What This Pack Is
Rise of the Dread Moon is an Avalon Hill quest pack for the 2021 HeroQuest Game System, released in 2023. You need the Game System to play it. Its quest book says it "concludes the exciting story begun in The Mage of the Mirror", so it is the second half of the Elethorn saga. Play The Mage of the Mirror first if you can, and play these ten quests in order: the book says that matters more here than usual.
The heroes go back to the elven kingdom of Elethorn after Princess Millandriell's rescue. The kingdom is now in civil unrest. The Mirror Gates that linked it to the rest of the Realm have been tampered with, a company of Guardian Knights has gone silent, and the Night of the Dread Moon is coming. The quest book describes it as an event that "happens once every thousand years" and strengthens Dread magic in the elven lands. Sir Ragnar, the knight the heroes rescued in the core game, has turned traitor and sided with Zargon's agents.
Alchemy
An alchemy deck of potions and reagents. At an Alchemist's Bench, you turn reagents into potions.
Elven mercenaries
Four loyal elven soldiers (Striker, Glaive, Arbalist, Scout) who are in hiding. You unlock them as the story goes on.
The Underground Market
Buy potions, armory items and new gear here. You can also sell items for half their price.
Cultists, Specters, the Dread Wraith
Ethereal undead that pass through walls, plus Magus Guards, Assassins and corrupted elven troops.
What's in the box
The contents page lists these miniatures: the Knight, a Dread Wraith, Magus Guards, Assassins, Dread Cultists, Specters, Elven Archers, Elven Warriors and the elven mercenaries. It also has furniture built for the elven world: statues, a rack (used as an Arcane Prison), a cupboard, a table and a sorcerer's table. There is an iron entrance door, a wooden exit door, two mirror stands, a tile sheet and 58 game cards.
The tile sheet holds the Hideout and Plaza tiles, trap doors, caltrops, Lunar Charms, disguise tokens, reputation tokens, strangers, smoke-bomb markers and standing mirrors.
The Rules That Change
Most of the game plays exactly like the Game System: 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.
Starting and ending quests
Many quests don't start or end on the spiral stairway. Mentor's message for each quest tells you where you begin and where you leave. When the map shows an iron entry door, the heroes line up outside it and ask Zargon to open it. Like any door, the wooden exit door only appears once a hero looks down that corridor.
Mind Points and shock
Mind Point damage is tracked here, on the bottom row of the Body Point boxes on your character sheet. At 0 Mind Points a hero is in shock. A hero in shock rolls one red movement die, one Attack die and two Defend dice, and armor, weapons and artifacts add nothing. Getting even one Mind Point back ends the shock. You cannot go below 0. Spells that work on Mind Points, such as Sleep, can't be cast on monsters with 0 Mind Points, and Specters have 0.
Disguises
Some quests let each hero take a disguise token at the start, with no action needed. A disguised hero has to keep a low profile. To stay disguised, you must:
- attack unarmed or with a dagger, shortsword, handaxe or staff;
- cast no spells;
- wear no armor except bracers and helmets.
Break any of these and you hand the token back. You keep the gear you're not allowed to use, but you can't use it while disguised. Artifacts count as the item they represent. Borin's Armor counts as plate mail, so it breaks a disguise. A Wizard's Cloak isn't armor, so it doesn't. Mercenaries always count as disguised. Disguises matter: in several quests, inactive guards ignore disguised heroes. A disguised hero who moves next to one can remove it with a silent strike.
Unarmed combat
A hero with no weapon rolls 1 Attack die. A hero with no armor rolls 2 Defend dice. This comes up in Quest 4, when the heroes start in a cell with their gear taken away.
Hideouts
The heroes can't get to shops whenever they like, but friends leave supplies in hideouts for them. A hideout has a makeshift Alchemist's Bench and is safe from threats. It can be searched for treasure once per quest, and any Wandering Monster or Hazard card drawn while searching it is ignored and goes to the bottom of the deck. Once per quest, as an action, each hero in the hideout may roll one red die and restore that many points, split however they like between Body and Mind. For example, on a 5 you could take 3 Body and 2 Mind.
Moon shrines and Lunar Charms
In this pack the sorcerer's table stands for one of the elves' shrines to the moon. When a hero searches a room with one for treasure, the Elf, or any hero carrying a Lunar Charm, also restores 1 Body Point and 1 Mind Point. The heroes collect Lunar Charms as the story goes on. They protect against several hazards in the temple, and later they become the key to the Mirror Gates.
Reputation tokens
Zargon gives the party one reputation token to share each time it completes a quest. The quests also offer chances to earn more. You can spend a token only when the quest notes allow it, for example to persuade a nervous witness, bribe a jailer or prove your loyalty to the resistance. Between quests, you can sell a token for 250 gold coins, but you have to spend that money at the Underground Market straight away, and any change is lost. You can also spend a token to hire an elven mercenary instead of paying gold.
Monster spells and the Dread Moon
Monsters in this pack can cast Dread spells. Each monster may cast each spell it knows once per quest, even if another monster has already cast the same spell. Some spells are "at will" and can be cast as an action any time. In three quests (7, 9 and 10), the quest notes add Dread Moon empowerment: every monster rolls one extra Attack die.
Large and ethereal monsters
A monster that fills more than one square, such as the Dread Wraith, can attack any adjacent square, diagonals included. Ethereal monsters (Specters and the Dread Wraith) follow their own rules:
- they can move through heroes, walls and other solid objects, but must end on an empty square and can't enter undiscovered areas;
- traps don't affect them, including caltrops a hero has placed;
- when a hero attacks one with an ordinary weapon, only black shields count as hits, not skulls. Spells and artifacts hit normally.
That last rule is a big deal. One combat die has three skull faces but only one black shield, so a normal weapon is about a third as effective against an ethereal target as against anything else. Try it in the calculator below.
Alchemy and the Underground Market
The alchemy deck holds potions and reagents. You can buy some potions. Others you can only find or craft. When a quest tells you to take a random potion, Zargon shuffles the alchemy deck, you draw one card, note the potion on your character sheet and return the card.
Crafting. The Wizard can turn a reagent into one of the potions listed on its card, either between quests or while next to an Alchemist's Bench. Some reagents give a choice of potions, and some give more than one. Any other hero needs a Reagent Kit (400 gold coins), and crafting with it is an action taken next to a bench. A kit is lost after five uses. A used reagent stays out of the deck until the quest ends.
Drinking and passing. You can drink a potion at any time without using an action, and you can have as many in effect as you like unless a card says otherwise. On your turn, you may pass a potion to an adjacent hero as long as neither of you is next to a monster. If you drop to 0 Body Points, you may immediately drink a potion that restores Body Points. You may also gamble on a Potion of Unforeseeable Fate, which draws and activates a random alchemy card and might turn out to be a healing potion.
The Underground Market
Mentor's old ally Zerese runs this market beneath the city. It sells the new items below, every potion in the alchemy deck that has a gold coin value, and everything in the Game System's armory. You can buy there between quests when the quest notes allow it. Several quests end with "Heroes may not visit any shops after this quest", so stock up when you get the chance.
You can also sell any item the Market stocks, for half its listed cost rounded down. For example, a 350-coin longsword sells for 175 and a 25-coin dagger for 12.
| Item | Cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Caltrops | 100 gc | No action needed. Drop a caltrops tile on a square you move through. Anyone who moves onto it rolls one combat die and must stop moving unless they roll a white shield (so they stop 2 times in 3). The tile is removed once someone ends a turn on it. One use. |
| Reagent Kit | 400 gc | As an action next to an Alchemist's Bench, turn one reagent into a potion. Five uses. The Wizard doesn't need one. |
| Smoke Bomb | 100 gc | Use during your move on one adjacent monster. Until that monster's next turn, every hero can move unseen through its square. One use. |
Elven Mercenaries
These are loyal soldiers of Elethorn who have gone into hiding. You don't start with any. The quest notes tell you when the heroes find one, for example by paying a minstrel, persuading a retired veteran or freeing a prisoner. Each time, you choose one of the four types to unlock. After that, a hero can hire that type between quests.
| Mercenary | Cost per quest | Move | Attack | Defend | Body | Mind | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Striker | 100 gc | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Hits hardest and defends best |
| Glaive | 75 gc | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Polearm: attacks diagonally |
| Arbalist | 75 gc | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Crossbow; switches to a broadsword when adjacent |
| Scout | 50 gc | 9 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Finds and disarms traps as the Dwarf does |
- A mercenary moves and acts on its hero's turn. It can't search for treasure or traps, except that the Scout handles traps.
- You can't hire two of the same type for one quest.
- To keep a mercenary for the next quest, pay half its cost, rounded down. If it dies, you can hire one again later at full price.
- A mercenary hired with a reputation token stays with its hero, free, until it dies or is dismissed. This is usually the best use of a spare token.
The Monsters of Elethorn
These are the stat lines from the monster chart in the quest book. "Spells" means Dread spells, each cast once per quest unless marked "at will". The cards describe what each spell does.
| Monster | Move | Attack | Defend | Body | Mind | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dread Cultist | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Spells: Dreadlights, Channel Dread |
| 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 swordmasters of Elethorn |
| Assassin | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Attacks diagonally |
| Magus Guard | 8 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | Spells: Ball of Flame, Tempest (chart row is printed as "Magus Knight") |
| Specter | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Undead, ethereal. Channel Dread at will. Holy Water destroys it. |
| Dread Wraith | 9 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | Large, ethereal. Spells: Dreadlights, Channel Dread, Fear, Summon Specters |
Specters have just 1 Body Point, but they are hard to hit. A Barbarian with 3 Attack dice and an ordinary weapon has only a 27.0% chance of destroying one per attack (needing more black shields than the Specter's three dice roll), against 68.9% if skulls counted. The cheap answers are Holy Water, attack spells and artifact weapons. Specters also have 0 Mind Points, so Sleep does nothing to them.
Dread Cultists are fragile (1 Body, 2 Defend), but in one quest a group of them standing in a summoning circle calls up two more Specters at the start of each of Zargon's turns while at least two Cultists are still alive. Kill them fast.
Ethereal Attack Calculator
These are exact odds for one hero attack against an ethereal monster. An ordinary weapon hits only on black shields. A spell or artifact attack hits on skulls as usual. The monster defends with black shields either way.
These odds ignore special abilities. In Quest 10, Magrian also heals and has the Dread Moon's protection.
The Ten Quests
The campaign falls into four parts. You sneak in under the city, move through the streets of a capital under curfew, collect Lunar Charms at the moon temple, and finally storm the palace and the arcane tower.
Spoiler warning: The quest summaries below are written for the Zargon player. If you're playing a hero, skip to "Tips for the Heroes".
Quest-by-quest notes for Zargon
- Ancient Waterways Within. The sentries turned the heroes away at the city gates, so they come in through old underground waterways. If a hero rolls doubles for movement while in a waterway, they don't move. Instead they are dragged that many squares toward a pit-trap drain and may fall in. A plaque reading "The winds of Elethorn are sweet bygones" warns that a statue will become a Gargoyle unless someone has cast an Air spell in that room. The Wandering Monster is an Abomination.
- A Smuggler's Run. This quest introduces disguises, the Underground Market (Zerese) and the hideout, which needs a key found in a chest. If the heroes pay a refugee minstrel 200 gold coins, they get a reputation token and unlock a mercenary. The Wandering Monster is a Thief who steals 25 gold coins from undisguised heroes.
- Dread in the Downpour. The heroes knock on doors marked X to question citizens. Each knock rolls one combat die, and a skull counts as a success. After three successes, the next X door is the right one. The Wandering Monster depends on your disguise: a Specter if disguised, a Magus Guard if not.
- New Friends in Low Places. The heroes start in a cell with their equipment taken away. They fight unarmed until they reach the jailer's room, where they get their gear back. Defeated guards and cultists drop key rings, and each ring opens one locked door. There are prisoners to free, a mercenary to unlock and a dying elf with a star-shaped amulet.
- Pandemonium in the Streets. The heroes escape across a plaza patrolled by guards. Monsters on a plaza stay inactive until they're attacked or an undisguised hero comes into view. There's a merchant to protect, a chest that only the star amulet opens, and a chest with a poison needle (3 Body Points).
- The Tunnels of a Secret Cadre. Ithraeon, the mysterious stranger, turns out to be one of the Queen's advisors and a member of the Cadre of the Raven's Veil. He gives the heroes a Lunar Charm. Cultists in a summoning circle call up Specters, and the artifact Raven's Talon lies on a tomb guarded by elven Skeletons that can each cast Fire of Wrath once.
- Elven Temple of the Moon. The heroes race to collect Lunar Charms in the ruined temple. Several rooms punish anyone who enters without a Lunar Charm. The Mirror Gates lead to a lesser Realm of Reflection that holds Phoenix Ash. This is the first quest with Dread Moon empowerment.
- Voices From Beyond. The first time each monster dies, roll one combat die. On a black shield, the dead rise and it comes back as a Zombie. A hooded stranger buys reputation tokens for 200 gold coins and later gives the heroes the Dawnshield. Opening a rift into the Realm of Reflection is a Mind test (see the tip below). Zerese offers one last visit to the Market.
- The Royal Palace Awaits. Sir Ragnar (using the Dread Warrior figure) stands at Move 5, Attack 5, Defend 5, Body 4, Mind 4. The first time he drops to 0 Body he stays at 1. Afterwards, Lunar Charms are turned into lunarium at an Alchemist's Bench so the heroes can pass the Mirror Gates. Body and Mind Points are not restored after this quest.
- Under the Dread Moon. At the top of the arcane tower, the heroes face Magrian the Dread Wraith. The first Magrian they meet is a mirror image that shatters. The real one heals 1 Body Point a turn by draining the imprisoned Queen. Once per quest each, Zargon may also use Terror, Consume Magic, Reflection and Shift Reality. One room holds 1,989 gold coins, a nod to the original game's year. The Wandering Monsters are 2 Specters.
Tips for the Heroes
- Plan for no shops. After several quests, you can't visit any shop. Buy potions and caltrops whenever Zerese is around, and keep a reputation token in reserve. You can sell it for Market credit even when the shops are closed.
- Stay disguised in the streets. In the city quests, disguised heroes slip past inactive guards and take them out silently. If you drop the disguise, the whole plaza wakes up. Keep the big weapons and the spells for the fights that actually need them.
- Let the Wizard brew. The Wizard crafts without a Reagent Kit, including between quests. Give the Wizard your reagents and buy a kit only if someone else needs to brew at a bench in the middle of a quest.
- Bring magic for ghosts. Against Specters, keep an attack spell or Holy Water ready. Ordinary weapons hit them only on black shields.
- Pick the right door-opener. The rift in Quest 8 is a roll of one red die plus your current Mind Points. A total of 1–4 releases three Specters, 5–6 costs 1 Mind Point, and over 6 is safe. A full-Mind Wizard (6) is always safe. A full-Mind Elf (4) is safe on a 3 or higher, two times in three. A Barbarian (2) releases the Specters one time in three.
- Hire with tokens. A mercenary hired with a reputation token is permanent and free. A Striker (4 Attack, 5 Defend) bought this way is worth it for the rest of the campaign.
Where Next
Read the story behind these quests on Rise of the Dread Moon: Lore. If you haven't played the first half of the saga yet, go back to The Mage of the Mirror. To learn the pack's new hero, read the Knight. To check odds of your own, use the Dice Roller.