Monday, August 4, 2014

Heroquest at Targets




For those of us who were born in the eighties and liked a certain sort of game, this advert was a revelation.  I recognise now that in many ways Heroquest hit a lot of sweet spots for my ten year old self.  It was basic enough that I could play it without assistance from my Dad or another adult and short enough that you could actually get through multiple games in an afternoon.  This was a boon and while I always enjoyed playing Aquitaine with Dad; Heroquest was a game that I could pick and play without an adult interpreter.  



The Heroes knee deep in adventure
(our Wizard has been slain and can be seen lying on his side)

Target got a copy of Heroquest for Christmas last year and we've been meeting at his home to play the occasional game over the last few months. So far it has proved excellent fun and I've thoroughly enjoyed it, leaving Evan the Self Hating Elf to victory on several occasions. The game is simple enough to be picked up quickly with enough variety in the scenarios to keep things interesting.  One change that Target did introduce was using a print out of the American rules for the monsters, which were tougher than those in the UK version. This has added a frisson of extra danger to the play so far. 





The Dwarf and the Barbarian bravely take on the Witchlord
(while I bravely hide with only two body points) 

We played through three scenarios in an evening, made all the more pleasent by Targets cheese board and excellent whiskey.  Show me a man who plies his guests with Crested Ten and I will show you a man who will find me returning to his home with monotonous regularity.  The games we played formed part of the Witchlord campaign.



Target shows his usual restraint and magnanimity 

In the Witchlord campaign, we bravely broke into the Witchlord dungeon, murdered his friends and stole his house hold goods. Once that was done, he rose from the grave to smite us and we had to run away as we discovered that he could only be slain by the Spiritblade. We then toddled off, got the Spiritblade, came back and hit him for six. It is was splendid fun. 

Target also cackled rather spectacularly when Jon's Barbarian was killed by an Ork and Liz died when rocks fell on her head.  I always consider a casualty or two the sign of a good dungeon crawl, as Lady Gaga eloquently put it in her anthem for Heroquest GMs everywhere Pokerface, "...if it ain't rough it isn't fun."



Evan the Self Hating Elf 

On examining my character sheet, I have discovered that Evan the Self Hating Elf has survived quite a few dangerous encounters (six in fact) and it looks like we are going to have to embark on "The Return of the Witchlord" campaign (apparently we wasn't really dead...or was that undead?) 



An impressive piece of cutlery

Target picked this up recently.  It doesn't appear to be sharp, so I suspect it is a wall hanger, but still very nice to look at.  If it is a wall hanger, I think it's an oldish one.


The full thing

Given that those who read J&F are often interested in swords, I thought I'd take a few pictures. If it does strike a cord of recognition with anyone, I'd be interested to know. 


Detail on the hilt

But on the whole, a good night was had by all and I shall look forward to the next one. 

12 comments:

  1. Good whisky, cheese, and a rollicking fantasy game or three? Sounds like my kind of crowd and event. Glad you enjoyed it.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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  2. Adding the US version of the bad guys is a good move as the UK/European HQ baddies are pushovers generally speaking.

    I suggest that you "borrow" Evan and show up with him painted at the next session. Doubtless a rock will then immediately land on his head.

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    1. He's added a few bits and pieces. The US version has some more equipment cards as well.

      Mummies are a much more challenging prospect when they have two body points. I might have to do some work on Evan.

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  3. Wooo, HeroQuest is just a classic! I'm just in the middle of the process of repainting all my old minis in order to get some games back again! I'm looking forward to it so badly! I'm really glad to hear that someone else is getting it back to life. I hope I join you soon...

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    1. I think the trick is to start playing and paint as you go. Great fun though.

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  4. Heroquest seems to be enjoying a bit of a renaissance. There's a couple guys in Toronto running it, and I've seen it pop up in a number places on the blogosphere. Nice that you get to enjoy it as well.

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  5. There is an Old Sword Collectors Club where you may be able to identify the type? Mike Cloak is the chap behind it I think?

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  6. Looking at it there's no bevel to the blade, so I doubt it was ever anything other than a wall hanger. It does look rather fetchingly tarnished though.

    Ah Heroquest... I think I was five or six when I played it first (very wrongly) and then in my teens when I finally got a copy of my own. It's.... quaint. Looking at these pictures makes me wish I hadn't tried to paint my copy though. Utterly ruined a lot of nice miniatures that way.

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    1. I think we all ruined some nice figures that way.

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    2. I also utterly destroyed a Space Crusade box around the same time. On the other hand, that sort of indirectly led into a weird team-based Capture the Flag game with NPC creeps where we used the Space Crusade maps with the board tiles from Fantasy Flight's Doom to make a giant mess of a thing. It actually worked really well.

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  7. Apologies Stu - I am full of lies and empty promises.

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