Meet the Druid
The Druid arrived in the Avalon Hill Against the Ogre Horde quest pack (2024), a 10-quest expansion for the 2021 HeroQuest Game System. The pack includes two Druid figures, one male and one female, so you can pick the one you like.
The Druid's signature rule is Animal Allies: the Druid fights alongside a wolf. Having a second friendly figure on the board changes how you think about every corridor and doorway, and that is what this page is about.
Starting Statistics
The Druid moves with two red six-sided dice (2 to 12 squares, 7 on average), like every hero, and attacks and defends with the normal combat dice. The Druid's Attack, Defend, Body and Mind values, and the wolf's own numbers, are printed on the cards in the pack. We couldn't confirm them from an official source, so this guide doesn't print them: see the hero card and the Animal Ally card.
The Wolf: Playing Two Figures
How the wolf moves, attacks, and what happens when it is defeated are all set out on the Animal Ally card. Read it before the first quest. The board rules it plays under are the same as everyone else's, and they are what make the wolf useful:
- Monsters can't pass through figures or share squares. A figure standing in a corridor closes it.
- Monsters can't move or attack diagonally. A figure on a corner square is harder to reach than it looks.
- Line of sight is blocked by figures. The wolf can stand between a monster spellcaster and your Wizard.
Holding a Junction with Two Figures
Wolf Tactics
Block, don't just bite. A wolf standing in a corridor stops monsters reaching the heroes behind it. Sometimes that matters more than its attack.
Two attacks on one target. When the Druid and the wolf both reach the same monster, you get two separate attack rolls on it.
Don't leave the wolf alone. A wolf that runs ahead of the party gets surrounded. Keep it within a turn's reach of the Druid.
Plan both moves. Decide where each figure ends before you roll for either, and remember the hero turn rule: move then act, or act then move, never split.
Standing Up to Ogres
The pack's main enemies are ogres, led by the Ogre Lord, with goblin, orc and skeleton archers in support. Ogres roll a lot of Attack dice, so it helps to know how often a big attack gets through. When a monster attacks you, it counts skulls and you block one for each white shield you roll. Each die has 2 white shields out of 6, so each Defend die blocks one time in three.
Chance a Monster Wounds You
Look at the 5-dice row: even with 4 Defend dice you lose at least one Body Point 67.9% of the time. Against heavy hitters, don't stand next to them unless you mean to finish them. Use the wolf and the corridors to choose which hero they reach. Archers attack from range, so a wall of figures doesn't stop them shooting at anyone they can see. Figures do block line of sight, though, so keep your weakest hero behind someone.
The World's End Tournament
The first three quests in the pack are the World's End Tournament, arena fights where a Challenger side and a Defender side alternate activations instead of taking whole turns. The pack also has a Solo Combatants rule for a team that is down to its last member. That is a tournament rule, not a way to play the game alone.
Alternating Activations
In an alternating fight, the wolf and the Druid give your side more activations to spend, and the order you spend them in matters. Use your first activation on the figure that is in the most danger, and keep a figure in reserve to answer the other side's move. Check the quest notes for exactly how many figures each side activates and in what order.
The Druid in the Party
Good Partners
Wizard or Warlock: they want someone to keep monsters away. The wolf is a perfect bodyguard.
Barbarian, Knight or Berserker: a front-liner plus the wolf can close two corridors at once.
Bard: the wolf gives the Bard another friend to stand diagonally behind.
Common Mistakes
Treating the wolf as disposable. Check the card for what happens if it falls. Losing it early can cost you for the rest of the quest.
Blocking your own party. Heroes can pass over other heroes when they move, but a badly placed figure can still cut off line of sight for spells and ranged attacks.
Try It at the Table
- Set up a T-junction like the diagram, with two orcs on each side. Play it once with the wolf and once without, and see how many hits reach the Wizard.
- Before the first tournament quest, have each side say aloud which figure it will activate first and why.
Where Next
- Against the Ogre Horde: the quest pack the Druid comes from.
- Against the Ogre Horde lore: the story behind the pack.
- Combat & Tactics: blocking, line of sight and positioning.
- Dice Roller: roll combat dice and check odds.
- The Berserker: the next hero in this guide.