This is a visual reference for HeroQuest 2021 edition using the Underworld Battle (2009) dungeon crawler board game by 4Kids Entertainment. It was a tie-in product with a television show and a trading card game. The trading card game even has a pack of cards in the box. The game reuses the ruleset Waddinton’s used for Dark World (1991). I wanted to see how the miniatures compared to HeroQuest. The box content is very lackluster. Particularly when compared to the Dark Word (1991) game
There are 10 unique miniature sculpts, 3 treasure sculpts, 1 treasure chest sculpt, and the “Chaotic Arena”, a multi-part elevated platform for the end of the game. The miniatures are a soft rubberized plastic. Softer than the current style of board game pieces. More akin to the first run of the Bones line by Reaper Miniatures in 2012. These will need to be hardened before being painted. The treasure miniatures are hard, translucent, and brittle plastic. They can be easily broken. The Treasure chest and the “Chaotic Arena” are hard plastic.
Most of the miniatures are one-piece casts. Two of the miniatures have two parts: the body and the tail. They come preassembled. The chests are preassembled, and the “Chaotic Arena” has nine parts.
Because I like the female elf miniature from the 2021 edition of HeroQuest, I have elected to use it as my reference in all of my images. Only 10 samples of the miniatures will be in this web article. At the end of the article is a link to the PDF version of the full reference containing all 10 miniatures and 3 treasure sculpts.
There are 4 “hero” miniatures in this set. They are referred to as Overworld Creatures. They are only provided with a name. No background in the game and no cultural references. I looked online for the Chaotic TCG, and they have no references there either. With minimal background and no cultural references, I have not bothered to assign cultures based on their appearance. The designs rely heavily on mid 2000’s animation style.
This miniature could easily be a Super Saiyan like Goku, though looking at the stills of the cartoon and card game, this character is green with tattoos, so they could easily be a heroic orc.
Elf – vs – Najarin
The closest thing to a human character in this box. Their bear stretches all the way to their knees. With a cloak and that bear, this could be an overly dramatic, self-important caster type.
Heavily armored reptilian with a rhino horn. Possibly used as a heroic pit fighter type or melee specialist. Could work well as a Rhox.
Easily used as a massive orc or ogre character. The obvious opposable toes give the idea of prehensile feet.
Rothar could easily be a minotaur variant. Smaller than the HeroQuest version, taking up only 1 space. With that physique and those horns, Rothar could be a pack-style monster, gaining benefits for the presence of other of its kind. The game has six of them, so treating it as a general monster rather than a character is easy.
Literally a fat pinhead oni. The Dardemus is a mostly naked, obese monstrosity, lacking nipples. Reminds me of my sixth-grade teacher. Still, this could be used as a lower-ranked ogre. With six in the box, they become a viable substitute for the much-maligned Abomination miniature from the HeroQuest (2021) base game.
Not certain what it is with this game and mostly naked, fat monsters, without nipples, but here is another one. This one also has a stubby, spiky tail. The tail is not very large and doesn’t protrude into the spaces of other miniatures. There are six of these as well and could be used as a “lesser” version of the Dardemus, in a similar manner to goblins and orcs.
Magmon is an obvious elemental character. It would work well as an Earth Elemental or even as an Ice Elemental. Using it as a statue would be a waste. It would make a passable metal golem or clockwork monster.
A traditional-looking akuma. Horns, spikes, and a large tail that intrudes into the space of other miniatures definitely provide the “Big D” feel to it. Again, minimal armor, but this time sporting furry shorts.
The Gauntlet of Might is one of the three treasures. All four of the gauntlets in my box were miscast in the same way. The fingers of the gauntlet were shifted beyond the back of the gauntlet and curled around to the front to look like smoky waves. Very disappointing considering the other treasures were much better sculpts.
In the end, I can see why this game has fallen into the annals of obscurity. They were trying to cheap out on what was, at the time of its release, a high-demand intellectual property. Is it as useful as its sibling? No. Is it worth picking up for a tenner? Sure.
The minotaurs and the fat oni have some real possibilities going for them. I can see a hedonist dread cult in my players’ future. I have posted a PDF file of all the miniature reference images for download.
– Dru
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Dru's Den of Ill Repute 