Warhammer Quest Monster project - Updated 30.12.23

[Dr. Zombie]

Just found this thread and I am blown away!

Awesome and very atmospheric paintjobs. And I cannot believe how close your builds are to the old cardboard tiles. Back in the day I really enjoyed warhammer Quest. So this really plucks all the nostalgic strings.

[driller]

I have to say DESCENT and IMPERIAL ASSAULT are nothing like WHQ.

What people like to overlook the act of exploration is probably the most exciting aspect of old WHQ and actual dungeon crawlers. That's missing from DESCENT and co, because the layout is set there, and visible from the outset. (I know that DESCENT's app version has a mode that has exploration - I've played it and it was not good...)

I too looking forward to PERILOUS DARK - if I will be able to convert RANGERS OF SHADOW DEEP into an actual dungeon crawler heavy on EXPLORATION, that would be amazing.

[Psychopomp]

I have to say DESCENT and IMPERIAL ASSAULT are nothing like WHQ. [\quote]

I have to agree, especially when playing the default "the GM is also an adversarial player trying to win against the heroes" mode.  Those were hands-down some of the most miserable dungeon crawler experiences of my life.

What people like to overlook the act of exploration is probably the most exciting aspect of old WHQ and actual dungeon crawlers. That's missing from DESCENT and co, because the layout is set there, and visible from the outset. (I know that DESCENT's app version has a mode that has exploration - I've played it and it was not good...)

I think the solo/co-op apps are a decent attempt to "fix" the Decent and Imperial Assault as dungeon-crawlers experience, but by adding features that the game should have been designed around.  Mansions of Madness 2e is designed around being a solo/co-op app-driven game, and it's actually a very good exploration and investigation Mythos game.  But it also doesn't feel like a dungeon crawler the way Classic Warhammer Quest did.

I think the exploration element you mention is part of it.  The random dungeon from cards combined with the randomized "what's in the new room" via cards (or better, the Roleplay Book's charts) gave it that flair of not knowing what was through the next door.  If you got fairly deep into the dungeon stack and had used a lot of your "once per dungeon" abilities already, you could find yourself hoping it was the boss room already so you could face them before you ran out of stuff and worrying that you might not have enough stuff left to pull off a boss room fight.  Or, when using the event/monster cards, rolling a 1 in the power phase, flipping the next cards, and hoping it wasn't that #$^%@!! 1d3 Minotaurs card...

I think another huge factor was the massive bestiary in the WHQ Roleplay book.  All the other dungeon crawlers today, Descent and Imperial Assault included, are very "these are the monster packs we've issued for the game, so these are the monsters you can face."  Meanwhile, classic Quest gave us a bestiary of all the Warhammer Fantasy evil races released to that date, plus a massive list of monsters - some of which GW hadn't produced models for in years, if ever.  This, plus the "how to run WHQ with a GM" sections made classic Quest into very much a dungeon crawler in the "like an RPG, but with most of the non-perilous parts stripped out."  Not quite a RPG-lite, but more than a board game with FFG designed/approved missions - classic Quest struck a very happy middle ground.

I ran classic Quest every Thursday night at the FLGS for the better part of three years.  My WHQ GM style varied from designing missions tailored to the cast of characters to - having had a big test in college that week, just officiating over a randomized adventure.  The acknowledged style was that players were encouraged to roleplay a bit if they wanted, but no storylines would require their presence.  If someone had to skip a week, even if we left off mid-dungeon, I just described the Dwarf leaning against a wall, revolving through a secret door the rest of the party couldn't reactivate, and then they'd find him stumbling confused into another room next week.  These are all experiences I don't think I could manage by hosting any of the modern dungeon-crawlers as boardgaming with pre-built mission-challenges.  Classic Quest gave you just enough stuff to make your own game, plus an amazing randomization-as-core-rules system that let you use as much or as little of it as you like.

And as evidenced by the list above, the formula is there, it's known, and it's not really lightning in a bottle.  It's just that no one - not even modern Games Workshop - seems inclined to pick up the proven success left lying on the table and just recreate something that already works.  That's what confuses me.

[RustyT]

The project is not dead, it was just sleeping.

Managed to get one tile painted since 2019 - Quirrick's Laboratory, which feels a little bare if Im honest, but its pretty faithful to the white dwarf suppliment. Although I noticed I'd added an extra tile row in length! Measure twice cut once and all that.

And some monsters.

[Tactalvanic]

yay!

Quality work - nicely done, even if you think it looks bare.

Nice to see more, can we see more sooner ?

Considering how slow I am in actually getting to sit and paint, that one is still more than I probably got done last year.

Keep it alive 

[tikitang]

Just seen this thread for the first time. HUGELY inspirational! Well done!

I do sorely regret selling my copy now!

[RustyT]

Nice to see more, can we see more sooner?

Absolutely, I'm going to put some of the other painted mini posts up, I just couldn't work out how to upload more than one photo to a post.

And thanks very much, that kind of enthusiasm really helps with a project as mammoth as this! (Mammoth for me anyway)

For two years I did zero painting, keep telling myself its a marathon not a sprint 

Edit: I usually put the painted tiles in the first couple of posts on the thread to keep then better categorised

[RustyT]

Just seen this thread for the first time. HUGELY inspirational! Well done!

I do sorely regret selling my copy now!

It's all available in Littlemonks ultimate adventure book (a contemporary updated version to print and play) you can pretty much get away with picking that up and having it printed. That guy is a machine and kept the game alive for years

And thanks for the kind words!

[RustyT]

Some beasties I've painted for the quest monster tables over the past couple of weeks. Some were already part painted so it's not that I'm quick.

Also begun a diorama, mostly for taking cooler photos of minis. Will link some of those shots too

[Major_Gilbear]

The project is not dead, it was just sleeping.

I'm glad you woke it up - it's an absolutely sensational project! 

One thing that I'm curious about; do the accessories and features you model into the floor tiles interfere with placing the models in the dungeon at all?

[RustyT]

I'm glad you woke it up - it's an absolutely sensational project! 

One thing that I'm curious about; do the accessories and features you model into the floor tiles interfere with placing the models in the dungeon at all?

Thanks very much!

Yes they do, sort of, .

Although anything larger than a weapon is magnetised so I can take those on and off for gaming. The little skulls, swords and stuff like that I make sure they're positioned so a model's base can go over the top.

[Major_Gilbear]

Ah, so the bigger bits are held on with magnets then? Smart.    I did wonder, as this sort of thing is the main reason I never did any "modelled" dungeon crawler tiles myself over the years. I almost made a set for AHQ on at least three occasions (including very recently), but never really figured out how to keep the tiles both attractive and practical.

[Seditiosus]

beautiful stuff! please keep them coming!

[LoxIslay]

How did i miss this thread?  Amazing stuff, love what you build 10/10

[Pattus Magnus]

I’ll echo everyone’s comments- that’s all outstanding work!