Ye Olde Inn

by **leo** » February 7th, 2021, 10:30 am

I host a podcast called the Covert Nerd Podcast. I'm a Hero Quest fan and would like to make an episode about stories of fellow Hero Quest fans and the love they have for the game. If you're interested and comfortable being on the show please contact me and we can schedule a time to record via Streamyard. My email is cn@covertnerd.net. Some discussion questions would be the following (though not exclusive):
1. When did you first see Hero Quest?
2. When did you first play Hero Quest?
3. What are a few fun house rules you have added?
4. Favorite character(s) from Hero Quest?
5. What do you like best about Hero Quest?
6. Other games you have played because of Hero Quest?
7. What are some homebrew creations you have made for Hero Quest?

Listening now, leo. I wonder if Dan (the featured speaker) is on the forums... I think he came from the facebook group (some of us here aren't a part of that).

But IF he's reading this, I hope his adventures in the EQP/BQP don't totally turn him off the hobby. Most of us are using house rules/mods to make it a less frustrating experience.

Joe Manganiello's stretch goal was not reached, I wonder how he took the news (the way some talk that was a good thing, I have no opinion on it other than that I wasn't surprised it wasn't reached, it was announced so late for the $4 mill stretch goal)?

I'm glad to hear that this guy's experience wasn't the same as everyone's. He never painted his miniatures, he owned the EQP & BQP but never really played them. But I'm shocked he never designed any of his own quests! I guess if you had all the expansions maybe you didn't feel the need, but he admits he hasn't played them (but is planning to with his adult gaming group).

He also shattered the nerd stereotype, because while he talked about being heavily involved in Gencon, MTG and Warhammer, he admitted to never having played D&D (only one of the computer games and Dragon Strike).

Many people have this idea that if you play Hero Quest that's your "gateway drug" into a world of collecting comic books, anime, becoming a graphic designer or painter, doing gaming conventions, customizable cards games, D&D (role playing in general), wargamming, and cosplaying or LARPing, etc, (and in the meantime forgetting about the original game). Instead, in real life, one doesn't necessarily lead to the other, but that doesn't make you any less of a fan. It's like how not every Star Trek fan from the 1960's is still a fan of the new stuff, or every kid who collected comic books still reads the new ones, not every kid who was into sci fi (most in fact) didn't join the space program and every GI Joe kid didn't join the military. There is no "typical nerd" though there are certainly some who fulfill that stereotype. When I walk into a modern game shop, I have to look for the thing I'm into, not everything there is what I'm interested in (thankfully for my wallet!).

I'm curious what Dan meant by the "you can have two crossbows and two longswords." Was he using some kind of dual-wielding house rule there where you get an attack for every weapon you're carrying? Because otherwise there would be no benefit to having two of any weapon (other than the dagger), except keeping a spare handy if one gets "rusted" (crossbow can't be rusted in the NA version). You can only attack once per turn, unless you have Heroic Brew. But if he allows two attacks every turn, that would certainly make EQP/BQP much easier!

I'm anticipating another episode release near this fall's remake release, and hopefully it isn't a disappointment, but even if it is you'll have plenty to talk about. Thanks for sharing.

by **Kurgan** » August 2nd, 2021, 5:24 pm

Very cool to see more episodes covering HQ on covertnerd podcast! 8-)

I just listened to the next one (recorded during the pandemic) and found it quite entertaining. This time there were pictures too which were neat to show off the stuff he made.

This guy Peter (creator of "HeroQuest Multiverse" on facebook) did quite a bit of homebrew stuff which was cool to see, and it was fun to hear about him playing with his kids. Not every Hero Quest fan makes new components to go with their game (as in the previous episode, some don't even make new quests), but some really go all out, practically make it their own game which is one of the things that keeps me coming back to the Inn just to see what others have come up with (which in turn often inspires me to pursue my own little projects and offer solutions I hadn't thought of to riff on).

Fun to hear the (now teenage) kids' perspectives too this time.

Teaching kids to do math (counting your dice moves, adding up gold) and reading through games is a great point and I love that. Who says fantasy games aren't educational? It teaches you to work together. It was fun to hear how he started out with the game being simplified and easier for the younger kids and then added complexity over time. They had an interesting discussion about kids with short attention spans (even ADHD) finding HQ easier than D&D that had a lot more downtime between turns.

Enjoyed the part about real life bribery going on (cookies for healing). He got into D&D and DarkWorld, DragonStrike (and used those two as fodder for HQ), DC HeroClix (he also mentioned HeroScape homebrews "HeroScapers," GenCon and even ArtiCon), Shadows of Brimstone and RoboTech Tactics (games I'd never heard of! well I had heard of RT). He supported the Hasbro Remake so his kids would have their own sets. This guy was lucky enough to buy nearly everything when it wasn't that expensive (EU gs, gs, ATOH, WOM) but he printed the BQP.

The Star Wars ("Expanded Universe," I liked the references to the Republic Commando game) mod idea was pretty cool. Makes sense because of games like Space Crusade. The 1:1 translation reminds me of the de-magicified mod I did, like having a new coat of paint/name changes to give it a new theme. This guy really went all out designing his own furniture/dungeon decorations. Working on the projects together sounds super fun as well. His "Orc Quest" I think ought to be discussed on the forums (if he's not already on the Inn!). "Playing as the Bad Guys" is a recurring topic around here. The underwater idea sounds intriguing.

His style of GMing reminds me of my brother's (more free-form and improvisational have fun approach... adapting the difficulty as the situation calls for it). He added bonus movement to the dice based on character class (6 squares + 1d6).

I'd never heard of this "Broadsword" game (DriveThruRPG) that was inspired by HeroQuest but it sounds interesting.

I can identify with not being super great with original art, but being great at photoshop for crafting new elements! Ye Olde Inn shout-out at 25:10. :mrgreen:

Family Time, indeed! |_P

by **Kurgan** » August 3rd, 2021, 10:07 am

Ah, so this is the third and final episode. I was kind of hoping that covert nerd would revisit things when the game finally gets released to see how our thoughts have changed, but it's up to him what he wants to do.

I won't be reviewing this episode, because I'm in it (biased; let somebody else do that), although sounds like I needed a better microphone (I've replaced it since the recording, so kudos to Lee for cleaning that up as best he could)! I like how the discussion went to talking about the remake and our hopes and fears for it (and the franchise as a whole). Thanks for posting!

First episode
Second episode
Third episode

by **Daedalus** » August 4th, 2021, 4:54 pm

Kurgan wrote:Very cool to see more episodes covering HQ on covertnerd podcast! I just listened to the next one (recorded during the pandemic) and found it quite entertaining.. . .

. . . I'd never heard of this "Broadsword" game (DriveThruRPG) that was inspired by HeroQuest but it sounds interesting.. . .

Broadsword was created by an Inn member, Teldurn. He played online a lot with a group of friends using Tabletop, if I recall correctly. Yours Truly gave him a hand with the editing of his Broadsword Quest Pack. The maps were innovative and stunning to behold.