==========================================================================
                         The Alchemist's Bench
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
        New Quests, Characters, Rules and Other Support Material
                     for Milton Bradley's HeroQuest
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
          http://www.heroscribe.org/thealchemistsbench/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue 3                                                     March 10, 1999
==========================================================================

                           IN THIS ISSUE
                           -------------

WELCOME

NEWS -- The Adventure Quest program
        New HQ websites
        Action on eBay

QUEST -- "The Attack on Oakdale."

ATTACHMENTS -- In addition to the Oakdale quest, we've created HQ play
               aids in a variety of styles and formats.

IN THE STORES -- Cardboard Heroes

NEW MONSTERS -- Skaven, HeroQuest style

MINIS -- Painting Skeletons
         Plus, a look at Skaven miniatures.

QUEST DESIGN -- Filling in the Plot


GAMEMASTER HINTS -- Ways to beef up the game's existing monsters.
                    Second in a series of two.


==========================================================================

                               WELCOME!
                               --------

The Alchemist's Bench is a completely free e-mail based newsletter that
exists to provide information, ideas and interesting new gaming material for
Milton Bradley's terrific yet out-of-print HeroQuest boardgame.

Also, feel free to visit our website for back issues of this newsletter and
assorted other goodies. It's small but growing fast, and, like this
newsletter, it's free!  The URL is
     http://www.heroscribe.org/thealchemistsbench/


==========================================================================

                                   NEWS
                                   ----

ADVENTURE QUEST SOFTWARE

Nate Dahl has created a program for Intel-based computers called "Adventure
Quest."  While not officially derived from HeroQuest, it is likely to
appeal to people who enjoy HQ.  Take a look at Nate's Adventure Quest
website for more information.  The URL is http://aquest.8m.com/frames.htm


NEW HEROQUEST WEBSITES

Some new HeroQuest webpages have appeared or reappeared this month.

Krusty's Webpage, at http://rivendell.fortunecity.com/castle/881/ , is up
with two new quests.

The Red Dragon's Guild, at http://members.fortunecity.com/ozgurhan/games.htm ,
has new quests, board overlays, rules, heroes, and monsters.

HeroQuest Resource page has a good selection of material, including new rules, a quest and art ideas.  You can find it at
http://www.oocities.com/igymnast/games/heroqest/hq_main.htm .


AUCTION ACTION

ChaosOrc reports that eBay, the online auction house at 
http://www.ebay.com/ , has been auctioning off numerous HeroQuest items 
recently.  In the past month, copies of all the quest packs released by 
Milton Bradley, including the British packs 'Wizards of Morcar' and 'Against 
the Ogre Horde,' have changed hands.

Next issue, the Alchemist's Bench plans to feature an article giving tips
and hints for bidding on items on eBay.  If you check out eBay in the
meantime, don't forget to search for both "Hero Quest" and "HeroQuest".


==========================================================================

                                  QUEST
                                  -----

"The Attack on Oakdale" is a new quest pack by Dewayne Agin.  We've included
it as part of this issue's attachment file, for those of you who receive the
editions of this newsletter that include attachments.  For everyone else,
you can download it as an 81k ZIP file from Dewayne's site at
http://www.yeoldeinn.com/downloads/fanquests/dewayne/attack-on-oakdale.zip.


==========================================================================

                                ATTACHMENTS
                                -----------

In addition to the Quest Pack described above, this issue's attachment file 
includes a few playing aids for HeroQuest.  These contain material that 
you've already seen in this and previous issues, but in formats designed to 
be easy to glance at during gameplay.  Please take a look at them and tell 
us which formats and styles you'd like us to support with future releases.


==========================================================================

                               IN THE STORES
                               -------------

CARDBOARD HEROES

Steve Jackson Games have just reissued a large collection of their
fantasy-themed Cardboard Heroes ( http://www.sjgames.com/heroes/ ).
These are full-color cardboard stand-up miniatures in 25 mm scale.

If you like stand-ups, this set is a great value. Priced at $19.95 (U.S.),
it includes 436 figures that were originally released in thirteen separate 
sets. Each figure includes a front and rear view.  The various designs cover 
the range from hero characters to gamemaster characters to monsters.

It should be noted that this new release doesn't actually include 436 
different creature types, although there are many unique creatures. Multiple 
copies of some monsters, such as Orcs and undead, are included in order to 
facilitate the creation of battle scenes.

In addition to the 436 figures, the set also contains 432 small board 
overlays. As might be expected of board overlays, these lie flat on the 
board and depict things like treasure, traps, dead bodies, dropped weapons 
and tiny creatures.

In a recent online chat, Steve Jackson did not dismiss the possibility of
reissuing Cardboard Heroes in genres other than fantasy. However, he did say
that future releases will depend on how successful this initial fantasy
release is.



==========================================================================

                               NEW MONSTERS
                               ------------

SKAVEN
by Dewayne Agin

Skaven are evil mutant ratmen.  They gain their strength from warpstone, a
source of strong Chaos Magic.  They are often found in old tunnels, mines
and dungeons.  They dig profusely; their burrows running everywhere under
the empire.  Skaven are smart, crafty, and sneaky, and often set ingenious
traps for the unwary Hero.

An individual Skaven is not much of a threat to a Hero.  Unfortunately,
Skaven are rarely found alone.  Usually they are found in great mobs and
hordes, where they try to overcome the Heroes with sheer numbers.

Skaven live together in clans.  There are many clans, and each clan has a
special weapon or ability.  Within the clans, there are many different types
of Skaven.  If you enjoy purchasing models, there are plenty to choose from
in this monster class.

My new monster philosophy is as follows:  1) I enjoy playing new types of
monsters with new abilities, but 2) I don't want to spend a fortune to play
these new monsters.  Because of rule #2, I don't try to collect a different
figure for each type of Skaven in each different clan.  Instead, I play
Skaven under the philosophy 'they all look alike to me'.  This would be
especially true when a Hero is fighting for his life in the low-light
conditions of a dungeon.  Therefore I use the same models for each of the
different types of Skaven, occasionally using a different color base or a
cloth cape tied around one's neck to set it apart.  Of all the different
types of Skaven, these are the types I use:

SKAVEN
This is the regular, average type of Skaven.  While it knows how to use its
weapons, it has no special training.

Stats
Movement:      8
Attack Dice:   2
Defense Dice:  2
Body Points:   1
Mind Points:   2


SKAVEN WARRIOR
This is a commander in a Skaven army.  It is stronger and better trained
than a regular Skaven.

Stats
Movement:      8
Attack Dice:   3
Defense Dice:  2
Body Points:   2
Mind Points:   2


SKAVEN CHAMPION
This is a Skaven Noble or General.  It has trained since birth in the ways
of warfare.  It is just as sneaky and mean as a regular Skaven, plus it is
stronger.

Stats
Movement:      8
Attack Dice:   4
Defense Dice:  3
Body Points:   3
Mind Points:   2

There are several special Skaven that I have used.  These are not common
Skaven, and you probably wouldn't want to have the Heroes meet more than one
of these per quest.  Once again, I use the regular Skaven models for these
figures.  Unless otherwise noted, these special Skaven can be of any of the
types listed above.

ASSASIN
Assassins are skilled in the arts of silent movement and close combat.  They
can carry poisoned blades (see Special Monster Characteristics in our
previous issue for a discussion on Poison) or hide in the shadows, waiting
for the Heroes to pass so it can strike from behind.

PLAGUE MONK
Plague Monks are armed with a Plague Scroll.  The spell on the scroll will
give every Hero in the room/corridor a disease (see Special Monster
Characteristics in our previous issue for a discussion on Disease-Bearing
Monsters).  It takes two turns for the Monk to cast the spell, during which
it cannot be attacked or the spell is lost.  After casting the spell, the
Plague Scroll will crumble and cannot be used again.  The Monk will attempt
to escape from the Heroes.  If it exits the room and gets out of the Heroes'
line of sight, it has escaped.  It can then, if you decide, return later
with another Plague Scroll.

PLAGUE CENSER BEARER
Censer Bearers carry a censer, a chain with a smoking ball on the end.  The Plague Censer is a one-shot thrown weapon.  The Game Master chooses the square on the board that the Censer Bearer is aiming for.  Roll three attack dice.  As long as at least one skull is rolled, the censer has scored a hit on this square.  If no skulls are rolled, the censer misfires. If the censer hits, choose three other squares adjacent to the one the censer hit.  All figures in these four squares must roll to see if they have gotten the plague (see Special Monster Characteristics in our previous issue for a discussion on Disease-Bearing Monsters) from the censor.  The plague will not go through walls or closed doors.


WARLORD
A Warlord is a leader of a clan or group of Skaven.  Warlords wear special
Chaos tainted armor, giving them 5 defense dice.  They also bear evil rune
covered swords, giving them 6 attack dice.  Their Body and Mind points are
the same as Skaven Champions.

SKAVEN SORCERERS
Like Chaos Sorcerers, these Skaven Sorcerers have the ability to cast evil
Chaos spells.

If you look through Games Workshop's catalog, you will see that there are
many different types of Skaven.  These are the ones that I have used in
quests before.  Skaven can be a fun monster to play, because there are so
many different types.



==========================================================================

                                MINIATURES
                                ----------

PAINTING YOUR MINIATURES: Part 2 - Skeletons
by Nathan Stout

Before you start painting your skeletons, you need to decide what you want 
them to look like. I decided to go for several different looks for my batch 
of skeletons. I want some that look fairly fresh (newly vacated!), some that 
have been sitting around for a few years, and some that look like they have 
been sitting in a dark corner of a damp, musty dungeon for ages. 

First put a white primer coat on your skeleton. This will allow the other 
coats stay on and it gives the piece a more natural, organic look. After the 
primer dries, take a small amount of black paint and lightly brush it over 
the skeleton. Don't completely paint it, just put some black here and there. 
Now, you should start to paint the white on fairly quickly before the black 
completely dries. Once you have the white coat on, the skeleton appears to 
have old slightly dirty bones. Conversely, you can lightly brush the 
skeleton with a dark green, then once the white is painted on you have a 
moldy look. You can adjust the "age of the bones" by adding more or less of 
of the black, green, or what ever color you wish to try out.

Once you have completed this step and the skeletons look pretty nasty, its 
time to give them life. Use a black wash and lightly paint the skeleton with 
it. All the detail will appear, giving the simple plastic skeleton a 
menacing and realistic look.

When painting with water based paints, a popular method of getting terrific 
detail out of your minis, it to "wash" them. A wash is a REALLY thinned out 
color. There are black washes, flesh washes, and other types. Once it is 
mixed, the wash is painted over the miniature, bringing out all the detail. 
I have discovered that you can do this with oil based paint, but it doesn't 
always come out right.



SKAVEN MINIATURES
by Dewayne Agin and QuestGnome

Skaven are a Games Workshop creation, but several other manufacturers have 
produced figures of very similar creatures.  Among these is Heartbreaker 
Hobbies, which had a line of "Ratmen" a few years ago.  This seems to have 
been discontinued, but some vendors still have Ratmen in their inventory.

Reaper Miniatures ( http://www.reapermini.com/ ) offers the very Skaven-like
"Verminites" as part of their Dungeon Dwellers line.  This line still
appears as part of Reaper's current catalog, but it may be on the way out:
some previously-available Verminite designs have been delisted.

Most Verminites are highly similar to the GW equivalents, but a few of
Reaper's figures feature interesting variations. For example, the Verminite
Cavalrymen consist of warriors mounted on giant Kangaroo Rats.  Reaper have
also supplied the Verminites with natural enemies, a series of cute but
well-armed Mouselings.  (For a meaner game of HeroQuest, also check out
Reaper's line of monsters from the DOOM computer game.)

If you decide to buy your Skaven from Games Workshop, the first item to 
consider is their box of eight plastic models.  This box is a good way to 
get a group of Skaven without paying a lot.  These are the exact same 
plastic Skaven figures as can be found in the main Warhammer Quest box.

Naturally, GW also offers a complete line of Skaven miniatures in pewter.
In addition to basic warriors, they offer individualized figures such as
Champions, Plague Monks, Plague Censer Bearers, Assassins, and so on.

You can view images of figures in the current Skaven line by browsing GW's
online catalog at http://www.games-workshop.com/ .  To use the catalog,
you will have to scroll to the bottom of the page, select 'Warhammer', then
click on the 'GO' button.  This will pull up the page with all the Warhammer
items, including the miniatures.   From there you can click on the Skaven
section, or any other type of miniature you might want to look at.

After seeing GW's current Skaven line, we are disappointed with
the designs of some of the figures. For example, we prefer the Censer
Bearers that Games Workshop used to sell.  In the newer models, the censers
look more like flails.  Similarly, the older Plague Monk models had the
figures holding a sword in one hand and the plague scroll in the other.
None of the current ones have the plague scroll.

If you wish to obtain figures from obsolete lines, you can pursue several 
options.  First, many vendors simply still have the old designs in stock.  
Your local hobby shop or favorite online distributor may be able to help 
you.  Second, you may be able to buy used figures in an online auction or 
from a dealer who specializes in used gaming products.


==========================================================================

                               QUEST DESIGN
                               ------------

FILLING IN THE PLOT
by Dewayne Agin

If you remember from last issue, we talked about some resources to help the
quest designer come up with plots.  In this issue, we are going to discuss
ways to fill out that plot and make it ready for your quest.

In the first article, I picked out a plot from the Net Book Of Plots, 'Map 
of the Magician's Lair'.  Here is a copy of the plot that I chose:


> Map of the Magician's Lair
>
> Author: Matthew Norman Carlson
> Length: Short
> Genre: Fantasy
> Type: Exploration
> Setting: Dungeon
>
> The Plot
>
> The PC's find a map to an abandoned underground lair - including some
> description of the resident of the lair. They recognize the resident and
> know that he is long dead (perhaps a high level MU). The map details the
> caverns to a great extent (perhaps leaving out some key rooms). The map
> also neglects to mention the many traps set throughout the lair - or
> perhaps mentions one or two giving the PC's a false sense of security. As
> for monsters, are undead boring? They still be around from the MU's days.
> Perhaps rodents, snakes, spiders as well. For the main villain a wight or
> perhaps a very minor demon (trapped on this plane with the appropriate
> wards - "You have entered a room with a large circle engraved on the floor.
> You notice this circle because it lights up as the fighter walks into it.
> The room suddenly becomes very dark and you hear a low growling
> laughter."). Or perhaps the MU is not dead, only very old and quite insane
> - thus maybe he has neglected to memorise his higher level spells and sits
> quietly on his throne waiting to die (thus not such a formidable opponent).
> Or perhaps his last opponent turned him into an ogre or a doppelganger or
> whatever you want (maybe using divine intervention to end his spell casting
> ability).


The plot is pretty bare, so now we have to fill it out.  First, let's come
up with a goal for the quest.  Quests should have a goal for the Heroes,
some reason to entice them to risk their lives.  There are many different
goals that can be used when writing quests.  Here are a few examples:

a)  Exploration - maybe the Heroes are just checking out an area.  General
treasure hunting falls under this category.

b)  Retrieval - the Heroes must find something in the dungeon.

c)  Rescue - this can be a subset of Retrieval, since they are 'retrieving'
a person.  Usually, though, this type of quest is more than a Retrieval
since the Heroes must also escort the rescued person out of the dungeon.

d)  Timed Quests - the Heroes have only a certain amount of time to stop
something from occurring; a ritual of some sort, an attack by Chaos, the
transfer of a powerful magical item to a Chaos Lord, and so on.

e)  Revenge - you seek revenge on Chaos, or a certain Chaos Lord, or a
certain type of Chaos monster, because of something they have done to you.


I am going to write an exploration quest.  This goes along with the theme of 
the plot that I am using.

Next, we need to come up with a "finish" for the quest pack.  What do the
Heroes have to accomplish to successfully end the quest?  This can be a
fight with a special monster or group of monsters, solving a particular
puzzle, or finding a special item.  For the finish of my quest I am going to
put two special monsters that both must be killed.

Again, for my quest pack, I am going to look to the plot.  It suggests that
the Magic User may still be alive, and there may be a Demon in the abandoned
lair.  I am going to use both.  The Magic User is a Necromancer, who
summoned the Demon in a ritual.  The Demon killed the Necromancer, who with
his last breath uttered a spell.  This spell brought the Necromancer back to
life as a powerful Wight.  The Wight and the Demon are both trapped in the
Magician's Lair by the Necromancer's magic, and are battling for control of
the lair.  On the map found by the Heroes there is a room noted as 'treasure
room'.  To reach this room both monsters must be killed.


Finally, you need to decide how many quests you want your quest pack to be.
The number of levels can help determine where you want your boss monster(s)
to be.  I am going to make my quest pack contain three quests.  The third
level is going to contain both the Wight and the Demon.


After finishing the items above, you should be able to write the
'Introduction' to the quest.  The Introduction contains the basic story, to
let the players know what is going on in the quest and what their Heroes are
expected to do.  Here is the Introduction to my quest:


THE NECROMANCER'S LAIR

Many years ago, while fighting a horde of Skeletons, you came across a map
detailing an underground lair; the name 'Shantil' written across the top.
Neither the name nor the dungeon was familiar to you, but you have kept the
map ever since.  At times you thought about getting rid of it, but the room
marked 'treasure' has always sparked your interest.

During your wanderings in the service of the Emperor, you asked the people
that you met if they knew of this hidden lair.  You showed portions of the
map to some; asked about 'Shantil' to others.  Always the response has been
negative.

Then one day, while sitting in the local inn of a small village, you
mentioned the name of 'Shantil' to the barkeep.  Expecting the usual
negative response, you were quite surprised when he began sputtering and
making signs to ward off evil.  He refused to talk about the name, and
threatened to throw you out of his inn if you continued to bring up the
subject.

Intrigued by his reaction, you sat down at a corner table and discussed
among your selves what your next step should be.  Your talk was soon
interrupted by a elderly man, standing by your table.  He looked around to
make sure no one else in the inn was paying him any attention, then said
"You want information on Shantil?  I know plenty about him.  I will tell you
all you need to know".

You looked at his shifty nature and disheveled appearance, and knew that he
must be up to something.  "Why?", one of you asked.

"Gold." was his simple reply.  "Ten gold coins and all my information will
be yours."

You paid the man his money [Game Master - be sure to deduct 10 gold coins
from one of your player's inventory] and motioned for him to sit down.

"When I was younger", the man began, "I occasionally did some work for a
magician that lived about a days journey from here.  This magician was a
powerful Necromancer, Shantil was his name.  Most of the people here abouts
were afraid of him, but I carried supplies to him a couple of times a year,
and he always treated me alright.  He had dug his home out of the rock in a
hillside in the middle of a forest..."

You interrupted his narrative to show him your map.  "Is this his home?" you
ask.

The man looked at the map, then says "Yah, that's it.  Anyway, one day I was
delivering supplies to him.  I opened up the doorway, just like he showed
me, and drove the wagon into his home.  Usually when I arrived, Shantil was
there to greet me, like he knew somehow when I was there.  This time though
- no one.  I poked around a little, didn't really know what else to do and I
wanted to get paid.  Well, I had came to the stairs down to the lower level.
Never had gone down there before, and wasn't sure I wanted to now.  Isn't
too smart to get a Necromancer mad at you, if you know what I mean.  Anyway,
I had just decided that maybe I would call out to Shantil first, when up the
stairs came the sound of a battle.  Swords clashing, armor rattling, that
sort of thing.  Then came a roar like I had never heard before.  Didn't
sound like an animal, and the evil contained in that roar nearly drove me
mad.  I didn't waste any more time in there.  Ran back to my wagon and drove
back out.  Closed the door behind me and have never been back since.  You
couldn't pay me enough to ever return, not after what I heard."

You talked to the man into the night, getting directions to Shantil's home,
and the location of the secret switch to open the door.  After he left your
group talked long about what you might encounter in the Necromancer's lair,
but put the old man's fears down as superstition.  The next morning you
bought supplies and made preparations to begin your hike to the location of
the lair, eager to explore and discover the wealth contained within.




Next time:  Designing the quest levels.


==========================================================================

                              GAME MASTER HINTS
                              -----------------

BEEFING UP MONSTERS - Part 2
Adding to Monster Stats

by Dewayne Agin


This is the second part of the series started in issue #2.  The series deals
with the problem of Heroes that are too strong, either because they have too
many artifacts, or you are playing with rules that allow them to increase
their stats.  As stated in the last issue, this is not a problem unless the
quests you are playing become too easy, in which case the players can loose
their interest.  The goal of these two articles is to allow you to 'beef' up
the monsters that you have without resorting to buying extra figures.

In the last issue we dealt with giving the monsters special characteristics
to make them harder.  One special characteristic that can be given to a
monster is to change the basic statistics (stats) that describe the monster.
Since there are several ways to do this, I decided to devote an entire
article to this instead of including it with the previous one.

When you look at a monster, there are five stats that can be changed:
Movement, Attack Dice, Defend Dice, Body Points, and Mind Points.  Each can
change the difficulty of a monster, but in different ways.  You may also
want to change the basic equipment that a monster comes with.  Finally, when
changing monster stats, you have to decide two more things:  a) is the
change permanent, or temporary and b) does the change affect all monsters of
that type on the quest or just specific ones.

To start the article we will look at changing each of the basic monster
stats. Initially you wouldn't think that changing the amount of movement
squares a monster can make would affect it's difficulty that much.  Adding
extra movement squares to a monsters stats can be used in interesting ways,
though.  You will notice that most of the monsters are slower than the
Heroes and would have a hard time outrunning a Hero.  What if you upped a
monsters movement to the same as a Hero - 2 red dice.  This would give the
monster a chance to get away.  Why would you want to do that?  Well, what if
the monster got away.  He could warn others that the Heroes are present, and
bring an angry swarm of monsters down on the Heroes.  Or maybe he could stay
just ahead of the Heroes, leading them to a trap.  Monster that can move as
fast as Heroes can also run away when the odds are too great.  Later they
can surprise the Heroes, jumping out of the shadows or from behind a corner,
where they were laying in ambush.

Adding to the monster's Attack and Defense Dice bring obvious changes to the
monster.  A monster with more Attack Dice can do more damage to the Heroes,
and a monster with more Defense Dice is harder to hit.  Another way of
changing the monster's Defense Dice is to allow him to block a hit by
rolling the white shield instead of the black one.  This gives the monster
the same chance of deflecting a blow that the Heroes have.

Changing the monster's Body Points makes the obvious change of allowing the
monster to live longer.  Changing a monster's Mind Points may or may not
affect the way you play.  The basic rules for HeroQuest never really
developed the Mind Points.  The Elf & Barbarian Quest packs used these
stats, and many of the spells for HeroQuest that are found on the Internet
use them.  If you are playing with Mind Points, adding to this monster's
stat can allow the monster to better resist the Hero's spellcasting, and/or
allow it to better cast its own spells.

The next item of discussion is changing a monster's basic equipment.  Doing
this can allow you an explanation as to why a monster's stats have changed.
Perhaps you have given the Orc that the Heroes are encountering a magical
sword.  To get the artifact the Heroes must get it from the Orc.  Instead of
just handing the Heroes the sword, though,  he has decided to use it against
them, giving him an extra two attack dice.  Or maybe you want to give each
Goblin in a quest an extra defense die.  You can tell the Heroes that they
are all wearing chain mail, giving them an extra die.  Unfortunately for the
Heroes, Goblin chain mail is too small for them to wear.

Another way of changing the monsters basic equipment is to give it items to
use during a fight, such as a potion or a magical scroll.  The monster can
use the item anytime during the fight.  If the monster is killed before it
gets a chance to use the item, you may want to allow the Heroes to pick it
up for their own use.  A good example of this is to give a monster a potion
of healing.  This allows you to potentially beef up a monster without
fiddling with its stats.

Deciding if you want to make the change permanent or temporary can change
the way the quest is played.  You might want to give all Skeletons in a room
an extra Body Point permanently.  On the other hand, if you want to limit
the scope of your change, you may want to make all Skeletons have an extra
Body Point as long as something remains in effect.  For instance maybe a
Chaos Warlock is enchanting the Skeletons.  As long as he is alive they have
an extra Body Point, but once he is killed they revert to normal.

Deciding whether all monsters of that type are affected or just specific
ones can also change the quest.  Using the example above, you could make all
the Skeletons on the quest have the extra Body Point, or maybe just the ones
in the same room as the Chaos Warlock.  Another example is found in the
basic quest booklet that comes with HeroQuest.  Quest #3, Lair of the Orc
Warlord, has Ulag, an Orc with all of his stats increased.  None of the
other Orcs on the level have these stats, just Ulag.  Sometimes increasing
one monster or just a few monsters' stats works the best.  Other times you
might want to increase the stats of all monsters of that type, either for a
quest level or for an entire quest pack.

Lastly, when changing a monster's stats you have to decide whether you are
going to tell the Heroes or not.  Sometimes you might want to give them a
description of the room they just entered that clues them into the fact that
the monsters are stronger than normal.  'As you enter the room you spot a
foul Chaos Warlock casting spells in the corner.  Suddenly a group of
Skeletons rise from the dungeon floor, their eyes glowing with a strange,
reddish light.'  A clue like this will tell the Heroes that they are
encountering some Skeletons that are not ordinary.  Other times you might
want to keep the fact that the monsters stats have been changed a secret.
In the Goblins with chain mail example, you could roll the extra defense die
without telling them.  If they search the room for treasure after the
monster is dead, tell them that they find a small suit of chain mail on the
Goblin.  There are probably times when you want to tell the Heroes about the
changes, and other times when you don't.  Both can add excitement to the
game.

Techniques like adding to the monsters' stats and giving them the extra
characteristics covered in the previous issue can be used however you wish.
There are no steadfast rules in doing so -- you are the Game Master so you
are the final authority.  The main purpose of any such changes is to add
fun, excitement, and challenge to the game.


==========================================================================
End of Issue 3                                          See you next time!
==========================================================================