>
> > Rob:
> > > I think I am with ben here, unless perhaps they
> > > bring something
> > > quite unique to the party that is very relevant
> to
> > > the game/scenario
>
> > Jane:
> > But if they're *not* bringing something unique to
> the
> > party, why are you running them? If they don't
> have a
> > "distinguishing feature", why are they any more
> than a
> > Follower?
>
> I think what I am getting at here is having
> something more about
> them than perhaps a fondness for cheese or some
> other whimsical type
> ability we invest our characters with. No, I meant
> something like a
> begining sage or perhaps healer in a group of
> advanced warriors.
> maybe a Kev visionary. Not *another warrior* who
> quite frankly
> isn't as good at twatting Broo as the rest of the
> team.
>
> Now, a warrior who has a raft of abilities from his
> narrative that
> make him fit the special, as suggested above - thats
> the true spirit
> of Heroquest!
>
> I'm not sure if I am communicating what I mean...
I'm not sure you are, either, because it sounds like you're talking about character classes/niche protection. "Not another warrior! We already have a warrior, and being a warrior is his schtick."
But HeroQuest doesn't really have anything to protect when it comes to PC niche, because every PC is going to be different, for exactly the reasons Jane mentioned. A fondness for cheese, or a relationship with a weird secret society, or a dramatic personality trait, or an impressive beard--these are the niche protection qualities in HeroQuest. You could easily have all of the heroes be soldiers or scholars, even members of the same cult or tradition, and each one will be different because of the variety of abilities, relationships and personality traits of each hero.
And "party" doesn't even have to come into it, because there's no overiding reason to have a "party" of PCs. I tend to think of the PCs in HeroQuest as "the main characters in a cast of characters." The heroes don't have to be friends, or even allied--they could be completely at odds with each other.
Because the really cool thing about HeroQuest is that any conflict can be represented in a contest equally, and *any* ability can be the main ability in a contest. So, each hero is "balanced" in that each hero will be able to participate in some contest in a cool way. Gandalf kicks all kinds of ass and is, in almost every respect, far more powerful than any hobbits. But he could *never* have taken the ring to Mount Doom, whereas Frodo could. And Frodo couldn't have done it without Sam. Power levels in HeroQuest don't necessarily mean "unbalanced." Harrek will kill you dead dead dead in a fight...but can he woo the Empress of the Sapphire Castle with a sensitively written poem better than your hero?
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