I have a whimsical idea for a weekend project.

I would like as many people as possible to look through the hero abilities of published heroes and rate them for how powerful they are, overall, on a scale of 1-5 (5 being strongest). Please rate just the ability itself, without taking into account any of the other stats of the hero who has it--for example, Eliam's stats seem to be designed to weaken his ability (which is fatigue-intensive on a 3-fatigue hero and doesn't work with his strongest attack type), but the ability itself is pretty awesome. You may assume that the ability will go to a hero who has some dice in the required attack type, if any.

You can also rate abilities from the "build-your-own-hero" rules or other examples you find or invent, if you want. Just want to establish examples of strong, medium, and weak abilities by common consensus.

I realize that isn't a lot to go on; I'm not expecting brilliant insights or anything, just give me your gut feeling.

If you don't want brilliant insights, maybe I should abstain.

Is this just for fun, or are you hoping to find something useful for the next version of Enduring Evil? Either way, I'm game; I'll add my 2 cents sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Well, I do love doing this kind of thing, so why not. It would help though if you maybe just posted a list in this post of all the abilities so people could easily copy-paste them. I guess I'm doing that anyway. ; >

Context could also make a difference; I assume you mean in the context of one-shot Descent quests (i.e. not RtL), and furthermore, that the Quest Design "generally" follows those found in most of the scenarios in the base game, WoD, AoD and ToI. There are always specific exceptions of course; for instance, AOD Quest 3 (Hold the Line) is VASTLY different than nearly every other quest and my ratings would change quite a bit if all quests were like that one.

I'll use 5 categories: strong, medium, weak, so-ridiculously-strong-that-it's-broken, and impossible-to-decouple-from-character-that-it's-on (ie. totally depends on the character's stats). Even within these categories, some abilities are still better than others, but it should be a pretty good partitioning.

(Edit: sorry, missed the requested "1-5" scale at first)

Strong

5:

Glyr: 2 Movement per turn automatically

Corbin: -1 damage from all sources

Runewitch Astarra: activate glyphs within 6

Landrec the Wise: +2 surges on all attacks

Kirga: Spawns are prevented within 5 spaces

4:

Varikas: Recover 1 fatigue

Mad Carthos: +2 damage on Magic attacks

Bogran: +2 damage against opponents who did not see him at start of turn

Laurel: surplus range = damage for 1 fatigue

Thorn: Teleport anywhere in LOS for 5 movement

Okaluk: Has stealth

Medium

3:

Andira Runehand: Pierce 2 with magic at point blank

Mordrog: recover fatigue when wounded

Mok: Overlord threat cost +1 per card

Lord Hawthorne: Has Reach

Eliam: Pay 3 fatigue for Sweep

Shiver: Has Aura 4 on Overlord's turn

Laughin Buldar: A single 2-handed weapon is one-handed

Arvel: Draws extra feats and larger feat handsize

2:

Silhouette: switch orders for 2 fatigue

Grey Ker: May change orders mid-turn

Ronan: Has Pico

Vyrah: Has Skye

Weak

1:

Lyssa: Reroll one non-miss die on defense

Trenloe: Reroll one non-miss die on offense

Steelhorns: Run in straight line + attack

Ispher: Heal 1 wound per turn

Red Scorpion: Swap wound/fatigue 1-for-1 once per turn

Valadir: Boosts give 2 dice instead of 1

One-Fist: Has Hook-attack, but only one hand

Jaes: May equip runes even in armor

Tetherys: May change targets after attack

Aurim: May swap potion types at will

Sahla: Remove effect token for 2 fatigue

Karnon: Has Tread Ice, Immune to Fear and Frost (although depends heavily on "is there ice in the quest?" probably medium if there is a lot)

Ridiculously Broken

Zyla: Has Fly and Ghost

Too Character Dependent

Nanok: Armor = Melee trait +2, can't wear armor (broken with3 melee traits, worthless with zero)

Tahlia: Move up to your speed on a Guard Order (really strong even with move 3, *probably* broken with move 5+)

I'll drag my guys out this weekend and give it a shot. I assume you are including the promos on this as well?

borrowed and edited from... The_Immortal said:

For the make-your own hero skills I'll only rate the 0-3pt ability. Forget the 9-12pt ability, you have to screw a character into the ground stats and skills/dice split wise to get that, but the 4-8pt skills are gettable and often quite useful, in the 3-5 range.

7: (yes, 7)

Kel: Obstacles and other figures do not block Kel's line of sight. Kel ignores the Shadowcloak ability.

Tobin (Advanced campaign): When Tobin hits with an attack, add the target's distance to the damage dealt. Tobin cannot make a ranged attack against an adjacent figure.

6:

Zyla: Has Fly and Ghost

5:

Runewitch Astarra: activate glyphs within 6

Tahlia: Move up to your speed on a Guard Order

Landrec the Wise: +2 surges on all attacks

Kirga: Spawns are prevented within 5 spaces

Mad Carthos: +2 damage on Magic attacks (this is stronger than Landrec early on when the magic users can struggle to one-shot basic monsters)

Laurel: surplus range = damage for 1 fatigue

Lord Hawthorne: Has Reach

Thorn: Teleport anywhere in LOS for 5 movement (SOB, due to outdoor/island encounters/levels)

Jonas: Jonas' items cannot be destroyed. If Jonas reduces a monster to exactly 1 wound with an attack, the monster surrenders. Treat it as dead and ignore the Undying ability. (Advanced campaign)

4:

Varikas: Recover 1 fatigue

Glyr: 2 Movement per turn automatically

Corbin: -1 damage from all sources

Okaluk: Has stealth

Vyrah: Has Skye

Shiver: Has Aura 4 on Overlord's turn (Vanilla only)

Laughin Buldar: A single 2-handed weapon is one-handed

Nanok: Armor = Melee trait +2, can't wear armor

Jonas: Jonas' items cannot be destroyed. If Jonas reduces a monster to exactly 1 wound with an attack, the monster surrenders. Treat it as dead and ignore the Undying ability. (Vanilla)

3:

Andira Runehand: Pierce 2 with magic at point blank

Thorn: Teleport anywhere in LOS for 5 movement (non-SOB)

Mordrog: recover fatigue when wounded

Eliam: Pay 3 fatigue for Sweep (3 fatigue is too high, 2 fatigue would be value 5)

Bogran: +2 damage against opponents who did not see him at start of turn

One-Fist: Has Hook-attack, but only one hand

Jaes: May equip runes even in armor

Nara: Enemy figures damaged by one of Nara the Fang's attack suffer one extra damage for each space they occupy beyond the first.

Avenger: After another hero is killed, you may immediately move up to your speed and make one attack.

Barbarian: You have the Ironskin ability. You have +1 armor. This does not modify your conquest value. You may not equip runes or armor.

Deadeye: Once per attack, you may spend 1 fatigue to re-roll one attack die showing a miss result, but you must keep the second result.

Defender: Enemy figures within 3 spaces of you suffer –1 range and –1 damage.

2:

Silhouette: switch orders for 2 fatigue

Mok: Overlord threat cost +1 per card

Grey Ker: May change orders mid-turn

Ronan: Has Pico

Steelhorns: Run in straight line + attack (give a reach weapon)

Sahla: Remove effect token for 2 fatigue

Arvel: Draws extra feats and larger feat handsize

Ispher: Heal 1 wound per turn (Advanced campaign)

Red Scorpion: Swap wound/fatigue 1-for-1 once per turn (Advanced campaign)

Adept: One power die that rolled a blank may be changed to a surge on each attack roll you make

Bard: At the start of your turn, all other heroes within 3 spaces of you gain 1 fatigue.

Bodyguard: When an adjacent friendly figure is attacked, before the dice are rolled, spend 1 fatigue to swap places with that figure. The attack targets you instead.

Soldier: You receive +1 damage and +2 range when adjacent to a friendly figure

Tactician: You receive +1 range and +1 damage to all attacks.

Thief: Traps cost 1 extra threat to play in response to your actions. When rolling dice to avoid or reduce the effects of trap cards, you roll one extra die.

1:

Lyssa: Reroll one non-miss die on defense

Trenloe: Reroll one non-miss die on offense

Valadir: Boosts give 2 dice instead of 1

Tetherys: May change targets after attack

Aurim: May swap potion types at will

Karnon: Has Tread Ice, Immune to Fear and Frost (although depends heavily on "is there ice in the quest?" probably medium if there is a lot)

Nanok: Armor = Melee trait, can't wear armor (SOB)

Shiver: Has Aura 4 on Overlord's turn (Advanced campaign)

Guardian: After making an interrupt attack, pay 3 fatigue to keep your guard order. (Again, 3 fatigue is too high. At a 2F cost this skill would rate a 3, maybe even a 4)

Healer: Each time a glyph is activated, you may restore up to 3 wounds, split however you like, between yourself and any other heroes within 3 spaces of you.

Master: You have one extra die in one trait: Melee, Ranged, or Magic.

Scout: You regain 2 fatigue when you declare a Run action.

Seer: At the start of your turn, you may spend 1 fatigue to cause the overlord to lose 1 threat.

Hmm, well I guess my "gut feeling" (though I could be way off) about the hero abilities would be as follows:

5: Very Strong

Glyr: 2 MPs no matter what action

Zyla: Fly & Ghost, enemy figures can move through but not stop on you

Corbin: 1 Fewer wound from any damage source

Runewitch: Activate a Glyph within 6 spaces

Landrec the Wise: 2 Free Surges on every attack roll

Varikas the Dead: Gains 1 fatigue at the start of each turn

Okaluk and Rakash: Has Stealth

One Fist: Gains one free melee attack with a hook

Nanok of the Blade: Armor is equal to 2 + Melee dice trait, can't wear Armor

Laurel of Bloodwood: After making a Ranged attack can spend 1 fatigue to convert bonus range to damage

Tahlia: Can move speed before or after making a Guard attack. (BTW, does this mean both before AND after, or either one or the other?)

Kirga: Overlord cannot spawn within 5 spaces

4: Strong

Grey Ker: Can change action in the middle of the turn if you haven't exceed new actions uses

Laughin Buldar: May use 1 Melee weapon that requires 2 hands with only 1

Mad Carthos: +2 Damage to Magic attacks

Sir Valadir: Gains 2 fatigue instead of 1 when adding to a die roll

Arvel Worldwalker: Gains 2 Feats per glyph, can hold up to 6

Lord Hawthorne: Has Reach

Runemaster Thorn: Can blink to an empty space in LoS for 5 movement

Eliam: Spend 3 Fatigue to make a melee attack gain sweep

3: Average

Vyrah the Falconer: Gets the Skye familiar

Ronan of the Wild: Gets the Pico familiar

Shiver: Has Aura 4 on the overlord's turn

Silhouette: Can pay 2 fatigue to swap orders

Battlemage Jaes: Can equip runes even with armor that would prevent it

Spiritspeaker Mok: All threat cards cost 1 more for the overlord

Tetherys: May change her target after rolling for an attack

Bogran the Shadow: Gets 2 damage to attack targets that couldn't see him at the start of the turn

Aurim: Can swap any number of potions during his turn

2: Weak

Anrira Runehand: 2 Pierce when making a Magic attack against an adjancent enemy.

Steelhorns: Can make a melee attack during a run action if moving in a straight line and stopping afterwards

Sahla: Can pay 2 fatigue to discard an effect token

Isher: Regains 1 wound per turn and is immune to Poison

1: Very Weak

Red Scorpion: Can trade 1 fatigue for 1 wound or vice versa

Trenloe the Strong: Can re-roll 1 Green Yellow or Black dice when attacking

Lyssa: Can re-roll 1 Green Yellow or Black dice when attacked

Mordrog: Recovers 1 fatigue if wounded

Karnon: Has tread ice, and is immune to fear and frost.

Kind of my gut instinct, my opinion will almost certainly change after I've thought about it for a little while.

Edit #1 Forgot some heroes.

Edit #2 Made it easier to read

My daughter was a bit of a handful this weekend, so I didn't get a chance to sit down at a computer until I was back at work today, but better late than never, right?

5
Tahlia: Move up to your speed on a Guard Order
Runewitch Astarra: activate glyphs within 6
Zyla: Has Fly and Ghost
Kirga: Spawns are prevented within 5 spaces
Landrec the Wise: +2 surges on all attacks
Glyr: 2 Movement per turn automatically

4
Nanok: Armor = Melee trait +2, can't wear armor
Laurel: surplus range = damage for 1 fatigue
Mad Carthos: +2 damage on Magic attacks
Lord Hawthorne: Has Reach
Corbin: -1 damage from all sources
Varikas: Recover 1 fatigue
Okaluk: Has stealth
Eliam: Pay 3 fatigue for Sweep

3
Laughin Buldar: A single 2-handed weapon is one-handed
Shiver: Has Aura 4 on Overlord's turn
Thorn: Teleport anywhere in LOS for 5 movement
Bogran: +2 damage against opponents who did not see him at start of turn
Andira Runehand: Pierce 2 with magic at point blank
Mordrog: recover fatigue when wounded
Arvel: Draws extra feats and larger feat handsize
Grey Ker: May change orders mid-turn
Silhouette: switch orders for 2 fatigue
Sahla: Remove effect token for 2 fatigue
Vyrah: Has Skye

2
One-Fist: Has Hook-attack, but only one hand
Jaes: May equip runes even in armor
Mok: Overlord threat cost +1 per card
Ronan: Has Pico
Tetherys: May change targets after attack
Aurim: May swap potion types at will

1
Ispher: Heal 1 wound per turn
Steelhorns: Run in straight line + attack
Red Scorpion: Swap wound/fatigue 1-for-1 once per turn
Valadir: Boosts give 2 dice instead of 1
Lyssa: Reroll one non-miss die on defense
Trenloe: Reroll one non-miss die on offense
Karnon: Has Tread Ice, Immune to Fear and Frost

p.s. - I hope nobody was actually expecting brilliant insights from me, because my bravado is all false.

My take.

5:
Zyla: Fly. Fly is broken, pure and simple, as a starting hero ability. Were it not for Zyla, I would rate several other heroes a 5, but her ability is way ahead of any others. Ghost, relatively speaking (though it would be good by itself), is pretty much irrelevant, as is her drawback of allowing monsters to walk through her.

4:
Runewitch Astarra: activate glyphs within 6. I've explained in another thread why I think this is so good. The game is all about activating the next glyph as quickly as possible- this is very powerful.

Landrec the Wise: +2 surges on all attacks. I'd rate him 3 with the base game. The main value of his ability is that he can usefully start with a Sunburst rune.

One-Fist: Has Hook-attack, but only one hand. This ability has caused a lot of disparity in ratings: he's been given a 1 and a 5. While it's not on par with Zyla's, it's a very strong bonus- he gets a free attack every turn. Quite a strong one, too- almost as powerful as a sword. The ability becomes less useful later in the game, but never becomes useless.

Corbin: -1 damage from all sources. Very valuable, as it even protects against traps.

3:

Glyr: 2 Movement per turn automatically. This is a strong speed bonus.

Tahlia: Move up to your speed on a Guard Order. Big speed boost: almost as good as Glyr's

Kirga: Spawns are prevented within 5 spaces. Very nice; spawns are annoying.

Varikas: Recover 1 fatigue.

Laurel: surplus range = damage for 1 fatigue

Mad Carthos: +2 damage on Magic attacks. Not as good as Landrec, but the best +damage ability on a hero.

Bogran: +2 damage against opponents who did not see him at start of turn

Thorn: Teleport anywhere in LOS for 5 movement

Andira Runehand: Pierce 2 with magic at point blank

Mok: Overlord threat cost +1 per card

Lord Hawthorne: Has Reach

Arvel: Draws extra feats and larger feat handsize

Shiver: Has Aura 4 on Overlord's turn

Nanok: Armor = Melee trait +2, can't wear armor (broken with3 melee traits, worthless with zero)

2:

Eliam: Pay 3 fatigue for Sweep. Sweep is amazing, but this is a very steep cost, particularly when he only has 3 fatigue (probably goes up to 3 if the hero has 5 fatigue)

Laughin Buldar: A single 2-handed weapon is one-handed

Okaluk: Has stealth

Ronan: Has Pico

Vyrah: Has Skye

Valadir: Boosts give 2 dice instead of 1

Jaes: May equip runes even in armor

Lyssa: Reroll one non-miss die on defense

Trenloe: Reroll one non-miss die on offense

1:
(most of these are almost totally useless)

Silhouette: switch orders for 2 fatigue

Grey Ker: May change orders mid-turn

Mordrog: recover fatigue when wounded

Steelhorns: Run in straight line + attack

Ispher: Heal 1 wound per turn

Red Scorpion: Swap wound/fatigue 1-for-1 once per turn

Tetherys: May change targets after attack

Aurim: May swap potion types at will

Sahla: Remove effect token for 2 fatigue

Karnon: Has Tread Ice, Immune to Fear and Frost

The fruits of your labor.

Might just be some misunderstandings over One-fist. When I first read his ability, I had assumed the hook attack took the place of choosing another weapon. In which case it would suck pretty bad. Re-reading it and seeing that it's basically a free attack makes it a pretty strong ability. More-so in Vanilla, but still useful even against scaling monsters in a campaign.