Heroes

Heroes or agents are a type of character unit which may be recruited in service of a faction. Heroes perform actions on the campaign map, but can also join an army to fight in battle.

On the campaign map
Unlike lords, heroes can move independently of armies, and can freely move into enemy territory without declaring war. A selected hero can join with a controlled army or move into a controlled settlement by right-clicking the target. A hero marching with an army will fight alongside that army in battle. Thankfully, lone heroes cannot be attacked by enemy armies, only by enemy heroes using the wound or assassinate actions. However, heroes who die in battle during the campaign may be permanently gone (unless they have unlocked the Immortal skill which was introduced in Total War: Warhammer II, in which case they will only be wounded instead).

Every faction has a limited number of heroes it can use: this is known as "hero capacity". Hero capacity can be increased by constructing certain buildings or researching certain technologies.

In battle
In battle, heroes may fight in melee or at range. In addition many heroes have special character abilities, or they are spellcasters. Some heroes may be marked as melee specialists, or duelists (who are very good at taking down other characters in a 1v1 fight).

Types of heroes

 * Champion: A powerful leader, usually fights in melee in battle.
 * Dignitary: Similar to a Champion, but usually has other abilities or spells.
 * Wizard: Typically a weak melee hero who is a spellcaster and best kept out of melee combat.
 * Spy: Typically weaker in battle, however they may be skilled duelists (1v1 combat with other characters). Can often assassinate on the campaign map.
 * Engineer: Typically a ranged hero who buffs/supports war machines or constructs.
 * Runesmith: Decent in melee combat, but also have many supporting abilities or spells.

Unique

 * See unique heroes.

Hero actions
In campaign, heroes may perform actions that strengthen the faction's armies or settlements, or to strike against enemy army, settlement, province or hero.

With a hero selected, right-click the desired target to move the Hero there and show a range of options. A hero can be moved into a province, own or foreign, and then provides a passive positive or negative influence in the target province.

Tooltips on the various hero action buttons show more information about that action, including its chance of success. Hostile actions with heroes do not directly lead to war. They may be discovered, however, which will worsen relations between the factions involved.