On Thursday I had EIGHT STUDENTS show up. Our total school population is only around 305 students, so this was a pretty good showing. Since 2 students had parents who wanted them home right away, the two who couldn't stay came in to look at the board and the painted miniatures before rushing off to catch their buses.
Since I had to spend time going over the rules, I decided to use the first module, "The Trial" from this site's quest-a-week collection.
Here is an overview of our game play.
The teenage would-be heroes clustered nervously on the stairs as they stared across the small room at the closed door. Of the eight student adventurers who came to my high school’s first ever HeroQuest gaming group, only six had been brave enough to enter the goblins’ lair in search of the King’s stolen gold.
“Alright,” announced the dwarf, “The first thing we have to decide is to see who moves first.”
“I should go first,” said the rogue. “I have the most movement dice.”
“I have as many movement dice as you do,” observed the ranger.
“But I have magic,” insisted the wizard.
“You’re physically weak,” observed the barbarian. “The rogue is also physically weak. I should lead the way.”
“Let’s do paper, rock, and scissors,” suggested the elf.
The dwarf raised an eyebrow. “Really? Paper, rock, and scissors with 6 of us?”
“We could take turns,” grumbled the elf.
I checked my watch. “Tick-tock guys. If you’re leaving on the 4 PM activity bus, you only have 35 minutes to play.”
“I thought we had an hour,” whined the elf.
“That was before we spent some time going over the rules.”
“Oh … yeah. Alright guys … we need to figure out who goes first.”
“It should be me!” insisted the rogue.
“No, me!” insisted the ranger.
“Let’s roll dice,” suggested the dwarf.
In my capacity as Zargon, the dungeon master, I yawned and pointedly looked at my watch.
The rogue picked up 3 dice. “I’m just going to go,” he insisted.
“You can’t do that!” complained the other players. “We haven’t decided who’s going first.”
“I’m going first! I am after all, a rogue, so while the rest of you talked about who would lead, I just slipped out of the crowd.”
“We should check to see if there are any traps!” suggested the elf.
“No! We should first search for treasure!” insisted the dwarf.
“Too late,” grinned the rogue. He threw 3 dice and got 14 movement points. The rogue smiled. “I’m going through that door!”
“Don’t do it,” warned the wizard.”
“Oh, I’m doing it!" The black clad rogue slipped across the room, though the door and into an empty room. After spotting the door on the opposite wall, he went through it and found himself in a corridor. There was another door just down the hallway.
“Don’t go any further,” warned the elf.
The rogue went through down the hall and through the door with his last movement point only to find himself facing two goblins. “HELP!” he screamed at his companions.
The wizard shook his head. “We told you not to go that far ahead.”
“I’m going next,” said the elf. “And I’m going to search the room for traps.”
“TRAPS! I’m surrounded by goblins and you’re worried about TRAPS?”
I cleared my throat. “There are no traps in the room.”
“I’m going to search for treasure!” said the dwarf.
“TREASURE? Why don’t you search for treasure later after we’ve killed these goblins!” screamed the rogue.
Since my house rules said that treasure cards may only be drawn on a single die roll of 4-6, the dwarf rolled a die. It came up as a 2. “Darn!” grumbled the dwarf.
The ranger moved followed by the wizard and the elf. Their movement points took them into the connecting room.
During Zargon’s turn, the goblins attacked the rogue. Dice clattered as the first goblin attacked while the rogue defended. The goblin rolled two shields. SWISH went the goblin’s sword as the rogue ducked.
The second goblin was more fortunate. He rolled two skulls. The rogue winced when his roll only came up with one shield. THUNK! A goblin sword cut into his arm.
“ARGGG!” screamed the rogue. “I’ve been hit.”
“It’s only a flesh wound,” muttered the dwarf.
“And we told you not to run ahead,” grumbled the wizard.
“We’ll rescue you after we search this 2nd room for treasure,” said the ranger.
“And traps,” added the elf.
“HELP ME!” screamed the rogue.
The other players rolled their eyes.
On the rogue’s next move, he decided to advance. Running away from the goblins, he opened a door, ran into a corridor, and paused before another door.
“Should I open it?” he asked me.
“Don’t open it!” insisted the wizard. “And why are you advancing? You should be retreating towards us.”
“Don’t listen to the others,” I said. “They’re just jealous of your speed and how far ahead of them you’ve gotten. They don’t want you reaching the treasure first because then you’ll have to share it.”
“Treasure?” The rogue’s eyes glittered.
I momentarily put a hand over my mouth. “Did I say ‘treasure’? I shouldn’t have said anything. Ignore what I just said. Nothing is supposed to be revealed until you have direct line of sight.”
“He definitely said treasure,” observed the dwarf.
“Don’t listen to him!” insisted the ranger. “He’s LYING!”
“Lying?” I sighed. “Hey, I’m a good guy.” I plucked at my jacket. “Look, I’m wearing white.”
“That’s because you’re the Culinary Arts instructor,” snapped the wizard. “You’re a chef and you're wearing a chef's coat."
“Am I?” I looked down at my jacket. “Oh yeah …”
“He’s also the dungeon master and cannot be trusted!” insisted the wizard.
“Can I trust you?” asked the rogue.
I crossed my fingers behind my back and smiled. “Of course you can. If I were you, I’d enter the room. There’s a big surprise waiting and if you act quickly, you won’t have to share this surprise with anyone else. Did I mention that refreshments are about to be served?”
“He’s crossing his fingers behind his back!” observed the ranger.
I uncrossed my fingers. “Am not.”
“He was crossing his fingers!” insisted the ranger. “I saw him.”
I put on my most innocent expression. “Do you want to know what’s in that room?” I asked. “Open the door. It could be something wonderful. It could be teddy bears armed with peppermint sticks. It could be a beautiful cheerleader who has always wanted to meet a handsome rogue. It could be …”
“A big fat lie!” yelled the ranger.
“Don’t trust him!” pleaded the dwarf. “He’s the dungeon master!”
The rogue’s lips curled. “You just don’t want me to get the treasure,” he grumbled. He opened the door and with his last movement point stepped in … to find himself confronted by two goblins and an orc.
“YOU TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A NICE SURPRISE WAITING FOR ME! YOU SAID THERE WOULD BE REFRESHMENTS!”
I wagged a finger. “What I said was, ‘There’s a surprise waiting.’ I never said that it would be nice.” I paused. “Oh and surprise, you’re actually the refreshments. Since it's been a while since I fed my minions, I'm sure that a nice tender rogue like yourself will be a tasty treat.”
The rogue screamed. Despite his pleas the other players decided to search for traps, treasure, and hidden doors. It didn’t help that the remaining adventurers rolled low movement points.
On the monster’s turn, the orc and the two goblins stepped forward to surround the hapless rogue. Their swords rose and fell and the rogue was no more.
“Arrggghhh!” screamed the rogue. “I’ve been killed!”
The ranger shook his head. “I told you not to advance so far but did you listen? No!”
The elf sighed and grabbed his backpack.
“Where are you going?” asked the other players.
“I’ve got to catch the 4 PM activity bus. My parents said I couldn’t stay until five.”
“But we’re in the middle of a quest!” growled the dwarf.
The elf shrugged, waved goodbye, and left.
The heroes looked at each other. A moment ago there had been six stalwart adventurers. Now, there were only four.
“I have to use the bathroom,” said the dwarf. He left in search of relief … and then there were only three.
Zargon laughed. It wasn’t the jolly laugh of a stout Winnie the Pooh bellied chef. It was the triumphant and mocking laughter of an evil dungeon master.
“We will avenge our brothers!” shouted the barbarian. He twirled a hand holding an imaginary sword overhead.
“Forward!” ordered the ranger.
By 5 PM, the surviving players had slaughtered the goblins and the orc. They had also discovered two hidden rooms. One of the rooms included a treasure chest with a spear trap. The dwarf was successful in disarming the trap. Inside chest he found a jewel.
The other hidden room was found to contain the king’s gold chest. A search for treasure put two goblins in the room. The goblins were quickly defeated.
Zargon sighed.
“Hurrah!” cheered the players.
“Not so fast,” cautioned the ranger. “We still have to clear the rest of the dungeon.”
“Time!” I called. “It’s 4:55 PM. This would be a good place to stop. You have five minutes to get to the last bus.”
The heroes groaned.
(To be continued)
