I went to a Heroquest game yesterday where the GM didn't use dice. Among other things, he liked the idea of being able to play anywhere -- a pub, hotel, etc. -- without carrying dice around, as most such places have cards for their guests. He also liked the idea of being able to play without displaying dice and effectively putting a "we are geeks" sign on the table.
A few weeks before, I saw another dice-free solution: An Apple iPad application that combines e-books with a die rolling utility. (
http://a-sharp.com/dicebook.) That actually exacerbates the "we are geeks" problem, but if you go around with an iPad anyway, it might be pretty convenient.
I'm curious whether anyone has come up with other dice-free HeroQuest solutions outside of LARPs, and how well they worked.
Rob