How do you rank the HQ Expansions?

[The Road Warrior]

In order of what's important to me:

1. Wizards of Morcar - 4 new bosses, each with their own set of spells and unique miniature (no more Chaos Sorcerer representing every evil boss in the game). 3 new sets of spells for the Wizard, a handful of new treasure cards, a few new traps and if that's not enough you get a set of Men-At-Arms as well (just don't mention the 5 Halberdier cards!)
   For me this is by the far the best expansion. The only real downside is you only get 5 new quests, the lowest number in all the expansions, but the reusability of what this pack adds to HQ more than makes up for this. Worth every penny of the £80 I spent to get it.
   
   
2. Against the Ogre Horde - Ogres and lots of them 3 new Chaos Spells for Morcar/Zargon that work in a new way (Did mind points just become important?), a new trap and a reworked version of an old one. Only 7 quests but again there is stuff I can reuse here after I have played through the quest pack. Against the Ogre Horde is next on my wishlist. I don't own it yet but Christmas is not far off, right?
   
   After this I begin to lose interest in actually paying out money for the expansions. Everything you need can be downloaded here at the Inn (unless you really want to take out a 2nd mortgage for the American Expansions!)
   
   
3. Kellar's Keep / Return of the Witch Lord - not a lot to choose between these two. They continue the story that begins in Base System, obviously they were developed/in development when the base system was released. The Revolving Room and Cloud of Chaos are possibly the most common rooms used in custom quests and there are other good special events like the Stone Boulder, the Shapeshifter, the Death Mist, and don't forget Sjengs Greenskin Conga Line.
   In terms of the actual quests these are probably the best two expansions but I really wish they had added new miniatures and monsters.
   
   
4. The Dark Company - I bought this as my second set. I wanted 2 sets so I could have more dice, a stone Gargoyle and stone Chaos Warriors + the extra miniatures hopefully mean I don't need to buy KK or RotWL. You get the Men-At-Arms again but if you already own Wizards of Morcar what's the point (did I mention I own this and WoM ) So basically you just end up needing to buy another 2/3 boards depending on what you own. Oh the Dark Company/Doomguard rule is good , but it is just a rule....
   
   
5. The Frozen Horror - $300!! I would like the Frozen Horror miniature....
   
   
6. Mage in the Mirror - I find this quest pack completely uninspiring

6./7. Frozen Horror/Mage of the Mirror (not played yet, I also think these haven't been playtested; also, I don't feel a connection to the rest of the plot (Morcar and his masterplan); the miniatures detach both expansions from the rest)

I agree with what knightkrawler says about the NA expansions

Just my

[GimmeYerGold]

[*]Wizards of Morcar - 4 new bosses, each with their own set of spells and unique miniature (no more Chaos Sorcerer representing every evil boss in the game). 3 new sets of spells for the Wizard, a handful of new treasure cards, a few new traps and if that's not enough you get a set of Men-At-Arms as well (just don't mention the 5 Halberdier cards!)
For me this is by the far the best expansion. The only real downside is you only get 5 new quests, the lowest number in all the expansions, but the reusability of what this pack adds to HQ more than makes up for this. Worth every penny of the £80 I spent to get it.

Against the Ogre Horde - Ogres and lots of them 3 new Chaos Spells for Morcar/Zargon that work in a new way (Did mind points just become important?), a new trap and a reworked version of an old one. Only 7 quests but again there is stuff I can reuse here after I have played through the quest pack. Against the Ogre Horde is next on my wishlist. I don't own it yet but Christmas is not far off, right?

Thanks for the thorough analysis! I am in complete agreement with you about WoM. You are starting to sway me on Against the Ogre Horde! I first wanted it, then decided it wasn't worth it, but now I'm feeling like it's a choice between Ogre Horde and the ultra-rare and expensive yet unsatisfying Barbarian & Elf Quest, Ogre Hoard is a better pick overall. I'll of course let you have dibs on the next one that's available before Christmas!

If I see a Frozen Horror mini bit itself, or in a cheaper ebay lot, I'll let you know, Road Warrior!

[knightkrawler]

Kellar's Keep / Return of the Witch Lord - not a lot to choose between these two. They continue the story that begins in Base System, obviously they were developed/in development when the base system was released. The Revolving Room and Cloud of Chaos are possibly the most common rooms used in custom quests and there are other good special events like the Stone Boulder, the Shapeshifter, the Death Mist, and don't forget Sjengs Greenskin Conga Line.
In terms of the actual quests these are probably the best two expansions but I really wish they had added new miniatures and monsters.

One of my slowgoing projects is to rewrite the exisiting expansions in a way to include different monsters. For Kellar's Keep I replaced most Fimir with Black Orcs (the cliché thereof), for example. Mostly, this is just remaking the quest maps and I think I'm done. Still considering putting ghouls into RotWL, though.

[chaoticprime]

There is a lot more to Kellar's Keep than the Gargoyle resembling the Balrog, Durin's Bane. Kellar's Keep is basically Khazad-Dum. There is the battle in East Gate. There is Quest Five, which is basically a run-down version of the battle of in the Chamber of Mazarbul. There is also the Grin's Crag which is essentially Durin's Bridge where Durin's Bane was confronted. The bloodthirster could be an all-out rip-off of Durin's Bane, further. Tolkien's Durin's Bane hardly resembled the one used in the new film--the Ralph Bakshi version was much closer to how Tolkein envisioned it. It was approximately six-feet-tall, wingless, and armed with a whip and sword. It was covered in flame until Gandalf cast it into a lake where it became all slimy. Tolkein's Balrog have never had wings is the big difference. But never has a Balrog been depicted without them.

[GimmeYerGold]

There is a lot more to Kellar's Keep than the Gargoyle resembling the Balrog, Durin's Bane. Kellar's Keep is basically Khazad-Dum. There is the battle in East Gate. There is Quest Five, which is basically a run-down version of the battle of in the Chamber of Mazarbul. There is also the Grin's Crag which is essentially Durin's Bridge where Durin's Bane was confronted.

A battle with a Gargoyle on the Endless Stair would be legendary.

[knightkrawler]

That Gargoyle on Grin's Crag is so gonna have 6AD/6DD and three Ball of Flame spells in my games.

[The Road Warrior]

Thanks for the thorough analysis! I am in complete agreement with you about WoM. You are starting to sway me on Against the Ogre Horde!

No problem, as you can see my list prioritises what I would spend money on and what I feel offers the most for reusing in custom quests. At one point I was just going to print out all the material from the Inn and buy substitute miniatures from Reaper but my opinion has now changed and I want those Ogres.

For Kellar's Keep I replaced most Fimir with Black Orcs

Nobody likes the Fimir

Fun Fact:
"Fimirs are sometimes found leading small bands of Orcs and Goblins..."
Yet through all the quest books there exist not a single Fimir special character!

[knightkrawler]

For Kellar's Keep I replaced most Fimir with Black Orcs

Nobody likes the Fimir

WHUT!? I BEG TO DIFFER!
Seriously, the Fimir are going to be a major part in one of my quest packs someday. We have seen them as Morcar's mercenaries in The Gathering Storm and Kellar's Keep, but I plan to let their society and their warbands take center stage someday. Using D&D boardgame tiles, and swampy things abound. Of course, this is just an idea as everything my head keeps doing to me.

Boglars (Gnoblar variant) - Fimir - Swamp Trolls - Norse Barbarians - Fir Bolg Undead - Shambling Mounds - Fimir Druids - Boars - Formorian Giant - Giant Centipedes
That's the monster outline.

I always base thes quest pack ideas of mine around the miniatures I have or plan on having.

Oh, and I like the Fimir. The problem with them is they are not that easy to expand on.
BloodMoon fimirs are always sold out and haven't got the body build I would want from them; Forgeworld fimirs are what they are: too expensive, too big, and the admitted mistake of authors and creators working for FW.
Of course, converting some Fimir for such a quest pack is also in the planning stages. I started with converting a Champion and a mage out of two regular fimirs. Now I'm blatantly stealing some ideas from here: http://mrsaturdaysmumblings.blogspot.de/p/army-showcase-fimir-of-fir-domhan.html
Bought Savage Orcs off ebay. Don't know exactly how to make heads, tails are catered for in green stuff theory. I think Sjeng is doing the exact same thing.

[The Road Warrior]

For Kellar's Keep I replaced most Fimir with Black Orcs

Nobody likes the Fimir

WHUT!? I BEG TO DIFFER!
Seriously, the Fimir are going to be a major part in one of my quest packs someday

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I like the Fimir (bring on the one eyed snake jokes ), I just get the impression they're kind of ignored in the Game.

Fun Fact:
"Fimirs are sometimes found leading small bands of Orcs and Goblins..."
Yet through all the quest books there exist not a single Fimir special character!

I added a Fimir boss in my last quest pack after reading GK's fun fact, but I don't think anyone will ever meet him.

I look forward to seeing your Fimir quest pack

[knightkrawler]

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I like the Fimir (bring on the one eyed snake jokes ), I just get the impression they're kind of ignored in the Game.

You misunderstood me. I didn't want you to think that I think you don't like them, I just wanted to step in there to tell you that you're not the only one who likes them, and what kind of a sentence is that I just wrote there!?