SpellForce Interview, Part One

RPGVault has conducted an interview with Volker Wertich, team leader for the RTS/RPG hybrid SpellForce. A snippet to follow:
Q: What are the other things you've incorporated into SpellForce that fall under the broad umbrella of RPG elements?

A: Your avatar will have stats and skills that he can improve by gaining experience points. Additionally, the character will have an inventory, so objects; items, weapons, spells, etc. can be carried. The same is true for the five heroes you can summon. These are special troops to which you can give equipment. The only difference is that they cannot gain experience points, although they can be re-summoned with higher powers as their upgraded runes are collected.

Another important and RPG- like feature is the quest system. The player follows a main quest, but on each map, there are dozens of sub-quests to find that can be solved, but are not required. These sub-quests will allow the player to gain additional experience points or find special, and sometimes even unique items and objects. All quests will be brought to the player via dialogues, all with voices from professional actors.