Talking

[Stig]

One house rule that's worked well is allowing the players that control the Heroes to only talk to each other if realistically possible. (EDIT By “talkng” I mean relevant talking; not the “Who would like a cup of tea” normal tidbits of social chit-chat) For example, the following situations preclude a Hero from talking to other Heroes:

-A Hero is alone in the room
-A Hero is around the bend in a corridor and not in an adjacent square
-A Hero is in combat
-A Hero is casting a spell
-A Hero is in shock

Zargon ultimately determines when Heroes cannot talk to each other. It makes the game more fun for Zargon as they have to think through the game situation to see where the Heroes cannot talk to each other. The advantages of this rule were:

-Makes the game more tense as adds to the realism. First time I tried this, a new player was stuck alone in a room, and the look on their eyes when they realised they couldn't ask for help..priceless.
-The Heroes decide in advance what each are going to do; for example "If you see a Monster in the room, you rush it and I'll hang back" - makes them conduct themselves around the Dungeon in a real manner, thinking as a group and planning only when they can
-Coupled with the sand-timer + EWP deck I like to use (see my previous post in the "Cards" section) these discussions and agreements run down the clock, further adding tension
-It allows the Heroes to develop a realistic understanding of each other's role, much like a well-honed team

2 extra interesting things about this house rule:

-If Heroes talk to each other along a corridor (ie the players controlling the Heroes talk, but their Hero figures are several squares apart on the gameboard along the corridor) AND there is an unopened door, there is a chance that the Heroes could be heard by the Monsters within. The Hero that does the talking (shouting?) rolls a Mind Test. I like using a system I've seen here somewhere, which involves rolling one for each Mind Point; on the roll of a the test is successful. If the test is failed, the Monsters in the room are set up and have a free turn! You can imagine the quiet and thoughtful wizard curtly hissing instructions to the others, and the loud and brash Barbarian bellowing something to his comrades, alerting the Monsters in the room to their presence!
-This house rule allows for a number of subtle and characterful advancements, such as a skill (a good name I still haven't thought of):

Engaged This Hero is always engaged with the rest of the party; they may converse with other Heroes if they are in Combat.

You can imagine a skilful warrior parrying blows and decapitating Goblins, all the while discussing how to divide up the Treasure!

[mitchiemasha]

yeah.. i like it, apart from setting up a room.

We've discussed this a few times here. Often many get confused by the monsters unaware of the heroes presence or inability to open doors. But, the monsters in the next room might know you are there and are already waiting. Some of those monsters may have just left the room you entered prior, awaiting your arrival in the next. The Monsters may have been 3 or 4 rooms away when you entered the dungeon, know fine well your are here and have been moving towards you ever since, it just so happens, you meet them in the next room.

The Quest book is like an unfolding of time in a story. Those monsters aren't stationary in the fantasy time line, that just happens to be where the heroes will meet them, regardless to your choices. Prior to that moment they could of been anywhere, doing anything. When shouting outside the room it could of even been empty, it's only in the moment your about to enter, so did those ORCS!

Monsters have alwasy been able to open doors, them not been able to is simply an amazing mechanic to facilitate the unfolding of the adventure.

[Stig]

Yes that was the one odd thing for me; monsters patiently waiting inside rooms. Thanks for explaining it. That abstraction aside, which kind of negates the Heroes being heard by monsters (as the monsters are not really there at that moment), I think restricting which Heroes can communicate is consistent with setting up rooms as per the Quest map. It's not monsters hearing Heroes, which is unrealistic, just Heroes interacting with each other.

[Anderas]

That rule, if the heroes follow, is a piece of gold. Really great.
If your group is playing along, it can really add to the tension!

I think it will be difficult to force that rule. How would you do that?

[mitchiemasha]

They could be in the room... Sleeping. Cooking. Bullying. Torturing. Picking their nose... or even playing their very own version of HeroQuest (there's a little table print out for this)... Oblivious to all that's happening in the world.

What we add to the story in theme is up to the players... or nothing at all, playing purely mechanical!

I was trying to think of away to enforce the idea. like the EW gets a Chaos Token if the Heroes do it but it could be seen as just outright cheating. Just like the Heroes won't randomly remove a monster or move their character piece anywhere on the board.

Edit: The revealing of a room would be good as a quest specific unique to certain quests. I'd be up for that but not a generic for all mod.

The heroes raiding an Orc Hold or Hive of Undead and must remain as quiet as possible. Negotiating with any Hero not in the same area will result in mind checks to see if areas adjacent are activated. Due to the extreme level of monsters and layout, this would leave heroes vulnerable. Perhaps they have some sort of map/guide and the Quest is impossible if too many rooms have been opened. Areas could be surrounded by doors they can't open but will open from the otherside if too noisey, leading to the extra minis they can't deal with... Now a blood thirsty barbarian, eager to get in those rooms for some more treasure, might become a pain!

[Stig]

I think it will be difficult to force that rule. How would you do that?

It was actually the Heroes that suggested it! It kind of enforced itself as they got totally immersed in the game and realised it just would not be possible to discuss strategy if they're in different rooms. I occasinally reminded them, but most of the time they were ok. I'm not into "punishments" like a chaos token or something; Id rather just let it go and remind them not to do it again. After all, role-playing is part of the fun, and I found they were unhappy with themselves if they forgot

[Stig]

The heroes raiding an Orc Hold or Hive of Undead and must remain as quiet as possible. Negotiating with any Hero not in the same area will result in mind checks to see if areas adjacent are activated. Due to the extreme level of monsters and layout, this would leave heroes vulnerable. Perhaps they have some sort of map/guide and the Quest is impossible if too many rooms have been opened. Areas could be surrounded by doors they can't open but will open from the otherside if too noisey, leading to the extra minis they can't deal with... Now a blood thirsty barbarian, eager to get in those rooms for some more treasure, might become a pain!

Awesome ideas; a Quest where the monsters are waiting for the Heroes, and the Heroes really need to tip-toe their way around.

[mitchiemasha]

I like the idea because it gives the stronger character a choice to succumb to greed at a risk of killing weaker members... Only then to discover a resting character strong of mind that will strip the Barbarian of what he had gained. The layout set up with most areas surrounded, other players telling him "no, don't do it!"

[Stig]

Love it This area seems to be building on the idea of the alarm in the Rescue of Sir Ragnor. I can imagine a Barbarian who's really into playing their character doing that

[lestodante]

the rule seems interesting but please consider if the heroes are in a corridor and there are 2 doors: the first door is opened and the heroes start to fight against the monsters, the sound of the battle should be even higher than normal talking so the other room could also be activated!
Anyway it is interesting to "punish" too much talkative players that always tend to lead other players with minor experience on what to do and how to play.