Golden Axe Quest Pack

[HispaZargon]

Hi everybody,

I would like to open this new forum in order to deal with something I have been many times thinking about: it would be possible to create a good Hero Quest Quest Pack based in the classic 1989's Golden Axe arcade videogame? and, if possible, also adapt its later sequels and/or other custom fanmade quests, etc. to new quest packs? I am talking about adapting it to the North American rules of Hero Quest.

AMIGA_Golden_Axe_Cover.jpg

Why thinking about this? Well, here are my five reasons:

- Reason #1: Although I am not an expert of the Golden Axe videogame, I love it. It would be probably one of the first videogames I played in my childhood and I still remember it today. I played it in several platforms, first in Arcade version at bars/arcade saloons, mostly played the Spectrum version at home which I still owns, a little bit played to Amstrad’s one in a friend’s home and of course I played the PC version and abandonware emulators years later at home.

- Reason #2: I have searched through internet and, surprisingly (or not, we will see…), I think nobody has tried to make an adaptation of Golden Axe to the Hero Quest environment nor other similar one.

- Reason #3: Golden Axe lore is based on a fantasy world, in fact not too much complex, where exist magic, heroes, barbarians, dwarfs, creatures, good people, bad people, etc. like in Hero Quest lore.

- Reason #4: Golden Axe is a videogame, which playing mechanics are simple and basically focused in hand to hand combat with some punctual use of magic, like Hero Quest boardgame.

- Reason #5: Golden Axe videogame follows a simple story line, divided in a few stages, with a final boss to be defeated, like a typical quest pack of Hero Quest boardgame.

So, why do not doing it? Come on, let’s goooo!!! …. Well, wait, wait. Unfortunately, it does not seem such easy. Of course inventing a direct adaptation of the Golden Axe characters, enemies, etc. should not be to much difficult and it is the first task I have tried to do but, the important aim for me is not creating a Golden Axe Quest Pack… the aim is creating a GOOD Golden Axe Quest Pack, something funny to be played and, I think it is not such easy to create and that’s the reason I would like to share with you my thoughts about it, in order to get ideas or other opinions. Of course I already have some ideas to start working, which I am going to explain later.

Ok, so, making a good Quest Pack I think it should not be easy. Why? Well, Golden Axe videogame and Hero Quest not only have things in common; they also have some differences that could put this dream in risk, which are at least the following ones (their order does not mean importance grade):

- Difference #1: In Golden Axe the heroes fight because they have suffered personal losses while in Hero Quest the heroes fight trying to reach glory and fortune. This means that in Golden Axe, the heroes do not search for gold since they are not supposed to need it to accomplish their mission. In Hero Quest, the heroes search for gold everywhere because they need it to buy equipment, contract mercenaries, etc. and, in fact, they need it to become rich people. In Golden Axe the heroes work for vengeance so they perfectly know what is their mission, nobody tell them how to do it or where the bad guy is because they already know all of it, again they are the owners of their mission. In Hero Quest the heroes try to achieve the missions that a third person, Mentor, more or less on behalf of the Emperor, says/guides them by telling what must be done, which make easier to design new contexts for quests.

- Difference #2: Golden Axe videogame story mainly happens outdoor. This means that there are not dungeons, only some alone castle room or wall, but that’s all, the rest of the time, the heroes in Golden Axe go through forests, paths or villages streets. In Hero Quest 99% of the playing events happen inside a dungeon, with corridors, rooms and all kind of indoor places, but not outside it, so the Hero Quest playing rules are designed to be interesting in such environment.

- Difference #3: Instead of resting in a safe town, Golden Axe heroes like to rest between stages in dangerous forests, where small elven thieves appear every night to steal their magical potions (or, in the other hand, the heroes prefer resting in a forest since they also can steal food to those small elves without alerting nobody else because, although they want to save the world from Death Adder, they think it is a good idea to violate the elves' rights stealing them their food after kicking their *** ). In Golden Axe story line, the heroes don’t seem to have much time to buy equipment or food in a shop and… maybe they don’t have money because they never search for it or maybe because there is no gold anywhere… or because, again, there are small elves who could 'give' them the food they need by free... quite difficult to understand but ok… in contrast in Hero Quest, the game rules use to give the players the opportunity to buy equipment and/or potions in 7d/24h shops between quests using the money they find or earn during quests, which leads to a some kind of characters growth and, in fact, also to a richer playing experience since players must decide how to manage their resources. The Hero Quest heroes also use to rest in comfortable places like Ye Olde Inn between quests, in order to be fully recovered for the next quest.

- Difference #4: In Golden Axe videogame, there are domestic creatures that can be mounted as horses by both the heroes and their enemies while in Hero Quest not so, no official rules exist about riding animals in the board game nor sharing them with the monsters so, they will be needed to be created.

- Difference #5: The magic in Golden Axe seems that can be casted by any hero, even if it appears to be a warrior while in Hero Quest, only heroes with some kind of magic training knowledge or some race magical background like the Wizard or the Elf, respectively, can cast spells by themselves. Additionally, in Golden Axe, the heroes magic knowledge seems to be only limited to one kind of magic but casted with different levels of intensity; in Hero Quest board game, heroes and evil characters who know magic, use to cast spells of more different types, not always the same one, which leads to a richer playing experience with different playing strategies. Fortunately, in fact, I think Golden Axe heroes don’t know how to 'naturally' cast spells as a magician but, they know how to use those blue magical potions to cast spells which, it could be understood as they know how to use such magical items or artefacts, like in Hero Quest the magical scrolls are used by, for example the Barbarian so, in my opinion this difference could not be too difficult to fit in the Hero Quest rules environment.

- Difference #6: Golden Axe videogame presents its playing mechanics as a game where there is very low interaction between players. They have no equipment to share, they have no spells to launch to each other, they have no traps to disarm to let the other heroes advance, etc. In Hero Quest videogame, all of those cooperation actions and more can be done by players so, the board game is designed as team building is important to achieve the quest objectives and, in fact, some strategic decisions are needed to be made by players.

- Difference #7: Golden Axe presents a linear story where the heroes seem to know very well the path they need to follow through the map. In other words, the players in Golden Axe do not need to explore, they only need to advance because the game don’t allow them to choose any path, there is only one. In contrast, one of the main successes of Hero Quest board game is that players must do exploring tasks through the dungeon since it is the first time the heroes are there.

Well, those are only some differences, probably there are more. I know that many of those differences are motivated due to Golden Axe and Hero Quest where designed for different purposes, one is a videogame which mission is earning coins as fast as possible and the other is a game which tries to entertain a group of people at home during at least one or two hours, so making a good adaptation of Golden Axe to Hero Quest is a real challenge. There are many aspects of Hero Quest game mechanics that makes it a funny and/or interesting game that a direct adaptation of Golden Axe to a board game under Hero Quest environment would not have if we don't design it with care. I am afraid to finally design an adaptation which only consists on how the players advance just by rolling dice and killing enemies in automatic mode like in the videogame and anything else... ok, we honestly know that the original Hero Quest has much of that, sometimes the players waste much time just rolling dice but, we would try to avoid it. Fortunately, in Hero Quest there use to be events like traps, wandering monsters, treasures, exploring options, etc. that change in some way such ‘rolling-dice’ routine so, the final adaptation should also cover in some way a kind of diversity in events if we want to create a good playing experience but respecting the original lore, charm and feelings of the Golden Axe videogame.

Now, it’s late in the Old Continent. This post is the first contact but, as above mentioned, I already have in mind some first drafts and ideas of how all of this could be made, but also many doubts. I will try to separated them by means of different subjects: lore, characters, enemies, magic, game mechanics, design of quests, miniatures, tiles, etc. so, in next posts I will try to separately share and discuss with you my thoughts about all of them.

To be continued…

[Kurgan]

You can hurt each other in Golden Axe (I've played the sega genesis home console version, the PC version, the arcade game, and the sequels... Golden Axe II on Genesis and III on Megadrive, and at least a good portion of the rare "Rise of Death Adder" arcade game). The more magical bottles you collect, the stronger spells you can use (up to certain ranks), with the Amazon having the strongest, and the Dwarf the least. You can't use new weapons but you can ride the Bizzarians as well as pick up food and potions in between missions when little Elves try to steal your stuff! That could be kind of fun to simulate.

Playing with 3 (or more) Heroes instead of only 2 would be cool. The various attack moves that the Heroes have could also be simulated (leaping attacks, diving attack, hitting front & back, combos, throwing the enemy). There's no real treasure (other than perhaps the Golden Axe itself at the very end of the game), but no new weapons to buy so very different in various areas.

You occasionally save villagers from bad guys, but usually get no reward for it (though you do get potions for beating up elves... "magicians" in Golden Axe II which unlike the elves do fight back but are easily defeated).

[HispaZargon]

You can hurt each other in Golden Axe

Thank you, Kurgan. Well this could be also done in Hero Quest if players want to

(I've played the sega genesis home console version, the PC version, the arcade game, and the sequels... Golden Axe II on Genesis and III on Megadrive, and at least a good portion of the rare "Rise of Death Adder" arcade game).

Although I am focused in the original Golden Axe, it only had 5 stages so, the idea I have is trying to define all new needed mechanics that could also potentially cover all the three Golden Axe sequels, including the 'revenge' arcade one. Magic works very similar in all of them and also the new addings (new enemies, new bizarrians and even mini war machines) can be easily adapted to the HQ rules we would have already created for the original chapter of Golden Axe.

The more magical bottles you collect, the stronger spells you can use (up to certain ranks), with the Amazon having the strongest, and the Dwarf the least. You can't use new weapons but you can ride the Bizzarians as well as pick up food and potions in between missions when little Elves try to steal your stuff! That could be kind of fun to simulate.

Yeah, all those specific topics of Golden Axe of course must be covered in some way in the adapted version. I think the main challenge will be to introduce them in a not too complex nor disrupting way. Hero Quest is a simple mechanics board game so the Golden Axe adaptation should also be too. The idea I have is using as much as posible the game mechanics of the original HQ game, only introducing new mechanics for the specific characteristics of Golden Axe. The management of Magic in the video game is one of the most interesting topics of Golden Axe from gaming strategy point of view and, fortunately, I think it is something that we could introduce in the board game exactly as it is in the screen. In an ideal world the rest of specific topics would be also easy to introduce but it will probably need some adjustments to fit well, we will see. HeroQuest mainly uses dice and cards, which I think should be enough tools to simulate the new game mechanics like the elven encounters, for example. I think designing a new card deck similar to the Treasure one for that will be enough. Maybe some tokens will be needed too, tokens are not too used in Hero Quest except in EU ATOH expansion for chaos spells and not to much, but here it will be interesting to use tokens for the magic bottles account (cards could be also used, but tokens in this case has more sense in my opinion). I have also thought that using special tiles, will be a good solution for example to represent the bizarrians since they must be available in the board to be ridden by both heroes and their enemies. Doing that with miniatures is also posible and really cool but, today quite complex in my opinion.

Playing with 3 (or more) Heroes instead of only 2 would be cool.

Yeah, good catch! The Golden Axe video games story line texts use to consider that the three heroes work together to defeat the freedom enemies but it is something we cannot see in the video game because there is a maximum of 2 players, so, allowing to play three at the same time in the board adds much value to the adaptation.

The various attack moves that the Heroes have could also be simulated (leaping attacks, diving attack, hitting front & back, combos, throwing the enemy).

All options are there but the first approximation I have in mind is using the HQ combat system. I think it has enough balanced mechanics and it is fast. As before mentioned, the idea I have is using as much as posible the game mechanics of the original HQ game so, if we already have a combat system created I think we should keep it as is if posible. My idea is creating a quest pack in a similar way as the official ones, with little rules additions but in any case creating a new board game by changing too much the game mechanics basics. Honestly, at first step I am afraid of adding too many options to the close combat for the heroes or monsters like jumping, dash or special combos since I think all of that combat manouvers may be already covered by the original HQ combat rules. I suppose that HQ Barbarian also make combos and jumps and everything he needs to fight as better as posible and the HQ rules does not include any exceptions for him in order to simplify the combat mechanics so, adding that for the heroes is something I don't trust too much by now, but of course I have been quite tempted to do it since their different attacks is something very visual when playing the videogame, but who knows, maybe adding some special attacks for the Giants could be a more interesting option since they are big monsters and we can consider them as new 'elements' and it will give them some additional personality and improve strategical diversity through the game.

There's no real treasure (other than perhaps the Golden Axe itself at the very end of the game), but no new weapons to buy so very different in various areas.

You occasionally save villagers from bad guys, but usually get no reward for it (though you do get potions for beating up elves... "magicians" in Golden Axe II which unlike the elves do fight back but are easily defeated).

Yeah, I think this is something we will need to discuss a lot since it is the heart and rithm of this kind of game board. Maybe we should take some licence in order to improve the game experience and allow the players to manage equipment, in fact, there are also towns in Golden Axe world so they were shops etc. Additionally, as I above mentioned about the little elven thieves, probably designing a new specific treasure deck of cards will help us to solve this.

About the Golden Axe magicians, they are only shown in Golden Axe II, the rest of the sequels show again the elves of the original game so, for the purpose of providing magic bottles (books in this case but they are the same) I think magicians should be replaced by elves. I think it would be better to introduce them only when they appear as enemies like in Golden Axe II, but keeping the elves as the magic bottles guys in all the sequels to simplify.

In this case, I feel the Golden Axe videogame to HQ boardgame adaptation process like when somebody is trying to write a book from a film. The opposite of that is the usual situation but sometimes people takes a film and creates a book from it, which is more difficult so, there is where we are now, I think.

[Kurgan]

A lot of the bad guys in the original game also would not attack you until their minions were defeated (or you attacked them first).

I like the idea of collecting generic bottles that then get tallied up to reach the level of spells.

The various special attacks could be simulated by custom "Combat Cards" as have been used successfully by others. Of course, would they be limited usage? Maybe they have to "recharge" or something? Three running attacks and two dodging attacks per quest? Or possibly you have to perform feats to get them back, a bit like the Hasbro Remake saying when you block an attack with two dice or something you get it back (Golden Axe III had blocking).

There was also a Vs. Fighter called Golden Axe: The Duel for the Sega Saturn (and equivalent ST-V Titan arcade hardware) and a solo RPG called "Golden Axe Warrior" that I never played. There was also a quasi-3d remake of the arcade Golden Axe released on the Playstation 2 (part of the famous "Sega Ages" lineup) which had some popularity in its time (and a really terrible unfinished beta of a new remake released on Steam, I am inclined to forget it).

The Sega Genesis/Megadrive and PC ports of Golden Axe had extra levels and characters not found in the arcade game as well as a duel mode (player vs a gauntlet of enemies or player vs player). They also each had a "beginner mode" that was a shorter, easier version of the arcade version ("arcade mode" was the full arcade game plus the extra levels, that involved jumping over a big pit, statues that came to life and a second form of the final boss that was even more ridiculously strong/cheap).

Then again GA 3 had all kinds of new characters (as did Rise of Death Adder). I seem to recall the Elf warrior in RODA's magic just caused a tree to sprout that gave him healing fruit (as opposed to the familiar "damage every enemy on the screen" magic). There were also catapults you could either use on the spot or move around with (if riding a bizzarrian mount) that had limited ammo.

[HispaZargon]

A lot of the bad guys in the original game also would not attack you until their minions were defeated (or you attacked them first).

Yes, this is something that can be considered during quests maps design and/or decided by the Evil Wizard during the game.

I like the idea of collecting generic bottles that then get tallied up to reach the level of spells.

As above said, I think this is something easy to be implemented in the boardgame exactly as it works in the videogame. Additionally, it is a Golden Axe's genuine & cool detail so, it is a must.

The various special attacks could be simulated by custom "Combat Cards" as have been used successfully by others. Of course, would they be limited usage? Maybe they have to "recharge" or something? Three running attacks and two dodging attacks per quest? Or possibly you have to perform feats to get them back, a bit like the Hasbro Remake saying when you block an attack with two dice or something you get it back (Golden Axe III had blocking).

Well, interesting point of course. We could try to do something in that way and see how it could work.

There was also a Vs. Fighter called Golden Axe: The Duel for the Sega Saturn (and equivalent ST-V Titan arcade hardware) and a solo RPG called "Golden Axe Warrior" that I never played. There was also a quasi-3d remake of the arcade Golden Axe released on the Playstation 2 (part of the famous "Sega Ages" lineup) which had some popularity in its time (and a really terrible unfinished beta of a new remake released on Steam, I am inclined to forget it).

Yeah, I heard about most of the games you say, but I honestly don't know too much about them despite of some searchs through internet so I cannot say nothing for the moment. If I see there is something there about Golden Axe lore or design ideas, it would be great but, for the moment I am focused in the classic ones, which are four videogames!! step by step...

The Sega Genesis/Megadrive and PC ports of Golden Axe had extra levels and characters not found in the arcade game as well as a duel mode (player vs a gauntlet of enemies or player vs player). They also each had a "beginner mode" that was a shorter, easier version of the arcade version ("arcade mode" was the full arcade game plus the extra levels, that involved jumping over a big pit, statues that came to life and a second form of the final boss that was even more ridiculously strong/cheap).

Yeah, I know that Mega Drive version of the first game included 2 final bosses, Death Adder and after killing him, you must also defeat his father in a new level! There appears living statues and thing like that. There is also a Junior version of Death Adder in beginners mode, etc. Of course I will check the Genesis version again but my opinion in these cases is that if the videogame story line deviates too much from the original fragile 'canon' of the game, we should be conservative and try to not include in the quests too much absurd things that could not sound absurd in a videogame, but in a dungeon crawler board game must be avoided as posible for a better gamming experience.

Then again GA 3 had all kinds of new characters (as did Rise of Death Adder). I seem to recall the Elf warrior in RODA's magic just caused a tree to sprout that gave him healing fruit (as opposed to the familiar "damage every enemy on the screen" magic). There were also catapults you could either use on the spot or move around with (if riding a bizzarrian mount) that had limited ammo.

Yes, of course I have in mind including stats for all those characters and war machines you mention, also for the RODA's new bizarrians, etc.

I will share with you as soon as posible the data I have already prepared.

[HispaZargon]

Well, first things first... I think starting talking about the background of the original Golden Axe games is a good beginning. I think this fandom website summarizes it quite well, here is what I have extracted from there:


WARNING: STORY SPOILERS ARE REVEALED IN THIS POST!

GOLDEN AXE I - BACKGROUND:

Golden_Axe_1.jpg

Prologue:

In ancient times, a race of ruthless giants appeared from the darkness of the world and challenged the great gods to a battle. Both forces fought to a stalemate, and the fight seemed to last forever. But the fight suddenly came to an end when the power of the giants had been contained, and they were driven away back to the darkness.

The battle was over, but it led to the demise of many of those who had fought. Those left alive in the land of the gods honed a weapon, the "Golden Axe". After a long time, humans began to emerge in the former land of the gods. The Golden Axe already left the hand of the gods, and the land was reigned by humans. One of the evil giants that had survived, Death Adder, tricked the humans and took the axe. Evil forces return to the land, starting an era of darkness.

Character - Ax Battler, The Barbarian:

The outcome of Ax Battler's hunt was better than expected, and he was calmly returning home in a good mood. When he thought how happy he will make his mother back at home, he increases his speed. After his father died when he was still young, bringing a smile to his mother was very important to him. At the entrance of the village, Ax Battler noticed there was no sign of people, and what he saw kept him standing on the spot. A heap of corpses were lying in the village. "T, This... no way!" His mother came to his mind and he rushed back home.

In his house, scattered furniture and his mother lying in a pool of blood reflected in Ax's eyes. "M, mo...ther......", Ax mutters and he gets speechless while standing still in place...

Character - Tyris Flare, The Amazon:

Lately, the country of the Firewood Kingdom has been nervous since the forces of Death Adder began appearing near its border. However, just today it was different, it's the 17th birthday of Princess Tyris Flare. A grand celebration was being carried out in the country. While the country is festive, one of the messenger soldiers came into the royal palace. It was intended to communicate an attack of Death Adder's army.

"What, Death Adder is..."

The queen stood up and ordered the whole army to prepare. However, the Firewood army was banged off guard while brittle, superposed and retreating. When the enemy troops surrounded the royal palace, the queen took her only daughter, Tyris, to a small room underground and hid her.

Eventually, by the time the chaos outside had yield, Tyris finally broke out of the room. However, the royal palace was like hell. Throughout the castle were fallen soldiers of friends and enemies. Therewith was also her parents. Tyris cried. Angry with the gods, and cursing Death Adder, she hated herself for being powerless...

Character - Gilius Thunderhead, The Dwarf:

Everywhere in the Firewood Kingdom, a fight was going on between the residents and the troops of Death Adder. It was almost ending with an overwhelming victory of Death Adder's forces, with all of those who opposed being killed. Gilius Thunderhead, and his younger brother and only relative Garī, had participated in the battle as soldiers from the Firewood Kingdom.

However, the situation moves toward the unfavorable for Gilius, and eventually Death Adder's army appeared in front of the Firewood Castle. The kingdom's army fought well, but fell one after another in front of the overwhelming amount of enemies. Gilius too was one of the people facing the enemy soldiers. During the battle he let his guard down for a moment while tired and was hit in the back, releasing a cry while falling unconscious on the spot.

After a while, Gilius's cheeks felt warm and he regained consciousness. Someone else seemed to be lying above him, he could not move. Shaking with force, the twisted body above him appeared to be trying to protect Gilius. Then, when taking a better look, what reflected in the eyes of Gilius was the figure of his brother laying on Gilius as if to protect him. "Garīīīīīīīī!", Gilius' cry echoed on the empty battlefield as if lasting forever...

Current times...

Six years have passed since Death Adder destroyed the Firewood Kingdom. In the meantime, Death Adder's forces had been extending to the Southwood Kingdom, to the south of Firewood. The Southwood Castle was occupied, and the king and the princess had been imprisoned.

Three warriors learn of this by their dying friend Alex and set out on a quest to free the land of Yuria and avenge their losses at the hands of Death Adder. They are Gilius Thunderhead, a battle axe-wielding dwarf, Ax Battler, a male barbarian wielding a two handed broadsword, and Tyris Flare, an amazon wielding a long sword.

The warriors rescue the inhabitants of the ransacked Turtle Village, which turns out to be situated on the shell of a giant turtle. The turtle takes the characters across the sea, and they then pass by the "Fiend's Path" and fly to the castle itself on the back of a giant eagle. Once at the Royal Castle they face Death Adder. Despite wielding the powerful Golden Axe, Death Adder is defeated by the warriors and peace return to the land.

REMARK: In the Mega Drive and PC versions, the characters also battle Death Adder's mentor, Death Bringer, as the true final boss in the castle's Dungeon. In the PlayStation 2 version, Death Bringer is replaced by a rematch against Death Adder, who unleashes all of his power.


GOLDEN AXE II - BACKGROUND:

Golden_Axe_2.jpg

Three years have passed since the battle against the evil giant Death Adder. The evil lord of darkness who was sealed a long time ago, Dark Guld, returned and attempts to lead the world into chaos again. He started by taking the legendary Golden Axe to use its power and his army to bring destruction to the land. Gilius Thunderhead, Ax Battler, and Tyris Flare join forces once again to save the world from this new threat.


GOLDEN AXE III - BACKGROUND:

Golden_Axe_3.jpg

Some years after Golden Axe II, Gilius Thunderhead attempts to return the Golden Axe to the gods. However, the axe is lost in a shipwreck, and obtained by Damned Hellstrike, an evil giant. Hellstrike overruns the Kingdom of Splash Hill and the East Land with his minions. To ensure his rule, he has placed the four main heroes under a curse, possessing them and controlling them to do his will.

Gilius is too old to fight, and so frees one or two of the heroes from the evil curse (depending on how many are playing) and sends them to defeat Hellstrike. The barbarian and amazon of the first two parts remain although receiving new names since the other ones seem to be too old or death (Kain Grinder and Sahra Burn). The two new characters introduced are the panther warrior Chronos Raid and Proud Cragger the giant. They travel from one location to another (depending on the player's choice of route), until they reach the Gate of Fate. There, they fight Eve, a humanoid griffin who, after being defeated, turns out to be the king formerly under Hellstrike's control. He asks the heroes to save the princess in the castle, after which he is struck by lightning and killed, presumably by Hellstrike.

The heroes storm the castle, where they eventually defeat Hellstrike and rescue the princess. If the player defeats Hellstrike while not on their last continue, Hellstrike appears again here with the Golden Axe; the heroes defeat him again, and this time the castle crumbles into the ground. Peace returns to the land, the Golden Axe is returned, and the heroes' victory is said to become legend.


GOLDEN AXE IV THE REVENGE OF DEATH ADDER - BACKGROUND:

Golden_Axe_4.jpg

Only an old Gilius Thunderhead makes a return from the original games, riding the back of new character Goah the giant (Ax Battler and Tyris Flare are suposed to be death). The rest of the cast is all new and includes Sternblade the barbarian, Dora the female Centaur, and Little Trix, a young lad elf who carries a pitch fork. The main enemy is once again Death Adder.

Some saint time after Death Adder's defeat, he returns and obtains again the Golden Axe power , enslaving the land and constructing a giant castle that looks like him.

The four fighters heroes begin their quest to defeat him, taking routes through the Yuria lands. After fighter through several stages, the heroes finally reach Death Adder's castle by riding a big flying dragon. They fight section by section, until they reach the castle's "head." There they face Death Adder arme himself, armed army with a fire-breathing shield and the Golden Axe. After destroying ground force enemies, the heroes are able to defeat him. While getting away on their flying dragon, Death Adder attacks again, apparently not yet defeated. After his final defeat, Death Adder prepares to deliver one final blow; at this point, the old Gilius leaps onto Death Adder's head, striking him in the skull with his axe. Both Death Adder and Gilius tumble off the dragon Bora, exploding in midair. With the Golden Axe in their control, the remaining heroes forces enemies continue riding away on their dragon.

[HispaZargon]

And here are the maps of those video games...

Golden Axe I map, extracted from the video game: (there are also through internet some cool remakes of the map like this one or this other one)

Map_GA1.jpg

Golden Axe II map:

This is the only one I have found about Golden Axe II:

Map_GA2.png

Golden Axe III map, extracted from the video game:

Map_GA3.jpg

Golden Axe IV map, extracted from the video game:

Map_GA4.jpg

[HispaZargon]

Ok, now I will start dealing with the different topics we can extract from the video game, one by one, and how I think they could be became in board game mechanics. I think the best topic to start is the monsters:

MONSTERS:

I will start talking about the monsters of the original video game of Golden Axe, only.

GOLDEN AXE I MONSTERS:

This post includes information about most of the stats of the monsters in the video game, extracted from the ending credits of the Mega Drive / Genesis version of the game. There is some lack of data but I think the available ones are enough to have an idea of where the stats go. The following table includes all the data I have extracted from there and some added by me about the monsters of first edition (click picture to enlarge):

Monsters_Stats_Videogame_GA1.jpg

Well, there you can see that basic game had 7 different monsters, including the final boos Death Adder, plus 1 extra version of Giant Knight (Gold, Gen. Bitter) and 2 extra versions of final boss (Death Adder’s son and Death Adder’s father, Death Bringer) who only appeared in the Mega Drive version of the game so, as first step I will consider them as ‘non canonical’ and I will discard them for the moment. The table data written in red colour are not provided by the videogame but it is data that I have extracted from the game by my own by playing it.

About the canonical monsters, there are 3 giants, 3 humans and 1 skeleton. Most of them use to appear in the game with different colours, which are supposed to determine some differences in combat strength and speed. In my opinion, such slight differences in the stats may not be simulated in Hero Quest quest pack since they will slow the game; I think considering ‘average’ stats for each monster will be better, although of course could be places to consider some special abilities, like the dark invisible monsters for example when they appear in later stages.

Then, according to the table, the human monsters (Heninger, Longmoan and Amazon) are the basic ones and seem to have very similar stats, only amazons seem to be a little bit stronger and faster in combat but that’s all so, creating their monster cards with different HQ attributes will be a challenge but we will see.

The other regular monster is the skeleton. His stats in the videogame makes them hard to be defeated, they could be a really nightmare for the player. Golden Axe skeletons seem to be quite much stronger than the basic Hero Quest ones, in my opinion too strong, but that’s what we have.

And about the giants, well their differences in stats compared with the regular monsters I think is so clear in the table. Giants are one of the genuine characteristics of Golden Axe so I think some special rule should be designed for them but we will see later. Additionally, I think that they would be treated as special characters in quests maps.

MY FIRST APPROXIMATION OF MONSTERS ADAPTATION:

According to the above commented, I will try to present here the summary of my first approximation of attributes for the Golden Axe quest pack of all the 7 monsters:

Heninger: Att.: 3CD, Def.: 2CD, Mov.: 6, BP: 2, MP: 2, Note: can ride bizarrians.

Longmoan: Att.: 2CD, Def.: 3CD, Mov.: 6, BP: 2, MP: 2, Note: can ride bizarrians.

Amazon: Att.: 3CD, Def.: 2CD, Mov.: 8, BP: 2, MP: 4, Note: can ride bizarrians.

Skeleton: Att.: 3CD, Def.: 3CD, Mov.: 8, BP: 3, MP: 0.

Giant (Green, Bad Brothers): Att.: 5CD, Def.: 4CD, Mov.: 4, BP: 4, MP: 4.

Giant (Silver, Sgt. Malt & Sgt. Hop): Att.: 6CD, Def.: 4CD, Mov.: 4, BP: 4, MP: 4.

Giant (Red, Gen. Heartland): Att.: 6CD, Def.: 4CD, Mov.: 4, BP: 6, MP: 4.

Giant Knight (Silver, Lt. Bitter): Att.: 6CD, Def.: 8CD, Mov.: 6, BP: 6, MP: 5.

Giant Knight (Red, Col. Bitter): Att.: 6CD, Def.: 8CD, Mov.: 6, BP: 7, MP: 5.

Death Adder: Att.: 8CD, Def.: 6CD, Mov.: 6, BP: 16, MP: 8, Note: He can make one 3 CD distance magical attack using the Golden Axe instead of make a normal attack. This projectile attack is planted on the ground and can affect to one hero.

For human monsters I have considered the typical basic stats of non playable human characters of Hero Quest without armour (2CD for attack, 2CD for defence, 2BP, 2MP) and after that I have performed some modifications. Heninger and Longmoan in the videogame are basically the same but I preferred make some difference between them, adding one more attack die for Heninger since they seem to be stronger and/or use bigger hand weapons, and, in contrast I added one more defence die for Longmoan since they seem to wear light armour and helmet. In case of amazons, I considered they are good fighters, also adding one attack die and also upgrading their movement attribute.

For Golden Axe skeletons, they should be considered very good fighters and hard to be defeated because they are as fast as a human and also have shields, but I tried to make them weaker than giants. I think 3CD for attack and defence and 3 body points will be enough challenge for players as it is in the video game. About bizarrians, I am not sure if they could ride them in the video game but I don’t like too much the idea so I will consider they cannot for the moment.

About giants, I have consider the green Bad Brothers have the basic giant attributes since I considered they have no armour and I have defined the attributes of the rest of the giants from them. Silver and Red basic giants attributes were defined from them with little modifications according to the videogame stats. Giants Sgt. Malt & Sgt. Hop only appeared with Silver/Blue colours in Mega Drive, in the Arcade version appeared again in green colour as the Bad Brothers but I think it is interesting to define them stronger than the Bad Brothers event since Silver ones appear later. In case of Giant Knights, I have considered them a llitle bit more intelligent than basic giants and, of course I considered their full plate armour, helmet and shield as one of the challenges for players, adding +4CD for defence.

And finally, Death Adder attributes are also based in the basic giant ones but considering that he hands the Golden Axe and he don’t wear armour, except the helmet (+1CD of defence). Additionally, I added one more defence die due to I think Death Adder skin is stronger than the other giants since his body is supposed to be made of snakes so, 6CD for defence is the final defence I have considered. About the Golden Axe, I have consider it adds +2CD in attack since is the most powerful weapon in Yuria and I think its projectile attack must be also covered in some way. In the video game such distance attack is not too powerful so 3CD for it I think will be enough. About mind points, of course I considered Death Adder to be the most intelligent of all the monsters giving him 8 MP.


Ok, so here I have presented the stats I have in mind today for the monsters, BUT THEY ARE NOT ALL OF THEM… I am thinking in some special features for combat in this quest pack to make it (remember) a good quest pack . I will try to explain it in a future post but before that I first need to deal with the heroes attributes, let’s go...


To be continued…

[HispaZargon]

HEROES:

Now I will talk about the heroes of the original video game of Golden Axe, only.

GOLDEN AXE I HEROES:

The information about the stats of the heroes in the video game, has been extracted from this post. There is some lack of data but I think the available ones are enough to have an idea of where the stats go. The following table includes all the data I have extracted from there about the heroes of first edition (data written in red colour is not provided by the videogame but it is data that I have extracted from the game by my own by playing it.):

Heroes_Stats_Videogame_GA1.jpg

Well, unfortunately in those stats we don’t have their exact attack or defence data so we will need to guess them for each hero. In my opinion, I think the better first approximation is considering the basic BP/MP stats of the heroes as if they were Hero Quest heroes, I mean, if Battle Ax is a barbarian, we should take the same stats as the Hero Quest Barbarian, if Gilius is a Dwarf, the same as a Hero Quest Dwarf, etc. In case of the Amazon we will have to invent it. Anyway, I also think that the 3 different heroes can be well balanced for the quest pack.

About the magic, as mentioned in previous posts, I think the Golden Axe heroes are not magicians nor wizards, they cannot make magic by themselves but they can make it using those magic blue bottles genuine from Golden Axe. According to this, I think introducing the Golden Axe magic in Hero Quest mechanics as it would be like using an artefact should be easy and it would be possible to introduce it working in the same way as in the video game, considering that players ‘bottles usage knowledge’ depends on the hero they are playing with.

MY FIRST APPROXIMATION OF HEROES ADAPTATION:

According to the above commented, I will try to present here the summary of my first approximation of attributes for the Golden Axe quest pack of 3 heroes types:

Amazon (Tyris Flare):

Att.: 2CD, Def.: 2CD, Mov.: 3MD, BP: 5, MP: 5, Weapon: Short sword, Note: can ride bizarrians. She can cast magic on all the monsters she can see. The casted spell will attack the monsters with the number of CD indicated depending of how many pots are owned by the spell caster. The monsters cannot defend to the attack. The spell caster MUST use all the magic pots he owns when casting this spell even if they were not needed. The Amazon can own a maximum of 9 magic pots:

Magic Knowledge:
1 to 4 pots, magic attack 1 CD
5 pots, magic attack 2 CD
6 pots, magic attack 4 CD
7 pots, magic attack 6 CD
8 pots, magic attack 8 CD
9 pots, magic attack 10 CD

Barbarian (Ax Battler):

Att.: 3CD, Def.: 2CD, Mov.: 2MD, BP: 8, MP: 2, Weapon: Broadsword, Note: can ride bizarrians. He can cast magic on all the monsters he can see. The casted spell will attack the monsters with the number of CD indicated depending of how many pots are owned by the spell caster. The monsters cannot defend to the attack. The spell caster MUST use all the magic pots he owns when casting this spell even if they were not needed. The Barbarian can own a maximum of 6 magic pots.

Magic Knowledge:
1 to 2 pots, magic attack 1 CD
3 to 4 pots, magic attack 2 CD
5 pots, magic attack 4 CD
6 pots, magic attack 6 CD

Dwarf (Gilius Thunderhead):

Att.: 3CD, Def.: 3CD, Mov.: 2MD, BP: 7, MP: 3, Weapon: Broad axe, Note: can ride bizarrians. He can cast magic on all the monsters he can see. The casted spell will attack the monsters with the number of CD indicated depending of how many pots are owned by the spell caster. The monsters cannot defend to the attack. The spell caster MUST use all the magic pots he owns when casting this spell even if they were not needed. The Dwarf can own a maximum of 4 magic pots.

Magic Knowledge:
1 pot, magic attack 1 CD
2 or 3 pots, magic attack 2 CD
4 pots, magic attack 4 CD


For the Amazon, I see her as a fast warrior, less stronger than the Hero Quest Elf but stronger than the Hero Quest Wizard so that’s the reason I thought in 5 BP. Additionally, she could move rolling 3 Movement Dice instead of 2. Her attack and defence stats are the basic ones attending to she has a short sword. In the other hand, the magical attack I have though to define it as presented. The number of dice is based in the quantity of damage points caused by the magic in the video game and the attributes I have already defined before for the monsters.

The Barbarian, I see him very similar or equal to the Hero Quest one so it is the easier one to adapt. Use of magical bottles defined in the same way as the Amazon.

And finally the Dwarf has been probably the one I have dedicated more time to think about it. It is supposed to be a very good warrior and a faster dwarf but with less magic knowledge. First attempt I had was considering his axe as a battle axe of Hero Quest (4CD attack, 2 handed) but I though it would be too simple since in some way its fighting speed should be also simulated and that not match very well with using a battle axe. Additionally, he wears a helmet too so… I know that Hero Ques’s dwarf only has 2 CD for defence but I finally thought to consider this dwarf as a lighter and faster one. Then, I finally choose to consider the axe as a broad axe with similar stats as a broadsword and define the new dwarf with 3 CD for attack and also 3 CD for defence, simulating those abilities. Use of magical bottles defined in the same way as the Amazon.

Ok, so here I have presented the stats I have in mind today for the heroes, but again, THEY ARE NOT ALL OF THEM… As occur with the monsters, I am thinking in some special features for combat in this quest pack. I will try to explain it the next post... I think the quest pack core is coming , please give me a little more time.


To be continued…

[Kurgan]

I can't speak for the actual in-game values or whatever but in actual practice, the Amazon is the "fast but weak" character, the Dwarf is the "strong but slow" and the Barbarian is in between. But when it comes to magic, the Dwarf is weak, the Amazon is strong and the Barbarian, again is in the middle. Gilius' axe sets him apart and he is the best in actual combat. So I'd resist the urge to make Axe Battler into a re-creation of the HQ Barbarian as tempting as that might be (just as there's no reason to make this new Dwarf the same as the HQ dwarf necessarily). Still, looking forward to seeing more of your ideas!

The great thing about this adaptation, is you have the Hero miniatures all ready to go (female barbarian, male barbarian and dwarf) though when it comes to enemies you'll be using some stand-ins or crafting some new ones. The idea of using tiles for the mounts is a cool idea.