Ye Olde Inn

Advanced HeroQuest Re-Reforged–as the title suggests–is a set of variant rules for Slev's Advanced HeroQuest Reforged.

A variant of a variant, implemented as a mod. If I had to describe it in a few words, I would say it is essentially a cross between Reforged and AHQ Second Edition, with a heavy dose of our own house rules.

The project offers a revised version of Reforged (reimplementing most of the original AHQ mechanics while fixing the old issues) added with improved character-development and combat systems ported from Second Edition, all combined with our own modifications and adaptations from the other variants out there.

At the core level it retains most of the original game mechanics, so it plays more like Advanced HeroQuest than Reforged does. However, the recent implementations (working cohesively with Slev’s system) provide new options that spice up the experience considerably.

It is designed to be a tactical dungeon crawler, light and uncomplicated but varied and engaging at the same time. It is focused on exploring dungeons, fighting monsters, finding treasures, and developing your character(s) in a challenging environment.

The game requires very few components and short set-up times, so the administration is relatively simple and agile even when controlling the whole party of adventurers. Also, we have not yet found another tabletop dungeon crawler that delivers the same sense of tension and unpredictability while playing solo. If we add all the customization options included and (of course) the nostalgia factor, we then have features rarely found together in a dungeon crawler these days.

This is a non-profit effort based on shared work. Our goal is to evolve Advanced HeroQuest to the level it deserves as an exceptional and unique dungeon-crawl system ahead of its time. We believe that Slev's revision came to boost the system's potential even further, but we don't agree with some of his design decisions. Nevertheless, his character-creation and matrix-scaling systems are very ingenious, and they are indeed solid foundations to build upon.

It is a work in progress, so the purpose of the attached document is to share what we have so far (as an open test version) in order to receive criticism that may be useful for its improvement. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

AHQ-Revamping Squad’s Workshop

I'll have a read through this later. Good stuff.

Figomurphy wrote:I'll have a read through this later. Good stuff.

Thank you!

I know it may look daunting and complicated at first, but actually only a few pages of the Core Rules, Example Heroes, and Bestiaries are needed to start playing (if you're familiar with Reforged). Most of the changes come into play after completing a quest. It now plays even more like the original Advanced HeroQuest than before.

The new rules are mostly commonsensical, straightforward, and easy to remember. It is a matter of some dedication and practice that may be very well rewarded.

AHQ does so much but suffers from bloat, in my opinion. I think it's great that you got the base rules down to a five-page document.

Interesting. I, on the contrary, believe it needs even more content in order to be playable at all. Could you please elaborate a little more on it?

I haven't seen the original rules in a while, but my impression was that it was too wordy. A lot of reading is often needed to get at the rule within a passage. I would have preferred the text to be truncated more like your document to help speed referencing during play.

Oh, the rules. I thought you meant the game was bloated. Yes, the rulebook could have been more concise. I hope the summary will make things easier for newcomers.

I probably shouldn't have chosen "bloated." I don't recall a ton about my short play experience when the game was released way back. We liked it's chunkier feel, but we're not happy with the random roll needed to find the quest objective room.

Daedalus wrote:but we're not happy with the random roll needed to find the quest objective room.

I didn't like it either. Fortunately, it was fixed with Terror in the Dark expansion.

Wow, that's super-comprehensive. I liked the rules write up--all business without the fat--well done! Since I have no plan to play, I only checked a bit. Weight my opinion accordingly.

Cosmetically, it's a clear read. I like the bold font choice for the Rules title, but didn't appreciate it's use in other sections as much. That first combined-table page felt really crowded; I'd say split it over two pages for a more eye-pleasing layout. As someone new to your rules, I would have appreciated a stat-line header at the top of each Bestiary page, not just at the beginning of a monster section.

My impression about the Death Zone is it might benefit from shortening concerning which opponent is focused on with multiple figures. I'd knock out the stat distinction part and jump to random determination sooner for quicker play.

I thought I read something about Chaos Dwarves, but lost it. Will they become part of the Bestiary?