The GM and players may agree to use these rules to introduce an additional dimension of heroic mechanics to the game. Hero points serve three purposes:
The rate of hero point gain is up to the GM. It should be based on how often the PCs have adventures (e.g. once a season or once a week), the intended length of the campaign and general rate of advancement, and the actual need for the points (i.e. the frequency of climatic, dramatic encounters that may require them). One point per session is probably too quickly; one point per season is probably too fast, too.
The recommended rate is one point for any grand deeds (those clearly meriting a CHA increase for fame and glory, for instance), and at least one point for each Other Side heroquest completed.
Hero points can be used to change the results of tests. Once used, the hero point is spent and lost.
Hero points can be used to represent the spiritual support a community gives a hero who is in the Otherworld, usually on a heroquest. While in the Otherworld, the hero gains access to temporary hero points. (Some rituals can bring these benefits—and consequences—to bear in the Middle World, such as the Summons of Evil.)
By using the hero points to turn failures into successes, a hero can succeed against great odds—overcoming divine beings and even deities—thanks to the belief and love of their supporters.
The community must actively support the hero during the quest; generally, this requires a ritual investing them with the community's support, and continued prayer and ritual during the quest and the hero's absence.
Importantly, a community that supports a hero in this fashion will share in the consequences of the heroquest; if it succeeds, they will benefit, and if it fails, they will suffer. The greater the support, the worse the disaster on a failure: Total support of a failed quest could even lead to destruction of the community.
All chosen participants have access to the hero points, but any chosen leader for the quest has final say if there is disagreement on their use.
Any community support hero points not spent on the quest are lost at its end; at the GM's option, unspent points may increase the rewards gained from the quest.
The following guidelines give an idea for how many hero points are available on a heroquest, based on the amount of support.
Partial support indicates a community that approves of and generally supports the quest, but either includes some doubters or is unwilling to risk everything. Full support indicates whole-hearted devotionto the quest. Total support indicates a community either of fanatical followers (such as a great hero's personal cult) or one that is willing to risk its fate on the success of the quest—often because they have no other options left.
Any quest benefits only from the greatest total support; e.g., if a quester has the total support of their clan (2 points) and the partial support of their tribe (1 point), they gain only 2 hero points for the quest.
| Support Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Supporters | Partial | Full | Total |
| 11–100 (family, bloodline, local cult) | — | — | 1 |
| 101–1000 (clan, town) | — | 1 | 2 |
| 1001–10,000 (tribe, city) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 10,001–100,000 (small kingdom) | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 100,001–1,000,000 (medium kingdom) | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 1,000,001–10,000,000 (large kingdom) | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 10,000,001–100,000,000 (empire) | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Player characters who save up hero points can spend them to obtain heroic abilities. Most of these abilities state requirements that must be met (without any temporary augmentations from spells, etc.) in order to obtain them.
Gaining heroic abilities should take time; it should be reserved for when the PC has weeks of "down time." The GM may apply additional requirements for obtaining heroic abilities, such as teachers or "earning" the "right" to buy them through deeds.