Thanks for the info and updates Leif.
Okay I have decided to grant one hero point for past levels.
You can have a second hero point for completing your character at least a brief background/history and posting it in the RG. So once all the characters are ready everyone should have two Hero Points and as you'll see below, some lucky and talented player will have three.
I also want to give the players a say in the awarding of hero points. If you note one of you fellows engaging in a particularly selfless and heroic act you might choose to award them a hero point. We'll also have a 'most valuable player' vote at some logical point in the story as well as a 'most engaging roleplayer'. Feel free to suggest other worthy awards to give everyone a chance--maybe the D&D equivalent of Ms. Congeniality. Maybe even most amusing comments in the OOC thread related to the game. Whatever tickles your fancy. I'll give you points as you level up and perhaps at other times, but I'd like you all to take the lead on this. Obviously, giving out more than one extra point to each of your fellows per level would be frowned upon by your DM.
Once Rhun posts a character we'll have our first vote. Review the other characters and PM me your vote for the one you find most interesting, creative or well written. No particular criteria here, just which ever one you like. A couple of caveats--no campaigning or attempting to buy votes

, keep your vote secret, vote only once and most importantly, you can't vote for yourself. Should there be a tie, I will cast the deciding vote. Sound like fun? I figure it will give you all a chance to know each others' characters and maybe spot some mechanical errors I've missed.
I am eager to get started, so we'll hope Rhun's love life hits a dry spell this weekend and we get our final character soon.