Advanced HeroQuest
Advanced Heroquest Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The following is a brief summary of the Advanced Heroquest components; rules for their use are covered later.
Heroes and Monsters
The miniatures in the box represent Heroes, Henchmen, and monsters. There are 4 Heroes (a Warrior, a Wizard, a Dwarf and an Elf), 12 Henchmen, and 20 Skaven - mutant Ratmen whose winding tunnels form an Under Empire beneath the ground.
The models should be slotted into the bases provided, and the moulded shields should be attached to the arm studs (note the Wizard and Elf don't have shields).
The three different colours of bases can be used to show which model is which type of monster. For example, you could have Skaven Warriors with one colour of base, Sentries with another, and Champions with a third. These can be changed from game to game, provided everyone knows what they represent.
Dungeon Sections
Advanced Heroquest is played on interlocking card dungeon floorplans. The system of interlocking passages, junctions and rooms can be used again and again to create an infinite variety of dungeons. You won't run out of floorplans because you can take up the sections you've already explored to lay out the dungeon before you.
The interlocking sections are: Passage, T-Junction, Corner, Dead End, and Stairs.
Rooms aren't cut to interlock, so you can place them anywhere against a passage. The large paving slabs that form the dungeon floor are also the grid on which you move the models. Room sections include the Small Room and the Revolving Room.
Other sections are placed on the floorplans to show the position of features such as chasms, thrones, treasure chests and so forth.
Doors
The 6 plastic doors show where entrances to rooms and passages are placed. When the Heroes open a door, you can change the position of the plastic door in its frame to show that it's open.
Counters and Templates
Character Monster Counters. Leading the monsters in a dungeon are more powerful characters - Champions, Warlords, Sorcerers and Daemons. The GM takes some of these counters at the start of a dungeon, and can add them to groups of monsters encountered by the Heroes. The counters provided include the Clan Skryre White Skaven Sorcerer, the Clan Mors Warlord, a Chaos Sorcerer and a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.
Dungeon Counters. These are put into a cup and drawn at random by the GM, who can then play them at various times during the game.
- Trap Counters: The GM can play these as the Heroes explore rooms and passages, or when they open treasure chests.
- Wandering Monster Counters: When one of these is played the GM can create a group of monsters to attack the Heroes.
- Ambush Counters: If the Heroes are fighting monsters, the GM can play this counter to sneak some more monsters into battle.
- Escape Counters: These allow character monsters to escape from combat if things aren't going too well for them.
- Character Counters: If a character monster has previously escaped, the GM can bring it back to fight again with this counter.
- Fate Counters: Playing one of these allows a monster to avoid a killing blow or to change a dice roll to get a good result.
Monster Wound Counters. When a monster is wounded, the GM places one of these counters beside the monster to show how many Wounds it has taken. The counters are numbered 1 to 8. If a monster has more than 8 Wounds (such as large monsters like Ogres or Trolls), you can keep a note of the number of Wounds taken on a piece of scrap paper.
The Shattered Amulet. The Amulet comes in four pieces which join together. Keep the pieces hidden from the players, and only hand one over when they have completed one of the quest dungeons. This way they'll build up the Amulet as they go, with each piece revealing more of the secret message inscribed around the outer edge.
Treasure Maps
There are four treasure maps to accompany the Quest for the Shattered Amulet. These can be found by the Heroes as they explore - the maps should be given out in the same order as the dungeons they show. If the players find more than four maps, you can draw some yourself - perhaps for a future quest. The maps are: The Warlord's Lair, The Magic Maze, The Plague Temple and The Amber Room.
Note that there is no map for the final part of the quest, the Prison of Ice, which should come as a complete surprise to the players. Even if they find a fifth map, don't give them a map to this location.
Dice
The dice used in Advanced Heroquest are twelve-sided. When you're told to roll a dice, it means a twelve-sided dice - often referred to as a D12. You roll these dice just like a normal six-sided dice, reading the uppermost number.
Some tables require you to roll two dice and add the results to get a score between 2 and 24 - this is referred to as 2D12. You can also roll a dice and add a fixed number; for example, roll a dice and add three to get 4 to 15 - this is expressed as D12+3.
Reference Sheets
The central eight pages of this rulebook should be removed and used as reference sheets. The character sheets give you eight ready-to-play Heroes. The first four are the starting Advanced Heroquest Heroes and represent the miniatures you get in this box; the other four are based on the models from the MB's Heroquest game. Either cut these up and hand them to the appropriate players, or have the players copy the information onto blank character sheets.
There is a dungeon exploration reference sheet which includes all the most commonly-used tables for ease of use during play.
The other five pages are monster reference sheets covering the most common Warhammer monsters, including all the specialist and character Skaven from the Quest for the Shattered Amulet.
At the end of the book are two pages which you are permitted to photocopy for personal use. There is a blank Hero character sheet on which you can record characteristics, equipment and so forth, and a blank dungeon mapping sheet. There are also two sheets for the GM: a blank monster reference table for you to fill in with details of new monsters, or to make quick reference sheets for specific dungeons, and a blank set of Monster Matrices to create new encounter tables for your own quests.
How to Play Advanced Heroquest
Before you start, the Gamesmaster (GM) should read this booklet through at least once so that he has a rough map of the game in his head and knows where to look for particular rules.
The Gamesmaster has a number of vital tasks to perform during the game. When the Heroes are exploring, he lays out the dungeon sections, revealing the new passages and rooms as they occur. Most of the time, the layout is created according to a series of dungeon generation tables, with the GM choosing how to place many of the sections. In the quest areas, the GM works from a prepared map, informing the players of the contents of each section as they enter it.
The GM controls the monsters - the fearsome creatures that make their lairs in the dark underworld and threaten the civilised peoples above. The Heroes will be trying to destroy the monsters and loot their treasure, and it is the GM's job to fight back, using the monsters to try and kill the Heroes or drive them from the dungeon.
The GM also controls the traps that have been set around the dungeon, choosing when to play traps upon the Heroes and checking the effects when he does play them.
Finally, the GM looks up the results of the Heroes' dice rolls, describes the type of room or treasure that has been discovered, and generally makes sure everything runs smoothly and according to the rules. A special section of the rules, called The Gamesmaster, fully explains the GM's role and the GM should read and understand this before playing the game.
The other players each control one Hero and, as the fame of their Hero spreads, a number of Henchmen. The Heroes explore the dungeon, moving through the labyrinthine passages and echoing chambers, and fight the monsters they encounter there, hoping to defeat them and recover their treasure. Each player decides what his Hero and Henchmen do: where they move, who they fight, what weapons to use, whether to cast magic if the Hero is a Wizard, and so forth.
The ultimate aim of the players is to develop a mighty Hero, a warrior or sorcerer whose exploits are known throughout the land. The successful Hero becomes more powerful as he learns new skills, gains magical items to help him, and attracts followers to aid him in his quests.
The immediate goal of the Heroes is to complete a quest - a mission they have chosen which links together the many expeditions they will make into the underworld. A quest may take place in more than one dungeon as the Heroes attempt to conquer different enemies or find a number of Quest Treasures. And it will probably take more than one expedition for the Heroes to fully explore each dungeon.
The Heroes
In Advanced Heroquest, you keep the same Heroes from game to game, developing their skills and building up their retinue of Henchmen. You only need to start again if your Hero is killed - and, even then, there are arcane magics powerful enough to raise the dead.
For the first game, however, each player will need to choose the Hero he is going to play. Later, you'll learn how to create Heroes from scratch, but to start with it's a good idea to use the four Heroes that we've already created (you'll find the filled-in character sheets in the reference section). These are the Warrior Heinrich Lowen, the Dwarf Sven Hammerhelm, the Elf Torallion Leafstar, and the Wizard Magnus the Bright.
Each player should roll a dice, with the highest scorer having first choice of Hero. All four Heroes have their own strengths, so it doesn't matter too much which one you get. Take the prepared character for your Hero - if you want, you can copy the information onto a blank sheet so that you can change it during the game.
If there are only three players, one of the Heroes is left out. If there are two players, each one gets one Hero plus one Henchman. If there's only one player, he gets a Hero and two Henchmen. Make out a character sheet for each Henchman by copying the standard abilities of a Man-at-Arms onto a blank sheet (Henchmen are fully explained in the Between Expeditions section).
Filling in a Character Sheet
The character sheets detail the Heroes' abilities. The ready-made ones have all of the starting information about your Hero on, though these scores will change as the game progresses.
Each character sheet has a space for an illustration of your Hero and a blank shield on which you can draw your Hero's heraldic emblem. You should make a sketch of your Hero showing what weapons he's carrying and what armour he's wearing. If he finds or buys new weapons or gains a magical item, you can add these to the sketch.
Your Hero's Weapon Skill, Bow Skill, Strength, Toughness, Speed, Bravery and Intelligence are ranked out of 12, with 12 showing complete expertise in that characteristic.
- Weapon Skill (WS) measures how effective the Hero is with cutting and bashing weapons like swords and maces.
- Bow Skill (BS) measures his skill with a bow, or any other weapon he can throw or fire.
- Strength (S) and Toughness (T) are measures of his physical fitness.
- Speed (Sp) shows how quickly he can move.
- Bravery (Br) measures his courage when faced with the unknown.
- Intelligence (Int) puts a value on his brains.
Fate Points are a reflection of the legendary qualities of luck, a place in destiny, and those other indefinable qualities that mark the epic Hero. By spending a Fate Point (FP), you can change anything that just happened - you can even avoid being killed.
The Wounds (W) score measures how healthy the Hero is. When you suffer damage in combat or from traps you will lose Wounds. If your Wounds score falls to 0, you are knocked out. If it falls any lower than 0, that Hero dies, and must be removed from the game.
Notice that there are two columns for all these characteristics. The first is the Hero's starting level. This shows the Hero as he begins his life of adventure, without weapons, armour or injury. The next column is current level. Any changes to the starting level of a Hero should be recorded here, in pencil, since these scores can change numerous times. On the ready-made character sheets, you will see that some of the current level boxes already contain numbers; these are the characteristics that are different at the start of the game because of the Hero's armour. For example, Heinrich's Bow Skill has fallen from 7 to 6, his Toughness has improved from 6 to 8, and his Speed has fallen from 8 to 6. This is all due to his armour, which makes him slower and clumsier, but much harder to damage.
The next section is headed Hand-to-Hand Combat and is used when your Hero is fighting a monster. To hit an opponent, you make a hit roll using a 12-sided dice - the number you need to roll gets higher the greater the Weapon Skill of your opponent. The GM tells you the Weapon Skill, and you look for this number in the top row. The number underneath is the hit roll; you've got to roll equal to or greater than this - if you succeed, you've hit your target.
Next comes the Ranged Combat section, which works in much the same way. Count the number of squares to your target, and match it to the number in the top row. The number underneath is what you have to roll to hit the target.
Under that, the Hero's weapons are described. Each is listed separately, with four additional pieces of information. Range indicates the maximum range of the weapon - for example a short bow has a maximum range of 24 squares and can't be shot at anything further away. If there's no number for range, the weapon can't be used in ranged combat. Damage Dice gives the number of dice you roll in order to measure the damage a hit causes. If you roll the number shown in the Fumble space, something has gone wrong with your attack. If you roll the number in the Critical space, you have done much better.
Next, there is Armour, with three pieces of information about each item. These measure what effect the armour has on Bow Skill, Toughness and Speed. Each separate piece of armour should be listed, and their effects totalled. The overall effects on each characteristic should be added/subtracted from its current level.
The last section is Equipment, which lists the various additional items the Hero carries, for example, gold crowns, rope, magic potions and so forth. If the Hero is a Wizard, this space also lists his spell components, the special ingredients that are used up whenever he casts a spell. The player controlling the Wizard should also take the Spell Book.
The Gamesmaster's Preparations
While the Hero players are filling in their character sheets, the GM should prepare for his part in the game. He must:
- Place all the dungeon counters (see The Gamesmaster section) in a cup or mug.
- Sort out all the dungeon sections and place them in a convenient place near the playing surface.
- Place all the monsters, doors etc in the box, ready for use.
Starting Play
Once these preparations are complete, the game can begin. The GM should place a stairway section at the centre of the table. Running away from the stairs are two passage sections leading to a t-junction section. All dungeons start like this.
Each Hero player now rolls a dice. Whoever scores the highest (roll again to break a tie) becomes the Leader. The Leader rolls the dice as the dungeon is explored to see if a room has any doors, etc. He is also allowed to decide in what order the Heroes move, if they cannot decide for themselves. A new Leader is chosen after each combat, so each Hero player should get a chance to be the Leader at some time during an expedition.
The other Hero players should then roll the dice again. The player rolling highest becomes the Expedition Mapper. A complete record needs to be kept of the dungeon as it is discovered during each trip and a map drawn on a copy of the mapping sheet provided at the end of this booklet.
The players then place their Heroes on the stairway. No more than one model may be placed per square. If the Hero players can't agree who will start where, the Leader chooses for them.
Play then proceeds to the first exploration turn of the game.
Turns
In Advanced Heroquest, there are two types of turn: exploration turns and combat turns. Most turns are exploration turns - these are the periods when the Heroes are exploring the dungeon, moving into new areas, opening doors, searching rooms and passages, and so on.
You only start a combat turn if a previous exploration turn revealed monsters. Then you keep playing combat turns until you have defeated them - or they have defeated you!
Exploration Turns
Exploration turns are those in which the Heroes move around the dungeon looking for monsters to fight and treasure to loot. There will never be any monsters in sight during an exploration turn - if there are, you should be playing a combat turn instead.
Exploration turns consist of three distinct stages - or phases. You play through each phase before moving onto the next.
Hero Player Phase. The Heroes move. You may move your Hero (and Henchmen, if you have any) up to 12 squares, or have him search for secret doors or have him search for hidden treasure. A Hero who ends his move next to a doorway or chest may open or close it. A Hero may also spend one whole Hero player phase removing or putting on armour (or two whole phases doing both).
Exploration Phase. If the Heroes move to a point where they can see into a new section of the dungeon, the GM places new room and passage sections, using the rules you will find later. The exploration turn ends immediately if any of these sections contain monsters.
Gamesmaster Phase. The GM rolls a dice. On a roll of 1 or 12, he may draw a dungeon counter from the cup.
Hero Player Phase
During the Hero player phase, Heroes and Henchmen move around the dungeon and explore. Heroes may also open doors, search for treasure and so forth (Henchmen only move during this phase - they are armed guards, not adventurers, whose purpose is to help fight the monsters the Heroes discover).
The Heroes and Henchmen move one at a time. The players take it in turns to move their models, with each player moving all of his models before the next player moves any of his. Once a player removes his hand, the move cannot be altered (like chess). Only the player who controls the Hero may move him. If the Hero players cannot agree in which order they are going to move, the Leader must make that decision for them.
The following actions are available to a Hero during the Hero player phase.
- A Hero or Henchman may move up to 12 squares. He may move vertically or horizontally, but not diagonally. Any move that takes a Hero into an unexplored part of the dungeon (eg round a corner or through a door) must stop before it reaches the unexplored part. In the case of a door, this means at the door; in all other cases, it means somewhere on the junction. The new dungeon sections will be generated during the exploration phase of the turn.
- If a Hero ends his move next to a closed door, the player may choose to have him open it. The Hero must stop before opening the door and cannot both open and move through a door during a single exploration turn. If the door opens into an area of previously-unexplored dungeon, the new dungeon sections will be generated during the exploration phase of the turn.
- If a Hero ends his move next to a closed chest, the player may choose to have him open it. The contents of the chest are revealed by the GM and may be picked up by any of the Heroes or their Henchmen. If there are any disagreements over who gets what, each player rolls a dice with the highest scorer getting first choice.
- A Hero may spend the phase searching for secret doors. The player specifies which wall the Hero is searching - the Hero must be in the same dungeon section as the chosen wall, and the wall should not have been previously searched. The player rolls a dice and consults the Secret Doors Table. A Hero searching for secret doors can't move as well.
- If in a room that hasn't already been searched, a Hero may search for hidden treasure. The player rolls 2 dice and consults the Hidden Treasure Table. A Hero searching for hidden treasure can't move as well.
- A Hero may spend the phase removing or putting on armour. If armour is removed, the Expedition Mapper should record that the room or passage now contains the discarded armour - cross this out if anyone puts the armour on again. A Hero donning or removing armour can't move as well.
Secret Doors
Heroes may only search for secret doors in dead ends, or rooms which have no doors except the one they entered by. A Hero may search one wall in a room or dead end per exploration turn, provided he starts the exploration turn in that room or corridor section. Searches may only be made for secret doors on the side walls of dead ends (ie the 5 square long wall). The player must state which wall his Hero is searching before he rolls on the Secret Doors Table.
Each wall may be searched once only - if the search is unsuccessful, there's nothing to be found there. The Expedition Mapper records any secret doors that are found there, and any walls which have been unsuccessfully searched.
Secret Doors Table (D12)
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The GM may draw 1 dungeon counter (see The Gamesmaster section). |
| 2-6 | There is no secret door in this wall section. |
| 7-12 | The Hero finds a secret door and may place it wherever he likes in the section of wall he was searching. |
Hidden Treasure
Heroes may search for hidden treasure in any room. Each room may only be searched once - if the search is unsuccessful, there's no treasure to be found. The Expedition Mapper should record rooms which have been searched for hidden treasure, successfully or not.
Hidden Treasure Table (2D12)
| 2D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-6 | The GM may draw 1 dungeon counter (see The Gamesmaster section). |
| 7-16 | There is no hidden treasure in this room. |
| 17-23 | The Hero finds a cache of hidden treasure - roll a dice and multiply the score by five to find the value of the treasure in gold crowns. |
| 24 | The Hero finds a hidden magical treasure - roll two dice and consult the Magic Treasure Table in the Treasure section. |
Searching for hidden treasure and secret doors does have a negative side. To reflect the time wasted, the Secret Door Table and the Hidden Treasure Table have entries which read The GM may draw one dungeon counter. For the Heroes, suffice it to say that the time you spend in searches of this type allows the GM to group his defences, making life more difficult for you later on.
Traps
Traps are introduced into the game by the use of dungeon counters. The GM can play one of these either during the normal course of exploration when a Hero moves onto a square that has not been entered before, or when a Hero opens a chest for the first time. The GM plays the counter, and then rolls on the Traps Table to see what type it is (see the Traps section).
Spotting and Disarming Traps. The chance that a trap is spotted and the chance of disarming it are shown in the Traps Table. The Hero that triggered the trap must roll to see if he spots it. To do this the player rolls a dice and compares the result to the spot trap chance for the trap. If the dice roll is equal to or higher than the spot trap chance, the Hero sees the trap before it can take effect. If not, the trap goes off.
If a trap is spotted, any of the Heroes can try to disarm it (not just the Hero who spotted it). If the Hero is not in a square adjacent to the trap, he must move up to the trap before trying to disarm it. The Hero should roll a dice and compare the score to the relevant disarm trap chance. If the dice score is equal to or higher than the disarm chance then the trap is disarmed and can be ignored. If the result is lower, the trap goes off.
In any case, if the Hero rolls a 12 he may add +1 to all disarm trap rolls in the future (he should make a note of this on his character sheet). On the other hand, if he rolls a 1, he loses 1 extra Wound above and beyond the stated effects for the trap.
If you prefer, traps that have been spotted may simply be left alone. If the trap was in a chest, the chest cannot be opened. If the trap was in a square, that square and any adjacent squares may not be moved through; if any Heroes are already in this area of effect they must be moved back until they are no longer within the area.
Exploration
When you start a new game of Advanced Heroquest, only a very small part of the dungeon is revealed - the stairs leading down, and a double length of passage leading to a junction. Part of the mystery is exploring - you have no idea where your quest will lead. Each expedition to the dungeon will reveal more of its dark secrets.
As you explore, you build up the dungeon plan with the sections provided. At the same time, the Expedition Mapper should keep a full record of the dungeon on the mapping sheets - including any special features such as undefeated monsters and unopened treasure chests.
There are many possible layouts for dungeons. You can have a dungeon that is only one level, with no stairs going down. You can have a dungeon that has many levels, descending deep into the earth, with the Heroes' opponents becoming ever more powerful the deeper they go. You can decide to limit the size of a dungeon in advance, or just let it go on for as long as it can.
Each dungeon, whatever the overall layout, is made up of rooms and passages. For most areas of the dungeon, these are randomly chosen using the dungeon generation tables. The passages link the rooms together, and may also contain wandering monsters to threaten the Heroes. Rooms fall into four categories: Normal Rooms which are small empty chambers; Hazard Rooms which contain some kind of special feature; Lairs which are the homes of groups of monsters; and Quest Rooms which are the key locations in a dungeon.
Quest Rooms contain features that are vital to the Heroes' successful completion of their adventure. They might, for example, be the arcane laboratories of mad Alchemists; they could be the heavily-guarded chambers of powerful Warlords; or they might contain strange puzzles that have to be solved before the Heroes can descend to the next level and continue their quest.
At certain points in the dungeon there will also be areas known as Quest Locations. A Quest Location is a pre-generated section of dungeon for which the GM has a map that details the monsters, traps and treasures to be found therein. Quest Locations are usually the Heroes' ultimate objective within a dungeon - the one area that they must enter to achieve their goals. Quest Locations are designed by the GM before the quest begins, either using the dungeon generation tables as a guide, or purely from his own imagination.
Quest Locations contain Quest Treasures. A Quest Treasure is usually a specific item of value for which the Heroes are searching. Sometimes it is valuable only to the Heroes as it is part of their quest; at other times a Quest Treasure will be worth hundreds or thousands of gold crowns. A Quest Treasure may even be a person on occasion, if, for example, the Heroes' quest is to rescue a prisoner. Whatever their nature, it is the recovery of Quest Treasures that determines when the Heroes have completed a quest.
The Quest for the Shattered Amulet shows how individual quests may be linked together into a larger quest, or campaign. There are four dungeons in the Quest for the Shattered Amulet, all of which follow the same principles for layout. Each dungeon has three levels. The Heroes enter on the first level underground and explore until they find a Quest Room - here there is a stairway going down to the next level (all other stairways lead out of the dungeon). On the second level they again search through the dungeon, killing the Skaven that live there, until they find a Quest Room; again there is a stairway down. The entire third level is a Quest Location and each dungeon has a different ready-drawn map that the GM follows to lay out the dungeon sections and stock the rooms with monsters. For the purposes of gaining Fate Points, etc, each dungeon and each piece of the Amulet counts as a separate quest. The overall quest, however, is only complete when all four parts of the Amulet are in their hands.
Generating the Dungeon
The rooms and passages of the dungeon come to life as the Heroes explore. They are randomly generated using the passage and room generation tables, so the Heroes won't know what they're going to find.
Passages
Passages can be found leading off junctions and behind some doors.
- Junctions: if the Heroes are exploring from a junction, they will find passages leading from each unexplored exit.
- Room Doors: if the Heroes open a previously-unopened door in a room, there is an even chance that there will be a passage or a room beyond it. Roll a dice - evens mean it's a passage, odds a room.
- Passage Doors: all doors from passages lead into rooms.
Whenever the Heroes explore a new passage, whether it starts from a junction or a door, the Leader rolls on the following three tables. First he rolls a dice to determine the passage length; then two dice to see if there are any passage features; and finally another two dice to discover what lies at the end of the passage.
Passage Length Table (D12)
| D12 | Length |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1 Section |
| 3-8 | 2 Sections |
| 9-12 | 3 Sections |
Passage Features Table (2D12)
| 2D12 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 2-4 | Wandering Monsters |
| 5-15 | Nothing |
| 16-19 | 1 Door |
| 20-21 | 2 Doors |
| 22-24 | Wandering Monsters |
Doors: The Leader decides in which section of the passage the door is to be placed, and on which side of the passage. The GM then decides exactly where to put the door in the chosen wall section.
Wandering Monsters: The GM rolls on the Wandering Monsters Table.
Passage End Table (2D12)
| 2D12 | Passage End |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | T-Junction |
| 4-8 | Dead End |
| 9-11 | Right Turn |
| 12-14 | T-Junction |
| 15-17 | Left Turn |
| 18-19 | Stairs Down |
| 20-22 | Stairs Out |
| 23-24 | T-Junction |
Junctions and Turns: Place the appropriate junction or corner dungeon sections as indicated.
Dead End: The passage ends in a pile of fallen rocks where the ceiling has caved in - there is no way for the Heroes to pass this obstruction.
Stairs: Stairs out always lead up to the surface - if the Heroes go any further this way the expedition is over. Stairs down lead to the next dungeon level.
Junctions and Corners
Junctions may be placed as a result of a roll on the Passage Ends Table. Passages lead off from all exits from a junction, and only when a Hero is actually standing on the junction will he be able to see what leads off it. Corner sections count as junctions, so you can't see round a corner until you are standing on it.
Doors
Doors can be discovered in the walls of passages, and in rooms. They are always closed when first encountered, and you only generate what lies behind them when a Hero opens a door. The Leader decides in which wall the doorway will be placed, and the GM then places the door wherever he likes in the nominated wall or passage section. Only one door may be placed per wall or passage section.
Doors can be placed so that they lead to dungeon sections that have already been explored, in which case they are assumed to be secret doors the Heroes did not spot from the other side. When this happens, you don't need to roll to find out what is on the other side of the door.
Obviously, the door models are used to show whether doors are left open or closed. If a door model is removed from the table for any reason, the door will be closed if encountered again.
Secret Doors. When a secret door is found, the Hero player who discovered it places it wherever he likes in the wall he was searching.
Opening Doors. When a Hero opens a previously-unopened door at the end of a Hero player phase, generate what lies behind it using the following procedure:
- Room Doors: If the Heroes are opening the door from inside a room, roll a dice. On an even number, the door opens into a passage (roll on the passage generation tables). On an odd number it leads to another room (roll on the room generation tables).
- Passage Doors: Doors opened from a passage section always lead to a room.
Stairs
Stairs either lead down to the next level of the dungeon, or up and out of the dungeon. When a Hero enters a stairway section that leads out of the dungeon, he can complete that expedition and be removed from the table. When all the surviving Heroes have left the dungeon, that expedition is over.
The stairway sections are also used to show stairs down to the next level, and as the beginning point of the new level. Just as in the original set-up beyond the entrance, the new level will begin with a stairway and two lengths of passage leading from it.
Rooms
Rooms will be discovered behind many of the doorways. They may contain monsters, traps and treasure, and some have special features.
When a room result is generated during exploration, the Leader rolls a dice and consults the Room Type Table to find out what type of room it is. The table also tells the GM whether he should place a large or small room section.
Room Type Table (D12)
| D12 | Room Type | Room Section |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Normal | Small |
| 7-8 | Hazard | Small |
| 9-10 | Lair | Large |
| 11-12 | Quest | Large |
Normal Rooms: These are small, empty chambers, long-abandoned by their original occupants.
Hazard Rooms: These rooms contain some type of special feature, such as a magic fountain, an ancient sarcophagus, or a gaping chasm. The GM should consult the Hazards section to discover what feature is in the room.
Lairs: Lairs are the homes of groups of monsters who have colonised the dungeon and live in its darkened chambers. The GM should roll on the Lairs Matrix for this dungeon to find out what sort of monsters are here and how many of them there are. Lairs also always contain a treasure chest; if the Heroes open this, the GM should consult the Treasure section to see what's in it.
Quest Rooms: The key locations in a dungeon level, Quest Rooms usually contain something vital to the Heroes' chances of success. Quest Rooms always have monsters in them, guarding whatever it is the Heroes are after. The GM should roll on the Quest Rooms Matrix for this dungeon to see what monsters are here. Like Lairs, Quest Rooms also contain a treasure chest and the GM should consult the Treasure section for its contents if the Heroes open it.
Room Doors
Immediately after generating the room type and its contents, the Leader should roll a dice and consult the Room Doors Table to find out if there are any other exits. If there are doors, the Leader decides which wall or walls they are in, and the GM decides where to place them in the chosen walls.
Room Doors Table (D12)
| D12 | Number of Doors |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | None |
| 5-8 | 1 Door |
| 9-12 | 2 Doors |
Note that if the room contains a Sentry (this type of monster is explained later), there will always be at least one door, even if None is rolled on the table.
If the room contains a feature such as a statue or a stairway, doors should always be placed so that the feature is not blocking the way through them.
Placing New Sections
The GM places all newly-discovered dungeon sections. He has a fairly free choice, so long as he follows these simple guidelines:
- Passages are always straight, unless a corner junction is placed.
- Rooms must always share a wall with the passage or room from which they were entered.
- Passages discovered beyond rooms run alongside the room, not away from it. At least one passage section must share a wall with the room, but any others may be placed to the left or right. Obviously, such a passage will have two ends which must be generated.
Overlap. The GM should not place new sections so that they overlap existing ones. If a room is too large, use the smaller size. If this doesn't fit, the door is clearly a false one that doesn't lead anywhere! If there isn't space for the number of passages generated, use as many as you can fit in. If a junction has an exit that leads straight into a wall, replace it with one that doesn't. If all possible exits are blocked, add extra lengths of passage until one isn't. In all cases, where overlap causes a problem, the GM has the discretion to use a suitable alternative to the result rolled.
Re-using Dungeon Sections
As the dungeon grows, it is inevitable that the GM will find that he occasionally runs out of a certain sort of dungeon section. In this case, he can remove previously-placed sections for use as the newly-discovered sections. These should be taken from a part of the dungeon as far away as possible from wherever the Heroes are at the time. When (or if) they return to that part of the dungeon, the expedition map can be used to replace explored sections and any relevant features back in their correct position.
When you start a new level, it's best to clear away all the previous level's sections to leave the table clear for new discoveries.
Dead End Dungeons
It is possible (although highly unlikely) for a dungeon to be generated which has no new areas for the Heroes to explore. This can only occur if all corridors end in dead ends or stairs, all the doors that can be opened have been opened, and all possible areas that may have a secret door have been searched. In such circumstances, the Heroes are allowed to search for secret doors in locations that have already been searched, and may keep on doing so until they find a secret door that will allow them to carry on exploring the dungeon.
Mapping
Choose a new Mapper for each expedition into a dungeon. The map as it exists thus far will show you how to set up the dungeon, which is why the notes should be so precise.
The Expedition Mapper keeps a complete record of the dungeon as it is explored. Record every feature, like a trap, and any situations the Heroes leave unresolved, like a room full of monsters or unopened chests. Only note down features which remain once you've left a location - don't mark down treasure that you've taken, or traps that have gone off, for instance. For complicated features use abbreviations with notes on the corner of the map.
Combat
Combat turns start whenever monsters are found in the dungeon, and continue until either the monsters or the Heroes have been killed, or the Heroes have run far enough away so that the monsters give up the chase. Normally, monsters are found when a new dungeon section is explored, but the Heroes may come across wandering monsters, and the GM can spring some nasty surprises.
To decide whether you should be playing combat turns or exploration turns, try to visualise what the monsters can see - if there aren't any monsters, then it definitely isn't a combat turn. Obviously, if they are in the same dungeon section as the Heroes, they can see them and will attack. If the Heroes are in an open doorway and there are monsters in the next section, the monsters can see the Heroes. However, if the Heroes are a little way down from the doorway, they are out of sight and could evade the monsters.
Basically, if the monsters can see the Heroes, they attack. Of course, this is always the case when you first encounter them by opening a door. Monsters never retreat (although Sentries may go for help, and character monsters can be removed by the GM). If the Heroes attempt to leave the dungeon section in which they have been fighting, the GM may decide to let the monsters pursue.
Placing Monsters
Before the monsters are placed on the table, both the Leader and the GM roll a dice. This is called a surprise roll. Some Heroes are particularly fast-witted and keen-eyed and give a bonus to the Heroes' surprise roll. For example, if an Elf is looking into the room or passage where the monsters have been found, the Leader adds +1 to the dice when he rolls for surprise.
If the Leader scores equal to or higher than the GM, the monsters have been surprised. The Leader places the monsters in the dungeon section in which they were found, anywhere he likes, but only one monster per square. The GM can then move each monster one square. Now start a combat turn.
If the GM scores higher, the monsters surprise the Heroes. In this case, the GM places the monsters in the dungeon section where they were discovered, one monster per square and the Leader may move each one square. Play then proceeds to the GM phase of the first combat turn (in other words, the Heroes miss their first turn).
Monsters may only be placed on the room or passage section where they are encountered when they are first set up.
Sentries
There is a special rule for a certain type of monster, these are called Sentries. Sentries add +1 to the GM's surprise roll.
The dungeon section the Sentry appears in always contains a door (even if one was not rolled on the Room Doors Table), which may be placed by the GM. He can choose to have the Sentry open this door instead of making an attack (provided the Sentry is in an adjacent square).
If a Sentry opens a door into an unexplored part of the dungeon, generate the new section at the end of the GM phase, using the same system as in an exploration phase, and then continue with the next combat turn.
Distinguishing Special Monsters
If the monsters encountered include Sentries, or any of the other types of special monster that can appear, you'll need to be able to tell which monster is which. The easiest way to do this is to use the appropriate Citadel Miniatures for the different monster types.
If you haven't got a suitable miniature, you should use one of the special coloured bases provided. These don't need to represent the same type of monster every time they're used, as long as everyone knows what monster is being represented this time. Of course, sometimes when the Heroes meet a special monster type they won't know what sort it is until it acts - in such cases, the GM only has to reveal the monster's type (eg he tells the players it's a Sentry) once it has performed one of its special functions (eg it opens a door).
Sequence of Play
Just like an exploration turn, a combat turn is played as a sequence of phases, and you must complete each one before going on to the next.
Hero Player Phase
Each Hero player has several options during the Hero player phase. The Hero players decide amongst themselves who moves first - if they can't decide, the Leader decides for them. Any of the actions listed below can be performed by Heroes or Henchmen.
- A model can move and then attack, or it can attack and then move. If a Hero has several Henchmen, they don't all have to follow the same sequence - some can attack first, while others move first.
- A model may run instead of making an attack (this is explained later).
- A model that is beside a door may open or close it instead of making an attack. This can be done either before or after moving, but not in the middle of a move. If the door leads into an unexplored part of the dungeon, the new dungeon sections must be generated just as if this was an exploration turn. This is done at the end of the Hero player phase, after all the Hero players have moved their models. This means that a model can't move through a door that opens onto unexplored dungeon in the same phase as the door is opened, even if it is opened before moving. The same goes for models moving off junctions into unexplored areas.
Gamesmaster Phase
The GM has a similar range of options during his phase.
- The GM decides if his monsters are going to move and attack or attack and move. Whichever he chooses, all the monsters must follow the same routine. Each monster's actions must be completed before the GM starts to move/attack with the next monster.
- A monster may run instead of making an attack (this is explained later).
- Sentries may open doors instead of making attacks. This can be done either before or after moving, but not in the middle of a move. If the door leads into an unexplored part of the dungeon, the new dungeon sections must be generated just as if this was an exploration turn. This is done at the end of the GM phase, after all the monsters have moved. This means that a monster can't move through a door onto unexplored dungeon in the same phase as the door is opened, even if it is opened before the model moves. The same goes for monsters moving off junctions into unexplored areas.
- If the monsters are able to pursue (explained later), any monster may open a door instead of making an attack.
- If any special monsters, such as Sorcerors or Champions, fulfil their particular 'role' during this phase, the GM must reveal to the Hero players what type of monster they are. If a Champion attacks, or a Wizard casts a spell, or a Sentry opens a door, the GM reveals that model's identity.
End Phase
This phase only takes place if no monsters are left in play, or the Heroes escape.
Heroes are considered to have escaped if there are no monsters within sight at the end of the GM phase. The only exception is if this was solely achieved by closing a door, in which case the next turn is also played as a combat turn; if there are still no monsters in sight at the end of the next GM phase, the Heroes have escaped.
If the Heroes kill all the monsters, they may loot the bodies. The monster tables show how many gold crowns the Heroes find. If any of the monsters carried a magic item (as, for example, many character monsters do), that may also be taken. The GM must reveal what it is.
If the Heroes escape before killing all the monsters, they don't get to loot any of the bodies. Even if they later return to the place of the fight, they find that the dead monsters and their weapons have already been removed.
Finally the Hero players elect a new Leader, using the same procedure as at the start of the game. Play now resumes with an exploration turn.
Movement in Combat Phases
The GM decides in what order the monsters move. The Hero players decide amongst themselves in what order they move - if they cannot agree, the Leader decides for them.
A monster or Hero can be moved forwards, backwards, left or right a number of squares equal to its Speed. Models may not move diagonally, through another model or through an impassable obstacle (eg a wall or closed door). If a model is moved into a death zone, it finishes moving at once.
Attacks may only be made on opponents in vertically or horizontally adjacent squares. A model may be turned to face any direction, so it doesn't matter if an opponent is moved in front of or behind the model: the model can still turn to face it and make an attack. Attacks may not be made diagonally unless the attacker has a long reach weapon (such as a spear).
Death Zones
Each model exerts a death zone onto any square it can attack - the area that a combatant can threaten with a hand-to-hand weapon. Any model moved into an opposing creature's death zone stops moving there; you cannot continue to move a model after it has entered an enemy death zone. However, you may move it out of a death zone at the beginning of its move.
Certain long reach weapons, such as spears, halberds or two-handed swords, allow combatants to attack diagonally. Any model equipped with such a weapon exerts a death zone on all the diagonal squares around it as well as the ones vertically and horizontally adjacent.
A model's death zone is immediately focused when an opponent enters it. This means that the death zone is now concentrated onto the square the first opponent occupies, and all the other squares around the model can be moved through as normal. This doesn't mean the model has to attack an opponent in the focused square - if other opponents also move into adjacent squares, the model can choose which it attacks.
A model in an opponent's death zone cannot open or close doors, or open treasure chests. Being in an opponent's death zone also stops a Wizard from casting certain spells, such as Flames of the Phoenix.
Doors in Combat
Heroes, Henchmen and Sentries may open or close a door instead of making an attack, provided the model is beside the door at the time. A model may open or close a door before or after moving, according to the order originally chosen for movement and attack. The opening or closing of a door replaces the attack.
If a door is opened onto an unexplored section of dungeon during a combat turn, the new dungeon sections must be generated just as if this was an exploration turn. This is done at the end of the phase in which the door was opened - this means that a model can't open a door and move into an unexplored area during the same phase. The same goes for models moving off junctions that lead to unexplored dungeon.
Running
A model can run instead of making an attack. First, as usual, the model is moved as many squares as its Speed characteristic. Then the player rolls a dice. If he rolls 2 to 12, the model may move up to that many extra squares. If he rolls a 1, however, the model stumbles and cannot move any extra squares.
A model that runs cannot open or close any doors.
Pursuit
If the Heroes attempt to escape from an encounter, the GM may choose to have the monsters pursue them. A monster that pursues must run, unless it can end its normal move next to an opponent and attack. A monster that is in pursuit may open a door instead of making an attack.
Pursuit ends if all the monsters are able to make a normal move and attack, in which case the next turn is a normal combat turn, or if the Heroes escape, in which case the next turn is an exploration turn. The Heroes escape if they are out of sight of any monsters at the end of the GM phase. If this was achieved by closing a door, the monsters are allowed one more turn of pursuit - if the Heroes are still out of sight, they have escaped.
If the Heroes escape, the monsters return to the place they came from. This should be recorded on the map, along with the number that are left. If the Heroes return during this expedition they face the remaining monsters. If they return during a later expedition, the monsters have been restocked and the original number are present.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
A model may only make a hand-to-hand attack when it is adjacent to an enemy model (ie the target is in the attacker's death zone). Hand-to-hand attacks are the only type of attack that can be made when a model is adjacent to an enemy. Attacks may not be made diagonally unless the model is equipped with a long reach weapon. If a model is in contact with more than one enemy, the controlling player decides which one to attack before rolling any dice.
Each attack consists of one or two dice rolls. First the attacker makes a hit roll to see if the blow lands. If this hits, the attacker rolls for Wounds to see what damage it causes.
Hit Rolls. When a model makes an attack, look up the Weapon Skill of its target on the Hand-to-Hand Combat section of the attacker's character sheet or monster reference table. In the row underneath the Weapon Skill is the number the attacker must roll to hit. Roll a dice; if the score is higher than or equal to the required hit roll, the attack is successful and the model scores a hit.
Critical Hits. If the hit roll is a 12, the attack has caused a critical hit. This allows the attacker to make a free attack. Some large weapons, like halberds and double-handed weapons, can cause a critical on a hit roll of 11 or 12. The Weapons section of the attacker's character sheet or monster reference table gives the number needed for a critical.
Fumbles. If the hit roll is a 1, the attack is fumbled. This means the model makes such a hash of the attack, his opponent is presented with a golden opportunity to crack him over the head instead. The model being attacked makes an immediate free attack on the attacker. Just as larger weapons cause critical hits more often, so they cause more fumbles - these weapons cause a fumble on a hit roll of 1 or 2. The Weapons section of the attacker's character sheet or monster reference table gives the number needed for a fumble.
Free Attacks. Free attacks are brought about by critical hits or fumbles. A free attack is made immediately in addition to any normal attacks. Work out what happens with a free attack just like a normal one, including the chance that the free attack may score a critical hit or fumble of its own.
Wound Rolls. If the attack hits, roll again to see what damage is caused. The number of damage dice depends upon the weapon being used - the Weapons section of the attacker's character sheet or monster reference table gives this figure.
Roll the right number of dice, and compare each to the Toughness of the target. The target will suffer one Wound for each dice that scores a number equal to or greater than its Toughness.
A dice roll of 12 causes critical damage, which means that it causes a Wound and it may be rolled again (and again if another 12 is rolled).
Each player keeps track of the number of wounds his models have suffered. Hero players keep track on their character sheets. The GM should use the Wound counters, placing these beside monsters as they are wounded until they have been killed.
Ranged Combat
Ranged attacks are made against opponents outside normal hand-to-hand weapon reach; in other words, they are attacks with bows, crossbows and thrown missiles. To make a ranged attack, a model must qualify through five rules:
- The model must be carrying a ranged weapon (as shown on a Hero's character sheet or monster reference table).
- The model must not be in a square adjacent to its target.
- The model must not be in an enemy death zone.
- The target must be within range of the model's weapon. Range is counted as the number of squares from the attacking model (not counting the square the model is on) to the target (counting the target's square). Do not count diagonally. The maximum range of weapons is given on the model's character sheet or monster reference table.
- The model must have line of sight to the target.
Characters may only move and make ranged attacks with thrown weapons (eg daggers, spears and axes). You can only attack with a bow or crossbow if you don't move.
Line of Sight. To attack with a ranged weapon, there must be line of sight between the two models. The attacker must be able to clearly see his opponent in order to accurately shoot or throw a missile.
Individual players will always be the best judge of when an attacker has line of sight to a target. It's normally a matter for common sense. Obviously, all walls block line of sight, and so do doors, even open ones, unless either the target or the attacker is in the square immediately behind a door. Also, a model between the attacker and the target blocks line of sight, unless it is a friendly character in a square adjacent to the attacker.
To allow for those grey areas, you can also judge line of sight to be partially obscured. Be guided by the principle that if it is hard to judge whether the attacker has a clear sight of the target, then he probably doesn't and should have a reduced chance of hitting it. When firing at a partially obscured target, treat the range as if it were 4 squares greater than it actually is.
Hit Rolls and Wound Rolls. Ranged attacks are resolved in a similar way to hand-to-hand attacks. First a hit roll is made and then, if the attack hits, a wound roll is made.
Count the distance in squares to the target, excluding the square the attacker is on, but counting the target's. Do not count diagonally. Look up the total on the Ranged Combat section of the attacker's character sheet or monster reference table to find the score needed to hit. The target's Weapon Skill has no effect on an attack by a ranged weapon. If a hit is scored, resolve the damage in the same way as for a hand-to-hand attack.
Recovering Missiles. Daggers and throwing axes may only be thrown once. Each shot from a bow uses up one arrow, and the archer should keep a record of the arrows he has used.
Ranged weapons may be recovered once the combat is over and all the monsters have been killed (but not if the Heroes escape). Roll a dice for each arrow, dagger or throwing axe used. Arrows can be recovered intact on a roll of 10 or more, other weapons on a roll of 7 or more.
Critical Hits and Fumbles. Critical hits and fumbles occur on rolls of 12 and 1 respectively, just as with hand-to-hand attacks.
Critical hits with a ranged weapon are assumed to have found a chink in the target's armour or hit a vital spot. The target's Toughness is halved (rounding fractions down) when rolling for damage.
A fumble causes the attack to hit an ally instead of the target. If there is a friendly model within two squares of the target, it will have been struck instead. The player controlling the original target chooses which if more than one is available. If there is no such friendly model, the missile misses.
Fate Points
Fate Points change things which have just happened (ie incidents in that turn). For example, if a model was hit by an attack, he could spend a Fate Point after he had found out the number of Wounds he has suffered and thus negate all the damage. A model may not spend a Fate Point to change something that happened in a previous turn.
Although Fate Points can be used during exploration turns, they are most commonly used in combat. Each Hero starts the game with a number of Fate Points. A Hero may spend any number of Fate Points in the same combat turn. Fate Points cannot be lent to other Heroes or to Henchmen.
Fate Points can be spent to negate (ie to reduce to 0) any and all damage a Hero suffered in a turn. This is the single, most important function of Fate Points and can be used in any circumstance. It can be used to negate the damage from an attack, the damage from a trap or whatever.
Fate Points can also be spent to convert a failed dice roll into a successful dice roll. Again, this ability can be used under any circumstances. It could be used to convert a missed attack into a hit, a failed Intelligence test into a successful one and so on.
Gaining more Fate Points is covered in the Between Expeditions section. A player should be careful that he doesn't waste his Fate Points. Once they have all been used, a Hero is vulnerable, and could die at any time.
Death
A monster or Henchman is killed when its Wounds score is reduced to 0 or below. Remove the model from the table. Its slayer may be moved into the vacated square if its player so wishes.
Heroes are merely knocked out (KO'd) if their Wounds score is reduced to 0, and die only when it falls any lower than this. Place the model on its side while it is KO'd. A Hero may do nothing while in this condition, and counts as having a Weapon Skill of 1 if attacked. Another Hero can drag the victim 3 spaces instead of making a normal move, provided he starts his move in an adjacent square.
A KO'd Hero can be given a Healing Potion by any Hero or Henchman in an adjacent square who has one, as long as neither character is in an opponent's death zone. A KO'd Hero can also be restored to action by a healing spell.
A KO'd Hero may be carried by a comrade during exploration turns. However, the KO'd Hero and whoever carries him may move only up to six squares.
Magic
Magic is the most powerful force in the Warhammer world. Magic draws its energy from the roiling mass of Chaos that enters the world through two vast breaches in reality at the north and south poles. A trained magician is able to see this raw magic as seething clouds of colour. When he casts a spell, the magician taps into this source of power, focusing and controlling the untamed magical energy to achieve the desired effect.
Every spellcaster belongs to one of the ten Colleges of Magic. Each College teaches the same fundamentals of magic, but specialises in drawing its energy from only one of the colours of magic. Each of the Colleges has its own spells. In this rulebook, we've only covered the spells of the Bright Wizards.
The Bright Wizards have red and orange as their colours. Their symbols are the key and the lock - the magical Key of Secrets and the Lock upon the Unknown. They are masters of fire magic.
As they learn their craft, all spellcasters compile a Spell Book. This contains those spells for which the Wizard knows the correct formulae and signs, as taught to them by tutors, fellow magicians, or as taken from other Wizards' Spell Books.
At the beginning of a game, the player controlling the Wizard Hero should take the Bright Wizard's Spell Book. He begins the game with four spells, but can learn more after each expedition (see Between Expeditions).
Weapons and Armour. Wizards cannot wear any sort of armour or carry any weapon other than a dagger, with the exception of a magical Rune Sword. Weapons and armour disrupt a Wizard's aura and make it impossible for him to draw on the magical energies around him.
Spell Components
Spell components are material objects which the Wizard must have available to cast the spell. As the spell is cast, the spell component is consumed - in some cases, more than one component is required. The Wizard starts the game with the components for four spells - he may choose which, after studying his Spell Book, noting which components he selects on his character sheet. Any mix is permissible, from four different components to four the same.
Casting Spells
A spellcaster may cast one spell per turn. Spells may be cast in exploration and combat turns. Casting a spell uses up the relevant spell components - the Wizard player should cross off used components from his character sheet. The Spell Book shows what effect the spell has.
If a spell has one component, the caster can move and cast the spell. If it has two components, the Wizard is not allowed to move during the turn in which he casts the spell.
The Intelligence Test
The rules for certain spells say that a Wizard must make an Intelligence test to cast the spell. Roll a dice and compare the result to the Wizard's Intelligence. If the roll is less than or equal to his Intelligence, he has passed the test. If the roll is greater than his Intelligence, he has failed. The Wizard may spend a Fate Point to convert a failed Intelligence test to a success.
Bright Wizard's Spell Book
The Wizard knows the first four spells at the start of the game; the rest may be learned later.
Dragon Armour — Component: Red Dragon Dust. This spell may be cast on any model in the Wizard's death zone. Until the next exploration turn, add +1 to the model's Toughness.
Flames of Death — Component: Fire Dust. The Wizard casts a sizzling fireball at the enemy. Place a fireball template anywhere within 12 squares of the caster within his line of sight (treat this just like ranged attacks - see the Combat section). Any models, friendly or enemy, which fall under the fireball template are automatically hit. Roll 5 damage dice to see what effect a hit has.
Open Window — Component: Silver Key. With this eye, the Wizard may see into a dungeon section that has not already been explored. Pick any potential area that has not been explored (behind a door or past a junction, for example) and generate what is there by the normal means. If there are monsters, they will have no idea that they have been spied upon. If the Heroes enter an area with monsters that have been spied upon, add +3 to the Leader's surprise roll.
Flames of the Phoenix — Component: Phoenix Feather. By means of this spell, the Wizard may heal any Wounds lost by any one model, himself included. There must be no model other than the wounded comrade in the Wizard's death zone when he casts the spell.
The Bright Key — Component: Silver Key. The Wizard creates a door where there was none. The Wizard player may place a door in any wall of the section in which the Wizard stands. If this would lead into an unexplored part of the dungeon, and the Heroes choose to open it, first roll a dice. If the result is 4 or less, there is only solid rock behind the door. Otherwise, create the dungeon behind the door as normal.
Power of the Phoenix — Components: Phoenix Feather and a Dragon Tooth. The Wizard may resurrect a dead character. The spell can only be cast the turn after the character was killed. If the Wizard passes an Intelligence test, the character is returned to life at full strength. If he fails, he will actually cast the soul of the dead person into tortured oblivion.
Flaming Hand of Destruction — Component: Red Dragon Dust. In any following combat turn, if the Wizard successfully hits a target in combat, the target automatically loses as many Wounds as are shown by the roll of one dice. Do not roll conventional damage dice. The spell dies down at the beginning of the next exploration turn.
Still Air — Component: Phoenix Feather. For one turn, no monster in the dungeon section selected by the Wizard may move or attack. The Wizard must have line of sight to the dungeon section to cast this spell.
Flight — Component: Red Dragon Dust. The Wizard may cast this spell on any one model to which he has whole or partial line of sight before it has moved. The Wizard player may then have the model run in any direction he chooses.
Inferno of Doom — Components: Fire Dust and a Dragon Tooth. Place a fireball template anywhere within 12 squares of the caster within his line of sight (treat this just like ranged attacks - see the Combat section). Any models, friendly or enemy, which fall under the fireball template are automatically hit. Roll 7 damage dice to see what effect a hit has. Before casting the spell, the Wizard must make an Intelligence test; if it is failed, only 5 damage dice can be rolled.
Swift Wind — Component: Fire Dust. For one turn, the Wizard and a number of others may move at a very rapid rate. Roll a dice, and halve the result (round up). That many characters may be moved either a maximum of 18 squares (exploration turn) or may double their Speed (combat turn).
Courage — Component: Silver Key. The Wizard may cast this spell on himself or any model in his death zone. The model's Bravery is automatically 12 until the beginning of the next exploration turn.
The Gamesmaster
Warning: unless you're about to act as GM in a game, don't read any further. This information is for the Gamesmaster only.
The Gamesmaster has a very special job to do in Advanced Heroquest. He does not control a Hero, instead he tries to defeat them. It is he who controls the monsters that appear, reveals hidden parts of the dungeon to the exploring Heroes, and generally seeks ways to outwit them.
As the Gamesmaster, it's your job to make life for the Heroes as difficult as possible, and to use the forces at your disposal with cunning, intelligence and courage. But don't use the critical advantage you have over the other players - the fact that only you know when you're bending the rules. Be fair in the game - but fight hard with what you have.
Duties of the Gamesmaster
Before the Game
- Place all the dungeon counters in an opaque mug or cup.
- Sort all the dungeon sections and have them close at hand.
- Set up the box with the other components.
- Place on the playing surface a stairway section and two passage sections leading to a junction.
Exploration Turns - Exploration Phase
- Look up the results of the Hero players' exploration dice rolls on the various passage and room generation tables, and place the new dungeon sections as they are discovered.
- Place discovered doors in the walls of passages and rooms. The Heroes' Leader chooses in which wall section the door appears, but you choose precisely where it appears in that section.
- Roll on the monster tables to discover what types of monster have been discovered in Lairs and Quest Rooms.
- Make sure the Expedition Mapper records all details accurately for future reference, including any undefeated monsters left in rooms the Heroes have visited, walls that have been searched for secret doors, rooms searched for hidden treasure, and so on.
Exploration Turns - GM Phase
- Roll a dice, and on a roll of 1 or 12, draw a dungeon counter.
Combat Turns
- Place or move monsters encountered in a dungeon section according to who has won the surprise roll.
- Move and attack or attack and move with monsters. Roll for hits and damage according to the information on the monster tables.
In Quest Rooms
- If the Heroes descend the stairs from a Quest Room, set up the new level below. If this is the first time they have visited this level, set up a stairway, two passage and one junction section, as with the original set-up. Otherwise, follow the expedition map.
Dungeon Counters
Dungeon counters are drawn in one of three ways:
- During the GM phase of an exploration turn, if you throw a 1 or 12 on the dice.
- As the Heroes begin exploring new dungeons (see Character Monsters below).
- As a result of the Heroes rolling on the Secret Doors or Hidden Treasure Tables.
There are six types of normal dungeon counter, plus the special character monster counters. Each has restrictions as to when it can be played. So, for example, the wandering monsters counters can only be played at the end of an exploration phase, after all the new dungeon sections, doors and so forth have been placed.
Dungeon counters can be played at the earliest appropriate moment after they are drawn, or held for later use. You always keep your counters secret - until you play them. At the right moment, simply reveal the counter to the Hero players and announce that you are playing the counter.
Choosing the right moment to play a counter is the art of the canny GM. Playing counters as they are drawn places the Heroes under rapid pressure, but doesn't always hit them when they are at their weakest. Saving them up for a barrage at a time when they are low on Wounds and Fate Points creates the greatest threat, but by then they may have found some magical items to offset this. Most important to remember is that dungeon counters are not saved between trips, so you can waste counters if you wait too long.
Wandering Monsters — play at the end of any exploration phase. This counter allows you to create a group of wandering monsters from the Wandering Monster Matrix and place them in the dungeon near the Heroes. The first monster must be set up so that it can be seen by at least one Hero (ie it must be in his line of sight), but as far away from the Hero as possible. Any remaining monsters can be set up in squares that are adjacent to ones which already contain a monster, and that are no closer to the Heroes than the square where the original monster was placed. Monsters that are set up after the first do not have to be in the Heroes' line of sight. Naturally, next turn will be a combat turn.
Ambush — play at the start of any combat turn. Create a group of monsters by rolling on the Wandering Monster Matrix. You may add these to the monsters currently in combat with the Heroes. If this is the first turn of combat, they must be set up in the same way as the monsters created for the room. If this is a later turn, treat them as wandering monsters and set them up as far away as possible along a line of sight. If a Sentry is rolled on the Wandering Monster Matrix, treat this as an ordinary monster. Only one ambush counter can be played per combat turn.
Fate Point — play any time during a combat turn. A monster selected by the GM can use a Fate Point, in the same way as the Heroes can.
Escape — play any time during a combat turn. Any one character monster may escape. Simply remove the character monster model from play. It will be available to attack the Heroes again at a later time through the use of a character counter. Obviously, the character monster must be alive at the time.
Character Counter — play any time when placing monsters. You may return to play a character monster who has previously escaped. Add it to those monsters the Heroes have just discovered. If there are no previously-escaped character monsters, use the next one you are due to receive (even if you wouldn't normally get to use it until a later dungeon).
Trap — this counter can be played during exploration turns in the following circumstances: (1) when a Hero opens a chest; (2) when a Hero steps on a square in a passage that has not been entered before. To discover the exact nature of a trap, roll on the Traps Table.
Character Monsters
These special counters do not work in the same fashion as the normal dungeon counters. Do not place them in a cup with the others - keep them separate. The character monsters will normally be made available to you each time the Heroes commence exploring a new dungeon.
Each dungeon has its own set of character monsters, depending on the type of monsters that are to be found there. For example, in the Quest for the Shattered Amulet there are six character Skaven which may be encountered during the quest: an Assassin, a Plague Monk, a Plague Censer Bearer, a Warlord with Rune Sword, a Warpweaver and a White Skaven Sorcerer. In the first dungeon there are no character Skaven; in the second, you take the first character Skaven; in the third, the next two; and in the last dungeon, the remaining three.
You can play these counters at any time when placing monsters. However, each has one use only, and is put aside after being played. The only way you can re-use a character monster is if it first escapes, and then returns for revenge - ie you use the appropriate dungeon counters to keep it alive. Character monsters are unique - once they are dead they cannot be encountered again, under any circumstances.
Character monsters fight to the best of their ability, using any magical items and spells they have available. These items can be recovered by the Heroes if the character monster is defeated, although spell components used by the monster will be gone.
As well as the six Skaven character monster counters for use in the Quest for the Shattered Amulet, we've provided eight more character monster counters for use in your own quests. You should decide when these become available as you're plotting the quest - choose which character monsters you'll get (if any) at the start of each dungeon.
Hazards
If the Heroes have entered a Hazard Room, roll a dice to discover what lies in it.
There are floorplan pieces in the box for the Chasm, Grate, Pool and Throne. The Non-Player Characters, Statue and Wandering Monsters should be represented by appropriate metal Citadel Miniatures, or the plastic miniatures in the box. You don't need any models for Rats, Bats or Mould.
Hazard Table (D12)
| D12 | Hazard | D12 | Hazard |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wandering Monster | 7 | Mushrooms |
| 2 | Non-Player Character | 8 | Grate |
| 3 | Chasm | 9 | Pool |
| 4 | Statue | 10 | Magic Circle |
| 5 | Rats or Bats | 11 | Trapdoor |
| 6 | Mould | 12 | Throne |
Rats or Bats: Roll a dice. If the score is even, the room contains Rats; if it is odd, the room contains Bats.
Wandering Monsters
Roll on the Wandering Monsters Matrix to determine the number and type of monsters present.
Non-Player Character
This Hazard Room contains a special Human character. Each is a unique encounter, and once the character has been met in any of the dungeons, treat the encounter as a Wandering Monsters result if you roll the same character again.
| D12 | Character |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Maiden |
| 4-6 | Witch |
| 7-9 | Man-at-Arms |
| 10-12 | Rogue |
The Maiden is a captive in this room, guarded by a group of monsters. Generate the defenders on the Wandering Monsters Table. If the Heroes defeat the Maiden's captors and escort her back to the surface, her grateful father will reward them with 100 gold crowns. She has a Speed of 6, Toughness 3 and 2 Wounds. The monsters in this room will not harm her, but others might.
The Witch is brewing dark potions down here. She should be placed in the room according to the normal combat rules. The Heroes have 1 combat round to either cut her down or close the door between them. If she is still alive after that round she will teleport herself and half the Heroes' gold crowns to some distant place. She has a Weapon Skill of 7, Toughness 3 and 2 Wounds.
The Man-at-Arms is in here guarded by monsters. Roll on the Wandering Monsters Table to generate them. If the Heroes defeat the Man-at-Arms' guards and release him, he will become a Henchman for the current Leader.
The Rogue is in here alone. He will ask to stay with the Heroes until they leave the dungeon. They may refuse, but if they accept him they may not attack him later. The Rogue has the same characteristics as a Sergeant. He will serve the current Leader as Henchman. If he is present at any time when the Heroes try to spot or disarm a trap, subtract -1 from the Heroes' dice roll.
If the Rogue is still alive at the end of the expedition, roll a dice:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | The Rogue steals all the Heroes' money. |
| 3-4 | The Rogue steals half their money. |
| 5-10 | The Rogue attempts to steal their money, but fails. |
| 11-12 | The Rogue decides he likes his new-found friends and remains as his current employer's Henchman; treat him as a normal Sergeant Henchman from now on. |
Chasm
Use the special Chasm section as indicated. Refer to the Wandering Monsters Matrix to create a group of monsters, who are on the opposite side of the Chasm. Also place a door and a treasure chest on the far side of the Chasm. The Heroes now have four choices:
Heroic Leap: They may attempt to leap across the Chasm. Roll a dice for each Hero that attempts this, and if the result is equal to or less than the Hero's Speed, he will succeed. If the roll is more, the Hero will fall into the Chasm, never to be seen again. The Hero may spend a Fate Point to convert a failed attempt into a success. A leap counts as a move.
Sensible Leap: If the Heroes have at least 10 feet of rope, one of them may leap across the Chasm with one end tied to his waist, and the other end held by one or more of the other Heroes. Obviously, all those holding the Hero making the leap must be on the same side of the Chasm, although it doesn't matter if the leaper is on the other side. Treat this as a heroic leap, but if the leap is failed, the Heroes holding the rope may be able to save him. Roll a dice for each Hero holding the rope. If anyone manages to roll equal to or under his Strength, the leaping Hero is saved and can be hauled back to the same side of the Chasm as his saviours. Only if all of them fail is he lost. A sensible leap counts as a move for all the Heroes involved.
Rope Ladder: If the Heroes have 20 feet of rope and 10 iron spikes, they may make a rope ladder. One player must manage to make a sensible leap across the Chasm (as above), but all the remaining Heroes will be able to cross safely via the ladder. It takes one exploration turn to build the rope ladder, and one exploration turn for any number of Heroes to cross the bridge. Of course, this cannot take place as long as there are monsters in this room.
Forget It: The Heroes can just cut their losses, close the door on the jeering monsters, and look for easier pickings elsewhere.
Statue
Standing in the room is a Statue, with a single gigantic ruby as one eye. Any Hero may attempt to remove the ruby. If a Hero tries, roll a dice:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Curse: The Hero immediately has his Fate Points reduced to 0. |
| 3-6 | Animated Statue: The Statue comes to life and attacks. The Statue may not leave this room. It has Weapon Skill 9, Toughness 8, Speed 6, 8 Wounds and rolls 5 damage dice. |
| 7-11 | Transformation: The Statue transforms into a Skaven Warlord Sentry. See the monster reference tables for details. The Warlord may not leave this room, but he may open any other door to seek help. |
| 12 | Nothing Happens: The Hero removes the jewel without mishap. |
The Heroes must defeat the Statue to get the jewel. It is worth 400 gold crowns.
Rats
The floor of this room is covered with a living carpet of vicious Rats. The Heroes have five choices:
- Rat Poison: If the Heroes have any Rat Poison, they may use it to kill the Rats. This will take one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else.
- Greek Fire: If the Heroes have two flasks of Greek Fire, they can use them to flame the room and kill all the Rats. This will take one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else. One flask doesn't kill enough Rats to have any effect.
- Magic: A Wizard can cast the Flames of Death spell to clear the room.
- Fight It Out: The Heroes can wade into the Rats. There are 60 of them. Each Hero who enters should roll a dice each turn (treat these as exploration turns), the result being the number of Rats killed. If the dice roll is a 1-4, the Hero suffers one Wound from Rat bites. Wounds inflicted by Rats may not be cancelled by spending a Fate Point.
- Slam The Door: The Heroes can slam the door and leave the Rats to it. The Expedition Mapper should record the fact that there are undefeated Rats in here.
Bats
Hanging from the ceiling are a flock of blood-sucking Bats. The Heroes have five choices:
- Screech Bug: If the Heroes have a Screech Bug, they may use it to kill the Bats. This will take one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else. Once used, the Screech Bug must be discarded.
- Greek Fire: If the Heroes have two flasks of Greek Fire, they can use them to flame the room and kill the Bats. This takes one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else. One flask doesn't kill enough Bats to have any effect.
- Magic: A Wizard can cast the Flames of Death spell to clear the room.
- Fight It Out: The Heroes can wade into hand-to-hand combat with the Bats. This will take one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else. If the Heroes choose this option, they must decide who will enter. The GM then rolls a dice, divides the score by 2 (rounding up). The result is the total number of Wounds inflicted on those Heroes who entered the room, which must be divided as evenly as possible amongst them. The GM decides what to do with any 'odd' points. Fate Points may not be used to stop these Wounds.
- Slam The Door: The Heroes can slam the door. The Expedition Mapper must record that the room contains undefeated Bats.
Mould
This room is covered with Mould. The Heroes have three choices:
- Greek Fire: If the Heroes have any Greek Fire, they may use one flask to burn the Mould. This will take one exploration turn, during which they may not do anything else.
- Wet Hankies: The Heroes may tie wet cloth across their faces and attempt to cross the room. Each player should roll a dice on the table below.
- Slam The Door: The Heroes can leave.
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Deadly Poison: The Hero must spend a Fate Point or die horribly. |
| 2-6 | Poison: The Hero loses one Wound unless he spends a Fate Point. |
| 7-10 | Irritant: The Hero's Weapon Skill is reduced by -2 points for the next combat, after which it returns to normal. |
| 11-12 | No effect: The Hero crosses the room safely. |
Mushrooms
This room contains magic Mushrooms (roll a dice to discover how many). The Heroes may pick some if they wish, but each time one is eaten roll a dice to see what it does:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Deadly Poison: The Hero will die horribly unless he spends a Fate Point or drinks a Healing Potion. Whatever happens, the Mushrooms may be used as Rat Poison. |
| 3-4 | Sleeping Mushrooms: The Hero falls asleep. Roll a dice. The Hero will be KO'd for this many turns. |
| 5-6 | Polka Dots: The Hero's skin breaks out in a rash of red, green and yellow polka dots that will not fade for several days. Otherwise the Mushroom has no effect. |
| 7-8 | Strength: Eat one of these Mushrooms at the start of any combat turn and, for the remainder of that combat (ie until exploration turns are restarted), roll one extra damage dice with any hand-to-hand weapon. |
| 9-10 | Speed: Eat one of these Mushrooms at the start of any combat turn and, for the remainder of that combat (ie until exploration turns are restarted), the Hero's Speed is doubled. |
| 12 | Healing: This Mushroom may be eaten at any time. It restores all lost Wounds. |
Grate
There is a Grate in the floor of this room. The GM can place it on any square. If a Hero is moved to that square, he can see that beneath the Grate there is a room. This should be rolled up on the Room Type Table in the normal way. The room is between the dungeon levels. It has no other exits (unless the quest specifies this - eg in the Shattered Amulet, if it was a Quest Room it would automatically have stairs leading down to the next level).
If there are monsters in the lower room, they are prisoners of the powers holding the dungeon - they are accused of cowardice. There are no special types among the prisoners (use the total number of monsters generated but change any special types to normal monsters). Despite being prisoners, the monsters are not traitors to their race - they fight just as fiercely as the other monsters in the dungeon. However, having no weapons they roll only 1 damage dice.
If they lift the grate to enter the room below, the Heroes add +2 to their surprise roll (but don't add the modifier for an Elf). Only one Hero or Henchman may enter or leave the lower room per combat turn.
The Heroes need a rope to get back out of the lower room - if they all enter without a rope, they're stuck down there and will no doubt die a horrible death when the guards come to check on their prisoners.
The GM can play a wandering monsters or character monster counter to bring more monsters into the hazard room, even if all the Heroes are in the lower room, effectively cutting them off if there's no-one to guard the opening. They can still climb out with a rope at one per turn, but this means the first one out has to face all the monsters in the room above.
Pool
Any Hero may drink from a Pool. Magic Pools affect people in different ways each time they take a drink, so a separate roll must be made on the table each time. Roll a dice:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Deadly Poison: The Hero must now drink a Healing Potion or die. |
| 2-4 | Sleeping Potion: The Hero falls asleep. Roll a dice. The Hero will be KO'd for that many turns. |
| 5-8 | Luck: The Hero receives a temporary Fate Point, which may be spent at any time on this expedition only. |
| 9-12 | Healing: All the Hero's lost Wounds points are restored. |
Magic Circle
A large Magic Circle representing the Great Wheel of Magic is drawn on the floor - the GM may place it anywhere in the room. If a Hero or Henchman moves onto the circle, roll a dice:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cursed: The model immediately loses 1 Fate Point. This is permanent and the Fate Point cannot be regained between expeditions. |
| 2 | Summoning: A group of wandering monsters is summoned by the Magic Circle. The monsters are rolled up on the Wandering Monsters Matrix as normal, but the GM may place them in any unoccupied squares within line of sight of the Heroes. The Heroes are automatically surprised during the first round of combat. |
| 3-6 | Nothing Happens. |
| 7-9 | Magical Power: If a Wizard stands in the Circle, he is filled with magical power. This allows him to cast his next spell without using any components. The power of the Circle is temporarily drained by this and may only be drawn on once per expedition. There is no effect if a non-Wizard stands in the Circle and no power is drained. |
| 10-11 | Healing: A model that stands in the Circle has 1 Wound healed. The power of the Circle is temporarily drained by this and may only be drawn on once per expedition. |
| 12 | Fate: A model that stands in the Circle receives an extra Fate Point to use during this expedition. This is not a permanent increase. The power of the Circle is temporarily drained by this and may only be drawn on once per expedition. |
Trapdoor
There is a Trapdoor in the floor of this room. The GM can place it on any square. The room only has one door - the one the Heroes entered by. Do not roll for extra doors on the Room Doors Table.
If a Hero opens the Trapdoor, roll a dice:
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trap: The Trapdoor is trapped. Roll on the Traps Table to see what sort of trap has been set - use the Chests column of the table. The trap cannot be spotted or disarmed and automatically goes off when the Hero opens the Trapdoor. |
| 2-3 | Room: There is a room beneath the Trapdoor. It is the same as the room beneath a Grate (see above). |
| 4-6 | Crypt: A small Crypt is located beneath the trapdoor. A Hero may search the crypt as his action during an exploration turn. |
| 7-9 | The Maze: If you have a copy of Heroquest, the Trapdoor opens onto a set of stairs that lead to a maze-like sub-level. Use the Heroquest board for this (see the Heroquest section for rules on how to do this). If you don't have a copy of Heroquest, the Heroes find nothing. |
| 10-12 | Stairs: The Trapdoor opens onto stairs leading down to the next level (if the quest calls for specific locations for stairs down, as the Quest for the Shattered Amulet does, treat this result as a Room). |
Crypt Contents (D12)
| D12 | Crypt Contents |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Mould Spores: The Hero disturbs the Spores, which immediately fill the Crypt. Roll up the type of Mould on the Mould table (above). The Mould automatically affects the Hero - there is no chance to cover his face. |
| 3-6 | Empty. |
| 7-11 | Gold Ring: the Crypt contains a Skeleton wearing a gold ring worth 25 gold crowns. |
| 12 | Undead Skaven: As the Hero peers into the Crypt, an Undead Skaven leaps out and attacks. Start a combat turn. The Skaven surprises the Heroes. The Undead Skaven has Weapon Skill 8, Toughness 12, Speed 6, 1 Wound and rolls 6 damage dice. It starts on the square occupied by the Trapdoor. |
Throne
There is a large, ornate Throne on the far side of the room, in which sits a figure with a commanding demeanour. Roll up a group of wandering monsters on the Wandering Monsters Matrix - the GM selects one to sit on the Throne. As long as the chosen monster is still alive, he radiates power to the others: add +1 to their Toughness and roll 1 extra damage dice. The monster on the Throne may not move but he can attack; if killed, the remaining monsters lose their bonuses, even if another monster sits in the Throne. There is no effect upon Heroes or Henchmen who sit in the Throne.
Treasure
Second only to fame and glory, the thing closest to any Hero's heart is the discovery of vast hoards of treasure. As a just reward for their brave expeditions against the monstrous denizens of the underworld, the Heroes can acquire magical weapons, scrolls and potions to help them in future battles, and gold to pay for Henchmen or buy equipment.
Treasure may be found concealed in long-forgotten hiding places if the Heroes successfully search for hidden treasure (see the rules in the Exploration Turns section).
Treasure is also possessed by monsters. Most monsters carry gold crowns with them and these may be looted if the monsters are killed (provided the Heroes don't run away before the combat is over). Character monsters may have magical weapons or other magical items which they will use against the Heroes - these may also be looted if the character monsters are killed in battle. The monster reference tables tell you how much gold and what magic items are carried by each monster the Heroes can encounter.
The other places that monsters store treasure is in their Lairs - here, in huge iron-bound chests, they keep the communal treasure of their band. If the Heroes find a Quest Room or kill the monsters defending the chest, they can open it and take the treasure stored inside - roll a dice on the Treasure Chests Table to see what the chest contains.
Treasure Chests Table (D12)
| D12 | Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | Treasure map |
| 2 | 6 arrows and 20 gold crowns |
| 3 | 10 feet of rope and 30 gold crowns |
| 4 | 2 flasks of Greek Fire |
| 5 | 50 gold crowns |
| 6 | 100 gold crowns |
| 7 | 150 gold crowns |
| 8 | Screech Bug and 50 gold crowns |
| 9 | Rat Poison and 50 gold crowns |
| 10 | 200 gold crowns |
| 11 | 1 potion (see below) and 50 gold crowns |
| 12 | Magic treasure (roll two dice and consult the Magic Treasure Table) |
Remember that Heroes and Henchmen can only carry 250 gold crowns each - they may have to leave some of the treasure behind. If this is so, the Expedition Mapper should mark down how much treasure has been left. If the Heroes come back to this area of the dungeon when they are not already burdened, they can take the rest of the treasure. Of course, they'll have to kill the new group of monsters that have taken over the Lair.
Magic Treasure
Magic items are the most valuable type of treasure the Heroes can find. Unlike gold crowns, they can't be exchanged for Heroes or Henchmen, but they make the Heroes more powerful - far more useful in the long run.
There are limits to the number of certain types of item that a Hero or Henchman can carry. For example, he can only wear one type of armour, only carry up to three weapons, have on no more than one ring or amulet at a time, and so forth. This means that the Heroes may have to leave behind non-magical equipment, or even magic items that are less powerful than those they have just found - anything left behind should be marked on the expedition map in case the Heroes wish to return for it later.
Magic Treasure Table (2D12)
| 2D12 | Item | 2D12 | Item |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Dawnstone | 12-13 | Scroll |
| 3-4 | Amulet | 14-16 | Potion |
| 5-6 | Wand | 17 | Arrows or Bolts |
| 7-8 | Ring | 18-20 | Bow |
| 9-10 | Shield or Helm | 19-21 | Sword |
| 11 | Weapon | 22-24 | Armour |
The Heroes should agree among themselves who is the best person to use the magic item. If they cannot, the Leader decides. Treasure can be re-allocated during or after the expedition anyway, and Heroes can always make swaps and deals between themselves.
Dawnstone
A Dawnstone is a potent magical talisman. It contains 1D12 Fate Points that can be used by the owner in the same way as normal Fate Points. The Dawnstone does not regenerate Fate Points between trips - once used, they are lost.
Magic Amulets
There are two kinds of amulets. Roll a dice: an even number means an Amulet of Iron, an odd number an Amulet of Protection.
Amulet of Iron: If a spell is aimed at a Hero wearing this amulet, or he is in the area of effect of a spell, roll a dice. On a roll of 9 or more, the spell has no effect on the Hero. Note that the amulet works even if the player wants to be affected by the spell.
Amulet of Protection: Anybody wearing an amulet of this type has their Toughness increased by +1 point, in addition to any benefits for armour, etc.
Only one amulet can be worn at a time.
Magic Wand
A magic wand may only be used by a Wizard. Each magic wand contains one spell, chosen at random from the table below. Roll a dice; the wand has that many charges. Each time it is used to cast the spell, a charge is used up. Keep a record of the wand's charges. Note that the Wizard does not need to use spell components to cast a spell stored in a wand.
| 2D12 | Spell | 2D12 | Spell |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | Inferno of Doom | 14 | Dragon Armour |
| 4 | Power of the Phoenix | 15 | Flaming Skull of Terror |
| 5 | Swift Wind | 16-17 | Fireball |
| 6 | Still Air | 18-19 | Courage |
| 7-8 | Lightning Bolt | 20-21 | Flight |
| 9-10 | Choke | 22 | Flaming Hand of Destruction |
| 11 | Flames of Death | 23-24 | The Bright Key |
| 12 | Flames of the Phoenix | ||
| 13 | Open Window |
Full descriptions of these spells can be found in the Magic section.
Magic Rings
There are two kinds of rings. If you find one, roll a dice:
| D12 | Ring |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | Ring of Protection (Level 1) |
| 4-5 | Ring of Protection (Level 2) |
| 6 | Ring of Protection (Level 3) |
| 7-9 | Ring of Magic Protection (Level 1) |
| 10-11 | Ring of Magic Protection (Level 2) |
| 12 | Ring of Magic Protection (Level 3) |
Rings of Protection: These add to the wearer's Toughness. A level 1 ring adds +1 point, a level 2 adds +2 points, etc.
Rings of Magic Protection: These protect the wearer from spells. A level 1 ring cancels the effects of a spell if the wearer can roll an 11 or 12. A level 2 cancels the effects if the wearer can roll 9 or higher. The level 3 rings work if the wearer can roll under his Intelligence score.
Only one ring can be worn at a time.
Magic Shields and Helms
Roll on the following table to see what has been discovered.
| D12 | Item | Speed | Bow Skill | Toughness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Magical Shield | 0 | -1 | +1 |
| 7-8 | Magical Greatshield | -1 | -2 | +2 |
| 9 | Dwarven Shield | 0 | -2 | +2 |
| 10-11 | Magical Helm | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| 12 | Dwarven Helm | 0 | -1 | +2 |
The effect of the shield or helm on the wearer's Speed, Bow Skill and Toughness are noted, and you must amend your character sheet accordingly. A character may only have 1 shield and 1 helm.
Magic Scrolls
Scrolls can only be used by a Wizard. A scroll will hold spells each of which can be cast once, after which the writing on the scroll will fade. Roll a dice.
| D12 | Spells |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | 1 Spell |
| 7-9 | 2 Spells |
| 10-11 | 3 Spells |
| 12 | 4 Spells |
Generate each spell with a separate roll on the table given above for wands. Note that the Wizard does not need to use components to cast a spell stored on a scroll.
Magic Potions
There are two types of potion. Roll a dice: an even number means a Strength Potion, an odd number a Healing Potion.
Strength Potions: These may be drunk by a Hero at the start of any turn. His Strength is then increased by +2 points, and the number of damage dice he rolls for any hand-to-hand weapon is increased by +2. The effects of the potion last for three turns (combat or exploration) and then wear off.
Healing Potions: A Healing Potion may be drunk by a Hero at the start of any turn. It may be given to an unconscious Hero by another as long as neither is in an enemy death zone. Healing potions restore a Hero's Wounds to their starting level from the beginning of the next turn. Healing Potions will not restore Heroes who have died. Note that some hazards require a Hero to drink a Healing Potion or die.
Magic Weapons
The table shows the damage dice rolled for each combination of weapon and Strength. Normal rules and restrictions for the different types of weapons apply. Roll on the following table to see the weapon type.
| D12 | Weapon Type | Str 1-2 | 3-4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Dagger | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 4-5 | Spear | n/a | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 6-8 | Axe | n/a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 9 | Axe | n/a | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 10 | Halberd | n/a | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 11 | Double-Handed Sword | n/a | n/a | n/a | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 12 | Double-Handed Axe | n/a | n/a | n/a | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
Magic Arrows or Bolts
There are several types of arrow and crossbow bolt. Roll on the following table:
| D12 | Type |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Arrows of Death |
| 5 | Bolts of Death |
| 6-7 | Arrows of True Flight |
| 8 | Bolts of True Flight |
| 9-11 | Arrows of the Assassin |
| 12 | Bolts of the Assassin |
Arrows/Bolts of Death: Add +1 to the number of damage dice rolled for a successful hit.
Arrows/Bolts of True Flight: These always hit their target; no roll is required.
Arrows/Bolts of the Assassins: A hit by one of these causes critical damage on any damage dice roll of 10 or more.
Magical arrows and crossbow bolts obey all the normal rules for ranged attacks.
Magic Bows
There are several types of magical bow. Roll on the following table:
| D12 | Bow | Range | Damage Dice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-4 | Short Bow | 28 | 4 |
| 5-7 | Bow | 40 | 4 |
| 8-9 | Long Bow | 48 | 5 |
| 10-11 | Crossbow | 48 | 5 |
| 12 | Elven Power Bow | 48 | 6 |
The weapon's range and damage dice are given. Normal rules and restrictions apply.
Magic Swords
Magic swords are rated for their additions to Weapon Skill and Strength (in other words, to the accuracy of their use and the damage they cause). First roll a dice to find out what type of sword has been gained:
| D12 | Sword | Weapon Skill | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Sword | +1 | 0 |
| 4-6 | Sword | 0 | +1 |
| 7-8 | Sword | +1 | +1 |
| 9 | Sword | +2 | +1 |
| 10 | Sword | +1 | +2 |
| 11 | Sword | +2 | +2 |
| 12 | Rune Sword | +2 | +2 |
Use the Hand-to-Hand Weapon Table in the Campaigns section to adjust the Hand-to-Hand Combat figures on your character sheet and the weapon profile. A Wizard may not use a sword unless it is a Rune Sword.
Magic Armour
Magic armour may be worn by any Hero except a Wizard. Roll two dice on the table below to discover the type. Modifiers to Speed, Bow Skill and Toughness are noted.
| 2D12 | Type | Speed | Bow Skill | Toughness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-6 | Leather | 0 | -1 | +1 |
| 7-10 | Leather | -1 | -1 | +2 |
| 11-13 | Chain | -2 | -1 | +3 |
| 14-15 | Chain | -1 | -1 | +2 |
| 16-17 | Chain | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| 18-19 | Plate | -2 | -2 | +4 |
| 20 | Mithril | 0 | 0 | +3 |
| 21 | Enchanted | 0 | 0 | +5 |
| 22 | Dwarven | -2 | -2 | +5 |
| 23-24 | Elven | -1 | 0 | +4 |
Traps
The ancient halls and tunnels of the underworld are often trapped; they prevent entry to old tombs, stop thieves looting treasure chests, and secure Lairs against invaders. Usually traps will be encountered when the GM plays a trap counter - this is one of the most useful of the dungeon counters as a trap can dissuade the Heroes from opening a treasure chest or entering into a new part of the dungeon.
The other way to encounter traps is if they are pre-determined as part of a Quest Location. In this case they are marked on the GM's map and the type of trap may already be decided. When designing your own Quest Locations, don't over-use traps - just put in a couple here and there to give the Heroes a surprise and keep them on their toes. You can either choose the traps when drawing the map, or roll on the Traps Table to see what sort of trap has been set.
The GM can play a trap counter during exploration turns, either when the Heroes enter a room or passage they have not entered before, or when a Hero opens a chest.
If the GM plays a trap counter, the Heroes are allowed a chance to spot the trap, and if they're successful they can try to disarm it. If they fail to spot or disarm the trap, it will be sprung with the effects listed below.
Whenever a trap counter is played, roll on the following table to determine the trap type. Use the first column when rolling for traps found in rooms or passages, and the second column when rolling for chest traps.
Traps Table
| Room or Passage | Chest | Trap | Spot Trap Chance | Disarm Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | Pit Trap | 5 | None |
| 2 | 1 | Crossfire | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | — | Portcullis | 6 | 11 |
| — | 2 | Poison Dart | 9 | 8 |
| 4 | — | Blocks | 7 | 11 |
| 5 | 3 | Gas | 10 | 7 |
| 6 | 4 | Mantrap | 7 | 6 |
| — | 5 | Spike | 6 | 7 |
| — | 6 | Shock | 8 | 11 |
| 7 | 7 | Magic | 9 | 7 |
| 8 | 8 | Fireball | 8 | 9 |
| — | 9 | Mindstealer | 6 | 10 |
| — | 10 | Guillotine | 6 | 8 |
| 9-12 | 11-12 | Alarm | 7 | 7 |
To spot a trap, a Hero must roll equal to or higher than the spot trap chance. If he spots it, the Hero may try to disarm the trap by rolling equal to or higher than the disarm trap chance - if he rolls lower, the trap goes off.
Pit Traps: These traps can be spotted, but not avoided. The Hero who sets off the trap falls down a deep pit. Roll a dice, if the result is 9 or more, the Hero loses 1 Wound. The Hero must score less than or equal to his Speed on another dice roll to climb out. Other Heroes may leap over the trap if they can roll less than or equal to their Speed. If they fail, they fall in, and must follow the routine already described.
Crossfire: The Hero who set off the trap is hit by a number of crossbow bolts. Roll a dice, and divide the result by 4 (rounding fractions up) to discover how many hit the Hero, and roll 3 damage dice for each bolt that does. Once triggered, the trap has no further effect.
Portcullis: A portcullis has dropped from the ceiling. The GM may place a portcullis in any doorway to this room, or across the room in any non-diagonal direction. The portcullis can be lifted, but each attempt takes one complete exploration turn, during which none of the Heroes involved can do anything else. Roll a dice, adding the Strength scores of the Heroes lifting the portcullis. If this comes to 20 or more, the portcullis is lifted long enough for any Heroes who did not take part in lifting it to roll underneath to the other side. It should follow from this that these Heroes must then lift the portcullis for the others to get out.
Poison Dart: A poison dart hits the Hero who activated this trap. Roll one damage dice for the dart. If it causes a Wound, the Hero's Wounds are reduced to 0 from whatever score they currently are (ie he is KO'd).
Blocks: A large block of masonry descends from the ceiling onto the Hero who tripped the trap. Roll a dice. If the roll is equal to or less than the Hero's Speed, he dodges the block and takes only 3 damage dice of injury from a glancing blow. If the dice roll is more than the Hero's Speed, he suffers the full effects of 12 damage dice. If this trap is spotted but not disarmed, the Heroes can bypass it, moving at just half speed. The Expedition Mapper should record its presence in this dungeon section. It will be set off if the Heroes ever pass this way at anything greater than half speed.
Gas: A cloud of gas is expelled from this trap. The Hero who set this off will be at the centre of the cloud. Anyone in the adjacent squares (including diagonals) or the squares adjacent to those will be in the area of effect. Heroes caught in the area of effect must roll a dice. If this is equal to or less than their starting Toughness, the gas has no effect (those in the adjacent squares subtract -1 from the roll; those in the outer ring of squares subtract -2). If anyone is affected by the gas, roll on the following table for the gas type.
| D12 | Gas Type |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | Mild Poison: The Hero loses 1 Wound and may not move for 3 turns. |
| 7-8 | Nausea: The Hero suffers long bouts of vomiting and dizziness. For the rest of the expedition, he has a maximum move of 8 squares (exploration) or half Speed (combat), half Weapon and Bow Skills and -2 Strength. |
| 9-10 | Madness: The Hero loses control of his mind for 6 turns. The GM takes control of the Hero, moving him as he sees fit. He may not attack the other Heroes, but can be moved in any direction the GM chooses, unless he can be restrained (see under Mindstealer, below). |
| 11 | Strong Poison: The Hero takes 8 damage dice of injury. |
| 12 | Deadly Poison: The Hero must be given a Healing Potion or he dies. |
Mantrap: The brutal jaws of a mantrap close on the victim's hand (chest trap) or leg (room or passage trap). Roll 4 damage dice for injury. If any damage is caused, the victim will suffer a traumatic loss of the limb. Heroes who lose a hand suffer an immediate loss of half their Weapon Skill. They may not use any kind of bow, nor any two-handed weapon. Wizards may not cast any spell which requires 2 or more spell components. Heroes who lose a leg are even worse off as they lose half their Speed (round up), may only move 8 squares in exploration turns, may not use a shield, and may not use two-handed weapons. These injuries may only be healed between expeditions.
Spike: A vicious spike jabs out at the Hero who set off the trap. Roll 3 damage dice for effect. Roll an additional dice; if this scores 8 or above the spike is poisoned in the same way as a poison dart (see above).
Shock: The trap discharges a powerful bolt of electricity into the Hero who set off the trap. Roll 5 damage dice for effect. If the Hero is wearing any metal armour (for example, chain, plate or mithril), roll 10 damage dice.
Magic: Place the magic circle template over the Hero who set off the trap. Any model under the template is in the trap's area of effect and suffers the effects of the trap's spell. Roll a dice to see which spell has been set off:
| D12 | Spell |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Inferno of Doom |
| 3-4 | Lightning Bolt |
| 5-8 | Choke |
| 9-10 | Flames of Death |
| 11-12 | Fireball |
The spell takes effect as normal.
Fireball: A magical fireball will gather in the same square as the Hero who set off the trap. Place the fireball template on this square, and all models under the template suffer 5 damage dice of injury. For the next 3 turns after this (ie not starting with the GM phase about to come, but the one after), the GM may move the template 8 squares in any direction he chooses, and measure the effect again. At the end of the third turn, the fireball disappears.
Mindstealer: The Hero is driven mad by powerful magic. For the next 6 turns, he is controlled by the GM. The GM may have him move and attack exactly as he chooses. At the end of the sixth turn, the effects wear off and the Hero is returned to the control of his player. In the meantime, if other Heroes and Henchmen with totalled Strength scores which are at least three times that of the afflicted Hero can move so that he is in their death zones, he can be restrained. Restrained Heroes do not move or attack, so the others will be safe just as long as they can hold him.
Guillotine: A blade snaps onto the Hero's hand. This causes 2 damage dice of injury. If this leads to any loss of wounds, the Hero loses the hand, and suffers the effects described under Mantrap, above.
Alarm: The GM may place a group of wandering monsters along a line of sight at the furthest distance possible from the Heroes. Roll on the Wandering Monsters Table to see what sort of monsters are encountered.
Between Expeditions
Each part of a quest is accomplished over one or more expeditions. An expedition begins when the Heroes are placed on the first stairway section, and ends when the last surviving one of them ascends a stairway that leads out of the dungeon (though individual Heroes can have left the dungeon and the expedition before that).
You should keep a running record of how many expeditions each Hero has been on during a quest.
To represent the time spent between expeditions, play through the following sequence:
- Discard unused dungeon counters (except character monster counters).
- Recover Fate Points and Wounds.
- Gain Fate Points for recovered Quest Treasures.
- Divide up other treasure.
- Pay Henchmen and cost of living expenses.
- Roll for random events.
- Spend gold on training, equipment, spells and spell components.
- Attract or hire new Henchmen.
- Embark on next expedition.
Fate Points and Wounds
Heroes and Henchmen recover any Fate Points and Wounds lost or spent during the expedition.
Each Hero will increase his Fate Point characteristic if a Quest Treasure was recovered on that expedition - a reward from the gods for their victory.
The number of Fate Points received depends on how long it took to recover the treasure. Check how many expeditions each individual Hero has been on during the quest, consult the table below, and award the indicated number of Fate Points.
Fate Points Table
| Number of expeditions Heroes have made to the dungeon | 1 | 2-3 | 4 or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fate points | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Treasure
The players can now divide up the other treasure recovered from the dungeon. Gold crowns must be divided equally. Other treasures may be allocated as the players see fit - if they cannot agree who should get what, they should each roll a dice, with the highest having first choice.
Note that once the gold crowns are shared out, each Hero can do with his share as he pleases, including loaning or gifting it to other players.
Cost of Living
Next the players must pay their Henchmen and their cost of living expenses, as detailed on the Cost of Living Table.
Cost of living has priority over all other transactions. Players who cannot afford to pay their cost of living must record the amount they haven't paid on their character sheet, and pay off any debts as soon as they possibly can, before making any kind of purchase.
Henchmen who are not paid will leave the Heroes' employ.
Moneylenders and Wills. Heroes cannot carry large amounts of money with them (no more than 250 gold crowns per Hero and Henchman), so they'll have to find somewhere safe to store any money they don't spend between expeditions. They can leave their money in their lodgings - this is free and the money won't be subject to tithes, but there is a chance that the money might be stolen. Alternatively, they can take the money to a moneylender who will bank their spare cash for a small fee of 5 gold crowns paid after every expedition; the drawbacks are the tithes and the fact that the money isn't so easy to get to if a Hero dies.
Money belonging to a dead Hero that is kept at his lodgings may simply be shared out among the other Heroes. If it's banked with a moneylender, other Heroes can only have access to it if the Hero has made a will. A will names one or more of the Hero's companions who will receive any money he has banked with a moneylender upon his death - if the other Heroes are dead too, the fortunate moneylender gets to keep the Hero's cash. A fee of 20 gold crowns is levied upon executing a will, so if the Hero had less than 20 crowns his companions get nothing.
Cost of Living Table
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Cost of Living | 10 GCs plus 5 GCs per Fate Point |
| Maintain Henchman: Man-at-Arms | 35 GCs |
| Maintain Henchman: Sergeant | 75 GCs |
| Fee to Moneylender | 5 GCs |
| To make or alter will | 25 GCs |
| To transfer money in accordance with a will | 20 GCs |
Random Events
The GM rolls two dice and refers to the Random Events Table. If a random event is rolled, its effects must be resolved immediately.
Random Events Table (2D12)
| 2D12 | Event |
|---|---|
| 2-4 | No event. |
| 5 | Illness: One of the Heroes (decide randomly) is struck by an illness. Unless he visits the Healer and pays 100 GCs, he has to miss the next expedition. |
| 6 | Injury: A nagging reminder of the previous expedition is causing a random Hero pain. Roll 3 damage dice against starting Toughness, and that many Wounds are lost before the expedition starts. |
| 7 | Trouble With The Law: If any Hero is carrying Greek Fire, the local Watch takes exception to the fire risk. Each Hero with Greek Fire is fined 30 GCs per flask. |
| 8 | Gratitude: The locals have collected 50 GCs in thanks for the monsters you have killed so far. |
| 9 | Tithe: Pay 10% (round up) of all money banked with a moneylender as a tithe to the City Fathers. |
| 10 | Replace Weapons: A randomly-selected Hero has found one of his non-magical weapons to be damaged. He must pay to replace the most expensive weapon he owns (or lose that weapon). |
| 11 | Robbery!: All money left in lodgings is stolen. |
| 12-13 | No event. |
| 14 | Pickpocket: A random Hero loses 25% (round down) of the GCs he carries (ie not in lodgings or banked). |
| 15 | Henchman Retires: A random Henchman takes his pay and retires. |
| 16 | Man-at-Arms: A Man-at-Arms offers his services to a random Hero free of charge for one expedition. |
| 17 | Jealous Ruler: The city's ruler demands the 'gift' of a random magic item from a random Hero. The chosen Hero cannot refuse. |
| 18 | Preparedness: Your last visit cost the monsters dear. They determine to be better prepared next time. The GM may start the expedition with 2 dungeon counters. |
| 19 | Risk Money: For each Henchman who died on the last expedition, all Henchmen currently in employment with the Heroes demand an immediate risk bonus equal to their pay. You must pay this or lose them. |
| 20 | It Doesn't Pay To Be Famous: From now on, all cost of living expenses are doubled. |
| 21 | Map For Sale: The GM must offer you a treasure map for 400 GCs. |
| 22-24 | No event. |
Spending Gold
The players may spend any remaining gold crowns on equipment, spells, spell components and training. The cost of these is shown on the Costs Table.
As you buy new equipment and increase characteristics, remember to modify your character sheet appropriately.
Training
Increasing Weapon Skill improves the Hero's hand-to-hand hit roll. Refer to the Hand-to-Hand Hit Roll Table and modify the character sheet accordingly.
Increasing Bow Skill improves the Hero's ranged weapon hit roll. Refer to the Ranged Weapon Hit Roll Table and modify the character sheet accordingly. Note that armour reduces a Hero's current Bow Skill, and will thus also change his ranged weapon hit roll.
Increasing Strength modifies the number of damage dice the Hero rolls for a hit with a hand-to-hand weapon. Refer to the Damage Dice Table and modify the character sheet accordingly.
A Hero may only train to increase one characteristic point after each expedition.
Weapon Skill and Bow Skill may be increased to a maximum of 12. After the first two points increase, the cost doubles for each point (eg the third point costs 400 GCs, the fourth costs 800 GCs, and so on). Strength, Toughness, Speed, Bravery, Intelligence and Wounds may only be increased by two points. These characteristics may be taken beyond the two-point increase by magic weapons, armour, potions and so forth or by the use of spells. None of them may ever be increased beyond 12, whatever the cause.
Fate Points can be increased to any level at a cost of 1000 GCs per point. Rather than training, this represents the Hero making an offering to the Gods - they reward his proven sanctity by gifting him with a Fate Point.
New Equipment
Armour modifies the character's current Toughness, Bow Skill and Speed. It does not change his starting level, as this represents natural ability without armour. A Hero may remove armour during the game, which will take one exploration turn. If a Hero removes his armour, modify his current Toughness, Bow Skill and Speed as appropriate.
New weapons may have different effects to old ones. Magic weapons discovered in the dungeon certainly will - the GM will tell the Hero players the effects of any magic weapons they find. Modify the character sheet accordingly. A Hero can have up to three weapons, but may only use one at a time. He may change weapons at the start of any exploration turn.
Other items of equipment may be purchased for use in the Heroes' explorations. These include such generally useful adventuring items as rope and iron spikes, as well as items with a more specific use such as Greek Fire and Rat Poison.
Spells and Spell Components
A Wizard Hero may pay a tuition fee to another Wizard of his College in order to master a new spell. The learned magician trains the Wizard in the right incantations, the correct ritual movements and gestures, and the appropriate use of arcane components.
The Wizard should mark in his Spell Book that he is now capable of casting the new spell and he can use it in any future expeditions, provided he has the relevant spell components.
A Wizard may only learn one new spell after each expedition.
Although all spell components cost the same amount, the type of components required differ from spell to spell. At the start of an expedition, the Wizard must mark down on his character sheet which components he is carrying so that it is clear which of his spells he is able to cast.
Healing
A Hero can visit a Healer between expeditions and have his ailments cured by magic. Healers aren't cheap, but they do have some very powerful spells: a Healer is able to remove diseases, restore limbs that have been cut off, and even resurrect the dead (provided the corpse is supplied). The effect of the healing magic will restore the injured Hero to how he was before the damage was caused.
A Hero may also buy one or more Healing Potions from a Healer. These curative brews are specially prepared with the help of an Alchemist, storing some of the Healer's power in a magical liquid. When a Healing Potion is drunk it will restore the Hero's Wounds to their starting level at the beginning of the next turn. A Healing Potion will not restore a dead Hero.
Costs Table
| Training | Cost |
|---|---|
| Increase a characteristic by 1 point | 200 GCs |
| Increase Fate Points by 1 point | 1000 GCs |
| Armour | Cost |
|---|---|
| Shield | 10 GCs |
| Leather armour | 25 GCs |
| Chain armour | 50 GCs |
| Plate armour | 200 GCs |
| Mithril armour | 400 GCs |
| Weapons | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger, spear | 10 GCs |
| Sword, axe or warhammer | 25 GCs |
| Two-handed sword or axe, halberd | 50 GCs |
| Short bow & 6 arrows | 20 GCs |
| Bow & 6 arrows | 25 GCs |
| Long bow & 6 arrows | 50 GCs |
| 6 arrows | 10 GCs |
| Crossbow & 6 bolts | 40 GCs |
| 6 crossbow bolts | 10 GCs |
| Equipment | Cost |
|---|---|
| 10' rope | 5 GCs |
| 10 iron spikes | 10 GCs |
| Greek Fire flasks | 25 GCs each |
| Rat Poison | 25 GCs each |
| Screech Bug | 25 GCs each |
| Spells | Cost |
|---|---|
| Courage | 100 GCs |
| Flaming Hand of Destruction | 175 GCs |
| Flight | 100 GCs |
| Inferno of Doom | 200 GCs |
| Power of the Phoenix | 200 GCs |
| Still Air | 150 GCs |
| Swift Wind | 150 GCs |
| The Bright Key | 250 GCs |
| Spell Component | 25 GCs |
| Healer | Cost |
|---|---|
| Remove disease | 100 GCs |
| Restore lost limb | 500 GCs |
| Resurrect dead Hero (need body) | 1000 GCs |
| Healing Potion | 50 GCs |
Henchmen
When a Hero returns to a town after an expedition, the fame of his exploits begins to spread. Some of those who hear these tales are so impressed by the adventurer's heroic qualities that they seek to join him, hoping to share in his glory. These followers are Henchmen.
There are different types of Henchmen: some are eager young warriors, seeking to make their fortune in the Hero's employ; some are old hands, skilled in the arts of war; others are specialists with unusual skills. In this book, we've given rules for Men-at-Arms, who are trained footsoldiers, and Sergeants, who are more experienced fighters.
There are two ways to get Henchmen: some will automatically join the Hero as he becomes more powerful and his fame spreads; others may be hired to fight in the dungeons for gold.
Attracting Henchmen. Each time the Hero gains a Fate Point, he also attracts a Man-at-Arms. Fate Points are gained if the Hero completes part of a quest in a small number of expeditions, so a Hero who earns Fate Points is obviously successful and heroic - exactly the qualities that attract followers.
A Hero doesn't have to accept a Henchman when he earns a Fate Point. If he turns a Henchman down, however, he doesn't get another chance until he earns another Fate Point.
Even though the Hero attracts the Henchmen for nothing, he must still pay them 35 gold crowns between expeditions or they will leave.
Hiring Henchmen. Henchmen may also be hired by a Hero between expeditions. Any Hero with enough gold crowns may hire one or more Henchmen, regardless of any Fate Points he has earned. A Hero may hire Men-at-Arms for 50 gold crowns each and Sergeants for 100 gold crowns each - the only restriction is the amount of gold he wishes to spend.
A Hero who has attracted a Man-at-Arms through earning a Fate Point can still hire additional Henchmen.
Once hired, Henchmen must be paid by the Hero between expeditions or they will leave.
Sergeants. A Hero can hire a Sergeant at a cost of 100 gold crowns. He may also swap two Men-at-Arms for a Sergeant. These Men-at-Arms can be hired or attracted followers and there is no extra cost to make the swap in either case. The swap may be made between any expeditions: the Hero can change two Men-at-Arms for a Sergeant as soon as he gets them, or he can wait a couple of expeditions before swapping them. As well as costing more to hire, Sergeants cost more to maintain and must be paid 75 gold crowns between expeditions, but they are better and more experienced warriors.
Men-at-Arms. A Man-at-Arms costs 50 gold crowns to hire and must be paid 35 gold crowns between expeditions.
Embark on Next Trip
The Heroes are now ready for their next expedition. If they return to a previously-entered dungeon, they may start from the bottom of any of the stairs they found leading out.
Should any of the Heroes have been killed on the last trip, players can bring in new ones. Obviously, these new Heroes have none of the treasure, weapons or armour of the lost Hero. They start from scratch (unless loaned cash or equipment by other players). You can use a direct replacement for the lost Hero, or use the campaign rules to generate a new one.
Campaigns
One of the most important aspects of Advanced Heroquest is the campaign. The basic idea of a campaign is that the players keep using the same Heroes in different quests, making their Heroes more and more powerful as they go from adventure to adventure. So, when you've finished your first quest, you're really only just beginning.
When you start playing a new quest, it is a good idea to have someone else be the Gamesmaster. This prevents it becoming one player against the rest all the time, and allows different people to throw in their ideas. If players want to use their Heroes again, either two players should be prepared to share a Hero, or the other three Heroes will have to go onto the next quest with a new comrade.
Of course, you don't have to use the same Heroes if you don't want to. You can retire a Hero at any time - he drops out of the campaign, taking all his gold, equipment and magical treasures with him. And if you want to bring him back after a while, then you can simply get out your old character sheet and start playing again.
Each player can have more than one Hero if he wants, though it's not a good idea to use more than one at a time - you should keep playing the same Hero for the whole of a quest, but you can swap to another Hero between quests.
Heroic Legends
When you're playing a campaign, it's a good idea to keep a record of the quests that your Hero has undertaken. You can even write this up as a continuous legend, adding new adventures each time your Hero finishes another quest.
Using your Hero's legend, you can give him additional names. Your Warrior might begin life as Albrecht; if he kills a Troll, you could rename him Albrecht Trollbane. All great Heroes also have a heraldic emblem which they paint on their shields and cloaks, and which is often painted onto the shields of their Henchmen. The Heroes' character sheets have a space for you to draw in the Hero's emblem.
Nuts and Bolts
The first thing to think about when designing an adventure is the nature of the Heroes' quest. This is the story that explains why they are fighting down a particular dungeon and links separate dungeons together. From this you can decide what monsters should be living in the dungeons and what the Quest Treasures are going to be.
Once you've decided what your Quest is going to be, you can choose what dungeon layout you'll use. How many levels will the dungeon have? Perhaps it is a small dungeon on one level with only a single Quest Room and no stairs down. Perhaps it is a huge dungeon with a dozen levels where the monsters get more powerful as the Heroes delve deeper beneath the surface.
There is no limit to the number of rooms, Hazards or Lairs that can be created for a dungeon (although occasionally the dungeon generation tables will close off a dungeon by providing no more unopened doors or unexplored junctions). Nor is there any limit to the number of Quest Rooms that could appear, though you may decide that not all of them have a special purpose.
You can change things around for any adventure you design so that events can happen in a different order. You can choose to arrange things so that few or no rooms are empty, by creating a monster table for the ordinary rooms, or you can space everything out, creating the possibility of long chases through empty passages and rooms.
Naturally, you can also change the treasures that can be found. Use the existing treasure tables as a guide, then invent your own magical items.
You can add ready-designed areas, like the Quest Locations from the Shattered Amulet, but these should not be too powerful. The best starting point might be to generate the area with the tables you have invented for your new adventure, and then move things around for your own purposes.
If you're designing a large dungeon, you should modify the Fate Points Table so that the Heroes gain Fate Points even after going on quite a lot of expeditions - it will obviously take them longer to complete a quest if the dungeons are very large. Alternatively, you could have more than one Quest Treasure in the dungeon so that they can recover each after a few expeditions.
Once you're thoroughly familiar with designing dungeons, there's no reason why you can't sometimes have a dungeon that has been entirely planned out in advance - in effect, the whole dungeon is a Quest Location.
Alternative Monsters
When you design a new quest, use the existing monster tables as your starting point for the monsters you introduce. For each monster, we've worked out a modifier that shows the relative strength of the different types; this is known as the monster's points value (PV). For example, Goblins are worth a half-point, Skaven are worth 1 point. This means you can replace Skaven with Goblins on a 1:2 basis when you draw up your own monster tables. Look at the various monster tables, then replace each line with a broadly equivalent points value in the monsters you have chosen.
However, bear in mind that the Heroes get stronger with each quest - this means you'll need more or more powerful monsters to give them a suitable challenge. When you create your new tables after completing a quest, add 1-2 points to each line in the tables, so now 3 Skaven will end up being replaced by 8 Goblins... or an Ogre, or an Orc Warlord and 2 Orc Warriors.
Some of the monsters have special rules - these are explained below.
Berserker. Berserkers have the ability to transform themselves into super-human fighters with great skill and strength. The player controlling a berserker decides when and if he goes berserk. A berserker may choose to go berserk at the start of any combat phase. He will remain berserk until every enemy in sight has been killed. A berserker receives one free attack per turn, which must be made at the same time as its normal attack. Treat the berserker as having a Weapon Skill two lower than normal when opponents work out their hit roll. A berserker must always move towards the closest enemy and engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Berserkers recover from being berserk at the end of combat.
Spellcaster. Spellcasters are able to use magic. They have a limited number of spells and must use spell components to cast them, just like Wizards. They must take an Intelligence test if a spell demands it, with the usual results for success and failure. The type and number of spells known by spellcasters are listed on the relevant monster reference tables.
Regeneration. A monster which can regenerate recovers 1 lost Wound at the beginning of each GM phase of every combat turn.
Invulnerable. Some monsters are magically invulnerable and require a powerful, well-aimed blow to damage them at all. When rolling damage dice, even those dice which score equal to or greater than the monster's Toughness can only be counted if there is at least one 12 rolled. This does not apply to damage rolled as the result of a free attack or to any attack made with a magical weapon.
Two Attacks. A monster with two attacks may make two hand-to-hand attack rolls instead of one. Two separate damage dice entries show how many damage dice are to be rolled whenever the first or second attacks hit.
Cause Disease. A monster which can cause disease will reduce the Strength and Toughness of anything it can hit. If such a monster hits a Hero, you must roll a dice and compare it to the Hero's starting Toughness. If the roll is under this score, all is well and nothing happens. If it is equal to or over this score, the disease will take root. Make a note on the character sheet that the Hero is diseased.
Between expeditions, the Hero must visit a Healer to have the disease cured. If disease is not removed for any reason, the Hero must have his Strength and Toughness reduced by one. This will happen each time between expeditions until the disease is cured, or until one of these scores has fallen to zero. If this happens, the Hero dies.
Flight. Monsters who can fly ignore all death zones when they move.
Fearsome Monster. Some monsters are so scary they cause fear in other creatures - even Heroes. If a fearsome monster has a Hero or Henchman in its death zone at the start of any combat phase, that model must be checked for Bravery. Roll a dice. If the roll is greater than his Bravery, the character will cower; if the roll is less than or equal to his Bravery, he is unaffected. A model that cowers may not move (unless he runs) or attack, but he may open doors. Fearsome monsters are not themselves affected by this rule and do not have to make a Bravery roll when they are fighting other fearsome monsters.
Large Monsters. Large monsters are so big that they have special rules for movement, death zones, etc. These monsters come with bases which are four times the size of normal ones. When moving them, use one corner (the right forward), and move this corner the required number of squares. Although they appear to be too small to go through doors, they can be moved through as normal. However, never leave a large monster part-way through a door, or across a wall.
Large monsters have death zones that occupy eight spaces. Large monsters completely block any line of sight which passes over their bases. Line of sight to and from a large monster is not blocked by normal-sized creatures.
Quest Ideas
The Necromancer. The monsters in the dungeon are Undead; create a powerful Human Wizard as the sole character monster. The Heroes must hunt him down and destroy him, but he can appear at any time to harass them with his creations. You need a Quest Location from which the Necromancer cannot escape, and which he has to defend or lose all his powers - his Laboratory, a heavily-guarded complex of rooms and passages.
The Wager. The GM can seal the entrance for 40 turns. The Heroes will need to find another way out, because the GM should also have some powerful wandering monsters and character monsters available to chase them away from the entrance or any other exit they find.
Chase! An important prisoner escapes, and must be hunted down by the Heroes. But he enters the dungeon ahead of them, and tries to keep one step ahead. The GM controls the prisoner, secretly generating the rooms and passages he finds as he runs.
The War Band. The GM should set a total limit on the defenders. This can be reinforced between expeditions, but otherwise those killed are not replaced.
Jail Break. This quest starts from inside the dungeon, and involves the Heroes trying to get out. Quest Rooms should have stairs leading up; there should be no other stairs in the dungeon. Naturally, the Heroes start from a room on the third or fourth level, having just managed to strangle the warder and open the door to their cell with his keys. And their equipment has been stashed somewhere else in the dungeon.
Earthquake. Add this to a normal exploration dungeon. Create a table which allows you to start destroying the dungeon once the Heroes have recovered the object of their quest. Rubble will block the passages, chasms will open in the rooms.
Hostages! The object of the quest is to recover a prisoner, or a group of hostages. The defenders in the Quest Location can be programmed to kill the prisoner(s) if the Heroes aren't aggressive enough. More importantly, the prisoner(s) aren't fit enough to get out under their own steam, so the journey back will be a slow-moving nightmare.
The Flooded Caves. A normal exploration dungeon, but with only one level, and that partially underwater. Halve all movement rates. Reduce all damage dice by -1. Then add a few hazards and traps which bring the water level up a few feet.
The Explorer. An explorer hires the Heroes to map a dungeon. Heavily reduce the amount of gold crowns on offer, but tell the players that the explorer will pay them 5 gold crowns per room discovered. Make sure that he wants to keep going until he has met a fearsome monster or lost a few Wounds.
The Crown Jewels. A bunch of Goblinoids got lucky and stole a fabulous treasure - a bride's dowry, perhaps, or the regalia of a prince. The Heroes have to get it back. Each piece is valuable, but the real value comes if it is returned to the owner as a set. Of course, the Goblinoids don't recognise its value as a set, and the jewels are scattered amongst the toughest Orcs.
The Mirror Rooms. The Quest Rooms should be defended by mirror images of the Heroes, just as well-armed and armoured as they are. The threat will grow as they grow stronger. The final encounter can then be with the most powerful images to date - and the mad, evil Wizard who created them.
The Orc Warlord. Create a Quest Location where an Orc Warlord lies wounded. He has been badly injured, and neither he nor his guards can pursue the Heroes, which is just as well - they should be much too strong for the Heroes to defeat at first. But they might succeed with some help, perhaps discovered in another Quest Location - a magical item, or some prisoners who could be released.
Creating Heroes
To create a new Hero you need to work through the tables below, filling in your character sheet as you go. You first roll on the Hero's Race Table to find out what race the Hero belongs to: this can be Human, Dwarf or Elf. You then roll on the Hero Creation Table to discover the Hero's characteristics; the column you use on this table depends on your Hero's race. At this point, you should choose whether he's going to be a Warrior or a Wizard.
Once you've found out what sort of characteristics your Hero has, you can consult the remaining tables to fill in the combat sections of the character sheet. You'll need to know what weapons and armour the Hero has, so each Hero has a starting purse of around 65 gold crowns to buy equipment.
By the time you get to the end of the tables, you'll have a Hero ready to begin play. All you need to do before you start is choose a name for your Hero, draw a sketch of him on your character sheet and design his shield emblem.
Training. When your Hero comes back from an expedition and spends some of his gold on training, these tables tell you the effects of increasing his Weapon Skill, Bow Skill or Strength. Check the Hero's new current level and make any changes required to your character sheet. The Hand-to-Hand Weapons, Ranged Weapons and Armour tables tell you any changes to make if you buy new weapons and armour.
Monsters. These tables also allow you to create reference cards for monsters from the information provided on the monster reference tables. You obviously won't need to roll for race and characteristics, so you simply check the monster's hit rolls, weapon statistics and so forth.
Race
Your Hero can be one of three races: Human, Dwarf or Elf. If your Hero is replacing a dead Hero, your GM may allow you to choose what race you are so that the party remains balanced.
Hero's Race Table (D12)
| D12 | Race |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | Human |
| 7-9 | Dwarf |
| 10-12 | Elf |
Dwarfs. Dwarfs are expert miners and craftsmen, which gives them a greater ability to notice unusual rock formations and understand strange mechanical devices. Therefore, all Dwarfs have a bonus of +2 on all rolls to spot and disarm traps.
Elves. Elves are quick-witted and eagle-eyed, used to reacting swiftly to the constant movement around them in their natural woodland environment. Therefore, all Elves add +1 to any surprise rolls made by the Leader if they can see the encountered group of monsters.
Characteristics
Once you know the Hero's race, you can roll his characteristics. To create these characteristics, the table asks you to roll a dice and add a number to the score; for example, roll D6+4 means roll a six-sided dice and add four to the result. You can either use the appropriate dice (eg a six-sided dice for D6, an eight-sided dice for D8 and so on) or you can roll the twelve-sided dice you get with the game and reroll it if the number is higher than the maximum. For example, to simulate a D8, you can roll the twelve-sided dice and reroll scores of 9 to 12.
For each characteristic, roll the dice shown in the column for the Hero's race.
Hero Creation Table
| Characteristic | Human | Dwarf | Elf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon Skill | D6+4 | D6+5 | D6+4 |
| Bow Skill | D6+4 | D6+4 | D6+5 |
| Strength | D4+3 | D4+3 | D4+3 |
| Toughness | D4+3 | D4+4 | D4+2 |
| Speed | D6+4 | D6+3 | D6+5 |
| Bravery | D8+3 | D8+3 | D8+3 |
| Intelligence | D8+3 | D8+2 | D8+3 |
| Wounds | D4+1 | D4+1 | D4+1 |
| Fate Points | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Wizards
You can choose to make any Hero you create a Wizard. This means that your Hero can cast spells. There are drawbacks to being a Wizard, however. It means that you can't wear armour and that the largest weapon you can carry is a dagger.
Dwarf Wizards. Dwarfs are not as magically inclined as Humans and suffer restrictions in their spellcasting. Every time that a Dwarf casts a spell, whether or not it normally needs an Intelligence test, the Dwarf must roll equal to or under his Intelligence or the spell fails and the components are wasted. If the spell does normally require an Intelligence test, the Dwarf Wizard must take two tests and pass both successfully to be able to cast the spell.
Dwarfs are also slow learners of magic and need more tuition than Human Wizards. The cost for learning any spell is doubled for a Dwarf Wizard. A Dwarf Wizard starts off knowing two spells: you can pick any two from the four known by a Human Wizard.
Elf Wizards. An Elf Wizard's profile is slightly different to that of a normal Elf, to reflect the large amount of time he has spent studying the arcane arts. An Elf Wizard's roll for his Intelligence is modified by +1, and his roll for Strength by -1, over and above the modifiers on the Hero Creation Table. An Elf Wizard starts off knowing the same four spells as known by a Human Wizard.
Cost of Starting Spells. The four starting spells all cost 100 gold crowns to learn, or 200 gold crowns to a Dwarf Wizard.
Hand-to-Hand Combat Hit Rolls
Use this table to work out the scores required to hit an opponent in hand-to-hand combat. Look up your Hero's Weapon Skill in the left-hand column, then copy down the row of figures to the right into the Hand-to-Hand Combat section of your character sheet.
Hand-to-Hand Hit Rolls Table (columns are the defender's Weapon Skill)
| Attacker's WS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Ranged Combat Hit Rolls
Use this table to work out the scores required to hit an opponent with a ranged weapon. Look up your Hero's Bow Skill in the left-hand column, then copy down the row of figures to the right into the Ranged Combat section of your character sheet.
| Attacker's BS | Range 1-3 | 4-12 | 13-24 | 25-36 | 37 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11* | 12* | Miss | Miss | Miss |
| 2 | 10 | 11* | 12* | Miss | Miss |
| 3 | 9 | 10 | 11* | 12* | Miss |
| 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11* | 12* |
| 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11* |
| 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 11 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 12 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
* When you need an 11 or 12 to score a normal hit, there's no chance of getting a critical hit - you're lucky enough to hit the target at all!
Weapons and Armour
Before you can fill in the Weapons and Armour sections of your character sheet, you'll need to know what equipment the Hero possesses. Every Hero starts off with 50 to 80 gold crowns. Roll D4+4 and multiply the result by 10 to calculate the number of gold crowns you start with.
This gold may be spent on any of the items on the Costs Table with the following exceptions:
- Training: you cannot start to train until you've been on at least one expedition.
- Spells: If you have a Wizard Hero, you don't need to pay for your starting spells. You can't learn any more spells until you've been on at least one expedition.
- Spell Components: If you have a Wizard, you automatically get one spell component per starting spell - so Human Wizards get four free components, Elf Wizards three and Dwarf Wizards two. You can't buy any extra components until you've been on at least one expedition.
Hand-to-Hand Weapons
For hand-to-hand weapons, cross-reference your Hero's Strength against the type of weapon to find out how many damage dice you roll when you hit. The table also lists the score needed for a critical hit and a fumble.
Certain weapons have a minimum Strength - a Hero with less than the minimum is too weak to wield the weapon with any effect.
Large weapons are heavier and score critical hits on 11 or 12 rather than just 12, but they are clumsier and cause fumbles on a 1 or 2. They still only cause critical damage on a 12.
If your Hero has a weapon not listed below, choose the nearest weapon type. Hand-to-hand weapons don't have any range.
Hand-to-Hand Weapons Table (damage dice by Strength)
| Weapon | 1-2 | 3-4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Fumble | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fists | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | — | — |
| Dagger | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| Spear | — | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 12 |
| Sword | — | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| Axe or Warhammer | — | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| Halberd | — | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1-2 | 11-12 |
| Double-Handed Sword | — | — | — | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 1-2 | 11-12 |
| Double-Handed Axe | — | — | — | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 1-2 | 11-12 |
| Claws and Fangs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | — | — |
| Huge Club | — | — | — | — | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1-2 | 11-12 |
Fists: This covers all forms of unarmed attacks by Heroes and Henchmen.
Spears: Spears can attack diagonally adjacent squares.
Halberd: Halberds can attack diagonally adjacent squares.
Claws and Fangs: Monsters only - this covers all forms of attacks with natural weapons, including horns, spiked tails and so forth.
Huge Club: Monsters only - this covers any attack made by a monster with a large weapon, including large axes, maces and so on.
Ranged Weapons
The Ranged Weapons Table gives you the maximum range and damage dice for each missile and thrown weapon.
All ranged weapons cause a fumble on a hit roll of 1 and a critical hit on a roll of 12 (except where an 11 or 12 is needed to hit).
| Weapon | Max Range | Damage Dice | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrown Dagger | 4 | 2 | Move and throw |
| Thrown Axe | 4 | 3 | Move and throw |
| Thrown Spear | 6 | 3 | Move and throw |
| Short Bow | 24 | 4 | |
| Bow | 36 | 4 | |
| Long Bow | 48 | 4 | Min 6 Strength |
| Crossbow | 48 | 4 | Turn to reload |
Move and Throw: The Hero can throw the weapon even if he moves that turn. Bows can only be fired if the Hero doesn't move.
Minimum 6 Strength: Your Hero needs a Strength of at least 6 to use a long bow.
Turn to Reload: After firing a crossbow, the Hero must spend a turn without moving to reload it.
Armour
Armour adds to the Toughness of your Hero, but restricts his ease of movement and therefore reduces his Bow Skill and Speed.
Monsters always have their characteristics listed with armour taken into account. You only need to consult this table if the monster is wearing a different sort of armour from usual. You can work out a monster's starting levels easily by adding the numbers you'd normally subtract and subtracting those you'd normally add.
Armour Table
| Armour | Bow Skill | Toughness | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shield | -1 | +1 | — |
| Leather Armour | -1 | +1 | -1 |
| Chain Armour | -1 | +2 | -2 |
| Plate Armour | -2 | +3 | -2 |
| Mithril Armour | -1 | +4 | -1 |
Heroquest
If you own a copy of MB's Heroquest game, the following rules tell you how to use the Heroquest components in Advanced Heroquest. These rules are optional, and all the players must agree that the rules will be used before the game starts.
Heroquest Characters
If you've played all the Heroquest adventures, you can continue your explorations with the same characters in Advanced Heroquest. The four Heroes from Heroquest are a Barbarian, a Dwarf, a High Elf and a Wizard. They follow the normal rules for Advanced Heroquest (but see the High Elf notes below) and the Wizard uses the same Spell Book.
We've provided filled-in character sheets for the four Heroes, though you'll need to write in any Quest Treasures or magic items that you found in Heroquest.
High Elf. The High Elf is able to cast spells, though not as well as a Wizard - this is offset by his better fighting abilities. He starts off with a Spell Book that only contains the Dragon Armour and Open Window spells. He can learn more spells by paying for tuition between expeditions just like a Wizard.
When the High Elf tries to cast a spell, he must pass an Intelligence test, even if the spell doesn't normally require a test. If he passes, he casts the spell as normal. If he fails, the spell does not work and the components are wasted.
If the spell does normally require an Intelligence test, the High Elf must pass two tests. If he fails either test, the spell doesn't work and the components are wasted.
Heroquest Monsters
It is simplicity itself to add the monsters from Heroquest to your games of Advanced Heroquest. Just use the rules for generating new Monster Matrices and include the Heroquest monsters on any or all of the Matrices for a dungeon. The characteristics for all of the Heroquest monsters are given in the Campaigns section.
Room Furnishings
The room furnishings (table, bookcase etc) for Heroquest can be used to make rooms in Advanced Heroquest more interesting. If you decide to use the furnishings, the GM should roll once on the Room Furnishings Table whenever he places a new room, and then place the appropriate piece of furniture in the room.
Furniture is always placed by the GM. He may place the furniture anywhere in the room, so long as it does not block any entrances. The fireplace, cupboard, weapons rack and bookcase must be placed against one of the walls of the room.
A model may never enter a square that also contains a piece of furniture, and furniture obscures line of sight for any missile weapons.
Room Furnishings Table (D12)
| D12 | Furnishing | D12 | Furnishing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | Nothing | 10 | Fireplace |
| 7 | Weapons Rack | 11 | Bookcase |
| 8 | Cupboard | 12 | Rack |
| 9 | Table |
Fireplace. Any model may grab a burning log from the fireplace instead of making an attack. The log may be used in combat with the same effect as a dagger. If it is used against a Mummy, any hit causes the Mummy's ancient bandages to burst into flame, automatically killing the monster.
Cupboard. A Hero may search the cupboard during the Hero player phase of the exploration turn. Roll on the table below to find out what the cupboard contains. A cupboard may only be searched once.
| D12 | Cupboard Contents |
|---|---|
| 1 | A rat is lurking in the cupboard. It viciously bites the Hero's hand before he is able to kill it. The Hero's WS is reduced by -1 for the rest of this trip unless he drinks a Healing Potion. |
| 2-9 | The cupboard is bare. |
| 10-11 | The player finds 25 gold crowns. |
| 12 | The player finds a Healing Potion. |
Weapons Rack. Any model may take a weapon from the rack. Roll on the table below to see what the rack contains.
| D12 | Contents | D12 | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Nothing | 8 | 12 Arrows |
| 3-4 | 1 Spear | 9-10 | 1 Sword |
| 5 | 3 Spears | 11 | 1 Axe |
| 6-7 | 6 Arrows | 12 | Roll twice |
Bookcase. A Hero may search the bookcase during the Hero player phase of the exploration turn. Roll on the table below to find out what the player finds. A bookcase may only be searched once.
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | The player finds nothing of interest. |
| 11 | Spell Book: the book contains 4 spells. Roll on the table for magic wands to determine which spells are in the book. |
| 12 | Treasure Map: the GM must give the Hero a treasure map. |
Heroquest Magic Items
The Heroquest Quest Treasures and magic items have the following effects in Advanced Heroquest.
- Potion of Healing and Potion of Strength: These work the same way as the Advanced Heroquest potions of the same name.
- Potion of Speed: May be drunk at the start of any combat turn, as long as the Hero is not in an enemy death zone. It doubles the Hero's Speed for the duration of the combat (ie until play returns to exploration turns).
- Potion of Resilience: May be drunk at the start of any combat turn, as long as the Hero is not in an enemy death zone. It increases the Hero's Toughness by +1 for the duration of the combat.
- Heroic Brew: May be drunk at the start of any combat turn, as long as the Hero is not in an enemy death zone. It gives the Hero one free attack for that round of combat only.
- Holy Water: May be sprinkled on any undead creature instead of making an attack, killing the creature instantly.
- Borin's Armour: Counts as Mithril Armour, but does not affect the Hero's Speed in any way.
- Talisman of Lore: When wearing this a Hero's Intelligence counts as being two points higher than normal when he casts a spell.
- Orcs Bane: Gives its user one free attack per combat turn when fighting Orcs.
- Spirit Blade: Adds +1 to Weapon Skill and +1 to Strength. It automatically kills any undead creature that it hits.
- Wand of Recall: Stores up to three spells. The spells that are stored in the wand must be written down on the Wizard's character sheet, and the correct components 'sacrificed' to the wand before the expedition begins. One of the spells can be cast at any time in the Wizard's turn, even if he would not normally be allowed to cast a spell. Thus the wand could be used to cast a spell if the Wizard was running or engaged in combat, or could be used to cast a second spell after the Wizard had cast a normal spell in the same turn. Only the Wizard who stored the spells in the wand may use it to cast any spells, although another Wizard could take the wand and later store his own spells in it.
Heroquest Revisited
You can play any of the Heroquest adventures using the Advanced Heroquest rules. Replace the Heroquest rules for movement, combat and magic with the Advanced Heroquest rules. Use the Heroquest rules for placing monsters, searching, treasure cards and so on. Whenever a Hero is directed to lose a Body Point, he must lose 1 Wound or 1 Fate Point instead. All monsters that are encountered are assumed to be of the standard type (not Champions or Warlords) unless stated otherwise below.
Special Rules
- Sir Ragnar counts as having a Weapon Skill and Toughness of 7 and a Speed of 6. He has 2 Wounds remaining and is not allowed to attack or run.
- Ulag has the characteristics of an Orc Warlord.
- Grak has the characteristics of an Orc Champion. (Grak is the Orc in the room with the torture rack.)
- In the Stone Hunter adventure, the Chaos Warriors have their Toughness increased by +1.
- Balur and the Witch Lord have the same characteristics and spells as an Evil Sorcerer. Remember that the Witch Lord can only be harmed by the Spirit Blade.
Using the Heroquest Board
You can use the large Heroquest map-board in your Advanced Heroquest games to add a maze-like level to a dungeon. You can decide in advance which stairs are going to lead to this maze; for example, the first set of stairs going down from the second level. Or you can roll for it each time stairs down are found, with a roll of 1 or 2 on a dice indicating that the stairs lead to a maze level.
Exploring the Maze. If the Heroes decide to go down the stairs to the maze, clear the table of any already-placed rooms and corridors, and replace them with the Heroquest map-board. Place a set of stairs on the board.
The Heroquest board is split into rooms, passages and junctions. Junctions are the shaded squares marked on the diagram. A passage is a set of squares joining two junctions. Some passages start off always blocked by rubble.
Passages. Roll on the Maze Passage Features Table the first time that a Hero stands on a junction square that allows him to see down a previously-unexplored passage. Then roll on the Maze Junctions Table to see if the junction at the end of each passage is open or blocked. Only roll for the passages that actually join the junction on which the Hero is standing. Of course, you don't have to roll on the Maze Junction Table if the end of the passage is already blocked with rubble.
Maze Passage Features Table (D12)
| D12 | Feature |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Wandering Monsters |
| 3-6 | Nothing |
| 7-10 | 1 Door |
| 11 | 2 Doors |
| 12 | 3 Doors |
Wandering Monsters: Roll on the Wandering Monsters Matrix for the dungeon. An alternative Matrix for the maze is given at the end of this section.
Doors: A door may only be placed on a wall that leads to a room. It may not be placed on the outside edge of the board, or on a square that is blocked by rubble. The Leader decides which wall it is placed in and the GM chooses exactly where to place it. As in the normal dungeon, each wall of a room may only have one door. If it is not possible to place all the doors due to these restrictions, any excess doors are lost.
Maze Junctions Table (D12)
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | Open |
| 7-12 | Blocked by rubble |
Blocked: If a junction is blocked, the GM must place a Heroquest blocked square marker on the first square of the passage. Squares that are blocked by rubble cannot be entered and block line of sight.
Rooms. Roll on the Maze Rooms Table and the Maze Room Doors Table the first time a Hero can see into a room.
Maze Rooms Table (D12)
| D12 | Room |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | Empty |
| 5-6 | Hazard Room |
| 7-11 | Wandering Monsters |
| 12 | Stairs down to next level |
Hazard Room: Roll on the Hazards Table as usual.
Maze Room Doors Table (D12)
| D12 | Doors |
|---|---|
| 1-6 | No extra doors |
| 7-12 | 1 extra door |
Extra Door: The Leader may place a door in a wall that doesn't already have a door. If all four walls have doors, the extra one is lost. If the door opens onto an area that has already been explored, it is obviously a secret door from the other side.
Secret Doors. A Hero may search for secret doors in a room which has no doors except the one he entered by. He may search one wall section per exploration turn, provided he started the turn in the room. He can't search the wall that already has a door. The player must state which wall the Hero is searching before he rolls on the Secret Doors Table.
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | The GM may draw 1 dungeon counter |
| 2-6 | Nothing |
| 7-12 | The Hero finds a secret door |
The player places the secret door in the chosen wall. Each wall may only be searched once. The Expedition Mapper should record the results of any unsuccessful searches. Heroes cannot search for secret doors in passages.
Hidden Treasure. A Hero who starts an exploration turn in a room may search for hidden treasure instead of secret doors. Roll two dice on the Hidden Treasure Table.
| 2D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2-6 | The GM may draw 1 dungeon counter |
| 7-16 | Nothing |
| 17-23 | The Hero finds 5D12 gold crowns |
| 24 | The Hero finds a hidden magic treasure - roll on the Magic Treasure Table in the Treasure section |
Each room may only be searched once - if the Hero is unsuccessful, it means there's no hidden treasure to be found in that room. The Expedition Mapper should record which rooms have been searched.
Wandering Monsters. For the maze level, you can use the same Wandering Monster Matrix you're using for the rest of the dungeon. You can even design a special Matrix just for this maze. Or you can use the Maze Wandering Monster Matrix below - this is based on some of the Citadel Miniatures from the Heroquest box.
Maze Wandering Monsters Matrix (D12)
| D12 | Monsters | Treasure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Goblin | 5 GCs |
| 2 | 2 Goblins | 10 GCs |
| 3 | 1 Orc | 10 GCs |
| 4 | 4 Goblins | 20 GCs |
| 5 | 2 Zombies | 20 GCs |
| 6 | 3 Orcs | 30 GCs |
| 7 | 2 Orc Champions | 40 GCs |
| 8 | 4 Goblins & 1 Orc Champion | 40 GCs |
| 9 | 1 Chaos Warrior | 60 GCs |
| 10 | 3 Skeletons | 60 GCs |
| 11 | 1 Fimir | 60 GCs |
| 12 | 1 Mummy | 100 GCs |
Solo Advanced Heroquest
These solo rules allow you to play Advanced Heroquest when you're on your own. In the solo game you're the Leader, the Expedition Mapper, the Hero players and the GM all rolled into one. Most of the normal game rules are used, with a few minor variations: for example, the tactics of the monsters encountered in the dungeon are decided by a set of special rules that tell you how they move and attack.
Preparing for Play
You should decide before you begin to play how large the dungeon you're exploring is going to be. You could choose to only have a single-level dungeon and therefore ignore all stairs that lead down - or you could just follow the random generation tables and let the dungeon get as big as it can.
You should also choose the Monster Matrices that you're going to use.
If you want you can just explore the dungeon and fight any monsters you meet without having an overall objective. However, like a normal game, a solo game is much more fun if you've got specific objectives to meet. The easiest way to do this is to choose some character monsters to be encountered in the Quest Rooms. For example, you could pick six of the character monster counters provided in the box and draw two at random for each of the Quest Rooms you enter. Each pair of character monsters has a random magic item, which one of them will use against the Heroes if possible. These magic items are the Quest Treasures and the Heroes need to kill all six character monsters and collect the Quest Treasures to successfully complete their quest.
Other than any character monster counters you decide to use, place the dungeon counters to one side - they are not used in solo Advanced Heroquest.
Solo Exploration Turns
The dungeon is generated using the normal rules. Obviously all the dice rolls and the placement of any doors or rooms are made by you.
The GM Phase. You should roll a dice each GM phase and consult the following table.
| D12 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Trap |
| 2-11 | Nothing |
| 12 | Wandering Monsters |
Trap: Pick one member of the party at random and roll on the Rooms and Passages column of the Traps Table. The Hero or Henchman that was picked must roll to see if he spots the trap. If he does, the trap has no effect (there is no need to try to disarm it). If not, the trap goes off with the effect noted on the Traps Table.
Wandering Monsters: Generate a group of wandering monsters from the Wandering Monsters Matrix you're using. You decide where the monsters are set up but you must place the first monster as close to the party as the rules allow. Play then proceeds to a combat turn.
Secret Doors. Heroes may search for secret doors using the normal rules. On a roll of 1 on the Secret Doors Table, the Heroes have encountered a group of wandering monsters (see above).
Hidden Treasure. The Heroes are not allowed to search for hidden treasure in solo games.
Solo Combat Turns
The following rules govern the placement and movement of any monsters that are encountered in the dungeon.
Designer's Note: You will find solo Advanced Heroquest far more enjoyable if you use these rules as guidelines, and apply a bit of common sense to how the monsters attack. Try to imagine what you would do as the GM if you had to move your monsters within these restrictions, and then give yourself as hard a time as possible.
Placing Monsters. You can place the monsters in any order you want, as long as any monsters armed with ranged weapons or spells are placed after monsters armed with only hand-to-hand weapons. The first monster must be placed in a square as close to the party as possible. If the monster can be placed in a square from which it can make an attack, it must be placed in that square. Any remaining monsters must be placed in a square adjacent to an already-placed monster.
You then roll to see if either side is surprised. If the monsters are surprised, you may move any of the monsters up to one square. If the Heroes are surprised, the monsters are not moved but the Heroes lose their first turn.
The GM Phase. Roll the dice at the start of each GM phase and refer to the Tactics Table to decide what the monsters do this turn. Note that there are two parts to the table: one for use if all the monsters are armed with hand-to-hand weapons, and one for use if one or more monsters have ranged weapons (including spells).
Tactics Table — monsters armed only with hand-to-hand weapons
| D12 | Tactic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reinforcements |
| 2-6 | Move and Attack |
| 7-12 | Attack and Move |
Tactics Table — one or more monsters with ranged weapons or spells
| D12 | Tactic |
|---|---|
| 1 | Reinforcements |
| 2-4 | Move and Attack |
| 5-8 | Attack and Move |
| 9-12 | Ranged Attack |
Reinforcements: Roll up a random group of wandering monsters and place them according to the rules above. Then carry on with the turn. All the monsters use move and attack tactics this turn.
Move and Attack: All the monsters move and then attack this turn.
Attack and Move: All the monsters attack and then move this turn.
Ranged Attack: Monsters with hand-to-hand weapons move to allow those with ranged weapons to make an attack.
Moving Monsters. The following rules apply whenever a monster is moved using attack and move or move and attack tactics.
Each monster armed with hand-to-hand weapons should be moved to a square from which it can make an attack if possible. If no such squares are available, the monster moves to get as close to the party as possible, running if it has to.
Each monster armed with ranged weapons or spells moves to a square from which it can make an attack or cast a spell. The square cannot be adjacent to a Hero or Henchman. If this is not possible, the monster doesn't move.
Ranged Attacks. The following rules apply when a monster is moved using ranged attack tactics. Each monster armed with hand-to-hand weapons moves in such a way as to allow those with ranged weapons to have a clear line of sight to the Heroes and Henchmen. A monster with a ranged weapon doesn't move unless it is in a Hero's death zone, in which case it moves away. Monsters with ranged weapons attack after all monsters have moved.
Attacks. Any monster that can make an attack does so. If it has a choice of targets, it attacks the target with the lowest Weapon Skill. If the targets' Weapon Skills are tied, the monster attacks the one with the lowest Toughness. If the targets' Toughness scores are also tied, decide who the monster attacks randomly.
Magic-using monsters that have more than one spell choose one at random out of those available. Any monster that makes an attack with a weapon that has an area of effect targets the attack so that it affects as many Heroes as possible.
Tobaro's Bane (Solo Quest)
The city of Tobaro is under siege; the City Fathers are in disarray and the whole community is in imminent danger of collapse. The reason behind this disaster is a recent rise in power of a nearby Skaven clan, which is now led by a powerful Skaven Sorcerer, Cankerclaw Darkheart. The City Fathers have offered rich rewards to any Heroes that can aid them. You have answered their call.
The Heroes. The Heroes' party consists of four Heroes, four Men-at-Arms and one Sergeant. The Henchmen have been provided free by the City Fathers to aid the Heroes in their quest.
The Quest. The object of the quest is to kill Cankerclaw the Skaven Sorcerer, the mastermind of the Skaven's attack on Tobaro, and thus prevent the clan's attacks on the city. After exploring the three dungeon levels, the Heroes will finally find Cankerclaw and kill him (or they'll die in the attempt). If they defeat him and return to the surface, the Heroes win the game.
Unlike normal Advanced Heroquest, the Heroes only have one expedition in which to find Cankerclaw as there simply isn't enough time to mount a second expedition. This means that if the Heroes succeed, they automatically receive 2 Fate Points.
Dungeon Layout. The dungeon is on three levels. Each level is generated randomly using the normal rules, except any stairs down that are found in a passage are actually stairs out of the dungeon. The stairs down are only found in the first Quest Room discovered on levels one and two.
Skaven. Use the Monster Matrices from the Quest for the Shattered Amulet to roll up the monsters in the dungeon. If the Heroes escape from a group of Skaven, the surviving Skaven return to the room or passage where they were first encountered. If the Heroes pass through this area again, they are attacked by the survivors.
Quest Rooms. Each level of the dungeon only has one Quest Room; if the Heroes carry on exploring the level, any Quest Rooms rolled up later are replaced by Lairs. Each Quest Room has a set of stairs down to the next level, the monsters rolled on the Quest Rooms Matrix and one or more of the character monsters.
| Level | Character Monster | Magic Item |
|---|---|---|
| One | Assassin | — |
| Two | Plague Monk | Warpscroll |
| Two | Warpweaver | — |
| Three | Plague Censer Bearer | Plague Censer |
| Three | Warlord | Runesword |
| Three | Sorcerer | Ring of Magic Protection |
If the Heroes kill the character monsters, they can take their magic items. However, they can't use the Warpscroll or the Plague Censer - only Clan Pestilens Skaven are trained to use these items.
The Quest for the Shattered Amulet
The Quest for the Shattered Amulet is a ready-to-play quest that uses all of the rules that have been covered in this book. Before you begin to GM this quest, make sure you've read through the section that follows so you know what's going to happen.
Dungeon Layout
There are four complete dungeons to explore during the Quest for the Shattered Amulet, plus a fifth, final part to the adventure that should come as a complete surprise to the players.
Included in the box are four player treasure maps, one for each of the four dungeons. These give the players some clues when they reach the Quest Locations but aren't as accurate as your copies of the same maps. If the Heroes find a treasure map, or if a random event dictates that there is a map for sale, you should give or sell them one of these treasure maps. Give them the maps in order, so that they get the map for the first dungeon first.
First Level. Each dungeon is on three levels. The normal rules for setting up the entry point of the first level are followed, with the stairs leading to two sections of passage at the end of which is a t-junction. From there on you create the dungeon using the random generation tables. The monsters that the Heroes encounter are Skaven. The only differences are as follows:
- Stairs Down: if these are rolled up as a passage feature, they are replaced by stairs out.
- Quest Rooms: the first time that the Heroes find a Quest Room on this level it will contain Skaven, a treasure chest and the only set of stairs down - place these wherever you want in the room. The stairs lead to the second dungeon level. Any other Quest Rooms only contain Skaven and a treasure chest.
Second Level. The second level also begins with a double length passage and a t-junction. The same generation system and monster tables are used as for the first level. Again there are no stairs down except in the first Quest Room that the Heroes enter. This stairway leads down to the third level, which is a Quest Location.
Quest Locations
When the Heroes descend from the second level's Quest Room, they enter the area depicted on the GM treasure map for that dungeon. Always keep your copy hidden from the Hero players. The following special rules apply on the third level of the dungeon.
Exploration Turns. Unlike the first two dungeon levels, where the rooms and passages are generated randomly, the third level has been designed in advance, and recorded on the GM's map. Exploration is handled in much the same manner as in the first two dungeon levels, except that the GM uses his map to lay out the new dungeon sections and the map gives details of what monsters (if any) are in a room.
Dungeon Counters. The GM may not use trap, wandering monster, ambush or character monster counters on the third level of the dungeon.
Traps. Traps are marked on the GM's map. The rules for spotting and disarming traps are unchanged, except that the roll to see if a Hero spots a trap is made when he enters the trap's square.
Searching for Secret Doors. The Heroes may search for secret doors on any wall, not just in dead ends. Searching one wall on a section takes an entire exploration turn. If a Hero searches a wall that has a secret door, the door is automatically discovered and must be placed on the board. If the wall does not have a secret door, nothing is found. No rolls are made on the Secret Door Table.
Searching for Hidden Treasure. The Heroes may search for hidden treasure in any room. Do not roll on the Hidden Treasure Table when the Heroes search. Instead, you should refer to the GM map, which will tell you if the Heroes find anything.
Combat Turns. The only change to the combat rules is that all Skaven are allowed to open doors. If a Skaven does open a door, refer to the GM map and place any newly-revealed sections and monsters on the board.
Quest Treasures. Each part of the Shattered Amulet is a separate Quest Treasure, so there's a chance for the Heroes to gain more Fate Points as they recover each piece.
Running the Quest
You should make the Heroes search for the four pieces one at a time. They should explore the first level of the Warlord's Lair, descend to the second level, explore that, and finally find their way down to the third level, where the prize they seek is hidden. Only then can they start exploring the Magic Maze.
They do not have to accomplish all this in one go. The exploration of any one dungeon can be the subject of one or more expeditions. Whenever a Hero leaves a dungeon by climbing stairs from either of the first two levels he completes an expedition. All the surviving Heroes must leave before any of them can start a new expedition. When they return to the dungeon, set it up again following the expedition map. All the doors will be closed, and any Lairs and Quest Rooms will be re-stocked with Skaven. Only killed character monsters and treasure (except anything the Skaven carry on them) are not replaced.
Make sure you keep a record of the number of expeditions it takes to complete the quest for the four pieces of the Shattered Amulet.
Whenever the Heroes find a piece, give the players one part of the Shattered Amulet that is included in the box. Make sure they don't see the other parts until they've earned them.
Skaven Warriors
Most of the Skaven encountered in the Quest for the Shattered Amulet are from Clan Mors and Clan Rictus, two Skaven Warrior Clans. There are four types of Skaven from these clans: Warriors, Champions, Warlords and Sentries.
Warriors are moderately well-armoured and use swords or barbed blades that are mounted on short poles. Champions have better armour than the Warriors, although Skaven armour is the wrong size to fit the Heroes or their Henchmen. Warlords use a +2 Runesword. Sentries are lightly-armoured Skaven who may pass through the dungeon doors even when not in pursuit.
Groups of Skaven always fight to the death (this is shown by the rule that stops you moving them from the room except in pursuit, unless they are Sentries). If the Heroes run for the surface, pursue them with everything you can muster.
Skaven Characters
There are six Skaven characters available to you during the Quest for the Shattered Amulet. These are represented by the six Skaven character monster counters included in the box. The counters are not included with the other dungeon counters and you can't pick them randomly. Instead, you get the counters in a set sequence as the quest progresses. Once you have a counter, you can play it at any time when you're placing monsters. You can even save it from dungeon to dungeon if you want. And if a Skaven character escapes, it can return to fight again if you draw a normal character counter. However, Skaven characters are unique - once one has been killed, you can't use it again.
Note that the Heroes are not able to use the Warpscrolls and Plague Censers, as only Clan Pestilens Skaven are trained in their use.
Availability of Skaven Characters
| Dungeon | Character Skaven gained |
|---|---|
| The Warlord's Lair | No character Skaven |
| The Magic Maze | Clan Eshin Assassin |
| The Plague Temple | Clan Pestilens Plague Monk; Clan Pestilens Plague Censer Bearer |
| The Amber Room | Clan Mors Warlord; Clan Skryre Warpweaver; Clan Skryre White Skaven Sorcerer |
Solkan's Prison: There are no character Skaven for the final part of the quest. Even if there are any character Skaven left alive, they can't be used in this dungeon.
Assassin. The Clan Eshin Assassin is a warrior skilled in the arts of silent movement and close combat. If the Assassin is part of an encountered group of Skaven, add +2 to their surprise roll. If you gain surprise, you can place the Assassin in any already-explored dungeon section that is within line of sight - this can be as far away from the Heroes as you want.
The Assassin is able to escape without you playing an escape dungeon counter. This escape can occur at the end of any GM phase, as long as no Hero models are within six squares. You still need to use a character dungeon counter to bring the Assassin back into play.
Plague Monk. The Clan Pestilens Plague Monk is armed with a Warpscroll - a magical item that has a great withering effect upon its victims. It takes two consecutive turns to cast the Warpscroll, during which the Monk can do nothing else. He cannot start to cast the spell if he's within an enemy death zone.
At the end of the second turn, the Monk must pass an Intelligence test to cast the spell. If he fails, there's no adverse effect and he may try to cast the spell again in a future turn.
If he succeeds, the spell affects all the Heroes and Henchmen, even if the Plague Monk cannot see the target. They must all try to roll equal to or under their Intelligence - any model that succeeds is unaffected. If a model fails this roll, it undergoes a rapid aging process, suffering the natural decay of years in a few moments. Death follows swiftly. A Hero may spend a Fate Point to avoid this sorry end.
Once the spell has been cast, the Warpscroll crumbles into dust and cannot be used again. If the Plague Monk escapes and returns by means of a character counter he has a fresh scroll - the same is true if he survives the dungeon and reappears in a later dungeon.
Plague Censer Bearer. This Clan Pestilens Skaven carries a chain bearing a smoking ball which emits noxious and deadly fumes. The Censer is a one-shot thrown weapon with a range of 12 squares. The Censer Bearer may not throw his Censer if he's in an enemy death zone.
Choose a target square up to 12 squares away that is in the Censer Bearer's line of sight. Roll to hit as normal. If a hit is scored, the Censer lands on the chosen square. If not, roll for scatter on the table below. Ignore critical hits and fumbles when throwing a Censer.
| D12 | Scatter | D12 | Scatter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 squares short | 7 | 1 square long |
| 2 | 5 squares short | 8 | 2 squares long |
| 3 | 4 squares short | 9 | 3 squares long |
| 4 | 3 squares short | 10 | 4 squares long |
| 5 | 2 squares short | 11 | 5 squares long |
| 6 | 1 square short | 12 | 6 squares long |
If the Censer scatters at short range, it's possible for it to end up behind the thrower; at long range it might go further than 12 squares - both these results are fine. Obviously, the Censer cannot pass through walls; the Censer lands in the square by the wall in such circumstances.
The fumes from the Censer cover the square it lands in and all eight adjacent squares (including the diagonals). Anyone in these squares, or who moves through them on a future turn, must pass an Intelligence test to hold their breath. If the test is failed, the model is killed unless a Fate Point is spent. The Censer carries on emitting fumes until play returns to exploration turns.
Warlord. The Warlord from Clan Mors is a mighty warrior, capable of defeating many normal men single-handed. He is armed with a Rune Sword that gives him +2 to his Weapon Skill and +2 to his Strength.
Clan Skryre Spellcasters. The two Clan Skryre spellcasters are a Warpweaver and the more powerful White Skaven Sorcerer. Each of these can cast spells in the same way as Wizards, using spell components when they do so.
- Warpweaver: has the components for 1 Fireball and 1 Flaming Skull of Terror.
- White Skaven Sorcerer: has the components for 1 Choke, 1 Flaming Skull of Terror and 2 Fireballs. He also carries a Ring of Magic Protection. If he can roll under his Intelligence when a spell is cast at him, the spell has no effect. If it would have affected only him, the spell simply fails. If it is an area effect spell, other models may still be affected even though the Sorcerer is safe.
Skaven Dark Magic
Skaven are Dark Wizards and have a different set of spells from Bright Wizards. The three spells known by these spellcasters are listed below.
Choke — Component: Vial of Swamp Gas. Select a single target within the caster's line of sight. The target may only stagger one square per turn for the next 3 turns (the model's player makes this move). Unless the caster has been killed in the meantime, the victim dies at the end of the third turn from asphyxiation.
Fireball — Component: Pinch of Warpstone. Place a fireball template anywhere within 12 squares of the caster along his line of sight. Any models (friend or foe) which fall at least partially under the fireball template are automatically hit. Roll 5 damage dice to see what effect each hit has.
Flaming Skull of Terror — Component: Silver Daemon Statue. The caster is treated as a fearsome monster until play next returns to exploration turns.
Specialist Skaven
In addition to the six Skaven characters, there are a number of specialist Skaven types that may be encountered during the Quest for the Shattered Amulet. These may be rolled on the Specialist Skaven Matrix if you roll 9-12 on the Lairs Matrix or the Quest Rooms Matrix.
All of these Skaven weapons require too much training to be used by the Heroes or their Henchmen. Any non-Skaven model trying to use one of these items suffers the effects of the item centred on its square as the weapon misfires.
Night Runners and Gutter Runners. These lightly-armed warriors are scouts drawn from the Clan Eshin. If any Night Runners or Gutter Runners are amongst a group of Skaven, add +1 to the Skaven dice when rolling for surprise.
Poisoned Wind Globadiers. A Clan Skryre Globadier throws large glass globes filled with deadly gases so that they break at the feet of the Skaven's opponents. The Globadier is armed with 6 Poisoned Wind Globes - these are thrown in the same way as Censers (see above).
The fumes from a globe cover the square it lands in and all eight adjacent squares. Anyone in these squares, or who moves through them, must pass an Intelligence test to hold his breath. If the test is failed, the model is killed unless a Fate Point is spent. The fumes last until the end of the next GM phase.
Warpfire Thrower Teams. A Clan Skryre Warpfire Thrower Team comprises two Skaven, one with the Warpfire Thrower itself and one carrying the explosive fuel made using Warpstone. They must be placed in adjacent squares in order to be able to use the weapon. If either Skaven is killed, the weapon may no longer be used.
A Warpfire Thrower may only be used if the team didn't move. Place a fireball template anywhere along the line of sight of either member of the team and then roll to hit as normal. If a hit or critical hit is scored, the Warpfire bolt lands on target and any model at least partially under the template suffers 5 dice of damage. If the shot misses, the attack has no effect. If the shot was fumbled, the Warpfire thrower malfunctions and explodes: both members of the team are killed instantly and any models in adjacent squares suffer 5 dice of damage.
Jezzailachis. Clan Skryre Jezzailachis fire large calibre warplock muskets. Each Jezzail is crewed by a team of two Skaven, one of whom aims the Jezzail while the other steadies the musket rest. Use the same placement rules as the Warpfire Thrower above.
The Jezzail is a ranged weapon and causes 6 dice of damage if a hit is scored. Jezzail bullets can punch through armour as if it wasn't there, so armour modifiers to the target's Toughness are ignored (subtract the armour's Toughness bonus from the current Toughness score). It takes a turn to reload a Jezzail after it has been fired, during which the team may do nothing else.
The Warlord's Lair
Deep in a dungeon in the Grey Mountains a Skaven Warlord of Clan Rictus plans his campaign literally to undermine the nearby city of Parravon. It is his lair that holds the first part of the Shattered Amulet.
The lair is protected by a series of cunningly designed passages that may be raised or lowered by use of special keys. These passages and junctions are indicated on the map. They start off raised, to prevent access to the rest of the dungeon, and therefore should not be placed on the table until the Heroes have discovered how to lower them.
The Warlord's lair is guarded by Skaven from Clan Rictus. Each Skaven Warrior is carrying a pouch holding 20 gold crowns. None of the Skaven character models are found in the Warlord's lair.
Location A. To the Heroes this appears to be a passage that finishes as a dead end (you should lay a dead end passage section). This is because the junction at the end is raised. At the end of the passage, carved into the floor, is a magical symbol - the symbol of the Jade College. This is all the Heroes find in the passage, no matter how hard they search. The symbol cannot be damaged in any way.
The room off the passage contains four Skaven Warriors and a chest. Inside the chest is a talisman, made of iron and cast in the symbol of the Jade College, made in such a way that it would fit perfectly into the carved symbol in the passage.
If the talisman is placed in the carving, the raised sections (the junction and the passage) automatically lower themselves to the level of the rest of the passage. Place the junction - when the Heroes move onto the junction, place the next section of passage and a dead end. The talisman may now be removed from the carving; it is needed later on. The floor remains raised even when the talisman is removed.
Location B. This raised passage works in exactly the same way as A, except that there isn't a Skaven Sentry present, and the symbol and talisman are that of the Golden College.
Location C. This passage works like A and B above. Like B, there isn't a Sentry in the corridor. The floor here displays the Celestial College's symbol and there is a matching talisman in the chest.
Location D. This is the Warlord's lair. If you have a copy of Heroquest, you can place a table, the throne and the weapons rack in this room.
The Warlord is armed with a Magic Sword (+1 to Weapon Skill) and a Ring of Protection (level 1, giving +1 Toughness). Searching his body reveals a pouch holding two gems, each worth 50 gold crowns.
Maps and charts on the wall reveal that his plans to destroy the city of Parravon are nearing completion. There is also a huge magic circle marked on the floor at the back of the room; three of the symbols on the circle are carved more deeply than the others, corresponding to the three iron talismans found earlier.
If the three talismans are placed in the correct recessed symbols of the magic circle, a trapdoor springs open at its centre, revealing the first part of the Shattered Amulet.
One Hero or Henchman may carry all of the maps. If they get out of the dungeon, the Heroes can take the maps to the City Council, and the Skaven attack will be defeated. The Council rewards the Heroes with 500 gold crowns for helping them to defeat the Skaven.
The Magic Maze
The magic maze hidden in this dungeon was built by Gragoth Daemonmaster, a powerful Chaos Sorcerer, to protect the second part of the Shattered Amulet. Gragoth enlisted the aid of the Assassins of Clan Eshin, whose warriors guard the Amulet.
Skaven Characters. At the start of the second dungeon, take the Clan Eshin Assassin character monster counter. This may be played at any time when placing monsters.
The maze is guarded by a pair of enchanted fireballs that appear at random points in the maze, spin furiously on the spot, and then hurtle off along the passages igniting everything in their path. Finally, they disappear, only to re-appear moments later in another part of the maze to repeat the procedure.
Gragoth also stocked the maze with Undead Skaven - Ratmen Zombies that have been called back from the dead to perform this last, undying service.
The dungeon sections that lie under fireball starting locations 10 and 11 are stairways that lead up to the Skaven Warlord's lair. The passage between fireball starting location 12 and the dead end slopes upwards.
The Fireballs. Fireballs are used over three GM phases: in the first GM phase one fireball is placed, in the second the other of the pair is placed, and in the third phase they both fly along the passages.
At the start of the first and second GM phases in the sequence, roll a dice and place a fireball on the junction section with that number. If the junction has not yet been laid out, the fireball is not placed and the roll is wasted. Assuming it can be placed, the fireball remains stationary for the time being, spinning in place. A model that enters a junction containing a fireball suffers 5 dice of damage.
In the third GM phase both fireballs shoot forward. Roll two dice - you may move each fireball that many squares. A fireball may not be moved through doors, nor retrace any part of its move, though it may turn corners. A Hero that is hit by a fireball suffers 5 dice of damage. After the fireballs have been moved they both disappear, ready for the first one to re-appear in the next GM phase.
Clan Eshin Assassin. If the Skaven Assassin is still alive when the Heroes reach the third level, you may place him instead of placing a fireball (the Assassin may not be placed if both fireballs are on the map). The Assassin may be placed on any square that cannot be seen by a Hero or a Henchman. During the first combat turn, the Assassin automatically surprises the Heroes and receives a +1 bonus to his Weapon Skill. If the Assassin subsequently uses his ability to escape from combat, he may not be used again on this expedition.
The Skaven Zombies. The Skaven who live in this area of the dungeon wear magical neckbands, bonded onto their skin and covered with arcane runes. These neckbands have magical healing powers, and any Skaven wearing a neckband has 1 Wound restored at the end of each GM phase (up to his normal maximum Wounds).
If a Skaven is reduced to 0 or less Wounds it collapses. The neckband, however, remains active. When the Skaven's Wounds are restored to 1, it stands up and attacks again. A Hero may freely enter or move through a square that contains a collapsed Skaven.
Heroes are allowed to attack a Skaven that has collapsed so that it takes longer for it to recover. Any attacks made against a collapsed Skaven automatically hit and the number of damage dice rolled by the attacker is doubled. The neckbands cannot be removed from a Skaven in any way, and only work in the room where the Skaven starts the game. If the Skaven leaves the room (or is dragged from the room by one of the Heroes), all the damage it has suffered over the years instantly takes effect and the Skaven dies permanently.
The Skaven Warlord. The Skaven Warlord is wearing a more powerful version of the neckbands worn by the Skaven Zombies which cures 2 Wounds per combat turn. Like the Skaven Zombies' neckbands, it continues to work once the Skaven Warlord is reduced to 0 or less Wounds.
As soon as the Heroes defeat the Skaven Warlord, a disembodied voice sets them a riddle: "Tell me the name which I was given at my birth backwards." The answer is the phrase the name which I was given at my birth said backwards: htrib ym ta nevig saw I hcihw eman eht. If the Heroes solve this riddle, the second part of the Shattered Amulet appears.
If the Heroes don't solve the riddle then nothing happens - they can guess again. Gragoth is quite content to remain here until the Heroes give him the correct answer. However, each time an incorrect answer is given you may draw an extra dungeon counter.
The Plague Temple
Clan Pestilens is perhaps the foulest Skaven cult. Its followers worship disease and decay, spreading their word by infecting everything they encounter. It is in one of Clan Pestilens' secret underground temples that the third part of the Shattered Amulet is hidden.
Skaven Characters. At the start of the third dungeon, take the Clan Pestilens Plague Monk and Plague Censer Bearer character monster counters. These may be played at any time when placing monsters.
When the Heroes enter this level you should only set up the first stairway and a right hand junction (not a t-junction). The second stairway is not revealed as the Heroes are initially unaware of the secret door. Note that the passageway between C and D slopes downwards.
Locations A to D. The letters A to D show the locations of four traps that the Clan Pestilens have placed here to deter intruders. Each is set off by the first model to enter the junction. The traps are of the following type:
| Location | Trap |
|---|---|
| A | Pit Trap |
| B | Crossfire Trap |
| C | Gas Trap |
| D | Falling Block Trap |
Location E. The Chasm in this room can only be crossed by making a heroic leap (see the Hazards section) or by using the rope bridge.
Any model standing on the rope bridge has its Weapon Skill reduced by -1. Heroes and Henchmen may attack the bridge itself with hand-held weapons as long as they are not in an opponent's death zone. Skaven may not attack the bridge. Any attacks on the bridge automatically hit for normal damage - the bridge has a Toughness of 8 and 5 Wounds. Once it reaches 0 Wounds it collapses. Any model on the bridge when it collapses falls to its death in the Chasm below.
If any of the character monsters are still alive, they may be placed in this room. The Plague Monk will have a new Warpscroll if he used his first one earlier in the expedition.
Location F. There is a small altar at the back of this room. This can be represented with a chest counter or the sorcerer's table from Heroquest.
Any Skaven standing on the Magic Circle has its Weapon Skill and Toughness increased by +1, and automatically passes any Intelligence tests if it tries to cast a spell.
If the Heroes search the final room for hidden treasure, they find a secret panel in the altar. This panel is protected by a Gas Trap and contains the third part of the Shattered Amulet.
The Amber Room
The fourth dungeon is the domain of Clan Skryre, the Warlock-Engineers. They are protected by the warriors of Clan Mors and their own powerful magic.
Skaven Characters. At the start of the fourth dungeon, take the Clan Mors Warlord and the Clan Skryre Warpweaver and White Skaven Sorcerer character monster counters. These may be played at any time when placing monsters.
The retrieval of the fourth part of the Shattered Amulet seems very easy at first glance: as soon as the Heroes reach the first room they can see the missing piece. The room is circular and contains no other doors; on the far side is a large block of amber set into the wall, with the fourth part of the Shattered Amulet embedded in its centre.
However, as soon as one of the Heroes or Henchmen tries to smash the amber, the whole room rotates through 90 degrees. Roll a dice: on an even score the room rotates clockwise, on an odd score it rotates anticlockwise. The room rotates through 90 degrees at the end of every GM phase from now on - roll again for direction each turn. This allows the Skaven from the square rooms to attack the Heroes.
If any of the character monsters are still alive, they may be added to any of the square rooms, although no more than one character monster may be used per room.
Attacking the Amber. Any Hero or Henchman may attack the block of amber in order to free the Amulet. Such attacks hit automatically for normal damage. The amber has a Toughness of 10 and 6 Wounds. Once it is reduced to 0 Wounds it will shatter and the last part of the Amulet falls to the floor. Any model (including Skaven) can pick up the piece of the Amulet instead of making an attack.
Repairing the Shattered Amulet
Once the players have got all four pieces of the Shattered Amulet, they are bound to put them together. As soon as the Amulet is completed, the Heroes and their Henchmen are teleported to the location of The Prison of Ice. Now go on immediately to The Prison of Ice: clear away the map of the Amber Room and lay out the first room of the Prison of Ice.
If the Heroes haven't taken the other three parts of the Amulet into the dungeon with them, you'll have to wait until they leave the dungeon. Once they get back to the city where the pieces are stored, they're certain to assemble the Amulet. They don't get a chance to recover Wounds and Fate Points, buy more equipment and so forth.
The Prison of Ice
This adventure should be treated in exactly the same way as the four dungeons for which you have a quest map: do not generate dungeon sections, monsters or treasure, but follow the map and room descriptions that follow.
The Prison of Ice is the location to which Solkan banished Praznagar. It is located in a small nub of reality within the void - there is no way out except to defeat Praznagar and his bodyguard.
Praznagar's Undead Bodyguard. Even though they are unable to free Praznagar, the Skaven have built up an Undead bodyguard around the Ice Prison to protect him from harm. The strength of this bodyguard depends upon the time that the Skaven have had to form it: the more expeditions the Heroes have made in the Quest for the Shattered Amulet, the stronger the force they have to face here.
| Number of Expeditions | Undead Bodyguard |
|---|---|
| 4 | 1 Warlord with Rune Armour (+3 Toughness); 1 Sorcerer (2x Fireball, 2x Flaming Skull of Terror); 1 Champion with Sword of Might (+1 damage dice); 1 Champion with Shield of Defence (+2 Toughness, -1 Speed); 3 Warriors |
| 5-6 | 2 Warriors |
| 7-8 | 1 Sentry |
| 9-10 | 2 Warriors |
| 11-12 | 1 Warrior and 1 Sentry |
| 13-14 | 2 Warriors |
| 15 | 1 Warrior |
| 16 | 1 Warrior |
| 17+ | 1 Warlord with Axe of Terror (+1 damage dice, causes the wielder to be seen as a fearsome monster) |
Look up how many expeditions the Heroes have made (including the one to recover the last part of the Amulet). Praznagar's bodyguard is made up of the Undead Skaven for that number of expeditions, and all those listed above it.
The Undead Skaven have exactly the same characteristics as living Skaven of that type, but they appear more cadaverous, with skeletal features and rotting flesh.
The Undead bodyguard start off in the rooms C, D and E. You choose where to place each Skaven. Before the Heroes begin to explore this dungeon, make a note of where each Skaven is located.
Location A. This is where the Heroes arrive when they are teleported by the Amulet. Place the Heroes at the centre of the room. They are the sole occupants.
Location B. The Prison of Ice, as its name suggests, is a large block of ice that fills the far end of the room. It stands upon a huge copy of the Shattered Amulet set into the ground (place the completed Shattered Amulet on the large room section). At the centre of the ice block, the Heroes can just make out a large Skaven figure: Praznagar himself.
Nothing the Heroes do will have any effect on the ice. It cannot be melted by fire - even by the magical fire of a Wizard. They are unable to enter a square that is wholly or partially blocked by the Amulet on the floor, which marks the perimeter of the ice wall.
Locations C, D and E. These rooms contain Praznagar's Undead Skaven bodyguard. Each room also contains a chest. The contents of the chests are:
- 300 gold crowns, 1 magic gem and an Elven Bow of Power
- 100 gold crowns, 2 magic gems and a Spell Book with the spells Flight and The Bright Key
- 300 gold crowns, 1 magic gem and a Dwarven Helm
The magic gems allow the Heroes to enter the Prison of Ice. Any model who is holding one of these gems can walk through the ice wall and enter the frozen realm where Praznagar is held captive. Once inside, the only way to escape is to slay Praznagar.
If the Heroes escape from this dungeon, the gems lose their magical aura but are still worth 1000 gold crowns each.
Fighting Praznagar. Once the Heroes have entered the Prison of Ice, the only way they can escape is to slay Praznagar. Praznagar, Prince of Agony, wears Leather Armour and carries a Chaos Sword (never fumbles, +2 Strength). He is a fearsome monster. (His printed profile line is largely illegible in the available scan; the recoverable values read Weapon Skill 9, Bow Skill 7, Toughness 8, Speed 9, Bravery 9, Intelligence 9, Wounds 5.)
Upon slaying Praznagar, the Heroes and their Henchmen and treasure are teleported to safety, and find themselves outside the city where they have their lodgings. As a reward, Solkan himself has deadened the Chaotic power in Praznagar's sword so that one of the Heroes can wield it.
The Quest for the Shattered Amulet is over. The Amulet has returned to Solkan where it will safely remain.
Shattered Amulet Monster Matrices
In the Quest for the Shattered Amulet, all of the monsters are Skaven. Use the following Monster Matrices to roll for wandering monsters and for the occupants of Lairs and Quest Rooms. The exploration rules explain when you should roll on the various tables. Each table lists the room occupants or wandering monsters and the gold crowns that the Skaven carry. Heroes can take the treasure from any Skaven that they've killed (provided they didn't escape from the Skaven).
Note: these four matrices are printed over a heavy screened tint and a few cells are not legible in the available scan; those are marked below.
Lairs Matrix (D12)
| D12 | Occupants | Treasure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Warriors | 40 GCs |
| 2 | 2 Warriors & 1 Champion | 40 GCs |
| 3 | 5 Warriors | 50 GCs |
| 4 | 4 Warriors & 1 Sentry | 50 GCs |
| 5 | 6 Warriors | 60 GCs |
| 6 | 4 Warriors & 1 Champion | 60 GCs |
| 7 | 2 Warriors & 2 Champions | 60 GCs |
| 8 | 1 Warlord | 60 GCs |
| 9 | 6 Warriors & 1 Champion* | 80 GCs |
| 10 | 6 Warriors & 1 Champion* | 80 GCs |
| 11 | 2 Warriors & 1 Warlord* | 80 GCs |
| 12 | 4 Warriors, 1 Sentry & 2 Champions* | 100 GCs |
* If you rolled 9-12, also roll on the Specialist Skaven Matrix below. If an extra Skaven is rolled up, it is added to those in the Lair.
Quest Rooms Matrix (D12)
| D12 | Occupants | Treasure |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Champions & 1 Warlord | 100 GCs |
| 2 | 6 Warriors & 2 Champions | 100 GCs |
| 3 | 8 Warriors & 1 Champion | 100 GCs |
| 4 | 4 Warriors, 1 Sentry & 1 Warlord | 120 GCs |
| 5 | 3 Champions & 1 Warlord | 120 GCs |
| 6 | 8 Warriors & 2 Champions | 120 GCs |
| 7 | 2 Warriors, 2 Champions & 1 Warlord | 120 GCs |
| 8 | 6 Warriors, 1 Sentry & 1 Warlord | 140 GCs |
| 9 | 4 Warriors, 2 Champions & 1 Warlord* | 140 GCs |
| 10 | 8 Warriors & 3 Champions* | 140 GCs |
| 11 | 4 Champions & 1 Warlord* | 140 GCs |
| 12 | 12 Warriors, 1 Sentry & 2 Champions* | (illegible in source scan) |
* If you rolled 9-12, also roll on the Specialist Skaven Matrix below. If an extra Skaven is rolled up, it is added to those in the Quest Room.
Specialist Skaven Matrix (D12)
| D12 | Specialist Skaven |
|---|---|
| 1-7 | None |
| 8 | 1 Nightrunner |
| 9 | 2 Gutter Runners |
| 10 | 1 Poisoned Wind Globadier |
| 11 | 1 Warpfire Thrower Team |
| 12 | (illegible in source scan) |
Wandering Monsters Matrix (D12)
| D12 | Wandering Monsters | Treasure |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 2 Warriors | 20 GCs |
| 3-4 | (partly illegible in source scan) … & 1 Sentry | 20 GCs |
| 5-6 | 3 Warriors | 30 GCs |
| 7-8 | 1 Warrior & 1 Champion | 30 GCs |
| 9 | 4 Warriors | 40 GCs |
| 10 | 2 Warriors & 1 Champion | 40 GCs |
| 11 | 4 Warriors & 1 Sentry | 50 GCs |
| 12 | 4 Warriors & 1 Champion | 60 GCs |
Reference Sheets
The central eight pages of the rulebook are pull-out reference sheets:
- Character sheets for eight ready-to-play Heroes — the four Advanced Heroquest Heroes (Heinrich Lowen the Warrior, Sven Hammerhelm the Dwarf, Torallion Leafstar the Elf and Magnus the Bright the Wizard) and four based on the models from MB's Heroquest.
- A dungeon exploration reference sheet (GM's Reference Sheet) collecting the Passage Length, Passage Features, Passage End, Room Type, Room Doors, Hazard, Secret Doors, Hidden Treasure, Traps and Treasure Chests tables reproduced in the sections above.
- Skaven Reference Tables and Monster Reference Tables — one card per monster giving its profile (Weapon Skill, Bow Skill, Strength, Toughness, Speed, Bravery, Intelligence, Wounds and points value), its hand-to-hand and ranged hit-roll rows, its weapons and armour, its gold, and any special rules. Note printed on these sheets: bonuses and penalties for armour and shields are included in all characteristics.
- Blank sheets you may photocopy for personal use: a blank Hero character sheet, a blank dungeon mapping sheet, a blank monster reference table and a blank set of Monster Matrices.
Transcription note: the per-monster stat grids on the Skaven, Monster and Character Reference Tables are printed over a heavy screened tint and their digits cannot be read reliably from the available scan. Rather than risk publishing wrong characteristics, they are not reproduced here; every rule that governs how those numbers are used is transcribed in the sections above.