Poul Anderson's Heroes

Nicholas van Rijn leads aliens to war with adapted Terrestrial rhetoric (see here) whereas Hugh Valland instead uses music. His omnisonor can reproduce bagpipe sounds. To the Pack, this is "...strong magic..." (Chapter XII, p. 89)

Van Rijn is an entrepreneur whereas Valland is a competent crew member and natural leader who seeks paid work but otherwise preserves his personal freedom so that he is able to return home between expeditions.

These are just two of Anderson's many heroes. We might write similar paragraphs summarizing Falkayn, Flandry, Everard, Guthrie, Havig etc - but not right now.