🚨 Disclaimer: I’m ridiculously biased 🚨

I’ve been a huge fan of the HeroQuest system since its first iteration, Hero Wars, many years ago. Over the last two decades, I’ve used it for dozens of different settings, usually based on movies or books, and it has always been wonderfully adaptable. I don’t pretend to be objective – this system has been my go-to for narrative play for 20 years. Only Fate comes close to matching its flexibility, and even then, QuestWorlds remains in a league of its own.

What is QuestWorlds?

QuestWorlds is a rules-light, conflict-resolution RPG system designed for flexibility, fast-paced storytelling, and adaptable mechanics. It empowers players and gamemasters to focus on narrative over mechanics, allowing for stories that flow naturally while maintaining tension and stakes.

This game didn’t appear out of nowhere – it has a rich history, evolving through multiple iterations:

• Hero Wars (2000) – Originally designed by Robin D. Laws and published by Issaries, Inc., Hero Wars was a groundbreaking RPG set in Glorantha, Greg Stafford’s legendary fantasy setting. It introduced the ability-based resolution system and flexible conflict mechanics, making it one of the first major narrative RPGs of its kind.
• HeroQuest (2003) – A refinement of Hero Wars, keeping its strong focus on Glorantha while polishing the mechanics and presentation.
• HeroQuest (2009, Revised Edition) – The setting-agnostic version, separating the system from Glorantha and making it usable for any genre or setting. This edition fully embraced the idea that HeroQuest was a toolkit for any kind of story.
• HeroQuest Glorantha (2015) – A return to Glorantha, repackaging the 2009 rules with a heavy Glorantha focus and expanded setting material. This was a definitive version for running Gloranthan campaigns.
• QuestWorlds (2025) – The latest evolution of the system, now fully open-licensed under the ORC License. This version clarifies mechanics, adds extensive examples, and provides a structured framework for creating custom settings (Genre Packs).

QuestWorlds carries the same DNA as its predecessors – fast, flexible, and story-driven – but now it’s more refined, accessible, and open than ever before.

The Game System: Simple, Yet Powerful

QuestWorlds is built around ability-based conflict resolution rather than task-based rolls. Here’s how it works:

Abilities, Keywords & Breakouts

Characters in QuestWorlds are defined by broad keywords instead of long skill lists. These keywords represent core aspects of the character, such as their profession, background, or a defining trait. Instead of having a rigid list of skills, characters use keywords flexibly to justify their actions in different situations.

Breakouts: Making Characters Unique

A Breakout Ability is a specialization within a keyword. It sets a character apart from others with the same general keyword by emphasizing a particular strength.

For example, imagine two Texas Rangers in a Western game:

• Texas Ranger Bill focuses on wilderness survival. His Texas Ranger keyword covers his law enforcement skills, but he takes the Breakout Ability Tracking & Survival. He excels at hunting outlaws, following trails, and surviving in the harsh desert.

• Texas Ranger Jack is more combat-oriented. He has the same Texas Ranger keyword, but his Breakout Ability is Sharpshooter. This means he's deadly with a rifle, capable of impossible shots, and feared in duels.

Even though both characters share the same keyword by profession, their Breakout Abilities make them distinct.

Multiple Keywords for Layered Characters

Characters are not limited to just one keyword – they can have multiple, creating more depth and versatility.

Let's see an example:

Anna Vorchislav, High Exorcist of the Kindgom

• Reformed Thief – Representing stealth, deception, and underworld knowledge.
  • Expert Lockpicker – Specializing in opening even the toughest locks.
• Occult Scholar – A master of ancient texts and magical knowledge.
  • Demon Hunter – A specific expertise in exorcisms and supernatural threats.
• Warrior-Priest – Combining martial prowess with religious authority.
  • Rousing Preacher – Capable of inspiring followers with fiery sermons.
  • Feel corruption – Capable of detecting demons in disguise

By combining multiple keywords and breakouts, QuestWorlds avoids rigid skill lists while still allowing for differentiation and specialization. Characters feel broad yet distinct, and players have freedom to define their strengths.

Conflict Resolution: The d20 & Resistance Levels

Instead of rolling for each individual action, you roll to resolve entire conflicts – whether it's a duel, a negotiation, or a chase. The roll determines not just success or failure, but how well or how badly things go.

• Players roll 1d20 against their ability score.
• The GM assigns a Resistance Level (which determines the difficulty) and rolls 1d20 against it.
• Both sides compare their results – each achieving a number of successes based on the roll.
• The difference between them determines the degree of success or failure, shaping the narrative outcome.
• This means that failure isn’t just “you don’t succeed” — it might mean a partial success with consequences, a costly victory, or a complete defeat.

Modifiers are minimal — assistance, obstacles, and situational advantages tweak rolls, but they never overshadow storytelling.

Degrees of Success & Failure

QuestWorlds doesn’t just use a simple pass/fail system. Instead, the difference between the player's successes and the GM's successes determines how well or how poorly a conflict is resolved.

Possible results include:

• Major Victory – You achieve your goal decisively and gain a significant advantage.
• Minor Victory – You succeed, but with limited impact or at a cost.
• Marginal Victory – You barely succeed, and the outcome is fragile or comes with complications.
• Marginal Defeat – You don’t fully fail, but you don’t get what you wanted either. There may be an opportunity to try again or salvage something.
• Minor Defeat – You fail, but not catastrophically – you suffer a setback but remain in control of the situation.
• Major Defeat – You lose decisively, and the consequences are severe.

This system ensures that every conflict moves the story forward – even failures create interesting new directions rather than just blocking progress. It also makes sure that small differences in rolls matter, giving more nuance to success and failure.

Augments, Boosts, Stretches & Flaws

In QuestWorlds, conflicts aren't just resolved by rolling against a single ability — abilities can interact with and support each other. This allows characters to combine their strengths, adapt to challenges, and even face disadvantages in meaningful ways.

Augments & Boosts: Enhancing Your Chances

Characters can augment their main ability in a conflict by using a related ability to gain an edge. If a supporting ability makes sense in the narrative, it can boost the main roll by a small but significant margin.

For example:

• A duelist using their Battlefield Tactician ability to anticipate an opponent's moves before rolling Master Swordsman.
• A diplomat calling on their Noble Upbringing to gain extra credibility before using Persuasive Orator.
• A hacker using Underworld Connections to gain insider information before rolling Expert Codebreaker.

Boosts and augments encourage creative problem-solving, letting players use all aspects of their character rather than relying on a single ability. However, a supporting ability should make narrative sense – the GM and players should ensure that the augment fits the situation rather than being a mechanical loophole.

Stretches: Pushing an Ability Beyond Its Limits

Sometimes, a character will attempt something that partially fits one of their abilities but is outside its normal scope. This is called a Stretch – the action is doable, but at a disadvantage.

For example:

• A character with Master Blacksmith trying to disassemble a complex clockwork mechanism – they understand metalworking but lack fine engineering skills.
• A Thief attempting to sweet-talk a noble at a formal banquet – they are good at deception, but lack etiquette.
• A Street Racer trying to pilot a spaceship – they understand high-speed maneuvering, but spaceflight is a different beast.

Stretched abilities incur a penalty to reflect the difficulty of applying them to a broader or unfamiliar context. This encourages players to think carefully about their abilities' scope while still allowing them to attempt bold, creative actions.

Flaws: Built-In Weaknesses that Make Characters Interesting

Characters in QuestWorlds aren’t just defined by what they excel at – they can also have Flaws, which act as negative abilities that create obstacles and add depth to their story.

Flaws can be invoked by the GM to make situations more challenging. This use comes into play naturally in the narrative – for example, a character with Bad Liar might struggle in deception-based conflicts.

Flaws can also provide interesting roleplaying opportunities, forcing the player to find creative solutions to work around their weaknesses.

Examples of flaws:

• Short Temper – Makes it hard to remain diplomatic in tense situations.
• Fear of the Supernatural – Causes panic when facing ghosts, spirits, or dark magic.
• Notorious Criminal – Recognized in many places, making it difficult to avoid trouble.

Since flaws function like any other ability, they can be used against a character in conflicts, making challenges more dramatic and meaningful.

A System That Encourages Creativity

By combining Augments, Boosts, Stretches, and Flaws, QuestWorlds allows for rich, character-driven gameplay. This makes every conflict a dynamic and evolving challenge, where players think beyond a single ability roll and instead engage with their entire character’s strengths and weaknesses.

Bonds, Relationships & Long-Term Play

In QuestWorlds, bonds and relationships are abilities like any other, meaning they can be used in conflicts, provide advantages, and evolve over time. Instead of tracking static values like "loyalty points" or reputation scores, characters develop meaningful connections that influence their successes and failures in the story.

These relationships can change as a consequence of actions, victories, and defeats. Winning a conflict might strengthen an alliance or earn a character a new patron, while failing might damage trust or create new enemies.

For example:

• A character with Trusted by the King as an ability could use it to influence royal decisions or gain support in court intrigue. However, if they fail a key mission or betray the king’s trust, the GM might reduce the ability’s rating or even replace it with Disgraced Noble.
• A warrior with Sworn Brother to the Clan could call on their kin for aid in battle – but if they suffer a crushing defeat, their status might change to Questioned Loyalty.

Just like any other ability, bonds, rivalries, and reputations can be used in conflicts to sway outcomes, improved through victories and strengthened by the character's actions or weakened or lost due to failure, betrayal, or changing circumstances.

This dynamic system ensures that character progression isn’t just about personal power, but also about the evolving world around them – where alliances, grudges, and loyalties shape the unfolding narrative.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Masterclass in Narrative RPG Design

QuestWorlds is, hands down, one of the most flexible and accessible narrative RPG systems available today. This edition refines and clarifies the mechanics, making it easier than ever to adapt to any setting, genre, or playstyle. Whether you enjoy freeform storytelling, structured tactical play, or something in between, QuestWorlds gives you the tools to make it work seamlessly.

Flexibility Without Complexity

The system is built around conflict resolution rather than task resolution, which means the focus stays on meaningful story moments rather than granular dice rolls. It’s a game that gets out of the way and lets you tell the story you want, without sacrificing depth or tension. The way difficulties scale dynamically and how character abilities are defined with player-driven keywords make it one of the most adaptable RPG engines out there.

A System That Adapts to You

One of the standout aspects of this edition is how well it embraces multiple playstyles. Whether your group prefers collaborative storytelling, more structured play, or even simulationist elements, QuestWorlds supports all of them. It's a system that molds itself to the table, rather than forcing the table to mold to it.

Crystal-Clear Rules with Tons of Examples

Previous versions of the game had a fantastic core concept but sometimes left new players unsure how to apply the rules in play. This edition fixes that. The book is full of concise explanations, step-by-step guidance, and examples from various genres, helping both new and experienced players get the most out of the system. No matter what kind of story you want to tell – fantasy, sci-fi, historical, pulp, or something else – this book shows you how to make it work.

Perfect for Setting Creators

The Genre Pack framework is a game-changer. It provides clear guidelines for designing your own settings, making it easy to craft new worlds that fit the system’s strengths. If you love homebrewing or want to publish your own RPG content, QuestWorlds makes that process intuitive and structured.

Open and Future-Proof

Another huge win is QuestWorlds being released under the ORC license with a full System Reference Document (SRD). This means that the system is truly open, ensuring that creators have the freedom to build upon it, expand it, and use it in commercial projects without legal headaches. For anyone looking for a foundation to create their own RPG setting, QuestWorlds is one of the best choices available today.

Final Verdict

The QuestWorlds Core Book is more than just a great RPG—it’s a toolbox for storytelling, a platform for creativity, and a refined evolution of one of the best narrative RPG systems ever made. Whether you’re a GM looking for a new system, a designer crafting your own world, or a group of players who want a game that truly adapts to your style, QuestWorlds delivers.

💯 Five stars. Absolutely recommended.