Return to the Dungeon!

 After a gap of several years, I finally managed to make it back to the Old Buckenham Bone Crushers today.  The kids spent the morning playing with all my dungeon parts and then Number 1 Son accompanied me to his first ever wargames club meeting.  A game of Heroquest seemed the easiest option for a novice gamer to pick up without too much difficulty, and I hoped that the scenery and minimal rules would keep his attention focussed.

Lots of dungeon!

The adventurers will start at the bottom of a spiral stair, with a choice of two different directions.  This photograph is from my planning.  During the game, dungeon sections are only placed on the table as they explore...

Adventurers enter top right.

The adventurers stick together, heading into a large hall containing 3 Goblins who are rapidly dispatched.

The hall, once the Goblins have been slain.

A search of the treasure chests revealed a healing potion and some gold coins.  The barbarian is surprised to find a Goblin hiding in the chest he opens!  The Goblin leaps out and cracks the barbarian on the knee with his club before being slain.

Through the archway.

Off the large room is a storage room and scriptorium with an Orc and a Goblin.

Into the scriptorium.

Our heroes pile into the room and get stuck in to the Orcs.

Attaaaaaack!

With the Orcs dead, the heroes have a good rummage in the cupboards and on the desks, finding a shield, more gold and another healing potion.

Pillaaaaaage!

Out of the other side of the room, they encounter a Beastman but he proves no match for the master of swords.  After taking an extraordinarily long time (lots of very poor dice rolling) to break down the doors either side of the vestibule, our heroes uncover a store room and a prison cell.

He doesn't look too well.

The occupant of the cell is sadly beyond help, but he has some treasure our heroes steal, before leaving his corpse for the rats...

Leave him for the rats.

After a lengthy trudge along the corridors, pausing only to slay a skeleton, the adventurers discover the evil wizard's bedchamber.  A Chaos Champion guards the entrance.  After a brief scuffle with the master of swords leaves the champion injured, the wizard mutters an incantation and finishes it off with a blast of fire.  The Chaos Champion gives an inhuman scream as it is consumed by the flames and the charred armour clatters to the flagstones, its occupant now nothing but soot.

The Sorceror in his lair!

The Chaos Sorceror sends a lightning bolt fizzing down the corridor but fails to injure the master of swords or the barbarian.  The master of swords takes a mighty swing at the Sorceror, dealing him 3 wounds.  The barbarian assists and the Chaos Sorceror is no more.

Must be some treasure in here.

Although there was more dungeon to explore, time was short so we decided to call it a day now that the Chaos Sorceror had been defeated.  Venturing further into the dungeon would have revealed the Sorceror's summoning room and a large hall adjoining, plus another room off that.

The complete dungeon.

At the opposite end, near the entrance stair, was the treasure room with its brightly patterened red and yellow floor.  

Complete dungeon - exploded view.

I usually take a couple of photographs for reference before a game, one being an exploded view to make it easier to see which pieces I need.

Another view of the complete dungeon.

 Finally, a couple more photographs of the scriptorium and the main hall.

Main hall (and Goblin).

Scriptorium.

 I'm hoping I might manage another trip to the club soon, but this time with the wait measured in months rather than years!