How to create new HeroQuest furniture and Props

How to Create New

Furniture and Props

Below is a List of props I've created to enhance my HeroQuest game. The props are grouped under the primary material with which they were created. A brief description of the primary material preceeds each section.

Balsa Wood: Balsa is a very light weight though strong wood used primarily for model planes that fly. It is relatively inexpensive and is easily cut with an x-acto knife.
Coffin: The coffin I created from balsa wood is in the classic shape of a diamond with the top and bottom truncated. I made it deep enough to hold any of the HeroQuest undead figures inside. It has a working lid with hinges I bought at a doll house store.
Chair: The only chair that comes with the basic HeroQuest game is the throne. I wanted a less ostentatious chair which could be used with the two tables that come with the game. I used square toothpicks for the left and right sides of the chair, basically in the shape of an inverted number 4, with armrests added. The seat and back of the chair are two small squares of balsa wood. When the glue was dry I sanded the bottoms of the legs so that it did not wobble.
Chest: I wanted a pirate-shaped chest, the kind with a bell-shaped top, with a working lid into which I could put real treasure and weapons for the players to discover. I tried many different techniques in an attempt to get the balsa to curve into a bell shape for the lid. I finally went to an antiques store to look at a real chest and see how an actual lid was constructed. The lid was made of many long slats of wood attached across the top of two bell shaped sides. Using this technique, I cut long, narrow strips of balsa and glued them side-by-side across the top of the bell shaped sides of the lid. This worked like a charm. The bottom was a simple box of balsa which I made to fit inside a single square of the HeroQuest board. Hinges obtained from a doll house store completed my functional chest.
Portcullis: The Elf Quest Pack comes with a portcullis printed on cardboard. It slips into the standard door bases just like the cardboard doors that came with the basic game. Looking at that portcullis sparked the idea of how I could make a better portcullis. I cut round toothpicks to the right length, leaving the points on one end in tact. I then drilled holes into two narrow strips of balsa wood. The round toothpics are then inserted into the holes and glued into place. Once it was dry I sanded down the diameters at the bottom of the two outter toothpicks so that they would fit snugly into the standard HeroQuest door stands. The open portcullis was done using the same technique, but simply cutting the center toothpicks short. I am very pleased with the results.

A great little secret I used during my balsa wood constructions was wax paper. I was able to glue things like the sides of my chair together and then just pull them up off the wax paper when they were dry.

Another great trick is the use of corrugated card board and straight pins. Tape wax paper over the card board then use straight pins to hold the balsa pieces in place as you glue them.

Plaster of Paris: Plaster of paris is a white powder, usually ground gypsum, that when mixed with water hardens into the shape of its container. When dry and hard it is somewhat less dense than chalk and is easily carved with an x-acto knife.
Forge: The Kellar's Keep Quest Pack comes with a blacksmith's forge as a cardboard overlay for the HeroQuest board. I carved a plaster base for the overlay so that the overlay is raised up off the board. The base is a simple rectangular block of plaster whose sides are angled out to broaden at the bottom. It was easy to make and I sealed it when I was done. The overlays and quests that come in the HeroQuest expansions are a great source of ideas for new props.
Anvil: I carved an anvil from a small block of plaster. It fits in one square on the HeroQuest board and is scaled to the right size for the figures. While carving, I followed pictures of anvils that I obtained from library books. When I was done I sealed it with sealing solution from the hobby store and painted it black. It really looks great! I created the anvil and the forge for use in my Moria quest. The Moria quest can be downloaded from my quests page.

Miscellaneous Materials

Ancient Parchment Handouts

Using old-looking maps and messages is a great way to add a feel of realism to your HeroQuest game. I used to artificially "age" pieces of paper in the oven or toaster oven. Unfortunately this technique leaves the paper VERY crumbly and tends to leave "tan" lines on it from the oven rack. One of the better techniques I've found is soaking the paper in tea. Crumbling the paper up either before and after the soaking allows you to tailor the appearance to exactly the way you want it. It is best to put the image or text on the paper before you soak it. For an even more realistic aged look, use vellum paper instead of regular cotton paper. Using stylish old-english-like fonts also adds to the effect. For the ultimate effect, teach yourself calligraphy and write on the parchment yourself!

Coin Pile

I made a great looking pile of coins by cross cutting round stemmed toothpicks with a dremel. To get a clean cut without any rough splinters cut the toothpicks on a block of hardwood. This allows you to cut cleanly and completely through the toothpick while still preserving the cutting wheel. Once you have a small pile of cross sections get out the wax paper and lay it over the HeroQuest game board. Tape the wax paper to the underside of the board so that the play surface will not get damaged. Arrange the pile so that it fits in a single square and has the shape you want. Dillute some Elmer's glue with water and drip the mixture onto the pile with your finger or a toothpick. This weakened glue will hold the pile in place for the next step.

When the glue has dried turn the pile over and place it upside down on some crumpled up wax paper so that it will remain upside down. Now use a toothpick to drip undiluted Elmer's into the pile from the bottom. If you use undiluted Elmer's on top of the pile it tends to add a thick layer over the coins and gives it a sealed-in-plastic appearance. Some people use several applications of the diluted Elmer's on the top, but they have fallen apart on me so I prefer the other technique.

When the pile is dry, paint it gold, and you have a great pile of coins. I have heard of people using small colored plastic beads in their piles as gems, but I can't find any small enough to look convincing.

Bone Pile

There are several ways to make a bone pile. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

The easiest way is to use the numerous skulls that come with the basic game and with the Return of the Witch Lord Quest Pack and glue them into a pile with plastic glue. The disadvantage of this method is that it looks like a pile of skulls and not a bone pile.

The most difficult way is to use an x-acto knife and dremel to whittle the plastic sprues that the undead figures were attached to. (You saved yours, didn't you? Neither did I but I was able to get them from a friend when he bought his copy of the game.) Whittling the sprues down to the right shape and size is difficult and VERY time consuming. However, if you take the time and put in the effort, the result is a custom tailored pile of bones that looks exactly the way you want it to look. Here is an example of a femur bone I carved from a sprue. It looks just like a real femur, but it took me over an hour to carve this single bone!
femur

The final method is a compromise between the two prior techniques. Use a dremel with a cutting wheel to dismantle a skeleton figure into its component bones then glue it into a pile. The result looks great, but you sacrifice a skeleton figure to do it.

Thaumaturgic Pentagram

A five pointed star circumscribed in a circle is known by many names; sorcerer's circle, devil's circle, magic circle, pentagram of power . . . I constructed one which is exactly circumscribed in a 4X4 room on the HeroQuest board. I used heavy grey vellum paper so that it would look like stone. Vellum is available in craft and hobby stores, though I bought mine at the local photocopy center. Yes, you need to break out the drafting tools you haven't touched since high school, so stop whining. Actually, all you need is a compass, a protractor, and a straight edge. Each point of the pentagram is 72 degrees apart from either of its neighbors. Once you have drawn and cut out one you are happy with, coat the back with rubber cement to keep it from sliding around during play. I found that I needed to use two coats.

Ready Made Props

Many companies which make fantasy miniatures also make some great props. From Ral Partha I purchased all kinds of 25mm weapons, shields, and armor. They all fit nicely in the working chest I made. I created specific details for each weapon I put in the chest. The players loved this! I also purchased a little rectangle upon which rests inkwells and bottles. It fits in perfectly on the Alchemist's Bench that comes with the main HeroQuest game.

Barrels: In my local craft store they have small wooden widgets. I assume they are for use in doll house construction, or in replacing the lost pieces of your Bandu game. One of the store's bins contained small wooden barrels. They were the perfect size for HeroQuest! Keep your eyes open in your local hobby and craft stores for ways to adapt widgets for your own HeroQuest game.
Individual Board Pieces: At a garage sale I bought a copy of the main HeroQuest game. It was incomplete and many of the figures and cardboard pieces were crushed. But I was able to take advantage of the damaged items to make some great props. One of the skeletons from this set was snapped off its base. I cut the skeleton into its component bones to make the bone pile you see above. I also cut up the board from this set into its component pieces. I can now create a dungeon in any layout I want simply by arranging the rooms and corridors in new and interesting ways. I've even gotten some great quest ideas simply by toying with different layouts.

Tell me about your own creations and additions to HeroQuest!