Running Heroes

Heroes are rather quickly glossed over in the rules, since there is very little rules to them. The Hero is a regular Only War character built at 1'000xp. It doesn't get much more complex than that.

But with the prospect of all players having a Hero, on top of regiments and a commander, it can feel a bit much with the little Hero in the middle of things. Do remember however that the Hero is an important part of the story, the Hero is the grunt, the man on the ground, eyes of the commoner, the one we can relate to. The Hero is specifically added to contrast the high and mighty issues and plays of the commanders. So don't just ignore the Hero.

How do we fit the Hero in though? This can be done in a few ways. See these examples as guidelines, since you can always experiment or come up with your own ways to add the Heroes to the story.

The Regiments focal character.

Have a single Hero per regiment, preferably played by a player not controlling the regiment. This is to get a feel for how the regiments creator managed to flesh out their regiment, to see how another player portrays a regular grunt within its structure and how the common man sees the power structures surrounding him.

This way every Regiment gets a player controlled HERO, with the other players taking control of random characters surrounding them when the story calls for it. This is useful since it sucks to not have anyone want to choose to make a Hero from your regiment. But it can also be a bit sad if you have to make a character from a specific regiment you don't really feel for. This option has its boons and banes, as long as you are aware of them before playing you can get a feel if this would fit your group.

The regiments focal squad.

Have an entire squad of Heroes from a single regiment. This is most similar to a regular game of Only War and can be a great way to play the game, since the entire group is together from the start and one can easily start forming connections between characters since they share a homeworld (or not, depending on the regiment).

Things to consider is that only one regiment gets heroes this way, while many players won't mind this it's worth mentioning. Another worthwhile thing is that a single player has the rights to order the entire squad around as their commander. The best way to set this up is if this Hero squad replaces one of the regiments starting squads.

The outcasts.

Have a squad formed of Heroes from each of each regiment. This is an interesting option, the group could be a penal squadron, formed of convicts of the different regiments, it could also be a group of mavericks, unsuitable for the tactics and cultures of their own regiments, or it could be a task force specifically gathered together by regimental command to perform specific missions for high command.

This option is great since the group becomes a group of vastly varying individuals with a common goal, similar to the groups in Deathwatch. But it is also a chance for intra-party conflicts since not all of the regiments doctrines will mesh well, just be wary that it doesn't spill over to intra-group conflicts around the table.

Again this option will have a chance to suck if no one chooses your regiment or if one is forced into a specific regiment. Just think of this. After all, sure it sucks if no one wants to play a character from your regiment. But you can still play as their commander and control them in battle, don't let the little things take away that.

This squad should be outside the usual squads of the different regiments and be jointly controlled by regimental command.