OK, here's a question for you... For those of you that have played both sides of the fence, what do you like better?

Is it the teamwork of the Heroes, or the downright Evil of the Overlord that gives you the most entertainment?

Personally, I've enjoyed both, but I think my love is the Overlord... the time spent as a Hero will give wonderful tips on how to crush their hopes and dreams next time.

Unless I am controlling all the heroes I prefer OL. I don't like the arguing with other people over what we should do. I also don't like that some people (this might be unique to my group but I doubt it) put their character ahead of what's best for the party. It drives me nuts when we open a chest and a the melee heroe draws a great bow and says how he wants to sell it and try and get something better instead of passing it to the ranged hero who is still wiedling a sling.

Being the overlord was the sole reason I bought the game.

I have only Overlorded previously, but will (hopefully) get my first shot at being a hero at the end of February. I feel like I will like being a hero better, but my mind is open and willing to be changed...

My mates preferred playing heros until they tried to be the Overlord, since that i can play the heros. I like it cause it very challenging.

Definitely the OL. I like being descriptive (from my D&D days) and seeing the group have a good time. It is interesting to see what new tactics or ideas the group will thow at me and how to counter them. Of course I am so used to being the OL as no one else wants to that I can't imagine being a character!

I like being a hero and im more than happy to let my friends overlord

Heroes.

Heroes always have options, ways to optimise their performance. Frequently as OL one sits and watches helpless for 45min per hour. Of course, the other 15 min are fun.

In other words, when times are bad, the OL usually has basically nothing he can do but wait for some different cards. The heroes though, are at their most fun to play when times are bad as you struggle to figure out ways to pull off the impossible.

Also, the OL doesn't really have the same feel of gradual improvement to me, the way the heroes do. Sure, there are upgrades etc, but it doesn;t have the same personal feel.

That said I probably OL more often the hero. My regular partner is on his second campaign as heroes while I am still battling from behind in mid-silver on my first hero campaign. That doesn't include lots of solo gaming both sides though... And I have been voted OL for a proposed mega-game (12 heroes!) at a local Con (I don't think it will go ahead, but great fun thinking about how to do it!

What I like and dislike about the heroes is similar. They are more limited in what they do in terms of they get one action per turn (battle, advance, etc.) and that's it. I always find myself reaching to draw a card at the beginning of my turn only to realize it doesn't work that way. At the same time, the little extras like fatigue, potions, skills, and equipment always change up what you can do and give a much broader scope of abilities...especially compared to the "always advance" type of action you get with OL monsters who are limited by what they move, roll, etc. Of course, part of the fun of OL is saying "gee, I hope I roll well here, but if not it's just a beastman." vs. a hero who can be in serious trouble with a miss result or two.

Personally, I really like the challenge of the hero, and the tactics involved with getting the most out of your and your fellow hero's turns. It's especially good when you have a smart player on your side to help you remember your abilities and things like LOS where you might think you've got a good idea then forget something and leave yourself open. Any melee hero who would sell a good bow or something for money when another hero is still using starting equips (especially since ranged characters damage capabilities are severely hampered with said starting equiment) is someone I would probably never play with again. That's just dumb. You don't win as heroes if you don't maximize every character's potential to the best of your ability.

OL is nearly just as fun, but sometimes the fact that you are WAITING on a particular card or just don't have a good hand can be really frustrating. Or you end up against heroes with the right skills getting the right treasure pulls and you get behind by huge amounts of conquest and realize early on you're going to lose, but have to sit through the slaughter. I like that when the OL wins, the game gets over more quickly. That said, the best games I've played are the ones that come down to the end and the final boss and it could go either way. Intense stuff.

Either way, it's a lot of fun to play and I'm glad I shelled out the reasonably inexpensive cost for something which can provide countless hours of entertainment.

My answer: OVERLORD. I enjoy playing against and with my heroes. Actually I love to create new adventures, especially writing stories. I used to play as a storyteller in diffrent pen&paper roleplaying games. Due to the fact, that i haven't got the time to run a roleplaying session, I decided to buy DESCENT. It is simple and you don't need that amount of hours preparation.