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Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

Quests for the HeroQuest 25th Anniversary Quest Pack.
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Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

Postby Count Mohawk » October 7th, 2018, 5:09 pm

I've been a little inspired by Anderas's work on the Beastmen/Chaos Dwarf arc recently, so I thought I'd put together a thread much like the one he made to gather together all the Swampkin (Kobolds and Basilisks) story snippets.
I may write some of these Quests myself soon, although if anybody else wants to take a crack at it, be my guest! After all, I'd rather not have my name attached to over half of a Quest Pack alleged to be a community effort, and I've already written the Cultist arc, which is 4 Quests, so on that front there's only so much more Questwriting I can do.

Some ideas I've found by scouting the original story thread:
knightkrawler wrote:My ideas revolve around Kobold Dragonpriests and Dragonshields flooding the swamps and convincing the Fimir that the Great Wyrm is supposed to be awakened somewhere deeper in the bog where even the Fimir who worship dragons in general and the Great Wyrm in particular didn't think it is.

Of course, the two factions work together grudgingly to find the resting place, all under the eye of Morcar who wants the body of the Great Wyrm as a vassal all for himself (his essence), sending his chaos henchmen to steal the surprisingly young and little dragon thingie.

Morcar finds out it fell mystically asleep as a mere hatchling (or was "convinced" to do so) and abducts it into the chaos wastes for the beastmen and chaos dwarfs who have been called from their own industrious purposes in their own bloody brass city to watch over it and for their practitioners of magic and science to find ways to accomplish Morcar's plan.

knightkrawler wrote:As honored as I am that you suggest me, I'm really really bad at this. First, from a creative standpoint and second, life is taking a toll on me right now.
I think there are plenty of people creative enough to weave their own details into that one sentence I outlined for the kobold/fimir connection.

just to balance the monsters out for that subplot, I'd propose
Fimir with regular stats and Kobolds (1 AD/ 2 DD; YES, THAT WAY AROUND! The Kobold miniatures I've seen are sculpted in a way that they look cowardly/careful, some are heavily armored; and they MUST be very different from Goblins, else nobody's gonna be interested in them anymore, after these quests) as the main cannonfodder monsters, rounded out by Bog Zombies (regular Zombie stats).
A chaos warrior and some Goblins here and there.
As special monsters/bosses: Fimir Hag (spellcaster), Kobold Dragonpriest (spellcaster) and some champions of both species as a quest suggests. Maybe some kind of Dryad/Treespirit or something. Be creative here.
In the last quest of this subplot, there should be some chaos warriors, shielding off those who are abducting the dragon egg, leading the heroes into the second act/subplot.
Also, for one or two quests, some bog-themed special rules could apply (labyrinth problems, stinking gas, will-o-wisps, I don't know. Lots to weave into this.

For whoever wants to write that subplot (IF anyone), I can definitely help with balance, ideas, stats, mechanics. But someone must take the creative responsibility. I can't.
It may sound like I have a very firm and rigid status in mind, but I don't. These are just first-off suggestions of what one could do in this subplot.

Goblin King wrote:Having a plot revolve around awakening a "Great Wyrm" and not getting to fight a dragon is not optimal (Dragons are NOT a part of the monster list!). Thoughts on this?
Perhaps it could instead revolve around a dragon artifact? Fang of Bloodwing or whatever. Or the dragonling has already been killed for its blood which is a potent magical ingredient in a magical ritual.

Possibilities for some quests. Needs some tweaking still, but it's a start.
Q4 - Kobolds have been spotted venturing way too far from their usual habitats. Been spotted in the swamps. Heroes must push back the kobold threat before it escalates. At the end the kobolds are surprisingly assisted by a band of fimirs.
Q5 - The kobold and fimir alliance doesn't bode well! Mentor suspects they might be looking for the TOMB of BINGBONG which contains the Dragon Relic a powerful dark artifact. Locate the tomb in the swamps.
Q6 - The tomb is already crawling with kobolds and fimirs! Find the relic and get out! ...... But as they enter the holy chamber... The relic is already gone! Dun dun duuun!
Q7 - Quickly go to the fimir camp. Get the relic back before they manage to ship it. But they are again too late! It's already been sent to Dark Castle.

gootchute wrote:Kobald/Fimir Arc

Q5: Some Marshland farmers are reporting raids by strange looking goblins. They turn out to be Kobalds, and little known creature from a distant land. What brings them to these parts?

Q6: A local noble's daughter has been kidnapped by "Swamp Demons". The heroes go rescue her and in the process find more Kobalds and surprisingly, a Fimir raiding party. The girl is being help prisoner for some unknown reason. The heroes rescue her from their clutches. She recounts how they have been oddly repectful and reverent in their treatment of her

Q6: The kobold and fimir alliance doesn't bode well! Mentor suspects they might be looking for the an ancient dragon relic known as the Scale of Teshnirax. It was last known to be in in the estate of Burgomaster Raulf (or whatever, names subject to change). The mansions is already being ransacked when the heroes arrive. A handful of guards and the Noble are holed up on the east wing, the heroes must fight to get to them before they are killed. As it turns out the dragon relic is already gone. The Noble clues them into the legend surrounding it. Apparently it was the only remaining piece of a heretical dragon destroyed by his own kind for trying to mix dragon and human bloodlines. The kobolds (wrongly) believe it to be their origin and it is holy to them. The fimir, already practicing vile breeding rituals see it as another way to prolong their races existence. The scale is the reagent for this dark ritual, along with the human host.

Q7: In order to complete the ritual the ritual must be made upon the tomb of the Hero who helped the dragons defeat Teshnirax, with his own blood (the girl turns out to be his descendent). It is buried deep in the swamps. The tomb is crawling with undead which the Kobards and Fimir have awakened and are in the process of fighting. (simple monster vs. monster rules I know how to make it work, will elaborate more in the quest I write). The girl is already rescued, so the heroes must kill the Fimir leader so the scheme is abandoned.

Q8: Teing up lose ends. The plots have been foiled, but the Kobald shaman remains. Track him back to his cavern and finish him so the knowledge of the scale remains buried in the past. Here the heroes discover that Zargon is secretly manipulating them both to create a human dragon hybrid body to manifest his greatest servant into (this character to be elaborated on in the final quests of this pack). The Kobald has chaos warrior body guards and letters with Zargon's seal. ( I dislike any plot which even hints at the heroes coming into direct conflict with the main villain, hence the change from Zargon himself to his greatest minion)


Based on the texts above, I think the five-quest Kobold subplot could go like this:
  • Q4: A simple Quest in which the Heroes go into a hillside cave and drive out a den of kobolds and fimirs.
  • Q5: A "rescue-the-hostage" Quest; I liked goot's idea (see above), and as HQ25 is acting as a replacement for the Base System we might as well throw one in. We're hitting all the other tropes anyway, why not do this one? Although if anybody has any ideas for how to make a "rescue" Quest more interesting, I'm all ears.
  • Q6: The Heroes enter the swamps proper. We could probably cover parts of the board with a couple of custom swamp tiles, to give a better impression of swampland rather than the usual "underground dungeon" feel that the normal board evokes. This would be the first encounter the Heroes have with Basilisks which they don't instantly lose (see Quest 2).
  • Q7: Not sure about this one and the following. The Kobolds and the Fimir, according to some of the above ideas, are only tenuously allied, so they'd probably start in-fighting at this point. The only question is which faction comes out on top - probably the Kobolds because I like GK's idea regarding the "Great Wyrm".
  • Q8: Boss fight Quest. Winning this Quest awards the Heroes with one of the "Four Artifacts", i.e. the very thing the Kobolds and the Fimirs were fighting over.

Anyway, it's not like we're short on material for this quintet of Quests. I'll update this thread as Quests are created; I'll probably get around to doing Q4 at least within a week or so.


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Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

Postby Anderas » October 8th, 2018, 1:21 am

Q5 is nice. The daughter could be a little bit dizzy and do what the heroes want on 1-4, on 5-6 she could walk away in the wrong direction. (get walked by morcar). Except if you carry her, which would be like Prince Magnus Gold: 1d6 move and no fight. Haha combine that with some recurrent Kobolds every second or third turn who have some annoying spells, or even better, Fimirs with Mind Control Spells so that the carrying Barbarian himself walks the wrong way. :lol:

I like this picture in this context...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roses333/6196081589


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Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

Postby j_dean80 » October 13th, 2018, 7:29 am

I can take this one and/or help on it. I had no ideas flowing for it, then suddenly a "flood" came.
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Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

Postby Daedalus » November 12th, 2018, 11:41 pm

gootchute wrote:Kobald/Fimir Arc

Q8: . . . Here the heroes discover that Zargon is secretly manipulating them both to create a human dragon hybrid body to manifest his greatest servant into (this character to be elaborated on in the final quests of this pack). The Kobald has chaos warrior body guards and letters with Zargon's seal. ( I dislike any plot which even hints at the heroes coming into direct conflict with the main villain, hence the change from Zargon himself to his greatest minion)

I second the idea of confronting Morcar/Zargon's greatest servant, not the Lord of Chaos himself. As for this lieutenant, I favor a less D&D-dragonborn kind of big baddie. That could all be so much smokescreen fed to the Fimir and Kobolds to manipulate them into furthering his true plan.

I'd prefer a kind if opposite number to the Frozen Horror. The Burning Fiend (Gargoyle figure) wields fire and ash instead of ice and snow. A volcano of the Chaos Dwarves in the final chapter of the story arc would be its ancient home/portal where it is wakened/summoned.

Count Mohawk wrote:Based on the texts above, I think the five-quest Kobold subplot could go like this:
  • Q4: A simple Quest in which the Heroes go into a hillside cave and drive out a den of kobolds and fimirs.

This should suffice. The Parchment Text can reveal these monsters are a new outpost of raiders. Perhaps some women can be released, foreshadowing the Fimirs' modus operandi.

Count Mohawk wrote:
  • Q5: A "rescue-the-hostage" Quest; I liked goot's idea (see above), and as HQ25 is acting as a replacement for the Base System we might as well throw one in. We're hitting all the other tropes anyway, why not do this one? Although if anybody has any ideas for how to make a "rescue" Quest more interesting, I'm all ears.

  • Remember Conan rescuing the king's daughter from Thulsa Doom? They had to go into Doom's central chamber to get her, and she resisted the Heroes, kicking and screaming every step of the way. All because Doom had "enlightened" her.

    A Fimir hag could place the same mojo our villager's daughter. She's not kept in a cell, but willingly lounges with Kobolds and Fimir. Perhaps the Hero carrying her away must roll movement dice under his Body Points or the villager's daughter prevents the Hero's movement that turn. If a monster can reach a square with a gong and remain there until its next turn, it raises the alarm. Cue a steady stream of Kobolds emerging at "X" for a Hero retreat to the exit.

    Count Mohawk wrote:
  • Q6: The Heroes enter the swamps proper. We could probably cover parts of the board with a couple of custom swamp tiles, to give a better impression of swampland rather than the usual "underground dungeon" feel that the normal board evokes. This would be the first encounter the Heroes have with Basilisks which they don't instantly lose (see Quest 2).

  • A swamp tile should have murky water, of course. That calls for some water rules in the Quest Notes. It could reduce movement (and possibly defensive rolls) by one die and conceal ambushing monsters. Searches may also require rolling anything but a skull on one combat die for success.

    Swampy traps are a must. slough traps, water traps, and quicksand traps are options.

    Count Mohawk wrote:
  • Q7: Not sure about this one and the following. The Kobolds and the Fimir, according to some of the above ideas, are only tenuously allied, so they'd probably start in-fighting at this point. The only question is which faction comes out on top - probably the Kobolds because I like GK's idea regarding the "Great Wyrm".
  • Q8: Boss fight Quest. Winning this Quest awards the Heroes with one of the "Four Artifacts", i.e. the very thing the Kobolds and the Fimirs were fighting over.

  • Perhaps they could be combined into one Quest? An interlude Quest could be inserted after this chapter instead (or not.)

    I don't know how a monster-vs-monster fight would be handled. It could work out great, but it is ambitious. I remember a Quest that featured a sinking island in a swamp that was set up as a spiral. What about the Hero's tomb sinking or the Shaman's/Hag's caverns filling with water after the artifact is recovered?
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    Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

    Postby j_dean80 » November 13th, 2018, 8:12 am

    Well these Quests are already completed now. I followed some ideas and created some new ones.
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    Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

    Postby Count Mohawk » November 13th, 2018, 9:03 am

    j_dean80 wrote:Well these Quests are already completed now. I followed some ideas and created some new ones.

    And that's A-OK with me. We've just got the last 7 to do now, plus some final cleanup, and then HQ25 will be done!


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    Re: Q4-Q8 Story Arc and material

    Postby Anderas » November 13th, 2018, 9:45 am

    Indeed. I started thinking about the cover of the questbook today. :) |_P


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