Take a look at the rules for creating a hero and their crew, found in Warriors of Athena: Heroes...

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Like every great legend, Warriors of Athena begins with a hero. But, whether your hero becomes legendary is down to you. Should they meet their fated end in the course of their questing, how will they be remembered? As a mythological footnote or were they so impressive that the Gods lift them up to reside on Olympus? 

Every campaign of Warriors of Athena begins with players creating a hero and a crew of companions to accompany them in their labours. All the rules for this can be found in Warriors of Athena: Heroes; let’s have a look at some of the options.  

Parentage 

Creating a hero begins with determining their parentage. Most heroes are Demi-gods, inheriting great power from their immortal parent. For instance, children of Ares, the God of War, are natural warriors, wielding divine strength and martial skill. Though such a lust for battle is not without drawbacks. 

Weakness 

A hamartia or ‘fatal flaw’ was crucial to the stories of Greek Myth. Just as your heroes receive boons, they will begin with a weakness. Perhaps their bloodlust can overcome them leaving them unable to aid their companions or investigate a critical clue, instead charging headlong into the nearest enemy. Perhaps they have an immortal enemy that hunts them across the land, arriving on the field at the most inconvenient times. 

Heroic Abilities 

Heroes can perform feats beyond the ability of any regular mortal fighter. In addition to any granted by your heroes’ parentage, you’ll pick five to add to your heroes’ character sheet. From shrugging off damage to impossible feats of marksmanship, these talents can be called on in moments of great need as heroes push beyond mortal limits to perform them. Take too much strain however and your hero risks fatally weakening themselves, each point of strain reducing their remaining health. 

Weapons and Equipment 

Begin the game with a free choice of equipment from the armoury found in Warriors of Athena: Heroes. Carry up to six items, they may wish to arm themselves like a hoplite, carrying a spear, round shield and Bronze armour, or perhaps wield a two-handed weapon trading sturdy defence for unbridled ferocity. Most of the weapons of mythic Greece were constructed from wood or bronze and were not expected to last forever. There’s always the chance that a weapon should break. Heroes must resort to a back-up weapon, improvise one or even start throwing rocks. While the starting gear is basic, Warriors of Athena: Heroes contains the rules for many mythic weapons and items that can be acquired as heroes progress their quest. 

Companions 

While heroes might try and claim all the glory for themselves, they can’t succeed alone. Before embarking on their quest, heroes may recruit a certain number of companions to aid them. Fresh faced recruits, loyal hounds, mercurial satyrs, steadfast hoplites, even fearsome lions can be brought together under the leadership of your hero. Who will you choose to stand at their side? 

In our next blog we’ll take a look at Quests and the tools Oracles get to play with when leading a campaign and designing their own.  

Warriors of Athena: Heroes and Warriors of Athena: Quests release on February 26th in the US and February 28th in the UK. 

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Warriors of Athena: Heroes and Warriors of Athena: Quests are available to pre-order now.

Read the design diary from the author here.

Get ready to assemble your crew with roster sheets available on our resources page. 

• Warriors of Athena
• Wargame