Dungeon Crawl Solo Rules using some Heroscape

[InfinityMax]

Spells work similarly to Heroquest - you can use each spell once per adventure. The only way to have multiple castings is to purchase multiple copies of the spell.

Arcane Spells:
Mystic Bolt (50GP) 2Mv - Make an attack against any foe you can see; Use your Mind as your Attack score.
Shock Fist (50GP) 2Mv - Make an attack against an adjacent foe, using Mind+2 as Attack.
Vanishing Mist (50GP) 2Mv - No monsters may attack or move toward the target for the duration of the spell; lasts a # of rounds equal to Mind.
Safe Passage (50GP) 2Mv - Eliminate all traps on door or trap space, no roll required
Protective Aura (50GP) 2Mv - Target gains +1D for (Mind) rounds
Guided Blade (50GP) 2Mv - Target gains +1A for (Mind) rounds
Sparrow Speed (50GP) 2Mv - Target gains +1Mv for (Mind) rounds
Minds Eye (50GP) 2Mv - Draw the next RE card and place the room as normal, but do not open the door. If the card shows a trap, it is detected, but not disarmed.
Exploding Burst (100GP) 2Mv - Target a square you can see. Any creature in that square or any of the surrounding 8 squares is attacked, using your Mind score as your Attack. Prerequisite: Mystic Bolt.
Lightning Bolt (100GP) 2Mv - Attack each figure in a straight line out from you. If on a straight path, range is 6; if on a diagonal, range is 4. Roll an attack using Mind rather than Attack for each creature in that line.

(Still not done - Holy Spells are next)

[InfinityMax]

One caveat for spells (I just remembered) - you can't cast spells if you're wearing armor that adds more than +1 D, or carrying a weapon that adds more than +1 A.

[netherspirit]

What other types of magic are you coming up with?

[InfinityMax]

Holy Spells:

Prayer of First Aid (50GP) 2Mv: Restore 2 Life to a wounded ally.
Prayer of Righteous Rage (50GP) 2Mv: Attack one adjacent foe with Mind instead of Attack.
Prayer of Deliverance (50GP) 2Mv: Protect the target with +1 D for (Mind) rounds.
Prayer of Aid (50GP) 2Mv: Place one [summoned monster] adjacent to the caster. It acts on the caster's turn, at his command. It remains for (Mind) rounds.
Prayer of Confidence (50GP) 2Mv: Target gains +1 A for (Mind) Rounds.
Prayer of Holiness (50GP) 2Mv: Make an attack (using Mind instead of Attack) against all undead creatures in sight. Successfully attacked creatures may not act for as long as the caster does not take an action.
Prayer of Healing (100GP) 2Mv: Restore 4 Life to a wounded ally. Prerequisite: Prayer of First Aid.

[I'm going to need more of these.]

[InfinityMax]

Nether - Just holy and arcane for now. If I like the game, I might expand it, but I want to play it before I start making supplements.

[netherspirit]

Originally Posted by InfinityMax

Nether - Just holy and arcane for now. If I like the game, I might expand it, but I want to play it before I start making supplements.

Fair enough.

[InfinityMax]

Note that, just like Heroquest, you must be actually adjacent - not diagonal - to attack a foe.

Equipment:

Dagger (25GP): +1A; may be thrown as a ranged attack
Staff (100GP): +1A; may attack diagonally
Sword (75GP): +2A
Battle Axe (100GP): +3A
Two-Handed Sword (200GP): +3A; may attack diagonally
Bow (50GP): +2A; may not be used against adjacent foes (diagonal is OK)
Crossbow (150GP): +3A (may be used against adjacent foes)

Leather Armor (100GP): +1D
Chain Armor (200GP): +2D
Plate Armor (300GP): +3D

Healing Salve (25GP): Discard to restore 2 Life.
Healing Potion (75GP): Discard to restore 4 Life.

OK, so that's what I've got for upgrades right now. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

[Rhydderch]

Hey I-max: Looks like a cool project. I'll definitely keep an eye on what you're up to here. Back on HQ we had thrown some ideas around for a dungeon game as well so I think there's a lot of interest there. I have some rules for a miniatures-type RPG as well. I think you've seen a bit of what I intend to do with it. At the moment my version wil rely on a GM since I like the RP aspect but I'll probably make a card-based solo version some day.

Anyway WHQ is similar to what you have in mind but not quite the same. WHQ uses tables instead of cards which is easier on the budget but not as versatile or realistic since it means you can always get to the objective room, no matter which fork in the road you took. A better version that was adapted to Heroquest can be found here:

http://www.aginsinn.com/RandomQuest.html

This was the model I intended to use for my own solo game and I think it is almost exactly what you are trying to do and even has tile overlays for you to download and print. The main difference is the level of complexity since RandomQuest uses separate cards for rooms/monsters/etc, which I personally think is better for versatility. Lets you pick out the Undead monsters and make a new deck for the assault on the Necromancer tower, or include orcs and humans for the mercenary camp composed of a number of races.

If you wanted to make a monster deck you could probably just use the HS cards themselves. It will result in more monsters due to the squads but that can be fun too. You can obviously see what monster you will draw but if you shuffle the deck or just pick a card from the middle it will be fairly random.

Oh and this also makes it easy for people to make custom quests. All you need to design are the parameters for the quest and a few cards for the objectives if they are unique. For instance:

Assault on Sandwood Keep
The Orc Lord Grimnak has taken refuge in the large fortress known as Sandwood Keep. An ancient castle haunted with the ghosts of the past, it protects those that reside within. Our spies tell us Grimnak believes himself safe in this large castle and that he has lowered his defenses significantly. In fact his great mount has even been imprisoned in the dungeons for he feels he has no need of its powerful jaws. Now is the perfect time to strike at this ferocious ally of Utgar but beware the creatures that haunt the halls of Sandwood Keep!

Objective Destroy the Orc Lord Grimnak
Random Monster Parameters: Use any common Orcs and Goblins. Any common Ghosts with a point cost below 80 should also be included.
Room Parameters: Use any stone rooms for the deck.
Special Cards: Objective Room Grimnak's Throne, Objective Room Dungeon Pit
Special Monsters: Grimnak, Riderless Tyrannosaurus

I think you can imagine how the selection of cards and the addition of one or two special cards (Grimnak, Riderless T-Rex, Throne) could very easily make for a good quest with a nice mix of theme and also randomness. It can be easily modified for difficulty as well by changing the cost range (if you're using HS cards) the dungeon figures fall into. So that would take out the GM and also the need to spend hours designing the quest itself.

Anyway take a look at the site. I think a more Heroscape-oriented version of RandomQuest can be made or if you like those online rules enough you can simply add your own rules to the existing ones. Either way, have fun!

PS: Agin's site has a whole lot of other cool stuff to look at and I highly recommend it for any Heroquest enthusiast!

[InfinityMax]

I will check out Agin's Inn. I haven't checked that site in years, but it is a good site.

I really like this idea of having different monster decks. Like you could have different stacks of monsters, broken out by type - goblinoid, undead, wererats, whatever - and broken out by difficulty - goblin/orc/warlord, or skeleton/mummy/vampire, or giant rat/wererat thug/rat king. Then you've got scenario-specific critters, if you want them, or you can have a few standard 'super baddies' and just change their names as desired.

The map tiles would then be marked, not with skulls for skeletons and goblin heads for goblins, but with A, B, or C. Depending on the scenario, the 'A' cards might be goblin blades and goblin archers, or they might be skeletal warriors, zombies and skeletal archers. If the room has three spaces marked 'A', you draw three 'A' cards and place the corresponding monsters. When you have run through the initial starter rooms, the rooms will now be labeled with 'D' labels as well; if you are playing a scenario with a specific foe, that's him; otherwise, it's another C.

You could even scale the adventures this way. Starting adventurers can't deal with a vampire and six skeletons, but experienced brawlers will mow them down like grass. So the scenario says, 'Use four starter rooms in each size, and 2 ending rooms. For this adventure, place A monsters on all A and B spots, and place B monsters on all C spots. Place Groovus the Necromancer on D.'

You could apply this to treasure, too! You could have A, B and C treasure ranks, and instead of a table requiring a roll, you have three stacks of cards. The adventure might say to use B cards for both B and C treasures, or it might be a big payoff and say use B for A and C for B and C. And of course, D treasure is the McGuffin, which is just a C if the scenario doesn't have one.

That's genius, Rydder! I'll check out this RandomQuest, but that idea alone has really kicked this idea up a notch. Thank you so much for your input.

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by Imax

The map tiles would then be marked, not with skulls for skeletons and goblin heads for goblins, but with A, B, or C. Depending on the scenario, the 'A' cards might be goblin blades and goblin archers, or they might be skeletal warriors, zombies and skeletal archers. If the room has three spaces marked 'A', you draw three 'A' cards and place the corresponding monsters. When you have run through the initial starter rooms, the rooms will now be labeled with 'D' labels as well; if you are playing a scenario with a specific foe, that's him; otherwise, it's another C.

You could have several different monsters listed on the card with a letter next to each one. So you're in a room and it has a goblin head and the letter "c". You draw a card off the deck with the goblin head symbol. Listed on the card are several different encounters each with letters next to it. You go to letter 'c' and that is your encounter.

Here's a copy of one of my tiles for Dungeonation. I use the symbols such as skull piles to denote monster spawn points. the same thing can be done with your ideas Imax.

[InfinityMax]

I am not sure I want to put a monster symbol right on the room tile - you could use a room in a mausoleum and generate undead (as designated by the scenario) or put the same room in a goblin lair and get, well, goblins. If it's a generic symbol, it can be used everywhere; if it's specific to a particular 'race' of monster, it can only be used in those cases where the monsters match the scenario.

I see pros and cons to putting all three on one card. For one thing, you have to have as many cards as the greatest number of monsters in one class; like if you have three kinds of 'A' undead, two 'B' and two 'C', you need three cards, and one card will have to repeat some of the B and C. But still, you only have three cards for 7 monsters, which can't be done if they're on separate cards.

On the other hand, if I use 7 monster cards, I have the option of removing a particular type of monster in favor of something I deem more appropriate. Say it's a vampire lair; mummies might not make much sense. I simply say in the scenario that there are no mummies, so take them out of the monster deck. Any time you draw a C monster, it's going to be a vampire. But you can still have the entire range of A monsters without cutting any of the C monsters.

I guess I prefer the versatility of having a card for each creature over the ease of having a small stack of cards.

Those tiles are great. I will have to dust off my old copy of Gridsmith (or just steal tiles from you, GB).

[Grungebob]

On the other hand, if I use 7 monster cards, I have the option of removing a particular type of monster in favor of something I deem more appropriate. Say it's a vampire lair; mummies might not make much sense. I simply say in the scenario that there are no mummies, so take them out of the monster deck. Any time you draw a C monster, it's going to be a vampire. But you can still have the entire range of A monsters without cutting any of the C monsters.

From my experience it gets pretty out of control quickly if you expect others to play your game. You will in no time have huge decks of monsters, equipment, and treasure and cards for rooms too?. The time and material cost of putting the game together will deter people from actually doing it. I've been down this road for years now. Malechi and I worked on a Heroscape based RPG a year and a half ago. I could not add the kind of depth I wanted without forcing the players to print mountains of material. In the end the execution was the hardest part of seeing the vision through.