One of the most disappointing aspects (and there are several, IMO) about the Spirit Queen’s Torment expansion pack is the fact that it simply re-uses several artifacts from the core game, rather than include new ones. This is especially glaring during the segment of the quest when the heroes are charged to find four elemental artifacts… and all four are just barely-relevant previous artifacts the heroes have likely already encountered and probably already own. At one point, an orc spirit even grants the heroes a special sword to use… Orc’s Bane, which was previously found in the core set and is a sword crafted to kill orcs. Given to them BY a “good” orc to fight spirits with. Um, what?
Rant over.
Anyway, I wanted to make replacement artifacts that could be used in this quest, ones that weren’t more powerful than the ones (re-)used already but distinct and exciting in their own rights.
Artifact Cards
Using these Artifacts in Spirit Queen’s Torment
To use these new Artifacts in the Spirit Queen’s Torment expansion pack, replace the Artifacts listed below with the as follows:
- Talisman of Lore –> Sage’s Coronet (Quest 3).
- Rabbit Boots –> Swimmer’s Boots (Quest 4).
- Orc’s Bane –> Soulreaper (Quest 7); remember to change the spectral orc’s dialog in Quest 9, too!
- Wizard’s Staff –> Storm Ring (Quest 8).
- Borin’s Armor –> Stone Armor (Quest 10); this is the “Artifact of Earth”.
- Elixir of Life –> Cloak of Mist (Quest 11); this is the “Artifact of Water”.
- Wizard’s Cloak –> Storm Talisman (Quest 12); this is the “Artifact of Air”.
- Spell Ring –> Staff of Flame (Quest 13); this is the “Artifact of Fire”.
This also means that the Stone Armor, Cloak of Mist, Storm Talisman and Staff of Flame are the four special Artifacts that grant extra “intangibility” powers in the final Quest 14.
Alternate Card Versions
The following are alternate versions of the above Artifact cards.
The first is a version of Swimmer’s Boots that increases movement rather than Attack and Defend; this was my original idea, except that SQT already says that any underwater quest automatically gives heroes one extra movement die, and four die for most felt excessive to me. However, if you think that the +1 movement die bonus for all underwater quests should be ignored, this version of the card makes more sense than than Attack/Defend bonus one, IMO.
Next is a version of Soulreaper that can be used by the Wizard. Since this sword was a replacement for SQT’s re-use of Orc’s Bane, and that sword can’t be used by the Wizard, it made sense to me to restrict the new one similarly. However, I noticed that the text in SQT when the sword is given to the heroes claims that *anyone* can use this sword. Presumably, that means the Wizard too… so I made a version of the sword “anyone” can indeed use. Pick which version you use based on how you interpret the SQT text.
In response to feedback and on further reflection, I also made an alternative Storm Ring that casts a “weaker” form of Lightning Bolt. This works mechanically the same as the Dread Spell version, however it only inflicts 1 Body Point of damage and allows all heroes and monsters in the bolt’s path to roll 1 red die and avoid damage on a 6. This is more in line with the Fire spells heroes already have access too, and feels more balanced to me versus the incredibly powerful Dread Spell version.
Finally, a version of Stone Armor that can also be used by the Wizard. This Artifact is a replacement for SQT’s re-use of Borin’s Armor, which historically among long-time players has a bit of a history since early versions of that card did not say it couldn’t be used by the Wizard… so while some players presumed it couldn’t (like other Plate Mail couldn’t), others saw this as an indication it *could* be worn by a Wizard. For those who want a powerful set of armor that can be worn by *anyone* (and which kind of makes sense thematically given it is magical), I made a version of Stone Armor that doesn’t have the “no Wizard” restriction on it. While I personally consider this unbalanced, I wanted to provide an option for players who miss putting Borin’s Armor on their Wizard!
Addendum (17/03/24)
I edited the Soulreaper cards slightly so that they made clear that the sword was a shortsword, since Orc’s Bane was one too (and there are cases where this matters, such as the Rogue’s Ambidextrous skill). Apologies! Please re-download and reprint if you have the earlier versions.
Addendum (09/05/24)
In response to feedback, I changed the Storm Ring to have a penalty for use (costs 2 Mind Points) and made it only usable by the Wizard. I also added an alternate version that has no penalty but casts a less powerful version of Lightning Bolt (1 BP damage instead of 2, and a chance for each target to avoid damage by scoring a 6 on one red die).
Banjo's House Rules 
Excellently timed content as we’re just wrapping up PoT and about to launch into SQT. I 100% agree it seems weird to reissue the old artifacts. These all seem like great alternatives that I can’t wait to print off and add to the game!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I like the idea of having unique artifacts instead of reusing old ones. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like you Artifacts, more sense than the original work
However I think 3MP for the Coronet are too much, instead I prefer 1 or switch the Artifact with the Crown of Shadows (from the Crypt of Perpetual Darkness)
LikeLike
I was very close to making it +2 MP as I also was thinking 3 was excessive, and may indeed change it to that. What do others thing?
I wanted it to be more than +1 MP though because it is a Helmet and not an amulet or other item. What’s the difference? Only one Helmet can be worn at a time! Thus, a hero must chose to wear EITHER the Coronet with it’s significant MP boost OR a regular Helmet that gives a Defend bonus (the Coronet deliberately does not… I wish the Crown of Shadows didn’t give a Defend bonus either, honestly). Of course, this isn’t such an issue for the Wizard who can’t wear the normal Helmet.
LikeLike
I do think +3 MP is a bit much, but as MP is rarely used and it’s most likely just the Wizard who will wear it (whose high MP renders most MP bonuses moot anyway) I guess that does balance it out somewhat. I’d probably have gone with +2 MP though.
However, my bigger problem is with the Storm Ring. The Lightning Bolt spell is ridiculous… just compare it to the Ball of Flames spell:
Ball of Flame at most does 2 Body Points of damage to ONE enemy in line of sight. But it also allows a type of ‘saving throw’, so 55% of the time it’s only going to do 1 BP of damage or less – 11% of the time it does no damage at all.
Meanwhile Lightning Bolt does a full 2 BP damage every time to potentially multiple targets with no saving throw of any kind. It’s an insta-kill against most basic monsters and leaves even Dread Warriors barely clinging to life.
The fact that it can be used ‘once per quest’ makes it almost equivalent to every other spell (it can’t benefit from a potion of recall I suppose), so that’s hardly a balancing factor. And according to the card the ring can be used by anyone, which further reduces the relevance of the abilities of the already underpowered Wizard character – just give the ring to the barbarian and he can cast a spell more powerful than any offensive spell the Wizard can muster.
Lightning Bolt is a Dread Spell for a reason: it’s mean for special boss monsters to use (once!) so they can pose a reasonable challenge to heroes who have at minimum 4 Body Points and are loaded to the gills with magic equipment. Allowing it once per quest against monsters though, it’s overkill.
At the very least I’d make the ring sap 2 BP from the wielder every time it gets used – or only allow it to be used a limited number of times. And restrict it to Wizard only.
LikeLike
Thanks for the feedback! I agree with making it Wizard Only and I will indeed change it to that when I get chance.
The other issue… well, to me that’s the fault of the Lightning Bolt spell itself IMO which I always disliked *not* having a saving throw; it was yet another overpowered “kill the heroes dead” element in the US rules I considered unbalanced. I admit that I wanted the catharsis of turning the tables with it!
On reflection, though, I think adding a penalty to the ring’s use is a fair enough balance (now it can only be used by the Wizard). I will likely go with MP over BP though; that is, -1 or even -2 Mind Points if you use the ring.
EDIT: The other option I just thought of is this: what if it could be used by ANY hero… but using it reduces that hero’s Mind Points to 1 (regardless of how many they currently have), putting them on the edge of Shock?
Another perhaps better alternative? Simply make it cast a weaker “hero” version of Lightning Bolt; the same mechanics, but it only inflicts 1 BP of damage to anything in the bolt’s path, and each victim gets to try and roll a 6 on one red die (as with the Fire spells) to avoid damage. I dislike having different Dread vs Hero effects for the same spells (Ball of Flame for example has the same effect on both cards) but this does feel much more balanced than the existing Dread Lightning Bolt spell.
LikeLike
I ended up house-ruling it (but it’s still to be tested) to being Wizard-Only, and sapping 2 Body Points AND 2 Mind Points.
Why not just Mind Points? Because Mind Points are so situational. On some quests they matter a lot, and on some (read: most) they don’t matter at all, which would make the Mind Point loss, no matter how high, completely irrelevant on those Quests. I do like the idea of losing some Mind Points along with the Body Points, but as this is the Wizard we’re talking about (and he’ll likely have tons on Mind Points if he’s using the Sage’s Coronet as well) that part will be mostly flavour. Being reduced to just 2 Body Points though? That stings and isn’t to be taken lightly, so now a Wizard will always save that ring for when they REALLY need it!
Incidentally, I also changed the artifacts awarded during the quest a bit – most of your replacements are great, but I didn’t really understand the reason to replace the Rabbit Boots – I think those are actually new and unique to the expansion and can’t be gotten elsewhere, so I didn’t want to leave them out. Plus the Swimmer’s Boots are exceedingly situational to just this Quest pack, which makes them a bit boring as far as treasures go.
I also swapped around when you get the Storm Talisman and the Storm Ring – the Storm Ring (even with my restrictions above) is a more exciting treasure (for any party with a Wizard, at any rate), and thus it makes sense for it to come later in the campaign and as the main goal of one of the Quests – plus it’s equally thematic.
I do acknowledge that this makes two of the four elemental Quest treasures into ‘Wizard Only’ ones, but I hold the firm belief that the Wizard needs some goodies so the player gets a sense of progression, and there’s nothing anywhere in the Quest book that I can see that specifies that each hero has to hold one treasure each, nor that they only get the ‘intangibility’ powers if they are holding one.
Lastly, the elemental towers are based on Elemental Wizard magic, so it makes sense for there to be quite a lot of Wizard-centric stuff in them.
LikeLike