The game's mechanics are focused on quick resolution; Contests are resolved by comparing the results of two twenty-sided dice, each tied to a character ability chosen by players and/or narrator.

Where some games reward memorization, an instinct for math, and the willingness to comb through multiple rulebooks for the most useful super powers, HeroQuest tips the scales for creative improvisation, verbal acuity, and a familiarity with the techniques and stereotypes of popular fiction.The system is built around abilities and keywords.

In play, this means that when players are pursuing goals in line with their character's abilities, they can be extremely capable and are more likely to see success than if they ignore some of those building blocks.

The adaptability and ease of expansion of these basic concepts are what helped make the system popular for use in other settings and genres among its followers.

The two results are then compared to determine the level of victory (or defeat): In keeping with the narrativist philosophy of the game, the most recent version of the rules (Heroquest Core Rules, 2009) suggests that resistances offered by the narrator should generally not be chosen based on any objective assessment of the challenge to be faced, but should rather reflect the dramatic requirements of the story.

A side-effect of this is that most published scenarios do not contain statistics for opposing non-player characters or other obstacles, requiring instead that the narrator chooses the level of difficulty that supplies the appropriate dramatic effect.

Players may apply augments (bonuses) to their target scores by using other abilities to boost their main one, or by having other characters render them some form of assistance.

The first edition book lists some godlike powers up to 12 masteries (ш12), as this system allows for limitless scaling without a huge burden of additional dice or complex math.

HeroQuest was first announced by Chaosium in 1980 in the RuneQuest second edition rule book as "an FRP wherein the mighty of Glorantha may enter into the lands of legend and myth, penetrating the immortal stories to participate in the Gods War, fight against chaos in the Great Darkness, or aid in the trials of the Lightbringers or the Protectors.

Stafford had wanted to name it HeroQuest after an in-universe term that had been part of Glorantha lore for 20 years, but the Milton Bradley Company had used it for an unrelated board game.

At the last moment Stafford decided to create some t-shirts for the event, which would highlight the convention and the fact that it was the public unveiling of the new Gloranthan game.

Shannon Appelcline recalls that he "was working at Chaosium at the time, and I was the one who ended up making those shirts which read 'Hero Wars: The Initiation'.

Eric Rowe of Wizard's Attic believed that Hero Wars would sell better in book stores if the line was published this way, so Issaries decided to use the format.

However, Hero Wars never penetrated the mass market and the decision to publish as trade paperbacks resulted in a smaller format which constrained layout and kept the books looking very simplistic, and they also did not fit in well with most game store displays.

The rulebook was reformatted at a more standard size, and, as the Milton Bradley trademark had lapsed, Stafford was able to publish the second edition of the game under the name he had originally wanted, HeroQuest.

The following year Moon Design merged with Chaosium which subsequently published two Glorantha based HeroQuest supplements in 2016 and 2017.

[2] In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath noted, "Hero Wars marks a culmination of narrative-focused RPGs up to this point in time."

However, Horvath pointed out the complexity of the supposedly simple narrative system, saying, "group conflicts that consist of a series of rolls can become dizzying.