The Bard - The HeroQuest Guide

Meet the Bard

The Bard joined HeroQuest in the Spirit Queen's Torment quest pack, a 14-quest Avalon Hill expansion for the 2021 HeroQuest Game System. The Bard is an orc, which makes this the first time the heroes have an orc on their side of the board.

Two things set the Bard apart from the base four heroes:

A rapier that attacks diagonally. With most weapons, a hero can only attack the four squares that share an edge with them. The Bard's rapier also reaches the four diagonal squares.
Songs. The pack gives the Bard three songs: Lullaby, Healing Song and Inspiring Tale.

That makes the Bard a support hero who can still fight: someone who stands just off the front line, stabs past the corner of a friend, and picks the right song for the moment.

Starting Statistics

Like every hero, the Bard moves with two red six-sided dice (2 to 12 squares, 7 on average) and uses the normal combat dice for attacking and defending. The Bard's exact Attack, Defend, Body and Mind numbers are printed on the Bard's hero card in the pack. This guide doesn't repeat them because we couldn't confirm them from an official source, so see the hero card.

Classic edition (1989–1990): there was no Bard in the original Milton Bradley / Games Workshop game. The Bard exists only in the Avalon Hill line.

Think of it this way: the Barbarian is the battering ram and the Wizard is the artillery. The Bard is the one standing between them who makes both of their turns go better.

The Rapier: Attacking on the Diagonal

In HeroQuest, figures normally attack only orthogonally (a few weapons are exceptions): up, down, left or right. Monsters may not attack diagonally at all, and they can't move diagonally either. The rapier breaks that pattern for the Bard, and that one rule shapes almost everything about how the Bard plays.

Rapier Reach

The best use of the diagonal is to attack a monster that can't attack you back. If a monster is fighting your Barbarian face to face and you stand on a square diagonal to it, your rapier reaches the monster but the monster can't reach you: it can't attack diagonally. On its turn it has to keep hitting the Barbarian or move.

Striking Where Monsters Can't Answer

Using the Diagonal Well

Pair up with a front-liner. Let the Barbarian, Dwarf or Knight take the square in front of the monster. You take the diagonal.

Check line of sight. You still need a clear line from the centre of your square to the centre of the target's. A wall, a closed door or another figure across that line blocks it; just touching a corner doesn't.

Free monsters can still reach you. On its turn a monster can move to a square beside you and attack. The diagonal protects you from monsters that are already busy with a friend, not from ones that are free to move.

The Songs

The Bard's three songs in Spirit Queen's Torment are Lullaby, Healing Song and Inspiring Tale. Their exact timing, targets and limits are printed on the Bard's cards. Read the cards before your first quest, and keep them face up where the Zargon player can see them too.

Lullaby: as the name suggests, this song is aimed at the monsters. Use it when a fight is about to go badly and you need to take enemies out of the action.
Healing Song: recovery for the party. Save it for when someone is actually hurt, not for topping up one lost Body Point.
Inspiring Tale: a boost for your allies. It is at its best right before your strongest attacker's turn.

A simple way to decide which song to use on your turn:

flowchart TD A["Bard's turn"] --> B{"Is a hero about to drop?"} B -->|Yes| C["Healing Song"] B -->|No| D{"Too many monsters attacking at once?"} D -->|Yes| E["Lullaby"] D -->|No| F{"Big attack coming from an ally?"} F -->|Yes| G["Inspiring Tale"] F -->|No| H["Use the rapier and keep the songs"]

Remember the basic turn: you move then act, or act then move. You can't move part of your roll, use a song or attack, and then finish moving. Plan your square first.

How Often Does the Rapier Land?

Every attack works the same way: roll your Attack dice and count skulls. The monster rolls its Defend dice and blocks one skull for each black shield. Each skull left over removes one Body Point. A combat die has 3 skulls, 2 white shields and 1 black shield, so each of your dice hits half the time and each monster defend die blocks one time in six.

Find your Bard's Attack on the hero card, then read across:

Chance to Wound a Monster

Two dice against a monster with two Defend dice wound it 59.0% of the time. That's why the diagonal matters: it lets you add those attacks to the fight without taking hits in return.

The Bard in the Party

Who the Bard Works Best With

Barbarian, Knight or Berserker: a tough hero on the front square gives you a diagonal to work from.

Wizard: the Wizard's spells and your songs both cover emergencies. Talk before the quest so you don't both spend your healing on the same crisis.

Elf or Dwarf: two-dice fighters who appreciate a second attack on the same monster.

Common Mistakes

Standing in front. If you take the orthogonal square, you lose the rapier's main advantage and the monster can hit you.

Saving everything. Songs that are never used don't help anyone. If a hero is about to die, use the song.

Forgetting monsters can't attack diagonally. That rule protects you only while you stay on the diagonal.

Try It at the Table

Set up a corridor with one orc and two heroes. Put the Barbarian in front of the orc and the Bard on the diagonal behind. Play three rounds and note who takes damage.
Before a quest, read all three song cards aloud with your group and agree on when each one should be used.

Where Next

Spirit Queen's Torment: the quest pack the Bard comes from.
Spirit Queen's Torment lore: the story behind the pack.
Combat & Tactics: line of sight, attack order and positioning.
Dice Roller: roll combat dice and check odds.
The Druid: the next hero in this guide.