When comparing HeroQuest vs Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games, the Slant community recommends Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games is ranked 18th while HeroQuest is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Star Wars RPG by Fantasy Flight Games is:
Rather than focus on combat encounters and character stats, Fantasy Flight Games system allows the group to focus on telling a great Star Wars story. The players and the GM alike are major contributors due to FFG's unique system and dice mechanics.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to grasp
The game is teachable to players in a matter of minutes due to the simple rules. It’s also simple enough for children, as the game is made for ages 10 and over.
After the gamemaster has introduced the players to the scenario and readied the board, the game starts with the player to the left of the gamemaster. During the player’s turn the player can perform two actions – move and either attack, cast a spell, search for traps and secret entrances, or search for treasure. On the gamemaster’s turn the gamemaster can attack the heroes with the currently visible monsters.
Movement is done by rolling two regular dice, which show the amount of squares the player can move in their turn. Combat is done by the player and the gamemaster rolling special dice with 3 skull sides, 2 hero shield sides and 1 monster shield side. The number of dice rolled in combat is determined by the statistics of the monster or the hero, specified in the character cards. Each skull is a hit and each shield can block one skull. When “body count” reaches zero, the character is removed from the game.
Pro Easy to set up
Since most of the actual dungeon construction is done by the gamemaster as the game progresses and more rooms are revealed, all you need to do before the game can properly start is bring out the board, let the players choose their heroes and introduce the quest.
Pro Interactive figurines
It's not just a story, you're uncovering a dungeon as the dungeonmaster allows your character to see and discover new areas.
Pro Beautiful visual design
While the game board is not particularly big, it’s quite colorful and aesthetic. The game also manages to catch the eye due to the figurines and the small furniture.
The game features a big variety of remarkably detailed miniature figures - orcs, skeletons, zombies, goblins, etc. All the figures are originally single-colored, the heroes are bright red, whereas the various monsters come in white, dark blue, dark green and light blue.
The box also packs some beautiful and detailed pieces of colored cardboard furniture that add a lot of aesthetic value to the game by filling up the emptier places on the playing space.
Pro Great for parties
HeroQuest is a perfect activity for a small gettogether. The game is meant for 2-5 players, a quest takes up to 90 minutes.
Not only is it simple to learn and easy to set up, but it requires good teamwork and communication between players. There’s also always room for roleplay, which can lead to some humorous and memorable moments. Moreover, the playing surface is not too big, so there should be plenty of room for snacks and drinks on the table.
Pro Customizable
HeroQuest encourages creativity. The quest book has a blank scenario, so players can design and play their own quests. Moreover, since the miniature figures are single-colored, many people choose to color them, creating some beautiful pieces.
On top of that, the 3D furniture in the game doesn’t serve a different purpose other than the aesthetic one, so you can craft your own pieces or use small furniture from different games.
If you lack ideas, then the HeroQuest fan site Ye Olde Inn has some great fan-made content – quests, cards, printable furniture, etc.
Pro Active community
Despite being a game released in 1989, it still has a decently active online community both on reddit and on the fan site Ye Olde Inn. The sites feature all the fan content you’d expect – custom creations, stories and pictures of game nights, discussions, and games happening in your area.
Pro Story focused instead of combat focused
Rather than focus on combat encounters and character stats, Fantasy Flight Games system allows the group to focus on telling a great Star Wars story. The players and the GM alike are major contributors due to FFG's unique system and dice mechanics.
Pro Drives improvisation through its die roll mechanics
The die roll mechanic leads to more than just a simple success and failure. The result often requires positive and negative side effects; sometimes dramatic ones! Very rewarding with a GM who's good at making stuff up on the spot.
Pro Super-customizable character creation system
The Star Wars RPG's point-buy system allows characters to easily gain skills outside their career while still making each build feel unique. Focused builds are rewarded, but, in the narrative system, min/maxed characters are no more overpowered than their (equally rewarded) all-around counterparts. Players can easily create a bounty hunter, ambassador, or mystic, or even all of them in one character. Rigid classes ("I am a cleric") are a thing of the past. Your character is no longer defined by such constraining borders—he is what you want him to be. The level-less system places literal millions of possibilities at your fingertips.
Pro Set in the Star Wars Universe
The Star Wars Universe is arguably one of the largest and most beloved in the world, and this RPG captures it's depth and diversity very well. Players can choose from hundred of class and specialization combinations for creating unique characters and stories set in classic Star Wars settings, or create entirely new worlds and stories.
Pro Now available in setting free format with Genesys
Pro Easier to play online
Because the Star Wars RPG focuses more on story and role play and less on combat, maps and hard stats, it is easier to play online using Voice Software like Skype, Google Hangouts or Discord. There are also online platforms such as Roll20 that allow for digital dice rolls and resources.
Cons
Con May be hard to get
It's a somewhat older tabletop RPG, with a decent number of expansions. You may end up paying a high price on ebay or other sites to get yourself a copy.
It’s also worth noting that you can’t always be sure about the physical quality of the game. The 3D furniture is made from cardboard and if the copy you’re buying has been used then it’s a bit of a risk.
Con Rules overly simple
Gets dull after some hours, good for children though
Con Requires a good gamemaster
If the gamemaster doesn’t know what he’s doing then the game will be more frustrating and take much longer than usual, and it’s already a long game. The gamemaster is the only player with access to what the quest is supposed to look like and is solely responsible for creating the dungeon as the game goes on – spawning monsters, revealing objects, etc., so the players need to trust that the gamemaster isn’t cheating.
Con Doesn’t scale well
The game is at its best when played in a full group of 4 heroes and a gamemaster. Otherwise the odds are more on the gamemaster’s side and it’s a lot more difficult to complete the quest. To counter this, it’s recommend for a player to control more than one hero, but that also adds unnecessary difficulty.
Con A lot of first-time setup
When you first open the box the amount of work can seem overwhelming. You have to de-peg your pieces and assemble all the furniture, which is quite tedious and inconvenient due to the relatively small size. Furthermore, your first games might take a longer while until the gamemaster gets the hang of the process.
Con You need custom dice, and they take some getting used to
This game doesn't use the regular dice so common in most RPGs, but requires the use of a special set of dice that only Fantasy Flight sells. It's kinda pricey, and it takes some getting used to the weird symbols on the dice. There is a die roller app. Of course, some people come to love the custom dice (no more automatic 1-or-20 successes or fails).
Con All the worst money-grabbing faults in RPG design incorporated here
Multiple, nearly redundant corebooks. Supplements are high on price and low on content. It even has custom dice. Fans should be able to apply for a second mortgage at the fantasy flight website.
Con Very little digitally distributed content
While Fantasy Flight has added a few digitally distributed(PDF) resources that are all free; such as character sheets, pre-generated characters and campaigns; there are no official digital versions available for any of their print materials.
Con Three flavoured "separated" subvariants for smuggler theme, rebel stories and Jedi path
A lot of redundant text in the there "corebooks". The rest of the subgames lines are similar structured with in depth class type rule books. Patterns of the lines are very similar: Core book, beginner box, class types expansions and adventures books. You can mix the variants. Rules are compatible.
Con The old WEG edition is so much better
This is clunky and doesn't create a heroic STAR WARS feel.