The Stephen Baker Interview Jan/2024

[HispaZargon]

Hopefully not the same characters from Warcraft lore!

[j_dean80]

Thanks for the info!

I would ask to Stephen Baker if Prince Magnus and the Emperor were the same person for him in the classic HeroQuest.

As in the same from World of Warcraft?

There's theories that it's one person "Emperor Prince Magnus." This will help clarify the Warhammer timeline for when HQ takes place.

[wallydubbs]

This gets me to think if he'll know where Kalos is... This is the city the Witch Lord rules over in Return of the Witch Lord. Despite there being a map with the original box, Kalos is not on it. So this'll be another good question to get into.

Let me list these out:
1.) What's the story of the original Fire of Wrath, as the old commercial for HeroQuest reads different effects.
2.) Can a hero attack 2 monsters with Heroic Brew and/or Orc's Bane?
3.) If attacking the same monster twice, is he allowed 2 defense rolls?
4.) The card for Borin's Armor depicts a helmet too. Explain...
5.) In the initial quest of Prophecy of Telor, Return to Melar's Maze there are numerous unmarked chests, were there any intentions to put something in them?
6.) Is Prince Magnus, the Emperor's son in HeroQuest the same Magnus in Warhammer?
7.) The city of Kalos, setting for Return of the Witch Lord, is nowhere to be found on the Warhammer map. Is there an explanation for this?
8.) Why is there no Epilogue in the original Against the Ogre Hoard or Wizards of Morcar?
9.) Did you come up with any of the additional Wizard spells in Wizards of Morcar?
9a.) Why are they lackluster compared to original Elemental spells?
10.) Could you explain the reasoning for the Variable Body Points System in the original Against the Ogre Hoard?
11.) Was there an intended power for the Ring of Brilliance?
12.) Did Tolkien's writing provide any inspiration for Keller's Keep? Specifically the Mines of Moria and the Balrog to the Guardian of Grin's Crag?
13.) Does the Witch Lord count as Undead?

[Kurgan]

"Prince" need not be his title, it could be his first name.

[Nlinindoll]

"Prince" need not be his title, it could be his first name.

In Warhammer lore, the current Emperor Karl Franz still holds the title “Prince of Altdorf” among his many titles. Naming him “Prince Magnus” doesn’t necessarily make him the son of the Emperor, but he may be the Emperer himself. I would assume Magnus the Pious, Prince of Nuln is the Emperor and the same Prince Magnus we meet in HQ .

[j_dean80]

Can he name where HQ fits on the Warhammer timeline?

[Kurgan]

Could be, of course you could add numbers to their names to shift things around if desired right?

I'm a little bit interested in the Warhammer lore that was in place at the time HeroQuest was first published so I ordered a copy of WHFB 3rd edition (core rulebook). Am I going to order all the rest of the books published '89-'93? I don't have that kind of money for my curiosity (and a small part of me feels guilty denying those limited resources to actual Warhammer players who want them), but I'm welcome to listen!

[cornixt]

Just get the 3rd edition Warhammer Armies book. The Realm of Chaos books are really specific to Chaos, and I don't think there's really much in the WHFRP books that isn't covered by the WHFB books (it's been a long time since I looked at them though). You can probably find copies of all those at online pdf websites so you don't have to go digging for physical copies.

[wallydubbs]

I had my second playtest of Baker's new game "Where Heroes Dare," I played with a different character and did fairly well as we replayed one of the earlier scenes and then jumped to the boss battle. It was very fun and interesting and I look forward to it coming out on the market.

I was able to get a few inquiries about HeroQuest regarding Dark Company or the Advanced Quest. He told me that he was approached by Hasbro about it AFTER the collaboration with Games Workshop ended as it was meant to be Exclusive. He had intentions to put this into Quest Pack form but Hasbro/Milton Bradley were on limited funds for this and settled with a poster, that he found overly disappointing. When I asked about the Ring of Brilliance and his intentions there, he said that it was a long time ago and he couldn't remember without looking up old notes.

We also touched on the Prophecy of Telor a little bit where I inquired about unmarked chests in the final pack and the level of difficulty. He had told me that he based the quests on this quest pack with base heroes in mind, no equipment. The mind points dynamic, he was pleased to implement as in the original mind points were rarely ever used. He also told me that he had only ever written a rough draft of the questbook, was never allowed time to playtest it, as Hasbro handled everything after the rough draft. He told me that they didn't allow him to introduce any new artifacts. This slightly confused me as I pointed out Fortune's Longsword and Ring of Fortitude... This leads me to think that these were not his ideas.

As the afternoon progressed and everyone talked about the Dungeons of Hope event Baker admitted that many Zargon's know HeroQuest better then he does as the game has gone under many changes since he first made it and it was so long ago that there were many things he has since forgotten.
He also said many people have come up to him with many specific circumstances that he never accounted for when designing the game, which is why he left ultimate authority to Zargon's discretion.

He told me many of the questions the YeoldeInn community has he may not have the answer off the top of his head due to the fact that he designed the game over 20 years ago, so he suggested I send him some questions via email so he could look through his old notes.

[j_dean80]

He seems like such a great guy. Willing to dig through old notes just to appease our questions about a game he made years ago.