Welcome back to more exciting Heroquest action! For those following along at home, I have been talking about and reviewing various Heroquest expansions as I finish painting them up. So far, I have completed the Core set, Against the Ogre Horde, and Kellar's Keep. Now it is onto my latest purchase, Return of the Witch Lord!
Of all the expansions of the original game, this was the only one I had back-in-the-day. I mostly expanded it myself, with my own creations. I was all ready a blossoming RPGer and Wargamer, so I had plenty of miniatures floating around to expand the HQ experience for my "casual" friends. I used Heroquest as a gateway drug to suck some of the Normies into my strange, esoteric, and forbidden hobbies! Despite owning it, I don't think we ever played it out.
One of the big draws to pick up this Questpack was that it was a direct continuation of the original storyline from the main core set. The Witch Lord is a recurring NPC from that initial campaign. It is arguably the players themselves who have unleashed the Witch Lord on the good people of the realm! Therefore, it makes sense that they would need to eventually deal with the consequences. Unlike Kellar's Keep, this one is not a McGuffin hunt, you set-out with the purpose to defeat the Witch Lord.
So, don your armor and heft your blade for it is time to delve into the labyrinth beneath great ruins of Kalos to face the vile necromancer. Who know what we will find......
Things I Liked
As in Kellar's Keep, the game introduces the idea that you enter and escape the board via an entrance and an exit. It is not always based on entering or leaving via a stairway.
There are about 5 new Artifacts, even if the Throwing Dagger is also in Kellar's Keep. There are some new ones too. The Armband of Healing is especially useful. However, the key thing is that the game is continuing to expand on it expendable items for heroes to acquire and use.
The dungeons in this Questpack seem more elaborate and dangerous than the ones in Kellar's Keep!
Things I Did Not Like
At one point in the Quest, two of the Characters are captured. This fate is unavoidable, which screams railroad. Thankfully, this isn't a true RPG. More importantly, that means, if you have a group of 4 player, two are sitting out for some adventures. Boring. If you don't have a full group, it is less of an issue.
There are several "named" foes in this Questpack. It would be really cool to see some special minis for these foes instead of the same old Dread Wizard. I mean, the art for the Witch Lord is pretty cool, it would be nifty to see him on the board. I think Against the Ogre Horde did this right with some of the main Ogres getting their own special miniatures. Now I am spoiled and want that for the Witch Lord and his crew! They should really come out with a "Villains" of Heroquest boxed with minis for the Witchlord, the Guardian of Grin's Gap, Skulmar, Balur the Fire Mage, Ulag and Grak, etc.
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| Where is my model? |
Meh and Other Uncertainties
Of course, defeating the Witch Lord just opens the door to further adventures! All the conclusions in these Quest Books just lead to more branches to follow later.
As usual, the end of the booklet has reference pictures for making your own dungeons with the new components. I really appreciate this as it was what made the original game such a standard for us to play as young'ins!
The game set comes with the Iron and Wooden door, and several new Undead models. They are simple repeats from the Core set; 8 Skeletons, 4 Zombies, and 4 Mummies. Unlike Kellar's Keep I think you need these expansions to properly play all the scenarios in the book. The Core set miniatures will not be enough.
The Death Mist mechanic and token is a nifty little idea. I also enjoyed the revolving room. They are nice unique twists to keep the game fresh. Players and Zargons keep discovering new little twists to how you thought the game was played as you keep going. This helps the game feel fresh.
Final Thoughts
This feels like a better Questpack than Kellar's Keep. It looks tougher, and the undead focus makes a solid theme. That said, I am glad I have them both because now the players can make a choice at the end of the main Heroquest Core set, and that leads them to different adventure paths. If I had to choose one over the other, I would go with this one.
Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord are basically just ports from the old game. They do not add a lot of new mechanics. The main draw is simply more quests and more miniatures. After painting this up, I will have a decent sized set of Undead to go with my Greenskins for this game. Probably more than I really need!
I still need to try the App. If you have given it a shot, let me know about what you thought of it in comments. Thanks!
Now, Hasbro..... let's talk about an updated and re-release of Battlemasters using Heroquest style sculpts and mechanics.
Until next time!
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