Ok just a curiosity.....

Who are you top 4 heroes for a campaign and why them?

Well that's not an easy one to answer...

A hero will shine if played with an appropriate class. Some hero feat and ability clearly work better with a given class.

Anyhow, I'll go for :

Healer : Avric

Mage : Loric/Quellen

Scout : Can't say

Warrior : Can't say

I agree- there are a huge number of variables- but the ones that with the right classes can be exploited? Here is an OL's worst nightmare:

Elder Mok, Bard

Trenloe, Knight

Logan, Treasure Hunter

Leoric, Runemaster

Mok adds healing of the group variety. Trenloe is mobile muscle, and defending shields. Logan can get them all the gold and kick butt while doing it, and Leoric is a ranged powerhouse that reduces monster attacks. If he is near trenloe, every attack is an auto -2 damage, mok can make that 3 with aria of war. he can also give trenloe an additional added.damage.on every attack.

I wiped a full hp monster group in a single turn using Leoric/runemaster with a 1xp class card. I don't need to explain how mad the OL was!!

Now I know how I must look sometimes when I am playing as the OL

I agree- there are a huge number of variables- but the ones that with the right classes can be exploited? Here is an OL's worst nightmare:

Elder Mok, Bard

Trenloe, Knight

Logan, Treasure Hunter

Leoric, Runemaster

Mok adds healing of the group variety. Trenloe is mobile muscle, and defending shields. Logan can get them all the gold and kick butt while doing it, and Leoric is a ranged powerhouse that reduces monster attacks. If he is near trenloe, every attack is an auto -2 damage, mok can make that 3 with aria of war. he can also give trenloe an additional added.damage.on every attack.

Why Logan? Is there not any better rogue with a better group ability?

The other heroes lack great movement, so this party (while battle capable) is lacking in treasure, arguably one of the most important things. Logan can't be immobilized, and as the treasure hunter he is equppied to do all of the searching on his own.

I choose campaign because though some heroes are great in different encounters, some don't pan out in a long campaign. Orkell the swift is good with his speed, but that brown defense dice can be devastating to a party if you have terrible dice rolls. True, equipment cards can help if the right ones come into play, but armor early in a campaign isn't my first pick to spend gold on.

If this is a question irrespective of other factors, then its a fairly easy one for me to answer.

Healer: Elder Mok

Warrior: Nanok of the Blade

Scout: Logan Lashley

Mage: High Mage Quellen

Note, this in isolation. There are tons of other good heroes, and some who, when together have synergy that will far surpass the strength of any one hero.

And of course, different heroes excel in different class roles.. so this is a very general list.

Logan Lashley as the treasure hunter is particularly good in low mobility parties, but brings less to the table in high mobility parties, so he fits well with Zaltyre's group.

I would argue that Leoric is an inferior Runemaster to Widow Tarha, and that Leoric actually makes a better Necromancer than Widow Tarha does.

Logan Lashley as the treasure hunter is particularly good in low mobility parties, but brings less to the table in high mobility parties, so he fits well with Zaltyre's group.

I would argue that Leoric is an inferior Runemaster to Widow Tarha, and that Leoric actually makes a better Necromancer than Widow Tarha does.

Widow Tarha is a great runemaster. I chose Leoric for my dream team because his hero ability pairs very well with trenloe's as well as with the bard's "aria of war" (which also goes well with trenloe.)

Ah, but in the low mobility party, I prefer a necromancer to the runemaster, or perhaps a conjurer, in which case he would fit in well, or High Mage Quellen if you chose a conjurer.

Necromancer would extend the reach of your low mobility group, and your damage output is spectacular even without a runemaster.

Let me ask this before I give my four, would you rather have all warriors, all healers, all scouts, all mages or a mixer of one of each?

Mixture is always best I think.

Scout is the most replaceable of the classes.

I've always found that a stable mix of all four is best. I find the scout to be the least best option to replace, because of the treasure aspect. Sicne treasure is so important in Descent, losing your most mobile character, who can get you those hard to reach sdearch tokens or race to the objectives is a blow to any party.

I think that depending on the party composition, which class can afford to lose is flexible. If you have high HP/damage mage, scout and healer, you might not need a warrior. If you have a lot of HP, and ways to deal with conditions, you might not need a healer.

The mage, I find harder to replace, because none of the other archetypes have classes that give you crowd control like the Rune master, and to a lesser degree, the conjurer and the geomancer (and the necromancer... and the hexer...oh, wait)

You can leave out the scoit fine if you have a highly mobile member. One of the first campaigns I OL'd had no scout, and the heroes won:

Leoric necromancer
Jaes runemaster
Avric disciple
>>Durik Beastmaster<<

He did all the moving- and the presence of wolf and reanimate was... annoying.

>>Durik Pathfinder<<

You mean Pathfinder Durik as beastmaster?

>>Durik Pathfinder<<

You mean Pathfinder Durik as beastmaster?

Ahem... yes, uh, of course. Nothing to see here!

Elder Mok for Disciple is for me the best healer around by a good shot, then of course if Bard suits the team the most due to synergies then fine, but in a vacuum Disciple I believe is the best class you can pick for that archetype.

I would pick Syndrael for Knight as my Warrior choice. This is just such a solid choice and it grants such mobility. With the correct gear she is near unkillable and provides such utility.

High mage Quellen as a Runemaster is insane. So much stamina regen, heroic feat is just so strong.

I would also put Logan as the Treasure Hunter. Regardless of how mobile the team is, not being immobilized negates a ton of OL effects and garantees somebody somewhere can do something at any point in time. Damage-wise Logan is impressive. I would put Roganna the Shade as a close second, as I have been more than impressed with her capabilities.

I would put Roganna the Shade as a close second, as I have been more than impressed with her capabilities.

I played a trollfens mini campaign awhile back, there were only two of us heroes:

Quellen the Geomancer, and Roganna the Treasure Hunter. She used the synergy between Delver, hero ability, and Sleight of Hand to just become a sniper class- every attack had auto +2, pierce 2. And she bought the crossbow, making it pierce 3, with surges adding easy damage.

Yeah that's how I´ve seen her being played. She is **** impressive. I forgot to mention in my post above, but I would rather choose the Stalker class for her. She is a-m-a-z-i-n-g in that role.

Only thing holding Syndrael back from the top spot competition is the frankly very sub par heroic ability. Given the knights skills and the games emphasis on movement the only times i have ever found it applicable are when i would have rested anyway.

Tahlia, in her hero and monster collection form, is a personal fave as a knight, the low movement speed is addressed by the knight class, her ability generates even more movement points (a potential 6 extra if you kill with 2 attacks and an advance), her health is chunky and her attributes are pretty balanced and her feat is useful if not spectacular.

Mok, I think, does well as almost any healer.

When I played him as an apothecary, we paired up with High mage Quellen as a Geomancer...

I'd max out my stamina, Quellen qould stay within 3, on his turn he'd gain 2 stamina and I'd either heal or gain 1 stamina. I could then use that to give Quellen an elixir, which I used to boost his attacks using Secret Formula...

Plop down a stone where there's a gathering of monsters and use earthen anguish...with with an extra green die and an extra surge power : +2 damage.

Use the Geomancer's stasis rune for Immobilize or the Lightning Strike for extra fun...

Blast with +2, +2, +2 is just Impressive...

My play group is using Trenloe as a Champion. He's just rolling over things.

That being said, I like Syndrael, but I like her better paired with Ashrian. They both work awesomely as a pair. I like Syndrael's Heroic Feat because it can allow you to get herself and another hero into a place they need to be that they wouldn't be able to get to normally on one turn. Combined with the Knight class, she is able to then attack things close by. Then Ashrian can come in and stun everything else.

Warrior - Syndrael, two free moves to start encounters is almost always amazing

Mage - Quellen, so much wonderful stamina!

Scout - Jain, her feat is two free actions and she can "heal" by resting due to ability

Healer - Serena, her feat is a great

I think the only class that is far superior is treasure hunter, and of course only in a campaign

Warrior - Syndrael, two free moves to start encounters is almost always amazing

Mage - Quellen, so much wonderful stamina!

Scout - Jain, her feat is two free actions and she can "heal" by resting due to ability

Healer - Serena, her feat is a great

I think the only class that is far superior is treasure hunter, and of course only in a campaign

Interesting! What classes would you give them?