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).

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.

Tweaking the Crawler...

Another small change - this time to the Dungeon Generation tables.

We found ourselves playing "CorridorHammer" after a while as the players kept rolling 2 Sections and Nothing for features. They were fired-up to encounter some monsters and new rooms but kept rolling corridor after corridor. I made some changes on the fly (see below). The GM Reference sheet and the tables in the Enhanced Advanced Heroquest rules are already changed, you'll find them in the DOWNLOADS page.

The Small Stuff...

After much discussion (thanks again Patroclus) and play-testing it was time to tweak a few little things to optimize the gaming experience.

All of these changes are small and subtle, and you can of course use any or all of them at your discretion. I believe they make the game run smoother and in my opinion more fun for the players. Be sure to check out the DOWNLOADS page of this blog for the full rule set.

1. Dungeon Counters on a roll of 1 only. Let's face it, if the GM wins, the game is over! Advanced Heroquest is already very challenging for the Hero players and should continue to be so, but the GM's goal shouldn't be to kill them off immediately. That said, when the Heroes advance in level and ability the GM can then increase the frequency of dungeon counters. This is a great way to level the game without simply adding several more monsters into an already cramped room.
2. Fumbles with Ranged Weapons. You can only accidentally hit your ally if he is in an adjacent square to the target - in the case of a fumble with a Ranged weapon. This is easier to work out, less chaotic and slightly more forgiving than the original rule.
3. Arrow / Missile weapon Retrieval. In a tiny a dungeon cell it should be easier to retrieve missile weapons that have been shot or thrown. In Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest you retrieve all non-magical arrows on a 4+ and all non-magical thrown weapons on a 2+. Magical weapons however, regardless of type are retrieved on a 10+ as they are generally unpredictable and somewhat unstable in the mortal realm.
4. Less frequent Sentries! In the Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest monster tables the frequency of Sentry models has already been changed. In your own games you can simply replaced rolled Sentries with Champion or Warrior models at your discretion. The rare Sentry found in a dungeon adds variety and excitement but can be potentially brutal. Unless they are part of your pre-designed dungeon plan / narrative, it is tedious to have them show up too often. 
5. Searching for Secret Doors per Section. In dead-end corridors and rooms you can search for Secret Doors, checking the entire section with a single roll. Have the Leader then choose which wall to place the door(s) so the GM can add them to the dungeon. In my opinion this helps the game run smoother - checking for doors per "wall" was needlessly time consuming.

So that's basically it - nothing to drastic. In my games I decided to also give the Heroes an addition 'Wound' to start as well as some pre-determined starting gear (see the Creating Heroes section of the rules). The primary goal is for everyone to have fun.

Magic!

The mechanics for spellcasting in Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest are changed a bit from the original system. Keeping track of spell components was tedious and needlessly complex - so they've been removed!

Well almost, spell components are still listed in the various spell books and continue to serve one purpose; that is determining if the magic user can move and cast (spell has 1 component) or if he must remain stationary in order to cast (spell has more than 1 component). Buying and/or possessing the actual components however is no longer necessary.

Without the restriction of having to stock up on and maintain these various ingredients, a Wizard could conceivably hurl endless spell-craft at his opponents barring further regulation. This is where the Tremors in the Warp rule comes into play. Basically throughout the combat, the magic user can cast 3 spells as normal - then he can continue to cast but things start to get risky!

Tremors in the Warp
In the midst of battle a Wizard can easily become mentally exhausted, and the insidious and treacherous powers of the chaos empyrean are quick to capitalize on any weakness. Until play has once again returned to exploration turns, for every attempted spell after the initial three, the Wizard must make a Tremors in the Warp test with progressively difficult odds of success. The depleted Wizard must roll a D12 for each subsequent attempt after the third. On the fourth attempt, he must roll a 4 or better to succeed or else something has gone terribly wrong. On the fifth attempt things go awry on any roll less than 5; on the sixth attempt he fails on a roll of less than 6, and so forth. When the Wizard fails this test he must then roll on the table below to find out the results and may not cast a spell this turn. The risk is always great but obviously there is a point at which the Wizard will simply be unable to cast anymore spells.

Be sure to check out the DOWNLOADS page of this blog for the full set of rules regarding magic and otherwise.

Monster Placement and Surprise...

The GM places the monsters in the dungeon section where they were discovered, then both the Leader and the GM make a surprise roll. The adventuring Heroes are always on alert, naturally expecting the unexpected and thus receive a +1 to surprise. Additionally if an Elf Hero can see into the room they gain another +1 to surprise and yet another +1 if they possess a map of the room.

The GM can gain a surprise bonus of +1 if a Sentry is present, or other specialist creatures as noted (such as a Skaven Assassin).

If the Leader scores equal to or higher than the GM, the monsters have been surprised. The Leader can then move each monster one square. Now start a combat turn.

If the GM scores higher, the monsters surprise the Heroes. In this case, play then proceeds to the GM phase of the first combat turn (in other words, the Heroes miss their first turn!).

Having nearly completed their Quest, the Heroes discover a group of Skaven (including a Sentry) behind a door. The Leader and the GM each roll a dice (the Elf can see into the room so the Heroes add a total of +2 and there is a Sentry present so the GM adds +1); the Leader gets 7 and the GM 4, so the Skaven are surprised. The Leader may then move each Skaven model one square. Obviously, he will look to set them up in such a way that gives the Heroes an advantage. A normal combat turn will now begin. Note the door on the far side. If the GM chooses to have the Sentry open this door during the GM phase, whatever lies beyond must be generated at the end of the phase. If this is a Lair or Quest Room, with more Skaven, heavy reinforcements could soon be forthcoming...

As you can see, in the Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest version of the rules, surprise heavily favors the Heroes but the GM will always place the monsters. This is more realistic, especially in pre-designed dungeon sections, and also more balanced.

Be sure to check out the DOWNLOADS page of this blog for the full set of rules, though each of these modifications can be used alone or in any combination.

A simple mechanic - Doors...

One issue with combat that I personally wanted to address was the door-bottleneck scenario. If you've played Advanced Heroquest enough you know that the combat tactics can sometimes become repetitive and even stagnant. Digging through several of the other variants I've found many different solutions to this predicament, though most are quite complex. The one very easy solution however, seemed to also be the best to me. Simply change the door to count as 2 squares!

While the door models included in the Advanced Heroquest box are 1 square in width; it is advisable to count them as occupying 2 squares for all in-game purposes (ie, movement, line of sight, ranged attacks, etc...). This will provide greater tactical flexibility and prevent a bottle-neck at the door that is otherwise inevitable. This is one of the small changes included in the Enhanced - Advanced Heroquest rule set, be sure to check out the DOWNLOADS page of this blog.

You can continue to use the standard door with a little imagination, you can use the larger doors from Warhammer Quest, you could make your own doors, or you could download/print some paper doors. I recommend these:

Free paper doors (Inked Adventures)