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"Sometimes you just want to roll some dice and play an RPG." 

A famous quote by me. And that's why Harper's Quest 2 exists. 

Harper's Quest 2 (HQ2) builds off the simple solo, low-prep ttrpg dungeon crawl from the original Harper's Quest and expands it to a comprehensive rpg system. 

Build your own adventure. Roll a quest, develop your enemies, create your character and you are ready to go. 

The "dungeon" crawl is central to the game. Dungeons are whatever you need them to be. The game includes a pre-made adventure, The Crystal Guardian. 

Not just battles. Use your skills; Wisdom, Dexterity and Strength to make your way through even the darkest dungeon. You'll encounter traps and many NPCs throughout your adventures. NPCs can now join your party and include animals! HQ2 allows super quick NPC stat generation to keep immersion as high as possible.

The expanded rules now include:

  • Comprehensive 1-page d6 Oracle.
    • You can basically stay on this page the whole game.
  • Battle momentum - kind of like BERSERK MODE 
    • Multiple damage rolls means you can take down even the strongest foes.
  • Character advancement
    • Go on multiple quests, power up stats, weapons and become a legendary hero! 
  • Spells! Spells hit every time.
  • Generational Progress
    • Dying means your next generation comes out even stronger.
  • Quest generator tables
  • d66 room descriptors/prompts for generic, forests, castles, mines, hideouts, caverns and dungeons.
  •  NPC generator
  • Enemy generator
  • 400 prompt words/phrases
  • 12 Quest Prompts
  • 16 sensory tables to add atmosphere and details

Online Generator for those that wish not to roll!

Game Mechanics

Use your favorite set of polyhedral dice to play including d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.  Maybe grab some extra d6's. Harper's Quest 2 uses a  d20  for skill checks and battles. Roll at or under skills for attribute checks.

High Tension Battles!

Combat is streamlined. HQ2 replaces traditional "Armor Class" with Attack Ceiling. Rolling your AC or under hits. 

When the tables are turned and enemies attack, rules are designed for player choice. If an enemy hits, choose to accept the damage, defend or counter. Or choose to Double Down on a skill for a high-risk, high-reward approach!

Life or death can come down to a single roll!

Watch an actual play! 

Purchase

Buy Now$2.50 USD or more

In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $2.50 USD. You will get access to the following files:

Harpers Quest 2 v1.12 Pages.pdf 15 MB
Harpers Quest 2 v1.12 Spreads.pdf 15 MB
Harpers Quest 2 Character Sheet.pdf 74 kB
HarperVania.pdf 1 MB

Development log

Comments

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Great game which can be used as a base for many other games. I like the combat procedure and the way enemies are being created. That's very cool. Thanks. However, I have a question regarding "Boss weakness". You need 3 clues, OK, I got that, however, when do you roll the d20 to know the boss' weakness and what's the point? I mean, once you know 3 clues you do 2 x damage, regardless if you roll a d20 with "Fire/Ice/Poison" or "Eye damage" (whatever that means). If I understand the rules correctly, all you need to do is to "convince" the NPC with a wisdom role to "provide" you with a boss weakness.
Am I being misguided by something?

Hello! The clues at their most basic are just a mechanism to give players something to do in a room outside of encounters, NPC's, traps or if it's empty. Once you collect three clues, then  you can roll d20 on the boss weakness table to see what the weakness actually is. The table are just a table, so if your adventure makes more sense to have a specific weakness then go with that.

"Eye Damage" means hitting the boss in the eyes. 

"Fire/Ice/Poison" means one of those (player's choice or roll) is the weakness, not all three.

Once you know the weakness, then only by exploiting the weakness do you do 2x damage. So if the weakness is eye damage, you have to during the battle somehow hit the boss in the eyes.

NPC's cannot tell you the boss weakness outright, they can give you a clue though.

Thank you for your kind explanation. Would love to see a version 2 of Harpers Quest with extended content (Harpers Quest 3?). This is a neat all-in-one rule set which I also like to play with my wife, not only solo.

Thank you! I am going to hopefully pump out some more content this year and then maybe do a big compilation or something.

Thank you so much for the quick shipping! I ordered probably no more than a week ago (within the US)

A quick question about the "version" vs "Edition".

The physical book I received says "Edition 1.11" on page 2, but the PDF file name is "v1.19" - however, on page 2 it says "Edition 1.11".

Are these actually the same, or is the PDF updated (such as the "Edition" not updated in the PDF, and should say "Edition 1.19")?

If they are different, is there a changelog somewhere so we can use a Sharpie to update the book?

Yes those are the same version. I made them consistent with this most recent digital update.

Thank you very much for the awesome game! I see it says to roll a d6 to pick a starting spell but after adding the 2 new spells, Lucas & Harpers, that makes 8. Should we roll d8 for starter spell or the 2 new spells gained in some other special way? Thank you very much! 

Yes! Please use a d8 when first rolling for spells. Typo šŸ¤Ŗ

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Bought the physical & tried it. Great compact system! FIVE STARS. If you're on the fence, just get it. 

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Hey,

I love all of the ideas in here.  I may run it with the procedures as written, but I'd really like to use it to go through published modules to replace Scarlet Heroes since this has a much more interesting combat procedure.  I did have a couple of questions when looking at possible roadblocks.

With the max possible HP of a boss being 24 in HQ2, should things in a module be converted to HQ2 boss stats if they go over that unless they're meant to be less of a fight and more of a force of nature like the giant in Waking of Willowby Hall?

Similarly, the maximum number of enemies you can encounter at once in HQ2 looks to be 3.  Would it be advised that random encounters that have 1d4 - 1d12 Monsters be converted where 1-4 = 1; 5-8 = 2; 9-12 = 3 or similar?

Then there's the multiple damage dice where HQ2 only gives a single 1d6 - 1d12 for each enemy.  Something that would normally be classed an Underling that damages for a possible 1-6 may do 2-8 in a module due to them having a 2d4 standard attack.  Would this throw the balance off?

I am not ignoring this post! I am just trying to think through your comments.

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No worries!   I played through Hole in the Oak by using the handy conversion guide to make everyone Underlings, Warriors, Elites, or Bosses as I went as well as making ā€œ1d4 gnomeā€ encounters 1 gnome, ā€œ1d8 lizardā€ encounters 2 lizards, etc and it worked out pretty well.  I made it through most of the dungeon until 3 gnomes from a random encounter roll killed me just before the dungeons boss.

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Hi - I must say this game has been a pure joy to play. I've tried a few different Solo games and always struggled to find the balance between role play and mechanics. It simplifies the dice rolling and the tables in a way, where it feels part of play to imagine the foes as you're rolling them up. 

On my first play through I got such cohesive enemies, it created a whole narrative and ecosystem that inspired a lot of the quest to feel very immersive. Well done!

I am a bit uncertain as to how the quests areas play out though. From my understanding you roll up an amount of rooms per Area and add one Boss fight room? This lead to me rolling up two different areas for my quest with one having 4+1 and one having 9+1 rooms. I ended up fighting the boss monster twice, which I translated narratively to the boss fleeing after being wounded to hide deeper in its lair. Would the correct thing be that the entrance to the second area is in room 5 instead of a boss encounter, or do I simply roll up new enemies when I enter the new Area?

You could go both ways. The plus one room boss encounter is there so you can do a whole Quest with just one area. But if you want to do two or more areas you can either have a boss for each area or just exit area one and move into area two. Or you could have a "mini boss" for area one by maybe fudging the boss stats down a bit. Totally up to you! 

Loving Harpers Quest! I'm really missing having classes though. Do you have any advice or tips if I wanted to assign an adventurer a class or role mechanically and not just through roleplay? 

Glad you're enjoying the game! I avoided races/classes mostly because I find the extra mechanics difficult to keep track of. If there is a game you really like the classes for, then I would look at those and morph them into HQ2 stats. If you use the six main stats you can translate to HQ2 stats.

Strength and Constitution = HQ2 Strength

Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma = HQ2 Wisdom

Dexterity = HQ2 Dexterity

So then you'll probably need to fudge your stat rolls to fit into those archetypes.

Class abilities like pick locks or immunities then can be applied in game. If your class can pick locks, then you can either just do that without rolling on the relevant stat, like dexterity, or roll with advantage (minus 3). 

I have not tested these ideas just brainstorming. Experiment and see what works!

Hi, its possible to have a community copies?

This is my first review/experience and though I am playing my first quest (I would say half way through but could be a 1/4 could be 3/4... I'll be the first to find out) the game has me hooked. I started looking for my screaming sister in the mist and after stumbling around in the soup I went down a well and it led to a hideout. The oracle said I couldn't find her by trying to follow her screams on the surface (creepy). The boss was met but I had to flee from that thing or die. I successfully scampered away. I need NPCs but now I have the three clues that state I need to attack the boss from behind. I'll re-search the rooms leading to the boss (house rule) hopefully I'll get stronger could backfire might find traps and monsters. I already revived myself. If my sister dies she will at least be able to carry on for me it is too late... I have only this life to live for valor and well life which I'd like but both would be best. Now where is that insane prisoner who needs to join me?

What a great play through! How did it end up??

I will continue this weekend after a long hiatus. I fear the game may end but all good for some of the game mechanics I flubbed first time... all and all really enjoy the game.

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An immersive experience that asks the player to build a world that is uniquely theirs from the great toolbox provided. The time you put in is rewarded with amazing adventures and opportunities to grow you character. Well done!

Purchased and played. I really like the simplified combat, the variation of momentum, and the various defensive maneuvers. Another major plus was the quest/dungeon generation mechanic. It allows for a short session without having to do prep work. I would like a little more room variety on the d6 or d8? Iā€™m interested in settlement rules and base building ideas you might have. I think more variety in the magic system would be a large benefit, and a possibility for failure without a cap on casting would allow for more varied builds.


all in all, I really like what youā€™ve made. It is very easy to learn, can be adapted for use with other modules, and great solo content that gets you playing immediately. Thank you for making this one!

Loving this game. Particularly the combat which uses some unique ideas Iā€™ve never seen before :-) Some questions…
1 - Is there a mechanical difference between ranged & melee weapons? 
2 - The oracle gives the possibility of enemy alternate attacks.  Will you be implementing this in the future? 
3 - What is the process of gaining further spells?  

Thanks!

Hi and thank you! Definitely seeing an uptick in folks playing which is great! 

1) There is not a mechanical difference in weapon types. I wrestled with distances early in the game's development but it made combat too wargame like and hard to track. So ultimately I stripped away those mechanics. 

2) Yes in fact Heart of Light has a boss that has an alternate attack. But this was also included to allow for other games' enemies to be plugged in. Since many other games have enemies with more than one attack.

3) Gaining spells can occur through obtaining the Crimson Potion heirloom. I can definitely see adding a more direct route to getting a new spell though. On Page 7, where you upgrade your stats I will add a new spell for a cost. That's a really great point you bring up, thank you!

Thanks for the clarification.

I completely understand your concern with combat. Keeping things simple is what your game is all about.  I think maybe the answer could be thinking of Range & Melee as tags?  On page 19 when a boss has ā€˜flyingā€™ you must hit once with a ranged attack before you can melee.  You might be able to differentiate between melee and ranged by creating a couple of exceptions for normal combat.  I need to think this over…

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I just watched Gila's and Chaoclypse's videos and I snapped it up. As I was reading it, I feel I could use this game to run prepublished modules and not just use their maps.

One question though, concerning healing, what do you suggest for healing in the field outside of potions? Or is it just, pots or return to town? 


Also, while I have your attention, any quick and dirty Attribute test for healing? Like a limited spell scroll perhaps... or an ability for the healer npc.


Anyways, killer system! I really hope you decide to build upon it. I think you really got some great ideas in here!

Woah how did I miss this comment! During a dungeons/areas potions are the only way to heal. Between areas and dungeons I will normally replenish the party's health. The rules only vaguely discuss this and so I will need to correct that. But the intent is to have your party back to full health after you finish a dungeon/area. So you can either travel or start the next dungeon fresh. 

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This is so awesome. I tried it out on stream and it was immensely fun and easy to supplement. Highly recommended, especially for beginning solo RPers. 5/5 Stars!

P.S. It works great with Perplexing Ruins' Solo Gaming Sheets! https://perplexingruins.itch.io/solo-gaming-sheets


I just purchased this yesterday after seeing some You Tube reviews and have a couple of Rules clarification questions.

1. Page 7 Money & Items: "Armor, shields, amulets, and whetstones can only be equipped by one character at a time". So RAW is if a character has an amulet, they are unable to use any of the other items unless they dispose of the amulet?

2. Page 12 Avoiding a Fight: (minus 3 to attack rolls) This should be -3 to the AC stat and not the die roll? If to the die roll, that would improve the chances and not be disadvantage.

3. Page 14 Traps: "If the trap is detected but cannot be disarmed for a narrative reason, then roll to avoid the trap at -3" Again RAW should this not be -3 to your DEX stat and not the die roll to make it more challenging?

Thanks for the input and clarifications and if I have overlooked something in the rules, please let me know.

So far enjoying the game , Nice work overall!

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1. Page 7 Money & Items: "Armor, shields, amulets, and whetstones can only be equipped by one character at a time". So RAW is if a character has an amulet, they are unable to use any of the other items unless they dispose of the amulet?

No, this rule is meant to prevent characters from stacking many of one particular item, like 3 whetstones. Characters can equip one of each of these buff items if they manage to get their hands on them.

2. Page 12 Avoiding a Fight: (minus 3 to attack rolls) This should be -3 to the AC stat and not the die roll? If to the die roll, that would improve the chances and not be disadvantage.

Yes, thank you. My intent is to make it harder, so you should be ADDING 3 to your initial roll when attacking, not subtracting. So when you're trying to roll your AC, you should be adding three to your roll, which is a disadvantage. 

3. Page 14 Traps: "If the trap is detected but cannot be disarmed for a narrative reason, then roll to avoid the trap at -3" Again RAW should this not be -3 to your DEX stat and not the die roll to make it more challenging?

This one is accurate as written. My logic is that if a party knows a trap is there, but it's not able to be disarmed due to some reason. Let's say, a pit. You can't really "disarm" a pit. But you know it's there, so I am rewarding the fact that you at least know the trap exists, which makes avoiding it a bit easier. Thus the MINUS three on avoidance roll. 

...And now that you mention it, I see another typo on that page.  New versions incoming!

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Thanks for the reply an clarifications. I am really enjoying your system so far. Hope you add some adventures and other supplements as you can.

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Looks great! Found thanks to Gila RPGs on Youtube!

Excellent! Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Just read through this little treasure, I love it. Simple yet thorough, Iā€™m ready to give this a run through!

Nice, thank you! Hope it goes well!