Well first off, I only recently learned how to play Runewars, and I've only played one game thus far, so it's entirely possible I'm either misunderstanding the rules or not fully grasping the strategy. However, it seems like the heroes in the game don't really -do- much of anything aside from quest and fight other heroes occasionally. Essentially, I don't see that they add much to the game; as far as I can tell, you could completely remove the heroes and every card that references them, and still have a completely playable game. In my opinion, if such a large mechanic could be completely removed so easily, I kind of question why it was in the game to begin with. I think it would have been much better if you could have at least been able to attack/defend with your hero in a normal battle.

Am I missing something, or is this pretty much just how the game is?

I think this is a common thing from players new to the game. The effect the Heroes have on the game is subtle... yet I find the more I play, the more vital this subtlety can be.

First of all, the questing is not something to ignore; many of the relics can help in battle, the shards directly contribute to dragon runes, and in any case, collecting lots of rewards is good in conjunction with the Captain of the Heroes Guild Title card.

However, beyond that more direct aspect, I think a lot of their subtlety comes with the general maneuvering on the board. There are some objectives that deal with your heroes (well, at least one from memory - killing other heroes). Plus, cards like Lost City can come in very handy based on where you position your heroes.

The point is, Heroes aren't the focus of the game - and I don't think they were meant to be. Their addition adds a little side element that, if managed properly, can often be the turning point of a game. They might not directly win the game in most cases (though with the Captain card they can), but the little edge they can give you can be vital. I know there have been many games I have played where a Hero has been a major deciding factor in the game.

Sure, you COULD play without them, but I think you'd be removing an interesting bit of strategy to the game. It's a spice that makes the game interesting and exciting once the usefulness of the heroes is truly understood. But it is a use that takes a few games to really understand. And personally, I think the Hero aspect is one of those things that takes the game beyond just your typical "war/conquest" game.

Give it a few more tries. Also, try adding the Exploration Tokens. Most of them are "good", and many of them can make things more interesting for the board itself, such as villages, the Dragon Throne, etc.

In addition to everything Sigma said, the ability for heroes to go into enemy occupied territory and look at dragon runes to scout out which ones are real or fake should not be underestimated. Knowing which runes are real helps you avoid committing your armies to fighting over a hex that has nothing of value in it.

Using your heroes is one of three main startagies to winning this game. When you dont need a stratagize, and dont care about the Mobalize supremacy try rallying support in spring of the first year. Starting year 1 summer with two heroes, Aquire power the same year and get the heroes league title. Repeat in year two and by summer you will have three heroes to quest with. If they each complete one quest a summer your heroes will generate 1 dragon rune a year by turning in rewards. Add timmoran shards to the mix and this is the fasted way to win the game. Most dragon runes are given away in winter seasons so getting them in summer with heroes is a great advantage.

Heroes have a big influence in the game. Heroes can start collecting runes through quests while your armies are still mopping up neutrals to get to enemy territory. And slaying other heroes to get their rewards is also a good way to get more runes (Captain of the heroes league & Timorrean shards).

I'd like to see more interaction between heroes and other units on the board though. Through new quests and tactics cards in a future expension for instance. Cards like: poison water supply (which would kill an enemy unit). Or promotion (which would promote a hero without rewards to an unit of choice). Or instigate rebellion (which would topple a friendly city and rout the army present. Just a few ideas.

Heroes get you tons of runes and rally support is probably the single most important order in your arsenal.

We Played our first 4 player game today, and i won because i could use my hero to steal 1 item from another hero and then getting the final runetoken thanks to my membership card, so i would say they are kind of important