More Finir stuff for Ettin

Years ago, I found this image on a HeroQuest forum:



Like most gamers, I was introduced to the Fimir through the HeroQuest boardgame.

(And yes, the HQ Wizard is a total sitzpinkler!)

HeroQuest is a boardgame from 1991 (1989 in the UK) by MiltonBradly, with the partnership of GamesWorkshop, that is loosely set in the Warhammer world. As such, the game comes with monsters iconic to Warhammer at the time, with Fimir, Chaos Warriors, Chaos Warlock/Sorcerer and the Gargoyle that looks like the dread Bloodthirster. The Dwarf Hero figure is based on the dwarf seen on the cover of White Dwarf issue #90, although the Barbarian Hero is just another Conan knockoff. The artwork used in the game is utterly grim and dark, that includes the talents of Gary Chalk and Les Edwards. The game comes with a bunch of highly detailed plastic figures, and
includes 3D furniture made of cardboard and plastic parts. The game has a huge cult following (to which I'm apart of), with a huge community full of great advice and free supplemental material.

The board itself is a series of empty rooms and corridors, separated by walls, that relies on the placement of free-standing doors and stonewall tiles to form the shape of the dungeon. As the Heroes explore the dungeon, the game master (Moncar in the UK; Zargon in the US; "The Evil Wizard Player" in general) places the doors, tiles and monsters on the board as soon as a hero "sees" them (as they come within line-of-sight of the figure), and he can interpret the player's movement to give a description if the Quest notes call for it. The general layout of the dungeon is apparent to the players, but not all rooms and corridors are used in a given Quest (unused areas are highlighted dark gray on the Questbook maps, and are treated as solid earth with regards with the Pass Though Earth spell), and some areas can be passed over by failing to search for secret doors. As such, each Quest in entirely different, each with their was hazards, and some Quests have entirely unique puzzles and/or hazards for the Heroes to overcome.

The rules are dirt-ass simple! On a turn, the Heroes goes first, followed by the Evil Wizard Player. Each Hero can move then preform an action, or preform an action then move. You roll 2d6 to get your Movement Points for the turn (you don't need to use all of it). For the Heroes, actions are: Attack, cast spell, search (for traps, treasure or secret doors) and disarm trap. For monsters, its just attack, or cast spell, if so equipped. Attacking is also really simple: Both sides roll Combat Dice equal to their Attack Dice score and Defense Dice score, respectfully. Each Skull rolled by the attacker counts as a hit, while every (White or Black) Shield rolled by the defender blocks one hit, with any unblocked hits taken as damage (hit points in this game are called Body Points). A Combat Die is a simple rounded d6, with the following sides: x3 Skulls, x2 White Shields, and x1 Black Shield. Only the Heroes can use White Shields, while monsters are limited to Black Shields, thus giving the Heroes a significant edge in combat (besides the greater number of Body Points and availability of healing spells/potions). Spells are similar to D&D, where you can only use them once per adventure. Unless the Quest notes stats otherwise, treasure is found by drawing a card form the Treasure Deck. Besides getting gold and one-use potions from the deck, you can stumble into hazards or wandering monsters.

Between Quests, you can spend your gold on weapons and armor to boost
your basic attack or defense dice, with some weapons having additional rules like reach (allows for diagonal attacks), shooting, throwing, two-handed use, and the like. Unfortunately, the Heroes do not gain experience to boost their stat or acquire special abilities or skills. They only gain power form finding treasure and buying better gear, and in some quest are cheap enough to strip the hard-earned gear form the players.

Thankfully, the game is so simple and open-ended, that Evil Wizard Players can house-rule the shit out of the game without fucking it up too much. Many HQ fans (including myself) buy and assimilate other game sets into the core HQ set; mostly for the added props and miniatures; sometimes even the rules. Some of the most common games assimilated are: Dragon Strike, Dragon Quest, DarkWorld, and Dungeons & Dragons: The Boardgame. Where Dragon Strike gets snubbed for its wanky boards and use of the ugliest chunks of plastic to be called "miniatures", its includes something HQ is greatly lacking in: actual fucking role-playing rules! DS has rules that allows Heroes to preform Feats of Strength and Dexterity, have and make creative use of miscellaneous items (rope, touches, spikes, food, etc.), and the ability to ask monster questions, as well as to bribe them.

And by the way, as copies of HeroQuest are selling for a premium for awhile now, the cheapest method for getting into the game is by buying the right props form third-party miniature companies (like the cheap vinyl furniture form Reaper's Bones line), and printing out the rules, cards and tiles (even fold-up miniatures) form the many pics and PDFs floating round the net, to essentially build your own set from scratch!