House Rules – HeroQuest

Leveling the Heroes Updated

The system used in this game was simple: character sheets had 14 quest slots, so players were allowed to level up their characters every 14 games. The level-up process allowed you to raise one stat by one point:

+1 Mind Point	Grants 4 extra Manna points.
+1 Body Point	Increases maximum Body Points by 1.
+1 Feat of Strength	Grants +1 Combat Die to attack.
+1 Feat of Dexterity	Grants +1 Combat Die in defense.

Two characters have special leveling rules. The Druid, instead of leveling up normally, may opt to acquire a more powerful familiar or additional familiars — those rules can be found here. The rules for the Spectral Chaos Warlock can be found in the footnote at the bottom of the Warlock page.

Fate Points Updated

This section written with help from Karnov & Dewayne Agin.

A Fate Point is awarded to a character for especially good roleplaying. They are given sparingly and used sparingly — a last resort, a stroke of luck saving throw.

Example Scenario The Barbarian ranges ahead of the party, opens a door, and steps in. Three Orcs hidden behind furniture jump out and attack. The Barbarian thinks he can hold them off — he's wearing plate mail, has a shield and helmet. The Orcs attack and roll enough skulls to kill him outright. He rolls his defend dice: not a single shield. Out of healing potions, companions too far away. He uses his remaining Fate Points to save himself.

Fate Points can be used in two different ways:

A — Re-roll Dice Fate Points can be used to re-roll dice on a one-to-one basis: one point per die. A player may only use Fate Points on their own dice and on Zargon's dice — not on other Heroes' rolls. (The Chronomancer is an exception.) A die may be re-rolled multiple times, provided the player can pay the Fate Point cost each time.

B — Reset the Round If the Hero has at least 5 Fate Points, they may burn them all at once to completely reset an entire round. Everything that occurred — Manna spent, ammunition spent, Body Point damage taken and dealt, spaces moved, doors opened — everything is rewound and replayed.

The GameMaster is often encouraged to come up with inventive explanations for each stroke of luck — and no explanation may be reused. An alternate rule: the player must come up with the explanation themselves. If they can't produce a new one, they can't use the Fate Point. These explanations tend to grow wilder and stranger as the quest continues.

Awarding Fate Points: They are not awarded lightly. They are given to players who help the GameMaster — suggesting an action the GM is clearly trying to steer toward, making an impassioned speech to persuade the party, or finding a new and inventive solution to a problem. Some GMs also award them for mundane contributions: typing up sheets, doing research, providing refreshments, or hosting. Occasionally they are given to characters who are especially weak in stats, as a way to help new players survive early encounters. Awarding a Fate Point is entirely at the GameMaster's discretion.

A Fate Point can also be used to help a new Hero joining an experienced group — the veteran Heroes have equipment and artifacts, the newcomer has none. Fate Points may allow them to acquire some gold and time to find their footing.

Spell Cones

Certain spells and spell effects deal damage or create effects in cones. There are currently three cone sizes:

Two Space Cone

Hits 4 spaces total.

Click to expand

Three Space Cone

Hits 9 adjacent · 10 diagonal spaces.

Click to expand

Four Space Cone

Hits 16 adjacent · 15 diagonal spaces.

Click to expand

Turning Heroes into Werewolves

If a Hero is affected by Lycanthropy Curse or injured by a Werewolf's attack, they become cursed to switch between Hero form and Wolf form. At the start of every turn, the Hero rolls 2D6:

Roll 2–9 · Hero Form The Hero remains in Hero form under the player's control. They may move and act normally.

Roll 10–12 · Wolf Form The Hero transforms into Wolf form. Zargon controls them as a monster for 1 turn.

When a Hero transforms into a Wolf, replace the figure with a Wolf tile or mini. All possessions are left in the square where the Hero transformed — place a Weapon Pack tile there to represent them. Monsters cannot take the Weapon Pack.

The Wolf is a true monster: no Hero abilities, moves on Zargon's turn, attacks as a Giant Wolf, is unaffected by traps or pits, and cannot open doors. At the end of Zargon's turn, the Wolf transforms back into the Hero and returns to the player's control.

The Hero must roll for transformation each turn until cured by drinking a Wolfsbane potion or the Potion of Restoration from the Alchemist's Shop.

Feats

Directly quoted from Karnov's page; originally from the DragonStrike rulebook by TSR, edited to fit HeroQuest.

Feats are a new type of Hero action, consolidating rules for jumping traps, disarming traps, picking locks, and knocking over monsters into a single mechanic. They are rolled on the Hero's turn unless stated otherwise. To succeed, roll a 20-sided die (1D20). If the result is equal to or less than the relevant Feat stat, the action succeeds.

Feat Limits

A feat must involve either Dexterity (nimble or agile movement) or Brute Strength.
A feat cannot increase movement rate, attack, defense, or any other stat.
A feat cannot take the place of a direct attack causing Body Point loss — but it can indirectly harm an enemy, such as pushing a monster into a pit or out the dungeon exit.
A feat must be a single action. Swinging on a rope and throwing a rock are two feats — and two actions.
If a feat involves an object, that object must be in play: monsters, furniture, equipment, treasure, and other Heroes' equipment all qualify. Objects painted onto the board are not in play unless stated otherwise.
A feat must seem possible. Kicking down a door is reasonable; kicking down a wall is not. If a Hero can explain to Zargon how it will work, Zargon must let them try — Zargon cannot reject a feat unless it is truly ridiculous.

Common Feats of Strength

Push, Pull, or Throw a heavy object (boulder, monster) one square
Lift a heavy object such as a portcullis or table
Kick a locked door to force it open
Bend something hard, such as iron bars or a portcullis
Break something solid, such as a lock or a table

Common Feats of Dexterity

Climb a wall or the side of a deep pit
Swing on a rope or vine
Leap a distance equal to half your movement rate
Sneak past a sleeping monster without waking it
Pass through a monster's space
Pick a lock (requires toolkit unless a Thief)
Disarm a trap (requires toolkit; Dwarves handle this differently)
Search a live monster for treasure (Thief only)
Tie up a monster (requires rope)

Darkness

In dark maps, sight is limited — you cannot see to the end of a corridor, and you can only search what you can see. Monsters beyond your sight range are invisible. Spells and artifacts can counter darkness, but the simplest solutions are torches and lamps.

Both must be carried in a free hand — a Hero cannot carry a sword, shield, and torch simultaneously, and cannot carry a light source while wielding a two-handed weapon. A torch dropped on the floor must be picked up by the next turn or it goes out. A lamp may be set down safely, with a marker placed to show its position.

A torch can be thrown — roll a Combat Die: anything but a skull extinguishes it mid-flight. A lamp can also be thrown but is much more fragile and shatters on landing.

Torch

Cost25 gold / 5 torches

Duration20 turns each

Light Radius2 spaces (5 wide)

Lamp

Cost130 gold / game (oil refill)

DurationFull game

Light Radius4 spaces (9 wide)

Attacking with a Torch Roll 1 Combat Die. On a hit dealing at least 1 BP, roll another Combat Die: White Shield = 1 extra fire damage; Black Shield = 2 BP damage.

Attacking with a Lamp Roll 1D6. On a 3 or higher, the lamp shatters and sprays burning oil over the target, dealing 1D6 Body Points of damage.

Wandering Monster Patrols

The threat of an occasional patrol adds pressure, keeps Heroes moving, and increases the dungeon's difficulty. Create a shuffled face-down pile of all monster cards behind the screen, then follow this sequence at the beginning of each of Zargon's turns:

Draw a card from the top of the monster deck. If it does not match the wandering monster type for this dungeon, discard it and do nothing further this step.
If the revealed card does match the wandering monster type, place a skull marker near the deck and shuffle both the card and the discard pile back in.
Roll 1D6. If the result is greater than the current number of skull markers, nothing happens this turn.
If the result is equal to or less than the number of skull markers, remove all skull markers and place a patrol of that many monsters on the board.
The patrol starts together, out of line of sight, as close as possible to a Hero — on an explored square, or an unexplored adjacent square around a corner. Otherwise, the patrol waits on the other side of the next door opened.

More than one designated monster card can form a patrol, increasing patrol frequency and creating mixed groups. Additional cards may also act as proxies for the primary wandering monster type. Rules created by "Daedalus" from Old Scratch's HeroQuest Forum, posted by permission.