I think they could get a lot of mileage out of some kind of "dungeonmaster pack" for people who create their own missions, with some floor tiles for different environments, and some variant monsters like goblins with bows and goblins with spears.
Yes!! Either special sculpts for the named minibosses, or a fun variety of monsters like skaven-like creatures, demons, or the true sword & sorcery classic: snake-people!!
I want a brand new double sided map board as big as the original board. With some larger rooms and perhaps an outdoor area or a underground natural cave.
Prophecy of Telor, Spirit Queen's Torment, and Ogre Horde? NICE! Now just need: Wizards of (Morcar) Zargon, unreleased Dwarf Quest Pack (female dwarf), and unreleased Wizard Quest Pack (female wizard). And Crypt of Perpetual Darkness! Hope we get another dragon sculpt with it! I wonder if PoT and/or SQT will come with Mythic Tier classes - Druid, Bard, or Warlock.
As they need to retool Ogre Horde and Wizards, I think it would make sense to turn them into the "dwarf quest" and "wizard quest" packs. I know there are a lot of official notes about the unreleased packs, but as it would all need work, I wouldn't be surprised if they go down that route.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring - makes sense for sure. So I guess/hope we have a few more years of releases to come! Guessing the dwarf will go with ogres and the wizards with the....wizards! Haha!
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I wonder if they could do a monster pack? A heavily armoured ork for example to replace the wandering monster in a quest. Just to add a little variety.
One of the things I have said for a long time would be cool is a monster pack that just adds extra variety, so a few goblin archers, some goblin spearman, an orc or two in heavy armour, and so on. I know it's very easy to proxy all that stuff. People like you and me have no shortage of the minis necessary, but I will still be interested in something that's official.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring there’s only so many heroes you can produce. It’s nice for zargon to have some new toys to play with too and having new wandering monsters is a good way to incorporate them into existing games, and also will come in handy for those wanting to design their own quests.
I note at the 3:08 mark that the male monk has an asterisk next to the Attack Value, leading us to the asterisked note in small print at the bottom, where the female one does not. Do you suppose this means that as an instruction it only applies to the male variant then? And if so, why is the instruction on the female one too? Hmmmmmm...........
Apparently AH staff are now saying these new dice are NOT exclusive to GenCon & maybe available at a later date.. they look a purple Ollie affect very Cool..
On Discord Avalon Hill are saying things are being discussed but there is nothing concrete. If they have come to a decision they need to say something because people are paying over $200 a set on eBay right now.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring it’s insane apparently they are handing out spear FH dice Chris nadeau (AH) had in his office & one set just sold on ebay for $70 as “GenCon Frosted dice” I wouldn’t pay over the odds for the guardian knights, I’m still waiting for my back order on 7th dimension which now says “Sold out” have to wait & see if they dispatch…
My thoughts on the weapons is that they are used as a worst case scenario, or in a major battle, and they've exhausted all of the elemental attacks. A homebrewed weapon I'm considering are Sais. Use two attack dice when attacking, if a black shield is rolled, disarm the opponent. As for the exclusive content, I wish they'd make them available on the website. If they are giveaways at the event, then that's the advantage of attending the event, they did pay the price of admission and travel after all. But make it available to purchase at a later date on the website for a fair price.
I haven't heard anything, but I have seen several people asking for this. My concern with larger parties is not only that every scenario has to be rebalanced (balance is all over the place anyway with this game) but also that the gameboard is already rather cramped. I can see larger parties ending up in situations where they can't move around simply because there isn't space.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringI have been wondering about the space limitation as well. But what about if the party splits in different directions? This is what we would do in the real world when we are exploring tight corridors and small rooms with lots of people.
The issue there is it relies on people playing a certain way for it to work. Everybody knows splitting the party is higher risk, so a cautious group will stick together and then you get bogged down. I know that in the real world I wouldn't be straying too far from that barbarian! And that is only going to get worse once you start hiring mercs as well. Also, there are quite a few quests where you don't get the option to split up too much because of the map layout. And then you still need to consider how you are going to rebalance everything. Not saying it can't be done, but from my perspective I don't think it's as simple as chucking an extra hero into the dungeon and increasing the number of monsters.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Splitting the party is risky only when it reduces the number of players to less than it was originally designed (> 4). And at least some HeroQuest games have been played with less than the ideal 4 heroes. Sure, the Barbarian is an important character. But other heroes can fill a similar same role, like the Dwarf and the Knight, for example. You mentioned an interesting point about the dungeon layout. Perhaps that might require an extra attention for the GM, who might advice the players about how to proceed (at least initially) if he doesn't want to change the quest. And I don't think hiring mercenaries should be considered in a context where you already have so many people. And finally, on top of adding monsters, the GM can also boost their attribute (as you know, such options exists in the App and could be used by Zargon players as well) and make them more intelligently aggressive (trying to finish off wounded heroes). I'm not saying these things are easily done. But at least in theory, it should be doable (and if I recall correctly, I already read some claiming 9+ players games).
@@carlosbarreto4695 The barbarian comment was a joke, because you said in the real world people would split up, so I said in the real world I would stick next to the biggest, strongest person in the dungeon! Regarding splitting the party, the original question I responded to was regarding a fifth player. You can't split five and have two parties equal in size to the original four. If you ever could do that it would mean that you are playing with eight players, and at that point I don't think I would want to play HeroQuest. It's a simple, fast-moving game. Having to wait for eight other people to activate before you got a turn feels counter to what the game is supposed to be. You are also going to rinse the treasure deck in a couple of rounds (although I limit treasure searches to once per room anyway). As I said, anything is doable, but the aim of any dungeon is usually to get to a specific place - a boss fight, an exit, or whatever - and if you are trying to cram 8 heroes into that space eventually, things will get claggy. Unless you are going to have multiple boss fights scattered throughout the dungeon, at some point you are going to have to try to deal with a boss encounter where space is an issue. A new board with much larger rooms would help a lot. I just don't think the game or board are designed for it, and while it could be done, I wouldn't want to.
I actually like the monk being a bit more complex and clunky than the other classes. It makes the class not as commonly selected by the average player and keeps the monk as more of an add-on type of class to standard party builds.
I think it's good to see Avalon Hill trying new things with HeroQuest. I believe they need to do that to if they want the game to carry on for a long time.
Unless I'm being dumb, still not available to order in the Uk (Saturday noon)? Just get a page does not exist when I click the link in the email hasbro sent saying that it's available to order.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring as someone who also does action figs, it is getting increasingly frustrating to try and give them (and not just Hasbro to be fair!) my money.
This kind of thing upsets me. 😡 As a older fan, I was excited to finally be financially able to purchase all the quest packs that I couldn't afford (or did not have access to) as a teenager. I am perfectly happy to drop $50 every six months or so to be sure that I have all the items released by AH related to HQ. It is frustrating to think that they are releasing items that require travel across the country (or the world), not to mention expensive tickets to attend a conference, in order to acquire some of the new items. I hope they offer these items for those completionists like me out there who WANT to give them our money.
I would like Avalon Hill to make a clear announcement regarding the dice. There is a set on eBay right now selling for almost $200. But of course, they won't at the moment because it's the incentive to buy at the con.
I fully agree with you.. and still today, I cannot accept the missing of the mythic tier box in my collection.. I still hope they will consider a retail version of it. I want everything.. not only the PoT and SQT expansions, but even the CoPD exp. and the extra minis (Ragnar, the Witch Lord, the new heroes..).
Very interesting and totally unexpected. Look forward to get it! But... It looks like the release date for this Hero expansion was set on January 2024. What about Prophecy of Telor and Spirit Queen's Torment? Do you think we're going to see them before or after the Monk?
Hasbro Pulse always seem to set the dates quite far in advance to account for vagaries in shipping. They said Dread Moon would be out on 11th August. That being the case, I do think the Monk will be the next release, earlier than they state, with Telor shortly after. However, I am almost always wrong about that sort of thing!
I thought the rumour (after someone phoned up one of the "leaky shops" was that both Mythic Packs would come before the Monk. That person also claimed the Monk was a January release - which seems confirmed now based on pre-orders. But then why no pictures of the Mythic Packs at GenCon & why no pre-order for them? I feel like this is pretty typical Hasbro / Avalon Hill playing everything too close to their chest, even in the face of leaks.
I don't see why they would be taking preorders for a January pack if they have two quest packs that are about to land. However, if the quests packs are paper and card only they are probably going to have a shorter lead time on production, so that's possible. It will all get here when it gets here, I suppose.
Keep a look out for special offers. The core set does get discounted frequently. For example, in the UK you can often get it for less than £75 (around $95), which is by no means cheap, but I think it's pretty reasonable compared to the price of a lot of other miniatures board games at the moment. I should imagine it's possible to get similar deals in other territories.
I don't often keep track of prices in other countries, but as I said in my previous comment, based on the fact that the game often is available with pretty deep discounts in the UK I imagine it's possible to get similar deals in other territories as well.
Still holding out for a Ranger character, but monks are a good addition. Non gameplay exclusives are fine by me. I don't think I'm missing out on anything essential. And I have to ask: how many times did you have to roll those dice in the intro to get all one's?
This does look fun! I just wish... HOPE... they include some extra stuff for the core Heroes. Let's all be honest, why would you play with the Barbarian now? Some skill cards would be lovely.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring exactly the same! he (now she) was always my go to, but when compared... eek! still holding out hope for a ranger and cleric at some point.
(furthermore, we know (well, educated guess) there's more wizard spells coming (from Wizards of Morcar), and the Elf got more spells in Mage of the Mirror. I would be shocked if a Dwarf expansion wasn't released with something fun skill wise, so why O why didn't they take the chance to add some skills to Frozen Horror for the Barbarian.
I think they might have been scared to mess with Frozen Horror too much. It's an old favourite, so maybe they thought the best plan would be to release it unaltered? They definitely could do more though. Maybe we will get some kind of card expansion down the line that introduces new options for our favourite heroes.
The Monk is restricted to 3 defence dice maximum forever due to no armour & and the only weapon he can use that gives more than 2 attack dice is the crossbow. At first glance, and if used right from the start, he looks like a "strictly better Elf" - with +1 Defence, +1 Spell, and the ability to recover & reuse spells. But those equipment restrictions actually means long term (as other heroes advance), the Monk will remain pretty squishy & will probably end up needing to play more like an alternate Wizard. Picking and choosing when to attack / use abilities & planning movement carefully is needed to get the best out of the Monk & keep them alive.
Well, AH could introduce a staff, especially for the monk as using that staff could count as being unarmed? I mean it is nothing unusual to have hero specific items.
There are no hero specific items in the pack, and as of this moment Avalon Hill haven't released any hero specific cards for heroes that didn't come in the core game. Avalon Hill seem to be keeping each product isolated at the moment, meaning you don't need to buy any product beyond the core set in order to make use of any other product.
At the end said: Act Fast Showing picture of the HQ wandering monk. . I made my 2 orders and not going to miss this like the Knights. Not sure if this was something missleading, but I'm not going to miss these like I did with the Knights. .
I'm not sure I understand your point. The end of my video was specifically referring to the exclusive promos. I know a lot of people will turn to scalpers, but these things may yet turn up elsewhere, so it may be worth waiting to see what Avalon Hill has planned. The monk is not a retailer exclusive like the knight was. It will be in regular circulation, the same as the rogue heir. which is available at very low prices right now.
I not sure if I can cut and paste. But the email I received this morning from Hasbro stated this: limited quantities. And on the bottom showed the picture of the monk pack and other items Hasbro is sending out for ordering. It had me thinking that this is or will be limited. May have read wrong, but got mine secured on pre-order just in case.
I don't see any reason why the monk would be limited. Only the guardian knight was limited because of the retailer deals they had in place for them. This release should be widely available like the rogue heir, but there's certainly no harm in putting in a preorder anyway.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring they also stated fairly clearly that they fumbled the guardian knights and wouldn't do an exclusive model set like that again because so many people got angry about it. I can see dice being exclusive in the future, but I don't think they'll ever do limited print runs again short of another Kickstarter campaign.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Alright then we're on the same page! I only recently tried my first game, and am totally hooked. I've been binging your videos gathering knowledge. I enjoyed the role og Zargon, but there's also a LOT of interpretation when filling that role. Your channel is a great resource so far. Much appreciated.
It's a great game, but there is definitely a bit more work for a Zargon player. You really need to be prepared to rebalance things on the fly to keep things fun for your heroes. Thanks for checking out all the videos; I'm glad they are proving helpful!
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That's what I find fun and challenging about it. And I've been looking into the expansions and what they bring to the table mechanics wise (through your overview vids) and it seems like they iron out quite a bit of the issues in the base game. And adds some needed depth.
Was that a Captain Planet reference I heard? Showing your age my friend lol Been pining for more custom dice myself but I'm sure there will be more in further expansions (not sure they'll push on with new furniture with mythic tier retail releases for example, the pad n dice format suits those much better if not just mini box releases like Kellars Keep, Return of the Witch Lord was). Exclusive colours is hardly a game changer so year at least AH have learned on that regard.
I would think most of my content shows my age. It's too late to make any secret about it at this stage! Unfortunately, some people are paying as much as $375 on eBay for these dice and scrolls. I guess you can say, "well that's there fault" but it's Avalon Hill's choices that have created that situation.
I have the original Dungeon Saga game. I like it well enough, but felt it was trying too hard to "fix" HeroQuest and ended up being not quite as much fun. I don't tend to play it now, and just use the bits for other games, so when they brought out the revised Kickstarter it was a pretty easy pass for me, even though it does look like they have made some nice improvements.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yeah pity I am loving the new twilight kin as a kings of war player and seems like they have really put thought into the rules myself. Also got league of infamy found that to be fun but more complex than heroquest. It’s a shame would have liked to see you review it.
Awwwww sweet! Does this mean we get a Chinese themed expansion? Complete with serpentine dragons, zen warriors, sinister emperors and green flame? Green Flame!?
I think Against the Ogre Horde is the perfect expansion to repurpose as the "Dwarf Quest" pack, just like Wizards of Morcar is the ideal "Wizard Quest" pack. I do think that might be the way they go with fleshing out the remaining core game characters.
The monk is going to make things interesting, but wondering if the game is going to be flooded with too many heroes, maybe a character pack but for the named bad characters, Witch lord, plus others that appear in the the quests (named Orks, Zombies, Sir Ragnar...) Whilst annoyed that there is exclusives that not everyone can get (expenses or travel issues) I'm kinda glad about these, the purple dice looks like it will be hard to see the result, where as the mat, may look nice, but not sure on where I would use it during the gaming session
The exclusive I'm most annoyed with was the Into The Northlands quest & "experimental rules" / extra treasure & equipment card to cut out. Yes, we can print it off ourselves, and with the Dice / other "exclusive content" we can't - but that extra content should ideally have been just added into each Frozen Horror expansion as it's pretty essential in order for the heroes to have any chance at the actual quest pack campaign.
Thanks. I'm not sure at the moment. There are no solo missions, and I feel like (even more than usual) Dread Moon playthroughs would really spoil the experience for people who haven't gone through that campaign yet. I do have other plans for HeroQuest playthroughs though.
I was able to get the dice because luckily i did not get my dreadmoon expansion yet (definitely agree think they will be packaged in a future expansion). They are nice but i am not a huge fan of the monk being added.
The monk seems interesting, but at the moment I don't feel that character fits the plot. All of the other characters seem to have a place in the narrative, so I'm interested to see the background for the monk. If it's just "stranger from the mystic East turns up and decides to kick Zargon in the face" I think it will be difficult to feel invested in that character, even if they might be fun to play.
I'm sure a lot of people will be annoyed by this. There is already a set of the exclusive at auction on eBay closing in on $200 plus shipping. For a dice set and a mat. This is why Avalon Hill shouldn't do this sort of thing.
I may yet enjoy the play style. As I said in the video, I need to see the other three abilities and have more of a think about how it all links together. But it does feel a bit out of sorts with my personal idea of what a monk would be like. Which isn't to say it's bad or wrong.
That's a fair point, but I think the simplicity of HeroQuest means Mind is more of a catch-all for all forms of mental prowess. It's one of the issues and concessions that arises from such a streamlined stat line.
I think Avalon Hill brought back HeroQuest in a faithful manner, and then released four quest packs that were faithful reprints. At this point, they have fulfilled their obligation to honour the history of HeroQuest, and fans of the original have a nice new edition of all their old favourites. I think they need to revise Against the Ogre Horde and Wizards of Morcar (I think they should convert them to a "dwarf quest" an "wizard quest" pack) and then they should start making significant moves to push the envelope. I actually have a video coming up on this subject, because I think Avalon Hill need to do more to move the needle than they have right now.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I absolutely enjoy every bit of love they have poured in this new reprint. From the base game to all 4 faithful extensions. Avalon Hill really impressed me with how they have handled this revival so far... I guess I am just concerned about the new direction they are aiming at to keep HeroQuest alive... don't listen to me though, I am just a grumpy old soul 😝
One of the best parts of board games is the ease by which you can ignore content you dislike! If the Monk doesn't thrill you, you can just ignore them!
The monk looks better than it actually is in practice. It's a glass cannon that doesn't have a lot of body points or defense dice, or ways to heal itself.
yah its a slap in the face when yur a multiple Mythic Funder and avid collector of Hero Quest for 32 years to continuously get shafted on these exclusive items from Avalon Hill. I had 0 chance to get the dwarf/tomb exclusive, 0 chance to get the Guardian Knight exclusive, 0 chance to get any of these gencon exclusives, really is a slap in the face to now find out all of the Mythic content is going to be released as well, Avalon Hill really pisses me off how they treat their kickstarter funders.
It's a tricky situation. I don't think they ever should have crowdfunded in the first place. Did they really think HeroQuest wouldn't sell? But I do think releasing the Mythic stuff in a revised form is the right call, especially as a lot of the world didn't even have the chance to back. But releasing exclusive stuff that so few people can ever own tends to annoy more people than it pleases, and I really thought that after the guardian knight Avalon Hill had realised that.
All these new characters... they really need to create an expansion to allow more player characters at the table. So they're releasing the crowdfunding exclusive as a retail item?! That's kinda shitty considering we paid extra to acquire it. I mean those of us who backed the Mythic Tier got screwed out of the Guardian Knight set because they decided to release it in extremely limited quantities at Gamestop and the resellers scooped them all up.
I'm not against releasing the Mythic tier stuff (I backed it) But that there is a couple of issues I do have. 1, what you said above about the Guardian Knight set. 2. The fact the minis will be different and the books updated, because completionists like us will want those because they are different, which basically means AH have been very crafty. The Mythic Tier box comes across as more of a gimmick than an exclusive item now, having said that I wouldn't want other people missing out on it.
The Guardian Knight pack was a retailer exclusive, so it never got a proper release. When they launched HeroQuest at retail they had agreements in place that any store taking X units of the game also got X units of the exclusive knight to do whatever they wanted with. That's why the knight was so rare and hard to find, and also why they couldn't print more, as it would have broken their trade agreements with those stores. The quests during the crowdfunding campaign were never listed as exclusive. The exclusives were things like Ragnar and Mentor. So, they can repackage those missions and sell them (and they have said backers will still feel like they got something exclusive and special). While I understand some Mythic backers will feel cheated by this, I think it's the best move overall because so many people were denied a chance to access the crowdfunding campaign (only US, UK, and Australia could get involved, leaving the rest of the world unable to access those quests). Also, Mythic backers got a good price on the the core, two expansions and a lot of extras, including some exclusives, and they got early access to the quests for around two years. And of course, for completionists, they have the original quest books, which are likely to be different to the retail ones in some ways.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Personally as a mythic tier backer backer I never wanted anything to be exclusive, I don't like exclusive stuff, maybe timed exclusive but not something that is only for backers forever. This applies to everything, it seems off they can mess with the backers and make exclusive promise to retailers. And being different/updated in some way is where I get a bit peeved, we have had this discussion in the past.
The problem is they should never have crowdfunded in the first place. They didn't need to for something like HeroQuest. But now they are in a situation where whatever they do, some people will be annoyed. If they release the products as they were in the campaign, some Mythic backers will feel cheated as they no long feel they got something exclusive. If they update or change the products, some Mythic backers will feel cheated because they will feel they have to buy it all again to be "complete." Finally, if they don't release it, a massive chunk of the world feels cheated because they never had the chance to buy those things.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Totally agree, that is how I feel about it, they really made a rod for their own back. Like I said though I prefer timed exclusives, I don't buy things to sell on at a price (I don't view this as scalping BTW), the people who are going to be annoyed at the exclusive not being so exclusive I suspect are mostly going to be people who would like to sell it on at a profit sometime in the future. Hasbro/AH should just stick the same contents in the boxes, but I think this is a ploy to get people to buy the stuff again purely through wanting to have it all.
The monks seem a little out of flavor for HQ, and seems to be too D&D with the style and chaining actions/attacks. I know HQ is general fantasy, but it seems like they are trying to mold HQ into something it's not. They need the money stream to keep the game alive, but they could dilute the brand if we start getting dark elves, turn undead clerics type characters. It seems they are even missing a great opportunity, since they couldn't use the fimir for the re-issue and had to substitute the abomination, they could have explored a sea/water/swamp based setting. The abominations seem so out of place in the base game, and they could have done some world building around that by now.
I think the monk feels out of place (I think they need some good background fluff to justify their presence), but I think Avalon Hill should be trying some new things at this point. They were faithful to HeroQuest for a core game and four expansions, so I think it's okay to branch out and try something a bit different. I think, if they don't, the demand for HeroQuest will drop off. I'm not a fan of the abominations, but I think they might be a nod to the creatures on the Return of the Witch Lord expansion cover. Some kind of sewer-dwelling beasts.
I'll say it again, as much as I love the way that Avalon Hill is trying to make its mark on Heroquest with all these new heroes; I feel the spirit of the game is lost with the addition of "skill cards" and "complex" character abilities. In my opinion Heroquest works best with very barebones Heroes that are then augmented by their equipment or new spells/scrolls, etc. I think they should focus on expanding the bestiary with each new expansion and more overlay tiles just to reinforce the real strength of Heroquest; player made dungeons. That being said as an American collector of the originals, I look forward to the rules rewrites for Ogre Horde and Wizards of Morcar (presumably upcoming) to make it more inline with the now standardized ruleset that leans towards the US rules. Edit: To add all of these new characters add so many mechanics that they seem to almost invalidate the Barbarian primarily, maybe also the Dwarf.
I think if they want HeroQuest to continue they do have to evolve and expand what they are doing. They have been faithful with the relaunch, doing something for the fans and honouring the legacy, but I think the brand will falter if they just keep releasing "more stuff." It would be interesting to know how many people consistently spend time making their own dungeons for HeroQuest.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I completely understand WHY they are doing it; and you're right that its unlikely new HQ players are making their own dungeons; probably just waiting for the next expansion. It's less a criticism on the evolution of the game and more just the feeling of anachronism from adding all of these layered mechanics to a simple game. In the end I don't really have an issue with anything they are doing as it's all optional and if nothing else it plays to my preference of "Heroquest but more." Having never played with these newer ability heavy heroes do they play as overpowered as they read? I also think all of these hero expansions should come with a quest book with three solo quests to introduce them and "catch them up."
@@nickbangr I have the rogue heir and the knight, but have only used the rogue heir. They are a fun character to play, but they are seriously restricted in armour, and if you give them a decent weapon they lose all of their special abilities, so I think they are well balanced. The knight feels like pretty much an improvement over the barbarian in most ways, although tooling the barbarian up with all the artifacts from Frozen Horror means they still probably have the edge in the long run. The monk is so restricted with weapons and not being able to use any armour I think they are always going to be glass cannons. Time will tell there.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringYou hit the nail with your comment. For those who want the gaming experience of the classic HeroQuest, we now have widely available the four main heroes and dozens of quests to play. For those who want novelties, new heroes came to respond to the call, bringing a new breath to the game. It's perfectly possible to make both old school fans and newer generations happy, because everything besides the core set is optional. Reviving the classic is awesome, but getting stuck in the past is not a winning strategy in the long run.
I do feel they could have worded the Unarmed Combat a little more succinctly, to keep more in line with the way past Hero cards have been set up. IMO, They should have given the Monk a 2 Attack Dice stat, and then just put the blurb at the bottom where they normally list a hero's starting weapon: "The Monk begins the game with an unarmed attack of 1, and gains an additional 1 Attack dice while remaining so." That keeps the Monk's beginning Attack Rating on the card reflective of their base "weapon." The 1 Attack took me a minute to suss out...but that could just be a mental lacking on my part at the time. 🤷🏻😅
It's probably a future proofing thing, so if they ever get a weapon or something that says it gives "one extra attack dice" that gets applied to the base stat of 1 instead of 2. Also, the game has always defined unarmed combat at 1 dice, so it probably makes sense to apply that consistently and then indicate a bonus on top of that... although they also gave the unarmoured monk a defence of 3 when it should be 2, so that's inconsistent anyway.
You mean the ones who famously stayed in monastaries and drunk and ate like lords? Those monks? Or do you mean the "monks" of the millitant orders of knights, like the Hospitallers and the Templars?
@@paulkerr7320 Monks in medieval monasteries were crucial in accumulating and spreading knowledge and providing medical services to the community. For a sword and sorcery game like HQ, it would be a reasonable replacement for the D&D cleric/priest. But if you more into battle-monks, a spin on friar Tuck would be a nice alternative, too. No need to always borrow from 1970s Kung-Fu movies... it's getting a bit tiring. Don't you think?
@@martinfiedler4317 No that was more the job of the parish priest. Spreading knowledge was actually proscribed by the church thats why it was called The Dark Ages. The teaching of latin to comoners was banned and most monastaries were a clearing ground for the younger sons of nobility with a startling few having a Vocation. Also Tuck was a former Hospitaller, we know this as he was a skilled swordsman and the sword was a proscribed weapon to clergy outside of the millitant orders due to a proihibition against drawing blood (thats why D&D clerics have always been limited to blunt weapons). There has been no mention thus far of Deities and Divine casting and would require a significant switch in tone of the system as well as alienating some markets by including Deities especially christianised monks vis the exculpatory dialog about the Crusader in Diablo 3. TL:DR Christian monks is a huge bag of worms Avalon Hill shouldn't open.
@@paulkerr7320 _"Spreading knowledge was actually proscribed by the church thats why it was called The Dark Ages."_ It's originally called the "Dark Ages" because of the perceived economic and cultural decline. In Europe, monasteries were crucial in preserving and teaching knowledge. Check for "Carolingian renaissance" to get some background. Historically, nobility would largely avoid the highly regulated and ascetic monastic life and instead put it's "excess" sons on higher clerical positions. "Gods" are already referenced by the Chaos/Dread theme, which also implies the existence of Order/Salvation. You don't need personalized gods. HQ, so far, has always been a Western-oriented early middle ages ("" Dark Ages") setting. So, this Far Eastern incursion is much more of a disruption than an organic development. A western monk style character (like it showed up in the first Conan) could have provided that.
@@martinfiedler4317 HQ was originally from the GW Old World, monks of Cathay were in that setting from Edition 1 known as Vimto Monks. So again Wrong. Carloingian reanaissance as stated was not a renaissance as it was mostly kept to the clergy as I previously said the teaching of latin to the commons was banned. And still much of the learning of earlier philosphers was also proscribed. Higher clerical positions such as Abbots in the main, you know the heads of monastaries much higher, such as bisoprics and cardinals was more tightly controlled by Rome. In new HQ there has been exactly one non white human sculpt, the original Guardian Knight, and the Orc Bard. Elves, tolkien style, based on Lios Alfar, Dwarves also Tolkein esque and based on the Dvergr of the Svart Alfar. The Barbarian is from Howard and for the mage we go back to Tolkien. So what is wrong with a little inclusivuty? I would have preffered a Samurai personally, yes they were also in WFB 1st edition from cathay but we already have a couple of sword based classes and the stylistics of this character are fundamentally different from any other to give it an interesting riff on teh norm. My peeve is why that style of monk has only four elements instaed of the five common to Japan/China but again going back to Cathay in WFB 1st ed they used four and elves use the (western) four elements so they probably stuck to that for the sake of continuity. As to the presence of Chaos/Dread AH have deliberately avoided the Chaos stuff as it is GW IP but since you brought it up I'll school you on that too Order in The Old World is just as evil and dangerous as Chaos, the Gods of it are just as inimical to Humanity as you can see if you look them up in WFRP. Most of the Old World Deities were Neutral, which makes sense as GW ripped the whole concept off from Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series. Dread seems to have been basically changed to the "Demon Lord" concept common to many JRPG's. At no point has Order been implied especially not as a link to Salvation. If thats your gig there was an RPG written by I think the Mormons in the 80's as a response to D&D where you get bonuses for quoting scripture.
I will collect the monk release, but only for completionist's sake. I don't like the idea of mixing asian fantasy with classic western fantasy and it seems to me that the creators have a lack of talent and/or imagination if they're drawing on something like this, there are plenty more character types that would be far more suitable to a classic western fantasy setting that a monk with superpowers...and to me, some of those powers seem ridiculous, especially the burning spirit power...it seems way more like as power that belongs in dragonball z rather than heroquest...
The mystic plasma gun is a bit silly, I agree. I think this might be something they could do with the character packs, though - create characters that are a bit out of the ordinary for the game. By keeping them in separate packs people can choose to completely ignore them if they so wish.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
I would like to see a monster pack. A pack with multiple types of monsters to sprinkle into your games.
Yea, i'd love some Vampire counts style enemies with new skeletons.
@@RiFFxxx - a Vampire & werewolf expansion would be legit.
I think they could get a lot of mileage out of some kind of "dungeonmaster pack" for people who create their own missions, with some floor tiles for different environments, and some variant monsters like goblins with bows and goblins with spears.
Yes!! Either special sculpts for the named minibosses, or a fun variety of monsters like skaven-like creatures, demons, or the true sword & sorcery classic: snake-people!!
I want a brand new double sided map board as big as the original board. With some larger rooms and perhaps an outdoor area or a underground natural cave.
That would be pretty neat.
Prophecy of Telor, Spirit Queen's Torment, and Ogre Horde? NICE!
Now just need: Wizards of (Morcar) Zargon, unreleased Dwarf Quest Pack (female dwarf), and unreleased Wizard Quest Pack (female wizard).
And Crypt of Perpetual Darkness! Hope we get another dragon sculpt with it!
I wonder if PoT and/or SQT will come with Mythic Tier classes - Druid, Bard, or Warlock.
As they need to retool Ogre Horde and Wizards, I think it would make sense to turn them into the "dwarf quest" and "wizard quest" packs. I know there are a lot of official notes about the unreleased packs, but as it would all need work, I wouldn't be surprised if they go down that route.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring - makes sense for sure. So I guess/hope we have a few more years of releases to come! Guessing the dwarf will go with ogres and the wizards with the....wizards! Haha!
I saw what you did there about the heart element. Well played.
Go planet.
It’s nice to see some different characters, especially after so many elves in recent expansions
We are definitely elfed out. I can't honestly say a monk was on my list of HeroQuest stuff I wanted, but it looks pretty interesting.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I wonder if they could do a monster pack? A heavily armoured ork for example to replace the wandering monster in a quest. Just to add a little variety.
One of the things I have said for a long time would be cool is a monster pack that just adds extra variety, so a few goblin archers, some goblin spearman, an orc or two in heavy armour, and so on. I know it's very easy to proxy all that stuff. People like you and me have no shortage of the minis necessary, but I will still be interested in something that's official.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring there’s only so many heroes you can produce. It’s nice for zargon to have some new toys to play with too and having new wandering monsters is a good way to incorporate them into existing games, and also will come in handy for those wanting to design their own quests.
@@chriscreativecontent and maybe even a NPC pack or boss pack with Kessandria, the Witchlord, Sir Ragnar... would be great!
Love the Captain Planet reference! Made me laugh! 😂
Always felt bad for the kid who got the heart ring.
I'm at the convention now! Thanks for posting this!
Nice. Have fun, and I hope you manage to get the exclusives if you want them.
I note at the 3:08 mark that the male monk has an asterisk next to the Attack Value, leading us to the asterisked note in small print at the bottom, where the female one does not. Do you suppose this means that as an instruction it only applies to the male variant then? And if so, why is the instruction on the female one too? Hmmmmmm...........
There is no difference between the male and female characters, it's just a misprint on the card for the female variant.
Apparently AH staff are now saying these new dice are NOT exclusive to GenCon & maybe available at a later date.. they look a purple Ollie affect very Cool..
On Discord Avalon Hill are saying things are being discussed but there is nothing concrete. If they have come to a decision they need to say something because people are paying over $200 a set on eBay right now.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring it’s insane apparently they are handing out spear FH dice Chris nadeau (AH) had in his office & one set just sold on ebay for $70 as “GenCon Frosted dice”
I wouldn’t pay over the odds for the guardian knights, I’m still waiting for my back order on 7th dimension which now says “Sold out” have to wait & see if they dispatch…
My thoughts on the weapons is that they are used as a worst case scenario, or in a major battle, and they've exhausted all of the elemental attacks. A homebrewed weapon I'm considering are Sais. Use two attack dice when attacking, if a black shield is rolled, disarm the opponent.
As for the exclusive content, I wish they'd make them available on the website. If they are giveaways at the event, then that's the advantage of attending the event, they did pay the price of admission and travel after all. But make it available to purchase at a later date on the website for a fair price.
Any sign if they'll expand so a fifth hero can be played for larger parties?
I haven't heard anything, but I have seen several people asking for this. My concern with larger parties is not only that every scenario has to be rebalanced (balance is all over the place anyway with this game) but also that the gameboard is already rather cramped. I can see larger parties ending up in situations where they can't move around simply because there isn't space.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringI have been wondering about the space limitation as well.
But what about if the party splits in different directions? This is what we would do in the real world when we are exploring tight corridors and small rooms with lots of people.
The issue there is it relies on people playing a certain way for it to work. Everybody knows splitting the party is higher risk, so a cautious group will stick together and then you get bogged down. I know that in the real world I wouldn't be straying too far from that barbarian! And that is only going to get worse once you start hiring mercs as well. Also, there are quite a few quests where you don't get the option to split up too much because of the map layout. And then you still need to consider how you are going to rebalance everything.
Not saying it can't be done, but from my perspective I don't think it's as simple as chucking an extra hero into the dungeon and increasing the number of monsters.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Splitting the party is risky only when it reduces the number of players to less than it was originally designed (> 4). And at least some HeroQuest games have been played with less than the ideal 4 heroes.
Sure, the Barbarian is an important character. But other heroes can fill a similar same role, like the Dwarf and the Knight, for example.
You mentioned an interesting point about the dungeon layout. Perhaps that might require an extra attention for the GM, who might advice the players about how to proceed (at least initially) if he doesn't want to change the quest.
And I don't think hiring mercenaries should be considered in a context where you already have so many people.
And finally, on top of adding monsters, the GM can also boost their attribute (as you know, such options exists in the App and could be used by Zargon players as well) and make them more intelligently aggressive (trying to finish off wounded heroes).
I'm not saying these things are easily done. But at least in theory, it should be doable (and if I recall correctly, I already read some claiming 9+ players games).
@@carlosbarreto4695 The barbarian comment was a joke, because you said in the real world people would split up, so I said in the real world I would stick next to the biggest, strongest person in the dungeon!
Regarding splitting the party, the original question I responded to was regarding a fifth player. You can't split five and have two parties equal in size to the original four. If you ever could do that it would mean that you are playing with eight players, and at that point I don't think I would want to play HeroQuest. It's a simple, fast-moving game. Having to wait for eight other people to activate before you got a turn feels counter to what the game is supposed to be. You are also going to rinse the treasure deck in a couple of rounds (although I limit treasure searches to once per room anyway).
As I said, anything is doable, but the aim of any dungeon is usually to get to a specific place - a boss fight, an exit, or whatever - and if you are trying to cram 8 heroes into that space eventually, things will get claggy. Unless you are going to have multiple boss fights scattered throughout the dungeon, at some point you are going to have to try to deal with a boss encounter where space is an issue. A new board with much larger rooms would help a lot.
I just don't think the game or board are designed for it, and while it could be done, I wouldn't want to.
I actually like the monk being a bit more complex and clunky than the other classes. It makes the class not as commonly selected by the average player and keeps the monk as more of an add-on type of class to standard party builds.
I think it's good to see Avalon Hill trying new things with HeroQuest. I believe they need to do that to if they want the game to carry on for a long time.
Unless I'm being dumb, still not available to order in the Uk (Saturday noon)? Just get a page does not exist when I click the link in the email hasbro sent saying that it's available to order.
That's correct. It's only available on the US Hasbro page at the moment.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring as someone who also does action figs, it is getting increasingly frustrating to try and give them (and not just Hasbro to be fair!) my money.
I love martial arts and Heroquest so I'm looking forward to this!
This kind of thing upsets me. 😡 As a older fan, I was excited to finally be financially able to purchase all the quest packs that I couldn't afford (or did not have access to) as a teenager. I am perfectly happy to drop $50 every six months or so to be sure that I have all the items released by AH related to HQ. It is frustrating to think that they are releasing items that require travel across the country (or the world), not to mention expensive tickets to attend a conference, in order to acquire some of the new items. I hope they offer these items for those completionists like me out there who WANT to give them our money.
I would like Avalon Hill to make a clear announcement regarding the dice. There is a set on eBay right now selling for almost $200. But of course, they won't at the moment because it's the incentive to buy at the con.
I fully agree with you.. and still today, I cannot accept the missing of the mythic tier box in my collection.. I still hope they will consider a retail version of it. I want everything.. not only the PoT and SQT expansions, but even the CoPD exp. and the extra minis (Ragnar, the Witch Lord, the new heroes..).
Very interesting and totally unexpected. Look forward to get it! But... It looks like the release date for this Hero expansion was set on January 2024. What about Prophecy of Telor and Spirit Queen's Torment? Do you think we're going to see them before or after the Monk?
Hasbro Pulse always seem to set the dates quite far in advance to account for vagaries in shipping. They said Dread Moon would be out on 11th August. That being the case, I do think the Monk will be the next release, earlier than they state, with Telor shortly after. However, I am almost always wrong about that sort of thing!
I thought the rumour (after someone phoned up one of the "leaky shops" was that both Mythic Packs would come before the Monk.
That person also claimed the Monk was a January release - which seems confirmed now based on pre-orders.
But then why no pictures of the Mythic Packs at GenCon & why no pre-order for them?
I feel like this is pretty typical Hasbro / Avalon Hill playing everything too close to their chest, even in the face of leaks.
I don't see why they would be taking preorders for a January pack if they have two quest packs that are about to land. However, if the quests packs are paper and card only they are probably going to have a shorter lead time on production, so that's possible. It will all get here when it gets here, I suppose.
I wish I had the new HeroQuest. So expensive!
Keep a look out for special offers. The core set does get discounted frequently. For example, in the UK you can often get it for less than £75 (around $95), which is by no means cheap, but I think it's pretty reasonable compared to the price of a lot of other miniatures board games at the moment. I should imagine it's possible to get similar deals in other territories.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I've not lived in the UK in almost 28 years.
I don't often keep track of prices in other countries, but as I said in my previous comment, based on the fact that the game often is available with pretty deep discounts in the UK I imagine it's possible to get similar deals in other territories as well.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I've seen it at a shop called Valkyrie Games and it's $300.
For just the core game of Avalon Hill's release? That's crazy. It's currently $99 on Amazon US!
Still holding out for a Ranger character, but monks are a good addition.
Non gameplay exclusives are fine by me. I don't think I'm missing out on anything essential.
And I have to ask: how many times did you have to roll those dice in the intro to get all one's?
My intro used to be two dice, then I upscaled. It took about 100 rolls I think to get a clean shot.
This does look fun! I just wish... HOPE... they include some extra stuff for the core Heroes. Let's all be honest, why would you play with the Barbarian now? Some skill cards would be lovely.
I have always had a soft spot for the barbarian, but the more stuff they release, the less appealing he becomes, which is a bit of a shame.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring exactly the same! he (now she) was always my go to, but when compared... eek! still holding out hope for a ranger and cleric at some point.
(furthermore, we know (well, educated guess) there's more wizard spells coming (from Wizards of Morcar), and the Elf got more spells in Mage of the Mirror. I would be shocked if a Dwarf expansion wasn't released with something fun skill wise, so why O why didn't they take the chance to add some skills to Frozen Horror for the Barbarian.
I think they might have been scared to mess with Frozen Horror too much. It's an old favourite, so maybe they thought the best plan would be to release it unaltered? They definitely could do more though. Maybe we will get some kind of card expansion down the line that introduces new options for our favourite heroes.
The Monk is restricted to 3 defence dice maximum forever due to no armour & and the only weapon he can use that gives more than 2 attack dice is the crossbow.
At first glance, and if used right from the start, he looks like a "strictly better Elf" - with +1 Defence, +1 Spell, and the ability to recover & reuse spells.
But those equipment restrictions actually means long term (as other heroes advance), the Monk will remain pretty squishy & will probably end up needing to play more like an alternate Wizard.
Picking and choosing when to attack / use abilities & planning movement carefully is needed to get the best out of the Monk & keep them alive.
Well, AH could introduce a staff, especially for the monk as using that staff could count as being unarmed?
I mean it is nothing unusual to have hero specific items.
There are no hero specific items in the pack, and as of this moment Avalon Hill haven't released any hero specific cards for heroes that didn't come in the core game. Avalon Hill seem to be keeping each product isolated at the moment, meaning you don't need to buy any product beyond the core set in order to make use of any other product.
At the end said: Act Fast
Showing picture of the HQ wandering monk. .
I made my 2 orders and not going to miss this like the Knights.
Not sure if this was something missleading, but I'm not going to miss these like I did with the Knights. .
I'm not sure I understand your point. The end of my video was specifically referring to the exclusive promos. I know a lot of people will turn to scalpers, but these things may yet turn up elsewhere, so it may be worth waiting to see what Avalon Hill has planned.
The monk is not a retailer exclusive like the knight was. It will be in regular circulation, the same as the rogue heir. which is available at very low prices right now.
I not sure if I can cut and paste.
But the email I received this morning from Hasbro stated this: limited quantities. And on the bottom showed the picture of the monk pack and other items Hasbro is sending out for ordering.
It had me thinking that this is or will be limited. May have read wrong, but got mine secured on pre-order just in case.
I don't see any reason why the monk would be limited. Only the guardian knight was limited because of the retailer deals they had in place for them. This release should be widely available like the rogue heir, but there's certainly no harm in putting in a preorder anyway.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring they also stated fairly clearly that they fumbled the guardian knights and wouldn't do an exclusive model set like that again because so many people got angry about it.
I can see dice being exclusive in the future, but I don't think they'll ever do limited print runs again short of another Kickstarter campaign.
I hope they revisit the old classes and make them equally interesting.
We are getting reveals of the next two expansions this Friday so that should be interesting.
Ribby wants purple dice 😢
I thought the Frozen Horror dice were great, and these look just a bit more awesome than those.
Agreed and would like to get them
Also...
Keeping a close eye 👁 on all sites for ordering. Hopefully
I don't see why allies can't be in the firebeam?
By the rules they can safely stand in the beam, but I just don't personally see why the beam wouldn't harm them.
@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Alright then we're on the same page! I only recently tried my first game, and am totally hooked. I've been binging your videos gathering knowledge. I enjoyed the role og Zargon, but there's also a LOT of interpretation when filling that role. Your channel is a great resource so far. Much appreciated.
It's a great game, but there is definitely a bit more work for a Zargon player. You really need to be prepared to rebalance things on the fly to keep things fun for your heroes. Thanks for checking out all the videos; I'm glad they are proving helpful!
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That's what I find fun and challenging about it. And I've been looking into the expansions and what they bring to the table mechanics wise (through your overview vids) and it seems like they iron out quite a bit of the issues in the base game. And adds some needed depth.
Was that a Captain Planet reference I heard? Showing your age my friend lol
Been pining for more custom dice myself but I'm sure there will be more in further expansions (not sure they'll push on with new furniture with mythic tier retail releases for example, the pad n dice format suits those much better if not just mini box releases like Kellars Keep, Return of the Witch Lord was). Exclusive colours is hardly a game changer so year at least AH have learned on that regard.
I would think most of my content shows my age. It's too late to make any secret about it at this stage!
Unfortunately, some people are paying as much as $375 on eBay for these dice and scrolls. I guess you can say, "well that's there fault" but it's Avalon Hill's choices that have created that situation.
What are your thoughts on the Dungeon Saga Origins game coming from Mantic games I have backed that myself.
I have the original Dungeon Saga game. I like it well enough, but felt it was trying too hard to "fix" HeroQuest and ended up being not quite as much fun. I don't tend to play it now, and just use the bits for other games, so when they brought out the revised Kickstarter it was a pretty easy pass for me, even though it does look like they have made some nice improvements.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yeah pity I am loving the new twilight kin as a kings of war player and seems like they have really put thought into the rules myself. Also got league of infamy found that to be fun but more complex than heroquest. It’s a shame would have liked to see you review it.
Everything Changed When the Fire Nation Attacked”
Ha. Everything changed when M Night Shyamalan wrote the script...
Awwwww sweet! Does this mean we get a Chinese themed expansion? Complete with serpentine dragons, zen warriors, sinister emperors and green flame? Green Flame!?
Ha. I'm going to go out on a limb and say no, these are just monks that really like wandering a really long way.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring aww, at least with this new character we'll get Little Trouble in Big HeroQuest! 😁
I'm waiting for the samurai and ninja heroes in the future!
What about a dwarf expansion!
I think Against the Ogre Horde is the perfect expansion to repurpose as the "Dwarf Quest" pack, just like Wizards of Morcar is the ideal "Wizard Quest" pack. I do think that might be the way they go with fleshing out the remaining core game characters.
The monk is going to make things interesting, but wondering if the game is going to be flooded with too many heroes, maybe a character pack but for the named bad characters, Witch lord, plus others that appear in the the quests (named Orks, Zombies, Sir Ragnar...)
Whilst annoyed that there is exclusives that not everyone can get (expenses or travel issues) I'm kinda glad about these, the purple dice looks like it will be hard to see the result, where as the mat, may look nice, but not sure on where I would use it during the gaming session
I know what you mean about the exclusives. I still don't think it's a great call from Avalon Hill.
The exclusive I'm most annoyed with was the Into The Northlands quest & "experimental rules" / extra treasure & equipment card to cut out.
Yes, we can print it off ourselves, and with the Dice / other "exclusive content" we can't - but that extra content should ideally have been just added into each Frozen Horror expansion as it's pretty essential in order for the heroes to have any chance at the actual quest pack campaign.
Great heroquest coverage as usual. Any plans on doing a dread moon playthrough?
Thanks. I'm not sure at the moment. There are no solo missions, and I feel like (even more than usual) Dread Moon playthroughs would really spoil the experience for people who haven't gone through that campaign yet. I do have other plans for HeroQuest playthroughs though.
Rofl the captain planet reference got me 🤣
Always felt the poor kid with the heart ring got the bad end of the deal.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring he really did, he was basically just aquaman
Very cool.
I was able to get the dice because luckily i did not get my dreadmoon expansion yet (definitely agree think they will be packaged in a future expansion). They are nice but i am not a huge fan of the monk being added.
The monk seems interesting, but at the moment I don't feel that character fits the plot. All of the other characters seem to have a place in the narrative, so I'm interested to see the background for the monk. If it's just "stranger from the mystic East turns up and decides to kick Zargon in the face" I think it will be difficult to feel invested in that character, even if they might be fun to play.
i love the new dice. Im disappointed because I couldnt make it to Gen Con
I'm sure a lot of people will be annoyed by this. There is already a set of the exclusive at auction on eBay closing in on $200 plus shipping. For a dice set and a mat. This is why Avalon Hill shouldn't do this sort of thing.
Opinion: I like the agressive monk.
I may yet enjoy the play style. As I said in the video, I need to see the other three abilities and have more of a think about how it all links together. But it does feel a bit out of sorts with my personal idea of what a monk would be like. Which isn't to say it's bad or wrong.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yeah i get it, it would be best if they just renamed it as "The Wonderer" or "The Martial Artist"
My guess is Mind= Inteligence rather than Wisdom.
That's a fair point, but I think the simplicity of HeroQuest means Mind is more of a catch-all for all forms of mental prowess. It's one of the issues and concessions that arises from such a streamlined stat line.
These monks do seem more Bruce Lee than Friar Tuck. I'll learn to live with it. 😄
They definitely are. Moonstone has a really nice "Friar Tuck" in the starter set.
Am I the only one who thinks we are getting far from what Hero Quest originally is ? I am not thrilled by this hero...
Neither.
I think Avalon Hill brought back HeroQuest in a faithful manner, and then released four quest packs that were faithful reprints. At this point, they have fulfilled their obligation to honour the history of HeroQuest, and fans of the original have a nice new edition of all their old favourites. I think they need to revise Against the Ogre Horde and Wizards of Morcar (I think they should convert them to a "dwarf quest" an "wizard quest" pack) and then they should start making significant moves to push the envelope. I actually have a video coming up on this subject, because I think Avalon Hill need to do more to move the needle than they have right now.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I absolutely enjoy every bit of love they have poured in this new reprint. From the base game to all 4 faithful extensions. Avalon Hill really impressed me with how they have handled this revival so far...
I guess I am just concerned about the new direction they are aiming at to keep HeroQuest alive... don't listen to me though, I am just a grumpy old soul 😝
One of the best parts of board games is the ease by which you can ignore content you dislike! If the Monk doesn't thrill you, you can just ignore them!
The monk looks better than it actually is in practice. It's a glass cannon that doesn't have a lot of body points or defense dice, or ways to heal itself.
yah its a slap in the face when yur a multiple Mythic Funder and avid collector of Hero Quest for 32 years to continuously get shafted on these exclusive items from Avalon Hill. I had 0 chance to get the dwarf/tomb exclusive, 0 chance to get the Guardian Knight exclusive, 0 chance to get any of these gencon exclusives, really is a slap in the face to now find out all of the Mythic content is going to be released as well, Avalon Hill really pisses me off how they treat their kickstarter funders.
It's a tricky situation. I don't think they ever should have crowdfunded in the first place. Did they really think HeroQuest wouldn't sell? But I do think releasing the Mythic stuff in a revised form is the right call, especially as a lot of the world didn't even have the chance to back. But releasing exclusive stuff that so few people can ever own tends to annoy more people than it pleases, and I really thought that after the guardian knight Avalon Hill had realised that.
All these new characters... they really need to create an expansion to allow more player characters at the table.
So they're releasing the crowdfunding exclusive as a retail item?! That's kinda shitty considering we paid extra to acquire it. I mean those of us who backed the Mythic Tier got screwed out of the Guardian Knight set because they decided to release it in extremely limited quantities at Gamestop and the resellers scooped them all up.
I'm not against releasing the Mythic tier stuff (I backed it) But that there is a couple of issues I do have.
1, what you said above about the Guardian Knight set.
2. The fact the minis will be different and the books updated, because completionists like us will want those because they are different, which basically means AH have been very crafty.
The Mythic Tier box comes across as more of a gimmick than an exclusive item now, having said that I wouldn't want other people missing out on it.
The Guardian Knight pack was a retailer exclusive, so it never got a proper release. When they launched HeroQuest at retail they had agreements in place that any store taking X units of the game also got X units of the exclusive knight to do whatever they wanted with. That's why the knight was so rare and hard to find, and also why they couldn't print more, as it would have broken their trade agreements with those stores.
The quests during the crowdfunding campaign were never listed as exclusive. The exclusives were things like Ragnar and Mentor. So, they can repackage those missions and sell them (and they have said backers will still feel like they got something exclusive and special). While I understand some Mythic backers will feel cheated by this, I think it's the best move overall because so many people were denied a chance to access the crowdfunding campaign (only US, UK, and Australia could get involved, leaving the rest of the world unable to access those quests). Also, Mythic backers got a good price on the the core, two expansions and a lot of extras, including some exclusives, and they got early access to the quests for around two years. And of course, for completionists, they have the original quest books, which are likely to be different to the retail ones in some ways.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Personally as a mythic tier backer backer I never wanted anything to be exclusive, I don't like exclusive stuff, maybe timed exclusive but not something that is only for backers forever.
This applies to everything, it seems off they can mess with the backers and make exclusive promise to retailers.
And being different/updated in some way is where I get a bit peeved, we have had this discussion in the past.
The problem is they should never have crowdfunded in the first place. They didn't need to for something like HeroQuest. But now they are in a situation where whatever they do, some people will be annoyed. If they release the products as they were in the campaign, some Mythic backers will feel cheated as they no long feel they got something exclusive. If they update or change the products, some Mythic backers will feel cheated because they will feel they have to buy it all again to be "complete." Finally, if they don't release it, a massive chunk of the world feels cheated because they never had the chance to buy those things.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Totally agree, that is how I feel about it, they really made a rod for their own back.
Like I said though I prefer timed exclusives, I don't buy things to sell on at a price (I don't view this as scalping BTW), the people who are going to be annoyed at the exclusive not being so exclusive I suspect are mostly going to be people who would like to sell it on at a profit sometime in the future.
Hasbro/AH should just stick the same contents in the boxes, but I think this is a ploy to get people to buy the stuff again purely through wanting to have it all.
The monks seem a little out of flavor for HQ, and seems to be too D&D with the style and chaining actions/attacks. I know HQ is general fantasy, but it seems like they are trying to mold HQ into something it's not. They need the money stream to keep the game alive, but they could dilute the brand if we start getting dark elves, turn undead clerics type characters.
It seems they are even missing a great opportunity, since they couldn't use the fimir for the re-issue and had to substitute the abomination, they could have explored a sea/water/swamp based setting. The abominations seem so out of place in the base game, and they could have done some world building around that by now.
I think the monk feels out of place (I think they need some good background fluff to justify their presence), but I think Avalon Hill should be trying some new things at this point. They were faithful to HeroQuest for a core game and four expansions, so I think it's okay to branch out and try something a bit different. I think, if they don't, the demand for HeroQuest will drop off.
I'm not a fan of the abominations, but I think they might be a nod to the creatures on the Return of the Witch Lord expansion cover. Some kind of sewer-dwelling beasts.
Love this game glad it had a comeback & promos suck!
I like purple stuff, but those dice are unreadable.
Some of the close up shots I've seen they look readable to me, but I haven't seen any in real life so can't say for sure.
Would be nice to see the unreleased ratman expansion instead of this.
Well, the monk will be cheap to run gold wise.
I suppose having no need of earthly possessions fits the theme.
ok
I'll say it again, as much as I love the way that Avalon Hill is trying to make its mark on Heroquest with all these new heroes; I feel the spirit of the game is lost with the addition of "skill cards" and "complex" character abilities. In my opinion Heroquest works best with very barebones Heroes that are then augmented by their equipment or new spells/scrolls, etc. I think they should focus on expanding the bestiary with each new expansion and more overlay tiles just to reinforce the real strength of Heroquest; player made dungeons. That being said as an American collector of the originals, I look forward to the rules rewrites for Ogre Horde and Wizards of Morcar (presumably upcoming) to make it more inline with the now standardized ruleset that leans towards the US rules.
Edit: To add all of these new characters add so many mechanics that they seem to almost invalidate the Barbarian primarily, maybe also the Dwarf.
I think if they want HeroQuest to continue they do have to evolve and expand what they are doing. They have been faithful with the relaunch, doing something for the fans and honouring the legacy, but I think the brand will falter if they just keep releasing "more stuff." It would be interesting to know how many people consistently spend time making their own dungeons for HeroQuest.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I completely understand WHY they are doing it; and you're right that its unlikely new HQ players are making their own dungeons; probably just waiting for the next expansion. It's less a criticism on the evolution of the game and more just the feeling of anachronism from adding all of these layered mechanics to a simple game. In the end I don't really have an issue with anything they are doing as it's all optional and if nothing else it plays to my preference of "Heroquest but more." Having never played with these newer ability heavy heroes do they play as overpowered as they read? I also think all of these hero expansions should come with a quest book with three solo quests to introduce them and "catch them up."
@@nickbangr I have the rogue heir and the knight, but have only used the rogue heir. They are a fun character to play, but they are seriously restricted in armour, and if you give them a decent weapon they lose all of their special abilities, so I think they are well balanced. The knight feels like pretty much an improvement over the barbarian in most ways, although tooling the barbarian up with all the artifacts from Frozen Horror means they still probably have the edge in the long run. The monk is so restricted with weapons and not being able to use any armour I think they are always going to be glass cannons. Time will tell there.
@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoringYou hit the nail with your comment.
For those who want the gaming experience of the classic HeroQuest, we now have widely available the four main heroes and dozens of quests to play.
For those who want novelties, new heroes came to respond to the call, bringing a new breath to the game.
It's perfectly possible to make both old school fans and newer generations happy, because everything besides the core set is optional.
Reviving the classic is awesome, but getting stuck in the past is not a winning strategy in the long run.
I do feel they could have worded the Unarmed Combat a little more succinctly, to keep more in line with the way past Hero cards have been set up.
IMO, They should have given the Monk a 2 Attack Dice stat, and then just put the blurb at the bottom where they normally list a hero's starting weapon: "The Monk begins the game with an unarmed attack of 1, and gains an additional 1 Attack dice while remaining so." That keeps the Monk's beginning Attack Rating on the card reflective of their base "weapon."
The 1 Attack took me a minute to suss out...but that could just be a mental lacking on my part at the time. 🤷🏻😅
It's probably a future proofing thing, so if they ever get a weapon or something that says it gives "one extra attack dice" that gets applied to the base stat of 1 instead of 2. Also, the game has always defined unarmed combat at 1 dice, so it probably makes sense to apply that consistently and then indicate a bonus on top of that... although they also gave the unarmoured monk a defence of 3 when it should be 2, so that's inconsistent anyway.
Feels out of place to me. Think I'll pass
I know what you mean. It's the first hero that doesn't feel grounded in the plot. Although perhaps there is some background fluff that will do that.
This is very disappointing.
Another chance wasted to design a monk-class based on western style monks.
You mean the ones who famously stayed in monastaries and drunk and ate like lords? Those monks? Or do you mean the "monks" of the millitant orders of knights, like the Hospitallers and the Templars?
@@paulkerr7320 Monks in medieval monasteries were crucial in accumulating and spreading knowledge and providing medical services to the community.
For a sword and sorcery game like HQ, it would be a reasonable replacement for the D&D cleric/priest.
But if you more into battle-monks, a spin on friar Tuck would be a nice alternative, too.
No need to always borrow from 1970s Kung-Fu movies... it's getting a bit tiring. Don't you think?
@@martinfiedler4317 No that was more the job of the parish priest. Spreading knowledge was actually proscribed by the church thats why it was called The Dark Ages. The teaching of latin to comoners was banned and most monastaries were a clearing ground for the younger sons of nobility with a startling few having a Vocation. Also Tuck was a former Hospitaller, we know this as he was a skilled swordsman and the sword was a proscribed weapon to clergy outside of the millitant orders due to a proihibition against drawing blood (thats why D&D clerics have always been limited to blunt weapons). There has been no mention thus far of Deities and Divine casting and would require a significant switch in tone of the system as well as alienating some markets by including Deities especially christianised monks vis the exculpatory dialog about the Crusader in Diablo 3.
TL:DR Christian monks is a huge bag of worms Avalon Hill shouldn't open.
@@paulkerr7320 _"Spreading knowledge was actually proscribed by the church thats why it was called The Dark Ages."_
It's originally called the "Dark Ages" because of the perceived economic and cultural decline.
In Europe, monasteries were crucial in preserving and teaching knowledge. Check for "Carolingian renaissance" to get some background.
Historically, nobility would largely avoid the highly regulated and ascetic monastic life and instead put it's "excess" sons on higher clerical positions.
"Gods" are already referenced by the Chaos/Dread theme, which also implies the existence of Order/Salvation. You don't need personalized gods.
HQ, so far, has always been a Western-oriented early middle ages ("" Dark Ages") setting. So, this Far Eastern incursion is much more of a disruption than an organic development.
A western monk style character (like it showed up in the first Conan) could have provided that.
@@martinfiedler4317 HQ was originally from the GW Old World, monks of Cathay were in that setting from Edition 1 known as Vimto Monks. So again Wrong. Carloingian reanaissance as stated was not a renaissance as it was mostly kept to the clergy as I previously said the teaching of latin to the commons was banned. And still much of the learning of earlier philosphers was also proscribed. Higher clerical positions such as Abbots in the main, you know the heads of monastaries much higher, such as bisoprics and cardinals was more tightly controlled by Rome. In new HQ there has been exactly one non white human sculpt, the original Guardian Knight, and the Orc Bard. Elves, tolkien style, based on Lios Alfar, Dwarves also Tolkein esque and based on the Dvergr of the Svart Alfar. The Barbarian is from Howard and for the mage we go back to Tolkien. So what is wrong with a little inclusivuty? I would have preffered a Samurai personally, yes they were also in WFB 1st edition from cathay but we already have a couple of sword based classes and the stylistics of this character are fundamentally different from any other to give it an interesting riff on teh norm. My peeve is why that style of monk has only four elements instaed of the five common to Japan/China but again going back to Cathay in WFB 1st ed they used four and elves use the (western) four elements so they probably stuck to that for the sake of continuity. As to the presence of Chaos/Dread AH have deliberately avoided the Chaos stuff as it is GW IP but since you brought it up I'll school you on that too Order in The Old World is just as evil and dangerous as Chaos, the Gods of it are just as inimical to Humanity as you can see if you look them up in WFRP. Most of the Old World Deities were Neutral, which makes sense as GW ripped the whole concept off from Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion series. Dread seems to have been basically changed to the "Demon Lord" concept common to many JRPG's. At no point has Order been implied especially not as a link to Salvation. If thats your gig there was an RPG written by I think the Mormons in the 80's as a response to D&D where you get bonuses for quoting scripture.
Manga comic artstyle with woke charakters, no thanks...i miss the 80s, I stick to the old heroquest
What do you mean by "woke characters"?
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I will collect the monk release, but only for completionist's sake. I don't like the idea of mixing asian fantasy with classic western fantasy and it seems to me that the creators have a lack of talent and/or imagination if they're drawing on something like this, there are plenty more character types that would be far more suitable to a classic western fantasy setting that a monk with superpowers...and to me, some of those powers seem ridiculous, especially the burning spirit power...it seems way more like as power that belongs in dragonball z rather than heroquest...
The mystic plasma gun is a bit silly, I agree. I think this might be something they could do with the character packs, though - create characters that are a bit out of the ordinary for the game. By keeping them in separate packs people can choose to completely ignore them if they so wish.