Where Mortimer brainstorms for his 'Heroquest' next.

[Once was Mortimer]

So I've been posting tidbits around trying to get feedback on ideas, I thought I might just make a sort of progress/brainstorming thread here.

My dream is to make a ruleset that very much feels heroquest but with alot of the care and tinkering the community has added over the years. Yeah there will be some changes (I can't really just remake heroquest and call it a day) but that feel I would like to capture. I know this is one of those things everyone and their dog has tried to do lately, but well, I'm gonna have a crack at it too, so there.

Main Features
- GM run story-based campaign and/or randomly generated solo/co-op system.
- Modular dungeon creation system using geomorphic tiles.
- Combat system based specialized dice in a similar vain to HeroQuests combat dice, faces including: 2 Hits, 1 Critical Hit, 2 Shields, 1 Special. Or easily substituted with regular D6 dice.
- Characters have four attributes used through the game. Might, Agility, Craft/Will (Still debating which to call that one) and Life.
- Attribute tests done similar to tests in HQ. Roll a D6 for each attribute point and count the successes (say all the 6's)
- Six base hero with the possibility to expand with more and possible creation rules.
- A simple quick experience and level-up system (One either based similar on Mordheim's/Another idea using experience chits collected from completing quests which can be spent on a level-up)
- A different setting, inspired by the classic feel of such things as Heroquest and Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

And because I like to dream ...

Wishlist
- Colour dungeon tile sections.
- Up to 8 decks of playing cards: Equipment, Spells, Skills, Monsters, Artifacts, Treasure + Dungeon & Event decks for solo play.
- Selection of hero, minion and master figures.
- Selection of furniture pieces.
- Custom Dice.
- Tokens and play aids.
- A nice printable copy of the rulebook(s).
- Multiple Expansions.
- A small gaming empire .... and a pony

I'll expand upon rules and such here as I can get my act together.

[Goblin-King]

* Craft/Will - call it will. That's convention. People will instantly know what it is.

That's the only real comment for now...
The outlines sounds pretty good, but's it IS just that right now.

Looking forward to seeing you flesh this more out.

[mitchiemasha]

Hey... Have a chime in on mine. viewtopic.php?f=143&t=3281 I'm currently doing the same. Have been for some time now, off and on. As i just finished MY SpaceHulk and Zombicide. HQ is getting full focus.

My Solo play or no EWP is far from started but what thought I have had on it is, it'd likely be much better with a Card deck, event deck (as you said). Possibly even an APP dungeon generator. Rolling on tables wouldn't work as the room contents is likely to already be in use. I haven't thought of a way round this yet. As I have AHQ, the no EWP mod is going to be designed to use those floor tiles, a modular system but HQ Spiced Up mechanics.

Having a monster deck works perfectly for this. Drawing a card to see what's in the room. When you'd buy a new mini or set of minis they'd come with a card for the deck. Some cards would spawn many, others (like a special character) would spawn only one. Which leaves my Chaos tokens mod out of the game, the event deck replaces them.

[Once was Mortimer]

PRIMARY ATTRIBUTES

Might: A measure of ones physical prowess, strength and endurance. Some situations will call for a 'Feat of Might' such as kicking down a locked door, lifting a heavy portcullis or lifting a companion from the edge of a pit. A high value of Might also gives a bonus to damage in hand to hand combat. (Note: May also be the basis of a simple armour encumbrance system, we will have to determine if its to finicky to include).

Agility: A measure of ones swiftness, reflexes and coordination. Some situations will call for a 'Feat of Agility' such as leaping over a pit, dodging a rolling boulder, etc. A high value of Agility also give a bonus to damage in ranged combat and can also reduce the effectiveness of an opponent's attack. It also determines the movement bonus a hero character receives.

Will: A measure of ones craftiness, power and mental resilience. Some situations will call for a 'Feat of Will' such as braving a particularly fearsome monster, resisting a mind altering spell or possibly solving a puzzle. A high value of Will also increases the effectiveness of spells one can cast. It also determines how much Mana a spellcaster begins a game with.

SECONDAY ATTRIBUTES

Life: A measure of ones fortitude against damage and injury. In combat one can lose Life, if Life is reduced to 0 a character is defeated (Heroes are Knocked Out and their foes and allies are removed from the board, see later).

Mana: A measure of ones ability to tap into the mystical energies of the realm. Only spellcasting characters receive Mana and will take a number of Mana tokens equal to their Will at the beginning of the game.

COMBAT ATTRIBUTES

Combat (Attack?): How many dice can be rolled in combat while attacking an opponent. The higher the number the more possible damage can be dealt to an opponent. Weapons, Might and a creatures size determine how high ones Combat value is.

Armour (Defense?): How many dice can be rolled to defend against an opponents attack. Each die rolled for Armour has chance of countering an opponents hit, reducing damage received. Natural toughness and worn armour determine how high ones Armour value is.

FEATS
There will come times when a character will be called on to perform a Feat of Might, Agility or Will. To succeed in such the character rolls one standard die for each point they have in that respective attribute, each die that rolls equal to or over the difficulty of the feat succeeds. E.G. The Warrior tries to kick down a locked door, it requires a Feat of Might⁵ (Where the ⁵ represents the difficulty needed to pass the test). She rolls three standard dice as indicated by her Might value of 3, scoring a 1, 3 and 6. The 6 beats the difficulty and the door is kicked in.

Sometimes this isn't enough for some feats, a character must be extra successful to perform them. This is indicated by a multiplier added onto the feat. E.G. The Elf needs to leap over a pit, the pit however is 2 spaces wide and requires a Feat of Agility⁴ x2 (For each space leapt). With an Agility of 4 she rolls 4 standard dice, scoring a 4, 6, 2 and 6, more than enough to clear the pit. The Dwarf attempts the pit next but only has an Agility of 2, rolling a 4 and a 2 he clears the first space but falls into the second space of the pit. Sometimes a character will simply not have a high enough attribute to perform such a feat and must find an alternative.

[Gold Bearer]

Very nice. Just this:

Combat (Attack?): How many dice can be rolled in combat while attacking an opponent. The higher the number the more possible damage can be dealt to an opponent. Weapons, Might and a creatures size determine how high ones Combat value is.

I think monster size/toughness should only affect the monsters defence, not the attackers attack dice, unless it's something special like a nurgle chaos warrior or a clan pestilence skavin for example.

[Once was Mortimer]

Very nice. Just this:

Combat (Attack?): How many dice can be rolled in combat while attacking an opponent. The higher the number the more possible damage can be dealt to an opponent. Weapons, Might and a creatures size determine how high ones Combat value is.

I think monster size/toughness should only affect the monsters defence, not the attackers attack dice, unless it's something special like a nurgle chaos warrior or a clan pestilence skavin for example.

Basically what I meant there is a dragon or giant gets a a bonus die or two for being really big, probably abit confusing to have in there at this point, I was thinking later where I might have some rules for monster creation.

[mitchiemasha]

Feat... Seams interesting.

[Once was Mortimer]

Rounds
A round is made up each player taking a turn, once all players have completed their turn a round is completed.

Turns
Each player normally gets one turn within a round. In their turn they may perform two actions.

Actions
A player may perform two main actions with each character under their control. No two main actions maybe the same in the players turn, they must choose two different actions or forgo one or both.

Main Actions include so far.
- Move
- Attack
- Cast a spell
- Search for treasure
- Search for traps
- Search for secret doors
- Disarm a Trap
- Pick a locked door


So a character may move and attack, move and search for traps, attack and search for traps or any other combination of two actions.

Additionally a hero may perform one or more free actions.

Free Actions so far.
- Open one of more doors
- Close a single door
- Break open a locked door
- Drink a single potion
- Hand any one piece of equipment or treasure to an adjacent friendly character.

Feats may be considered main or free actions depending on the situation.

Movement

If a Hero chooses to move they roll a D6 and add their agility to the roll. This is the maximum number of squares they may moe this for this action. Other characters (such as monsters, henchmen, etc) will typically have a set movement value. Either can choose to move the full amount, a partial amount, or choose to not move at all. You cannot choose to make partial move, take a main action than move your remaining movement allowance, you may interupt movement to perform free actions however.

[mitchiemasha]

Personally I hate the 3 separate searches mechanic. I prefer secret doors and traps being the same.

[Once was Mortimer]

Personally I hate the 3 separate searches mechanic. I prefer secret doors and traps being the same.

I was thinking that myself actually, but kept it in for the time being. Search for Hidden Traps and Doors?

Also debating whether I ditch the random movement and just have everyone have a fixed movement.