Original character names

[Cael Darkhollow]

who knows what the new Hasbro characters for the rerelease will be officially named but I'm calling them:

Shrek the absurd (Orc Bard)

Moana islander nature hippy, upgraded from Yoga Class outfit Megan(Druid)

Karen the angry hobbit (Warlock)

seems like there might be a little copyright intelectual property/ imaging infringement with Disney and Dreamworks in their "design"

lets hope no character emojis ever get designed for these new three here on the forum

[Kurgan]

I didn't know that the four player characters at one point had names.

Apparently according to the original promotional materials the four adventurers had names.
Toran the Barbarian
Gorlin the Dwarf
Eldoral the Elf
Gelrrick the Wizard

I'm betting the vast majority of you already knew this.
But it's brand new information to me.

Do any of you use the names when playing the game?

Fascinating, and I honestly hadn't noticed that before, thanks for sharing!

According to Legacy of Sorasil (the Hero Quest II pc game released several years later) the names are:

Barbarian = Angor
Dwarf = Grimbeard
Elf / Adventurer = Stormbow
Wizard = Ravenslock

(new heroes were also introduced:)

Paladin = Haxar
Mystic = Celeste
Cleric = Calorflame
Ranger = Oakheart

Suggested sample names from the Premiere (1st) and 2nd edition EU instruction manuals (featured on this site):

Barbarian = Sigmar
Dwarf = Grugni (I misread that at first as "Grungi")
Elf = Ladril
Wizard = Zoltan

Marvel Winter Special names:

Barbarian - Zull
Dwarf - Strom
Elf - Galadrus
Wizard = Akron

See what I mean about multiple continuities?

You could of course say these were traveling names or aliases (a la, Conan, Gandalf, etc) or really just that dedication to the fact that the game is open-ended and customizable, not a fixed thing.

So of course we give them whatever names we want. Generally when we played the names were either from named characters from already established fiction (Conan, Merlin, Thorin, Lancelot, etc) or jokes, puns, etc. If I just had to come up with some randomly right now it would be:

Barbara Ann the Barbarian
Du Worf (I liked your idea) the Dwarf
El Fif the Elf
Wei Zard the Wizard


My suggestions for the 2021 Heroes:

Barthbog: the Orc Bard (actually a former Pirate turned Cleric!)

Fonda Simmons: the Druid (nobody knew who she was, or what she was doing...)

Stardust Pixikill: the Warlock (actually a Ranger!)

[Oftkilted]

The HeroQuest novel:
The Fellowship of the Four, the heroes ALSO had names which were different!

Barbarian - Asgrim
Elf - Eildonas
Wizard - Fortunato (also known as “Luck” by the Elf)
Dwarf - Anvil Devlanbreeks

[Davane]

Another set can be found in the Legacy of Sorasil: Angor the Barbarian, Grimbeard the Dwarf, Ravenslock the Wizard, and Stormbow the Elf. The Fellowship of Four was already mentioned, but The Tyrant's Tomb features Asgrim the Barbarian and The Screaming Spectre features Osric the Wizard.

We also have always used custom names for the heroes.
But I remeber there was example names inside the istruction booklet (Sigmar, Grungi, Ladril and Zoltan). Other names in the Marvel Winter Special (Zull, Strom, Galadrus and Akron).
And if I am not wrong also the Merlin Sticker Album present names for the four heroes (but it's late and I am too tired to go and check this)...

To clarify, Zull, Strom, Galadrus and Akron are found in the EU Rules of Play as you remember, but they are not in the NA Instruction Booklet. You're correct about the Merlin Sticker Album. It features Storn the Barbarian, Grugni the Dwarf, Ladril the Elf, and Chandra the Wizard.

Think it might have come from some mods and fan rules, but my group often goes with:
Rogar - Barbarian
Durgin/Killi Thackerson - Dwarf (or Dwarf Trollslayer)
Ladril - Elf
Telor - Wizard
Perrier De Chauncer - Knight (I know this one has come from a quest somewhere. Technically a villain if I recall correctly.)
Of course normal nicknames do then sink in at times- like Roger, Kylie, and Perry.

Rogar, Durgin, Ladril, and Telor are all featured in Mentor's fluff story on p.2 of the EU Rules of Play and again on p.4 of the NA Instruction Booklet. Kili Thekkrsson is a Trollslayer from The Halls of Durrag-Dol (a Quest from WD 134), and Pierre Chancier is a Henchman featured in The Eyes of Chaos (a Quest from WD 145.)

Rogar, Durgin, Ladril, and Telor are also mentioned in the reference section for AHQ. They come after the four AHQ heroes: Magnus the Bright (Human Wizard, Bright collage), Heinrich Lowen (Human Warrior), Torallion Leafstar (Elf), and Sven Hammerhelm (Dwarf).

I don't recall if the heroes from WHQ were ever given names...

[Kurgan]

So I think we can all agree that the one and only official Canonical names (TM) of the Heroes are as follows:

Barbarian = Larry
Dwarf = Moe
Elf = Curly
Wizard = Curly Joe
Orc Bard = Shemp