My wife is actually really excited about this game, and that makes it a guaranteed sale for me, as I'd love to a have a game we can play together (though she wants to try AGoT).

Tolkien wasn't big on female heroes (which was perfectly understandable considering his generation). However I'm curious if there is going to be at least one female hero? I'm not trying to skew the original setting with political correctness, but a little representation and diversity would be cool. Just a tad.

I'd consider Eowyn a pretty big female figure in the books.

However, in the time period represented she would be a tad bit younger. I am sure we will see some female characters though.

Don't forget the Lady of the Golden Wood, Mrs Galadriel of Lothlorien.. ; )

Would be good to see some of those great women that are behind the great men out in front where they belong.

Maybe Shelob makes an appearance at some point  !

Meccg had a ton of female characters for offer, most of them "invented" of course (although Ioreth was in the books), since the books gave us three characters in a decent role: Eowyn, Arwen and Galadriel (even Arwen's role is debatable, especially if ignoring the movies).

Kristabelle said:

I can see it now. RosIe Cotton: Hero. Special ability: Can recognize idiots on sight.

Maybe the female heroes are all hanging out with the entwives. 

I don't think we'll see many XX heroes. Allies, probably. 

I'd love to see an appearance by Belladonna Took in this game... that's Bilbo's mom and and old friend of Gandalf's, for anyone drawing a blank. And Goldberry is essential...! Actually I think a whole series of adventure scenarios set in the Old Forest would be terrific, but that's another thread entirely.

 I agree with getting this game to play with women gamers. Co-operative play, literary worth, quick and easy card play all seem to be hallmarks of games my girlfriend enjoys too. I hope FFG continues to develop/support such games.

There may be quite a few 'generic' heroes/heroines as in 'invented'. No?

If you've read the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, Tolkien had some strong female characters from the First and Second ages, such as Luthien, Melian, and Erendis. Of course, the license for this game is only for the Third Age, which gives a pretty limited selection.

Darthvegeta800 said:

I'd like to see the heroes from Middle-earth Quest. The artwork for them, like the other two board games are done and locked in. They might as well. But yes of course they need to do the canon characters.

I saw two heroines in the deck I can give you the names tomorrow if you wish.

Yes, please do.                    

There are famous heroes that fans of the novels and movies will immediately recognize. There are minor characters. There are also made up characters. They are also both male and female. When I played this at Gencon, we were given 3 heroes. One was Aragorn, who was a beast. The other was a soldier of Rohan (I think), and the other was a female elf (who was an exceptional healer). I am quite certain we will see Arwen, Eowyn, and Galadriel (among many other female heroes).

I have only Eowyn noble Warrior

Males :

Aragorn

thorin

theodred

dunhere

celeborn

RFischer said:

From what I've heard, the healer was Celeborn, so a guy, not a girl.

Since the timeline includes the period just before the war of the ring, i'm quite sure we'll see Eowyn. Also the woman with blond hair and white dress we can see twice on the site seems to be Galadriel, but she might be just an ally like Gandalf.