written by Jonathan Long

Dwarven Characters

In the HeroQuest/ Warhammer world, few beings can compare to the Dwarf in raw strength and courage. Dwarves are hearty fighters, and loyal allies. They are also great craftsman, and value treasure very highly. They are immensely strong and resilient, but most of all they are proud. Dwarves are a long-lived race who bear grudges for many years. Dwarves cherish the glorious memories of their past and yearn for the days when their greatest cities will ring again with Dwarf voices, and the Orcs and Goblins have been driven back to their squalid homes in the Darklands.
Many Dwarves also live underground, and have infra vision. When moving down a dark corridor or in a dark room, they can see heat and sense motion. Any character within 5 open spaces of a Dwarf can be seen.

Alchemist*(1)

Neutral, Light Fighter
You are a creator of potions and you practice a skill part magic, part science. Seen as a boon by your companions, you are ever on the lookout for your magical components as you fight the legions of Chaos.

Attack Dice	1
Defend Dice	2
Body Points	7
Mind Points	4
Feat of Strength	15
Feat of Dexterity	7
Starting Armor	NONE
Starting Weapons	Dagger

Exact Dosage: You have extensive knowledge of potions and magical brews. You know exactly how much of each potion each hero requires for maximum effect. When you or any ally in your party uses a potion, they roll 1D10:
1-4: Exact dosage is full container.
5-8: Exact dosage is 1/2 container. (2 Uses)
9-0: Exact dosage is 1/3 container. (3 Uses)
A potion may only be tested for dosage once.

Alchemy: As an alchemist, you have studied and know how to make magic brews. You also have an action that no other character has. Once per room you may search for components with which to make your potions. At the end each game (or during the game if you encounter an alchemist's bench) you may take the components you bought or found and attempt to make a potion from scratch. To do this, you must have the potion's recipe.

Death Blow: You have the ability to put all your skill into an attack. At any time, you may add 2 defense die to your attack roll, but it removes those 2 dice from your defense that turn.
Berserk: You have the blood of berserkers in you. Once per game you may go berserk. This will add 2 dice, in attack and defense, to your roll until you can no longer "see" a monster. "Death Blow" cannot be used while you are berserk.

Traps: You have the ability to disarm traps without a tool kit. To do so, you must first declare that you are disarming the trap, then step on it, or in the case of furniture traps, up to it. You roll one combat die, and if you roll anything but a black shield, the trap is disarmed. If you roll a black shield, you set off the trap.
Tenacious: You show a great deal of tenacity in the face of terrible odds. If you suffer body hits from a trap or attack which lower your Body Points to zero, once per game you may reset them to one.

Magical Tome: You are one of a rare breed of Dwarves. You have devoted your life to studying the arts of magic, in hopes of one day being a boon to you fighting companions. Your tome of magic is capable of holding many spells, which may be cast at any time. The tome holds 32 points of manna (or [1D10 x 4] whichever is higher) of the Elemental Spells. Also, due to the fact that Dwarven magic is relatively new, you have a harder time learning spells, and must therefore pay 25% more for them.
Magical Sight: Your endless devotion to the magical arts has transformed you into a creature not entirely Dwarven. You automatically detect magic users, doors, artifacts, or other magic bearing items upon entrance into any specific corridor or room.

FOOTNOTES

*(1) This character is a combination of J.D. Frazer's and Milton Bradley's Dwarf, as well as my and Karnov's Alchemist characters. (Can you say "identity crisis" boys and girls?)

*(2) This Dwarf is based on J.D.'s Barbarian.

*(3) I got rid of the starting armor, and that changed his starting defend to 2. I kept his Milton Bradley ability of Disarming Traps and threw out the "Dwarven Vision".

*(4) This is a combination of J.D.'s, mine, and Milton Bradley's Dwarf & Wizard Characters. (Does this remind anybody of those "Taco Bell/KFC" restaurants popping up all over the place?)


Back