D&D 5e to HeroQuest Conversion

HeroQuest has captured my family's imagination with its accessible gameplay and endless potential for homebrew adventures. However, we quickly found ourselves wanting more variety beyond the standard monsters included in the base game.

With the vast array of fantasy miniatures available today, it seemed a shame to limit our adventures to just the original creatures. While acquiring new miniatures was simple enough, creating balanced stats that would provide a fun yet challenging experience proved much more difficult.

This project bridges that gap by systematically converting D&D 5e monsters to the HeroQuest system. Leveraging mathematical formulas and the comprehensive monster data from the OPEN5E API project, we offer a library of over 3,000 converted monsters ready for your HeroQuest adventures.

Project Goals

• Expand your monster options beyond the HeroQuest standards
• Maintain game balance while preserving each creature's unique identity
• Provide consistent conversions that scale appropriately with difficulty
• Give Zargon more tools to create exciting and varied quests

Whether you're looking to introduce classic fantasy creatures missing from HeroQuest or incorporate more exotic monsters from the D&D universe, this conversion library gives you the tools to expand your game while maintaining the quick, accessible gameplay that makes HeroQuest special.

Important Disclaimer: D&D 5e and HeroQuest are fundamentally different game systems with distinct mechanics, scales, and design philosophies. This conversion guide offers an approximation rather than a perfect translation.

About This Conversion

• Purpose: To provide a starting point for adapting D&D monsters to HeroQuest
• Scope: Covers over 3,000 monsters from various D&D sources
• Philosophy: Balance faithfulness to the original while making it playable in HeroQuest

Why Is the Same Monster Listed More Than Once?

The Monster Tome searches Open5e, a free library of D&D 5th Edition monsters that publishers have shared under open licenses. Those monsters come from several books, and many books include their own version of the classics. That's why a search for "Ancient Red Dragon" finds three of them, and why their HeroQuest stats differ: each book balances its monsters a little differently. The book is named at the bottom of every result.

Which one should I use? Whichever fits your quest. For the classic D&D version, pick "5e Core Rules". Otherwise, compare their tiers and stats and choose the one that suits your table.

Limitations to Consider

• Some nuanced D&D mechanics have no direct HeroQuest equivalent
• D&D is not HeroQuest: some monsters, like the ogre, are simply tougher in one game than the other (see How Close Do We Get?)
• Relative power levels between creatures may shift slightly during conversion
• Special abilities might require creative interpretation

Using These Conversions

• Treat these conversions as suggestions rather than rigid rules
• Feel free to adjust any stat if it doesn't feel right for your game
• Use your judgment as Zargon to modify monsters based on your players' experience

This conversion guide aims to save you time and provide a logical framework, but ultimately your table's enjoyment is what matters most. Modify these conversions freely to enhance your HeroQuest experience.

Movement

HeroQuest movement follows how nimble a monster is more than how fast it runs: goblins and assassins dart around the board while ogres plod. So the Monster Tome uses the monster's Dexterity, not its speed:

Movement = 6 squares + the monster's Dexterity modifier (at least 1)

The Dexterity modifier is the bonus printed next to Dexterity in the D&D stat block: (Dexterity − 10) ÷ 2, rounded down. A monster that can't move at all gets 0.

Example

A goblin has Dexterity 14, a +2 modifier, so it moves 6 + 2 = 8 squares.

Flying and swimming don't add squares, so fast fliers like dragons come out slower than you might expect. If a monster flies, consider giving it a few extra squares.

Attack Dice

1. Find the monster's every-turn attacks that roll to hit (a "Weapon Attack" or "Spell Attack"). Big attacks it can only use now and then, breath weapons and other powers that call for a saving throw are still listed under Attacks, but they don't set the monster's Attack dice, unless they're all it has.
2. Take the best one's average damage: the average of its dice plus its bonus. A 1d6 + 2 hit averages 3.5 + 2 = 5.5.
3. If the monster has Multiattack, multiply by the number of attacks it makes each round.
4. Look up that damage a round in the table.

Up to 6 dice, each extra die needs twice the damage, so ordinary monsters land on 2 to 4 dice like HeroQuest's own monsters. Past 6 the dice keep climbing, up to 18 for the deadliest monsters in D&D: an ancient red dragon rolls 11 and the Tarrasque 17. Nothing in the HeroQuest box comes close, and that's the point: they're meant for heroes who have outgrown it.

Example

A polar bear makes two attacks a round, a bite and its claws. Its best attack is its claws, 2d6 + 5, which average 7 + 5 = 12. Two attacks make 24 damage a round: 4 Attack dice, the same as HeroQuest's Polar Warbear.

What About Multiattack?

Many D&D monsters attack more than once a round ("The dragon makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws"). HeroQuest monsters attack once, so the Monster Tome rolls those attacks into one: the number of attacks times the best attack's damage. That's what makes a polar bear or a dragon hit harder than a lone swordsman.

Choosing the right attack

Do I always use the strongest attack?

Absolutely not. Zargon—this is your game. Sure, that Ancient Red Dragon's Fire Breath rolls a whopping 6 Attack Dice, but is it fun for your players if you use it every time?

Probably not.

Remember, the ultimate goal here is for everyone—including you—to have fun. That's the whole point of playing, right?

The Bestiary displays all available attacks for each creature, giving you options. Use this flexibility to create dynamic, engaging, and balanced encounters:

• Mix it up. That dragon can bite, claw, tail swipe, and use legendary actions too.
• Consider the narrative. Maybe the dragon is toying with the party before unleashing its full fury.
• Read the room. If your players are struggling, having that dragon use Wing Attack instead of Fire Breath might keep the encounter challenging without becoming devastating.
• Create memorable moments. Sometimes the most fun comes not from optimal damage output but from surprising tactical choices that create storytelling opportunities.

Trust your instincts! The rules and monster stats are tools to help you create an entertaining experience, not strict instructions that limit your creativity. You know your players best—choose the attacks that will make your game session one to remember.

Defend Dice

D&D's Armor Class measures how hard a monster is to hit; HeroQuest's Defend dice measure how hard it is to hurt. Big monsters and ones that shrug off ordinary weapons, like undead and gargoyles, are tough in HeroQuest even when they're easy to hit. So Defend dice start at 2 and go up:

A monster has at most 18 Defend dice. The Tarrasque, with Armor Class 25, Gargantuan and immune to nonmagical weapons, has 11.

Example

A gargoyle has Armor Class 15 (+1) and resists nonmagical weapons (+2): 2 + 1 + 2 = 5 Defend dice, the same as HeroQuest's Gargoyle.

Because every monster starts at 2, the weakest D&D monsters come out a little tougher than HeroQuest's: a goblin gets 3 Defend dice where HeroQuest's Goblin has 1.

Body Points

Body Points = the monster's Hit Points ÷ 25, rounded (at least 1)

Large or bigger beasts get 3 more. HeroQuest gives its big animals (the Giant Wolf, Polar Warbear and Giant Ape) far more Body than their D&D Hit Points suggest, trading it for fewer Defend dice.

Examples

A goblin with 7 Hit Points has 1 Body Point (7 ÷ 25 rounds to 0, raised to the minimum of 1).

A mummy with 58 Hit Points has 2 Body Points (58 ÷ 25 = 2.3).

A young red dragon with 178 Hit Points has 7 Body Points (178 ÷ 25 = 7.1), the same as HeroQuest's Dragon.

A polar bear with 42 Hit Points has 2 Body Points (42 ÷ 25 = 1.7), plus 3 for being a Large beast: 5.

Mind Points

In HeroQuest, the Mind stat combines what D&D separates into Intelligence and Wisdom, so Mind Points come from the average of the two:

Mindless undead, constructs and oozes (an average of 10 or less) have 0 Mind Points, as HeroQuest's skeletons, zombies and mummies do. Clever undead such as liches and vampires keep theirs.

Attacks

Every attack in the monster's stat block is listed with its own Attack dice, from the same table as the monster's Attack Dice but for a single hit: no Multiattack. Breath weapons and other saving-throw powers are listed here too.

Using Multiple Attacks

The monster's main Attack dice are for its usual round of attacks. The Attacks list gives Zargon tactical options:

• Tactical Variety: Choose between different attack types based on the narrative situation
• Strategic Pacing: Save powerful attacks for critical moments
• Challenge Adjustment: Use weaker attacks against novice parties or stronger attacks to challenge veterans

Zargon has discretion on which attacks to use and when. Consider the narrative situation, the party's composition, and the desired challenge level when selecting attacks.

Big Attacks

A dragon's breath can wipe out a party. Rather than shrink it, the Monster Tome keeps its full power and limits how often it comes, the way D&D does. D&D marks these attacks "Recharge 5–6" or "3/Day", and the Attacks list shows how often each one can be used, for example "6 attack dice, every 3 turns". Run a recharging attack whichever way suits your table:

• Countdown: after the monster uses it, set a counter (a die works) to the number of turns and lower it by one each of Zargon's turns. The attack is ready again at 0. The heroes can watch the dragon draw breath and get out of the way, which makes the fight tense rather than unfair.
• Roll: at the start of each of Zargon's turns, roll a combat die. On the face shown below the attack is ready again. The odds are exactly D&D's, since a combat die has 3 skulls, 2 white shields and 1 black shield.

Big attacks never count toward the monster's own Attack dice, so its everyday attack stays the one you'll roll most turns.

Difficulty

A monster's tier gives you a quick feel for how tough it is. It comes from its HeroQuest stats, using the same dice odds and example party (a Barbarian, Dwarf, Elf and Wizard) as the Monster Forge's Turns To Kill table: how many Body Points the monster can be expected to take off the heroes before they bring it down.

Each tier is about twice as dangerous as the one below. HeroQuest's own monsters sit in the middle: even the Ogre Lord is A Tier. The top of the scale belongs to D&D's legends, which is why an ancient dragon or the Tarrasque earns an S where the Ogre Lord doesn't. The tiers line up with the D&D Challenge Ratings the Monster Tome used to show for nearly every monster.

The tier counts Attack, Defend and Body only. Big attacks, special powers and especially spells can make a monster tougher than its tier; spellcasters such as the lich come out far lower than they should.

How Close Do We Get?

D&D is not HeroQuest, and the two don't always agree. To keep the conversion honest, it's checked against every official HeroQuest monster with a clear D&D counterpart. About four in five converted stats land within 1 of the official value.

Stats are Move / Attack / Defend / Body / Mind, then the tier. The biggest gaps are monsters the two games simply see differently: D&D's ogre and dire wolf are ordinary brutes, while HeroQuest's Ogre and Giant Wolf are among its toughest foes. When a converted monster doesn't feel right, change it: saving it to the Monster Forge lets you edit every stat.

Share your feedback

We've worked hard to create this D&D to HeroQuest conversion system, but we're always looking to improve. Whether you've found something we missed or have a revolutionary idea to make it better, we'd love to hear from you!