EPIC Maps Building Contest - $25 Prize!

[Sir Heroscape]

EPIC Maps Building Contest

Submissions Due: Oct 11th @11pm CDT
Prize? $25
What for?

A Youth Group activity on Oct 14th (~50 young men) will be participating in a Video/Board Games "convention", and I've been tasked with having a Heroscape table setup for play. I wanna build something Epic and eye-popping to get everyone there and excited to learn and play the game. Time to recruit the next generation of heroscapers! haha

Requirements:

Map Build:
1 submission per contestant.
Submit with a link to PDF Build instructions from Virtualscape WITH an image
Submit via this heroscapers.com forum (or via my email and I’ll post it for you).
Provide any scenario details, specific rules or special considerations in the map build file.

Size Parameters:
NO LARGER than 33 hex diameter circle…the table for the display is roughly that size

Terrain Parameters
Use as much or as little as you want within the below terrain collection parameters:
2 Swarm of the Marro
2 Thaelenk Tundra
2 Volcarren Wasteland
3 Fortress of the Archkyrie
5 Rise of the Valkyrie
4 Road to the Forgotten Forest
3 Battle for the Underdark
2 Marvel
2 Ticalla Jungle

My video of the announcement

YouTube (Short URL)

I'll review all submissions on the 12th after the deadline and announce the winner and which build I'll be using at the event!

Thanks!

YouTube

[Sir Heroscape]

SUBMISSIONS

#1: Submitted by Swarm

Build Instructsion
Details

Spoiler Alert!

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In the mystical realm of Durotaxis, a malevolent sorcerer named Pelloth has ensnared the once-majestic land in a shroud of darkness. His tyrannical rule knows no bounds, and the people have suffered in silence for far too long. Now, from every corner of this enchanting kingdom, brave and valiant souls have rallied together, forming small bands of heroes with a singular purpose: to embark on an epic quest to overthrow Pelloth' oppressive reign.

At the heart of this treacherous journey lies the ominous Tower of Pelloth, where the wicked magician resides, wielding unimaginable power. Your destiny, noble adventurer, is to venture forth and reach this towering citadel, standing as a beacon of hope in the face of despair. The path to the tower is fraught with peril, for Pelloth has marshaled his formidable legions to defend the access to his dark domain.

Will you emerge victorious, conquering the tower's challenges, and put an end to the tyranny that has plagued Durotaxis for too long? The fate of this wondrous realm rests in your hands, and the echoes of your bravery will resound through the annals of history. Are you prepared to step into the epic saga that awaits and become the savior of Durotaxis? But beware, Pelloth has more than one trick up his sleeve....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There are 6 regions of the kingdom, each one of them can be independant battles depending of the number of players around the table. This makes it available to up to 12 players.

For each region, Pelloth's legion are made of:

Meteor crater : Obsidians, brunak, avernus,...
Desert : granite guardians, air elementals, boreos,...
Swamp : Spiders, Sujoah, wyvern, ...
Ruined city : Zombie and Zombie hulk, ...
Glaciers : Dzu-teh, greater ice elemental, troll berserker, ...
Haunted forest : Phantoms Knights, shades of bleakwoode, banshees,... OR anubians and werewolf lord

Depending on how big you want the armies to be. For beginners, maybe aim at the 250-range ?


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Special rules :

At the start of each round except the first one, Pelloth will randomly cast one of his spells on each region. Players in this region simply throw the D20. These spells are:

1) Fireballs: Each figure has to defend against a 2-die attack.
2) Spell of Transformation: Skulls and shields are swapped on each die.
3) Spell of Total Darkness: This region is in complete darkness, and ranged attacks are impossible.
4) Spell of Quantum Change: Throw the d20. All the 0-level tiles are changed to: 1-5 water, 6-10 lava, 11-15 shadow, 16-20 slippery ice.
5) Spell of Increased Gravity: Every unit has -2 on their move value.
6) Spell of Hemorrhage: All wounded figures gain an additional wound.
7) Spell of Heavy Wind: Flying abilities are negated.
Spell of Repulsion: All figures must move 5 hexes in the opposite direction of the tower.
9) Wormhole Spell: After taking a turn, each figure is replaced where they started.
10) Spell of Slowing Time: Each player has to remove one of the opponent's order markers at random.
11) Enraging Spell: Pelloth's legion in that region has +1 attack and +1 defense.
12) Spell of Possession: Each player can immediately take a turn with one hero of the opposing team.
13) Spell of Pure Madness: Each player can shuffle the order markers of their opponent.
14) Spell of Spatial Warp: All figures must swap their regions in a clockwise manner.
15) Spell of Striking Initiative: An initiative roll has to be made for each turn between the players.
16) Heatwave: All figures are teleported to the water tiles at the border of their region.
17) Spell of Longevity: All figures in Pelloth's legion double their current life value.
1 Spell of Poisonous Fog: After taking a turn, each figure has to defend against a 1-die attack.
19) Reversal Spell: Swap the attack and defense values of each figure.
20) Spell of the Undying Legion: Revive one dead unit from Pelloth's legion
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If one army successfully beat Pelloth's legion, they have to break a fortress door. Eventually, drows may act as gate keepers and be placed just in front of the doors. Then, they can send a hero up at the top of the tower to have an epic battle against Pelloth (which will have the army card and stats of Sonlen, but I prefered Pelloth sculpt for this role). If they kill Sonlen/Pelloth, they win and save the realm !

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#2: Submitted by Chris Perkins


Dormant No More
Premise: Building a castle on the side of a dormant volcano probably wasn't a great idea...

Details

Spoiler Alert!

Volcanic Eruption
At the end of each round, roll a d20. Add the round number to the d20 roll, and subtract 1. If the roll is a 20 (or above), the Volcano explodes. For each figure on the map, roll a d20. Subtract their distance from the nearest molten lava space from the d20 roll. If the roll is a 19+, destroy the figure. If the roll is a 15-19, the figure takes 2 wounds. If the roll is a 5-14, the figure takes 1 wound. Once the Volcano has exploded, re-set the round counter to 1 for the purposes of this power.

#3: Submitted by Sherman Davies

ALKALI LAKE DAM
3 RotV, 2 RttFF, 1 TT and 1 FotA

#4: Submitted by Shurrig


Valhalla

Details

Spoiler Alert!

This map came about from a sketch I drew while I was out of town, basically I wanted to create a battlefield of little vignettes to show everything Heroscape has to offer, and I hope this map captures that. I also took heavy inspiration on the actual map of the planet of Valhalla, though creative liberties were definitely had.

And look at those sparkly water tiles! Thanks again for those Sheep! If you don't have enough sparkly water tiles, I'd recommend keeping the wellsprings sparkly and the rest of the water normal.

Scenario
Magical wellsprings grant you and your allies great powers in the battle for Valhalla! Take control and win by having yours or your allied figures on all wellspring spaces (marked cyan) in at least three locations, or win outright by being the last army standing.

Teleportation: Brandar glyphs represent Glyphs of Teleportation. when you place a figure on one of these glyphs you must immediately place them on any other Glyph of Teleportation. You may continue your normal movement after using a Glyph of Teleportation. If a figure is occupying a Glyph of Teleportation you are attempting to teleport to, immediately place that figure onto the glyph you are teleporting from.

Water: When entering water, each move on a water space counts as two spaces.

EDIT: Feel free to use whatever face-up glyphs you'd like for each wellspring. I was swapping them for around an hour or so before I landed on these placements. Also, you can probably add the fortress door if you'd like for aesthetic purposes, the back of the castle is open anyway

#5: Submitted by Ryguy
Introducing: Marro Onslaught!



PDF Instructions

Details

Spoiler Alert!

Scenario:
A heavy mist has arisen outside the walls of Dredcor Castle. The marsh has grown swiftly and thoroughly, choking the native forest. And deep beyond the decrepit fort that Jandar uses to safekeep a secret that could fracture the alliance, a horrifying, malignant force has defied nature to churn out its endless spawn. Like weeds, the Marro grow, spurred by the reverberent power of the twin hives. How long can the alliance forces hold out against the endless onslaught before reinforcements arrive?

Setup:
The Marro/Utgar armies start in the red start zone. The alliance (non-Utgar) forces start in the blue start zone. The Marro forces must retrieve the alliance secret (Brandar glyph) and return it to their start zone by the end of 10 rounds to win. The alliance forces must prevent this for 10 rounds or destroy both hives to win. It is recommended that army points are even, but that Utgar-alliance number of players is in a 1-2 or 2-3 ratio. For example, if there are three players, one player controls a 500 point, 30 hex limit alliance army, and two players each control a 250 point, combined 37 hex limit Marro/Utgar army. This may be balanced as needed for the number of players and desired length and size of the game. A 1000 point total for each side is viable for a map this size, and as many players can be added as needed as long as an appropriate player ratio is maintained.

Special rules:
The Marro Hives are not part of the Marro player(s)' army and instead act as Special Terrain. For the duration of the game, the Marro Hives have 6 lives and 2 defense. Each Hive has a special power that activates at the end of the round. The Castle Door does not have any special abilities.

Marro Rebirth:
At the end of the round, roll the 20-sided die.
-If you roll a 1-13, you may place any previously destroyed Marro Common Squad figure on any empty same-level space adjacent to the Hive.
-If you roll a 14-18, you may place any previously destroyed Marro Overlord, Warlord, or Warwitch on any empty same-level space adjacent to the Hive.
-If you roll a 19-20, you may place any previously destroyed Marro Hivelord on any empty same-level space adjacent to the Hive.
Figures must be placed adjacent to the Hive that rolled for Marro Rebirth. If there is no empty same-level space adjacent to that Hive, you may not place a previously destroyed figure.

#6: Submitted by Nomad
Road Under Glacier Mountain
Requirements: one of each Master Set and one of each terrain expansion.




#7: Submitted by Cleon
A Land in Eight Hours

Download

Details

Spoiler Alert!

I have some paragraphs written in the map parameters for rules…

To sum it up, each teleport glyph teleports a figure to the corresponding colored teleporter, linking the farthest outside points to different points in the castle. They can be used both ways.

Outpost/Planes Zone - Blue Teleporter - Secret spot outside the castle walls
Forest Zone - Green Teleporter - Inside the castle behind the thrown on floor level
Tundra/Mountainous Zone - Light Blue Teleporter - Hidden corner spot on the floor of the castle below the tower
Sand Zone - Yellow Teleporter - Third story of the tower
Lava Zone - Red Teleporter - Third story castle walkway
Swamp Zone - Orange Teleporter - Second story of castle above the gate
There are 15 power glyphs scattered throughout the land, and 1 in the castle. When one of your figures is holding a power glyph(s), in addition to abilities granted from that glyph, all of your figures now get +1 defense when defending against ranged attacks, and +1 defense when being shot down at from the castle if your defending figure is outside the castle. So if you’re being shot from the castle and at least one figure of yours is holding a glyph, you get +2 defense.

The power glyphs are up for choosing which glyph where (or you could do random), but the castle glyph should be a stronger glyph. Wannok probably shouldn’t be used, unless for the castle glyph. I feel like Def+1 shouldn’t be used as it’s probably overkill on top of the + defense when holding any glyph. Maybe for in the castle. I was envisioning +move, +range, +initiative, +2 Lodin, Stealth Leap, New Ulaniva, Disengage, and maybe Lava Resistant to be about the board. Other glyphs are welcome too of course, and glyphs could be repeated.

And you do not have to stop in water. Instead, each water space counts as 2 movement. Figures with Slither and similar powers just count it as 1 movement.

I didn’t make any designated start zones. But I think if players place their team spaced decently apart around the 6 zones that should be fine.

This was so fun to make and I’d love to hear battle reports if you guys or anyone else decide to build and play on it!

#8: Submitted by Sheep
Champions Circle


#9: Submitted by Flash_19
Ambition


Other Images:

Spoiler Alert!

Special Rules

Spoiler Alert!

This map is intended to be played using heat of battle rules. Additionally, glyphs are placed to function as control points, though standard glyphs may be used at these locations instead. If using the control points format, it is recommended to have each control point worth the following amount of points at the end of each round:

1) Middle Glyph - 3 points
2) Bridge, cave, and castle Glyphs - 2 points

Determine points based on who has the most figures adjacent to or on top of the glyph. In the case of a tie, the player with a unit on the glyph gets the points. It is recommended to play 6 rounds. At the end of 6 rounds, the player with the most points wins.

The Glyphs of Brandar are meant to represent treasure glyphs. As an additional way to earn points if the control points format is used, points may be awarded to players who control these treasure glyphs at the end of game. If so, permanent treasure glyphs should be used (along with standard rules for treasure glyphs including traps if desired). An extra incentive may be used for players that gather multiple treasure glyphs. For example:

1) Controls 1 treasure glyph - 1 point
2) Controls 2 treasure glyphs - 2 points
3) Controls 3 Treasure glyphs - 4 points
4) Controls 4 Treasure glyphs - 7 points
5) Controls 5 Treasure glyphs - 10 points
6) Controls 6 treasure glyphs - 15 points

[Shurrig]

Is it just one submission per contestant?

[Chris Perkins]

Is the goal for the map to actually be "playable"? From a semi-balanced tourney perspective? Or just to look awesome?

[Sir Heroscape]

Originally Posted by Chris Perkins

Is the goal for the map to actually be "playable"? From a semi-balanced tourney perspective? Or just to look awesome?

Look awesome! I don’t care about balance. I’ll make sure it’s “balanced play” based on how I setup the scenario or units etc. like I’ll probably do Heat of Battle setup and just have factions preset etc. so literally go wild with how you wanna make the map. But yes…”wow factor” is largely what I’m looking for

[Sir Heroscape]

Originally Posted by Shurrig

Is it just one submission per contestant?

Yes. You only get 2 weeks and these kinda maps can take a long time…so just 1 submission.

[Swarm]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the mystical realm of Durotaxis, a malevolent sorcerer named Pelloth has ensnared the once-majestic land in a shroud of darkness. His tyrannical rule knows no bounds, and the people have suffered in silence for far too long. Now, from every corner of this enchanting kingdom, brave and valiant souls have rallied together, forming small bands of heroes with a singular purpose: to embark on an epic quest to overthrow Pelloth' oppressive reign.

At the heart of this treacherous journey lies the ominous Tower of Pelloth, where the wicked magician resides, wielding unimaginable power. Your destiny, noble adventurer, is to venture forth and reach this towering citadel, standing as a beacon of hope in the face of despair. The path to the tower is fraught with peril, for Pelloth has marshaled his formidable legions to defend the access to his dark domain.

Will you emerge victorious, conquering the tower's challenges, and put an end to the tyranny that has plagued Durotaxis for too long? The fate of this wondrous realm rests in your hands, and the echoes of your bravery will resound through the annals of history. Are you prepared to step into the epic saga that awaits and become the savior of Durotaxis? But beware, Pelloth has more than one trick up his sleeve....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There are 6 regions of the kingdom, each one of them can be independant battles depending of the number of players around the table. This makes it available to up to 12 players.

For each region, Pelloth's legion are made of:

Meteor crater : Obsidians, brunak, avernus,...
Desert : granite guardians, air elementals, boreos,...
Swamp : Spiders, Sujoah, wyvern, ...
Ruined city : Zombie and Zombie hulk, ...
Glaciers : Dzu-teh, greater ice elemental, troll berserker, ...
Haunted forest : Phantoms Knights, shades of bleakwoode, banshees,... OR anubians and werewolf lord

Depending on how big you want the armies to be. For beginners, maybe aim at the 250-range ?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Special rules :

At the start of each round except the first one, Pelloth will randomly cast one of his spells on each region. Players in this region simply throw the D20. These spells are:

1) Fireballs: Each figure has to defend against a 2-die attack.
2) Spell of Transformation: Skulls and shields are swapped on each die.
3) Spell of Total Darkness: This region is in complete darkness, and ranged attacks are impossible.
4) Spell of Quantum Change: Throw the d20. All the 0-level tiles are changed to: 1-5 water, 6-10 lava, 11-15 shadow, 16-20 slippery ice.
5) Spell of Increased Gravity: Every unit has -2 on their move value.
6) Spell of Hemorrhage: All wounded figures gain an additional wound.
7) Spell of Heavy Wind: Flying abilities are negated.
8) Spell of Repulsion: All figures must move 5 hexes in the opposite direction of the tower.
9) Wormhole Spell: After taking a turn, each figure is replaced where they started.
10) Spell of Slowing Time: Each player has to remove one of the opponent's order markers at random.
11) Enraging Spell: Pelloth's legion in that region has +1 attack and +1 defense.
12) Spell of Possession: Each player can immediately take a turn with one hero of the opposing team.
13) Spell of Pure Madness: Each player can shuffle the order markers of their opponent.
14) Spell of Spatial Warp: All figures must swap their regions in a clockwise manner.
15) Spell of Striking Initiative: An initiative roll has to be made for each turn between the players.
16) Heatwave: All figures are teleported to the water tiles at the border of their region.
17) Spell of Longevity: All figures in Pelloth's legion double their current life value.
18) Spell of Poisonous Fog: After taking a turn, each figure has to defend against a 1-die attack.
19) Reversal Spell: Swap the attack and defense values of each figure.
20) Spell of the Undying Legion: Revive one dead unit from Pelloth's legion
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If one army successfully beat Pelloth's legion, they have to break a fortress door. Eventually, drows may act as gate keepers and be placed just in front of the doors. Then, they can send a hero up at the top of the tower to have an epic battle against Pelloth (which will have the army card and stats of Sonlen, but I prefered Pelloth sculpt for this role). If they kill Sonlen/Pelloth, they win and save the realm !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are building instructions

[Tornado]

Cool map. Really dig that d20 chart.

[Chris Perkins]

Dormant No More

Premise: Building a castle on the side of a dormant volcano probably wasn't a great idea...

Volcanic Eruption
At the end of each round, roll a d20. Add the round number to the d20 roll, and subtract 1. If the roll is a 20 (or above), the Volcano explodes. For each figure on the map, roll a d20. Subtract their distance from the nearest molten lava space from the d20 roll. If the roll is a 19+, destroy the figure. If the roll is a 15-19, the figure takes 2 wounds. If the roll is a 5-14, the figure takes 1 wound. Once the Volcano has exploded, re-set the round counter to 1 for the purposes of this power.

[Sherman Davies]

ALKALI LAKE DAM

3 RotV, 2 RttFF, 1 TT and 1 FotA





My groups and I have played this map, or variations on it, about 6 or 7 times over the years and have never run across any noticeable balance issues. I've also heard positive feedback from other 'Scapers on this site who have set it up at conventions or events similar to yours because they also wanted something eye-catching.

Good luck with your event!

[Shurrig]

Valhalla

This map came about from a sketch I drew while I was out of town, basically I wanted to create a battlefield of little vignettes to show everything Heroscape has to offer, and I hope this map captures that. I also took heavy inspiration on the actual map of the planet of Valhalla, though creative liberties were definitely had.

And look at those sparkly water tiles! Thanks again for those Sheep! If you don't have enough sparkly water tiles, I'd recommend keeping the wellsprings sparkly and the rest of the water normal.

Scenario
Magical wellsprings grant you and your allies great powers in the battle for Valhalla! Take control and win by having yours or your allied figures on all wellspring spaces (marked cyan) in at least three locations, or win outright by being the last army standing.

Teleportation: Brandar glyphs represent Glyphs of Teleportation. when you place a figure on one of these glyphs you must immediately place them on any other Glyph of Teleportation. You may continue your normal movement after using a Glyph of Teleportation. If a figure is occupying a Glyph of Teleportation you are attempting to teleport to, immediately place that figure onto the glyph you are teleporting from.

Water: When entering water, each move on a water space counts as two spaces.

EDIT: Feel free to use whatever face-up glyphs you'd like for each wellspring. I was swapping them for around an hour or so before I landed on these placements. Also, you can probably add the fortress door if you'd like for aesthetic purposes, the back of the castle is open anyway

[Sir Heroscape]

Originally Posted by Swarm

If one army successfully beat Pelloth's legion, they have to break a fortress door. Eventually, drows may act as gate keepers and be placed just in front of the doors. Then, they can send a hero up at the top of the tower to have an epic battle against Pelloth (which will have the army card and stats of Sonlen, but I prefered Pelloth sculpt for this role). If they kill Sonlen/Pelloth, they win and save the realm !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are building instructions

Really cool scenario! and awesome map! ...also love the "Sonlen touch" haha!