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A jam submission

A Crack'd MirrorView game page

Heroquest 2024 Quest Jam entry
Submitted by Jacob Busby — 12 days, 5 hours before the deadline
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A Crack'd Mirror's itch.io page

Results

CriteriaRankScore*Raw Score
Originality / Creativity#15.0005.000
Fun Factor#174.0004.000
Playtime Length#213.5003.500
Overall#223.5833.583
Challenge Balance#233.5003.500
Replayability#253.0003.000
Accessibility#282.5002.500

Ranked from 3 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.

Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

  • This is an epic quest! I like the custom rules you’ve added, they add so many interesting wrinkles to the adventure. However, there are a lot of notes for Zargon to parse for a single quest. You include helpful treasures to urge the heroes along, so that is much appreciated. Good job! I can’t wait to see what you do next.
  • A truly epic quest with some wonderfully creative mechanics on show here. Introducing additional dice linked outcomes is a touch which shows great quest crafting skill. Great work and the best of luck!

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Comments

Developer(+2)

These notes explain some of the thought processes behind this quest, as there are a number of subtle nuances which might not be readily apparent at first.

 It should be clear from the title but this quest sits between the online quest Knightfall and the first quest in the Rise of the Dread Moon pack. The background helps establish Ragnar a little more and gives the heroes a solid reason for travelling/returning to Elethorn.

 Hawthorn is traditionally associated with the fae and is involved in a number of legends and superstitions.

 Natghga Goblins are a call back to Rogar's Hall, whereas the mention of Ælfgār provides a credible link to the popular Sundayquest series.

 Barghest are fae hounds - they felt like an appropriate enemy for an unseelie mound - and the wolf tokens from Mage in the Mirror were too good a resource to waste. The chances of generating a Barghest are 1 in 12 - so one should be spawned once every three hero rounds or so. This should be enough to keep the pressure on so the players can’t optimise every move without overwhelming the party.

 Section B gives the heroes a chance to see the central conceit of the quest - how to reach and repair the Mirror gate without being killed by the brambles. I gave the orc a scroll of Pass Through Rock in case the heroes didn't have that spell in their load-out and got trapped in the central room.

 The three stooges in Room D teach the heroes everything they need to know about the Zombies in this quest without explaining the rules. If they still charge in, chop the Zombies up and get infected, that's their shout.

 The Elven Altar in Room G follows the rules for elven altars, but it also establishes the conceit that the elves worship the moon, helping cement some of the cultural background, long before the heroes raid the Temple in Rise of the Dread Moon.

 The ashes in Room J show that Ragnar was trying to cover his tracks - it very nearly worked too - if nothing else it demonstrates that their foe is very shrewd and they will need their wits about them to bring him to justice.

 There's a very subtle trick in this quest that may go unnoticed at first. With the exception of Room I, searching for Secret Doors actively harms the party as it gives the Barghest access to the sub-quadrants. This subverts the expectations of experienced players who have probably gotten into the habit of checking every room for traps and secret doors! A cunning Zargon might have several Barghests congregate near 3, then burst through the rubble when one of the secret doors to the inner corridor is found!

 I hope you enjoy my quest. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

I have a question, and forgive me if it's obvious. The number 1, 3, and 5--what do they correspond to? I get that 2, 4, 6 are for the trapdoors.

Developer

That's where the Barghests appear. They appear whenever a hero rolls odd doubles and will appear on the corresponding odd number.