Advanced Heroquest Cheat Sheet

 Advanced Heroquest Cheat Sheet

Exploration Turns
Player Phase: In an agreed order (or decided by the leader) each players moves their set of
models one at a time.
1. A model may move up to 12 spaces (no diagonals). Models must end their movement before
reaching sections or opening doors that generate new dungeon sections.
2. A hero may instead of moving put on OR remove armour. It takes 2 rounds to do both.
3. A hero may open a door before or after moving, but doing so results in the end of their turn.
4. A hero may open a chest (GM rolls d12 on treasure chests table on GM’s reference sheet). The
contents may be taken at any time by an adjacent model.
5. A hero instead of moving may search for secret doors (GM rolls d12 on secret doors table on
GM’s reference sheet) once per wall section in single door rooms or dead ends. The hero must
be in the relevant section. The GM may gain a dungeon counter from you doing this.
6. A hero instead of moving may search for hidden treasure (GM rolls 2d12 on hidden treasure
table on GM’s reference sheet) once per room, providing the hero is in that room. The GM
may gain a dungeon counter from you doing this.
Traps are triggered by the GM using a trap dungeon counter when a model enters a previously
unentered square or opens a chest. (Player rolls on the Traps Table and must roll over the Spot
Chance to avoid triggering the trap). To avoid an untriggered trap do not open the chest or
move through the trapped or adjacent squares. Move any heroes out of this area. To disarm a
trap the hero must roll over the Disarm Chance (a roll of 12 gives +1 to future disarm attempts,
a 1 gives +1 Wound).
Exploration Phase: GM generates new passage sections and/or rooms.
GM Phase: GM rolls a die. On a roll of 1 or 12 he gets a dungeon counter and chuckles evilly.
Combat Turns
Combat turns start when monsters are encounter until all monsters or heroes are dead or the heroes
have run away.
At the start of combat GM and Leader roll 1d12 each. An elf hero sighting the monsters gives a +1 to
the leader’s roll, while monster sentries give +1 to the GM’s roll.
If the GM rolls higher he places monsters. Leader can moves each monster 1 sq. Monsters go first.
If the Leader rolls higher he places monsters. GM may move each monster 1 sq. Heroes go first.
Models may never move through other models and movement is limited by Speed characteristic during
combat. Each hero moves all their models in a mutually agreed order (or decided by Leader).
Each model on the hero’s side may do one of the following:-
1. Move and attack, or attack and move each figure he controls.
2. Open/Close door instead of attack before or after moving. New dungeon sections may be generated
by this action but the figure cannot pass through such a door in the same combat round. Henchmen
may open/close doors in combat, but not in exploration turns.
3. Run – Speed Rating + 1d12 squares. 1 = stumble (no extra move). Models may not open/close doors
while running.
4. If the model is adjacent to a knocked out hero it can drag the hero 3 squares.
Death Zones
Each model exerts a death zone onto any square it can attack (typically but not always the 4
adjacent non-diagonal squares). The death zone is focused when an opponent enters and thus
other opponents can move through the death zone freely. A model in an opponent's death zone
cannot open or close doors, open treasure chests or cast certain spells.

Hand To Hand Combat
A model may hand-to-hand attack any model in its death zone.
1. Attacker rolls to hit. Attacker must roll higher than the number under the target’s Weapon Skill
on the Hand-to-Hand Combat section of the attacker's character sheet.
A 12 (or 11-12 for some weapons) gives a Critical Hit (a free attack: make another attack which
can also result in another Critical Hit or a Fumble). A 1 (1-2 for some weapons) gives a Fumble
(the target gets a free attack).
2. If successful the attacker rolls number of damage dice (see Weapons on character sheet).
Compare each roll to target’s Toughness. Target suffers one wound for each roll greater or
equal to its toughness. Rolls of 12 cause critical damage (1 Wound plus roll an extra damage
dice).
Ranged Combat
A model may use a ranged attack if it is not in an enemy’s death zone and is handled similar to
above.
1. Attacker rolls to hit. Attacker counts number of non-diagonal squares from attacker to target
and roll higher than number on the Ranged Combat section of the attacker's character sheet.
Ranged weapons need line of sight. Walls/models/doors obscure unless the attacker is in square
immediately behind an open door or a friendly model adjacent to attacker. In areas where it is
hard to judge treat the range as +4 squares per partial cover.
As above, but Critical Hit = half the Toughness of the enemy for the purposes of damage dice.
Fumble = hit a friendly model within 2 spaces of the target (if applicable).
2. If successful the attacker rolls number of damage dice (see Weapons on character sheet).
3. Arrows are can be recovered intact on a roll of 10 or more, other weapons on a roll of 7 or more.
Wounds
A monster or Henchman is killed at 0 or lower wounds. Its slayer may move into its square.
Heroes are KO'd at 0 wounds. An adjacent friendly model can drag him (3 squares in combat, 6
in exploration). If not an opponent's death zone they can administer a healing potion. Magic
can also revive them.
Heroes die if reduced to below 0 wounds.
Wounds are recovered at the end of an expedition.
Fate Points
A Hero may spend any number of Fate Points per combat turn but they cannot be used on
behalf of other heroes or henchmen. Fate Points can be spent to negate all damage a Hero
suffered from an attack or trap, or a failed roll into a success.
Spent Fate Points are recovered at the end of an expedition.
Spells
A spcllcastcr may cast one spell per turn. Casting a spell uses up the relevant spell components
(costs 25 GCs to replace after expedition). Some spells require an Intelligence check to cast.
High elf warrior-wizards make an additional Intelligence check to cast all spells.
Equipment
A model may carry 250 GCs, 1 suit of armour, 3 weapons, 1 shield, 1 helm, 1 ring and 1 amulet.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20160703015613/http://www.skerrigan.co.uk/AHQ/CheatSheet.pdf 

The slot on Gretch Filtertrons

If you look closely ...

...some Gretsch pickups have a slot in the middle of the pickup cover. Why?

Let's look up US patent 2892371



 

"A slot 14h extending between slots 14a in the top wall 14 constitutes a gap for inhibiting circulating currents in top wall 14 around slots 14a. "

Lenz’s law, in electromagnetism, states that an induced electric current flows in a direction such that the current opposes the change that induced it.

This means that the pickup cover of an electric guitar generates a signal that opposes the signal of the guitar pickup. The slot in Gretsch pickups reduces the induced currents (called eddy currents) that cancel out some of the guitar signal. Mostly the high frequencies.

Ray Butts discusses his invention of the Filter'Tron pickup

Ray Butts: The theory was that there were eddy currents. Have you heard of that? If there's any kind of bulk metal brought into the magnetic field, the magnetism tends to cause currents to flow. Therefore, anything that's in a closed circuit would do that. I figured that this metal housing around these screws, if that was solid there, then there'd be an eddy current effect—it would be like a closed loop around the pole pieces. So I figured that if I broke it, put a gap in there, then they would cancel each other out. That was the thought. Whether it did or not, I don't know [laughs].

Improved Pickup Cover Geometry Ken Willmott

Cheap Telecaster neck pickups have brass pickup covers that cut a lot of high frequencies, some folk cut slots to kill the eddy currents:


The covers reduce electromagnetic interference, which is good, and slotting the pickup covers reduces signal loss. Gretsch seems to be the only pickup manufacturer who actually slotted their pickup covers.

Jump to 2:23 to see how slots cut in the pendulum reduce eddy currents and magnetic braking:


A Flutter Renting app

 A Flutter Renting app I wrote. Some resizing needed, but it connects to Firebase and you can navigate around.


Ibanez MT-10 Mostortion kit for $40

 Update: The kit arrived. It is a Zendrive, not an OD-1. So more changes will be required. I might build it as a Zendrive to compare with my Rumble Drive. If it isn't better than the Rumble drive it will become a Mostortion.

Zendrive -> Mostortion conversion schematic:

This is the AliExpress Landtone Boss OD-1 with tone control kit (it says OD-1 on the PCB in the photo, that's how you know Edit: apparently not), almost exactly the same as a true bypass tube screamer. If you replace the tone control with a 3-band passive EQ and add an extra clipping diode, you get a Ibanez MT-10 Mostortion, which is out of production. The Danelectro Roebuck Distortion Pedal is a clone for $200. So this kit is good if you want a cheap copy that you can easily modify to suit your needs.

You need to be able to solder and to relate the schematic to the PCB. Some components will change, some will disappear, and the tone controls will have the new components soldered directly to them.


You drill 2 extra holes in the enclosure, and add new treble, middle and bass pots. Solder the new caps and resistors to the pots, since the PCB don't know what they are. Some components change, and the non-inverting input after the tone control is different. Replace 3 clipping diodes with 4 new ones and replace the opamp with the MOSFET opamp. Order the semiconductors and a bag of metal film resistors separately. And the capacitors, plastic film for the tone control caps, tantalum or electrolytic for the 1uF cap.

Here is the new schematic:

.

$25 for the kit shipped, $15 for the new pots and semiconductors.

Aion has a custom PCB with nice instructions, as does AMZ. For the extra $10 you get better instructions than you do here.

 
It's Alive!

Hot Harmonics

 My Hot Tubes/ Craig Anderton Tube Sound Fuzz variants from the '90s. Nowadays I would get the cheapest Aliexpress booster pedal (Kokko FBS-2), and tack the last 2 stages of the "Basic" arrangement onto the output. That would be about $US 20, and an hour's work.

Hot Harmonics:

"Basic" Hot Harmonics:

Hot Harmonics

This is the "House Pedal" - an overdriver/distortion/fuzz/octave up pedal. It's not a just a tweaked copy of something else, although it functions as a simplified Electro-Harmonix "Hot Tubes". No opamps, just a standard 1-FET booster to drive the CMOS inverters. Overdriven CMOS inverters actually sound a bit like a tube guitar amp, moreso than most opamp diode clipper circuits. I think. It's all the mind anyway.

A lot of distortion and volume from this thing, and I've reduced the gain from R.G. Keen's "Hot Tubes" schematic. I don't think the EH Hot Tubes was this hot (it used a CD4049BE, this may be the reason). The EH Hot Tubes is a guitar amp simulator. You have 2 inverting asymmetrical clipping stages, a tone control and a symmetricial clipping stage. This is a crude model of a push-pull guitar amp.

It does seem that the manufacturer of the CD4049UBE chip used makes a big difference. It's worth trying a couple of manufacturers. Harris (CD4049UBE H9801) and ST Microelectronics (HCF4049UBE W990A9828 MALAYSIA) work for me. I plan to try the CD4069 next (Ed Rembold's suggestion).

You can replace the input transistor with your favourite volume booster, a tube screamer, or an opamp as in the Guitar Player Anderton Tube Sound Fuzz. It does actually sound a bit like an overdriven tube amp. 

 

The Basic Hot Harmonics has about 15 components, which is almost as minimalist as it gets. There is no FET preamp stage, so the CMOS gain has been increased. Like a Fuzz Face, the pickup loads the input, reducing high frequencies (which is good). Turning the volume control down to about 7 takes nearly all the distortion away, giving a bright rhythn guitar sound.

It doesn't sound like a Fuzz Face of course, more of a "amp at 11" sound.

See also the Slow Finger on Aron Nelson's page.



 

 
 

Minden Games Retro - Tanks are people too

Minden Games Retro has highly simplified armor rules for Advanced Squad Leader. Tanks don't actually have turrets, crews are never stunned and so on.
Since Squad Leader is concerned with "soft" elements such as individual leaders, I propose some touchy-feely rules to make tank combat more human.


  1. Tank Damage
  2. Hesitation Revisited
  3. Crew Exposure
  4. Close Combat
So a leader musters the tanks under his command into a coordinated attack. His head is out of the turret, so he is able to quickly acquire the first enemy anti-tank gun and destroy it. Then his tank is hit, but his loyal crew work around the damage and keep on going. Then his radio operator is killed, the crew are stunned, but the leader helps clear enemy infantry off the tank. An enemy tank outmaneuvers him, our leader escapes the burning tank with the rest of the crew, hitching a ride on a passing friendly tank, only to be killed by a nearby infantry platoon.



Tank Damage

In Retro you tank is either a wreck, or fine and dandy. Wartime accounts often tell of a tank taking damage, and the crew having to deal with it. Also, even a heavy tank can be hit in a weak spot, or just take so many knocks that things stop working. Here we add drama as your last tank is damaged, but the leadership of the commander turns the situation around:
Rule:If you get the exact dice roll to kill on the Armor Combat Table, or you fail to kill by just 1, or you roll a natural "2" (ignore the Retro "-- = Track hit on DR of 2"), use the following table for the result: 

D6Effect
<1Fleeing DRM
1Fleeing DRM
2Kill
3Immobilized
4Radio Destroyed
5May no longer Fire
6Miss a turn
>6No effect



Apply the Armor Leader rating as a DRM. "Fleeing DRM" mean the target must flee in its next move subject to "Fleeing DRM"  rules. Radio destroyed means the AFV becomes an "AFV WITHOUT RADIOS" if it has a radio. If it has no radio, it adds +2 DRM to its "AFV WITHOUT RADIOS" roll. immobilized AFVs may not pivot.

Here 15 Shermans concentrate fire on 2 King Tigers, and The Tigers are too badly damaged to continue, even though the King Tiger armor is not penetrated:

The Shermans would be easy game for the too-long 8.8 cm cannons of the King
Tiger and the 7.5 cm cannons of the Panthers, which were superior at this
distance. ... 
His Tiger had received numerous hits
which shook up its weapons system, and the electrical power was knocked out.
After another round to the turret he was wounded on the head and had to abandon
the smoking Panzer which would catch fire at any minute.
Minutes later the second Tiger Kommandant, Obersturmführer Dollinger, came
back and was bleeding heavily from his head and was silent. After his wound had
been dressed he reported that the smoke from the rounds made it impossible to
see through the gun's optics. It was impossible for him to see his targets. The
thick response of enemy hits ruined the possibility of hitting another
Sherman.
The numerical superiority of the approximately fifteen Shermans turned our
superiority in weaponry into nothing. The Tiger of Obersturmführer Dollinger
then received another hit which 'amputated' the first third of its cannon. 

This caused us to realize that we had been literally crushed, which had
never before been so obvious.
 "CHRONICLE OF THE 7. PANZER-KOMPANIE, i. SS-PANZER DIVISION 'LEIBSTANDARTE,' by Ralf Tiemann:

The brothers Blues

 And Eddie.

You can't go back

Back to my parent's house, now half my house, for my Dad's funeral.
Soda bread, fish and chips.
I'm never going back to my old school. See you in hell.

Parental wallpaper.

Anti-Angry Mob Doorstop

When you get shamed for hoarding more than one can of baked beans, you will need something to delay the enraged horde as you unlock your magical defence items. This is a piece of wood with a wedge on one end. You have to have an immovable object at t'other end, in this case a handy wall.

3d files:

Space Crusade Scout rules

Scout squad for Space Crusade:

Sgt Reeves and the boys back from retirement


ClassShootingH2HMoveArmorLives
Sniper*1w 1r1w711
Heavy bolter2r2w511
Bolter/combat knife2w2w711
SGT: Bolter/Chainsword1w 1r2w716
*Sniper with thermal imaging, can shoot an enemy through 1 square of walls. Shooting the target reveals it.

They can chose the orders and equipment cards of any Space Marine chapter. Campaign advancement is the same as Marines.

The scouts are fast but vulnerable to gunfire,  so they get extra actions, cover and going prone, loosely based on Advanced Space Crusade.

Rules: A roll of 1 cannot kill a scout in H2H. A commander is a scout for rule purposes.

At the start of each turn, Roll 2 red dice to get the Squad's Extra Action points, each point may be used for an "Extra Action"

Extra Actions:
1) One reroll on one shooting attack (aimed fire attack), not overwatch.
2) Enter overwatch, may fire once during enemy turn when a moving enemy halts, before it attacks.
3) Throw a grenade (3x3 square, 2w) in addition to firing, not overwatch.
(You can make up more actions, such as first aid with a 1 in 6 chance of saving a marine killed on the previous turn)

You show a scout is in cover by placing it on the line between 2 squares. Unless an attacker can shoot at both squares, the scout is under cover from that attacker, and gets +1 to armor. This action costs 1 movement point. Next turn, the scout can start to move from either square.

Prone: Move 1 square, and turn mini over. Defender gets a +1 armor if shot at, may only roll 1 die in H2H.

Comment: The scouts are very different from Marines, and they borrow from Advanced Space Crusade, so that adds interest. They are worth shooting at by Orcs and Chaos Marines, since they are good at H2H. They can shoot more than Marines, although they have only 1 heavy weapon. The sniper can reveal a suspected dreadnought, and stay well away from the enemy.
You could use Eldar as scouts, the extra speed and skills make sense.
The scouts are easily available on EBay, and you can google the 3D printer files. "Scout Sniper" and "SM Scout" on TinkerCad. Also "Space Orc".

Simple 3d replication of objects

Make a sort of 3D object
From a photo, convert to svg, 2 contrast settings

High contrast svg
Combine 2 svg versions in TinkerCAD


You now have the 3d item at the top, which you can 3D print. It isn't very realistic, but it has a style of its own. I used Paint .Net to process the photos, and Inkscape to convert to .svg.TinkerCAD can import the .svg files.