When comparing HeroQuest vs Fate Core, the Slant community recommends Fate Core for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Fate Core is ranked 9th while HeroQuest is ranked 24th. The most important reason people chose Fate Core is:
Whereas Fate Core is skill driven, has more variables to keep track of and is potentially more varied in terms characters created, Fate Accelerated is approach driven, has less variables to keep track of and allows getting started quicker. Also, the Accelerated version is just 50 pages whereas the Core version is 310 pages.
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 An even more streamlined version is available, called Fate Accelerated
Whereas Fate Core is skill driven, has more variables to keep track of and is potentially more varied in terms characters created, Fate Accelerated is approach driven, has less variables to keep track of and allows getting started quicker.
Also, the Accelerated version is just 50 pages whereas the Core version is 310 pages.
Pro Excellent clarity of rules
It starts at the very beginning by explaining what is roleplaying and moves on to introduce various mechanics and conventions and explains why they're there, when's the appropriate time to use them and what are the best practices on how to do it.
The book does so in easy to understand language, offers many examples and highlights the important bits in various ways.
Pro Focuses on roleplaying by originating gameplay from world-building
Fate uses "aspects" to influence the gameplay in ways that are consistent with the world that's built. Aspects are descriptive phrases that define anything they are attached to. They give both roleplaying and mechanical advantages and disadvantages. For example, a character could be "raised in a wretched hive of scum and villainy" and that would allow him to better negotiate with thiefs and crooks, but also make him poor at fine dining etiquette.
Pro Multiple settings available for free
If you have problems creating your own game world there are a lot of settings available for free and they range from fantasy to Soviet-era pulp sci-fi, so everyone can find something for himself.
Pro Straightforward and Flexible
The system is great for moderating a session of roleplaying. Bring your own setting, and any additional gameplay your group enjoys. It lends itself well to those without the money to invest in miniatures, game boards, or even tables.
Pro No fixed setting
Fate Core is a general purpose RPG system that can be applied to any theme.
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 It can be difficult to come up with aspects
Coming up with aspects can take a while. Especially for new players. In addition to coming up with traits that define the character, tags and compels are needed. Furthermore all of these little nuances have to be coherent as well as balanced in terms of power. This can make the character creation process take a while.
Con Compel mechanic is not for everyone
Compels allow GM to trigger a player's aspect in exchange for a fate point. The player can avoid invoking noted apect by spending a fate point.
Concerns about the system include removing control from the player of how a character is played, GMs having a lot more data to track (each aspect for each player) and possibility of getting stuck in a compel-loop of forcing certain behaviour.
Con Atypical mechanics
The general mechanics of Fate are broadly dissimilar to classic roleplaying games like D&D. While this is generally the system's strongest point, players who are not yet accustom to the game may find great difficulty with it.
Con Not for passive players
If you find your players passive and unwilling to take an active role in creating game world then the experience may be not as enjoyable as it could be.