Q3: "A Desperate Escape" by TMU & MrBigB [EARLY VERSION]

[j_dean80]

Does this fix everything?



A. Heroes start here
B. Villagers
C. Goblin with key
D. Heroes' weapons
E. Self sealing secret doors
F. Treasure
G. Big Boss Orc Shaman

[Daedalus]

Here's that "next post" I had promised. Sorry it wasn't finished earlier, life does tend to get in the way. I hope I got it right. I allow up to 60 characters in a Notes line, something based off of some Quests from the Game System. (Spacing justification varies widely.) Whether every line actually fits as intended won't be known until someone prepares a new draft.

^{______________________________________________________________________________________}

Quest 3
A Desperate Escape

"It was a trap! You must now overcome the jailers and escape through the wooden exit door to freedom. The village leader has pledged a 50 gold coin reward for each captive you rescue."
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NOTES:

A: Uncaptured Heroes from Quest 2 begin on the stairway. A stairway, else
a portcullis now blocks the way up. Defeated Heroes awake in
the cell with no equipment. They roll one Combat Die to
attack and two to defend. Spellcasters start with any unused
spells from Quest 2. There is no treasure. The locked door
can be opened with a Fire of Wrath or Genie spell, or if the
Dwarf rolls anything but a black shield with one Combat Die.

B: This room is locked. Gnarg holds the key in Room G. The door
can also be opened by a Genie or Fire of Wrath spell. Give a
Villager tile to any Hero that enters. Heroes with a Villager
earn a 50 gold coin reward after finishing the Quest.

C: One of the Goblins has key that unlocks the door of Room A.

D: A search for treasure will find any missing equipment on the
weapons rack and in the chest. If the Elf or Wizard were
captured, they regain any spells not yet cast this Quest.

Wandering Monster: Goblin

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E: The falling block drops after the first Hero enters Room F.
E: Each secret door seals shut once a Hero moves through it.

F: This secret door to the room with the cupboard bookcase only opens
from the throne side. The chest on the right contains 75
Gold Coins and the other has a Potion of Healing. The Potion
will restore up to four lost Body Points when consumed.

G: The Orc Shaman stands at the space marked "G." Use the Orc
with the notched sword to represent Gnarg. This time Gnarg
has just three Chaos spells: Fear, Tempest, and Sleep.
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Move . .. . . Attack . . .. . Defense . . .. . Body . .. . . Mind
. .8 . . . . . . . .. 4 . . . . . . . . . ..4 . . . . . . . . ..4 . . . . . . . ..5
^{--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------}
A search for treasure will reveal the Adamantine Epaulets in
the cupboard. Give the Hero the matching Artifact Card.
Gnarg also has the key for the Villagers' cell (Room B.)
Any gold or gems from captured Heroes and the key to Room
B are in the cupboard. Gnarg has the Adamantine Epaulets.
Give the matching Artifact Card to the Hero that kills him.

Wandering Monster: Goblin

The quoted portion of the Parchment Text fits on two lines.

These new notes mean a few changes need this be done to the map:

• A "C" needs to be added to the room with Goblins connected to Rooms A and B.
• Room C should be labeled D, D should be labeled E, and room E should be labeled F.
• A falling block trap icon needs to be added at E.
• A "G" needs to be added in place of the Orc icon in the room with the cupboard and bookcase. Optionally, the G can instead be added behind the Orc and Goblin for a tougher fight.

A significant change in this latest incarnation of the Quest is locating the shaman in an optional part of the layout. The initial motivation was to avoid yet another central room boss-fight. The Heroes now have a choice: forget about the other prisoners and make a beeline for the exit, or get vengeance on the shaman and gain access to the Quest reward.

[j_dean80]

I kind of preferred the sealing doors rather than a falling block. Adds a new twist "variety".
The Hero opens the secret door and walks into a 1x1 hallway and the door behind seals shut. Uh oh now what? Search for another secret door and oh a mummy and I'm alone! Oh hey wait treasure chests!

I do like the optional boss room idea.

Note F. should be bookcase not cupboard.

Edit: Updated the map again.

[Anderas]

Me too, I like the sealing doors as they provide a use for the djinn open door option.

We can soon start to do the layouts, right?

[Daedalus]

Okay, changes are made to my previous post. I switched in "bookcase" and removed the falling block in favor of sealing secret doors. The map also checks out. It would be nice to see the Quest formatted so we can see if all that text actually fits as intended.

I just realized the dropping portcullis at the stairway doesn't allow Heroes that were successful in the last Quest to retreat and reattempt this one. Is that fair? The problem is, something is needed to force captured Heroes to escape by the wooden exit door.

Maybe the portcullis should only be closed if all Heroes were captured. Should even just one victorious Hero start from the stairway, then the portcullis would remain open. This rewards the Heroes with an escape route should a party wipe be likely. Only a small change was made. What do you think?

A: Uncaptured Heroes from Quest 2 begin on the stairway, else
a portcullis blocks the way up. . . .

[I also added in a necessary mention of the captured Heroes' gold coins in the room with Gnarg. Once he is killed, the Heroes may finally earn their Quest reward from Quest 2.

One last thing regarding the room with the Cultists. Both Mr.BigB's and TMU's maps featured a rack, not a tomb. Was the change intentional? Now that the tomb room is accessed by a secret door, it might make more sense to swap the Cultists and the undead between those adjoining rooms (tombs and undead are commonly found together.) If the rack were now put in the empty room, those moved Cultists could still retain their bit of protection. -edit]