What This Pack Is
The Mage of the Mirror is an Avalon Hill quest pack for the 2021 HeroQuest Game System. It reached retail in early 2023, and you need the Game System to play it. It is the Elf's pack. It comes with an alternate Elf hero figure, and the first three of its ten quests are solo quests for the Elf alone. It also begins the story of the elven kingdom of Elethorn, which Rise of the Dread Moon later finishes.
Here is the setup. Princess Millandriell, the five-year-old daughter of Queen Terrellia, has been kidnapped by the Queen's own sister, the archmage Sinestra. Sinestra demands that the Queen give up the throne. Mentor suspects that Zargon is behind the plan. Before the Queen will risk a rescue, an elven hero must prove their worth alone.
Three quests for the Elf
Quests 1 to 3 are for the Elf alone. They work as a first game, as a two-player game (Elf and Zargon), or as a way for a new Elf to catch up with a party that already has experience.
Elven spells
A new group of eight spell cards that only the Elf can use. The Elf prepares three of them for each quest.
Ogres, giant wolves, elven troops
Large monsters that hit hard, plus elven warriors and archers who have turned to Sinestra.
The Realm of Reflection
The last two quests form one double quest. You cross between the two maps through a mirror and a trap door.
What's in the box
The pack has a quest book with ten quests, 33 miniatures, two mirror stands, 35 game cards and a tile sheet. The miniatures include the Elf hero, elven warriors, elven archers, an elven archmage (Sinestra), ogres and giant wolves. There is furniture designed for the elven world, such as a throne, tomb, fireplace, weapons rack, alchemist's bench, bookcases and chests. There are also portcullises, an iron entrance door and a wooden exit door. The tiles include trap doors, long pit traps, quicksand, the Inner Sanctum, mirrors, the Sky Orb tokens, wolf tokens, weapon packs, the prospector, the brass key, the lunarium flask and Princess Millandriell.
Classic edition (1989ā1990): The original The Mage of the Mirror was a Milton Bradley "Elf Quest Pack" sold only in North America in the early 1990s. It had a female elf figure, elven spells, and the same villain, Sinestra. The 2023 pack is Avalon Hill's updated version for the current game. It is not a straight reprint, so check which book you're reading before trusting quest notes from the web.
The Rules That Change
Most of the game plays exactly like the Game System: you move then act, or act then move, with the same six actions and the same combat dice. Here is what the quest book adds or changes.
Elven spells
Spells are drafted as usual, with one change. After the Wizard picks a first spell school, the Elf may take the new elven spell group instead of an elemental school. The Wizard then ends up with three groups in total, and any group left over is removed. If the Elf takes the elven group, they choose three of the eight elven spells to use in each quest. If not, the elven cards are removed from play. As always, each spell can be cast once per quest. (The book mentions a "twist wood" spell that can warp an elven archer's bow, which drops the archer to one Attack die.)
Mind Points and shock
This pack tracks Mind Point damage, on the bottom row of the Body Point boxes. At 0 Mind Points a hero is in shock, not dead. A hero in shock rolls one red die to move, attacks with one combat die and defends with two, and armor, weapons and most artifacts add nothing. Extra Mind Points from an artifact such as the Talisman of Lore can be lost too. The Sky Orb artifact soaks up to 4 points of Mind damage before it stops working.
Doors, portcullises and trap doors
- Iron entrance and wooden exit doors: Mentor's message says where each quest begins and ends. When there's an iron door, the heroes line up outside it and ask Zargon to open it.
- Portcullises: Neither heroes nor monsters can see through one until it's open. Different portcullises are opened by a trap, by the brass key, or by brute strength.
- Trap doors: Two trap doors are joined by a tunnel. Landing on one moves you to the other and ends your turn. In this pack the tunnel is dangerous: roll one combat die, and on a skull you lose 1 Body Point.
- Wandering monster traps: These are hidden squares that searching never finds. A hero who steps on one stops, and the quest's wandering monsters appear next to them and attack straight away. Each one works only once.
Long pits and quicksand
You can cross a long pit trap along its short side like a normal pit. To jump it the long way, you need at least three squares of movement left once you're next to it, and you must roll a black shield on one combat die. That's only a 1 in 6 chance. On a fail you fall in and take 2 Body Points of damage. While in the pit you roll one fewer die to attack and defend, and you need a 5 or 6 on a red die to climb out. The quicksand in Quest 8 is worse. The jump also needs a black shield, and on a fail you must throw away any two items to save yourself.
The werewolf curse (Quest 7 only)
In Quest 7 the giant wolves count as werewolves. A hero who is hurt by one, or hit by the werewolf's curse spell, is cursed. At the start of each of that hero's turns, they roll two red dice. On 2ā9 they play normally. On 10ā12 (a 1 in 6 chance) they turn into a wolf. They drop all their gear in a weapon pack where they stand, and Zargon controls them as a giant wolf for one turn. Then they change back. Over three turns, a cursed hero has a 42.1% chance of turning at least once. Only a wolfsbane potion or a Potion of Superior Restoration cures the curse, so save the wolfsbane potions the quest gives you.
Large monsters
A monster that fills more than one square, such as the giant wolf, can attack anyone in any adjacent square, diagonals included, whichever way the figure faces.
Gold, selling and mercenaries
- Elven riches: If the notes don't say what a treasure chest holds, the first search of that room finds 200 gold coins. Share out large chest treasures among the surviving heroes.
- Selling: You can sell items the armory stocks back to it for half price, rounded down. A 350-coin longsword fetches 175, and a 25-coin dagger fetches 12.
- Passing items: You can hand any item to an adjacent hero, as long as neither of you is next to a monster.
- Mercenaries: You can hire them for the group quests (not the solo ones) if you have them from another pack, such as The Frozen Horror.
The Alchemist's Shop
Between quests, you can buy four new potions. Three of them work only for the Elf.
| Potion | Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Potion of Recall | 400 gc | Elf only. Regain one spell already cast this quest. |
| Potion of Vision | 500 gc | Elf only. See all secret doors and normal traps in line of sight until you take Body damage. |
| Potion of Speed | 500 gc | Elf only. Move 12 squares instead of rolling, and attack twice per turn, until you take Body damage. |
| Potion of Superior Restoration | 800 gc | Any hero. Restore Body and Mind Points to what they were at the start of the quest. It also cures the werewolf curse. |
New artifacts in the pack are the Elven Boots, Elven Bracers, the Elven Bow of Vindication, the Bone Wand, the Ancient Staff and the Sky Orb. There is also a Treasure Without Doom spell scroll, which any hero can use once.
The Monsters
These figures come from the quest book's monster chart and quest notes. Sinestra and her two lieutenants have their own stat lines, and the lieutenants use the Dread Sorcerer figure.
| Monster | Move | Attack | Defend | Body | Mind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elven Archer | 6 | 4 (1) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 dice at range in line of sight, only 1 when adjacent |
| Elven Warrior | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Corrupted elven swordsmen |
| Ogre | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | Slow, but hits very hard |
| Giant Wolf | 9 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 1 | Large monster: attacks diagonally. Werewolf in Quest 7. |
| The high alchemist | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | Quest 5. Mind blast, restore Dread, summon wolves, werewolf's curse. |
| Tormuk the necromancer | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | Quest 6. Command, mirror magic, mind blast, reanimation, summon wolves, werewolf's curse. |
| Sinestra, the archmage | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 9 | Quest 9. Dispel, firestorm, mind blast, mirror magic, reanimation, restore Dread, summon wolves, werewolf's curse. |
An ogre's 6 Attack dice against a hero's 2 Defend dice do at least 1 Body Point of damage 90.6% of the time, 2.35 points on average. Fight ogres in corridors where only one can reach you. Make them come to you, since they move just 4 squares. Elven archers are the opposite case: they roll 4 dice from range but only 1 up close, so close the distance.
Elethorn Odds Calculator
These are exact odds for one hero attack against a monster from this pack. Every skull is a hit, and monsters block with black shields.
The Elf starts with 2 Attack dice (shortsword). These odds ignore spells and healing.
The Ten Quests
Play the quests in order. Body and Mind Points come back between quests, except when you cross between Quests 9 and 10.
Spoiler warning: The quest notes below are written for the Zargon player. If you're playing a hero, skip to "Tips for the Elf and the Party".
Quest-by-quest notes for Zargon
- The Sovereign Sword Returns (solo). The Elf recovers the Queen's stolen heirloom, the Sovereign Sword, from a small fortress on the southern border. A trapped chest wakes up a room of inactive monsters. The Elixir of Life and the Elven Bracers are hidden here. As a reward, the Queen gives the Elf elven chain mail, which adds two Defend dice and can be worn with a helmet and shield.
- On Sacred Ground (solo). Free two of the Queen's attendants from an underground cavern and lead them back to the stairway. The Wandering Monster is 2 Orcs.
- Terrellia's Maze (solo). This is the Queen's own test maze, with no treasure cards and no wandering monsters. A note reads "All is not as it seems". The Elf must find a golden book that opens a secret door, and behind it a weapons rack offers any one armory weapon.
- The Elven Prospector. The party rejoins. The heroes free the royal prospector, the only person who can identify lunarium, from a mine. To do so they need a brass key from a chest that also holds a Treasure Without Doom scroll and 800 gold coins. The Wandering Monster is 2 Dread Warriors.
- The Alchemist's Laboratory. The heroes escort the prospector to the high alchemist's lab, where he picks the true lunarium out of hundreds of bottles. If his escort dies, monsters drag him to a cell. The Wandering Monster is 3 Zombies.
- Tormuk's Guests. Tormuk the necromancer has spellbound two of the Queen's elven archer bodyguards. Kill the other monsters in the room and the spell breaks. The archers then fight for the Elf for the rest of the quest. The Wandering Monster is an Abomination.
- Gliness Fen. This is the first level of Sinestra's castle in the marshes, and here the wolves are werewolves. The heroes find two wolfsbane potions, a tool kit and the Sky Orb. The Wandering Monster is a Werewolf.
- The Gathering Storm. The second level has soggy ground, a spellcasting Gargoyle (command, firestorm), a quicksand pit across a room, and a Bone Wand. The Wandering Monster is a Dread Warrior.
- Silvermane's Lair (Quests 9 and 10). This is one double quest, shown in the diagram below. Defeat Sinestra in her Inner Sanctum and find Princess Millandriell. The Wandering Monster is 2 Dread Warriors.
How the double quest connects
Quests 9 and 10 use different parts of the board, so set up both maps and leave the Quest 9 rooms in place when the heroes cross. Body and Mind Points are not restored when you move between them.
The hero carrying the lunarium turns the mirror at B dark, and then any hero can step through it to G. Nobody can come back that way, so the trap-door tunnel between E and K is the only way to go back and forth. At J, the hero with the lunarium can reach into a second mirror and take the Elven Bow of Vindication, the weapon Mentor says can help destroy Sinestra. The Queen takes the bow back at the end of the quest.
Forcing the portcullis is far easier for tough heroes. At full Body, the Barbarian (8) succeeds 58.3% of the time, the Dwarf (7) 41.7%, the Elf (6) 27.8% and the Wizard (4) only 8.3%. Each hero may try once per turn.
Tips for the Elf and the Party
- Play the solo quests carefully. With only 6 Body Points and no healer, every fight matters. The Elf's 2 Attack dice have just a 32.8% chance of killing an Elven Warrior within three attacks, so use doors and corridors to fight one enemy at a time. Search for traps before you open chests.
- Wear the reward. The elven chain mail from Quest 1 adds two Defend dice and can be worn with a helmet and shield. On 4 Defend dice, an ogre's 6-dice attack wounds you 77.6% of the time instead of 90.6%.
- Choose spells for the quest. With the elven group you pick three of eight before each quest, so read Mentor's message first and pick for what's coming.
- Guard the escorts. The prospector and the princess travel with the hero who holds their tile. If that hero dies, the prospector goes back to captivity under fresh guards. Give the tile to your toughest hero.
- Save the wolfsbane. In Quest 7 each werewolf wound can cost you a turn at Zargon's command. Keep the two wolfsbane potions and don't waste a Potion of Superior Restoration before then.
- Don't jump unless you must. Long pits and quicksand need a black shield, which comes up only 1 time in 6. Go around if you can.
Where Next
Read the story behind these quests on The Mage of the Mirror: Lore. For the Elf's stats and spell choices, see the Elf. The story continues in Rise of the Dread Moon.