A Look at Streamlined Dice Combat Systems for HeroQuest, Space Crusade, Shadows of Brimstone & More

Always Board Never Boring likes all kinds of games, but he is a big fan of really streamlined rules and chucking dice. In this video he looks at five different games that have very simple dice-based combat systems, all of which are different, and all of which are quick to resolve, ensuring gameplay never slows down. Be aware, this is certainly not an exhaustive list, and neither is it a detailed look at each of the systems' nuances. It's just a bit of fun, really.
Here are some time stamps:
00:00 Intro
01:10 HeroQuest
03:02 Space Crusade
04:53 Advanced Heroquest
06:35 Advanced Space Crusade
09:19 Shadows of Brimstone
#heroquest #spacecrusade #shadowsofbrimstone
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[@maskedasmr2156]

Great video mate! I always loved HQ and SC but never sat down and thought how elegant the systems of combat were.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

They are so simple but so engaging. There is something really enjoyable about being able to roll a handful of dice and immediately identify how you did.

[@valacan]

So excited to have Shadows of Brimstone content on your channel. I have tons of expansions for the game and would love to see you do some deep dives.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've only just picked up City of Ancients. I'm really enjoying it and I can see myself expanding it a bit.

[@rossithomas2415]

Personnaly, the most clever combat dice system I saw comes from Mini Rogue. 1-2-3 dices depending on character's level, 1 dice for dungeon events or monsters, on dice for when you're cursed and one for when you're poisoned. With critical hits and misses. So streamlined, intuitive and clever

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I had never heard of Mini Rogue. I will have to look into it.

[@rossithomas2415]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring It's a little gem (I think, from france) It's a 1-2 players dungeon crawler with streamlined, elegant rules and game design

[@Ekwah51]

Hero Quest...is just...brilliant! Even as the Evil Dungeon Master, there is so much to do and embelish upon. One of the House rules/tweaks that i like to do, is upon set up. I will give some off my minions extra hit points. Like the Ogres had. The look of suprise on the heroes faces when that little Gobbo has 5 hit points and just wont die.....pricless. Love your content. Keep up the good work 👍

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

One of my friends the other day thoughtfully mused that HeroQuest may be the perfect dungeoncrawler. It balances everything so well. A tight design but completely open-ended with easily modded rules and the ability to make your own adventures. Thanks for the kind words, and watch out for those gobbos. They've clearly been hitting the gym.

[@daviddupont517]

3 month with no video of you in my timeline. Very happy to see that I have a lot to watch back

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Aren't you subscribed to the channel? If you subscribe and switch on notifications you should get informed when I post (or at least more regularly). Also, with recent obvious exceptions, look for me on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'm pretty consistent with the schedule.

[@daviddupont517]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I do. Thanks for the schedule

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@daviddupont517 KZbin is hopeless with notifications. I’m glad you found me again!

[@zombiedad]

Thanks ABNB! Quite thought provoking. The system needs to match the game too. The quick and simple yet elegant has it’s own beauty though. Really interesting. Thanks

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That's a very good point. I am reminded of when FFG remade DungeonQuest and they tacked on a fiddly card combat system that was completely at odds with how DungeonQuest is supposed to be played. Some games can (and sometimes should) support more complicated systems; DungeonQuest just wasn't the right game for that one.

[@VaultBoy13]

One of my favorite simple dice systems is from Hellboy: The Board Game. Dice are 4 different colors that represent the strength of the dice. For an action you'll grab 3 dice of a specific color and will potentially upgrade/downgrade individual dice based on effects. On top of that, you roll an effect dice which generally provides a bonus, but there's a 1/6 chance of something bad happening. So, for example, Hellboy will punch with red dice (which are strong), shoot with the yellow dice (which are the weakest), and investigate and defend with orange dice (which are ok). If there's a big enemy that really needs to be knocked out then Hellboy might spend multiple action points to upgrade red dice to black dice. Additionally, if Abe Sapien is in the same area, he could spend an action to point to help out Hellboy which would upgrade another die. It's a simple system with good decision points, but players don't get bogged down in the weeds. For cooperative dungeon crawlers, I want the combat to be resolved with a single dice roll.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've talked about the Hellboy dice system on the channel before. I loved it on paper, and thought it was really clever (I love a lot of the designer's other work too) but I absolutely hated it in practice, unfortunately. I found levelling the dice up and down cumbersome and slowed the pace of every action as you go "okay I have these dice, I will upgrade this one with an ability, but I have to downgrade because there's a monster here, and then downgrade because there's some furniture, but oh then I can upgrade because someone is assisting, oh but I have some damage that means I have to downgrade..." I certainly see why you would like it, and as I said, it's a very clever system, but it was one of those times when it just didn't work for me personally.

[@lindgrenjonas]

I like these new thematic analyses. There's alot to be said for streamlining and still, so many games get stuck in special hero actions, unique feats etc. I like the Descent 2nd edition dice system of shields, hits and 'specials' that might be converted to unique effects. Going further from the dungeon crawler, Memoir 44 and 878 Vikings have exciting dice mechanics where retreats are one results at the wrong (or right) moment. P. S. Thank you for the video paying homage to your father. It made me prioritize a trip home. ❤️

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. While I think Descent 2nd could feel a little bloated, it did a lot of really good things and really is a bit of a classic. And thanks for watching the tribute video. I'm really pleased to hear it made you think about home and catching up with family. That's actually really nice to hear.

[@AlexanderGrahamSmell]

Looking forward to advanced space crusade. There doesn't really seem to be a lot of anything about it on youtube besides the videos on this channel that are already up. Looks intriguing

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

There should be some more coverage on the channel fairly soon. Thanks for watching.

[@zug1974]

It was so cool to see Shadows of Brimstone! It's a fun system. My current dice mechanics darling is the samurai skirmish game Test of Honor. The dice are custom, but essentially: 1 = an X 2-3= blank 4-5=one hit 6 = two hits Dice are built up into a dice pool (You get three dice on average), and you need three hits to succeed, and five hits to do a critical hit. If you roll more X's than hits then you fumble. Criticals and fumbles are tied to the action you are doing and the weapon you are using, which really adds a lot of flavor to the game. If you score a critical when you are evading a blow in combat, for example, you will usually get a quick attack back, but if you fumble you will lose your footing and fall prone. If you were wielding a staff in the same situation, a critical would have you spin your staff around and knock your attacker prone rather than damage him. It's very elegant and fun.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Oh, nice. I nearly got into Test of Honour. I ordered it online years ago from a company that then couldn't get stock. After six months or so had passed I sort of went off the idea and cancelled my order. I always thought it looked like a fun system, though.

[@Bourbon_and_Board_Games]

I'm just over here distracted at the cthulhu effect mythic dice white shield faces 😅 half mine are that way, too

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm not sure what that is, I'm afraid. I bought my copy of HeroQuest at retail rather than through a mythic pledge.

[@Bourbon_and_Board_Games]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring a lot of the white shield dice faces that came with mythic had printing issues where the full lion image didn't print on it. Kinda looks like cthulhu 😂 I thought I saw some of yours with the same issue!

[@TheBradMang]

Looking forward to more Advanced Space Crusade content! ASC needs a solid 'how to play' video, hope that's in the pipeline :)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I agree (and it is). Thanks for watching.

[@dantipton1987]

Are you going to look at or review "Return to Dark Tower". It was fun for me way back. Have you ever tried L5R RPG D10 system. I love it.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Unfortunately I don't own Return to Dark Tower and it's not on my list to pick up at the moment. And no, I've never played Legend of the 5 Rings.

[@bagger245]

I used to dislike custom dice but now I love them. Descent ,Massive Darkness, Orcquest are examples, but they all trace their lineage from Heroquest dice. The GW Betrayal at Calth game also uses similar dice.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Betrayal at Calth was a good game. Think that one took a lot of people by surprise.

[@bagger245]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring indeed. I scored a super cheap copy without miniatures. I like the casual skirmish system.

[@HivisoftheScale]

I'm "on the fence" when it comes to custom Dice. I love the HeroQuest dice, but I just couldn't get into a new Star Wars RPG because of the custom dice which are sold separately. 🕵

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I do lean towards regular numbered dice more than custom dice, but I think some games do benefit from them.

[@quakeSanchez]

When I found out about it and played it, Tyranid Attack won me over as a quick and easy way to play Warhammer. Because nostalgia is not a factor in this instance for me, I like 'Betreyal of Calth' dice slightly more than those from HeroQuest. Unique effects you get when you roll a crit are to die for! I'm really looking forward to all forms of Advanced Space Crusade content. Eager to try those combat rules out.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Betrayal at Calth was a really solid game with some great rules.

[@geeksworkshop]

You should take a look at Aristeia the board game I think that's the pinnacle of this dice system.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I've heard of Aristeia but never played it.

[@marasmusine]

I really like the Advanced Heroquest D12 system. Just enough to be simple, but with enough design space for magic items and effects to do different things. Weapon Skill bonus. Critical hit range. Bonus damage dice. A bonus or penalty to Toughness. There's critical damage. An invulnerable creature requires a 12 on one of the damage dice for any damage to occur.

[@marasmusine]

Oh nice, you covered Shadows of Brimstone. I do like that system, although nowadays I'm reluctant to play it because I can't keep track of all the items and abilities your character acquires.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yea, the Advanced Heroquest system is neat, with just the right amount of potential for things to get whacky. Shadows of Brimstone really does have the potential to become a massive, bloated experience. I'm enjoying it so far, though.

[@rudyjansen4242]

Great video, love Space crusade, wonder what you think about the dice system of Aliens Another glorious day at the corps?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. I have never played Another Glorious Day in the Corps (although I have watched playthroughs). The game is actually on my Christmas list, so maybe Santa will get me a copy and I will be able to talk about it more then.

[@michaelmiguelsanchez]

I think complex dice systems can make for great games, but they reduce accessibility for new players. The beauty of something like HQ is how it takes about 10 seconds to explain the game mechanics. 2/3 of my favourite RPGs are also D6 based. Shadowrun and WEG Star Wars D6

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

HeroQuest is a spectacularly easy game to present to new players. You really do just have to set up the game and let them start moving and exploring and it pretty much explains itself.

[@glenndean6]

I very much prefer streamlined, opposed dice roll systems (disclaimer: I mostly play X-wing and Star Wars Legion). Keep it almost immediately resolvable, but with some ways to modify or adjust it. Other great systems are the one used in Deadzone (exploding d8s, plus a novel way of handling cover) and Star Wars Imperial Assault, which manages to work range, damage, and special abilities into an opposed dice system. I think IA inherited its system from Descent, but since I've never played that I don't know.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes, Imperial Assault is a spin-off from Descent. The dice system is pretty nifty. I don't really like Star Wars enough to get into any of the Star Wars themed games, so I haven't played Imperial Assault or Legion myself.

[@AndreasRugtvedNeumann]

I also like opposed dice roll systems. Mantic's dungeon crawlers all seems to use this system as well, and it has been some of the better parts of Dungeon Saga and Star Saga. The all new upcoming Dungeon Saga Origins game is also using opposed dice rolls, and seems to have addressed most of the problems from the first Dungeon Saga. It looks really good as a modern take on HeroQuest. Looking forward to play it.

[@EliWintercross]

The X-wing system is pretty great, really fast to resolve attacks

[@s7r49]

No imperial assault? It's my favorite although I've never played shadows of brimstone.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Although I know the Imperial Assault dice system as a spin-off from Descent, I've never played the game and don't have a copy in my collection.

[@s7r49]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I guess that's true it is basically descent lol

[@rodento3220]

Wait... you mean you dont want to roll for Weapon Skill then toughness then armor, then special abilities? and each one has a chart....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Ha. It really does depend on the game and if I think it's worth it. I do tend to lean towards more streamlined systems in general.

[@RiFFxxx]

Imagine betting your life with Space Crusade's white dice 😬

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I don't like those odds. It's why the space marines don't tend to rush into melee in that game!

[@goodjessehobbies]

I guess Dark Souls is a hybrid. Dice vs Cards.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The dice element of Dark Souls is another great example. It's still very simple, but I left it off the list because you have three custom combat dice, a custom dodge dice, and then monsters driven by cards. It's a beautiful system, that I don't think gets the praise it probably deserves - and Dark Souls is still one of my favourite games - but I thought it probably wasn't quite simple enough to find a spot among the games I chose for this list. Of course, this list is just the tip of the iceberg. I only picked five games that I think are really solid examples and which all work differently.

[@goodjessehobbies]

Oh I understand, you can't name everything. I just took the excuse to mention our mutually loved game. =) But it also just helped me realize that DS is actually a hybrid system.@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Little heads up - there just may be some more Dark Souls on the channel this week.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Interesting overview. I have a pretty strong dislike for custom dice in games anymore, even ones as simple as HQ.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I feel we've definitely talked about this before. I think it may have been when the Warhammer Quest series moved away from regular D6 to the custom dice system. I do like a lot of custom dice system, but I do tend to prefer regular numbered dice for the most part. I think Advanced Heroquest is a fantastic system. I have been reading all the articles on The Old World. I really have no desire to get back into that. I was looking at the screaming skull catapult profile and it had about eight special rules. I used to run an undead army I don't recall that many special rules for just one unit. But I am starting to hit the age where senior moments become more regular so maybe it's just that.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I don't see the point of Old World if it's just the same models and stuff over again. The premise for the game has changed drastically from the focused semi-historical approach that was first pitched. I think GW cut a lot of the development budget out from under it and the new version is just filler. As far as USR rules in profiles, they are very fast to use and parse once you know them. Far faster than having to read the special rules paragraphs in old WFB books. The Screaming Skull in 8th was very complicated. Even the old versions were pretty complicated. It had different ammo types and damage values for where the rounds hit. I think they include it in the examples to show how complex some weapons can get in the new game and that 8th TK players remember it. I think you are right about the BSF custom dice. I really didn't like them.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The last time I used a screaming skull catapult would have been the '94 rules, with the lovely classic miniature. I'm very interested to see what happens with the Old World over the next couple of years. I'm just glad I sold all my old Bretonnian minis when they were worth something! And yeah, as much as I loved Blackstone Fortress I did lament the change in dice system. Silver Tower and Shadows Over Hammerhal had such a lovely D6-based system.

[@nickgraney2119]

I must admit that i am not a fan of games that use D6 as their dice to resolve actions or combat (GW games excluding the quest game lines). That said, my brain doesn't class custom D6 as actual D6, so these games are forgiven and get an automatic free pass. Heroquest is a great but simplistic combat system, it just works so well. Gotta love exploding dice though!! One.of the reasons i love Mantics Deadzone skirmish game (uses D8's and they explode just like AHQ). I really wanted to love 40k but the continual rolling of standard boring D6's is a big turn off. Im sure i would have fallen for the game system if they used different die mechanics. Concerned though to see shadows of brimstone uses basic D6 😞....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I am rather fond of a good old fashioned D6, and in a lot of instances I do prefer regular dice over custom dice. I was a bit disappointed Cursed City made the change to custom dice like Blackstone Fortress after Shadows Over Hammerhal and Silver Tower used regular dice. I understand why a lot of people don't like 40K's buckets'o'dice system, though.