Heroes Background?

[j_dean80]

I believe they aren't named or whereabouts given due to the fact they are meant to die sometimes and new player characters joining the group to replace those that have fallen.

[lestodante]

I agree with J_dean80 and Pancho!!

[wallydubbs]

We learn a bit more about Dwarves from Keller's Keep that they had valor an ingenuity and that Belorn was their best known king. But Karak Varn had fallen into ruin and was taken over by the Orcs and goblins. We don't know if there's actually a Dwarven kingdom anymore. Perhaps all remaining Dwarves are refugees living among Men and Elves, and the Dwarven hero is joining the rest of the heroes to represent his fading people.

The introduction does say that the 4 heroes are bonded by their loyalty to the Empire.
So even though the Elf has proven himself a champion to the Emperor, it doesn't appear to be good enough for Terellia, unless the Elven Kingdom isn't part of the empire, in which case Terellia force's him into a solo quest out of spite because he has already pledged loyalty to the Emperor. So therefore it seems unlikely that the Elf is from the Elven Kingdom, but an Elf living in the Empire. The introduction doesn't exactly say that the Elf is from the Elven Kingdom, but just that Terellia asked Mentor to find an Elven Hero.

No official back story is ever given to the Wizard, which is a shame as there is very little to draw from. He has no beard or any standard wizard garb that you'd find in this era, so it would seem that this Wizard is still rather young. The Wizard does wear a Creasent Moon and Stars on his jerkin. This Creasent Moon is also apparent on the High Mage's staff in Wizard's of Morcar, so it could be some type of symbol for a school of wizardry. Choas magic could be a corruption of the good and pure magic that this wizard practices. Though Choas Magic may seemingly be more powerful, as shown by Wardoz in Quest 7, it can be quite cancerous and will rot the mind if protective steps aren't taken.

What we do know in regards to the Wizard is that he has mastered 3 out of the 4 elements in his Magical practices and the Elf picks up on the one he lacks.
In Wizards of Morcar he picks up 3 additional sets of spells, indicating that he is still young and learning. Zanrath, who may have gone to the same school, appears to be much older, but doesn't appear to practice elemental magic. Asides from Wall of Flame (which appears to be more in line with Spell of Protection) Zanrath doesn't really cast spells featuring an element. His are more akin to Chaos Spells (Rust, Escape, Madness). But he does show some spells not unlike what the Wizard recently learned (Dispell and Wall of Flame, which isn't much different from Wall of Stone).
It's not too uncommon to fi d Chaos Spells that do the same thing as the Wizard's (Ball of Flame, Tempest, etc) this just shows that the two forms of Magic are related. Chaos spells: are probably perversions of good magic.
The Storm Master and Necromancer both appear to be human, and both are particularly dedicated to one certain type of magic (Storms and Necromancy), so this could be the case for our Wizard, perhaps his particular craft is Elemental Magic, since he's not incapable of using 4th one.


The rule book suggests that the Elf use Earth Spells. This can be more so due to the fact that they're more defensive, granting the Wizard offensive attack spells such as Fire and Genie. This is atypical for Elves, who usually use the Feminine Elements (Air and Water):
In Quest 13: Quest for the Spirit Blade we get a bit of a backstory for the Spirit Blade, it was forged by the Dwarves, they're very crafty, we get that from the Dwarven Forge in Keller's Keep and the Dwarf's ability to disarm traps. As crafty as they are the Dwarves aren't without magic either, as expressed in the final door of The Last Gate of Keller's Keep. But in regards to Earth spells, which you'd think would come natural to them, isn't accessible in this game. But it's curious that the Elf can...
But the Spirit Blade was also cooled in the Elven Fountain of Leben, which you gotta assume was in some way enchanted by Elven Magic. Sleep is also a water spell, which must in some way be related to Deep Sleep used in the Elf Quest Pack. It's not inconceivable that the inner workings of the Twist Wood spell rely on the moisture present in the wood, suggesting water may play a part. We also know the Elvs are capable of Necromancic magic as all evil sorcerers in MotM know the Reanimation spell, and the Bone Wand can be found in the Elven Kingdom. So it makes sense that they played a huge part in enchanting the Spirit Blade.
In regards to Air, the Elven Boots seem to be imbued with the essence of Swift Wind and the Sky Orb is named for something that is completely composed of Air.

The Elf also has the unusual characteristic of unkempt white hair, as the Elven Warrior and Archer from MotM have golden blond hair, Millandriel also has reddish blond hair. Is it overstepping to speculate that our fair skinned, yet white haired Elf is part dark elf? Could this be why he knows Earth Magic so well?
On the Arrows of the Night spell card, the Elf is depicted as firing the bolts, being part of the Darkness spell set this is right on par with the workings of a Dark Elf.
Mage of the Mirror also brings up a new set of spells, which could be categorized as Illusionary (Hypnotic Blaze & Double Image) and Time sensitive (Timestop, Flashback & Slow). We can assume it's the Female Elf that brings these spells to the table; being part light Elf, our Elven Hero can learn these spells from her.
If the Elf is part Dark Elf this would explain why Terrellia spites the Emperor's Champion Elf into 3 solo quests to prove himself.

[wallydubbs]

Having covered the original 4 heroes, we now have 8 additional heroes to look though.

First and foremost going with the hero that gives off the least of his background would probably be the Berserker. He comes with Jungles of Delthrak, but only Dwarven villages are mentioned in this expansion. He has the look of a hunter, with fashioning weapons and jewelry from the teeth and bones of Raptors. Any motives for his heroism are uncertain. Combat is clearly something he enjoys. At some point in the past the Berserker may have been hit with a Lightning or Ice spell due to his alopecia areata condition.

The Druid doesn't provide any clues either as to her origin, but I would imagine the Orcs are cutting down trees, much like that scene where the Ents are provoked in the Two Towers.

The Bard's story seems half written as orcs aren't known to be very musical, so a musical Orc upsets the status quo. It's quite uncertain that either of the friendly Orcs in Spirit Queen's Torment is the Bard. Sigill and Udren are both excellent candidates, but Udren is actually a female, so if either of these Orcs are the Bard it might be Sigill. Sigill is imprisoned when the heroes find him, one would think he would have been killed if his treason was exposed as Silvana's scout. Perhaps the reason for his improvement is not treason, but for being bawdy and different. Silvana is a diviner, so she excels at foretelling the future. Udren becomes her apprentice and would learn to delve into magic, which the Bard integrates with his songs.
If neither of these Orcs are the Bard than we have even less to go on. "Swashbuckling" is an adjective Doug Hopkins used for this hero, which in commonly used for pirates. Although "Swashbuckling" generally means daring it's impossible to look at the Bard hero card and not think of a pirate, especially with that anchor tattoo. So, might the Bard have some background in piracy? It's not outside the realm of reason as he's a skilled fighter with a rapier, as most Orcs are unlikely to use a weapon that requires grace and dexterity. Sailors are also known for their singing, which is a reasonable connection to his Bard profession. When you think about it long enough the story practically writes itself. Perhaps the Bard wasn't raised in Orc culture and fell in with a group of pirates where he became a fanciful singer, was recruited by Silvana to become a spy among Zargon's armies.

The Explorer is of Dwarven descent, thus probably comes from the Durlan's Outpost, if not Keller's Keep itself. She's adapted a Peter Tingle, or Danger Sense through numerous excursions along the infected jungle surrounding her home. She's not as well trained in battle as the Dwarf, but she's better at scoping out danger and traps than any other hero under Mentor's employ.

Chivalry, honor and integrity go hand-in-hand with the Guardian Knight. They are diligently trained and willing to give their lives for the cause, like Kenaron, who held off Zargon's forces long enough for the king to escape the siege at Keller's Keep. The Knight is the warrior of the realm, who answer directly to the King, not Mentor. Mentor favors his own styles of heroes, trying to recreate Rogar's union with Dwarves, Elves And Men. There are a great many knights in the realm, but no particular backstory can be made other than being an ordained Knight.

The Monk travels from the far east, wherever that may be in the HeroQuest world, to fight in the World's End Tournament. The Monk is trained in martial arts and has a high level of pride, refraining from using heavy weapons such as Battle Axes and Long Swords. His natural grace and finesse also prevents him from wearing armor. To go through his techniques multiple times through a quest suggests that he's mentally centered. The fact that he's will to cross half the world to test his fighting skills suggests super dedication. But asides from the World's End Tournament it's uncertain what, if anything, drives him to join the heroes' cause against Zargon.

The Rogue is the estranged son of Terellia, who wanted to be seen as more than just an Elven prince. He is the heir of Elthorn and Elfkind, but not nearly as robust as the Elf, nor as magical. Preferring to stay nimble, he's very handy with small blades.

The Warlock is a halfling that dabbled into dark powers she does not understand. She has bonded with a sinister entity and I'm left to wonder why the heroes should trust her... Why she's using these demonic powers to fight Zargon is not specified. Maybe Zargon double-crossed a demonic entity just to be contrary.