In search of a good Rule Set. Please suggest me one...

[Egefalos]

Greetings everyone,

I am in search of a new Rule Set that can be implemented in HQ and make the game more interesting. I would like a ruleset that affects the following aspects of the game:
1. Mind points which in turn affect spell damage, spell defending checks and visa versa.
2. More realistic Health Points for monsters
3. A character progression system with character skills that can be learned as you move on, dice getting stronger.
4. Replace dice movement with something more realistic.
5. More spell variety for every caster in the game.
6. A penalty suggestion when heroes are slacking after killing all visible monsters.

PS: I have seen somewhere some colored dice but I do not know how they are used. Is there a system that uses them?

I am looking forward to hearing your suggestions.
Please suggest me some rulesets to choose from and add them to my games.

Thank you

[MonsterMotor]

My own THQ checks points 1, 4, 5, and partially 3 out of your list, albeit it was developed to improve on other aspects of HQ. You will find it here:

https://forum.yeoldeinn.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=6622

I don't know what you mean with point 2. Body points in THQ are close to the US/2021 values.

There is no rule for point 6 in it because I never found that necessary, but there exist a number of mechanisms that could be easily added on top for that purpose. Other people can suggest something here.

THQ does not use the coloured fan-created dice and I don't have plans to include them. Those dice nuance the odds you can generate with the normal HQ dice only slightly, so I deem implementing them not worth the effort.

[mukami]

Well there are a few different items:

Advanced Game System by Lizuren games- this consists of 5 decks of cards that add experience points for monsters, leveling and skill system for heroes, and advanced equipment and exploration cards.
Axianquest Dungeon encounters- a 46 card deck of random happenings when there are no monsters on the board.
Axianquest also has a skill deck available.
Those can be found on Drivethrucards, but are a little pricey for the sets.

You could also pick up a cheap or free rpg system and convert it to suit your needs.

[Kurgan]

Not a complete set per se, but there are some:

2) Avalon Hill's HQ Companion App allows you to simply add a body point to all monsters. You can also add an extra mind point, attack die, defend die, across the board in any combination (only problem is it doesn't let you do it per monster). Also toggles for upgrades to all of your skeletons and/or goblins: Advanced Skeletons (can attack diagonally) and Advanced Goblins (can move, attack, and move in the same turn).

3) Check my signature for an upgrade system I use (it utilizing the Combat Cards available on this site, as well as the German colored dice aka "Power dice" many sell.

4) Avalon Hill suggests "unthreatened movement." When no monsters on the board for every 1d6 red die you'd normally throw for movement, you get 4 squares of movement free. So a 2d6 character could move up to 8 squares. What would you do if monsters appear? Some would say nothing different, but each new turn you roll your dice again until monsters are destroyed. Others would say you should roll your normal dice and that determines how much more you can move. Still others would say that's too much movement so you should roll your dice and then subtract the squares you've already moved (so if you're at or over, you just stop moving). I use the latter tweak of that suggested rule, but instead of 4 per die, I just make it 6. I figure as Zargon they are just going to run quickly into traps anyway. Where it is nice is with the Celerity potion, I let it add 12 squares even to their unthreatened movement! The idea here is that the Heroes are moving more cautiously when in combat. I suppose you could just say 6-12 movement every turn, with no rolling if you wished (and so potion of speed would just give you 12 or 24 movement, etc).

5) So far we've only seen a few extra spells. Wizards of Morcar adds 9 more spells (in sets of 3) but they are a bit weak compared to the NA spells. Check YeOldeInn under the UK flag and click on cards at the bottom of the page to see many more custom sets of cards like Illusion Spells, Sorcery, Necromancy, Forest magic, Fimir spells, etc. I've printed several of these myself (after tweaking them to my liking).

6) Evil Wizard Deck ("threat" cards, see again YeOldeInn.com site with the UK flag and then cards below, change to US flag and cards below and you'll see different options). General rule is that when no monsters on the board Zargon draws one of these and keeps it to himself (or uses it immediately). He can have up to three in his hand, and if he draws another he can use one immediately or discard (he doesn't have to draw any of course, and in theory he could keep them until the end of the quest, or never use them... but keeping the threat alive!).

6B) A suggestion from the draft notes from 1992 the designers were thinking maybe if a hero rolls doubles on the movement dice this triggers a Wandering Monster attack (stops the hero's movement but doesn't nullify his action for the turn). Of course if you got rid of roll to move entirely, this wouldn't work.

PS: The German Colored Dice or Power Dice can be used however you want. https://www.spielwarensaloon.de/ is the best known and oldest surviving seller of them (I recommend getting the ones with the matte finish, use a german translator and make sure you get your zip code correct without the extra digits at the end!). There are also many people on Etsy selling them for various prices. The ones sold by Forges of Nuln and VictoryDesigns are basically the same in terms of quality I've found (ordered from both before) so I just get whichever one is cheaper or has the styling I like best. There are people selling all kinds of versions of the power dice, so you look for the dice shape and icon style and colors you prefer.

As for how they are used, I think there was one person making a suggestion... it could have been VictoryDesigns. I don't have the sheet in front of me but it was something like at the start of the quest each hero got to draw a few randoms and they could substitute them at any time, but the dice got used up as they went. I think they went into a discard jar or something. And for Zargon I think it was something like when there were no monsters on the board he got to draw from the discard jar and he could use them however he wanted.

There are as many ways to use them as your imagination allows, but generally I use the black dice to enhance attacks. I put out "Elite monsters" that are stronger than your average... and I give them black dice for attacking, meaning they have a greater chance of rolling a skull. As heroes complete many quests I simulate them becoming more proficient with attacks by granting them black dice whenever they use certain weapons, or whenever they attack certain types of monsters. Or you can tie them to spells to show the spells are more powerful. Or if you want to differentiate two weapons... like maybe a Staff in the hands of a Wizard is stronger than in the hands of another hero or something like that.

The green dice have an extra white shield, so they are good for hero defense. I use this similar to the above but to enhance defense to show their advancement. Or it could be for special armor, like a Tower Shield that is better at blocking projectiles so it substitutes 2 green dice when carried. Something that like. Again, can be used to enhance spells as well. Others have suggested using it to weaken weapons. So if you're attacking using a green die, it's less likely to roll a skull than with white dice. So it could be you were nerfed by an evil spell, or you're just a weaker character, or have a weaker weapon.

Blue dice just replace one of the white shields with a black shield. This means it could be used by a monster to double his defense (he's just rolling the way a hero would in terms of probability). I use this for the Elite Monsters who defend better than regular monsters as well as their enhanced attack with black dice. But you could also use this to weaken a hero. Maybe they are cursed somehow, or they are just a weaker character and have a harder time defending.

Those are the basic ones. When you get into the Purple, Orange, and Yellow dice you start turning up faces that have doubles.. so you might roll double skulls on a single die. These are wild cards for sure. You could use these with magic spells, potions, or to have just unpredictable characters. The yellow dice I think have an equal chance of rolling a skull, white shield, or black shield.

I created a custom die (took a blank wooden cube and painted the faces the colors of the dice I was using). The idea would be a random dice color change could happen based on some criteria you determine (in my case on the stream someone "buys" a "random dice color change" and so the next roll has to be whatever the die color shows).

There are combat dice of other colors like Pink with black symbols, Red with gold symbols, and the various translucent variants like we saw in the official boxes and the fancy glittery/ink squirt dice they sell in those tins from Fanroll... all of these have the same symbols and probabilities as the White combat dice, they are just variants for fun or collecting, or I guess if each player at the table wants their own color of dice so they can roll together and differentiate easier at a glance (though some color combinations are harder to read from a distance, like, sadly, the official ones that come in the fancy tins).

Other Power Dice out there I don't use. Again consult SpielWarrenSaloon, but there are those that lack certain symbols, so maybe there is no chance of rolling a black shield, or another with no skulls, or another that lacks black shields. There's even a "joke die" that has only skulls! I suppose you could find some use for these.

There are some situations in which there is supposed to be a 50% chance of success. Do you really need a d6 to determine this however? You could just flip a "coin." But some people prefer to roll dice so there are dice out there that have 3 of one symbol and 3 of another (or half blanks).

SpielWarrenSaloon sells "potion dice" for example that have various combinations of skulls, keys, and bottle symbols on them. You could use these I suppose for Alchemy crafting, or disarming of traps, for searching furniture (not just treasure chests), or some other idea. Or you could treat it like some kind of buff... like maybe you'd roll it for a monster. Maybe on a key the monster gets to open 1 door (and activate the room?), on a skull it gets an extra attack die for their next attack, and a potion means they get the effect of a random potion (or they just heal or something like that, maybe get an extra body point even if they're undamaged?). You could do the same for a mercenary or hero too of course (the door not so much since that's already a free action). Maybe the key could mean you get to disarm one trap for free (no action required), or get a "safe" treasure search? Maybe the potion means you draw from the Alchemy deck or get an automatic healing potion. Maybe the skull means you gain an attack die, or maybe it means you take damage (spring a trap)? I don't use these dice but he sells them in green, blue, and black variants. I forget all the combinations.

There are some mods out there that suggest use of the colored dice. "Mound of the Beastmen" is a popular fan made quest set that I have never played but famously (or infamously) uses the Orange combat dice. The trouble is that this combination of orange dice has been changed over time and so if you get orange dice from most sources they will not have the same combinations that the designer of this questbook intended. Instead, you should look for something called "Boss Dice" which are available in various colors (I have some) including translucent orange. The idea with these is to use them for a special monster, maybe a "boss" or named enemy to make them stronger and more challenging or cinematic. It gives them a greater chance of defense AND a stronger attack. You could give them one of these dice or let them roll all this sort of dice, and it would make some of them very powerful. Or like me you could roll to see if a regular monster you place on the board is "elite" or not (say, roll 1 combat die and if it's a black shield it's an elite using special dice... or if you want it to even more likely, say roll a blue die for this.... or just say rolling a skull makes them elite and then it will be 50% chance). Giving them boss dice for attack and defense vs. black and blue dice makes them a bit more challenging because there is a possibility of rolling a double on a single die.

As for what other mods out there (I've seen some custom cards that show colored dice on the backs) I can't name them, but perhaps others are familiar with them. Again regarding the colored dice there are many sources to get them. I mentioned some but there are other people on etsy selling them and if you don't mind 3d printing there are many STLs out there (your mileage may vary). Or you can buy wooden cubes from many hobby stores to paint and/or write on. Sites out there sell blank dice as well, but I would NOT buy painted dice from BoardGamesMaker. They are great for many things, but their painted/printed dice are terrible... way too expensive and the symbols actually "break" off. Yes they sell engraved plastic dice as well that are surely better but still very expensive in small quantities and not many options. Check them out but you may be better off buying from others.

And yes, there are a few people out there just selling stickers you can place on the dice. May or may not be very durable, but probably more durable than the BGM printed/painted dice (sadly)!

[markforster]

No where near as awesome and detailed a reply as kurgan but I'm trying to share back to the community as much as I possibly can having been invested in heroquest for the past year now running the game for my 3 kids and finding so much free resource from so many talented people!

Having scoured the internet (and yeoldeinn) we've compiled our own house rules https://public.markforster.info/Heroque ... 0Rules.pdf and I've been working on a set of custom skill cards to accompany a skill tree we've developed here https://public.markforster.info/Heroquest/Tools/skills/

I've also built this https://public.markforster.info/Heroque ... ard-maker/ for creating custom cards (and since i'm throwing links around, this https://public.markforster.info/Heroquest/Tools/track/ for tracking treasure searches per rooms per player character)

Any or none of this may be of useful to you (or not). i'm just happy to be giving back to the community anyway i can

[BlackJax]

This is my attempt to collate all the rules of the original version of the game first published in the UK in 1989 and all expansion materials subsequently published for this version in the various expansions that followed, into a single document, laid out in a clear modular format.

This may sound like a straight-forward task however many of the game’s rules didn’t appear in the rulebook but were held on cards or the quest book or in specific quests and it wasn’t clear where rules presented in specific quests and cards were supposed to be clarifications of, or exceptions to, the general rules in the rulebook. Later expansions also included additional rules on cards or in the quest books and again it wasn’t always clear how these additional rules were supposed to work with the existing ones, were they clarifications of updates to or replacements for, earlier rules.

Having compiled all the official rules I am now using the Inn to identify some of the most experienced issues with the game and applying some fixes and incorporated some commonly used house rules that improve the playing experience

BlackJax HeroQuest Compendium

I'm mainly making this for my own use as I too am a returning player, but as so many Inn members have been generous with sharing their own work, which I am mining extensively then it seems only fair to share my output too!

[CavemanLogic]

Greetings everyone,

I am in search of a new Rule Set that can be implemented in HQ and make the game more interesting. I would like a ruleset that affects the following aspects of the game:

I've had this tab open in my browser for quite a while, but kept forgetting to come back to it...

1. Mind points which in turn affect spell damage, spell defending checks and visa versa.

I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but... I've implemented a Body/Mind Test system into my game. It works like this:


Body/Mind Test
Roll 1d6. If you roll under your current Body/Mind Points, you succeed. A natural 1 is always a success. A natural 6 is always a failure, and requires a damage roll. Damage: roll a number of Combat Dice equal to your current stat. If no White Shields are rolled, lose one point in that stat.

Casting Multiple Spells (MT): Heroes may attempt a Mind Test to make a second Cast a Spell or a second Use a Spell Scroll action. The Action Dice are not spent if they fail, but they may not attempt this action again this turn. Heroes may not perform more than two Cast a Spell or Use a Spell Scroll actions in this manner.

Spell Retention (MT+1): After casting a spell, a spellcaster may make a Mind Test (MT+1) to retain that spell. If they roll under their current Mind Points on one die, after adding 1 to the roll, they retain the spell. If they fail, a spellcaster can choose to spend one Mind Point to retain the spell.


A little background about the system I use: Instead of "Move then Action, or Action then Move," I simply give each Hero four Action Dice to use on their turn. *Most* Actions cost two Action Dice (so they work the same as the base game rules, taking up half your turn), but I have added a few Actions that only cost one Action Die (such as Trading Items with another Hero, Reloading a Crossbow, using a Spell Scroll, Stowing and/or Equipping Items [so you can put away your two-handed Weapon and draw your Shield for defense before the Monster's turn], etc). I've added a few more Free Actions (Peeking through a Keyhole, etc) as well. It's worth noting that my system treats Movement just like any other Action the Heroes can perform. Movement costs anywhere from one to three Action Dice. They choose how many dice to spend on movement, pick them up, and roll them, but can only do the Move Action once per turn. Heroes may spend up to their allotment of four Action Dice each turn, and Movement does *not* need to be one of the Actions they choose. They could Cast a Spell (2 AD), and Search for Treasure (2 AD), for instance.

Mind Tests are typically performed by Spellcasters, and they generally relate to casting or retaining Spells. Regarding the Mind Test to cast a second Spell: Casting a Spell costs two Action Dice, or half their total for the turn, same as a standard Action in the base game rules. To cast a second Spell, after passing a Mind Test, the Spellcaster must spend two more Action Dice on the Cast a Spell action, leaving them without *any* Action Dice for Movement or anything else. Note that I also similarly allow a Body Test to see if a Hero can make multiple Attacks in a turn as well.

Most of the Body/Mind Tests are Moderate difficulty, requiring a straight up test (roll under your stat on 1d6). Some tests are Easy (MT-1), where you subtract 1 from your die roll before checking if you roll under your current Body/Mind Points. Regaining a cast spell is a Difficult (MT+1) test. You have to add 1 to your die roll. There is always a chance of taking damage during a test, and reducing your stat, making future tests more difficult.

...Rather than making this one giant reply, I’ll break it up into multiple posts, covering one each of your questions...

Cheers!

[CavemanLogic]

Continuing on... While this might not be *exactly* what you are looking for, a lot of the house rules I use are *somewhat* related to what you are asking about. So you can pick and choose, and see if anything here fits your system.

2. More realistic Health Points for monsters

I see that you are probably using the North American ruleset, so some Monsters already have multiple Body Points. I'm not sure what you are looking for here exactly. I don't change their BP in my game, but I do add Monster Special Abilities to my Monsters. I don't use *all* the Special Abilities *all* the time, just a couple here or there. I generally see how the Heroes are doing and adjust it from there. If they are clearing out rooms like it is nothing, piling up Monster corpses in their wake, then I'll add a few Abilities to some of my Monsters. If they are struggling to survive, then I tone it down and just use the base game Monsters with no Special Abilities.

Some of the Abilities below reference spending one Action Die to do a thing. When using the base game rules, this would equate to spending one of your two Movement Dice on that Action instead.

Here's a list of my current Monster Abilities...


Monster Special Abilities

Goblin:
. . . Swarm Tactics – +1 Combat Die when attacking a Hero adjacent to one or more other Goblins.

. . . Hit and Run – Goblins can Attack during their Movement. After their Attack, they can spend their remaining Movement Points. (Official Ability in the HQ App).

. . . Throwing Knives – The Goblins which have daggers in both hands are armed with unlimited Throwing Knives (one Combat Die ranged attack), as well as their normal weapon (Shortsword). Throwing Knives are lost once thrown.

Orc:
. . . Battle Frenzy – When an Orc attacks, Zargon may re-roll any Black Shields rolled until there are no Black Shield results showing.

. . . Throwing Handaxe – Each Orc is armed with unlimited Handaxes (two Combat Dice ranged attack) as well as their normal weapon (Broadsword). Throwing Handaxes, like Daggers, are lost once thrown.

Abomination:
. . . Capture – For each White Shield rolled while attacking, Zargon may move either the attacked Hero or the Fimir/Abomination into one orthogonally adjacent empty space, optionally moving the other figure into the now vacated space.

Skeleton:
. . . Scythe – Their Scythe weapon may be used to attack diagonally. (Official Ability in the HQ App).

. . . Only Bones – Skeletons can’t be damaged by thrown or ranged weapons (they just pass right through).

Zombie:
. . . Rise from the Dead – Defeated Zombies are tipped over and may Rise from the Dead. At the end of Zargon's turn, all defeated Zombies will rise again (with 1BP) if they have not been Finished Off. To finish a Zombie off, any figure (Hero, Monster, Mercenary, etc.) must occupy the Zombie's square at the end of Zargon's turn (use the Bone Pile token from Return of the Witch Lord to mark the Zombie's square if needed), OR spend one Action Die (automatic success) while within the Zombie’s square or from an adjacent square. Tipped over Zombies do not block Line of Sight or movement.

Mummy:
. . . Evil Soul – The Mummy may forego its Attack action or its Move action in order to try to possess a Hero within the Mummy’s Field of Vision. The Mummy may forego both actions for two separate possession attempts. The Hero makes a Mind Test. If the Hero succeeds, the Mummy’s action is lost. If the Hero fails, Zargon immediately takes a full turn with the Hero as if it were a Mummy (using the Mummy stats), although the possessed Hero may move through other Heroes. After successfully possessing a Hero, the Mummy disintegrates into dust and is eliminated.

. . . Tomb Rot – After being wounded by a Mummy, Heroes roll 1Cd6 at the start of their turn until healed. Skull: Still infected, WS: Healed, BS: -1BP. Regardless of the number of Mummy wounds you receive, you will only roll 1Cd6 on your turn while affected by Tomb Rot, and one White Shield will completely heal you.

. . . Fly swarm – The Mummy may forego its Attack action to send a swarm of flies on a Hero in its Line of Sight. On the Hero’s next turn, the Hero can only see (and target) adjacent or diagonally adjacent spaces.

Dread Warrior:
. . . Stand Fast – If the Dread Warrior does not move on its turn, it gets +1 Combat Die to its attack.

. . . Enchanted Armor – Dread Warriors defend with White Shields instead of Black Shields.

Gargoyle:
. . . Extended Reach – The Gargoyle’s whip (classic version) or pole-axe (new version) gives it an Extended Reach, allowing it to attack two squares away, or one square away diagonally. It may also attack over the head of an adjacent, shorter Monster, but if it rolls three or more Skulls (31.25% chance), it does one of those Skulls in damage to the shorter Monster instead of the Hero. The affected Monster may Defend against this attack.

Giant Spider:
. . . Web Spinner – A Giant Spider may spend two consecutive Actions (Attack and/or Move), either on the same turn or spread over two consecutive turns, to place a Web token on the square they occupy, or on an empty adjacent or diagonally adjacent square. Only Spiders may pass through that square until the Web is destroyed (zero Defend Dice, 2 Body Points, only affected by melee weapons). If one or more Black Shields are rolled on any attack against a Web token in which the Web is not destroyed, the attacker is moved onto the Web space (if not already there), and becomes Stuck. The Web affects Monsters as well as Heroes. Any Hero moving onto a Web space becomes Stuck, and must spend two Action Dice (automatic success) to Free Themself and move to an adjacent square. Any Monster moving onto the space must spend a Full Action. Freeing Themself does not destroy the Web token they are leaving. While Stuck, the Hero or Monster may not perform any other actions other than Freeing Themself or Defending. Stuck Heroes defend with two Defend Dice. Stuck Monsters defend with one Defend Die. Like the Stairway and Pit Traps, multiple stuck figures may share a Web token space.


Many of these Special Abilities (Goblin, Orc, Abomination, Skeleton, Mummy, Gargoyle) are to help thwart the Hero's tendency of using the "Meat Shield in the Doorway" tactic of putting the Barbarian in the doorway outside of a room, flanked by two other Heroes using diagonal attack weapons, and waiting for the Monsters to rush towards them to get slaughtered. In this way, the Heroes are forced to actually enter the room and engage the Monsters.

I also use a basic Monster AI system, so that Monsters move in a more realistic manner.


Monster AI
Goblins are cowardly and will try to swarm a Hero if possible, unless they have a superior to drive them.

Orcs are fighters and want to fight other warrior types and avoid magic.

Abominations go for the biggest threat, the Hero who seems to be doing the most harm to the other Monsters.

Skeletons go after magic users or Heroes with artifacts first, being of a magical nature themselves.

Zombies are mindless and go after the closest target.

Mummies are a guardian type. They stay near a more powerful Monster or treasure in their room.

Dread warriors are tacticians and thinkers. Use them as you see fit.

Gargoyles stand their ground and go after whoever is harming them the most.


Cheers!

[CavemanLogic]

3. A character progression system with character skills that can be learned as you move on, dice getting stronger.

For Character Progression, I use a very simplified system. A modification of snuttbiffer's system he presented on BGG.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1591772/article/43131051#43131051

You earn XP each time you complete a Quest, and can upgrade a stat roughly every five Quests (his original system had you upgrading a stat every 7-8 Quests).


Simple XP Leveling System
Heroes earn 3 XP for each Quest they complete. To level up their primary (higher) stat by 1 permanent point, they must spend XP equal to 2x their current base stat. To level up their secondary (lower) stat by 1 permanent point, they must spend XP equal to 4x their current base stat. If both stats are the same, they can increase one of them by spending XP equal to 2x their current base stat.

Example: The Elf (6 BP, 4 MP) can level up their primary base stat BP from 6 to 7 by spending 6x2 = 12 XP (4 Quests worth of XP). To increase BP a second time (up to 8 BP), they must spend 7x2 = 14 XP (4.67 Quests) to do so. To level up their secondary base stat MP from 4 to 5, they must spend 4x4 = 16 XP (5.33 Quests).


To counteract the strength the Heroes gain by spending XP on pumped up stats, I've recently implemented a (warning: untested) system for forced Hero Retirement. They Quest, they increase their stats, they get a bit too powerful, but after a while they get old, or their wounds start catching up with them, and their stats start to rapidly decrease. Then the player can start fresh with a new Hero. A new Hero type that they've been wanting to try, or maybe the son or daughter of their newly retired Hero perhaps.


Hero Retirement
After 15 completed Quests, the weight of Questing begins taking its toll on the Hero, and they should think about retiring. A combination of their age and their battle wounds starts catching up with them. Each Quest they begin after the 15th will come with a permanent reduction in either their BP or MP stat. Roll one Combat Die before each Quest. Skull: Lose one permanent BP. Shield: Lose one permanent MP.

When a Hero decides to retire they will determine their Retirement Value (RV), which is the Gold amount they will live on after retirement. Their RV is equal to the sum of the value of their standard used Equipment + the value of their used Potions + the value of their used Artifacts + 1/4th of the Party's Gold, with a minimum RV amount of 1,500 Gold. Their used Equipment is valued at 1/2 the printed Cost, or 1/2 the cost of equivalent items from the Armory/Alchemist's Shop. Potions with no printed cost, and with no equivalent item in the Armory/Alchemist’s Shop, have a used value of 150 Gold each. Artifacts have a used valued of 250 Gold each (500 Gold for Borin’s Armor). The Hero can sell their used Equipment, Potions, and Artifacts to other Heroes, or to the Armory/Alchemist's Shop, but they must retire with their RV worth of Gold. If the total raised is below 1,500 Gold, other party members must contribute Items or Gold until the Hero is able to retire with 1,500 Gold in pocket.

As a simplified example, say a Hero retires with 1,500G face value worth of Weapons and Armor (which would fetch a total of 750G if sold to the Armory). He also has one Potion valued at 150G, along with the Ring of Return Artifact with a used price of 250 Gold. The party as a group has a total of 1,000 in unspent Gold amongst them. His RV is equal to [750G + 150G + 250G + ¼(1,000G)], or 1,400 Gold. Since he does not have enough to retire comfortably, the rest of the party must donate 100 Gold to him, to bring his RV up to a total of 1,500 Gold.

The point of forced retirement is to siphon off excess wealth from the party, so they continue having something meaningful to spend their stockpiled gold on (such as a new rookie Hero). If a Hero who is of retirement age is not used for three Quests, they will collect their Gold and retire. Artifacts sold to the Armory/Alchemist’s Shop may be bought back at 500 Gold each (1,000 Gold for Borin’s Armor).


I don't have a system for upgrading Hero Skills. But I do use a modification to the Barbarian (credit to Metalzoic on BGG), adding a permanent Skill, but bumping his starting Attack Dice down to two to compensate.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3315342/article/44399381#44399381


Barbarian Strength Skill
Most of the other Heroes all have special Spell and/or Skill cards specifically tailored for them. The Dwarf has an innate Disarm Traps skill. The default Barbarian has nothing, but starts with a better weapon. So, here is an innate skill for the Barbarian which is active all the time:

Barbarian Strength – The Barbarian gets +1 Attack Die when not restricted.

– The Barbarian is restricted if they are: 1) attacking through a doorway, 2) in a narrow hallway, 3) using a crossbow, or 4) wearing and/or carrying more than three Defense Dice worth of armor.

– The Barbarian starts with a broken Broadsword (2 AD, treat it the same as a Short Sword).


If you like creating custom Heroes, there is a formula you can use to make sure they are balanced. This was another of Snuttbiffer's contributions over on BGG.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2537122/article/43069046#43069046


Custom Hero Creation Rules
The four heroes of the original HQ are based upon a 16-point allocation system as follows:

1 point for each attack die, 1 point for each defend die, 1 point for every Body Point, 1 point for every Mind Point, 1 point for Martial Prowess (the ability to wield weapons and wear armor; beyond the usual wizard restrictions), 1 point for each College of spells, and 1 point for a particular skill such as Disarm Traps.

For example . . .
Barbarian = 3 attack die, 2 defend die, 8BP, 2MP, and 1 Martial Prowess = 16 total.
Barbarian (Strength) = 2 attack die, 2 defend die, 8BP, 2MP, 1 Martial Prowess, and 1 Barbarian Strength = 16 total.
Dwarf = 2 attack die, 2 defend die, 7BP, 3MP, 1 Martial Prowess, and 1 Disarm Traps = 16 total.
Elf = 2 attack die, 2 defend die, 6BP, 4MP, 1 Martial Prowess, and 1 College of spells = 16 total.
Wizard = 1 attack die, 2 defend die, 4BP, 6MP, and 3 Colleges of spells = 16 total.

*all heroes have 2 movement die.
**a hero must possess at least 2MP per spell college they wish to know.


I do have a set of Power Dice I bought from Spielwarensaloon.de, as they were by far the best price. I use them to upgrade player dice. The more Quests you complete, the more dice you get. But I'll talk about them below...

Cheers!

[CavemanLogic]

4. Replace dice movement with something more realistic.

I *really* don't like a system where one Hero innately moves faster than the others. HeroQuest encourages the party to stick together, and when you have a fleet-footed Elf sprinting ahead of the pack, while Stumpy the Dwarf brings up the rear, that just doesn't work for me...

I use a very simple modification to the dice to get rid of those annoying low rolls. I simply treat all rolled 1's as 2's on the Red Movement dice. You get a better movement range of 4-12, rather than the 2-12 of the base game.


Hero’s Movement Dice
Treat ones as twos (2,2,3,4,5,6) on all rolled movement dice. This gives a slight bump to the average movement rate, from 7.0 to 7.33, and eliminates those annoying low movement results of 2’s and 3’s (on 2d6). Another possibility is to use Averaging Dice (2,3,3,4,4,5) for movement instead.


Rolling two Averaging Dice maintains that average of 7 squares of movement per throw, with a condensed range of 4-10. Or go with one Averaging Die + one standard D6. Same average of 7 movement squares, with a range of 3-11 instead. But I prefer my Option A above (treat all 1's as 2's)...

Cheers!