Broken Downloads - now fixed!

Hey guys, I am terribly sorry for any frustration I may have caused if you came here seeking cool Advanced Heroquest downloads, and found only broken links. Really, so sorry!

Dropbox deleted my account at the beginning of the year and have since been unable to recover the files despite my desperate pleading.

My originals were lost when I upgraded my old computer to Windows10; but alas I've dug through the vast dungeon of my DVD-R data-backup stacks and found what I sought!

Now hosted on Google-Drive all of the original files should be accessible again via the DOWNLOADS page.

If you have any more issues please let me know, and again I am terribly sorry for the headache.

Slev's Advanced Heroquest site!

Entering Slev's Dungeon...

The Dungeon Master himself has finally assembled all of his Advanced Heroquest modifications in one no nonsense, right to the point, web site. Find Slev's Advanced Heroquest: Reforged here: http://advancedheroquest.webs.com/.

Slev's mod, previously known as AHQ2 is by far the most significant content based, fan-variant to the game. My own variation borrows some mechanics from Slev's great work. He went to great lengths to improve the game and clearly put an enormous amount of time into design and play-testing. Slev managed an expansive reshaping, far beyond my skill level, and every diehard fan should check it out.

"If you’ve played the original Advanced HeroQuest, you’ll find that the game is 90% the same mechanically, and entirely the same in feel. You just have a lot more options now than you did before.

If you’ve never played Advanced HeroQuest, then this is an excellent place to start!"

Head over to Slev's new site: http://advancedheroquest.webs.com/ and see for yourself; one look into his downloads archive clearly demonstrates just how much work he's put into the game.

Some other fun Advanced Heroquest sites: http://www.kabay.arc.net.au/main1.htm, http://greywolf.critter.net/ahq.htm, http://www.toco.be/ahq/.

Creating Heroes!

The Hero Creation variations in Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest are really nothing new, but certainly new to this game. I wanted to add a few more options for players to choose from and also add another stream for character advancement. Again, several of the other variants have already covered this and with great variety and complexity, and again, I was seeking a more simple and elegant approach. Here you can choose from 9 different character choices; that is 3 different Human characters, 3 Dwarf, and 3 Elf characters (with more coming in fact). Be sure to check out the EAHQ-CreatingHeroes (PDF) file in the DOWNLOADS page.

Character advancement was a bit more tricky but after much brainstorming at Ye Olde Inn and elsewhere I came up with the Skill Cards system (thanks Sjeng and Patroclus).

The Skill Cards enable a Hero to possess powerful abilities without breaking the game balance. He can flaunt his skill at just the right moment; and as he becomes a more experienced adventurer he can do this more frequently.

All of the Skill Cards can be found at the back of the rulebook, or included with the Hero Creation pdf, and also as a standalone pdf file ready for printing. The former two options also include the table for selecting the Skill Cards based on race and class.  Finally, if you don't like the Skill Card idea - the game is in no way ruined by excluding them.

See the DOWNLOADS page of this blog to get these pdf files. Here is an example Skill Card (front and back):

Play (Enhanced) Advanced Heroquest for CHEAP!

Really all you need to play (Enhanced) Advanced Heroquest is dice, miniatures, the rules, some dungeon floor tiles, and imagination. Anything else is literally optional...

A lot of you likely have dice and miniatures abundant already, and on the DOWNLOADS page of this blog you can get some rules to play; then here you can get suitable dungeon tiles for under $5! Check out the Inked Adventures: Modular Dungeon Cut-Up Sections Basic Pack (see below for more options).

Don't forget you can download some dungeon doors for free as well:
http://enhancedadvancedheroquest.blogspot.com/2013/12/alternative-paper-doors.html
http://enhancedadvancedheroquest.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-simple-mechanic-doors.html

If you don't have appropriate miniatures and you are looking for cheap fantasy figures be sure to check out Reaper Bones! All of these guys are under $3 each!!

There is so much great free (or inexpensive) stuff out there for dungeon crawlers it can make your head spin... here are some of my other favorites:

For slightly more expensive, but really nice (3D) tiles: http://www.worldworksgames.com/store/index.php?view=product&product=22

Some free tiles!:
http://www.yeoldeinn.com/na-tiles.php
http://greywolf.critter.net/ahq/tiles.htm (these are designed for Advanced Heroquest!)
http://bederken.blogspot.com/2011/02/bederken-dungeon-free-printable-tiles.html
http://kevslounge.blogspot.com/2012/11/index-of-kevs-lounge-free-dungeon-tile.html
...and this great French site: http://free-dungeon-tiles-to-print.blogspot.com/
And of course you could spend days searching through DriveThruRPG.

While I'm at it, here are some paper miniatures for Heroquest: http://boardgamegeek.com/file/download/8l0sz90eib/hq_paper_minis_col062812.pdf

In conclusion, if you are willing to do a little digging and a little printing/cutting you can play this great old gem for very cheap (or even free).

A Great Heroquest Find!

I managed to get a copy of the old Dave Morris Heroquest book! This is actually the second book, and lucky for me, I have book 1 on the way!

Half of the book is a "solo" quest that does still require a GM (for old school Heroquest) and a Wizard player, it looks pretty fun. The story itself is rather short but surprisingly well written and interesting.

How to - Dungeon Tiles: Part 3 (Adding Image to Floor)

Now we will add the Splash Image to the Dungeon Tile floor and just tweak it a little bit so it looks like it belongs there!

Ok now we'll need the image you created in Part 1 and the floor tile you created in Part 2; open both in Gimp (see The Tools below) and Configure your Grid to 0.178 INCHES again, then Show Grid.

1) Open/Select the splash image; then use the Magic Wand tool to select the main graphic. Here you can "Bucket Fill" a different color if you like, I'll make it red:

2) Copy [CTRL-C] this image and go/open your tile now; again be sure the Grid is configured correctly and Show Grid, and Snap to Grid are selected. Important! - Create New Layer!! Then on new layer Paste [CTRL-V] your image; you can rotate/move/re-size it to fit exactly how you like:

3) Once you've got the image at the size/position you want be sure to copy it [CTRL-C] before you anchor it to that layer. Once it's anchored you can then create a new layer and paste the image again; then using the Layer>Transform>Flip* tools create a mirror image on the other side of the floor:

4) Now let's make these look like they belong on a dungeon floor. To make this easier I'll 'merge' the two image layers into a single layer. Now on that 'image' layer I will change the Opacity to about 75%; and then using the Erase tool I will start subtracting from the images, especially in the cracks on the floor (the grid will help tremendously here):

5) The result should look something like this, then using the Erase tool again select a different 'brush', I prefer the "grass" brush and try this with different sizes and different (eraser) opacity to create a faded look:

6) Finally just make sure that your 'shadow' layer created in Part 2 is on Top and above the new image layer; then Export and enjoy your tile.

If I went too fast or too slow, or you have questions or suggestions please comment!


The Tools (all free/open-source):
Pyromancers Dungeon Painter
Gimp
Inkscape


Again, I realize there are probably better ways to achieve the same or better results but I thought this might help some people - that said, if you do have a better technique, please let me know in the comments haha!

The Advanced Heroquest Dwarf...

These old sculpts have a lot of weird folds and cracks that, frankly I am just not skilled enough to work around... but this Dwarf was the best of bunch so far. I will be redoing at least the bases as soon as I am able to paint again!

The Advanced Heroquest Knight...

Well honestly I am not crazy about this model, and I had a real tough time painting it. I am currently unable to paint (due to shoulder surgery) but I might just strip and start over eventually. The eyes are my least favorite part of the sculpt but overall it was rather disappointing haha. The Dwarf was a little better, coming later...

Shoulder Surgery - Going off the Grid...

Hmm I realize this guy only had 'elbow' work done, but you get the idea...

I am having actual Shoulder Surgery done today, so I won't be able to paint, or even type for a bit... thus I'll be going off the grid for a short while. Wish me luck!

Alternative Paper Doors...

Ampersand DI has a great Dungeon blog called Something in the Dungeon. His miniatures and tutorials are both outstanding... definitely check it out.

He created some nice alternative (2 square width) doors for Advanced Heroquest, you can find them here: Paper Folding Doors.