The quest book itself invites you to build new quests on the blank map at the back, and several Dread spells are left for quests you design. Custom heroes and monsters are the next step. Everything on this page is a house rule: agree on it with your group before you play, and don't mix it up with the official rules.
What You're Working With
HeroQuest describes every figure with a handful of numbers. Heroes have Attack dice, Defend dice, Body Points and Mind Points, and they move by rolling two red dice. Monsters have the same four numbers plus a fixed movement. Keeping that small set is the whole trick: if your creation needs a page of rules, it no longer feels like HeroQuest.
The Official Heroes
These four starting stat lines are the same in the classic and 2021 editions, and they're the best yardstick for any new hero.
| Hero | Attack | Defend | Body | Mind | Starts with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbarian | 3 | 2 | 8 | 2 | Broadsword |
| Dwarf | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | Shortsword; disarms traps without a tool kit |
| Elf | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | Shortsword; one school of spells |
| Wizard | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Dagger; three schools of spells |
Notice the pattern: every hero starts with 2 Defend dice, and Body and Mind trade against each other. The Barbarian and the Wizard both total 10 Body plus Mind; the Dwarf and the Elf also total 10. The official pack heroes (Knight, Rogue, Monk and the rest) each add a special ability instead of breaking these numbers wide open; see The Heroes.
The Classic Monster Chart
The 2021 monster chart is printed on the Game Master's screen. For reference, here are the classic North American (1990) numbers, which fan sources say the 2021 game follows. Treat them as a guide, and check your own screen.
| Monster (1990 name) | Move | Attack | Defend | Body | Mind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goblin | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Orc | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Abomination (Fimir) | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Dread Warrior (Chaos Warrior) | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Gargoyle | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Skeleton | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Zombie | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Mummy | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
Classic edition (1989–1990): in the original European game every monster had just 1 Body Point. The North American version toughened several of them, which is where the higher Body numbers above come from.
What One Die Is Worth
Before you hand out extra dice, know their value. A combat die has 3 skull faces, 2 white shields and 1 black shield. Heroes block with white shields (1 in 3) and monsters block with black shields (1 in 6), so an extra Attack die is worth roughly twice what an extra Defend die is worth.
Average Body Points of damage per attack
| Your Attack dice vs a monster with 2 Defend dice | Chance of at least 1 damage | Average damage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25/72 (34.7%) | 0.35 |
| 2 | 85/144 (59.0%) | 0.76 |
| 3 | 3/4 (75.0%) | 1.22 |
| 4 | 245/288 (85.1%) | 1.69 |
| 5 | 1051/1152 (91.2%) | 2.18 |
| A monster with 3 Attack dice vs a hero with... | Chance the hero takes damage | Average damage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Defend die | 3/4 (75.0%) | 1.21 |
| 2 Defend dice | 5/8 (62.5%) | 0.96 |
| 3 Defend dice | 55/108 (50.9%) | 0.75 |
| 4 Defend dice | 11/27 (40.7%) | 0.58 |
So one extra Attack die adds a little under half a Body Point of damage per attack, while one extra Defend die saves a hero only about a fifth of a Body Point per monster attack. Price your abilities accordingly. You can check any other matchup on the Dice Roller.
Designing a Hero
House rule: nothing in this section is official. It's a method for making your own hero that sits comfortably beside the official ones.
🛡️ Start From an Official Hero
Begin with the story: who is this person, and what will they do that the party can't already do? Then pick the official hero closest to that idea and change as little as possible.
- Movement stays at two red dice. Every hero moves this way; a hero who moves faster than everyone else breaks the pace of the game. If you want a quick hero, give a limited ability instead.
- Keep Defend at 2. Every official hero starts there; armor from the armory is how heroes improve it.
- Trade, don't add. Keep Body plus Mind around 10. If Attack goes up, something else should go down.
- One ability, with a limit. "Once per quest" is the cleanest limit HeroQuest has, and it matches how spells work.
Example: The Sellsword (house rule)
Attack: 2 (shortsword) · Defend: 2 · Body: 7 · Mind: 3 · Movement: two red dice
Ability, Hold the Line: once per quest, when a monster attacks a hero adjacent to the Sellsword, the Sellsword may take the attack instead and defends with 1 extra Defend die.
Limit: can't cast spells.
This is the Dwarf's stat line with trap-disarming swapped for a protective ability. From the table above, the extra die cuts an orc's average damage from 0.96 to 0.75 Body Points for that one attack. The real value is moving the hit from the Wizard (4 Body) to a 7-Body hero.
🔄 Borrowing From Other Games
Don't convert numbers from another game; their scales don't map onto HeroQuest's handful of dice. Convert the role instead. A tough front-line fighter from another game becomes a variant of the Barbarian or Dwarf. A spellcaster becomes a variant of the Elf or Wizard, using the existing spell schools. A sneaky character gets a once-per-quest trick rather than better stats.
Designing a Monster
House rule: custom monsters go in your own quest notes. Write their stats there, just as the official quests do for named villains.
👹 Fixed Movement Shapes the Threat
Heroes roll two dice to move, so their speed varies. Monsters have fixed movement, which the heroes can learn and plan around. On the classic chart a Mummy moves 4 squares and a Goblin moves 10. Slow monsters tend to be tough, and fast ones tend to be fragile; follow the same pattern.
🐀 Fodder
Like a Goblin or Skeleton: Body 1, Attack 2, Defend 1–2. Dies to a single good hit. Use several.
⚔️ Soldier
Like an Orc or Abomination: Attack 3, Defend 2–3, Body 1–2. The backbone of most rooms.
🛡️ Elite
Like a Dread Warrior or Gargoyle: Attack 4, Defend 4–5, Body 3. One per room is plenty.
👑 Named villain
Give a named villain its own stat box in your quest notes and, if you like, a Dread spell or two.
Example: Crystal Wraith (house rule)
Move: 6 · Attack: 2 · Defend: 3 · Body: 2 · Mind: 4
Special: may move through walls (but must end its move on an empty square).
Weakness: can't cast spells and never guards treasure.
Check the balance: a Barbarian (3 Attack dice) kills it in one attack 575/1728 of the time (33.3%), and within two attacks 68.1% of the time. A Wizard with a dagger (1 Attack die) barely scratches it. Its 2-die attack against a hero with 2 Defend dice averages 5/9 of a Body Point. It's a nuisance that harasses weaker heroes, not a killer, which is right for a monster that can come through walls.
Keeping It Fair
⚖️ How Heroes Really Grow
HeroQuest heroes don't have levels or experience points. Their starting numbers stay the same; they get stronger by buying weapons and armor with the gold they find, and by carrying potions and artifacts. So don't design a custom hero who "levels up". If you want progression, tie it to gear the hero can buy between quests.
Common Balance Mistakes
Power creep: each new creation is slightly better than the last. Compare against the four official heroes, not against your previous custom hero.
One solution only: a monster only one hero can hurt makes the rest of the table watch.
No weakness: every official hero has an obvious gap, like the Wizard's 4 Body Points or the Barbarian's 2 Mind Points. Yours should too.
Forgetting equipment: a hero who already starts with 3 Attack dice and then buys a better weapon may outclass everyone.
Balance Checklist
- Does it trade a strength for a weakness?
- Does it fill a role no current hero fills?
- How does it change when it gets the best armory gear?
- Can it help in most quests, not just one kind?
- Does it give the player interesting choices?
- Does it feel like it belongs in HeroQuest?
Playtesting
Play several different quests with the new hero or monster before you call it finished.
Ask whether it was fun, not just whether it was fair.
Try the extremes: best possible gear, worst luck, the worst matchup.
🎯 Try It at the Table
- Take the Elf's stat line and design a hero who trades the Elf's spells for a once-per-quest ability. Use the dice tables above to argue it's no stronger than the Elf.
- Design a fodder monster that moves 10 squares like a Goblin. Put four of them in a room on the blank map, and play it with a friend as the Zargon player.
- Write a named villain's stat box for the end of your quest, and decide which Dread spell (if any) it gets.
🧭 Where Next
- Playing Zargon: how to run the monsters you've designed.
- The Heroes: the official heroes, including the pack heroes and their abilities.
- Dice Roller: exact odds for any attack.
- Character Sheet: record your custom hero.