HQ Homebrew Rules Deck - Custom random rules?

[Kurgan]

So I think I came up with this after playing Warhammer 40K and dealing with the Pariah Nexus and Chapter Approved tournament decks where before a match you draw the cards and it gives you certain variables for the match you're about to play. Or like Mortal Kombat 3 and games like that with wacky variable options access via secret codes.

Here's what I have so far, some of it might need clarification or tweaking but here goes...

I'm thinking also about the various house rules and unique rules in different editions. These could be overlaid across any official quest, and might lead to some hilarious results!
If you see your own house rule summarized here, thank you, you inspired me!

HeroQuest "Random Rule Tweaks" Deck (the name for it could change)... for extra fun/challenge:

These are designed for the NA or remake editions of HeroQuest (admittedly a few work much better in the latter case).

I even thought about making an "uncommon feat" card, giving the players permission to just use their imagination and then determine the success or failure of their stunt from a die roll, but thought maybe that would break the simplicity of this system and left it off. Some of the names of these cards are kind of boring, so if you can think of some catchy, clever, or better titles for them, I am open to suggestions!

Draw a number of cards before the quest begins and apply
them to the entire adventure. If a particular effect cannot
be used in the quest (Zargon knows), shuffle and draw a replacement for that card.
If two or more of the card effects would contradict each other, then shuffle and redraw both cards.

If you don't like the cards, you can redraw one time (not counting the above), at the cost of 100 gold coins.

If the cards are mixed together, 3 cards should be drawn.
If the cards are divided into two piles ("good" which benefit the heroes,
and "bad" which benefit Zargon) then draw two from each pile.

THE CARDS! (over 100 of them...)

"Deadly Gold"
whenever you draw a gold card from the treasure deck.
Based on your mind points, you have that many
chances to roll 2 red dice to come up with the
numbers in the digits of the gold.

For example if you're the Barbarian you have 2 mind points.
You draw a treasure card that says "15 gold"
Roll 2 red dice twice... if at any time you roll a "1"
or a "5" set that aside. Continuing rolling until you
can't anymore. If you matched only one of the digits
you must pay a "fine" of that much gold. So if you go the "1"
only, you must forfeit 10 gold. If you got the "5" you forfeit
5 gold. If you can't pay the fine, you're attacked with
one combat die for each digit you failed to get and may
not defend.

If you do get both the digits, you obtain the treasure on the
card and it is removed from the deck.

If you failed to collect the gold, the card is shuffled BACK
into the deck.

"No Potion Stacking"
Only one Potion of any kind may be used by a hero on his turn.
If it is Zargon's turn, a hero may use more than one potion,
such as a healing potion if he is using it to save himself from
death.

"Limited Carrying Capacity"
Each hero may ONLY carry:
2 weapons
1 shield (if carrying two shields, he cannot carry another weapon unless it is a dagger)
If carrying a Battle Axe or Staff, a shield cannot be carried and vice versa.
1 piece of body armor (Chainmail, etc)
6 potions of any kind
500 gold coins
Artifacts are the only exception to this rule.
Extra armor that is not being worn may not extend these limits, nor extra gear being carried for another hero.

If the hero ever has more than this, they must pass or "drop" their extra gear which then may be claimed by another character who steps on that square. Between quests they may "store" their extra gear in safely in town (at the cost of 20 gold per quest) rather than take it with them on quests but each new quest choose from their stored gear what to bring. Extra gear may be sold off at half price.

Heroes may hire "porters" for 50 gold coins per quest to each carry their additional gear. Porters are represented by any extra miniature or tile you wish.
They may only give gear to the hero who hired them, and will flee in terror out of the quest if that hero dies. Porters each roll 1 red die, defend with 2 combat dice, and may not attack, having 2 body points each. They may be healed like any hero, or may drink a healing potion to save themselves from dying. They may open doors and may search for treasure ONLY to find items dropped by other heroes (either intentionally or because they died). If their rehire fee is not paid at the end of the quest, gear must be sold to raise as much of the funding as possible and the porters return the rest of the gear.

"Gambling"
#1 Steward Card House -
Minimum bet 20 gold coins, max 200 gold coins.
Roll 2 red dice. Roll 2-6 you win the amount you bet.
Roll 7-12 you lose the amount. Only 2 games per quest break per party.

#2 Back Room Gambling House -
Minimum bet 5 gold coins, max 100 gold coins.
Pick a symbol (Skull, White Shield, or Black Shield)
Then roll one attack die.
If the symbol you chose comes up, you win the amount you bet.
If not, you lose that amount. You may use Equipment as money here.
Only one game per quest break per party.

"Mind over Matter"
Heroes defend against physical attacks with their current mind points instead of their defense rating. Defense against magic is still done in the normal way.

"EU Spells"
Hero spells have the abilities of the 1989 version of HeroQuest.

"EU Spells II"
Hero spells have the abilities of the 1990 European version of HeroQuest.

"Japan Spells"
Hero spells have the abilities of the "Advanced Magic" spells from the 1991 Japanese version of HeroQuest.

"Passing Items Limit"
On a hero's turn, he may only pass ONE item to an adjacent ally,
so long neither is adjacent to a monster.

"Free Items Passing"
Two adjacent characters may exchange any numbers of items to each other that they wish on one of the hero's turns. Only two adjacent heroes may do this on a turn.
So yes, the two heroes could completely swap all their gear!

"Items Toss"
A hero may call for an item to be tossed to him by an ally on his own turn. The ally, if he agrees, may attempt to toss the item to him while rolling one combat die. If it is a skull, then the hero catches the item and may immediately equip, store, or use it. If anything other than a skull is rolled, the item is lost, unless it is an Artifact (or an item that was essential to winning the quest), then it may be found again in the area it was dropped, by the first hero who searches for treasure. If a hero wishes to throw an item to an ally on his own turn, he follows the same procedure.

"Gladiator Mode"
Heroes may attack one another, and cast spells against one another offensively if they wish as if they were attacking other enemies.
If a hero kills another, he may take possession of whatever the hero was carrying (only if the hero does not save himself from death). If the quest is won by exiting via the spiral staircase or through a wooden exit door, then the first hero to exit in this manner is given an additional 100 gold coins.

"Random Monsters"
This one could be killer. Shuffle the monster deck for all the monsters available in
the quest pack you are playing (except a final boss like the Frozen Horror, Dragon, etc.).
Whenever a monster is revealed, shuffle the monsters deck and whatever you draw, Zargon places that creature on the board.
If you run out of monsters, substitute another monster of similar strength.

"Rolling for Roles"
All players each roll 1 red die. The highest roll chooses their character from those available first (either Zargon or one of the heroes).
Then the next highest, etc. In the case of a tie, those two players roll off. When all of the heroes have been chosen, if someone has not chosen the role of Zargon yet,
then the last person left without a role chooses Zargon. If there are fewer than five players this system won't work unless the Companion App is used. Another option
is for the last person who has not chosen a hero to automatically be Zargon, and the other human player(s) divide up the unchosen heroes by dice roll, until there are four heroes and one Zargon in play.

"Twelve Lives"
Whenever a hero reaches 0 body points (or dies in some other way), he does not attempt a death save. There are no incapacitations. Instead, the hero is immediately replaced by one of the spare heroes available to you. Each character type may only be used once (one Barbarian, one Dwarf, etc). If you only have the four character types available, you can substitute a mercenary or animal companion. If these are not available to you, redraw a card to replace this one. If the hero party runs out of characters and the last one dies before completing the quest, Zargon wins.

"Monster Bounty"
Wandering Monsters in the deck have additional bounties on them.
Keep track of which wandering monsters you defeat, because
you can collect those bounties at the end of the quest.
(based on Japanese HQ bounties)
Goblin = 5 gold, Skeleton = 10 gold, Orc or Zombie = 20 gold,
Fimir = 30 gold, Mummy = 50 gold, Chaos Warrior = 100 gold,
Gargoyle or other powerful monster = 150 gold.

"Mercenaries Only"
Instead of each player controlling a hero, replace each hero they would normally control with a trio of mercenaries (roll off to see who chooses their three mercenaries from the types available first, second, and so on). When it is that player's turn they may move their three mercenaries in any order with their normal movement and action. A player is "out" if their three mercenaries all die. Mercenaries defend with white shields, open doors, and are now allowed to search for traps, secret doors, and treasure (but only scouts or another mercenary with a toolkit, may disarm them). On a player's turn, only one search may be done or one trap disarmed. Mercs use death saves the same as a hero would. They may use potions, equipment, artifacts, and other items they find, but begin with the stat block on their respective cards. If one player is controlling all 12 mercenaries, he may treat it as one big long turn, with up to four searches and moving the mercenaries in any order, then it is Zargon's turn.

"Multiple Heroes"
You may form your party with more than one of a character type if those figures are available to you, for example two Wizards and two Dwarves, three Barbarians, etc.
You may also play with more than four heroes, so long as the overall starting body points of your party does not exceed 37. If playing with more than four heroes, Zargon
is allowed to add additional monsters wherever he sees fit, equivalent to the starting body points added to the party by these additional heroes.

"Monster Footwork"
Instead of having fixed movement, monsters roll movement dice.
Monsters that originally had 1-4 squares of fixed movement roll 1 movement die, while other monsters roll 2 movement dice.

"Fixed Hero Movement"
Heroes don't roll for movement but always move 8 squares if they would normally roll two red dice,
and 4 squares if they would normally roll 1 red die for movement. If anything says to roll extra movement
dice, then roll those dice and add them to the movement total.

"Healing Hazards"
Hazards are actually tipped with healing potion or you fall into a pit
full of healing powder. They restore a lost BP instead of damaging you.
If you're full BP, nothing happens.

"Body Moving"
Instead of rolling red dice, you move squares each turn equal to your
current Body Points. If you use a spell like swift wind, you can still roll 2 red dice on top of whatever number you would move. If any ability says you can move "twice" simply double the number you are able to move.

"Vampire Killer"
Whenever you defeat an enemy, you gain a lost body point. If you haven't lost any, nothing else happens.

"Advanced Monsters"
Goblins may move, attack, and move. Skeletons may attack diagonally.

"Monster Might"
Goblins defend with 2 dice. Orcs and Zombies have 2 body points each.
Gargoyles have 4 body points.

"Leapfrog"
If you end your movement on a square occupied by an ally, don't count that square, and advance to the next unoccupied square beyond them if you wish.

"Furniture Find"
Each room may be searched for treasure once by each hero. Each piece of furniture in the room may be searched once. If there is a note for the piece or the room, Zargon reads the note, but every other search draws a Treasure card. To search the furniture, you must move adjacent to it before declaring your search.

"European Search"
Searching for Traps and Secret Doors is always counted as one action.

"Corridor Treasure"
Every stretch of corridor may be searched once for Treasure (drawing a card from he deck unless there is a note to be read). If a corridor section is "cut off" by a pit trap, you may search each section separately.

"Magic Mind Recall"
A spell caster may regain one of his lost spells by subtracting a mind point. If he goes to 0 mind points, face the consequences for that particular questpack (unconscious? dead? in shock?). Does not apply to spell scrolls.

"Magic Mind Strength"
A spell caster's spells do not deplete simply by being used. Instead, he can use a spell at the cost of 1 mind point. When he runs out of mind points, take the consequences for that particular questpack (unconscious? dead? in shock?). Does not apply to spell scrolls.

"Equipment Damage"
When a hero takes body point damage, he must first subtract it from his armor or weapons. Each item is worth as many dice as it is normally allowed to roll. So a broadsword rolls 3 dice so is worth 3 body points. A damaged broadsword might only attack with 1 or 2 dice. A helmet rolls one die so is worth one body point, and is destroyed if it is used to absorb a hit of damage. A Hero with no armor or weapons left takes body point damage as normal. Artifacts are not included in this rule.

"Armor Damage Version 2"
When a hero takes a body point of damage, the armor is damaged or destroyed instead. The hero may choose where the damage goes. Each piece of armor has as many body points as dice it normally rolls. So a helmet, shield, or chainmail absorbs only one point of damage before being destroyed, while Plate Mail can absorb 2. Does not apply to artifacts. When the hero has no armor left, they take body point damage as normal.

"Friendly Wandering Monsters"
A wandering monster drawn from the treasure deck (but not wandering monster trap) doesn't attack but becomes an ally controlled by the hero who found him. If that hero dies however, the monster is not loyal to any other heroes and becomes a regular opponent at that point.

"No death saves"
A hero who reaches 0 body points is dead and cannot use a potion or healing spell to save himself. Thus all healing must be done before he reaches 0 body points (he must say he's using a healing potion as the bad guy declares his attack or before the hazard card that killed him is drawn or before he lands on the trap square that killed him, etc. Dead heroes can still be revived by the Elixir of Life or return with a new name in the next quest. Gear is still stolen by monsters if the hero dies without allies present.

"Thrown weapon retrieval"
Any weapon that is normally "lost when thrown" can be retrieved by searching for treasure in the area where it was lost (in addition to any other treasure that is normally found), including corridors. This applies whether the thrown weapon destroyed a monster or not.

"Golden Armor"
When enemies attack, convert skulls into red dice. Roll the red dice
to see how many coins are destroyed in the attack. Instead of defending,
heroes subtract that many gold coins from their total. Adjacent heroes may give gold to the hero being attacked. Heroes can also "sell back" their equipment (at half value) to get more gold to protect themselves. A hero with no gold (who can't get any gold from adjacent heroes) defends normally (do not convert the skulls into red dice in this case).

"Golden Magic"
Spell castors must spend gold to use their spells. Adjacent
heroes can contribute gold and Equipment can be sacrificed
at half value (then it is lost) to contribute.
Each spell costs 100 gold per use, but can be used over and
over so long as the hero has enough to spend.

"Bonus"
Before the quest begins each hero rolls 1 red die and multiplies
the result by 10. This is the amount of gold they are given, and
are allowed to visit the Armory (and any available Alchemist Shop(s))
with it.

"Evil Wizard initiative"
Zargon may draw one Evil Wizard deck card before the quest begins.
If it says to "use immediately" then he uses it at the start of the
first hero's turn.

"Double Wandering Monsters"
Whatever the wandering monster of the quest is, Zargon doubles it. This includes "Wandering Monster traps." If he runs out of monsters, substitute
additional monsters of similar strength.

"No Backtracking"
A hero moves square by square but may not land on the same square twice on the same turn while moving. The only exception is if he's moving after being hit by a fallen block trap, if moving to a new square is impossible.

"Search Through the Doorway"
A hero may search the first square through an open doorway for traps without entering the room, as long as monsters are not visible in that room.

"More Jumping"
Heroes may choose to jump any square, even if traps have not been
searched for. They may also attempt to "double jump" over two squares
in a single turn by rolling a white shield on one combat die (failure
means you land on the first square and then continue movement as normal).
Heroes may jump as many squares as they declare ahead of time on a turn.

"Heavy Weapons"
Longswords and Crossbows can't be combined with a Shield. Switching weapons costs an action, unless it is to switch after an active weapon has been lost. Does not apply to the Rogue hero.

"Wizard Re-Armed"
The Wizard may use any Artifact designated as a "Weapon" or "Armor"
even if he normally is not allowed to (for example: Borin's Armor,
Spirit Blade, etc) due to these being "magical."

"Spell Scrolls"
Elemental Spells are transformed into scrolls, meaning they
can be passed from one hero to another as objects anyone can
use.

"Elite Monsters"
All monsters attack with black dice and defend with blue dice.
If lacking colored "power" dice count black shields as skulls on
attack and let monsters defend like heroes on white shields.

"Elite Heroes"
All heroes attack with black dice, and defend with green dice.
If lacking colored "power" dice count black shields as skulls on
attack and count black shields the same as white shields on defense.

"Melee Battle"
When attacking an enemy adjacently or diagonally at close range,
both opponents roll their attack dice, with the highest roll winning.
Deal damage for each excess skull the winner rolled over his opponent.
Only roll for defense in combat when it is against a ranged attack.

"Death Duel"
When engaging an opponent in battle at close range, roll your attack and your opponent rolls defense. Then your opponent attacks and you defend. Repeat until one of the characters is dead, then pass to he next hero (or Zargon) turn.

"Change Turn Order"
Each round, the heroes will decide which order they will go in, then take their turns. After Zargon's turn, on the next round, they can retain this order or choose a new one, every round.

"Incapacitation and Revival" (Hero)
Instead of normal death saves, a hero at 0 body points simply
becomes incapacitated. Place a skull token where he fell. If another
hero administers a potion (with no adjacent monsters) the victim is revived. A healing spell/skill may also be cast upon them by another hero within line of sight. If they are not restored by the time their turn comes around again (or Zargon's turn comes around if they "died" on Zargon's turn), then the hero is removed from the board.

"Auto-heal Incapacitation" (Story)
Instead of normal death saves, a hero at 0 body points becomes
incapacitated. He can be revived at any time by an adjacent ally
administering a healing potion with no adjacent monsters, or by
any hero using a healing spell/skill within line of sight. If there
are no more monsters on the board, any incapacitated heroes regain
1 body point and are revived automatically. If all heroes and their
allies are incapacitated, they die.

"Animal Allies"
Each hero may choose to hire one Animal Ally for free for
this quest. The ally goes after that hero and can take over
if the hero dies. Heroes may administer potions to these allies
adjacently on the hero's turn as long as no monsters are adjacent.
If no figures available, use any spare token(s) to represent these
friendly creatures.

"Monster Ally"
Shuffle the monster cards from the Game System and draw one.
This monster is an ally, having the same stats as on the monster
card but the character rolls white shields for defense, and takes
its turn after the hero. A hero may administer a potion to that
creature on their own turn as long as both adjacent to one another and not adjacent to any enemy monster. If the hero controlling the monster dies,
it reverts back to an enemy monster controlled by Zargon. If Zargon runs
out of monsters, substitute any monster of similar strength.

"Heroic Backup"
Shuffle any additional "hero" cards you have from those not in play
and draw one. The first hero who dies in this quest is automatically
replaced by this character. In the next quest, that hero may continue
with this character or introduce another with a new name of the type
of hero who died. If no additional heroes are available, draw from
any available "mercenary" (at man at arms) cards and do the same.

"Monster Backup"
Shuffle the monster cards deck and draw one. The first hero who dies
is automatically replaced by this character. The monster hero has the same stats as on the card except rolls white shields in defense. The monster may not open doors unless the character could in its enemy state, and may not use any items it couldn't use as an enemy. However other heroes may administer potions to the monster hero as long as both are adjacent to each other and not adjacent to another enemy. The monster is replaced by a new hero at the start of the next quest. If the monster hero dies it doesn't get any kind of death save (unless incapacitation is in play).

"Evil Animal Ally"
If you have an Animal Ally figure available (or a Zargon tile) give a monster of your choice (if there is a boss or named monster, he should be chosen) the animal as a protector. The animal behaves as a true monster controlled by Zargon with all of their stated abilities with the same stats but rolls black shields for defense.

"Unthreatened Movement"
When there are no monsters on the board, heroes may move their
full movement. If any monsters are revealed in he course of their
movement, roll their normal movement dice and subtract any squares
already moved from this total (if they have reached the maximum, they must stop moving).

"Extra Movement"
When a hero rolls for movement, if they don't like what they rolled, they can sacrifice their action on that turn to roll for movement a second time and add this to the initial movement roll. If a hero chooses not to move on their turn at all, they can grant the movement they would have used to the next hero in line. That next hero cannot transfer this movement to the next hero, but the process starts over again.

"Double Threat"
Rolling doubles on the movement dice triggers a wandering monster to appear adjacent to the hero who just rolled. The third time the hero
rolls doubles in the same quest, double wandering monsters appear (unless "double wandering monsters" is already active then the number of monsters does not increase).

"Double Boon"
Rolling doubles on the movement dice allows a hero to draw the top card from the Treasure Deck. If it is a Wandering Monster, Hazard, or Poison, put the card at the bottom of the deck and ignore it, nothing happens and play resumes as normal. Otherwise, the hero gets whatever the card says and then may move as normal. If this is the third time in a quest that the hero rolled doubles, draw two cards, ignoring any "bad" ones.

"Healing Hearth & Sly Storage"
In a room with a fireplace, a hero may choose once per quest to
restore 1 lost body point instead of drawing a treasure card. If there is a note for treasure, this is also found for the first searching hero.
In a room with a cupboard the first hero to search for treasure draws 2 treasure cards and resolves them in order drawn, unless there is a treasure note, then resolve that for the first hero. Then the second hero may draw the two cards instead of one.

"Weapons Rack"
If there is no quest note, in a room with a Weapons Rack, a hero may draw a random piece of Equipment from the Armory deck when searching for treasure.

"Alchemist Bench & Sorcerer's Table"
In a room with an Alchemist's Bench and no treasure note,
a spell casting hero may draw one random Potion instead of
drawing from the treasure deck. The Wizard may draw two.
In a room with a Sorcerer's Table and no treasure note,
a spell casting hero may recall one previously used spell.
A Wizard who hasn't used any spells may draw a random spell scroll.
If the first searching hero is not a spell caster, he draws
treasure as normal, but the first spell casting hero draws in this
way for either piece of furniture.

"Skulls everywhere"
If any of the following pieces of furniture placed in a room
appear (Torture Rack, Bookcase, Cupboard, Alchemist bench), place one skeleton in the room for each. If you run out of monsters, substitute another of the same color.

"Monster Weapons"
When ordinary monsters are killed, some drop weapons that can be used or or sold back to the armory for half price. Regardless of what
the model appears to be carrying, here is what is found:
Goblin: short sword
Orc: broadsword (ranged orc: crossbow)
Fimir: battle axe
Skeleton: spear (2 attack dice, diagonal, lost if thrown)
Zombie: hand axe
Mummy: nothing
Chaos Warrior: Battle Axe
Gargoyle: Battle Axe
Enemy Mercenary: Crossbow, Spear (Halberdier), or Longsword (Swordsman)
Chaos Warlock, mummy: nothing (unless quest notes say otherwise)

"Monster Armor"
When ordinary monsters are killed, some drop armor that may be used
or sold back to the armory for half price. Regardless of what
the model appears to be carrying, here is what is found:
Skeleton: roll 1 combat die and if it is a black shield you find
a helmet, otherwise nothing.
Zombie: roll 1 combat die and if it is a black shield you find
a shield, otherwise nothing.
Chaos Warrior: roll 1 combat die and if it is a black shield you
find plate mail, otherwise it is a helmet
Gargoyle: roll 1 combat die and if it is a black shield you find
plate mail, otherwise it is chainmail.

"Destructible Furniture"
All furniture placed in rooms may be destroyed (except treasure chests that must be moved to accomplish a quest). The furniture has as many
body points as squares it takes up on Zargon's quest map and does not
roll defense. Destroyed furniture is removed from the board, though if the notes say they contained treasure this can still be found on a future search. However if there was a trap on it, and it was not first disarmed, destroying he furniture automatically triggers the trap.

"Mimic Mayhem"
When a piece of furniture is revealed, it is normal until next Zargon's turn, then it transforms into a mimic monster. Each mimic monster has as many body points as squares that it takes up on Zargon's quest map but does not have any defense. The mimic moves with 1 red die. If destroyed, it is removed from the board and any treasure inside it is found by the one who destroyed it. If there was a trap on the furniture it is automatically triggered when the mimic is destroyed if it was not first disarmed. Mimics have 0 mind points and are treated like undead monsters.
For every 2 squares it takes up on the quest map, it attacks with 1 additional combat die. So a mimic that takes up 6 squares attacks with 3 dice, while one that takes up 4 squares attacks with 2 dice. A one square mimic attacks with 1 die.

"Exploding doors"
Whenever a hero opens a door, the door is set to explode! This means that the hero must move up to the door, ask Zargon to open it, then move away. If the hero doesn't move at least one square away from the door, roll 1 combat die. Any hero or monster standing adjacent to the door that exploded will take the damage, may not defend, and their turn ends. If a monster is wounded by the explosion but not dead, that monster figure loses a turn.

"Nightmare Mode"
After every monster that was revealed in a room are destroyed and the rom is empty, if a hero re-enters that room, all of the destroyed monsters are returned to life in that room in their original positions. Wandering Monsters, those summoned by magic, and bosses or "named" monsters do not respawn, however.

"Chaos Healing"
Ordinary Chaos Warriors and Gargoyles now have only 2 body points.
However, to be destroyed, they must sustain at least 2 body points of
damage on a single turn by the attacker or they will "heal" back to full
if only 1 body point of damage is dealt.

"European Monsters"
All game system monsters have only one body point, unless the notes give them a special stat block (such as a named or "boss" monster).

"Undead Respawn"
When an ordinary game system monster is destroyed, it may be replaced
with another (if Zargon runs out of monsters, substitute another of the same color).
Defeated Goblin or Orc = replaced by skeleton
Defeated Fimir = replaced by zombie
Defeated Chaos Warrior or Gargoyle = replace by mummy

"Layers of Undead"
Whenever an ordinary undead creature is destroyed it may be replaced with another.
Defeated Mummy = replaced by Zombie
Defeated Zombie = replaced by Skeleton
Defeated Skeleton = not replaced

"Undead Heroes"
When a hero or one of their allies is killed (and not saved from death)
they are replaced by an enemy skeleton who may attack the surviving heroes on Zargon's turn. If Zargon runs out of monsters, substitute a figure of the same color. If all of the heroes are replaced by skeletons, the quest ends with Zargon's victory.

"Skeletons Galore"
Whenever a living (not undead) monster is killed, they are replaced with a skeleton. The skeleton has regular stats and when it is destroyed, it is not replaced by another monster. If destroying the original monster was a condition of quest victory or reward, the new skeleton must be destroyed to secure that victory or reward.

"Saved Loot"
If the party is destroyed and replays the quest, all of the gear and gold that was lost is found once they encounter the monsters that killed them and destroy these monsters.

"Town Merchant"
The heroes receive a special courier that they can use any time once during the quest. As an action, use the courier. Heroes decide what items they wish to buy with any gold they have from the Armory and any Alchemist Shops they have access to. On the next round of turns, before the first hero takes his turn, the courier appears with their gear and collects the gold, then safely leaves.

"Healing Potion Revival Reserve"
Remove all Healing Potion cards from the Treasure Deck and set them aside in their own pile. If a hero reaches zero body points, use one of the potions to automatically heal that hero back to life. Death saves can still be used in other ways once these Healing Potions are used up.

"Bottomless Treasure"
When any card is drawn from the Treasure deck, resolve it then shuffle it back into the deck. Do not discard any of the treasure cards during this quest. Heroes are still limited to one treasure search per room.

"Armory Depression"
Items in the Armory are limited! There is only one copy of each item
of Equipment for sale (this can be represented by the hero holding onto that card during the quest). The exception is that there are two Helmets and two Shields. Does not apply to items sold in any "Alchemist" shops.

"Weaker Death Saves"
If a hero uses a potion to save himself from dying, he only gets 1 body point restored. This encourages heroes to use potions before death to heal.

"Maximum/Minimum Body Points"
If a hero is healed, he gets the full healing, even if it takes him over his starting body point maximum (record the full points on the character sheet). By the same token, if a hero takes damage resulting in death, his body points may go negative, and can only be saved from death if the last minute save brings up to at least 1 body point.

"Level Up"
At the end of this quest, a hero may spend 500 gold to attempt to level up. If you level up, your body point maximum increases by 1. If your hero card shows your body point maximum as 4-6 body points, roll 3 combat dice to attempt to level up. If it shows more than 6 body points, roll 4 combat dice to attempt to level up. If you roll 2 or more white shields you have successfully leveled up. If not, the gold is not returned. You may keep trying as long as you have gold to spend.

"Gold multiplier"
Whenever you find gold from the treasure deck, it is multiplied
by the number of heroes alive at the time (not counting mercenaries
or animal companions). On each find, the gold is divided as evenly as possible among those heroes. If there is a coin left over, it is given to the hero who initially found it.

"Crossbow Nerf"
The crossbow has a range of only six squares away. If when firing, two or more black shields are rolled, the bowstring breaks. A hero may attempt to repair the bowstring on his turn as an action by rolling three combat dice and if he gets 2 or more shields, the bowstring is repaired. A crossbow is limited to 10 shots per quest (whether they hit or miss their targets). The hero must keep track of his shots. He may gain an additional 10 shots for every 100 gold he spends at the beginning of the quest.

"Wrestling Moves"
If a hero at any time when attacking or defending, rolls 3 or more
white shields against an enemy, he performs an unblockable attack on that enemy, dealing 1 body point of damage. If the monster rolls 3 or more black shields in response, then the wrestling moves cancel each other out and no damage is taken. If a monster rolls 3 or more black shields when attacking or defending against a hero, the hero automatically loses 1 body point.

"Monster Vision"
Heroes can search for treasure, traps, and secret doors, even if monsters are present.

"Allies Boost"
Animals Companions and Ogre Mercenaries restore 1 lost Body Point
automatically whenever they kill an enemy unless the enemy is undead.
Wolf allies still restore 1 lost Body point if the enemy destroyed
was a skeleton. When animal allies or Ogre Mercenaries are killed,
they instead are incapacitated and will not die unless they are healed before their next turn (or Zargon's next turn if they were killed on Zargon's turn).

"Heroic Allies"
Mercenaries of any type may use all Equipment, Artifacts, Treasure, or Potions as if they were heroes. They may search for treasure, but any gold or gems or jewels they find (except when required to win the quest) are kept by them and may not be transferred to the other heroes. They may do death saves like other heroes. Any post-quest rewards that are to be "divided among the heroes" are also divided with them if they survive. These heroes may be rehired at half price if they survive the quest. They may not buy anything with the gold they find but other heroes may purchase things for them.

"Sleeping Death"
Heroes and their allies who normally would be killed instead fall asleep. A sleeping character may attempt, on each of their next turns, to "wake up" by rolling 1 red die for each of their mind points. If a 6 is rolled, they wake up, with 1 body point. However, they are also reduced to 0 Mind Points, and thus in "shock" (reduced to 1 red die for movement, 1 combat die for attack, and 2 combat dice for defense). Once their Mind Points are brought back to at least 1, they are no longer in shock and may move, attack, and defend as normal.

"Re-Random Treasure"
Whenever a hero searches for treasure and is prompted to draw a card, he rolls 1 red die. If the number rolled is a 1, he takes the top card from the treasure deck. If it is any other number, discard that number of cards until he reaches the number. For example on the of a six, discard five cards then resolve the sixth.

"Treasure Apocalypse"
Whenever a treasure card is drawn, it is resolved, then discarded. Thus bad cards are also discarded once used along with "good" ones. If the treasure deck is completely depleted, the heroes have only one last round of turns to complete the quest, or it ends with Zargon's victory. This is true even if the goal has been completed but the heroes have not yet returned to the spiral staircase (if this is a condition for completion of the quest).

"Haste"
Whenever a hero has no monsters within his line of sight at the beginning of his turn, he may roll twice the number of red dice he normally would. If he uses Potion of Dexterity, Celerity, or Swift Wind, add this after the normal doubled movement. An ally character with fixed movement may simply double their movement squares. Monsters may also double their fixed movement when there are no enemies within their line of sight at the beginning of Zargon's turn.

"Splitting Greens"
If certain ordinary monsters are killed, they are replaced with other monsters.
Orc killed = replaced with two goblins.
Fimir killed = replaced with three goblins
Goblin killed = nothing happens

"Zombie Plague"
Whenever a hero or their ally is wounded (takes any amount of body point damage) from an attacking Zombie, they have been infected with the Zombie virus. At once, at the beginning of each future turn, the hero (or ally) should roll 1 red die for each of their mind points. If a 6 is rolled, they are cured of the virus. If not, then for that turn (and until they are cured) they transform into zombie. Replace the figure with a spare zombie figure (or any undead figure if Zargon runs out of monsters or a skull tile if he has no undead figures left). This zombie acts as a true monster controlled by Zargon and moves and attacks on Zargon's turn. If the Zombie is killed, the hero also dies. He can perform a death save in the usual way, but is still a Zombie until cured. A hero who is infected with the Zombie virus can also immediately cure it by using a Venom Antidote, Potion of Serpent's Blood, or Anti-Poison Quill.

"Championship Belt"
One hero is randomly designated the Champion. While he wears he
belt, monsters will have a preference for attacking him. For
example if several heroes are in a room that the monster could reach with his movement, the monster will try to attack the Champion. If the monsters are unable to reach the Champion they will attack any enemy as normal. If it is possible for them get closer to the Champion even if they can't attack him that turn, they will try to do so. The Champion may use some of his movement to move adjacent to another hero, plant the belt upon them as a free action, then move away with the rest of his movement, making them the new Champion. This belt exchange may only be done once per round of turns. If the Champion is killed, the enemy who killed him becomes the new Champion, but heroes are free whom they choose to attack. If a hero dies from a trap or hazard, the belt is dropped, but may be claimed by another character who lands on the square where he died. At the end of quest, if the Champion is still alive, he claims a reward of 150 gold coins.

"Wear and Tear"
If a piece of equipment is ever used during a quest (for example,
if a hero attacks with a weapon and doesn't miss, or takes any damage
or successfully defends while wearing a piece of armor or using a shield, ever uses a toolkit to attempt to disarm a trap, etc) then an upkeep cost
is incurred. Each piece of "used" equipment costs a quarter of its Armory list price in gold to repair (rounded down in the case of any fractions). If it is not repaired, it loses half its effectiveness (if this is not possible, it becomes unusable, for example a helmet that is not repaired does not protect the wearer). Does not apply to artifacts.

"Dangerous Spells"
Whenever a Spell or Skill is used, that hero rolls 1 combat die. If it is a black shield, he suffers the loss of 1 mind point and cannot use the spell or skill until his turn (exception, does not apply in the case of a healing death save). If he reaches zero mind points, he goes into "Shock."

"Model Gear"
Issue equipment to heroes that most closely matches their models:
Barbarian begins with a longsword instead of a broadsword.
Dwarf begins with a hand axe and helmet (classic only) instead of a shortsword. starts with hand axe and shield (no helmet) in First Light.
Wizard begins with a staff and a cloak instead of a dagger.
Elf begins with chainmail armor or shield (remake editions only)
Berserker begins with a battleaxe instead of broadsword.
Knight begins with a helmet and chainmail.
Druid begins with a staff instead of a dagger.
Monk begins with a shortsword or staff instead of unarmed.
Rogue begins with two daggers instead of one.
Explorer begins with an extra weapon: a dagger.
Bard begins with a random treasure (draw 1 from the Treasure deck but ignore any Hazard, Poison, Wandering Monster, "Nothing" or any other "bad" card)

"Body Guards"
Each hero begins with a (random) mercenary for free. If that mercenary
survives the quest they can be rehired for the same free price as long as that quest allows mercenaries.

"Traitors"
When the heroes face the boss or named bad guy of the quest, he will be guarded by one enemy mercenary for every hero that is still alive at that
point in the quest (type of mercenary is Zargon's choice). These evil mercs are true monsters, defend with black shields, etc.

"Monsters Open Doors"
Any revealed monster on the board, may, on his turn, open any normal revealed doors, just like a hero or mercenary. These rooms are revealed as normal. The monster may not reveal a previously unseen door in order to open it, nor reveal any secret doors or open them. To avoid a contradiction, Zargon's monsters may only activate one new room per turn (that room might have another door in it, after all).

"Evil Hero"
Zargon chooses one of the unused heroes (if available) and designates them an evil champion of Chaos. This character behaves as a true monster controlled by Zargon and defends with black shields. If the evil hero has any spells or skills, they act for the benefit of Zargon and his monsters and against the heroes. The evil hero does not search for anything, and can only open doors that are already visible on the board (activating those rooms in the process). This monster can be placed in any newly revealed room Zargon chooses, but if by the end of the quest he has not yet revealed him, he must do so, even if it is to be alongside the final "boss" of the quest. The hero chosen as the champion of Chaos may also be an alternate version of one of the good heroes (for example another Barbarian, Elf, etc). If the heroes are allowed death saves, then the evil hero can also perform this kind of save if he has something to heal himself.

"No Free Exchanges"
Heroes can only trade items with each other mid quest by buying them.
The prices are the same as listed in the Armory or Alchemist Shops. Items that don't have a gold price can be freely given. Buyer gets the item and gives his gold to the seller. All sales must be voluntary. Multiple items may be sold on the same turn. When two heroes are adjacent, either hero can initiate the sale, so long as neither is adjacent to a monster.

"Potions Expire"
Any non-gold items found in the Treasure deck must be used by the end of the quest,
or they are returned to the Treasure deck.

"Easier Battle I"
Zargon downgrades normal monsters.
Gargoyle replaced by Chaos Warrior
Chaos Warrior replaced by Fimir
Fimir replaced by Orc
Orc replaced by Goblin
Mummy replaced by Zombie
Zombie replaced by Skeleton
no change to Goblins or Skeletons
If Zargon runs out of monsters, replace the missing monster with
one of the same color called for unless it is greater strength,
then one of similar strength of the replacement.

"Easier Battle II"
When a room has monsters in it, Zargon should delete one of the monsters from the room,
choosing, if possible, the weakest one. If there is already only one monster in the room, no change is made.
Does not apply to corridors or monsters summoned by magic or spawning, but does apply to "Wandering Monsters" and "Wandering Monster Traps"
that trigger multiple monsters.

"Fewer Traps"
Remove half the traps from the quest map, at random (starting with any traps in front of doors). Remove half the Hazards from the Treasure deck.


Any suggestions along these lines, I'm open to feedback!

[Kurgan]

There's going on 111 cards above... that's kind of unwieldy and might not give enough opportunities to run many combinations.

Or maybe some are too boring on their own and could be combined?

Perhaps more than 3-4 cards should be drawn for a quest? Or maybe they could be broken down into more categories (maybe organized by color) and draw some from each category?

I also realized some of them presume the heroes are playing a series of quests, rather than just a one off from the beginning (for example many presume you already have gold).

Or maybe each card could have a "rating" for how much it potentially impacts the quest. I mean some things are very situational and might not even ever come up in a quest while others impact nearly ever turn!

To add even more cards, I could throw in the rest of the variables from the Companion App:

"Insubstantial Furniture"
Furniture (except closed doors) doesn't block line of sight or even movement, except where the quest requires it to be so.

"Monsters +1 BP"
"Monsters +1 MP" (doesn't make sense to apply this to undead, unless you want to be able to put them to sleep I guess)
"Monsters +1 Defend Die"
"Monsters +1 Attack Die"

"Yeti Hug break" is so specific and situational, it wouldn't be worth a card. Some things I could think of like "every monster that rolls at least one black shield blocks all skulls" seems a little too cruel. Or something like "random breakage" (anytime a hero attacks, if he rolls 2 or more black shields, that equipment breaks though that attack still counts... and the hero must use an action to repair the equipment?) might be more annoying than challenging in a fun way. Or "heroes start the quest all with the werewolf curse" might not be anymore contrived than any of the other options.

Some of these options and combinations may make the game less fun potentially (or they may have fun struggling to try to survive with the wild combinations), because many house rules are not just tacked on but part of a wider system of balance. These are not taken super seriously, but a playthrough of the 14 quests could be pretty grueling if randomly drawn house rules happened each time (though the ones where it sounds like I'm saying they should carry on from quest to quest, across a whole campaign wouldn't quite work that way). Maybe the group would decide whether they drew new cards or kept the current ones for a new quest?

Again, feedback welcome...