|
A friend of my brother first played this game while stationed in Germany and bought a copy as soon as it was available in the US. I was allowed to play simply because they needed a fifth person to play. From that point forward, I’ve always loved this game and tried to get as many Quest Packs as I could.
I enjoy playing AD&D, Marvel Super Heroes and other RPG’s, but I’ve always been drawn to the simplicity of HeroQuest. My friend and I used to play all the time. We once played through the Main Game, Kellar’s Keep and Return of the Witch Lord in one weekend. That was the first time that I realized that there could be a few changes. I began simple, added a few new items, gave a little more gold, and threw in an extra trap or two. But that wasn’t good enough. We eventually lost interest and the game went into the closet.
Flash forward a few years as I stumble onto “Morcars Magiers”, the German version of “Wizards of Morcar” on E-Bay. I got it for $12!! Once I got it in the mail, it was all in German. The seller was kind enough to include a translation of the Quest Book, but it wasn’t translated very well. All of the cards were still in German. That ended up in the closet as well.
Several years later, we dusted it off and played a game and the fun, the simplicity and the atmosphere of the game came rushing back to me. I started looking on-line for HeroQuest and was delighted to learn that there was quite a following. I found all of the Quest Books and resources available and downloaded everything I could. I was unhappy at the way that each book was scanned, some in color, some in b/w and each was a little different from the next. There were variances in the UK/US versions, the formatting was different, and I just didn’t like the look of it.
I originally decided to do this strictly for myself (primarily because I’m obsessed with order) and thus I began “re-creating” the Quest Packs. The longer I worked on it and the more I discovered on the Internet, I realized that it would be selfish to keep this to myself. So, I started up this website, so that not only could I share what I’ve done, but I could also spotlight the hard work and effort of others. As I worked, I started coming up with ideas and realized I was on the right track of ‘improving’ the game, but now I had the technology to do something about it. I then began work on recreating the Instruction Book with help from Derfel Link. This made me want to create a Master Instruction Book, which was originally to be the Instruction Book plus the additional rules from all the Quest Packs (Mind Points, Swinging Blade Traps, etc.). However, I decided to also include my new rules (which are still somewhat in development). This of course also led me to realize that there is a lot of crap in the Instruction Book that the players need and don’t need. And that is the reason for the Player’s Book. The individual covers are just a good way to keep useful information handy.
And thus, here we are with the Quest Books complete and continually working on my own original Quests. I am currently working in conjunction with Drathe to recreate all of the Quests that were previously hosted on Agin's Inn and other great websites that have since gone to the wayside. I am ever hopeful that I can get a gaming group together and meet on a semi-regular basis to enjoy this great game and lots of laughs. This is how I believe that I have made an awesome game, better!!
...and for those that may or may not be concerned; I would also like to finish my table; one of these days...
-Phoenix
|
