The heroes discovered the secret passage last night the card they drew for it had a reward of drawing a shop card for each hero on the tile and then they pick one item to keep. The heroes asked if their ally would count as a hero. I told them it would because I've always operated on the premise that allies were treated as heroes for all game effects except for quest guide text and being the target of plot cards. Is that correct?

The heroes discovered the secret passage last night the card they drew for it had a reward of drawing a shop card for each hero on the tile and then they pick one item to keep. The heroes asked if their ally would count as a hero. I told them it would because I've always operated on the premise that allies were treated as heroes for all game effects except for quest guide text and being the target of plot cards. Is that correct?

No, you got it kind of backwards. The allies (and other things treated as heroes) only count as heroes for hero and monster abilities, for attacks, and for OL cards (and anywhere else they are explicitly said to.)

Otherwise, hero = just the main party.

Some Justin answers about Allies and Secret Rooms:

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/13046015#13046015

Here he said that Allies CAN enter SR.

Some Justin answers about Allies and Secret Rooms:

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/13046015#13046015

Here he said that Allies CAN enter SR.

Yep, they can go inside, attack and loot (well, Raythen can) etc. They can even find the secret room, however it would be "owned" by the closest hero on the map.

But in terms of attributing rewards, allies do not count towards that.

Some Justin answers about Allies and Secret Rooms:

https://boardgamegeek.com/article/13046015#13046015

Here he said that Allies CAN enter SR.

Yep, they can go inside, attack and loot (well, Raythen can) etc. They can even find the secret room, however it would be "owned" by the closest hero on the map.

But in terms of attributing rewards, allies do not count towards that.

RAW, I very much disagree with his answer about whether or not Allies count for "Lorekeeper's Vault"/"Brigand's Quarters." It's not a problem if they've stated explicitly that was the intention, but given the instructions about "familiars treated as figures" in the FAQ (which goes for anything treated as a hero that isn't actually a hero,) Allies shouldn't count for these cards (again, strictly RAW.)

The heroes discovered the secret passage last night the card they drew for it had a reward of drawing a shop card for each hero on the tile and then they pick one item to keep. The heroes asked if their ally would count as a hero. I told them it would because I've always operated on the premise that allies were treated as heroes for all game effects except for quest guide text and being the target of plot cards. Is that correct?

No, you got it kind of backwards. The allies (and other things treated as heroes) only count as heroes for hero and monster abilities, for attacks, and for OL cards (and anywhere else they are explicitly said to.)

Otherwise, hero = just the main party.

Good to know, thanks! They all piled into the room for the last challenge token so they had a healthy 5 items to choose from and the item they picked (the bearded axe) wasn't the last card drawn so no harm no foul I guess.