HEROSCAPE Preview Part 1

Welcome back, gamers!

If you haven’t yet heard the exciting news, we at Avalon Hill are bringing back a fan favorite Hasbro game, HEROSCAPE. We posted a teaser of the upcoming set, Age of Annihilation, to our social channels and then showcased a few of the figures at Gen Con. And in the days after the convention, our team has been dropping images and info in our recently launched Discord server. It’s been amazing to see the reaction from fans both new and old so far!

But we know not everyone has joined our Discord server just yet, so we’d like to showcase the first week of images and designer’s notes, care of Avalon Hill’s Senior Director of Design and Development Chris Nadeau. We’ll cover the first few days of what’s been shared, but please note that not all designs are final, and everything shown here is subject to change. Now let’s take a look!

DAY ONE

DESIGNER'S NOTES - "THE DAWN RAIDER SYNDICATE" A first look at our initial concept boards associated with one of HEROSCAPE’s playable factions for the upcoming release of Age Of Annihilation. The DAWN RAIDER SYNDICATE represented an amazing opportunity to recognize some of our previous fan favorite species in the product line, while also creating a platform to experiment with never-before-seen creatures and unit types. Enjoy:

 

DAY TWO

DESIGNER'S NOTES - FACTION LORE - The mercenaries of the syndicate call no Valkyrie their master, refusing to bend the knee to any of the warring factions on Valhalla. With motivations as varied as the composition of those species that call the Syndicate their own, the members take to the battlefields of Valhalla for whichever side pays their high price for temporary loyalty. Often found in the shadows of the main advance, they fight for more than just the spoils, booty or carnage, but because they enjoy the challenge of battle. The Dawn Raider Syndicate is led by a charismatic council of captains, who collectively function as the Syndicates governing body in deciding the path of the gang, negotiate terms with the other factions on Valhalla, which contracts to honor, confirm new members into the group etc. With such a diverse mix of characters and specialties within their ranks, there is always a willing crew available for the required task at hand, coming into each battle hard, and making their impact felt, fighting like madmen.

 

DESIGNER'S NOTES - FACTION POWERS - To highlight the awesome powers and synergy between our unique squads and the Dawn Raider Syndicate heroes, let’s take a look how these "monster slayers" and "The Widow" work together to overwhelm their enemies on the field of battle:

THE CAPTAIN’S WAY - POWER OF UNIQUE SQUAD

At the start of the game, choose one Unique Captain you control to be their chosen assigned Captain. While within 4 clear sight spaces of their chosen Captain, roll one additional defense die against attacks from non-adjacent figures. Before taking a turn with (“the monster slayers"), you may first take a turn with their chosen Captain or a Dawn Raider Syndicate hero you control.

PIRATE COMMANDER - POWER OF UNIQUE HERO

If there is an Order Marker on ("The Widow"), all Dawn Raider Syndicate figures you control gain one additional attack die when attacking adjacent figures.

 

DAY THREE

DESIGNER'S NOTES - RECOGNITION OF OUR PAST AND A PATH TOWARDS OUR FUTURE – For almost two decades, players have endeared themselves to the faces and forms of so many interesting personalities on the surface of Valhalla. When we initiated the project and started development, we made the decision to drastically expand our universe. Giving existing players an opportunity to build out a world they have only seen a small fraction of, while also providing new players a chance to own something themselves. We wanted every new player to feel they possess a level field to begin their collections alongside the original generation of Heroscapers. However, this game means so much to so many players, and the memories it has created for fans are simply the stuff of strategy gaming legend. To that point, we wanted to ensure existing fans were able to affirm that those creatures and narratives they loved could live on into this new era. The Dawn Raider Syndicate provided us with that perfect opportunity to reintroduce many of our most beloved and recognizable species back into The Battle For All Time, reminding us all that the war never ended on Valhalla, and grounding our next chapter in a foundation of our past, while also providing everyone something fresh to spark their imaginations for our future together.

 

DESIGNER'S NOTES – BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE, BUT FULL OF NEW TWISTS – For so many strategy gamers, HEROSCAPE represented something different and accessible. It reached new players and jump-started a generation of gamers looking to plunge into tabletop wargaming who could stand proud over their armies of battle and apply their competitive spirit. It was a REQUIREMENT from Day 1, that anything we produced would be backwards compatible with existing rule systems and game mechanics. However, it couldn’t simply be “more of” and the team took on the task with zeal to unlock greater depth in the range of abilities and powers. For the team, nothing excites us more then to see how YOU will dive into army builds, combinations and strategies, using never before seen powers to once again march to war upon the surface of Valhalla. And, for those who love their historical ties, perhaps a closer look is needed.

A MASTER OF DISGUISE

If (Pirate Queen Bonny) is targeted with a normal or special attack, roll a 20-sided die. If you roll a 12 or higher, the attacking figure may not attack (Pirate Queen Bonny).

 

DAY FOUR

DESIGNER'S NOTES – Wow, those baby dragons grow up really fast don't they...

 

Thanks for joining us, and we hope you’re as excited for HEROSCAPE as we are! Next post we’ll get into another faction who will enter the fray in Age of Annihilation, or you can find out now by joining our Discord server here. It’s a great place to let us know what you think and to stay as up to date as possible on all the latest Avalon Hill news.

 

Until the next adventure!