First quest: The Maze or The Trial?

[Bareheaded Warrior]

In terms of other challenges around the Trial...

Note: In the Second Edition, The Trial, as the first quest was intended to be played with only movement and attack, no spells, no searching, no traps. The North American Edition (and my rewrite of the Second Edition) removes the introductory game rules, so this review is based on that version.

Problem Statement:

1) Too hard as a first quest, some have said that it teaches players valuable tactics, but in truth those tectics aren't really needed until later (later in the quest pack or arguably not until later quest packs) by which time they will probably have developed suitable tactics already

2) Showcases everything, which would be fine if it was a non-playable demo for a video game, but too much of a spoiler as an actual first quest

3) With 11 Rooms and a decent number of monsters, combined with the inexperience of player (and EWP) means it will take a long time to complete which may be off-putting for new players. You would expect the first quests to be shorter…

4) As this is the first quest and the Guardian of Fellmarg's tomb is the first Mummy players will have ever faced, it seems odd to give that non-standard stats, when players don't yet know what standard is

5) The bottom right room with 2 CWs and a Fimir is very challenging, and causes a lot of deaths (and isn't on the critical path)

6) The throne looks to be orientated incorrectly on the map (may not be true in all editions)

7) No traps unfairly penalises the Dwarf player

8) The objective, presumably to slay Verag, is not clearly mentioned

Map Analysis

9) The central room and the objective of the quest can be reached directly from the starting room, via 2 different routes, without going through any other room and encountering only a single Goblin or Orc respectively (and you can return back to the stairway tile - the whole rest the quest is optional. This means that depending on the route taken by the players, which is essentially a random selection, the quest varies wildly in difficulty and duration.

10) The hardest room (aside from the objective room) is a side-room that could easily be avoided or missed

11) The entire northwest quadrant of the map, a cluster of 5 rooms, which contains the Tomb of Fellmarg, specifically, mentioned in the parchment text, and almost half the monsters (numerically) and both the chests that actually contain treasure, is entirely optional and could be missed or avoided

Proposed Changes

A) Re-sequence this quest to later in the Game Book (now follows Bastion of Chaos), renamed as Tomb of Fellmarg, this resolves problems (1),(2),(3) and mitigates (4)

B) Re-orientate the throne on the Quest Map.

C) Add Spear traps on squares (16,6), (16,12) and a pit trap on square (5,9)

D) Move the treasure chest and associated Quest Note C into the room A (the objective room) in the square directly above the throne (there is no quest reward for killing Verag so at least this way they'll get something linked with his disposal)

E) Move the treasure chest and associated Quest Note A into room K (with the pair of CWs and the Fimir) and add a Potion of Healing

F) Move Quest Note B into room U (with the Tomb)

G) Add a single block square marker into the Southern passageway at point (11,0)

H) Add a single block square marker into the Central-West passageway at point (8,9)

I) Add a door from room U (with the Tomb) leading into the Central passageways, top edge of square (10,12)

J) Remove the door between room P (with the Weapons Rack) and the Central-South passageway

K) Reworked the narrative/parchment text to reflect the new position “Your exploits in the East have not gone unnoticed. The Emperor has set you a Trial to prove that you are worthy to become his champions. You are to travel east, enter the catacombs of Verag, a foul gargoyle and destroy him. The catacombs guard the tomb of Fellmarg. If you are successful, you will be rewarded with the coveted status of Champions of the Realm”