I'm late to the party here, but I've an idea.
First, each hero could be unique, with different tastes in food, drink, amenities (you know, stables, bath, cockfighting pit) and companionship. Each hero also has a type of companionship he provides for all the others.
For example, Barry the Bard wants Brandy (drink), Stage (amenities) and Rumors (companionship) and provides Music (companionship), Freddy the Fighter wants Beer (drink), Roast (food) and Music (companionship) and provides Fighting (companionship).
Companionship traits could be pretty flexible - same adventuring party, same alignment, same race, same level, a type of service provided, like music or rumors...
The play would proceed by players picking heroes off a tableau, based on whose demands they meet best (if I have Beer, and you have Beer and Rumors, you get Barry the Bard). There should be a mechanic for breaking ties and for patrons leaving the inn.
The hero deck should be balanced with two things in mind:
1. Players should be motivated to collect a fun mix of characters. Fantasy taverns are colorful places.
2. There should be different strategies. For example, you could try to cater for heroes with popular companionship traits, or to attract lots of cheap low-scoring heroes, or a few expensive but high-scoring ones.
What say you?
