The Quest For The Sword

A quest pack for use with HeroQuest.

Written by Dewayne Agin  dagin@my-dejanews.com
Converted from the Advanced HeroQuest The Quest For Sonneklinge by Andy Warwick
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File Note:  

The pack zip file contains the following files: 

    Readme.txt                (this file)
    Tiles.bmp                 (tiles to use in the quests)
    cards.bmp                 (cards for the quests)
    quest1.bmp - quest5.bmp   (the quest maps)
    quest1.txt - quest5.txt   (the quest descriptions)
    Key.bmp                   (a key to the symbols found on the quest maps)
    

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

Prince Karad von Carron was a Hero known throughout the Old World.  His victory over the Goblinoid Hordes that attacked the town of Carroburg is the stuff of legends.  The tale has tripped across the tongues of bards for centuries, and is told in inns and public houses all across the Empire.  Even his death at the hands of the Ogre Ratgot Dwarfmangler in the final, climactic moments of the battle, when the fatally wounded Ogre managed to slash Karad's throat wide open, couldn't taint his memory.  His burial in a tomb deep in the Skaag hills was an event of great sorrow for the people of Carroburg.  Many of Prince Karad's loyal followers and retainers died that day, including Karad's lieutenant, Dolf.  All who died that day in battle were buried with their former commander.

Since then the hills around the town have been relatively free of Goblinoids.  Until recently, that is.  Within the last few months the town has been attacked on no less than three occasions.  Each time the casualties were higher and the damage greater.  The town council, presided over by Karad's great, great, great grandson, decided it was time to take action:  they called for help from local adventurers.  You were the only ones to answer their plea.

Erich von Carron reveals that he was visited in his bedchamber by the ghost of Prince Karad.  Erich explains that his ancestor's soul is wandering the earth because Sonneklinge, the sword with which Dwarfmangler was slain, has been taken from Prince Karad's grave.

He goes on to explain that the Orcs who have been attacking the town are the same Orcs who've been involved in minor skirmishes with the town foresters for years.  And now the Orcs have a new leader; the Orc Warlord who once led them, Gragath Rogant, has been replaced by Hogrod Trollslaughterer, a fearsome Ogre Chieftain from the same foul line that spawned Ratgot Dwarfmangler.  Hogrod has risen to power with the help of a Chaos Warlock, Hemler Rottingflesh.  It is believed that as soon as he can figure out the sword's magical power, Hemler wants to use it for his own evil purposes.

Erich asks you to enter the abandoned Dwarven town of Kazrad-Kain, which is where the Orcs make their lair, and retrieve the sword.  He explains that only by replacing it in the Prince's Tomb will his ancestor's soul be laid to rest.  Finally, he warns you that you must not remove anything from the Tomb, as Prince Karad has set a curse upon the treasure.

Then Erich wishes you luck, and hands you a map that shows the entrance to Kazrad-Kain.

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Special Notes For The Game Master (The rest of this file is not meant to be read to the Heroes.  Doing so will reveal parts of the game):

There is a new trap used in this quest pack - the Swinging Blade Trap.  It is marked on the maps with the words '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.


This quest can be played in the normal fashion, or you can play quests 1-3 as interconnected (the player can move back and forth between them) and quests 4-5 as interconnected.  If you play this way, the Heroes cannot rest and buy items from town unless they leave the current dungeon.  If the Heroes leave a dungeon before it is completed and then re-enter it, replace all monsters in the dungeon, even if they are killed.  The only exceptions to this rule is the monsters Gragath Rogant, Hemler Rottingflesh, Hogrod Trollslaughterer, Lieutenant Dolf, and Prince Karad.  Do not replace these.


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Extra Figures required for this quest:

This quest uses 3 types of extra figures.  

The first extra figure is an Orc Champion.  Orc Champions are larger than normal Orcs.  They are the officers in the Orc Armies.  If you do not have any of these, you can designate some regular Orcs to be Orc Champions in some way, such as tying on a cape.  Or, you can substitute Fimirs for these figures.  If you do not have enough Fimirs, use as many as you have and place regular Orcs for the rest of the Orc Champions.  If you use Fimirs, you can either use the normal Fimir stats, or use the ones for the Orc Champions and tell the players that these are Fimir Champions.

The second type of figure is an Ogre Chieftain.  If you do not have this figure you can use a regular Ogre or a Chaos Warrior as substitutes.  If you use a regular Ogre, use the stats for the Ogre Chieftain.  If you use a Chaos Warrior, you can either use the regular stats for Chaos Warriors, or use the ones for Hogrod Trollslaughterer and tell the players that this is a Chaos Chieftain.  If you use a Chaos Warrior, you will have to go through the lines you read to the players in this file and the quest.txt files and replace the word "Ogre" with "Chaos Warrior".

Lastly there is one Undead Champion found in the quest.  If you do not have a figure to use for Dolf (quest #4), you can use a Chaos Warrior.

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Special Monster Abilities:

A.  Some of the monsters in this quest can 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 other 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 other 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 other 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 will 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.


B.  Dolf, Prince Karad's lieutenant, is an Undead Champion.  He is a 'Fearsome Monster' and strikes terror into any Hero in the same room with him.  Every turn that a Hero is in the same room with Dolf, whether he starts the turn there or moves into the room during the movement phase, he must roll 1 red die.  On a roll of 5 or 6 the Hero has become afraid.  He may not attack in this round, and must use any remaining movement turns to try to get as far away from Dolf as possible, even if this means leaving the room.  While the Hero may not attack, he may defend against any attacks.  The fear lasts only one turn, but the Hero must make a fear roll every turn he is in the room with Dolf.
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Potion Shop:

Besides the normal potions, the Potion Shop sells a Potion of Cure for 400 gold coins.  If a Hero drinks a Potion of Cure, any disease or diseases that infect the Hero.

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Notes On Taking Treasure From Prince Karad's Tomb:

Prince Karad's Tomb is found on quests 4 and 5.  The Heroes were warned about taking treasure from Prince Karad's tomb.  There is lots of it to be taken there, and it can be very tempting.  Keep track of any gold that each Hero takes from these two quests.  Any Hero who finishes the quest pack with treasure taken from these two quests is cursed.  A Hero does not get cursed until the quest pack is complete - don't curse the Hero until quest 5 is finished and the end game paragraph is read.  Only Heroes who take gold from these levels are cursed.  If some of the Heroes refuse to take gold, they are not cursed.  Gold can either be found by taking it from chests found on these levels, finding treasure troves, or searching for treasure.  If a Hero takes treasure, then later has a change of heart and leaves it anywhere on these two levels, he does not receive the curse.

For each increment of 1000 gold coins, the cursed Hero should roll a red die.  For instance if the Hero takes 1-1000 gold coins, roll one red die.  If the Hero takes 1001-2000 roll two.  If he takes 2001-3000 roll three, and so on.  Use the chart below to determine what affect the curse has.  

Die Roll           Curse
1-2                Hero Permanently Loses 1 Body Point
3-4                Hero Permanently Loses 1 Attack Die
5-6                Hero Permanently Loses 1 Defense Die

Curses are cumulative.  For instance if the Hero takes 1500 gold coins he would roll two dice.  If he rolls a two and a three, he loses 1 Body Point and 1 Attack Die permanently.  If he rolls a five and a six, he loses 2 Defense Dice.

Do not tell the cursed Heroes why they are rolling the dice.  Write down the results, then read "After a night in town, regaling the locals with your adventures in recovering the Sword Sonneklinge and returning it to its proper place, you fall asleep in the local inn.  Your dreams are haunted by the ghost of Prince Karad.  'Defilers!' he shouts.  'You dare come into my tomb and pillage what was left there.  You were warned to take nothing, yet you stole from my tomb.  For your disobedience I curse you!  My curse will stay with you forever, reminding you of the evil you have done!'"

You should turn to a player whose Hero is to be cursed.  Read "I curse you with the loss of [insert any curses that Hero receives here]."  Do this for each player, then read "The Ghost glares at you one final time, then says 'Finally, I shall take back everything that you stole from me.  If you dare to enter my tomb again, I will not be so kind.'  With this, the spirit disappears."

Remove any of the gold stolen from Prince Karad's tomb from the Heroes' sheets.

While the curses are permanent, you may want to make up a quest for the Heroes to gain something to remove the curses.  Make sure it is a very hard quest, for removing the curse should not be easily accomplished.
