The Quest For The Lichemaster

A quest pack for use with HeroQuest.

Written by Dewayne Agin  dagin@my-dejanews.com
Converted from the Advanced HeroQuest The Quest For The Lichemaster by Graeme Davis and Carl Sargent
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File Note:  

The pack zip file contains the following files: 

    Readme.txt                 (this file)
    tiles1.bmp - tiles2.bmp    (tiles to use in the quests)
    cards1.bmp - cards5.bmp    (cards for the quests)
    quest01.bmp - quest11.bmp  (the quest maps)
    quest01.txt - quest11.txt  (the quest descriptions)
    key.bmp                    (a key to the symbols found on the quest maps)
    dragattk.bmp               (an outline of how the Dragon & Troll monsters attack)
    room1.jpg - room7.jpg      (room overlays)
    

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Intro (to be read to the Heroes at the beginning of the quest):

You have arrived at the town of Felspraag, on the northern side of the Grey Mountains.  Tall and forbidding, these ice-covered peaks are the home of Beastmen, Skaven, Goblinoids, and monsters of the worst kind.  These lands are dangerous, and life is cheap here.  This is where you have come to seek your fortune.

The lands hereabouts are ruled by Baron Gunther von Mecklenberg, appointed by the Emperor himself to maintain order and protect the people of the farmsteads and villages.  As Heroes of the Empire you are welcome to Felspraag and even invited to the Baron's feast hall for roast boar and mead.

The Baron seats you at High Table, opposite his advisors and trusted friends.  Next to the Baron sits Johann Rienhart, whose robes and amulet proclaim him to be a Bright Wizard.  Next to the Baroness, who is seated beside her husband, is an old man introduced to you as Hans Kohler, the Healer.

To the Healer's left is Marshal Maximillian Steiner, and beside him an ancient, white-haired man with sightless eyes who is called simply 'The Seer'.  Lastly, seated at the end of the table is a man in a simple brown robe, Werner the Sage.  His face looks old, but his eyes sparkle with intelligence and he is a man of vitality and shrewd judgement.

After the excellent meal, the other people in the hall drift away and leave you with the Baron and his advisors.  Baron Gunther starts to speak of how he, and his hard pressed warriors and fighting men, are always having to patrol and defend the lands around.  They have not time for questing and adventuring, unlike yourselves.

The Baron leans towards you, the great muscles of his forearms a little tensed as he looks at you.  "We are in need of Heroes such as yourselves here", he says firmly, "for our lands are threatened by a new and dire menace.  We fight living monsters of all kinds, but the enemy we most dread are the undying - Undead fiends, who can be raised from the ground where they were destroyed to fight again and again.  We fear that such an enemy is readying itself to assault these lands, and that we may not be able to resist its might.

This enemy is the dreaded Lichemaster, who is ready to rise again from his tomb hidden deep in the Grey Mountains.  On his throne of skulls he gains power, and it will not be long before he can rise and walk among the living again.  Unless he can be stopped, as he was before.  Werner, tell our new-found friends the Legend Of The Four."

The sage looks inquisitively at you, and slowly reclines with his hands folded in his lap.  He pauses, gathering together his memories, and then quietly, he begins his tale...

"The Lichemaster was slain by four Heroes over five centuries ago," the Sage informs you.  "He had wreaked a terrible trail of destruction across the Empire.  Some say he had come from the far south, even Bretonnia, but he made a stand in the Grey Mountains with an army of Skeletons against an army from the Empire and four heroes about whom we know so little; the records are lost, and not even their names are known for certain.

"One was a Warrior from Altdorf, a man tall as a forest bear, armed with a sword which spat fire and inflicted grievous wounds.  One was an Elf from the Loren forest, bearing a bow which struck with uncanny accuracy over almost any distance and skewered the foul hearts of evil monsters in many lands.  The third was a Wizard, whose slender hands held a Wand which cast forth fire and smoke.  He wore a magical Cloak made by the same enchanter who created the Wand, it is said, and within its pockets all manner of wonders might be found.  It is not certain from whence the Wizard came, but I have heard it said he came from Middenheim, the great city atop a mountain peak which the god Ulric claimed for his own from great Taal.  The fourth was a Dwarf, from a citadel which had fallen in the World's Edge Mountains, who came swinging a Hammer which could fly as far as the eye could see, striking out the brains of its victims and returning in the air to its holder.  He also wore a helm, protected by magic.

"At the end, as the Empire army fought the great phalanxes of Skeletons and the battle raged, the Heroes forced their way through the throng to the Lichemaster himself.  he was atop his great Chariot of Bones, drawn by skeletal steeds, but Dwarf and Warrior challenged him to stand his ground and fight and the monster's pride and contempt for these puny mortals bettered his sense.  He stayed his ground, lifted the skull-topped black iron stave afire with dark magic, and drew power from the Skeletons around him, which crumbled away to dust as he sucked back the magical energy which animated them into the spell he prepared to cast through the staff.

"The Lichemaster's spell would have shriveled the flesh from the bones of a thousand warriors, had he completed its casting.  But the Wizard of Middenheim had anticipated the attack, and he created a magical circle of protection of his own devising to keep the black energies of the Lichemaster's spell at bay.  No ordinary spell could have kept the Lichemaster from slaying the heroes; the Wizard drew on the magical power of the weapons to sustain the protection and the Sword, Hammer, Bow, and Wand glowed with the brilliance of fire and air, energies leeching from them into the Wizard's incantations.

"Black steaming acid gouted from the staff and spat its fury against the circle of fire the Wizard placed before the heroes.  All of the Lichemaster's energies were concentrated on forcing back the Wizard's protection with his spell, and this allowed the other Heroes to act.  Thus, Elf and Dwarf let fly arrow and hammer at the Lichemaster, and smote him in the ribs and thigh, breaking his spell as the Warrior charged around the sphere of fire to bring his sword down upon the evil creature.  Yet, at the very instant the Heroes should have claimed their victory, the Lichemaster escaped them.  Between his bony hands the fiend shattered his stave and blasted the ground into utter blackness and desolation.  The Lichemaster was not seen after the terrible explosion, nor was any sign of the Heroes ever discovered.  Witnesses said, though, that they saw their magical weapons fly to the horizon, though none ever found them.  The mass of Skeletons collapsed instantly into dust, and the remnants of the Empire's army was left to make its way back to safety.

"Many people have dismissed the tale as superstition, yet it is not so.  The Seer has had a vision of the Lichemaster stirring in the magical tomb where his final spell of escape took his dark and shriveled soul.  There, the monster gains power and begins to stretch his growing might into the lands of the living.  The first of his groups of Skeleton raiders killed the people of a small mining village only three days ago.  If the Lichemaster cannot be found and destroyed, all is lost here.  But there is hope, if Heroes come to our aid.

"In a desolate dungeon a day's hard march from here lies the tomb of a terrible Warrior of Chaos.  It is a place shunned by every good person in these lands, for obvious reasons.  But within that tomb one of the weapons of legend, the Sword of the Flaming Heart, lies hidden.  Legend, riddle and the visions of the Seer say that this is so.  What power remains in the weapon we know not; much of its magic must have been lost in that final battle.  Yet it still glimmers with the force of magic, and its destiny is to be reunited with the other magics to confront the Lichemaster one final time.

"The dungeon is infested with Orcs, and an Orc Warlord is raising a skirmish force there, so you will have to fight for your prize.  But we hope that if you can find the Sword, there may be ways you could find the other magics of legend and confront the Lichemaster in his dread lair.  Are you Heroes enough for this Quest?"


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Quest Levels:

These quests were meant to be played in the following manner:  Quests 1 & 2 are connected, Quests 3 & 4 are connected, Quests 5 & 6 are connected, Quests 7 & 8 are connected, and Quests 9, 10, & 11 are connected.  Heroes may move back and forth between the connected quests during a single game, or return to town to rest and buy supplies and then continue with their quests.  If the Heroes return to town after finishing the first level of a dungeon, they must go through that level again to get to the second level of the dungeon.  Unless you have two boards, when a Hero moves to the stairs or the doorway connecting the levels, put him in 'stasis' until the other Heroes move to the same stairs or doorway.  If the other Heroes leave the board to head back to town, then allow the player in stasis to continue moving.

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Other Monsters:


This quest pack uses quite a few other monsters than those that came with the basic HeroQuest game.  Tiles are included for several, but the rest are up to you.  As GameMaster, you can decide if you want to use these monsters are substitute others.  Here are some suggestions for coming up with the monsters using the standard HQ figures, along with substitutions if you only want to use regular monsters with this quest.  Please note that if you are going to substitute one monster for another, you may need to reword some of the quest and room descriptions.

Orc Champions:  Use regular Orc figures, but designate them as special in some way to tell them apart from regular Orcs.  Ideas include putting a cape on these monsters or using all Orcs with one type of weapon as Orc Champions.  Substitute Orcs for Orc Champions.

Chaos Thugs:  Use any human figures you have for these monsters.  Substitute Orcs for Chaos Thugs.

Rats:  Tiles are included for these monsters.  Substitute Goblins for Rats.

Skaven:  Substitute Goblins for all Skaven.  You may want to designate the Goblins in some way (see Orc Champions above) to separate the Goblins into categories, since the quest calls for Skaven, Skaven Warriors, and Skaven Champions.

Troll:  Substitute the Gargoyle for this monster.  You may wish to give him the same special monster characteristics as the Troll.

Ogre:  Substitute a Fimir for this monster.

Vampire:  Use a Chaos Warlock/Sorcerer to represent this monster.

Wight:  Use a Chaos Warlock/Sorcerer to represent this monster.

Dragon:  Substitute the Gargoyle for this monster.  You may wish to give the Gargoyle the ability to cast the Fireball spell if you make this substitution.

Ghoul:  You can designate some Zombies to represent Ghouls.  You can also substitute Zombies for Ghouls.  Be aware that if you are doing either of these two, several rooms call for more Zombies + Ghouls than came with the standard game.

Undead Champion:  Use Chaos Warriors for these figures.  Since Undead Champions do not appear in the same rooms as Chaos Warriors in this quest, you can make a simple substitution and tell the players that the figure is an Undead Champion.


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Special Monster Characteristics:

Some monsters in this quest have special characteristics.  The following either appear on the monster's card, or in the quest descriptions:

FEARSOME MONSTERS:  
Anytime a Hero starts his turn in the same room as one of these monsters, he must make a 'Fear' roll at the start of his turn.  The Hero rolls 1 red die, and on a roll of 5-6 he has become afraid and must move as far as possible from the monster, even if it means leaving the room.  The Hero may not make any attack that turn, even against another monster, but can defend.  If a Hero enters a room with a Fearsome Monster during his movement turn, he must make a Fear roll immediately.  The fear only lasts one turn, but the Hero must make a fear roll every turn he is in the same room as a Fearsome Monster.

INVULNERABLE MONSTERS:
These monsters are invulnerable to normal weapons.  They can only be harmed by spells and artifacts.

REGENERATING MONSTERS:
At the start of their turn, these monsters regain one lost Body Point.  They cannot go above their normal Body Point maximum, though.

STRENGTH DRAIN:
Some Undead monsters feed off the life force of the living.  A monster with this kind of attack draws the strength of its opponent into its body.  Besides the Body Points lost to the attack, the Hero looses an attack die permanently.  Potions of Healing do not restore the lost attack die, only Potions of Regeneration.  Strength Drains are cumulative, therefore it is possible for a Hero to loose all his attack dice.  A Hero in this condition may not attack on his turn.  He is too weak to draw his weapon.  The Undead monster gains a Body Point from every attack die he drains from a Hero.  These Body Points are not permanent, but the monster can go above its maximum Body Points by using this attack.

BERSERK:
A berserk monster flies into an uncontrollable rage.  It gains an extra attack each turn, but looses half its defense dice (round down).  A monster will always have at least one defense die, though.

CAUSE DISEASE:
A Hero who is hit by a diseased monster will lose the normal body points from the dice roll.  This Hero must then roll one red die.  On a roll of 1 or 2, the Hero is diseased.  On the Hero's next turn he will lose a Body Point from the plague, plus another Body Point every second turn thereafter.  The only way to cure the disease is to drink a Potion of Cure.  A Healing Potion or Spell will restore the Hero's Body Points, but he will still have the disease and still lose Body Points from it.  If a Hero dies from the disease, he will instantly turn into a disease ridden Zombie.  Replace the Hero's figure with a Zombie.  The Zombie will immediately attack the other Heroes.

If you want to be kind to the players, do not allow a Hero to contract a second disease if he already has one.  On the other hand, if you want to make the game a little more challenging, try one or all of these:

1.  A Hero can contract more than one disease.  The Hero will loose a Body Point every second turn for every disease he has.  If you feel creative, name the different plagues and describe their effects (You have the Dripping Black Plague and loose a Body Point to rotting flesh, or you have the Red Boils of Death, etc).  Depending on which turn a Hero contracts the new disease, it may fall into synch with the other disease or diseases the Hero has.  He may loose two or more Body Points every second turn, or maybe he will loose one Body Point this turn, and one next.

2.  A Hero with a disease can be contagious.  Roll a red dice every turn that another Hero is in the same room with the diseased one.  On a roll of 1 that Hero has contracted the disease also.

3.  Any Monster that the diseased Hero successfully attacks catches the disease.  While at first this may seem like a good thing for the Heroes because the monster will loose a Body Point every other turn, the monster also now has the disease.  Any undiseased Hero the monster now attacks can catch it.  If you feel really mean, tell the Heroes that the disease has no effect on the monster.  It is a carrier, but the disease causes no ill effects on the monster.

4.  Instead of allowing a Potion of Cure to cure all diseases that a Hero has, only allow it to cure one.


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Special Traps

This quest has two new types of traps.

1.  Swinging Blade.  This trap is marked on the quest maps as 'SWING BLADE'.  If a Hero sets off this trap, a swinging blade descends from the ceiling and slices a curving arc across the space where the Hero is standing.  Roll 3 attack dice - this is the damage the Swinging Blade causes.  The Hero can roll defense dice against this blade, but rolls one fewer than normal because he was surprised by the sudden appearance of the blade.

2.  Electrical Trap.  This trap is marked on the quest map two different ways.  The trigger to the trap is found on the squares marked 'ELECT TRAP'.  This trap affects this square, plus any of the squares marked with the lightning symbol.  The trap is not triggered if a Hero steps on a square marked with the lightning symbol.  Any Hero on these squares gets shocked by the electricity, though.  Roll two attack dice for each Hero affected by the trap.  If the Hero is wearing any type of metal armor, the affects of the trap are multiplied.  Roll 4 attack dice for this Hero.

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Potion Shop

The potion shop sells these potions for this quest.  You may wish to print this section out to give to the Heroes.

Potion of Minor Restoration    Cost:  500 Gold Pieces    Restores 1 lost Body Point and 1 lost Mind Point.

Potion of Major Restoration    Cost:  800 Gold Pieces    Restores a Hero's Body or Mind Points to original levels.

Potion of Speed   	       Cost:  100 Gold Pieces    Adds 5 movement squares to the Hero's next movement dice roll.

Potion of Strength             Cost:  250 Gold Pieces    Doubles the number of attack dice a Hero can roll on his next attack.

Potion of Invisibility         Cost:  300 Gold Pieces    Turns the Hero invisible for the next 5 turns.

Potion of Regeneration         Cost:  300 Gold Pieces    Restores all attack dice drained from the Hero by Undead.

Potion of Fire Resistance      Cost:  400 Gold Pieces    After a Hero drinks this potion, he is immune to the effects of the next Chaos fire spell cast on him, or suffers no damage the next time the Hero is burned by fire.

Potion of Cure                 Cost: 400 Gold Pieces     If a Hero drinks a Potion of Cure, he is cured of any disease or diseases that infect him.

Potion of Spell Casting        Cost:  600 Gold Pieces    A Spell Caster may use this spell to relearn a spell that he has just cast.  He may pick up the spell card of the last spell he cast and put it back in his hand.

Blade Venom                    Cost:  200 Gold Pieces    This potion is used to coat a bladed weapon or arrow.  The first monster hit by this weapon (at least one skull rolled) looses an extra Body Point in damage due to the venom.

