If I had the power to re-release and/or change everything however I wanted … and this would mean cooperation from GW, access to EU and US versions and the original materials to make them, etc.
For the rules, I'd start with the NA form as objectively "more complete" (the fact that all monsters have 1BP for example was not originally intended even in the EU version) and I would rewrite them
without changing them wherever possible for a modern audience. What major contentions people have about the HQ rules in general largely stem from the repetition and verbosity Davane carefully described in his RandoQuest thread.
Consider:
My revision wrote:A hero's turn consists of a movement phase and an action phase. Players may perform these in any order, but may not combine them. A free action, such as opening a door, can be taken during either phase.
How clear is this and how much of ANY edition's rule book have I written? Since 1991, the terms phase and free action have entered the gaming lexicon and are not ambiguous, to the point that "may not combine them" is superfluous language only there for noobs. It makes the rules shorter and approachable to new players, which is the only major reason I see to revise them at all.
Explicitly as a nod to fans of the original games, rules for NA and 2E EU in page-format PDF (for use on tablets or laptops because it's 2021) along with a quick note about how to print them in booklet format if you want to do that. Don't care if it's a modern recreation ala Phoenix because they don't have the original typesetting files or can't convert them. It's gotta feel the same.
The modern rules would be short and to the point, totally separate from the flavor text to the greatest degree reasonable, because they're about the mechanics and stuff you've gotta learn, regardless of how it's presented. Keep it simple and direct. Save the flavor for the box, the quest book, etc. Speaking of the quest book: Premium collector's edition option: Quest book with hard binding with that nifty effect that mixes matte/satin and gloss to look like the artifact book.
Art book would also be a nice collector's edition inclusion.
I'm debating regarding the screen because the shape of the classic HQ screen is somewhat iconic. It's also a terrible design once the chipboard begins to age, and was never all that sturdy to begin with. Keep the slant or don't? I dunno. If the slant goes away, it'll be a lot less likely to fall over. Having it be three pieces of chipboard with finished edges, fabric tape joints, and artwork printed WOULD give the thing a premium feel and a lot more longevity, too. My gut says premium component that will last a long time over the iconic appearance of the original.
The board … Larger. Probably 25mm squares, quad-fold. For the cost of the game (I expect $99 or $129 for the base game because 2021 not 1991), don't cheap out on the components. A lot of games have been upping their component game because of the competition. Not 3D or anything. If anything I'd actually minimize the board's unused area because the size doesn't have to conform to anything.
Premium collector's edition game should not come with a board. Neoprene playmat.
Bits … I'd keep these chipboard, honestly. A collector's edition could replace them with plastic bits for pit tiles, rocks, and blocks … but it's hard to argue with chipboard's versatility, double-sidedness, cost, etc.
Cards … MTG. Hasbro makes them and they're decent quality. That's what I want to see here.
Character sheet pad … NA type. I actually prefer some of the other designs like the ADK version or Sjeng's whole party sheet, and I can't actually use any of them myself actually … but people seem to agree that the NA character sheet is a good design. Let's run with it. Oh, and let's plan to sell extras, shall we? Or at least a 4 per page sheet PDF on the website. Oh and do that one in US letter and A4 please. It's supposed to be not hard to get A4 paper in the US … but it's harder than you think, and US Letter outside of North America is LOL.
Artwork … I don't know. Artwork routinely gets updated and refreshed in games.
I would not unless I were arranging to have a "classic edition" released maybe with the NA rule book even and the original artwork. But look at Space Hulk's 1st edition vs. say 2013. The 3rd/4th editions look great!
The problem is that new artwork is easy to mess up. I like the other components, but the board for WHQ Cursed City (because they'll put the WHQ name on just about anything and then immediately stop making it) … I dunno. Feels too digital for old world? If you were a DCAU fan in the 90s, the artwork of Batman: The Animated Series was great, and amazingly totally analog (which means there are artifacts.) The later series The Batman was aimed at a younger audience and they managed to make it look in my opinion ridiculous. I don't know anyone from the target age group who admits to ever liking it more than other versions even at the time.
Basically, I'd be afraid of The Batmaning the art. Let's leave that for Hasbro.
(I'm not sure if they have or not—a lot of vocal HQ fans have had complaints about every aspect of the remake, including the artwork, and I think that comes down to people weren't going to be happy unless the 1991 NA version was re-released as it was, and even then they wouldn't be happy.)
That does it for the stuff I think would not be controversial.
Doors. Plastic. Bendable polymer, actually, which means they'll wind up bent, but they'll also be easy to un-bend with a bit of hot water. Not controversial except for the next paragraph. Separate open and closed doors because any kind of hinges on these things ALWAYS break. Bases kinda like the original, which means sturdy enough but hollow. Collector's edition: Solid/weighted. If you want to do that to your standard edition, you can, as now, but it's a mod to the game pieces.
The rest of the furniture… I'd keep it a mix of cardstock and plastic except in the collector's edition. That gives it character and flavor without paint (while the doors would wind up being gray plastic or a mix of gray for open and brown for closed doors, and I don't like mixing the color like that), but you'd still have the plastic bits (or the collector's edition which would have all plastic bits) to paint however you like. I'd put bottoms on the bookcases/cupboards, though. Those tend to get mangled in ways the alchemist's bench, rack, and sorcerer's table do not. Maybe a couple more pieces than the original so the book would maybe be the white color of the skulls, etc, like was done with the bottles. Painting would not be required, but it'd look nice if you did. Assembly instructions should describe press fit, but suggest glue as an option if you want it, particularly after painting. I'd seal the edges of the cardboard so that assembly is less likely to damage the parts.
Minis … I'd be tempted to use round bases because it makes adding minis from elsewhere easy, makes hollow bases a thing, creates the possibility of adding magnets to the figures, etc. But no, HQ's rectangular bases are kind of iconic. I'd use the EU style. And the minis on them would be polymer, like the doors, in multiple colors like the original game. Sorry, I know they're a little harder to paint, but they tend not to wind up with broken weapons and the like. Kurgan's right, it's the best way to do it. Oh, and yes, there would be male and female heroes in the box. If you wanna play the barbarian chick, wearing nothing but a couple of strategically placed bits of animal fur showing off the feminie mus-cu-larity legitimately needed to swing a large sword with purpose for a living, you play the half-naked barbarian chick and have a great time doing it! Ain't inclusivity great?
Insert "NOOOO!" lady meme here.
I'd use old-school GW sculpts for these for sure if I wasn't otherwise updating the art style. If I was, my preference is for greenskins to not have quite man-shaped proportions, and so that would be reflected in my mini designs. The HQ orc quest book icon always looked a a little … not bright to me. I'm fond of the guy, I've named him Steve. He's an ugly brute and he's as likely to bludgeon/hack the life out of you and then eat you as he is to offer you a drink, but he's not all bad once you get to know him.
But we've discussed orcs at length recently elsewhere.
I would NOT put the expansions in the box if doing it meant I could reasonably lower the retail price of the standard edition of the game. The collector's edition would carry a premium price tag, and I'd pay it. If the game is $59 or $69 because it's just what came in the box in 1991 vs $99 or $129, make them expansions as before. Make them as low-cost as you can and keep them separate. I mean, put real cards in the expansions and make sure the components in the box are up to the standard of the base game, but Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord are each effectively minis packs that come with a quest book cards, and a few tiles and bits for the game. That's okay, run with it! And realize you're gonna sell them to D&D players because it's a great way to get six goblins, eight orcs, and three others, or a bunch of skeletons, some zombies, and a couple of mummies.
The Dark Company would be in the box even if the other expansions were not.
I'd bring back the adventure design kit … with an extra set of standard furniture and cardboard bits to give you more freedom. QR code in the package takes you direct to a web-based quest maker as well as the thing you can photocopy and a pack of stickers. You can totally just go to the website and access that. (Oh by the way, that website version? Save it as a webarchive or equivalent and it'll run offline.)
I'd port the full set of expansions to the NA rules and release them all with quality bits in the package. If RotWL winds up being a separate expansion, I'd actually include a Witch Lord mini with it.
Another couple of expansions: Premium furniture pack to replace your cardboard … again realizing this would sell to D&D players as often as HQ. Likewise with the neoprene board. Essentially making these as upgrades for people who later on decide they want them despite not having the collector's edition, which would be a "limited release" thing. ("Limited" to how many people want this version over the standard? Think BluRay steel book releases or game collector's editions…)
That's what I'd do. Keep it original (NA at least) in terms of how you play, update the components while probably keeping the style of the original because I don't trust myself to update it, bring all of the expansions together under one system. Board gamers would have access to a board game with quality components. Role players would have access to a few sources of a group of samey minis, and particularly sized furniture for a good price. HQ fans would have the premium collector's edition set all packaged together. And players of all sorts would have access to a small ecosystem of a game where the heroes are not and do not become superheroes.
Maybe a HQ Campaigns rules system could follow trying to do what the WHQ RPG rules were going for, where not every adventure is inside the dungeon or played on the standard board and you've got a system for more complex stories that plays differently to D&D.
It's not going to happen like that. Wishful thinking is what it is. Hopefully what Hasbro does is ultimately something players will enjoy, and hopefully it continues to exist if they do.
<InSpectreRetro> All hail Zargon!!! Morcar only has 1BP.