Obviously folk are going to just have to wait until the new HeroQuest rules are finally released, but until they are I think I am obliged to explain the source of this dispute. Assigning resistances for contests is handled very differently in HQ2 than in HQ1 or HW. Or RQ for that matter. Because of this, stat blocks are not only unnecessary under the new rules, but they are actually misleading. David Dunham, Ian Cooper, Lawrence Whitaker, and the whole HQ2 team have discussed the issue and I think we are all in agreement.
This is an exciting new mechanic from Robin Laws, and allows HQ2 to really capture the experience and feeling of Greg's Gloranthan stories. You can also use that mechanism for many many different story genres: Viking sagas, space opera, horror, Roman tragedies, detective stories, superheroes, and much more. I hate terms like "paradigm shift" but that's what HQ2 is - a "paradigm shift" in how we think about game mechanics.
HQ2 is fully backwards compatible with published scenarios using HQ1 and more interestingly, with MRQ and RQ. FWIW, I have been test-running HQ2 here in Berlin using the scenario arc from the Dorastor book and the campaign has been an absolute blast (it has also been a very lethal game with heroes occasionally dropping dead from injuries even when they "win" a battle).
However, if you want to have stat blocks for NPCs in you own games or fan publications, go for it. There's nothing stopping you from running games or writing fan materials the way you want.
Jeff
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