
HeroQuest


SEARCH FOR THE SACRED CHALICE
ByBy Kari Ranta-Ojala


Search for the Sacred Chalice is a quest for MB Games' HeroQuest. This quest follows the same rules which are found in the main HeroQuest game system. It can be played as a stand-alone scenario or can be incorperated into a series of quests.

The Sacred Chalice
A valuable Bretonnian relic has been found in the northern realm of the Empire. This relic is belived to be the legendary "Chalice of the Lady," which was taken by  a group of Chaos knights during a raid into the lands of Bretonnia over five decades ago. It is said that drinking from this cup will heal a man's wounds and make him feel as though he had a restful night's sleep.

The holy relic was sent with a holy priest, escorted by a small unit if the Emperor's gaurd, to the land of Bretonnia to return their lost treasure. Two days after their departure, they were attacked by a group of bandits, thier lifeless, mangled corpses left lying in the road. A ranger travelling in the area found their bodies and returned to inform the Emporer of what had transpired. The ranger indicated that there were many orc and goblin tracks located where the dead men were found. He followed the trail left by the orcs and goblins to a cave about a half days march from where he found the bodies.

To make matters worse, the Bretonnians are growing increasingly impatient and demand the return of the "Chalice of the Lady." They are accusing the Emperor of wanting to keep the artifact for himself. The Bretonnians are threatening to declare war on the Empire if the chalice is not returned immediately.
   

From Mentor:
My friends, you must act quickly if war between the Empire and Bretonnia is to be prevented. Your task is to infiltrate and eliminate the orc threat which has been plaguing the trade routes. Recover the "Chalice of the Lady" and return it to the Emporer so that it may be handed over to the Bretonnians. You will be rewarded 100 gold coins each for the successfull return of the chalice. The Emporer will pay an additional 50 gold coins to each member of the party for any information about the orc bandits or their purpose for stealing the artifact. Your failure could mean that we may be forced into a long, costly war against a valuable ally. A detailed map will be provided to you by the ranger.



Gamemaster Notes
The Orcs are being led by a Chaos Sorceror and a Chaos Warrior. The Orc bandits are being used to cause "chaos" (no pun intended) between Bretonnia and the Empire to end their alliance. Once their alliance has ended, Zargon can send his armies to destroy both nations. Let the players learn about this on their own. The heros begin the quest at the door on the west side of the map marked with an arrow. The must then locate the exit in the Southeast corner of the map to exit the bandit lair.  


A: The Weapons Room
This is the room where the Orcs weapons are kept. There are three orcs currently in this room trying to find new weapons to use. The orcs are standing ready with weapons in their hand as the heroes enter. The weapons have been poorly looked after and are rusted and broken. There is nothing here that the heroes can use (or want for that matter).


B: The Treasure Horde
This is the orcs treasury. This is where all the gold, jewelry, and shiny trinkets are kept. The first hero who enters this room triggers the falling block trap and must roll to see if he is able to jump out of the way before he loses body points. The trap cannot be searched for from the hall way and once it is triggered the hero is trapped in the room. Immediatly after, the trapped hero is taken prisoner by the orcs (via a teleport spell) and is put in room J. Now the heroes must also find and rescue their comrade in addition to finding the chalice. (I used The Treasure Room made by Ron Shirtz for this room because it fit perfectly in this scenario. It can be downloaded from Dewayne Agin's Heroquest site at www.aginsinn.com)


C: The Goblins' Quarters
This is the room the goblins sleep in. It is a filthy room with garbage and waste litterred on the floor. Some rotting, smelly, furs have been heaped on the far end of the room. The heroes have disturbed the goblins in the middle of a dispute over who will be sleeping where. Upon seeing the heroes enter, the goblins let out a shreik and charge after the heros. Nothing of value can be found in this room.


D: Hallway to the Casting Room
The Chaos Sorceror who is leading this group of Orcs has turned this hallway into a makeshift library. A variety of books can be found here covering the history of the Empire, Daemons, Summoning, Religion, etc. No spells or scrolls can be found among the books. A goblin has taken it upon himself to learn the art of wizardry and sits in the corner staring blank-faced at an upside down book. When the heroes enter the hallway, he screams and tryies to run 
into the Casting room if he is able to do so. If the goblin leaves the heros line of sight, take the goblin off the board. This means the goblin has escaped and is hiding in room F through the secret door (this is just a little hint for the hero's). The goblin will fight if he is discovered in room F.


E: The Casting Room
This is where the Chaos Sorceror completes his summoning and conjuring spells. The Sorceror also creates many spell scrolls here. The first hero to search for treasure in this room finds a spell scroll with the Chaos spell "Rust" (see the chaos spell card for spell effects) inscribed on it. The player. The hero must immediately read the spell and watch helplessly as their weapon slowly rusts and crumbles to the floor. If the hero has a magical weapon, then the hero's armor "rusts" instead. If the hero's weapons and armor are both magical, then the spell has no effect. Other hero's may search for treasure as normal


F: The Secret Room 
The Chaos Warrior has built this secret room to hide some treasure from the Orc bandits. The only ones who know of this room are the Chaos Sorceror and the goblin from room D. If the goblin discovered in room D managed to escape the heros, this is where he is hiding. When the heros discover the secret passage place the goblin in between the chests. One chest contains 200 gold coins, a dagger, and a Potion of Healing which will restore up to four lost body points when consumed. The second chest contains 100 gold coins and a gem worth 50 gold coins.


G: The Sentries
When the first hero passes the squares marked G, on Zargons turn place an Orc on the board at the closest corner passage which is in line of sight with the hero. The orc may move and attack the same turn it is placed on the table. These are the Orc sentries which are patrolling the bandit lair. 


H: Storage Room
This is a regular storage room. The Chaos Warrior in this room is one of the two leaders of the bandit party. The first hero who searches for treasure will find two healing postions in the cupboard which will restore up to 4 lost body points. A second search for treasure will reveal three brown smelly bags which each contain 15 gold coins on the body of the Chaos Warrior. (which he has just removed from the orcs who seemed to have stolen it from the treasure room). 


I: The Goblin Feast Hall
The goblins in this room are about to sit down to a feast of wild mushrooms and raw rat meat. The goblins are extreamly annoyed at hafing their meal interupted. The goblins have nothing of value to the heros.


J: The Interrogation Room
Place the Hero who was trapped in the Orc treasure room on the square marked X. These Orcs are interrogating the hero about why the heros have infiltrated thier lair. The interrogation is conducted by "Mok," the Orc BigUn. Place the Orc with the biggest sword on the square marked "Orc BigUn" His stats are:

Movement: 10    Attack: 4    Defend: 3    Body: 2    Mind: 2

The rescued hero's belongings are being stored in the treasure chest and can be found once the room is searched. The hero has one body point left but can be healed by a spell or a potion of healing.


K: The Orc Feasthall
These orcs are sitting down to a meal of unidentifiable meat and dirty brackish water. They grunt and squeal in surprize as the heroes crash through the door. Like the goblins, they are extremely annoyed at having their meal interrupted.


L: The Study
The Chaos Sorceror is the second co-leader of the bandit group. He has prepared himself well for the final confrontation with the heros. He has prepared the following spells: Command, Fear, Tempest, and Cloud of Chaos. He will only enter into direct combat with the heros if he is cornered and will attempt to position himself so that he can easily escape. He will save the cloud of Chaos spell untill last and try to escape after casting his final spell. Hel will run and exit out the door located at the Southeast corner of the lair (wizards are such weak, treacherous, cowards). His stats are:

Movement: 10    Attack: 1    Defend: 2    Body: 3    Mind: 6

The first hero who searches for treasure will find "The Chalice of the Lady" with a number of research notes and a letter. The letter contains instructions for the Chaos Sorceror and Chaos Warriors informing them about an envoy that is carrying a Bretonnian artifact. Their instructions are to use the Orcs to relieve the envoy of their treasure and to hide it . The Chaos Sorceror and Chaos Warrior are also instructed to continue attacking any travellers they encounter and report any suspicious information to their master, Zargon.


Quest Completion Notes:
My hero's, you have done well. Even as we speak a second envoy is on its way to the Bretonnians wwith the "Challice of the Lady. The Emperor has sent a large, highly trained force to protect the artifact. The fact that the forces of Chaos new of the artifact is highly suspicious. Their knowlege of the first envoy suggests that agents of Chaos are working from within the empire itself. For now, you have earned a well-deserved rest. But, rest lightly for I am sure Zargon and his dark forces are currently working on another plan to usurp the Empire. Rest assured, I will contact you very soon
Mentor   



The Tile overlay in this quest was used with permission of Ron Shirtz. If you have questions or comments send them to Karimare@gatewayisp.com


	

