[Quest Pack] [8 Quests] - BARROW of the Beastmen (v2.0)

[Pan]

Greetings!

Long time no see… but I’m back with some good news. My expansion pack, The Barrow of the Beastmen, has just been updated... And yes, it finally received its long-awaited rename as well

This 2.0 version brings several new additions, including:
- 2 brand-new Quests
- an official 90s-style box template, perfectly matching the size and look of the classic HeroQuest expansions
- a brand-new official cover illustration
- and many other improvements and refinements
You’ll find a complete patch notes PDF attached for all the details.

I can already guess the question: why an update after such a long time?
Simply put, a project of this scale is very time-consuming and requires full focus on HeroQuest content. I had to step away for a while to work on other, non-HeroQuest projects for my brain safety .
However, with the HeroQuest reissue in 2021, the release of new official expansions, and the encouragement of Gabriel Julien (moderator of the French HeroQuest community, who is currently working on an adaptation of my expansion for the 2021 edition), my motivation slowly returned.

This also ties into a bigger plan. The Barrow of the Beastmen is the first chapter of a Black Stone trilogy I started years ago. Before moving forward, I felt it was essential to give this first part a proper quality update... And now that is done.

So yes, here is the other good news: the second part is officially in development, under the working title “The Curse of the Black Stone.” It will be a direct sequel to The Barrow of the Beastmen, featuring new Quests, new monsters, new tiles, new game mechanics, and more. There is no release date yet, other than the classic “when it’s ready”. Stay tuned !

Enough speech, here is the link to download the English version of the files:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CAoqV5RO8XxWBqA2taABbCTRqV551snK/view?usp=drive_link

The files are also available in French.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zc0Mgtl6DGqMldJ-V6QgkegWXg-G4wqu/view?usp=drive_link

Patch notes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fjx3O8-R4YLp1OnRlxab-VPlUs_uor_f/view?usp=drive_link

I am working on a new mini-website to host all the files, but it is not done yet. I will post the link here when it is ready.

As always, feedback is more than welcome. It really helps improve the expansion.

Thanks for reading,
Best regards,

Pan

[HispaZargon]

Thanks a lot Pan, it looks really nice. Great to see you again in the Inn!

I think you know I was working since long ago in a conversion of your campaign to the classic American game system rules, so I will need to re-think some topics after your new release! Very welcome the update, of course. I even see you have included several improvement suggestions previously discussed in the old thread about your creation.

[Sjeng]

Awesome stuff! Thanks for making this!

[Pan]

Thanks a lot Pan, it looks really nice. Great to see you again in the Inn!

I think you know I was working since long ago in a conversion of your campaign to the classic American game system rules, so I will need to re-think some topics after your new release! Very welcome the update, of course. I even see you have included several improvement suggestions previously discussed in the old thread about your creation.

Great to see you again as well ! I actually discovered, just before starting to update the expansion, that you were working on a conversion for the NA rules. That is really appreciated… and quite courageous A lot of work ahead !

On my side, I don’t have any visuals related to the NA art style, and I only own the EU box sets. That said, if it can help, I can provide you with all the texts in Word format, which should make copy/paste into the new templates much easier. I can also share all the artwork (icons, illustrations, logos, etc...), so you can adapt everything properly to the NA art style.
As for the design choices and NA rules themselves, I must admit I am not very familiar with them and haven’t played using the NA rules, so I’m afraid I wouldn’t be of much help on that specific part.
But feel free to reach out anytime!

Indeed, I tried to include most of the feedback and suggestions I have received since the initial release of the expansion. The vast majority of them are now implemented, and I truly believe the expansion is much better because of it... Thanks to all of you. New players will be able to start a fresh campaign with all these improvements, while longtime players won’t be left out either, as I’ve added brand-new quests featuring some fun and original gameplay elements

I also noticed that you recently released a remake of The Dark Company. I haven’t had the chance to review it in detail yet, but at first glance it looks like an amazing piece of work, clearly made with a lot of love and featuring strong improvements over the original expansion. We seem to share the exact same philosophy: staying as faithful as possible to the original material while adding meaningful new ideas. And above all… doing it FOR FREE !

I will be sure to post in your thread once I get the chance to take a closer look at it !

[Pan]

Awesome stuff! Thanks for making this!

It's my pleasure

I am wondering if there are still a lot of players using the original 90's game to play Heroquest ? Or everyone has switched to the new version ?
I am just coming out of a long HeroQuest hibernation, so I am not fully up to date with how the community around the game works nowadays

[Spookyhappyfun]

Awesome stuff! Thanks for making this!

It's my pleasure

I am wondering if there are still a lot of players using the original 90's game to play Heroquest ? Or everyone has switched to the new version ?
I am just coming out of a long HeroQuest hibernation, so I am not fully up to date with how the community around the game works nowadays

I'm still using the classic NA style for cards and minis. I just can't get over my love for the old style.

Also, this is fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing it! I have the original, but I love this update and I'm a big fan of things being formatted like the classic box expansions!

[Weltenlaeufer]

Wow!! thank you so much for creating this pan!! Love that you used the oldschool artstyle!!! Your artwork is amazing! And yes I play only the classic game with the classic cards, minis etc so this is perfect!!

[HispaZargon]

Thanks a lot Pan, it looks really nice. Great to see you again in the Inn!

I think you know I was working since long ago in a conversion of your campaign to the classic American game system rules, so I will need to re-think some topics after your new release! Very welcome the update, of course. I even see you have included several improvement suggestions previously discussed in the old thread about your creation.

Great to see you again as well ! I actually discovered, just before starting to update the expansion, that you were working on a conversion for the NA rules. That is really appreciated… and quite courageous A lot of work ahead !

Yeah, lot of work, but I priorize quality in all terms of these kind of projects, so no problem if it takes me as much time as needed. Your project was a great inspiration for many of us back in the day, so fully respect to it.

On my side, I don’t have any visuals related to the NA art style, and I only own the EU box sets. That said, if it can help, I can provide you with all the texts in Word format, which should make copy/paste into the new templates much easier. I can also share all the artwork (icons, illustrations, logos, etc...), so you can adapt everything properly to the NA art style.
As for the design choices and NA rules themselves, I must admit I am not very familiar with them and haven’t played using the NA rules, so I’m afraid I wouldn’t be of much help on that specific part.
But feel free to reach out anytime!

Indeed, I tried to include most of the feedback and suggestions I have received since the initial release of the expansion. The vast majority of them are now implemented, and I truly believe the expansion is much better because of it... Thanks to all of you. New players will be able to start a fresh campaign with all these improvements, while longtime players won’t be left out either, as I’ve added brand-new quests featuring some fun and original gameplay elements

Sure, I sent you a message.

I also noticed that you recently released a remake of The Dark Company. I haven’t had the chance to review it in detail yet, but at first glance it looks like an amazing piece of work, clearly made with a lot of love and featuring strong improvements over the original expansion. We seem to share the exact same philosophy: staying as faithful as possible to the original material while adding meaningful new ideas. And above all… doing it FOR FREE !

I will be sure to post in your thread once I get the chance to take a closer look at it !

Thank you so much, great to see your comments, but no hurries! And yes, our approach about how to make and share fan-made material is absolutely so close.

I am wondering if there are still a lot of players using the original 90's game to play Heroquest ? Or everyone has switched to the new version ?
I am just coming out of a long HeroQuest hibernation, so I am not fully up to date with how the community around the game works nowadays

About this, my general feeling is th new HQ21 version is being played much more than classic ones, but there is still people playing the classics. In my country, the classic EU version is rarely played today, most of the people who still plays HeroQuest jumped to the HQ21.

In my case I prefer playing NA classic version, for me is the best one, even knowing its limitations and flaws, but they can be easily fixed. New HQ21 version looks to me easier for the Heroes in terms of number and power of the aids they may get (equipment, artifacts, potions), which inho make the game too plain, especially if playing with the Wizard. As said I prefer the more difficult one, the NA version, but it is a matter of tastes. Nevertheless I also play HQ21, especially if I want to introduce new players to the game, in that case I honestly think the components of the new HQ21 version are better, and I think campaigns like First Light are much better designed for that purpose than the Game System campaign.

[Pan]

Awesome stuff! Thanks for making this!

It's my pleasure

I am wondering if there are still a lot of players using the original 90's game to play Heroquest ? Or everyone has switched to the new version ?
I am just coming out of a long HeroQuest hibernation, so I am not fully up to date with how the community around the game works nowadays

I'm still using the classic NA style for cards and minis. I just can't get over my love for the old style.

Also, this is fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing it! I have the original, but I love this update and I'm a big fan of things being formatted like the classic box expansions!

I am in the same boat. For me, the old style is part of the DNA of HQ, and without it, I feel not playing HQ. I think that's the main issue I have with the new version. The new art style is too generic, generic fantasy like the freemium RPG ads we receive on facebook. The old HQ art style was more "dark" fantasy (well, it is now considered Dark compared to the "modern" fantasy, but back in the day it was the standard fantasy). Every medias were using this artstyle - Fighting Fantasy books, Lone Wolf, D&D, warhammer, etc, so we had a kind of consistency between every fantasy stuff (the artists were also working on all these licenses at the same time). Now, I don't know... Even the new fighting fantasy book are horrible, the new covers art are awful. And what about the fimir ? What is this fishy head crap ?! I know they don't have the finir license but well, not a fish please .

So yes, I respect those who play the new version, but I will not be able to work using its art style.

[Pan]

About this, my general feeling is th new HQ21 version is being played much more than classic ones, but there is still people playing the classics. In my country, the classic EU version is rarely played today, most of the people who still plays HeroQuest jumped to the HQ21.

In my case I prefer playing NA classic version, for me is the best one, even knowing its limitations and flaws, but they can be easily fixed. New HQ21 version looks to me easier for the Heroes in terms of number and power of the aids they may get (equipment, artifacts, potions), which inho make the game too plain, especially if playing with the Wizard. As said I prefer the more difficult one, the NA version, but it is a matter of tastes. Nevertheless I also play HQ21, especially if I want to introduce new players to the game, in that case I honestly think the components of the new HQ21 version are better, and I think campaigns like First Light are much better designed for that purpose than the Game System campaign.

I agree with the First Light campaign. It was done by the same guy who made the original quests for the very first Heroquest. I read in his interview that he regretted the way he manages to create the quests back in the days. They were more like stand alone quests than a true campain because he wanted the players to not be lost in the story after not playing for a while. Things have partially changed now, so he felt that players are ready to be engaged in a full campain, so he created the First Light campain this way, and it is very nice ! I like especially the way that we can face the final boss several time during the campain, just to see how he is increasing its power. I remember I wanted to do the same in my expansion, with Vivigor the Beastman shaman, whom we fight several time during the campain, but I felt that if he was the final boss, it would be not so surprising, so I decided to create a little twist at the end with the corruption/betrayal of Sir Vardion.
I think HQ is a great game for storytelling, but we lack space to develop a good story during quest, that's why I have created the Compendium. It is not perfect but I think it adds some depth for the story and it is always a good thing !