Heroes of Might & Magic IV Interview

It’s not strictly an RPG but a great game that I’m going to stretch be one for today’s sake, as I can never seem to get enough of it.

Since the amount of information released about Heroes of Might & Magic IV has been given in small chunks over time this year, an interview with associate designer Jennifer Bullard at GameSpot is especially noteworthy (speaking from a perfectly biased opinion of course). Included in the interview are a few new screenshots of the game. Here’s something that’s explained in more detail than we’ve known in the past:

Q: Heroes IV will be the first game in the series to let hero characters directly engage in battle. How will these lone heroes be able to deal with throngs of enemy creatures? What will happen if hero units are defeated in battle?

A: Even first-level heroes will have a massive amount of hit points. As a hero increases in level, he or she will become even more powerful and thus will be able to battle with more and stronger creatures. Of course one hero will not be able to defeat a hundred dragons, but a high-level hero should be able to stand toe-to-claw with one black dragon. If a hero is felled on the battlefield before the rest of the army is defeated, he or she will go into a state of unconsciousness. If you win, your hero will recover hit points slowly over time. Of course there are other means of healing them: drinking potions, casting spells, visiting a sanctuary, or spending a night in a town garrison. If you lose the battle, your opponent has the choice to imprison your hero or leave the hero dead on the adventure map. Rescuing heroes is all part of the fun.