The rules say the OL gets one threat per hero at the beginning of his turn. Is that per hero player or per hero left alive? Mainly I'm thinking of encounters in RTL. If I have eliminated two heroes from an encounter, so there are only two heroes left alive, do I still get all four threat at the beginning of my turn?

It is always per hero character (since technically, one hero player can play four characters). It doesn't matter if they are alive or dead, on the dungeon map or not. In RtL, especially, you will always get 4 threat per turn.

I don't agree with this completely and would love to hear some others thoughts. In the RtL rules for encounters it says the hero gets 1 threat per hero per turn. Since heroes can be eliminated by either dieing or fleeing it seems that the OLs threat should be reduced to however many heroes remain. In a dungeon there are always 4 heroes at the start of the OLs turn even if they aren't on the map their are in paly by being in town so it makes sense that you would always collect 4 threat.

I'm not saying I'm right I'm just saying it isn't clear. I asked this question a few days ago and never got a clear ruling from anyone.

quartersmostly said:

It is clear. You get one threat per hero. Not per living hero, not per hero-on-the-mapboard, just per hero. If you just play what the rules say, instead of adding extra words in, its very strait forward.

Dead or missing heroes are eliminated, haven't ceased to exist, or ceased to be part of the game, they just aren't currently running around the gameboard. When a hero dies (or flees) in an encounter he is simply removed from the board (pg 15). He's still a hero, still a party member, still part of the game, just not currently active in the remainder of this encounter.

Please note, I'm not deliberately trying to be brusque or insulting and this is definitely not targeted at any individual. However it is a very, very simple non-question IMO. To get any other 'interpretation' additional words must be added to the rules. You don't need to do this. Just play what they say, it really is that simple (in this sort of case).

That said, if you want to change it with a house rule, go ahead.

It's clear to you but obviously not everyone. What would have been more clear would be to state that the OL collects 4 threat at the start of each turn. Earlier in the rules it states that RtL is designed to play with 4 heroes so the amount of threat the OL would collect would never change. But it says that the OL collects 1 threat per hero per turn. This implies that the amount of threat the OL collects could vary by the number of heroes. How is this possible if RtL is designed to only be played with 4 heroes?

I'm not saying that I am right I'm just saying they could have been more clear.

quartersmostly said:

Oh I agree it could have been more clear, if only to get past the people who are unable to simply play what the rules say without adding lots of extra qualifications, addendums, exceptions etc that simply aren't there.

The main thing is, there are holes in the rules you can drive a Mack truck through, so why worry about a mousehole.

Love the game though!

Once heroes "die" they are brought back to life instantly in the temple of the town, so technically no hero is "dead" when it comes to collecting threat.

quartersmostly said:

Well, you *can* play RtL with 3 heroes if you want. It would be difficult but doable. That's probably why they worded it like they did - if someone is playing with less than or more than four heroes then the rules will adapt. So, when you say "This implies that the amount of threat the OL collects could vary by the number of heroes" you are exactly correct.

However, I'm not sure why anyone thinks this would vary depending on how many heroes are alive. It's not as if the heroes no longer exist when they die during an encounter. They aren't on the board but they sure as heck still exist. It doesn't say "living hero" it says "hero".

SkittlesAreYum said:

Apart from the part in the rulebook where it specifically says RtL is for 4 heroes. No more, no less. It specifically says if you have less players, you have to play multiple characters so that you have 4 heroes. RtL was designed for 4 heroes with no options to play with less.