I had a very simple method back when Hero Wars placed abilities into discrete categories like Physical, Mental, Personality, Magic, etc., which was to limit each hero to one augment from each category. One hero might choose Strong Right Arm, Spot Gap In Foe's Defense, Loyal To Clan and Truesword Stroke while another might choose Kick Sand In Face, Distracting Banter, Fights Dirty, and Befuddle. It worked quite well, and encouraged the players to both get creative and maintain a wide range of abilities on which they could call for augments rather than just maximize one or two.
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Michael Schwartz
raconteurx_at_...