Stairway

I find it fun to add little twists to the different Dungeon rooms that the Warriors encounter in their dangerous explorations under the World's Edge Mountains.  When they come across the Stairway, I employ the following twist:

Stairway - Special Rules

Exits

The Stairway has one exit, at the opposite end of the corridor.

Events

The Stairway does not trigger an Event.

Multi-Level Room

The Stairway follows all the rules for Multi-Level Rooms. Each step represents a different level of the room.

Dangerous Depths

The Stairway leads down to a forboding area of the dungeon that is even more dangerous than what the Warriors have experienced so far. To represent this, add 1 to each type of Monster that is generated the next time Monsters appear beyond or on the the Stairway.

Tomb Chamber

Continuing my series of posts on using the Objective Room Dungeon cards in a basic game of Warhammer Quest, we come to the Tomb Chamber.  When this room comes up during a dungeon exploration, I use the following rules:

Tomb Chamber - Special Rules

Exits

Warriors always enter the Tomb Chamber from the lower level. Place one exit at the far end of the room, behind the tomb.

Events

The Tomb Chamber always triggers an Event.

Multi-Level Room

The Tomb Chamber follows all the rules for Multi-Level Rooms.

The Tomb

The tomb squares themselves are impassible. The tomb is sealed with a massive stone slab, and the Warriors can try to remove it if they dare. Most likely there are foul gasses inside the ancient tomb that might debilitate the Warriors, but there is also the chance of great riches.

Any number of Warriors can try to remove the slab at once. They all need to be standing adjacent to the tomb. Each Warrior should roll 1D6 and add their Strength. If the total is 28 or greater, the Warriors succeed in removing the heavy slab. Roll below:

1. Lethal gasses escape the ancient tomb - each Warrior next to the tomb must pass a Toughness Test or is killed!  

2. A fetid gas seeps from the tomb - each Warrior next to the tomb will lose 1 Wound per Turn until they pass a Toughness Test at the beginning of their turn.  

3. A choking, stifling gas escapes the tomb, each Warrior next to the tomb will suffer from a coughing fit until they pass a Toughness Test at the beginning of their turn. While subjected to this condition, they suffer -1 on any to-hit rolls.

4. The spirits of those interned in the tomb are not happy with the desecration! The Warriors must face 1d3 Ghosts.

5. 2d6 Giant Spiders immediately spring from the tomb to attack the Warriors.  

6. The tomb smells incredibly stale, but there are no adverse effects from breaking the seal.  

Should the Warriors survive the tomb's effects, each one can then roll 1d6. On a 4, 5, or 6 that Warrior finds something of value inside and takes a Treasure card.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Skeleton?

In Warhammer Quest, certain Monsters have a Fear or a Terror value.  For example, Skeletons have "Fear 5".  Each Warrior must roll 1D6 and add their Battle Level.  If they score equal to or less than the Monster's Fear value, they are afraid of that Monster type that turn, and fight against it at -1, and Spells even cost 1 more Power point when cast against that Monster type!

In my games, I always like to play up the influence of the Warriors' Ability Scores, as I think it adds flavor, making each Warrior more unique.  I think it makes sense to do this for the "Psychology" rules.  Therefore, in my games the following house rule applies:

Fear/Terror

• To determine if a Warrior is affected, they roll 1d6 and add their Willpower.  If this value is greater than or equal to the Fear/Terror value, then they are not afraid of that Monster type during this combat.  Remember the Rule of 1 and 6, a 1 is always a failure.

Note: This considerably reduces the frequency that Fear and Terror affects Warriors in my games, but I think this is in keeping with the idea that the Warriors are heroic, larger-than-life figures.

Gaol

In my games, I take the Gaol Dungeon card and shuffle it into the Dungeon deck, using the following special rule when it comes up during play.

Gaol - Special Rules

Events

The Gaol does not trigger an Event.

Prisoner

The Warriors have entered from a secret door opposite the locked gate, and there is a Prisoner inside! Take a model to represent the Prisoner and place it in one of the squares of the Gaol cell as soon as the room is revealed in the Exploration Phase. (Note: if the Goal happens to be the first room in the Dungeon, and there are not enough spaces to place the Warriors, the Warrior with the lowest Initiative must start outside of the board section.)

Exits

Place one exit door along the cell gate. The gate is locked, and a Warrior must pass a Strength Test to force it open. Up to 2 Warriors standing adjacent to the door can try each turn, and can do nothing else that turn.

Helping the Prisoner Escape

If the Warriors can keep the Prisoner alive by the time they leave the dungeon, they each collect a reward of 1d6x50 Gold when they reach the next Settlement. But the Monsters in the dungeon don't like their prisoners escaping! Treat the Prisoner as a Warrior when placing and controlling Monsters using the One-on-one Rule. The Prisoner can move and attack like a Warrior during the Warrior phase. One of the players should assume control of the Prisoner model, or the players can pass the duty around turn by turn.

Prisoner

Wounds: 1d6  

Move: 4  

Weapon Skill: 1  

Ballistic Skill: -  

Strength: 1  

Toughness: 1  

Initiative: 2  

Attacks: 1  

Damage: 1d6  

  

Warriors can give the Prisoner Weapons, Armour, Equipment, or Treasure, but if the Prisoner is killed these items are lost.

Fountain of Light

Continuing in the series where I describe an idea of how to use the Objective Room Dungeon cards in the normal Dungeon deck, we come to the Fountain of Light.  WHQ can be so relentless for the poor Warriors, I thought it would be nice to provide a room where they actually feel some hope for a change.  Of course, not completely without risk!

Fountain of Light - Special Rules

Exits

The Fountain of Light has one exit, along the opposite wall.

Events

The Fountain of Light does not trigger an Event.

The Fountain

The fountain squares themselves are impassable. A Warrior can drink from the fountain if they are standing next to it, once per adventure. Roll 1d6 on the table below:  

     1. A dark secret from the Warrior's past comes back to haunt them, as the Powers of Light deem the Warrior unworthy. The Warrior loses 1 Starting Wound.  

2-5. The Warrior heals 2d6 Wounds.  

3. The Powers of Light shine brightly on the Warrior. They heal 1d6 Wounds, and their Starting Wounds increase by 1.

Chaos Warriors

Chaos Warriors, and other Warriors clearly aligned with Chaos, cannot benefit from the fountain. In fact, its very presence is revolting to them.

Fire Chasm

Continuing my series of Special Rules to use for Pre-Objective Rooms, we come next to the Fire Chasm.  The Adventure Book contains some good rules for Warriors who attempt to cross the Fire Chasm, and my rules are based largely on them.  However, as I often do, I try and integrate the Warriors' Ability Scores into the equation.  After all, we can't expect the clumsy Dwarf to cross the rope bridge with equal ease as the graceful Elf, can we?

Fire Chasm - Special Rules

Exits

The Warriors will always enter the Firechasm from the side of the room not containing the idol. Place one exit along the opposite end of the room.

Events

The Firechasm always triggers an Event.

The Rope Bridge

As soon as a Warrior or Monster steps onto the bridge, they roll 1d6, add their Initiative, and consult the table below:

3 or less. The happless creature cannot maintain their footing and falls to their death into the fiery abyss below. Only the Rope can save them (they must be carrying it), and if it does, roll for the Rope to break as usual. Warriors saved by the Rope can continue their turn normally.

4. The creature slips, but manages to catch the rope bridge, dangling above the flames taking 1d6 Wounds unmodified. Place their model next to the bridge where they slipped. If there no spaces available due to two other models already dangling above the flames, consider this result a 3 or less. Dangling creatures lose the rest of their turn but can act normally on their next turn.

5. The creature loses its footing and must discard one piece of Equipment or Treasure (their choice), but can continue their turn normally.

6. The creature catches itself just in time before losing their footing. They're safe, but lose the remainder of their turn.

7 or above. The creature makes it across without incident and can continue their turn normally.

Leave no Dungeon Card Unused - Fighting Pit

Warhammer Quest can be played in one of two modes.  In the Basic Game, we use the Dungeon Cards to generate a random dungeon on the fly for the Warriors to explore.  In the Roleplay Game, the dungeon layout is usually pre-planned (created by the GamesMaster).  Originally, I was a bit of a snob in my preference for the Roleplay Game.  However, more recently, I've become a convert to the Basic Game, as it provides a unique and fresh experience each time it's played, even if played with a GamesMaster, and the randomization functions of the Dungeon and Event Cards produce quite interesting results.

But, I think we can make it even more interesting ...

As I was playing through a few games, and composing the initial Dungeon deck, it struck me that the process of building the deck results in almost all of the most interesting cards (the Objective Rooms) being discarded.  The variant described here is a way to keep these interesting rooms in the running as your dungeon gets generated!

To try this out, first select a random Objective Room card as usual, and determine your adventure from the Adventure Book like normal.  Next, shuffle the other Objective Room cards back into the deck before you continue to build out the Dungeon Deck.

Now, as the Warriors explore the dungeon, they might come across one or more Objective Rooms before they reach their ultimate Objective Room.  I've outlined a few simple rules to use when the Warriors encounter these "Pre-Objective Rooms".

The first consideration is whether or not these rooms should generate an event.  A normal Dungeon deck is carefully balanced with corridors that don't generate Events, and rooms that do generate events.  To keep this balance, a Pre-Objective Room will normally generate an Event on a die roll of 1-3.

The second consideration is how many doors that the Pre-Objective Rooms should contain.  Unless otherwise specified in the room's Special Rules, roll 1d6.  On a 1-3 the room has 1 exit door, and on a 4-6 it has 2 exit doors (in this case, split the Dungeon deck into 2 piles, just like you do with a T-Junction).

Finally, I created some Special Rules that come into play for each of the Pre-Objective Rooms.  This gives these rooms flavor, and can add a great tension to the game.  These Special Rules were crafted carefully to keep them simple.  Since these rooms might also trigger an Event, it was important to keep any Special Rules to a minimum to avoid an explosion of complexity.

I will publish the Special Rules for each Pre-Objective Room in separate posts, but for now here is the Fighting Pit:

Fighting Pit - Special Rules

Exits

Warriors always enter the Fighting Pit from the raised platform. Place one exit at the far end of the room, along the wooden door.

Events

The Fighting Pit always triggers an Event.

Multi-Level Room

The Fighting Pit follows all the rules for Multi-Level Rooms, except there are no stairs. To go up or down the Warriors will have to traverse the pit.

Traversing the Pit

A model can use Rope (including the rope depicted in the card art) to traverse up or down the pit, but roll as normal for the Rope to break after each use. Without a Rope, models can Jump or Climb, using the appropriate rules.

The Spiked Edges

Warriors can walk along the spiked ledges. If they they wish to Climb up without a rope, they must roll an extra Initiaitive Test or suffer 2d6 Wounds (modified as normal) to avoid harm from the wicked spikes.

The Trap Door

A Warrior beginning their turn on the trap door can attempt to open it, which requires a Strength Test, they must do nothing else that turn. If successful, the Warrior can roll once or twice on the table below. They must decide how many rolls to make before rolling. Resolve each roll independently.

1. Poison Needle Trap! 2d6 Wounds unmodified (poison damage).

2. Spike Trap! 1d6 Wounds unmodified.

3. Sleeping Gas Trap! Warrior falls asleep 1d6 turns unless they pass a Toughness Test.

4. The Warrior discovers a partial map, they can examine the next two Dungeon Cards beyond the wooden doorway immediately.

5. The Warrior discovers a pouch containing 1d6x100 Gold.

6. The Warrior discovers a hidden cache, and takes 1 Treasure Card.

The World's Greatest Dungeon Crawl

It seems like every time I turn around these days there is a new dungeon crawl board game coming out.  There have been many strong games in this genre, HeroQuest, Descent, Castle Ravenloft, just click here to see hundreds more.  But, in my opinion, none of them reach the level of perfection that Warhammer Quest does.

Here are some of the reasons why WHQ is the best dungeon crawler out there:

• A plethora of Warrior types available, both "official" and fan-made.  This results in a limitless variety in the composition of the adventuring party.
• A dungeon-generation system that splits the physical layout (Dungeon cards) from the events that occur in the dungeon (Event cards).
• Prolific random tables that abstract what happens when travelling to a Settlement, and what can happen when you get there.  Although, this is also a current limitation of the experience, but one I hope we can rectify by pooling our resources into dynamic, online tables.
• An advancement system that allows you to keep your Warriors that happen to survive, and lead them from Battle Level One to Battle Level Ten.

All of these elements are inherently expandable.  Want to add new dungeon tiles?  No problem, just mock up some new Dungeon cards that contain any special rules for the tiles, deal them into the Dungeon deck, and you're off.  The same goes for Events.  The basic Warhammer Quest box even came with empty Event Cards so you could add your own Monsters and Events to the mix.

The end result is a game that's never the same twice, but is consistently brutal.  If you manage to beat the Objective Room and survive a dungeon, you can be rightly proud of the accomplishment!  More often than not you'll be rolling up a new Warrior for the next attempt.

The purpose of this blog will be to provide new content that can be easily folded into the game to increase the variety and the fun.  Although WHQ might be out of print, it is still alive and well ... thriving in fact!  So, roll your to-hit die and hope for some Deathblows!  Here we go!