Illumination Rules

[Malcadon]

I have been thinking about how to add rules for lighting and limited visibility in HeroQuest. Visibility is already covered in the rules as what a Hero an "see." Darkness/Blindness is simple enough: A Hero can only "see" in the adjacent (and diagonal) areas around him. Unless a room or corridor is noted as being illuminated by a torch icon, it is assumed to be dark. A torch icon will illuminate a whole room, or what it can "see" in a corridor. Heroes can carry their own lighting, but it would limit them in some way. Anything cough on fire will provide light.

A Torch is cheap, but it can only be used once per adventure. They will last a whole adventure, or until they blowout. Whenever a torch-baring Hero opens a door, the player rolls a Combat Die. If it rolls a , it goes out, and bust be replaced. Any other result means it stays lit. An action is required to light up a new torch. One could attack a monster with a torch, with an attack strength of one Combat Die. If a is rolled, it goes out. A Hero cannot hold a shield, off-handed weapon or two-handed weapon while carrying a torch.

(Optional) If a Mummy is hit, it's bandages catch on fire and takes one hit per turn on a (no defense). If a is rolled, it stops burning. Before you start whacking Mummies with torches and lobbing firebombs at them for easy kills, remember, that they can add one Combat Die to attack rolls as their arms are now burning. Skeletons, Ghosts, Gargoyles or any other types of animated statures are immune to torch attacks, and they cannot be set on fire.

A Lantern is pricey, but it can be used in all adventures. Unlike torches, they do not blowout. They cannot be used to attack like torches. Like a torch, a Hero cannot hold a shield, off-handed weapon or two-handed weapon while carrying a torch.

Smoke Bombs can be thrown on any empty space, or space occupied by a figure, to provide temporary cover. That square, and all adjacent and diagonal spaces, are covered in thick smoke for one turn. For that turn, no one can see through it, and anyone inside are effectively Blinded. Any smoke discharged over an open pit would sink inside, leaving the area above it clear. Discharging a Smoke Bomb into an open pit would only effect the inside of the pit. (Note that traps can be rigged to discharge Smoke Bombs.)

Being Blinded means that a Hero can only "see" in the adjacent (and diagonal) areas around him do to touch. Attacking while blinded grants the opponent an extra Combat Die. Any spell or hazard that reduces invisablitiy

I have dealt with the topic of stealth rules before, here and here, that could work in conjunction with these rules.

Monsters are immune to normal, non-magical darkness (but they may still be blinded by other effects). As an option, the Dwarf and Elf can also be immune to normal, non-magical darkness (but that could make things too easy on them).

Artifacts and Spells that effects illumination

Some artifacts can give off light like a torch or a lantern. With the former, the Artifact sheds magic fire. This is ideal for weapons that can burn enemies. This may or may not blowout like a torch. With the later, the Artifact gives off light but not heat, so it cannot be used to make attacks. Evil Wizard Players are encouraged to come up with their own spells and artifacts.

Orc's Bane would illuminate like a lantern in the presence (in sight) of Orcs.

Spirit Blade would illuminate like a lantern in the presence (in sight) of the Undead.

Wizard's Staff can would illuminate (or unlit) like a lantern as a free action.

Spell Scroll: Fire of Vengeance is an expendable item that allows the caster to enchant his weapon to illuminate like a torch. It can set enemies on fire like a touch, and can go out like one. If it goes out, all the effects are lost. It only lasts for one adventure.

Spell Scroll: Ghost Light is an expendable item that allows the caster to enchant his weapon to illuminate like a lantern. It only lasts for one adventure.

Casing Fireball and Fire of Wrath spells will provide illumination during the turn they are cast. As on option (likely out of an emergency), a Hero can cast one of these spells on a piece of wooden furniture to provide free torches -- one for each Hero.

A Hero using the Pass Through Rock to move though solid earth is automatically Blinded, but can sill see any adjacent and diagonal spaces that open area while moving.

The Firestorm spell would burn background elements, thus providing illumination to a room or corridor during and after it is cast.

____________________________

Yeah, I'm just spit-balling ideas around. Some of these rules would add too much complexity if not scaled back (HQ always gone with abstraction for the sake of simplicity), but I added them to provide more options and ideas.

Do anyone else have any other ideas or opinions on this?

[cynthialee]

I like it. My only issue is the ruling of no shield when you are armed with a torch and you only giving it one dice.
I suggest that you could use a shield with a torch. Also I posit that the torch is a flaming club, thus it is due 2 combat dice and those things like gargoyles and statues would take only 1 dice damage instead of the 2 I would give the torch against normal foes.
As for continuing damage against a mummy, I would roll one dice per turn until the mummy was dead or a black shield is rolled indicating the fire went out.

I like the idea of heroes needing a light source as it means someone has to equip one of their hands with the lantern or torch.

[StratosVX]

As far as the lantern goes, I would suggest that the oil lasts a certain number of quests instead of indefinitely. Make lantern oil something you can purchase. Also, maybe the lantern can be used as a small area of effect weapon in desperate circumstances. Of course, the lantern would be destroyed in the process.

[Big Bene]

I like it. My only issue is the ruling of no shield when you are armed with a torch and you only giving it one dice.
I suggest that you could use a shield with a torch.

I think Malcadon meant that normally a heroe carries your preferred weapon in his main hand and a torch for light in the other hand. So, just like with a two-handed weapon, he, can't use a shield at the same time. When he/she has the torch equipped as a weapon, he can carry a shield with the off-hand.


Having said this, I'd like to add my on illumination, as I have thought of it before, too:

• In general, I would not include illumination into the "basic rules", as it goes quite far above the simplicity that makes the charme of HQ. So, I would just assume that "normal" dungeons are already lit by their inhabitants (see also here), and do it the "HeroQuest Way", i. e. start simple and intorduce advanced rules in the form of questnotes or "special rules" for quests or quest-packs. For example, the concept of henchmen is introduced in the Wizards of Morcar expansion, but after you played it, you have the henchmen rules in your set and will probably use them in (at least some of) your future quests, both official and home-made. In the same way you can leave the illumination rules for the start and save them for later quests, assuming that under normal circumstances chaos sorcerers don't want to stumble around in the dark and have their leirs lit. Later, you can introduce dungeons that are for some reason left dark and require the heroes to carry light sources.
• You have already written some rules how to light romms / corridors, but you still have to come up with the consequences if the heroes fail to do so correctly, i. e. what rules apply for moving/fighting/searching/exploring in the dark. Here are some ideas I had about this - never thought them really through, however, let alone playtested any of it. I have no idea how they wold work in practical gameplay:
  • Darknes rules apply as soon as a hero enters a dark room or corridor without carrying a light source, if he steps out of the range of light, of if a light source is dropped or else put out or if the only light source is carried out of range. If a hero starts movement in light and enters darknes in the mid of a movement, he may take one step into the darknes, then he must stop.
  • Movement in the darknes is restricted to 3 squares (makes this any number you think practical).
  • In darknes, naturally nothing can be seen, objects can only detected by touching them. So monsters, furniture and traps in the darknes are only put on the board if a hero steps into an direktly adjactant square (including diagonale), and are taken away again when the hero leaves the adjactance of the object or, in the case of monsters, it moves away itself.
  • Attack and defense dice in meele combat are halved (rounded up). Undead are not affected. If one opponent stands in the dark, the other in light, none of them is restricted (e. g. the barbarian holds a door of a lighted room, standing in the dark corridor. It is assumed that enough light falls on him through the door for the monsters on the next squares to hit him).
  • Ranged combat is impossible if the target is in the dark. Shooting out of the dark at a target in the light has no restrictions.
  • searching for traps or secret doors in the dark only reveals those objects that are in adjactant squares.
  • searching an entire room for trasure is impossible in the dark, but one can search a chest etc. if standing on an adjactant square. Treasure is only found if the quest notes say so for the givne piece of furniture.
  • disarming a trap should be impossible or at least much more diffcult.
  • Magic spells wich require a target to be seen can only be cast on targets on adjactant squares.
  • There may be new spells or artifacts wich allow to "see in the dark", such neglecting the restrictions for one character while leaving them in place for the others.

[whitebeard]

I only have the original game system, and I have not read anything about dark areas or noticed torch icons on the maps for the 14 quests. It seems to me that the need to carry a torch takes a lot of the fun out of the game, and is overlooked on purpose like encumberance, and crossbow bolts.

Dwarves and elves see as well as the monsters in the dark. You can assume the wizard casts a minor spell to give the other two night vision upon entering any dungeon. Or that sufficient torches are always available, part of basic movement, etc.

I was going to look for a thread/start a new thread and ask how others handle the situation where a monster is set at the end of a very long corridor. I use about 1/3 of the board length for max sight distance in the dungeons. This way occasionally a monster becomes visible and is able to get the first attack.

[Malcadon]

You have already written some rules how to light romms / corridors, but you still have to come up with the consequences if the heroes fail to do so correctly, i. e. what rules apply for moving/fighting/searching/exploring in the dark.

Yeah, the rules are far from play-tested. But good catch with that list.

I only have the original game system, and I have not read anything about dark areas...

I think there is some confusion with my "Visibility is already covered in the rules as what a Hero an 'see.'" statement. I mean, in the US rules, it notes the limitations of visibility with regards to range attacks and spells. Everyone can see across the game board as dungeons are assumed to be lit in some way like what you see in the movies.

With illumination house rules, the Heroes caught in darkness would have their visibility reduced to the eight sounding adjacent and diagonal squares -- this would largely be do to groping the surrounding area, Pit and the Pendulum style.