon. It is unchanged between both the UK and US versions of the game, giving you the same Attack Dice as a Barbarian, and as such, it's easy to see why the US version opted to give this out as the starting weapon for the Barbarian. Unfortunately, this meant that the Barbarian started out with one of the best weapons in the game, limiting their growth. But, at least it solved the issue in the UK version where a Barbarian could buy a Broadsword but not gain any additional effect - in so much as it was specifically pointed out that the Broadsword is NOT an upgrade for the Barbarian, because they start with this weapon at the beginning of the game.

Since both versions of the Broadsword are the same, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Broadsword
Weapon
250 Gold Coins
This wide blade allows you to roll three combat dice when you attack. May not be used by the Wizard.

---

Finally for this post, the Short Sword...

Short Sword

The Short sword allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. The Short sword may be used to attack diagonally.

Cost 150 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

WEAPON

Shortsword
150 Gold Coins
Weapon
This short blade gives you the attack strength of 2 combat dice. May not be used by the Wizard.

The Shortsword is one of the more interesting cases where we see the difference between the UK and US versions. Firstly, the name has been changed from Short Sword to Shortsword, which might seem like a semantic issue, but it does at least make the Shortsword consistent with the naming conventions of the Broadsword (and as we will see soon, the Longsword). Most importantly, the Shortsword has LOST its diagonal attack ability. In the UK version, by possessing the diagonal attack ability, the Short Sword was an upgrade for the Dwarf or Elf, and even gave the Barbarian an interesting choice - as in some circumstance, the loss of a Combat Die when attacking might be outweighed by being able to attack diagonally. In the US version, the Shortsword is the starting weapon for the Dwarf and the Elf, and therefore no longer counts as a weapon upgrade - merely a weapon replacement. The ONLY reason to buy a Shortsword was to replace a lost weapon if you couldn't afford anything better. What's also interesting is that in the US version, there was no longer a 2 CD weapon that allowed a diagonal attack. Instead, you would have the Longsword which was a 3 CD weapon that allowed for a diagonal attack. The only other weapon in the UK version which was 2 CD and allowed for a diagonal attack was the Spear, which was removed from the US version.

Since there's a significant difference between the UK and US versions of the Shortsword, and the role it plays in the game, we will stick with the US version, but allow the diagonal attack ability to be a UK-only House Rule. It's not a big deal, as the Spear is also a 2 CD weapon with diagonal attack, and thus it's easier to simply include the Spear rather than worrying about creating a new Equipment Card to fill the gap that was the UK version of the Short Sword. It's worth noting, however, that some groups create a version of the UK's Short Sword for their games, often calling it a Rapier. NuHQ sees the inclusion of the Bard, which wields the Rapier with this combination, so such a weapon may become official soon enough (and not just limited to the Bard).

So, for the HQ CERB, we have:

Shortsword
Weapon
150 Gold Coins
This short blade allows you to roll two combat dice when you attack. [UK: The Short sword may be used to attack diagonally.] May not be used by the Wizard.

[Davane]

Moving on, let's tackle a topic which Kurgan may be interested in, as we look at the ranged weapons from the UK version of HeroQuest, starting off with the Crossbow...

Crossbow
The Crossbow allows you to roll three combat dice in attack. You may not use the Crossbow against an opponent who is adjacent to you.

Cost 350 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

WEAPON

Crossbow
350 Gold Coins
Weapon
This long-range weapon gives you the attack strength of 3 combat dice. You may fire at any monster that you can "see." However, you cannot fire at a monster that is adjacent to you. You have an unlimited supply of arrows. May not be used by the Wizard.

Looking at both versions of the Crossbow, we can easily see that these are supposed to be the SAME weapon, and as such, we will treat it as such. The UK version is rather light, failing to mention that it is a ranged weapon, because the Crossbow is called out explicitly under the rules for Missile Fire in the Rules of Play. However, it does reiterate that you may not use the Crossbow against an adjacent opponent. The US version, however, clarifies that you can fire the Crossbow at any monster you can "see," and that it has unlimited arrows.

Putting these together for the HQ CERB, we get:

Crossbow
Weapon
350 Gold Coins
This long-range weapon allows you to roll three combat dice in attack. You may fire the Crossbow at any opponent that you can "see." However, you cannot fire the Crossbow at an opponent who is adjacent to you. You have an unlimited supply of bolts. May not be used by the Wizard.

---

In the UK version of HeroQuest, there were also TWO other weapons that allowed for ranged attacks, by being weapons that could be thrown. Unfortunately, neither made it into the Armory for the US version of HeroQuest. Let's start with the first of these - the Hand Axe...

Hand Axe
The Hand axe allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. You may also throw the Hand axe but if you do so you lose it.

Cost 150 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

WEAPON

The Hand Axe is a melee weapon, that can also be thrown for a ranged attack. Thrown weapons were also called out under the same rules for missile fire as the Crossbow. However, since it was ALSO a melee weapon, you could use the Hand Axe against orthogonally adjacent opponents. The design of the Hand Axe allows for Dwarf and Elf Heroes to replace their starting attack with a weapon that, whilst it has the same Combat Dice, can be thrown in an emergency.

Combining the UK Hand Axe with the format we are using for the HQ CERB, we get:

Hand Axe
Weapon
150 Gold Coins
This single edged axe allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. You may also throw the Hand Axe at any opponent that you can "see." However, you cannot throw the Hand Axe at an opponent who is adjacent to you. If you throw the Hand Axe at an opponent, you lose it after the attack. May not be used by the Wizard.

---

Finally, we get to the other ranged weapon in the UK version, which also failed to make the transition to the US edition - the Spear...

Spear
The Spear allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. The Spear my be used to attack diagonally. You may also throw the Spear but if you do you lose it.

Cost 150 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

WEAPON

The Spear is an advancement over the Hand Axe, in that it can be used to attack diagonally as well as being thrown. Unfortunately, at the same gold coin cost as the Hand Axe, it rendered the Hand Axe obsolete unless you were lucky enough to find one during a Quest. In a similar way, it also made the Shortsword obsolete for the same reason. In the UK version of HQ, the Spear was simply one of the most versatile weapons in the game, simply because it had so many options. For balance, we are going to increase the Gold Coin value of the Spear to 175 gold coins.

With all this in mind, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Spear
Weapon
175 Gold Coins
This long reach weapon allows you to roll two combat dice when you attack. The Spear may be used to attack diagonally. You may also throw the Spear at any opponent that you can "see." However, you cannot throw the Spear at an opponent who is adjacent to you. If you throw the Spear at an opponent, you lose it after the attack. May not be used by the Wizard.

[Davane]

So far, we've seen a LOT of weapons that cannot be used by the Wizard, so what about some that can? First off, the Staff...

Staff
The Staff allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. The Staff may be used to attack diagonally.

Cost 100 gold coins.

WEAPON

Staff
100 Gold Coins
Weapon
This long, sturdy, wooden staff gives you the attack strength of 1 combat die. Because of its length, the staff enables you to attack diagonally. You may not use a shield when using this weapon.

The Staff is another one of those weapons that got changed between the UK and the US editions. In this case, the Staff got nerfed, so that in the US edition, it was only 1 CD, but could still attack diagonally. This was done, because an Artifact was created that duplicated the UK version of the Staff. The US version also includes the somewhat redundant notice that you cannot use a Shield whilst using the Staff. This was redundant because the main Hero going to be using the Staff was the Wizard, and they can't use Shields anyway. But, just in case any other Hero wanted to use a Staff, this was added in.

Because we also have a version of the Staff as an Artifact, we will keep the Staff as the nerfed US version from the Armory. This means we get the following for the HQ CERB:

Staff
Weapon
100 Gold Coins
This long, sturdy, wooden staff allows you to roll one combat dice in attack. Because of its length, the staff may be used to attack diagonally. You may not use a shield when using this weapon.

---

The Wizard doesn't get many options for Weapons in HeroQuest, but they did get a second option for a Weapon in the US version of the game, as that version introduced the Dagger. The Dagger was the ONLY throwing weapon in the US version, working similarly to how the Hand Axe and Spear worked in the UK version. It was also the starting weapon for the Wizard. At 1 CD, it's barely stronger than an unarmed attack, but the Wizard could throw it in emergencies.

Dagger
25 Gold Coins
Weapon
This sharp knife gives you the attack strength of 1 combat die. A dagger can also be thrown at any monster you can "see," but is lost once it is thrown.

There's not much to compare here, but since the US rules lack any information about Missile Fire, unlike the UK rules, some people have assumed that the Dagger CAN be thrown when adjacent to other monsters. However, whilst this interpretation may be legitimate in the Rules as Written, the fact that the Dagger serves no benefit being thrown when orthogonally adjacent to an enemy (indeed, the Dagger is lost for nothing) seems to imply that Daggers were designed to work like UK throwing weapons. This is further backed up by the fact that allowing the Dagger to be thrown at diagonally adjacent opponents undermines the only advantage that the Staff has - its ability to attack diagonally. Thus, although it is not explicitly stated that you cannot throw the dagger at adjacent opponents in the US rules, we will be using the UK rules for throwing weapons to handle Daggers, but allow for a US house rule to ignore this limitation and throw the Dagger at opponents who are diagonally adjacent (there's no point throwing a dagger at someone orthogonally adjacent).

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Dagger
Weapon
25 Gold Coins
This sharp knife allows you to roll one combat dice in attack. You may also throw the Dagger at any opponent that you can "see." However, you cannot throw the Dagger at an opponent who is adjacent to you. If you throw the Dagger at an opponent, you lose it after the attack.

[US: You may throw the Dagger at an opponent who is diagonally adjacent to you.]

---

The final weapon is another weapon that can only be found in the US version of HQ, but unlike the two above, also CANNOT be used by Wizards. It is, of course, the Weapon in the US system that makes the most famous weapon in the game - the Broadsword - redundant: It's the Longsword.

Longsword
350 Gold Coins
Weapon
This long blade gives you the attack strength of 3 combat dice. Because of its length, the Longsword enables you to attack diagonally. May not be used by the Wizard.

The Longsword is simply a Broadsword that can also attack diagonally. It's the best standard weapon to use in the game that still allows you to use a Shield for added defence. There's not much else to say about it, really.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Longsword
Weapon
350 Gold Coins
This long blade allows you to roll three combat dice in attack. Because of its length, the Longsword enables you to attack diagonally. May not be used by the Wizard.

[Davane]

Moving on from Weapons, it's time to look at the armour that can be bought. First, let's start with the two types of body armour available, beginning with the Chain Mail...

Chain Mail
Chain mail armour allows you to roll three combat dice in defence.

Cost 450 gold coins.

May not be used by the Wizard.

ARMOUR

Chain Mail
500 Gold Coins
Armor
This light metal armor gives you 1 extra combat die in defense. May be combined with the Helmet and/or Shield. May not be worn by the Wizard.

Besides an increase in cost, here we can see the main difference between body armour in the UK and US versions. In the UK version, body armour works like weapons, replacing your Defend Dice with a new total. In the US version, body armour works like the Helmet and Shield and gives you extra combat dice in defence. This change makes body armour harder to distinguish, so we will be sticking with the UK version for Body Armour, but with the US cost. Thus, there's no need to try and remember that Heroes already start with two combat dice when defending. Also, to make it absolutely clear, we will classify this as Body armour, since the rules already differentiate between Body armour and other forms of Armour.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Chain Mail
Armour (Body)
500 Gold Coins
This light metal armour allows you to roll three combat dice in defence. May be combined with the Helmet and/or Shield. May not be worn by the Wizard.

---

Next up, we have the best Body Armour you can get, if you don't mind taking the rather stiff penalty of losing 1 Die of movement. It's Plate Mail...

Plate Armour
Plate armour allows you to roll four combat dice in defence, BUT You may only roll one die for movement whilst wearing plate armour.

Cost 850 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

ARMOUR

Plate Mail
850 Gold Coins
Armor
This heavy metal armour gives you 2 extra combat dice in defence. However, because it is so heavy, you may only roll 1 red die for movement while wearing it. May be combined with the Helmet and/or Shield. May not be worn by the Wizard.

Once again, we will be classifying Plate Mail (yes, we are sticking with the US name) as Body Armour, and thus will be using the UK format for Defend Dice. Note that both versions only allow you to roll 1 Die for Movement whilst wearing it.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Plate Mail
Armour (Body)
850 Gold Coins
This heavy metal armour allows you to roll four combat dice in defence. However, because it is so heavy, you may only roll one die for movement while wearing it. May be combined with the Helmet and/or Shield. May not be worn by the Wizard.

---

I know that I have established a pattern of doing three cards per post, but for Armour, we are going to push to four, as we cover the two items that can be used to add extra defence dice to heroes in HQ, starting with the Helmet...

The Helmet

The Helmet gives you one extra combat die in defence.

Cost 120 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

ARMOUR

Helmet
125 Gold Coins
Armor
This protective headpiece gives you 1 extra combat die in defense. May not be used by the Wizard.

The US version is slightly more expensive, but beyond that, the Helmet is essentially the same in both versions, allowing Heroes to add +1 CD when defending.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Helmet
Armor
125 Gold Coins
This protective headpiece gives you one extra combat die in defense. May not be used by the Wizard.

---

Finally, the Shield...

The Shield

The shield gives you one extra combat die in defence.

Cost 100 gold coins.

May not be used by Wizard.

ARMOUR

Shield
150 Gold Coins
Armor
This hand-held armor gives you 1 extra combat die in defence. May not be used with the Battle Axe or the Staff. May not be used by the Wizard.

The US version is slightly more expensive, but beyond that, the Shield is essentially the same in both versions, allowing Heroes to add +1 CD when defending. Note how, thanks to the price changes, the Shield is now more expensive than the Helmet. The US version also states that the Shield cannot be used with the Battle Axe or Staff.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Shield
Armour
150 Gold Coins
This hand-held armour gives you one extra combat die in defence. May not be used with the Battle Axe or the Staff. May not be used by the Wizard.

[Davane]

Time to finish up the Equipment Cards, as we cover the only non-Weapon, non-Armour equipment in the game - the Tool Kit...

Tool Kit

The tool kit enables you to remove any trap that you find. Roll one combat die. On the roll of a skull the trap goes off and you lose one Body point. Once you have rolled the die the trap is removed.

Cost 250 gold coins.

Tool Kit
250 Gold Coins
Disarms Traps
This tool kit gives you a 50% chance to disarm any searched-for-and-found (but unsprung) trap. See rulebook for correct procedure.

It's interesting how the US version simply says to refer to the rulebook, where as the UK version tries to get the process onto a single card. For reference, here's the current rules in the HQ CERB for Disarming Traps:

Disarming Traps
Trap Tiles may later be disarmed by any Hero with the Tool Kit Equipment Card and is adjacent to the Trap. A Tool Kit may be purchased between Quests.
A Hero must move orthogonally adjacent to the Trap square and roll one Combat Die. If they roll a Skull, they have sprung the Trap. If they roll either a Black Shield or a White Shield, the Trap is disarmed. They may only disarm one Trap per turn.
[US]: A Hero only needs to know the location of a Trap to disarm it. Before they move, they must announce that they are moving onto the Trap square to attempt to disarm and remove the Trap. You must move onto the Trap square.

As you can see, we have two sets of rules for the Tool Kit, and thus we need to try and get both rules onto the Equipment card, so for the HQ CERB, we have:

Tool Kit
250 Gold Coins
Disarms Traps
This tool kit gives you a chance to disarm and remove any trap. A Hero must move orthogonally adjacent to the Trap square and roll one Combat Die. If they roll a Skull, they have sprung the Trap. If they roll either a Black Shield or a White Shield, the Trap is disarmed. They may only disarm one Trap per turn.
[US]: A Hero only needs to know the location of a Trap to disarm it. Before they move, they must announce that they are moving onto the Trap square to attempt to disarm and remove the Trap. You must move onto the Trap square.

---

So, that's all the Equipment right? Wrong. The UK version came with two more Equipment Cards, which we will look at here, starting with the Bracers...

Bracers

The Bracers allows you to to roll one extra combat die in defence.

Cost 200 gold pieces

May only be used by the Wizard

ARMOUR

The Bracers were a form of protection for the Wizard, much like the Cloak of Protection (see below). However, the Bracers never made it into the US version of the game, weakening the Wizard by preventing them from gaining this +1 CD in defence. However, since the Bracers exist in the UK version of the game, we will be including them, under the revised name of Bracers of Protection. This is useful, because the Wizard lacks things to buy with their money.

So for the HQ CERB, we have:

Bracers of Protection
Armour
200 Gold Coins
The Bracers allows you to to roll one extra combat die in defence. May only be used by the Wizard.

---

Finally, we have the Cloak of Protection, aka the Wizard's Cloak. Like the UK version of the Staff, the Cloak became an artifact, rather than something that the Wizard can buy. However, it is EXACTLY the same as the Cloak.

Cloak of Protection

The cloak allows you to roll one extra die in defence.

Cost 350 gold coins.

May only be used by Wizard.

ARMOUR

Wizard's Cloak
This magical cloak made of shimmery fabric is covered with mystical runes. It can be worn only by the Wizard, giving him one extra combat die in defense.

As you can see, the Cloak of Protection and the Wizard's Cloak are exactly the same, with the only difference that is can be bought in the UK version of the game. I'm not sure why it was decided that the Cloak was removed from the Armory and classed as an Artifact, thus giving the Wizard even less things to spend their gold on. Since it's part of the UK version of the game, and the Wizard really needs more stuff to spend his money on, we will allow the Wizard's Cloak to be purchasable, but if you are running the US versions of the Game System Quests, you may want to note that the Wizard essentially gets this item for free.

So for the HQ CERB, we have:

Wizard's Cloak
Armour
350 Gold Coins
This magical cloak made of shimmery fabric is covered with mystical runes, and allows you to to roll one extra combat die in defence. May only be used by the Wizard.

---

So, that's it right? Not quite - since we are allowing the Wizard's Cloak to be purchasable, we might as well consider having the Wizard's Staff be purchasable as well. We already have a Staff that can be used by anyone, but in the US version it was nerfed from a 2 CD attack to a 1 CD attack. The Wizard's Staff was created as an Artifact that retained the 2 CD attack.

Staff

The Staff allows you yo roll two combat dice in attack. The staff may be used to attack diagonally.

Cost 100 gold coins.

WEAPON

Wizard's Staff
This long ancient staff glows with a soft blue light. It can be used only by the Wizard, giving him the attack strength of two combat dice and the ability to strike diagonally.

As you can see, these two cards are identical, but we have a problem. As an Artifact, the Wizard's Staff doesn't have a cost, and we can't use the Staff's cost of 100 Gold Coins because we already used that for the US version of the Staff. Thus, we need to assign a cost to it, and I am thinking that 250 Gold Coins is a fair price for it. It seems that Wizard only Equipment has a significant premium over standard equipment that the Wizard can't use, and the Wizard's Staff is akin to the UK Shortsword, which costs 150 Gold Coins. Thus, whacking a +100 Gold Coin premium on a Shortsword seems reasonable, and would place it in between the Bracers of Protection and the Wizard's Cloak in terms of pricing. It should be noted that, like the Wizard's Cloak, the Wizard will get the Wizard's Staff for free in the US versions of the Quests in the main game.

Thus, for the HQ CERB, we get:

Wizard's Staff
Weapon
250 Gold Coins
This long, ancient staff glows with a soft blue light, and allows you to roll two combat dice in attack. Because of its length, the Wizard's Staff may be used to attack diagonally. May only be used by the Wizard.

[Davane]

For those who are interested, the current version of the HeroQuest Combined English Edition Rule Book can be downloaded here:

HQ Combined English Edition Rule Book v0.3.1.3.odt

This version has been updated with the Hero, Monster, and Equipment Cards given as their own sections after the relevant rules.

This version also includes some rewrites, so that the focus in less on talking in the second person (to You), and more in the third person (about Heroes). Key terms, especially those that are components have been capitalised as Proper Nouns.

This is still a RAW text file with a basic functional layout, rather than a finished product.

Oh, and whilst I took some liberties (restoring the Wizard's Cloak and Wizard's Staff as Equipment Cards, for example), I haven't included the House Rule that makes the Crossbow a two-handed weapon. I expect this will be added to RandoQuest (AdvancedWarHeroQuest?) in due course, but for now, the HQ CERB is trying to only deal with what's in the HQ rules, and any clarifications that are needed.

[Davane]

Continuing through the components, we now move on to Spells, with the first group being covered the Air spells... starting with Genie spell.

Genie
This spell conjures up a Genie who will do one of the following: open any door on the board (the room's contents should be put out) OR attack anyone on the board. He will attack only once with five combat dice. The spell is then discarded.

Genie
This spell conjures up a Genie who will do one of the following: open any door on the board (revealing what lies beyond), OR use 5 combat dice to attack any monster within your line of sight.

The Genie spell is the ONLY Spell card with which the caster must choose one of multiple effects. All other spells only have a stated single effect, making this card extremely versatile. Despite this, the two options are so comparatively unbalanced, that this choice is often a non-decision, with the majority of players opting to attack with the Genie when using this Spell.

The first option is to open any single door on the board. This reveals the room's contents, and activates any enemies within, as if the caster themselves opened the door. However, although revealed, the contents of the room will typically remain out of line of sight to the caster.

The second, most commonly used option, is to attack anyone with five Combat Dice. This 5 CD attack makes the spell the most potent offensive spell (out of three in total), and the UK version allows the Genie to attack anyone on the board, not just in line of sight of the caster. It's a supremely powerful spell, because even though the target can roll Defend Dice against the Genie, with attacking offering a 1 in 2 chance of success per dice (meaning an average of 2-3 Skulls rolled per attack), defending Monsters only get a 1 in 6 chance to successfully defend, thus the Genie spell can take out most monsters, including boss monsters, in a single use.

Because of the strength of the Genie spell, limiting it's attack to line of sight seems reasonable, if only to help keep some strength to the other offensive spells, although the UK version could be used as a house rule. This gives up the following for the HQ CERB:

Genie
This spell conjures up a Genie who will do one of the following:

• Open any door on the board, revealing what lies beyond;
• Attack any opponent within your line of sight with five Combat Dice. [UK: You can attack any opponent on the board.]

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Continuing through the Air Spell Cards, we get Swift Wind:

Swift Wind
This spell may be cast on any one player. That player may then roll twice as many dice as normal the next time he moves. The spell is then discarded.

Swift Wind
This spell may be cast on any one Hero, including yourself. Its powerful burst of energy enables that Hero to roll twice as many red dice as normal the next time he moves.

Both versions of the Swift Wind spell are the same - it allows a Hero to roll twice as many dice when they next move. This gives up the following for the HQ CERB:

Swift Wind
This Spell may be cast on any one Hero, including the spellcaster themselves. Its powerful burst of energy enables that Hero to roll twice as many Move Dice as normal the next time they move.

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Finishing off the Air Spell Cards, we get Tempest:

Tempest
A small Tempest is created which envelops on monster or player of your choice. That monster or player will then miss his next turn. The spell is then discarded.

Tempest
This spell creates a small whirlwind that envelops one monster of your choice. That monster will then miss its next turn.

Both versions of the Tempest spell are essentially the same - it causes a character to miss their next turn. This gives up the following for the HQ CERB:

Tempest
This Spell creates a small whirlwind that envelops one Hero or Monster of the spellcaster's choice. That Hero or Monster will then miss their next turn.