Hero Substitutions & Shopping

[wallydubbs]

And just like real vending machines, if you try to beat up on it to get free stuff, you risk the whole thing falling on top of you for massive damage!

If you shoot it with a crossbow to get the gold coins back... and you're wrong, then you'll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company!

Sounds like there's an analogy in there somewhere. Could you be more clear with your criticism?

[wallydubbs]

Now that I have started playing again (I played the game when it first came out, and was only ever aware of Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord existing beyond the base game), I enjoy the large pool of available heroes. As Zargon now, player death during a quest requires that player to choose a new hero for the next quest. They then stick with that one until they die, at which point they switch again (including back to a hero they played previously).

So, for example, a party with the original four heroes loses the Dwarf and Elf during a quest. For the next quest, those characters choose the Monk and Explorer. A couple quests later, the Barbarian dies. That player can choose any of the currently available heroes for the next quest, including the Dwarf and Elf.

Up until the release of First Light it never occurred to me that Mentor might be training more than 1 group of heroes. I assumed he was going for 4 heroes that fit the archetypes of old: Barbarian (Rogar), Dwarf (Durgin), Elf (Ladril) & Wizard (Telor). But there are other types of heroes out there.
You can play it with a group of 4 heroes and find a replacement when needed. I've tried it that way a while while back: The Barbarian led a group comprised of the Druid, Elf & Warlock. In the Trial Verag killed the Elf but was no match for the Warlock's range attacks. Unfortunately, though, after a poor movement roll the Warlock was corned by undead and killed by the Guardian Mummy. The Druid and Barbarian were able to finish the quest. They would find a new Elf and Wizard to replace their fallen comrades. But in Lair of the Orc Warlord a Wandering Monster cards got two consecutive attacks on the Wizard, ending him. He was replaced by the Rogue, who lasted with the group until The Great Citadel of Keller's Keep. Halfway through Keller's Keep and they lose a hero? It just so happened that a Dwarf still living in Korak Varn in hiding away from the greenskins came across the heroes and was recruited by them to help finish off the quest pack.
This was before Against the Ogre Hoard was released and the group stayed together up until Frozen Horror. The groups were completely out of healing potions after Search for the Scepter. There was no way they were going to get through the double quest. Fortunately the Elf chose Air spells and utilized the Genie door spell to bypass Quest 10 and go straight for the Frozen Horror.

You could still play this way, if you want. But having a larger pool of heroes to pick from you could have multiple groups. The same group that does Prophecy of Telor doesn't have to be the same group running Spirit Queen's Torment.
For the Broken Quest Packs (Frozen Horror & Mage of the Mirror), there's no harm adding a 5th hero.
Zargon hatches multiple schemes at once, so it wouldn't be unlikely for Mentor to have more than one group that all know each other, so they mix and match between quest packs.

[Parzival]

And just like real vending machines, if you try to beat up on it to get free stuff, you risk the whole thing falling on top of you for massive damage!

If you shoot it with a crossbow to get the gold coins back... and you're wrong, then you'll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company!

A Strangelove reference!