How You Can Use the Quest Packs Without Buying Them

Here in the United States, there were four Quest Packs released for HeroQuest: Return of the Witch Lord, Kellar's Keep, Elf Quest Pack: The Mage of the Mirror, and Barbarian Quest Pack: The Frozen Horror. While some players of the game (like myself) may have all the packs, some may not. Perhaps you never bought them when they were originally sold, or maybe you picked up an old copy of HeroQuest at a flea market or on eBay and you'd like to play the additional quests. Unfortunately, the game is now out of print, and components are either hard-to-find, or out of your price range (especially the Elf and Barbarian quest packs). Well, on this page, I'll present some ideas for using the Quest Packs without actually having to buy them.
First off, the Quest Packs, didn't just give Zargon more monster figures and tiles to use; it gave the person playing Zargon new rules and ideas to use. Some of these ideas appeared in more than one Quest Pack, some ideas were only in one Quest Pack. Below, I'll list the shared ideas, followed by the ideas from the individual packs.

Download the Quest Books

You can download PDFs of the quest books from Hasbro.com. Here's the links for each of the quest books:

All Quest Packs

There were four ideas that could be found in all four Quest Packs: the Iron and Wooden Doors, spell scrolls, the Alchemist's Shop, and dividing large treasures.

Iron and Wooden Doors. In the game system, a Quest would begin on a spiral stairway tile. Once the heroes completed the Quest, they had to return to the stairway to end the game. In the Quest Packs, this was changed. The Iron Door was used as an entrance, while the Wooden Door was used as an exit, and the doors were almost always placed at the edge of the board. They weren't used in all of the Quests, though, sometimes the stairway was used as the entrance or exit. Also, in two Quests the Iron Door served as an entrance and an exit, much like the original funtion of the stairs. If you have at least one of the Quest Packs, then you should already have what you need to use these Doors. If you don't have any of the Quest Packs, you can still use this idea; simply substitute an ordinary door from the Game System. After all, once the Iron or Wooden Door was opened, it would be replaced by an open door from the Game System.
Spell Scrolls. In the game system, the only Heroes allowed to cast spells were the Elf and Wizard. The Quest Packs gave spell-casting abilities to the Barbarian and Dwarf for the first time. Spell scrolls can only be used once, however, and once used crumble into dust.
1. Types of spell scrolls. The spell scrolls in Return of the Witch Lord and Kellar's Keep duplicated the spells in the game system. All of the Fire and Earth spells were detailed between the two Quest Packs, and several of the Air and Water spells had corresponding scrolls in Kellar's Keep. The Elf Quest pack had a single spell scroll, Treasure Without Doom, which allowed a Hero to ignore any Wandering Monster or Hazard cards he drew until he drew a safe treasure. The Barbarian Quest Pack duplicated some of the new Chaos spells found in the pack and had two other scrolls: Ice Bridge and Psychic Recovery.
2. Finding Spell scrolls. There were two different methods for finding spell scrolls. The first specifically stated in the quest notes which scroll was found. This method was used in Return of the Witch Lord and the Elf Quest Pack. The other let the Heroes randomly draw a scroll. Either method can be used if Zargon wishes.
The Alchemist's Shop: Each of the Quest Packs had an Alchemist's shop. The Alchemist shop offered for sale a number of potions which the Heroes could buy between Quests (much like the Armory, but with potions instead of weapons and armor). Return of the Witch Lord and Kellar's Keep both had the same potions. The Elf and Barbarian Quest packs added two new potions for all the heroes plus three new potions which could only be used by the Elf or Barbarian. These potions are detailed on my Alchemist's shop page.
Dividing Large Treasures: Each Quest Pack suggested that large treasures should be divided among all surviving Heroes to avoid player conflicts. Naturally, the players don't have to do this, but they should be aware that greed has its price....
New Artifacts: The quest pack each had their share of new magical goodies that the heroes could use. Zargon can simply place any of these treasures in any of his quests.

Trapdoors, etc.

Both Kellar's Keep and the Elf Quest Pack had a pair of trapdoor tiles. If a Hero moved onto one of these tiles, he instantly moved to the other tile, and his turn ended. Monsters could use trapdoors as well. All of the trapdoors in the Quest Packs were considered dangerous; any Hero or monster moving through the trapdoors had to roll a combat die and lost Body Point if a skull was rolled. Zargon may choose to make the trapdoors safe if he wants.
This idea isn't limited to trapdoors, either. The Barbarian Quest pack had three sets of ice tunnels which functioned the same way, but didn't have the danger rolls. This idea can be expanded to include cave tunnels, secret passages, sewer entrances, even magical teleportation pads or anything else that Zargon can imagine.

Elf and Barbarian Quest Packs

Both of these quest packs had a number of different rules that were shared.

Solo Quests. The first three Quests in these two Quest Packs were solo Quests designed for a single Hero. In the storyline of each Quest Pack, these solo Quests were meant to test the worth of the respective Heroes before undergoing the other Quests. They could also be used as stand alone adventures in several ways:
- They could be used as introductory Quests for new players.
- They could be used when there were only two players.
- They could be used to allow a new Hero to gain gold and equipment before joining a new group of Heroes.
Zargon should feel free to create solo Quests if he needs them.
Double Quests. The last two Quests in these Quest Packs were double Quests. The Heroes moved from one game board setup to another in order to fully complete the Quest. Zargon can feel free to create his own multi-part Quests if he wants. Keep in mind though, the longer the Quest, the more time will be required to finish it.
Mind Points. In all of the Quest Packs, it was possible for a Hero to lose Mind Points. Only the Elf and Barbarian Quest Packs had a common rule to deal with such situations. Basically, when a Hero reaches 0 Mind Points he goes into shock. A Hero in shock roll only one die to move and attack and two dice to defend, regardless of possessions. Various spells and magic items can restore Mind Points.
Female Heroes. The Barbarian and Elf Quest Packs each had a female figure which could be substituted for the Hero figure from the Game System. A player can feel free to use any female figure if these Quest Packs aren't available. Players can also use female figures to replace the Dwarf or Wizard. A group of Heroes should never have more than one of any Hero at a time.
Passing Items. Heroes can only pass items to each other if they are adjacent to each other and neither is adjacent to a monster
Wandering Monster Trap. This was a new type of trap introduced in these Quest Packs. Any Hero who stepped on the square was immediately attacked by the Quest's wandering monster and his turn ended. Wandering Monster traps can't be searched for or disarmed.
Selling Items. Heroes could sell items they didn't need at the Armory for half their sale price.