Page 1 of 9

TRAINING QUEST Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Wednesday October 21st, 2020 10:14pm
by wallydubbs
So this isn't an original quest from the game system, but apparently it might be part of the new release. Looking over it at first glance, it seems nearly impossible. Mentor's notes are comforting in emphasizing hopelessness. This would suggest that those who created the quest were fully aware of the likely failure.

I can't blame anyone if they choose not to read through all of this, so fell free to skip to the bottom with the final report.

I'm gonna give it a run through here with the 4 original heroes with their starting equipment (and lack there of). The Elf will have Water Spells and Wizard gets the other 3. In my heart I just can't include the Bard, Druid and Warlock, they don't seem to fit. The Fimir is replaced by some Dagon-like Fish man, but I'll still be using the Fimir just because the stats are the same and we have no Dagon icon, yet. So we'll see just how terrible it is:

We start off right after Menor gives his speach.
:wizard: up first, searches for traps, finding none.
:dwarf: looks for secret doors, spotting the 1.
:elf: makes a treasure search, finding Jewels (50 gold).
:barbarian: rolls :roll4: :roll5:, heading out the secret door to have a look around, seeing the :fimir:, having enough movement to reach him, passing the :zombie: in the hall, swinging his Broadsword: :blackshield: :whiteshield: :skull:
:fimir: defends: :skull: :skull: :blackshield:

Suddenly 4 :orc:s appear from the stairwell and press an attack against the 3 heroes in the room.
The :elf: took 2 damage from 1 :orc:.
:wizard: was lucky and the 1 :orc: that attacked him rolled :whiteshield: :whiteshield: :whiteshield:
:dwarf: lost 1BP to the first :orc: and managed to block the 2nd's attack.
:barbarian: lost 2BP from the :fimir:'s attack. The :zombie: flopped.

The :wizard: took a pathetic attack against the :orc:, rolling :blackshield:.
Almost equally pathetic, the :elf: rolled :blackshield: :blackshield:
:dwarf: rolled :whiteshield: :whiteshield:, a very terrible start, I must say.
:barbarian: attacing the :fimir: rolled :blackshield: :blackshield: :skull:, which the :fimir: managed to block.

When the monsters attacked again, :wizard: and :elf: both lost 1BP. The :dwarf: got really lucky as the 2 :orc:s attacking him both flopped.
:barbarian: managed to block the :fimir:'s attack, but the :zombie: delivered 2 :skull:'s, landing both.

:wizard: managed a :skull: in his attack, which the :orc: failed to block. First successful hit and kill goes to the :wizard:, who didn't use a spell.
:dwarf:'s attack was blocked
But the :elf: managed to take out his nemesis.
:barbarian: attacked with :blackshield: :blackshield: :skull:, again, but the :fimir: blocked it yet again.

1 :orc: moved away from :dwarf: to attack the :wizard:, but the attack was blocked
However the :dwarf: lost 2 more BP whis his opponent rolled :skull: :skull: :skull: (he blocked 1)
Although the :fimir: rolled :blackshield: :skull: :skull:, :barbarian: was able to block both hits. The :zombie: failed to roll a :skull:.

:wizard: managed another :skull: and killed another :orc:.
:dwarf: managed 2 :skull:s and took out the last :orc:
:elf: cast Veil of Mist on :barbarian:, so he could get back in the room and avoid another double attack.
:barbarian: flopped his attack with :whiteshield: :whiteshield: :whiteshield: and moved through the :zombie: into the room.

:zombie: moved into the room to attack :barbarian:, rolling :skull: :whiteshield:. :barbarian: rolled the same and blocked the attack.
:fimir: could not get in the room as the :zombie: would not allow him to pass.(Greenskins and undead don't mesh well in my book).

:wizard: cast Heal Body on :barbarian:, restoring him to full health.
:dwarf: attacked the :zombie:, but failed to roll a :skull:.
:elf: too flopped his attack
:barbarian: managed :skull: :skull: :skull:, :zombie: only blocked 1.

:fimir: charges in, attacks the :barbarian:, landing 2 hits.

From here the :wizard: opted to not use his turn or cast a spell, confident that the 3 heroes focusing an attack on the :fimir: would surely be successful!
:dwarf: rolled :skull: :skull:, :fimir: failed to block and was killed.
The :elf: stepped through the secret door and searched for traps, spotting the pit trap.
:barbarian: opting not to waste his turn, rolled :roll5: :roll5: and decided to check the Northern door, discovering the 2 :mummy:s. Attacking one with 1 :skull:, but it blocked.

And so, :barbarian: was yet again sandwiched between 2 monsters. The first landed 3 hits, but :barbarian: managed to block the 2nd attack.

Seeing the :mummy: through the door, :wizard: cast Fire of Wrath, hoping one of the other heroes would finish it off. A :roll3: was rolled, :mummy: lost 1BP.
:dwarf: rolled :roll3: :roll1:, not having enough movement to reach the :mummy:, he headed through the trap door to disarm the trap, rolling :whiteshield:
:elf: rolled :roll1: :roll1:, so couldn't help the :barbarian: and opted to look for Secret doors, finding none.
:barbarian: made an attack for 1 :skull:, but it was blocked.
Once again, :barbarian: was faced with a double attack. Both :mummy:s rolled :skull: skull: :skull:, the first one :barbarian: only blocked 1 and dropped to 1BP. He failed to block any from the 2nd attack and was killed.
The :mummy: still had movement and stalked towards the :wizard: as the other feasted on the :barbarian:'s flesh.

:wizard: mustered the courage to attack, rolling :skull:, but the :mummy: blocked it.
:dwarf: only rolled :roll3: :roll1:, so was unable to reach the :mummy:.
But :elf: reached him, only to flop his attack.

The :mummy: then inflicted 2BP of damage on :wizard:, dropping him to 1BP.
The other one, who just ate the :barbarian:, attacked the :elf: with :blackshield: :skull: :blackshield:. :elf: failed to block, dropping to 2BP.

:wizard: rolled :blackshield: in attack
:dwarf: attacked with :blackshield: :blackshield: as well.
:elf: rolled :skull: :whiteshield:, finishing off the 1st :mummy:, and danced away from the other on.

The remaining :mummy: went after :dwarf: with :whiteshield: :skull: :skull:. :dwarf: blocked 1 hit, but also took 1 damage

:wizard: stepped forward with a :skull:, that was blocked.
:dwarf: flopped again
:elf: charged back in and managed to inflict 1 damage on the :mummy:.

:mummy: went after :dwarf:, but it was blocked

:wizard: rolled a :skull:, but it was blocked
Both :dwarf: and :elf: flopped attacks.

:mummy: continued after the :dwarf:, who blocked again.

This time the :wizard: failed, while the :dwarf: and :elf: both rolled a :skull:, however the :mummy: blocked both attacks.
It then attacked the :dwarf: for a :skull:, but :dwarf: maintained an adequate defense

:wizard: rolled :skull:, that was blocked
:dwarf: rolled :skull: :whiteshield:, which was blocked
:elf: rolled :skull: :whiteshield: too, but finally finished off the :mummy:.

The heroes then decided to try the secret door path
:dwarf: was the first to make it to the door, having enough movement to reach the :zombie:. He rolled :skull: :skull:, killing the :zombie: while :wizard: and :elf: lagged in the rolls.

:wizard: entered room F and was congratulated by Mentor. He searched for traps one Mentor was gone, finding none.
:dwarf: was next to enter and searched the chest, finding Borin's Armor
The :elf: entered last, casting Water of Healing on himself, although the :wizard: had 1BP left, he was told to stay out of physical battle and concentrate using his spells from a distance

:wizard: walked into room E, seeing the :gargoyle:, he immediately casts Genie, rolling :whiteshield: :whiteshield: :whiteshield: :skull: :skull:
The :gargoyle: failed to block and takes 2 damage. For a moment the :wizard: feels a sense of hope.
:dwarf: runs in to continue the attack, but his 1 :skull: was blocked.
:elf: rolled :skull: :skull: in his attack and managed to finish off the :gargoyle:

Note: note E says to shuffle all the Dread (Chaos) cards before the Gor-Garak's turn. It is not specified whether he should cast this during the hero's turn, as soon as the door is open or whatnot. So I took it to mean directly before his turn. However, since he was killed before having a turn, no spell will be cast.

The :wizard: would then enter and search for traps, finding none
:dwarf: looked for secret doors, none
:elf: drew a Potion of Healing from the treasure deck and gave it to the :wizard:.

Onto the next room, :wizard: only rolled enough movement to get to the door, he casts Rock Skin on the :elf:.
:dwarf: runs in, rolling :skull: :skull:, taking out the first :goblin:.
:elf: had poor movement and was just able to get into the room, but couldn't reach the :goblin:, so he cast Sleep against it.
A :roll3: was rolled, taking hold.

:goblin: rolled :roll5:, staying asleep
This allowed the :wizard: to casually walk in and stab, rolling :whiteshield:...
So :dwarf: finished the :goblin: off with :skull: :skull:
Leaving the :elf: to search for traps.

:wizard: found no secret doors
:dwarf: drew a Hazard from the treasure deck, falling into a pit, losing 1BP, down to 3.
:elf: rolled :roll2: :roll2:, wasn't even able to make it to the next door.

:wizard: was the first to go in, taking a chance, he circled the :goblin: before attacking, he landed a :skull:, killing the :goblin:.
Next was the :dwarf:, rolling :skull: :whiteshield:, killing the other :goblin:
:elf: made it in, searching for traps, finding none.

:wizard: searched for treasure, finding a Potion of Strength.
:dwarf: made the secret door search, not finding any, and then walked over to check the next room. Seeing the 2 :mummy:s and a Torture Rack.
:wizard: used a non-action to pass his Potion on Strength to the :elf:, who ran in, using it to attack the fist :mummy:: :skull: :blackshield: :skull: :whiteshield:, this :mummy: was not as good on defense and crumbled to dust as the :elf: delimbed it.

The other :mummy: walked around the torture rack, unable to reach the :elf:.

:wizard: rolled :roll2: :roll1:, unable to pass the :dwarf: to enter the room.
:dwarf: stepped up to attack the :mummy:, but flopped his roll
:elf:' up next, circling to attack the :mummy: from behind, rolling :skull: :skull:
:mummy: defends: :blackshield: :blackshield: :skull: :skull:

:mummy: attacks the :dwarf: with :skull: :skull: :skull:
With Borin's Armor :dwarf: defends: :skull: :whiteshield: :whiteshield: :skull:, taking 1 damage

:wizard: rolled :roll1: :roll1:, unable to help his friends attack the :mummy:, so he cast Tempest against it, knowing that these :mummy:s are difficult to kill.
:dwarf: landed 1 hit and the :elf: flopped.

:mummy: loses its turn, cycling back to the :wizard: who aids with an attack: :blackshield:
:dwarf: rolls :skull: :skull:, finishing off the :mummy:
:elf: checks for traps.

:wizard: searches for treasure, but it's a hazard, he drops to 0BP and drinks the Potion of Healing, rolling :roll5:, restoring 4BP.
:dwarf: goes out the door, seeing 4 :skeleton:s in the hall. He jumps one from behind and knocks its head off.
:elf: follows his lead, bot flops with the attack.

2 :skeleton:s fight back, but both failed to roll a :skull:.

:wizard: has no way to help, so he searches for secret doors.
:dwarf: managed a :skull:, but it was blocked.
The :elf: had better luck, taking out a 2nd :skeleton:.

2 left. The first attacks the :elf: with :skull: :skull:. Despite having Rock Skin, the :elf: only rolled 1 :whiteshield:, taking 1 damage.
The other rolled a :skull: too, but couldn't beat Borin's Armor.

:wizard: walked to the door and skipped his turn while the :dwarf: and :elf: finished off the 2 :skeleton:s.

:wizard: went out into the hall and found no traps
:dwarf: ventured down the hall, seeing a :chaoswarrior: and :fimir:, but was mindful enough to know they wouldn't be able to reach them with their movement, so stayed a few spaces back
:elf: searched for secret doors before joining the :dwarf:

The :fimir: and :chaoswarrior: moved down the hall, closing in, but not enough distance to mount an attack.

:wizard: stepped to the end of the hall and Cast Ball of Flame against the :chaoswarrior:, who rolled :roll3: and :roll1:, taking 2 damage.
:dwarf: tried to finish off the :chaoswarrior:, rolling :skull: :whiteshield:, but it was blocked
:elf: rolled the same against the :fimir:, but that too was blocked

:fimir: attacks with :skull: :blackshield: :skull:
:elf: defends with :whiteshield: :whiteshield:
:chaoswarrior: reigns down on :dwarf: with :skull: :skull: :whiteshield: :whiteshield:
:dwarf: defends: :whiteshield: :skull: :skull: :skull:, taking 1 damage down to 1BP

:wizard: calls a "Fall Back", retreating
:dwarf: flops and does the same, but only rolls :roll2: :roll1:
:elf: too misses and stands by the :dwarf:

:fimir: attacked :elf: for :skull: :whiteshield: :blackshield: but the :elf: defended with a :whiteshield:
:chaoswarrior: rolled 2 :skull:s, but the :dwarf: rolled 2 :whiteshield:s.

The :wizard: heads back to the room with the book case.
Despite rolling :skull: :skull:, the :dwarf: failed to kill the :chaoswarrior:, he blocked both. Again, rolled :roll2: :roll1: in retreat.
:elf:'s :skull: was blocked as well.

Although the :chaoswarrior: only rolled 1 :skull:, the :dwarf: rolled 4 :skull:s in defend and was killed.
:elf: managed to get 1 hit on the :fimir:, rolled :roll6: :roll5:, side-stepped, grabbing Borin's Armor from the :dwarf:'s corpse and ran like hell.

:wizard: continued running
:elf: stood his ground, attacked the :chaoswarrior:, failed.
He then got surrounded and lost 2BP for their attacks

:wizard: runs back into Room E (Where the Gargoyle was), cast Pass Through Rock on himself
:elf: manages to kill the :fimir: and runs from the :chaoswarrior:, but not far enough.

:chaoswarrior: lands 2 more hits on the :elf:, dropping him to 1BP.

Under the effects of Pass Through Rock, :wizard: also casts Swift Wind on himself, rolling :roll4: :roll5: :roll4: :roll2:, he took this opportunity to check inside the 3 rooms on the North East quadrant of the board, spotting the :chaoswarrior:s and :goblin:s, ending his turn in the Northern alley.
Meanwhile the :elf: finally took out the :chaoswarrior:, he worked his way back to find the :wizard:. They meet up in room F, :wizard: tells him about a 2nd chest guarded by a :chaoswarrior:, it would be easier if they went up through the eastern hall and avoid all the other monsters.

It took them several turns to get there, :wizard: having rolled :roll5: :roll6: chances the Eastern hall without checking for traps. He fell in the pit trap, losing 1BP

They work their way up to Room D with the chest and :chaoswarrior:. :elf: ends his turn in front of the door, :wizard: runs in, opening the door and casts Courage on the :elf:.
:elf: charges the :chaoswarrior:, attacking with :whiteshield: :skull: :skull: :blackshield:
:chaoswarrior: didn't roll any :blackshield:, but 2hits wasn't enough to kill him.
He attacked back but with only 1 :skull:. :elf: managed a block with Borin's Armor.

:wizard: chanced it and stabbed the :chaoswarrior:, delivering the 3rd BP of damage.
:elf: checked for traps while :wizard: searched the chest, finding the Spell Ring, allowing the :wizard: to regain a spell. He picks Heal Body and casts it on the :elf:

Heading back down the east hall, the :elf: jumps the pit, but the :wizard: fell in.
The go down the Southern hall and up the West. Although the :elf: spotted the pit trap he failed to jump it.

They both make it to the 3rd chest. :wizard: surprised the :fimir:, barging in and stabbing him with a :skull:. :elf: followed him in and managed a :skull: as well. Both times the :fimir: failed to block
:wizard: checked for traps
:elf: found the secret door
In the chest the :wizard: found the Wizard's Cloak. Checking through the secret door he saw all the :fimir:s, but also a door leading to the middle hall, which, he prayed, led back to the starting room. He ran through the door and saw the door to the middle room at the end of the hall, but ran out of spaces.
:elf: tried to follow him out but couldn't make it through the door.

The :fimir: ganges up on the :elf:, he managed to block 2 of their hits, but ended up taking 2 damage.

"RUN!!!" :wizard: screamed. :roll3: :roll6: was just enough to get the :wizard: to the stairwell. But he alerted the 2 :orc: guarding that hall
:elf: also rolled :roll5: :roll4:, making it into the middle room, but 1 space away from the stairs

The :fimir:s gave chase but couldn't catch him. The2 :orc:s, however made an attack, but with Borin's Armor he was able to fend them off and make his escape.

Final Report:

So this was bad... dare I say it, Dreadful. It took several hours to complete and the first few minutes were absolutely horrendous when confronted with an unmitigated amount of monsters. It's a big reminder of how difficult it is to kill a monster with 2Body Points when you only have a short sword; and yet how easy a gargoyle can be killed. It also shows that 2 combat dice most certainly isn't a formidable defense.

The quest reminded me of difficulty as such to the Frozen Horror. The sheer number of monsters leads the Wizard to go through spells rather quickly.

I don't think this quest was actually necessary, if the heroes succeed they get a big boost through quests like Sir Ragnar, which isn't really needed. 3 artifacts that take away from the steady growth the heroes undertake. Yet it's understandable why such an insanely hard quest would allow such a reward.

Perhaps, though, it was a little cheap on my part, allowing the Elf to steal Borin's Armor off of a freshly dead Dwarf, or Wizard scouting a whole section of the board with Swift Wind and Pass Through Rock, or the 2 remaining heroes to flee with their loot without exploring all the rooms. If that was the case, the Elf and Wizard most certainly wouldn't have survived. So it did feel like cheap victory.

The redeeming quality is that the heroes aren't expected to win. But what was the lesson heroes are expected to learn from this. The lesson about splitting up is was well recieved in The Trial. Meanwhile there's no lesson here as even if you do everything you're supposed to do, you still only have a 92% chance of dying.

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Wednesday October 21st, 2020 10:22pm
by Oftkilted
How did the dwarf find the secret door in the entry room when you can’t find that door from inside the room?

You can only find that door from the passageway/corridor. As it is the only secret door that exits onto a corridor. (G. This secret door can only be found by searching for secret doors in the corridor)

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Wednesday October 21st, 2020 10:43pm
by Kurgan
Thanks for posting this! Do you think this is more likely to frustrate new players, rather than "toughen 'em up" as its purported to do? Sounds like it.

(Edit: Fixed the file attachment)

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Wednesday October 21st, 2020 10:45pm
by Orc26
The first time my current gaming group played the trial it took me about a year of nagging to get HQ back to the table. This looks worse, so I assume that it would take longer.

Also I only got about 3 turns in and my wizard had died twice when I gave this a go... I'm thinking of running a "just beat the witch lord" level party through it and see how it fairs later.

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Wednesday October 21st, 2020 10:51pm
by Kurgan
Couple of comments... according to the info provided, the current version of the Quest actually has MENTOR distributing the Potions of Healing (3 Potions, 1 Red Die, so 1-6 restored). Having another player revive a dead Hero after he croaks is normally not allowed (except with the Elixir of life). I just missed that in your play-by-play.

If a Hero dies anywhere, Mentor gets to revive them with one of the potions. So the Barbarian COULD have been revived in your scenario, from death.

Also what did you think of the "Natcha" Goblins with the poison blades? (-1 BP when a successful attack lands, plus whatever damage they did).

Try this on for size...

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Thursday October 22nd, 2020 2:15am
by Orc26
So... trying this out with a set of "Champions" that were in my box downstairs. Seems like playing it this way may be too easy...

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Thursday October 22nd, 2020 2:45am
by Kurgan
Describe the status of your Champions...

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Thursday October 22nd, 2020 2:58am
by Pancho
Thanks for the report Wallydubs |_P

Remember that the 3 quest treasures disappear at the end of the quest, so they won’t have an effect on Hero development. My issue with this rule is that it gives the Heroes a chance to use the good stuff too early, ruining the sense of achievement in Melars Maze, The Stone Hunter, Bastion of Chaos etc (Bastion of Dread now I suppose :roll: ).
Also it feels a bit cheap; Mentor create an entire illusory dungeon of monsters for training, OK no problem, but he can also create 3 illusory weapons that somehow mimic exactly the quest treasures that they’ll get later :roll: . I much prefer Arntinsdale’s suggestion that the Heroes get to use equipment rather than artefacts.

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Thursday October 22nd, 2020 3:40am
by lestodante
Oftkilted wrote:How did the dwarf find the secret door in the entry room when you can’t find that door from inside the room?

You can only find that door from the passageway/corridor. As it is the only secret door that exits onto a corridor. (G. This secret door can only be found by searching for secret doors in the corridor)


I noticed the same while reading the report. But probably he was confused by the missing G letter on the map and only realized later.

Kurgan wrote:Try this on for size...


HA... I see your new ending!! :twisted:

Re: Rogar's Hall

PostPosted: Thursday October 22nd, 2020 8:51am
by wallydubbs
Oftkilted wrote:How did the dwarf find the secret door in the entry room when you can’t find that door from inside the room?

You can only find that door from the passageway/corridor. As it is the only secret door that exits onto a corridor. (G. This secret door can only be found by searching for secret doors in the corridor)


Yeah, the whole room F thing confused me at that point, I was going by the old map before Kurgan posted the fixed version.

Kurgan wrote:Thanks for posting this! Do you think this is more likely to frustrate new players, rather than "toughen 'em up" as its purported to do? Sounds like it.

(Edit: Fixed the file attachment)


I actually think this would dissuade people from playing. If this is supposed to be "training" it shouldn't be a certifiable death trap. Like Orc 26 said:
Orc26 wrote:The first time my current gaming group played the trial it took me about a year of nagging to get HQ back to the table.

If the Trial could have this effect, this is worse. However this quest does give ample warning by comparison.

Kurgan wrote:Couple of comments... according to the info provided, the current version of the Quest actually has MENTOR distributing the Potions of Healing (3 Potions, 1 Red Die, so 1-6 restored). Having another player revive a dead Hero after he croaks is normally not allowed (except with the Elixir of life). I just missed that in your play-by-play.

If a Hero dies anywhere, Mentor gets to revive them with one of the potions. So the Barbarian COULD have been revived in your scenario, from death.

Also what did you think of the "Natcha" Goblins with the poison blades? (-1 BP when a successful attack lands, plus whatever damage they did).


Oh, I must've missed that about the revive, as well as note G. Does this mean retry it all over again?

The Natcha Goblins weren't much of a threat on this play through as they were either dead or asleep before they had a chance to attack. I believe 1did have a chance to attack, but it didn't roll any skulls.