Q11 The Dark Castle Ambush by Anderas

[Anderas]

... But why are the heroes hunting down the invincible minotaur?
Well they find out about him in this quest.

This Quest Map is the version for a Hero Group with 4-Dice-equipment.

This posting is best viewed if you have installed the fonts HQModern, Gaze and Heroquest.

Quest 11: Thantos Part I
The Dark Castle Ambush
Rumors are that in the dark castle, the enemy is gathering forces for an ambush. Go, investigate the rumors.
The best place to start seems to be the dark castle. See if Morcar has something unusual there. You will get 150 gold to be shared among you if you find substantial information about Morcar‘s Plans.
We started an attack on the beastman forces nearby.
Be fast, then you can ambush the guards while the bulk of the troops is outside!

Notes:
A: All Wandering Monster Traps in this quest are not findable.
B: The rolling boulder will appear once the last hero passed the square marked B. On your following turns, roll 2D6 to see how far the boulder rolls to the right. At the end of the corridor, it becomes a blocked square. Each hero hit by the bolder rolls 5 white dice and removes one BP per Skull rolled.
C: The falling block trap is triggered when a Hero steps on the square marked with „C“.
D: If a hero pulls this lever, tell them that the spear retracts into the floor. It seems the spear traps are active again.
E: This lever switches the wall of flames off. The Bookcase contains a spellscroll „Water of Healing“.
F: The chest contains 193 Gold Coins and a potion of healing (4BP). The wall of flames can be turned off until the end of the next hero‘s turn by sacrificing a water spell, or permanently by pulling the lever „E“. It is impassible as long as iit is there.
G: A map is visible on the table, depicting the way to the entry of a Labyrinth. There is also a scribbled note „Invincible Minotaur sends his ghost. Reacts strongly on the coat of the magician. The Dwarfs have the key to the lock of the labyrinth.“ You can end the quest at this point: The heroes finished their task.

Wandering Monster: Minotaur. Also, read this when it appears the second time: „You have the impression that you have already seen the Minotaur. What sort of spook is that?“ and the third time: „It IS the same monster! Are you fighting a ghost?“ There can be only one Minotaur. If he is already on the table, he disappears elsewhere and reappears (with full BP) on the new spot

[Anderas]

Just in case someone cares...
As this quest is one of the closest to the traditional quests so far (except for the Boss Monster as wandering Monster); I used Mohawk's Questimator to do this.

People who don't know my four-colored quest book:
If you have a group with equipment, you play the green symbols only.
If you have a group with equipment, you add the yellow symbols.
If you have a group with equipment, you add the red symbols
finally, if you have a superhero group with equipment or with 4-dice plus mercenaries plus a shitload of potions, you add the purple symbols.

Estimated difficulty:


Half a skull is like the Rescue of Sir Ragnar, one Skull is little bit more difficult than Prince Magnus' Gold. Tree skulls is roughly like the trial. The red cross is a likely total party kill.

And Quest Map:

[Daedalus]

I for one like to see new Quests added to the project, every effort counts. When I saw the Wandering Monster entry, I liked the story feel even though a Minotaur ghost struck me as quirky. It's a threatening Wandering Monster, so I imagine there will be less treasure searches. Does that factor into your difficulty calculations, or is it not really necessary to add in?

The special Wandering Monster sparked an idea for me. A Kobold Trickster would also make a good Wandering Monster for the right Quest. The idea it's he would show up for a few turns to cause some mayhem and then escape. If he were defeated but not killed in an earlier Quest, a Kobold Trickster as recurring villain could be neatly pulled off this way.

Back to your Quest, the resetting spear traps are a nice feature. Why not place one in the bottom corridor (that can't be avoided) for the return trip?

As it's Quest 11, I think the Heroes are likely to be between 3 and 4 Attack Dice. Maybe just add 1 or 2 red Beastman. What do you think?

The top-right quadrant needs some attention: the bottom-right room lacks a door, while the bottom-left room has an extra.

What's the damage from the flame doorway?

Of the note contents found in the last room, I'd rank the Minotaur part least needed. A Wandering Monster may never be picked, and the Heroes can learn about its nature in the Quest anyway. I did have trouble with the key part. Where is it found (Quests and room)?

[j_dean80]

I for one like to see new Quests added to the project, every effort counts.

Are any other Quests still needed? I could perhaps try and put something together if needed.

[Daedalus]

The Kobold/Fimir arc needs an author unless GoblinKing decides to take up the project again. The Basilisk should be included there. The final Chaos Dwarf fortress Quests have yet to be spoken for. That includes a double Quest. I believe there was also a plan to assemble four gathered artifacts to destroy the expansion boss as part of that final chapter.

While on the subject of Quests and assembling artifacts, those artifacts at least need to be included in the various chapters if we plan to stick with the story arc.

[Oh yeah, MrBigB and TMU's introductory Quests could use some attention--it was their first go at Quest writing. As I recall, it was suggested that the double-Basilisk Hero-capture could use a new look. -edit]

[j_dean80]

The Kobold/Fimir arc needs an author unless GoblinKing decides to take up the project again. The Basilisk should be included there. The final Chaos Dwarf fortress Quests have yet to be spoken for. That includes a double Quest. I believe there was also a plan to assemble four gathered artifacts to destroy the expansion boss as part of that final chapter.

While on the subject of Quests and assembling artifacts, those artifacts at least need to be included in the various chapters if we plan to stick with the story arc.

[Oh yeah, MrBigB and TMU's introductory Quests could use some attention--it was their first go at Quest writing. As I recall, it was suggested that the double-Basilisk Hero-capture could use a new look. -edit]

I was trying to find the story to fit into. Kind of vague on the final arc.

[Anderas]

Kind of free choice yes

[Daedalus]

I was trying to find the story to fit into. Kind of vague on the final arc.

Vague, yes. The final arc is only the last iteration, one member's take on some of the previous story ideas, plus some new stuff. I agree with Anderas, Quest writers should feel free to use the outline loosely and build upon it. The main thing is to feature one of the six chosen monsters as a theme in a small set of Quests. Some overlapping is okay, even desirable in HQ, I'd say.

Someone might still propose new story-arc elements for sections still without Quests. If it's good, why not use it? Previously written Quests still need to be taken into account, of course. If needed, I suppose we could insert some narrative bridges to stitch this monster together.

[j_dean80]

The Kobold/Fimir arc needs an author unless GoblinKing decides to take up the project again. The Basilisk should be included there. The final Chaos Dwarf fortress Quests have yet to be spoken for. That includes a double Quest. I believe there was also a plan to assemble four gathered artifacts to destroy the expansion boss as part of that final chapter.

While on the subject of Quests and assembling artifacts, those artifacts at least need to be included in the various chapters if we plan to stick with the story arc.

[Oh yeah, MrBigB and TMU's introductory Quests could use some attention--it was their first go at Quest writing. As I recall, it was suggested that the double-Basilisk Hero-capture could use a new look. -edit]

I was trying to find the story to fit into. Kind of vague on the final arc.

I re-worked the first 3 Quests. Unfortunately my home internet is out until Wednesday so I cannot post them yet.

[Anderas]

After reviewing the overview spreadsheet, I was reducing the number of gold coins to be found in this quest.