HeroQuest is a game that originally came out in the 1989 and was quite popular. It quickly became a favorite of my gaming group of friends. In this lite role playing game, players take control of fantasy characters and explore dungeons to find treasure and complete objectives. Production ended eight years later. However, a new and improved version of the game was relaunched in 2021. I previously reviewed HeroQuest and it is GeekDad Approved! Previously there have been four quest pack expansions released. A fifth quest pack is now available where you must help free the elven kingdom of Elethorn from the evil clutches of Zargon.
What Is The Rise of the Dread Moon Quest Pack?
The Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack is an expansion for the HeroQuest gaming system. The core game is required to play this quest pack. It is designed for 2-5 players, ages 14 and up, and takes about 30-120 minutes to play. It’s currently available for $44.99 from the Hasbro Pulse website. It is also available from Amazon for $34 and currently has a 15% coupon as well. The Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack is published by Avalon Hill and Hasbro.
The Rise of the Dread Moon Quest Pack Components
Here is what you get in the box:
- 1 Knight hero miniature
- 16 monster miniatures
- 4 Elven mercenary miniatures
- 2 doors
- 6 pieces of furniture
- 58 game cards
- 1 sheet of tiles
- 1 quest book
The Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack comes with a new hero: the Knight. This character starts off with a short sword and a shield. Armor does not restrict this hero’s movement speed and they come with three Knight skill cards. They can only be used once per quest and two of them require the Knight to have a shield. The Knight is a good choice for helping protect the other members of the party and can take the part of the Barbarian if you so choose. Or send both the Knight and Barbarian out in front to clear the way for the rest of the party.
As you play through the Rise of the Dread Moon quests, you will come across loyal soldiers of Elethorn. As you find and unlock them, you can then hire these elven mercenaries to join your party. There are four different types and each comes with their own weapon type. As the quests become tougher, you can always use an extra member to fight against the monsters.
Speaking of monsters, this quest pack comes with some new ones. Not all of the elves are friendly and you will face off against elven archers and warriors as well as assassins and magus guards. There are also dread cultists and ethereal monsters such as specters and the dread wraith that can move through walls, doors, and heroes. Plus they are much harder to hit with your normal weapons, only getting hits on black shield die results rather than skulls. Spells and artifact are not affected by these limitations.
An iron door and wooden door are used for several of the quests as entrance or exit points rather than using the traditional staircase from earlier quests. The Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack includes new furniture and features to compliment those included with the core game. These miniatures, such as the rack, sorcerer’s table, and two statues really add to the feel of the game.
This quest pack introduce alchemy cards. These represent new types of potions and magical elixirs. Some can be purchased while others must be crafted. Wizards can craft certain potions if they have the correct reagents, which can be found as treasure. Other heroes can also craft these items if they have a reagent kit. There are 20 alchemy cards:
As with each quest pack, you get more things to add to the HeroQuest game system. This quest pack adds seven new artifacts, five new pieces of equipment, eight treasure cards, and three new dread spells.
This quest pack also includes tiles you can place on the board to represent different types of terrain and areas for customizing the gameboard. There are also smaller tokens that are used for specific quests as well. The tiles with the masks on them are used when the heroes are in disguise. The coins are reputation you can earn during quests and then spend on various things.
New Features in The Rise of the Dread Moon Quest Pack
The Rise of the Dread Moon comes with ten new quests. The story continues from the previous quest pack, The Mage of the Mirror, but you do not need to own or have played that quest pack to play and enjoy the Rise of the Dread Moon. The new hero adds some variety to the party and offers another role to play. The new monsters are tough. The elves all attack with 4 or 5 attack dice and can be tough to defeat, requiring several attacks against them. As mentioned earlier, the ethereal monsters are really hard to hit and they, along with the dread cultist and magus guard can cast certain dread spells once per quest. Specters can cast one of these spells at will.
In addition to the alchemy cards, the quest pack adds more to the HeroQuest system. Heroes can earn reputation tokens during quests and then spend them to purchase equipment or hire mercenaries. Mercenaries hired with reputation rather than gold continue with the heroes from quest to quest until they either die or are dismissed. Otherwise you have to pay gold to hire them for each quest. Rise of the Dread Moon also adds some great story elements that take the heroes out of dungeons and into the city of Elethorn. As times they can don disguises which allow them to move through and past monsters without being attacked so long as they are wearing no body armor and only attack with unarmed combat or small weapons.
Hasbro has released a free HeroQuest app which is available for both iOS and Android which allows the game to be played solo or completely cooperatively as the AI takes on the role of the gamemaster and controls all of the enemies. The app includes the original quests from the core game as well as the new quests from each of the five quest packs. Plus it has five original quests unique to the app. The first of these Pulse Exclusive quests, New Beginnings, is a great way for new players to learn the game and collect some equipment before embarking on more difficult quests. If you are using new characters for The Rise of the Dread Moon quests, I suggest you play through at least the first app quest so the Knight can go into these quests better prepared.
Why You Should Play The Rise of the Dread Moon Quest Pack
I had the opportunity to play through and review the two previous quest packs, The Frozen Horror and The Mage of the Mirror and enjoyed playing both of them. Both of these really added to the game system with new monsters, terrain, and other features. Rise of the Dread Moon continues that. Unlike the other two quest packs, there are no quests where you go in solo with just one hero. However, there are quests where the heroes do not get to visit shops to purchase equipment or potions before the next quest begins. While body and mind points are restored between quests, there is not a chance to spend your gold to purchase more items which you may need. This fits the story line of infiltrating an enemy area and not visiting different dungeons separately.
I am very impressed with the Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack. It continues to expand HeroQuest with more story and further adventures. These ten new quests can be tough to complete, especially if you are going in with all new heroes and no upgraded weapons and armor. You may need to play some of them more than once to finish them. If its looking like you won’t complete a quest, consider heading back to the entrance and quit the quest so you don’t die and lose all your equipment. I really enjoy the new challenges these quests bring to the game. Using disguises is a completely new way to play, and discretion can be more effective than hacking your way through all the monsters. Don’t forget to search for traps and secret doors as well as treasure during these quests since you never know what you might find.
I like the addition of the Knight. The previous expansions added new sculpts of existing heroes. However, this is a new hero. Hasbro Pulse offered a Commander of the Guardian Knights hero a couple of years ago to help promote the relaunch of the core game. The preorder sold out in about a day and many fans have been trying to get their hands on one. While the Knight included in this quest pack has a new sculpt, it has the same stats as the other knight and also has the three Knight skill cards. So if you like me have been looking for a Knight to add to your party, look no further.
HeroQuest is a great game to play with a family or a game group since it is easy to learn and quick to setup and start playing because you build the map as you play. I recommend using the app so you can all play cooperatively or even play it solo. All of the expansions to the core game have really turned it into a game system. If you enjoy playing HeroQuest, then you definitely need to add the Rise of the Dread Moon to your collection. If you don’t yet have HeroQuest, then I highly recommend getting at as well as the Rise of the Dread Moon quest pack.
For more information, check out the Rise of the Dread Moon webpage!
Here is a trailer for Rise of the Dread Moon.
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
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