Fantasy hero complete pdf download

FANTASY HERO

Fantasy Roleplaying Using The HERO System

Author: Steven S. Long

Editing and Development: Darren Watts,

Allen Thomas

Layout and Graphic Design: Andy Mathews

Cover Art: Storn Cook

Interior Art: Nate Barnes, Storn Cook, Bob

Cram, Jr., Andrew Cremeans, Keith Curtis,

Jonathan Davenport, John Grigni, Daniel

Kiessler, Eric Lofgren, Cara Mitten, Nick

Ingeneri, Erik Roman, Scott Ruggels, Klaus

Scherwinski, Greg Smith, Chris Stevens

A WORD OR TWO

OF APPRECIATION

Dedication: I’d like to dedicate this book, the

product of hundreds of hours not just of writing

and research but game play, to the fellow members

of my long-standing Monday night FantasyHero

gaming group: Wendell McCollom, our unflagging

GM; his wife Jen; John and Lisa Grigni; Harry and

Jenna Piper; Ed and Amanda Collins; and Brent

Harrison. “More Experience Points!”

Special Thanks: First, special thanks to the members

of the “FantasyHero Advisory Board,” who

took a preliminary look at parts of this book and

offered some suggestions about them. Second, we’d

also like to thank the Digital Hero playtesters and

testreaders who reviewed the FantasyHero manuscript

— a herculean task, given the book’s size!

Their help spotting typos, inconsistencies, dropped

words, and the like is, as always, deeply appreciated.

Last but not least, our thanks go out to the numerous

fans who have posted or commented on our

FantasyHero message boards to offer their ideas

for Fantasy games, the contents of this book, and

related matters.

Sample file

Hero System TM ® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system.

Hero System © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Champions © 1984, 1989, 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

FantasyHero © 2003 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

Star Hero, Justice Inc., Danger International, Dark Champions, FantasyHero, Pulp

Hero, Western Hero © 2002 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or computerization, or by

any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

Publisher: DOJ, Inc., 1 Haight Street, Suite A, San Francisco, California 94102.

Printed in the U.S.A. First printing July 2003

Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games.

Stock Number: DOJHERO500 • ISBN Number: 1-58366-016-X

http://www.herogames.com

INTRODUCTION ......................................5

CHAPTER ONE:

WHAT IS FANTASY? ................................8

Magic .................................................8

Alternate Worlds .................................8

Low Technology ..................................8

FANTASY SUBGENRES ...........................9

CROSSWORLDS FANTASY ......................9

EPIC FANTASY .....................................10

HIGH FANTASY ....................................13

LOW FANTASY ....................................14

SWORDS AND SORCERY ......................16

URBAN FANTASY .................................17

FANTASY, METAGENRES, AND

OTHER GENRES .................................19

FANTASY AND META-GENRES ..............19

Comedy ............................................19

Horror ..............................................20

Mystery ............................................21

Romance ..........................................22

Tragedy ............................................22

FANTASY AND OTHER GENRES .............22

Champions .......................................22

Dark Champions ...............................23

Ninja Hero ........................................23

Star Hero ..........................................24

Western Hero ....................................24

FANTASY ELEMENTS ............................25

CHAPTER TWO:

FANTASY CHARACTER BASICS .............32

Character Background .......................32

Character Theme ..............................32

Goals And Motivations .......................33

FANTASY RACES ..................................34

RACIAL PACKAGE DEALS .....................34

Other Race Considerations ................44

CULTURAL PACKAGE DEALS ................45

ENVIRONMENT/ANCESTRY

PACKAGE DEALS ..............................47

PROFESSIONAL PACKAGE DEALS .........54

PRIEST PACKAGE DEALS .....................54

ROGUE PACKAGE DEALS .....................60

WARRIOR PACKAGE DEALS .................64

WIZARD PACKAGE DEALS ....................73

MISCELLANEOUS PACKAGE DEALS ......76

CHARACTERISTICS ...............................79

Normal Characteristic Maxima ...........79

Characteristic Ranges .......................79

Primary Characteristics .....................80

Figured Characteristics ......................80

SKILLS .................................................83

GENERAL RULES .................................83

Skill Modifiers ...................................83

FANTASY HERO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Everyman Skills ................................84

SKILL DESCRIPTIONS ..........................84

PERQUISITES ........................................98

TALENTS ............................................102

EXISTING TALENTS ............................102

NEW TALENTS ...................................103

POWERS .............................................109

POWER ADVANTAGES .........................124

POWER LIMITATIONS ..........................130

DISADVANTAGES ................................137

FANTASY EQUIPMENT ........................143

CHAPTER THREE:

FANTASY HERO COMBAT ....................150

ENTERING COMBAT ...........................150

COMBAT MODIFIERS .........................151

COMBAT MANEUVERS .......................154

Standard Combat Maneuvers ...........154

Optional Combat Maneuvers ............155

New Optional FantasyHero

Combat Maneuvers ......................156

OPTIONAL COMBAT RULES ................157

Groundfighting ................................157

Ignoring Opponents .........................157

Interposing .....................................157

Twisting The Blade ..........................158

DAMAGE ...........................................158

Optional Effects Of Damage .............158

Hit Locations ...................................159

Critical Hits .....................................159

Mystery Damage .............................159

Relative Positions ............................160

STUN Damage In FantasyHero .....160

HEALING AND RECOVERING

DAMAGE ........................................162

The Role And Place Of Healing .........162

Optional Healing Rules ....................163

Recovery ........................................163

WEAPONS ..........................................164

WEAPONS TABLES ............................164

Explanation Of Hand-To-Hand

Weapons Table .............................167

Explanation Of Ranged

Weapons Table .............................170

Poisons ..........................................173

MAKING WEAPONS ...........................176

Advanced Weapon Creation

Rules And Guidelines ....................180

USING WEAPONS ..............................184

Choosing The Right Weapon ............184

Special Maneuvers For Weapons ......188

Weapon And Shield Breakage ..........189

ARMOR ...............................................190

TYPES OF ARMOR .............................190

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Explanation Of Armor Table ..............191

Sectional Armor ..............................192

USING ARMOR ..................................195

Balancing Armor Use .......................196

Wearing Multiple Armors .................198

Armor Breakage ..............................198

SHIELDS ...........................................198

FANTASY HERO MASS COMBAT .........200

BEFORE MASS COMBAT ....................200

BATTLE SCALE ..................................201

UNITS ...............................................202

Creating Units .................................202

Unit Size .........................................202

Unit Characteristics .........................203

Unit Skills .......................................204

Unit Powers ....................................204

Unit Disadvantages .........................204

MOVEMENT ......................................204

UNIT COMBAT ...................................205

Entering Combat .............................205

Fighting ..........................................205

Determining Damage ......................205

SPECIAL SITUATIONS .........................207

Prominent Characters .....................207

Magic In Mass Combat ....................210

SIEGES .............................................211

Fortifications ...................................211

Assaulting A Fortification .................211

Siege Engines .................................213

Using Siege Engines .......................216

Magic In Sieges ..............................217

CHAPTER FOUR:

MAGIC SYSTEMS ................................220

DEFINITIONAL ISSUES ........................220

Where Magic Comes From ..............220

The Commonality Of Magic ..............223

The Power Of Magic ........................223

Types Of Magic ...............................227

Users Of Magic ...............................230

Learning Magic ...............................231

Methods Of Casting Spells ...............232

Restrictions On Wizards And Spells ..232

Flavoring Magic ..............................234

SOCIAL ISSUES .................................235

Magic Organizations ........................235

Perspectives On Magic And

Spellcasters .................................236

Magic’s Effect On Society ................237

RULES ISSUES ..................................239

Buying Spells ..................................239

Using Spells ....................................245

Balancing Spells .............................248

SPELL CREATION AND USE ................249

THE SPELL EFFECT ...........................249

CASTING METHOD ............................251

CASTING METHOD ............................251

Required Skill Rolls .........................251

Procedures .....................................254

Other Casting Methods ....................255

Avoiding Restrictions .......................256

CASTING TIME ..................................256

DURATION .........................................256

TARGET; AREA AFFECTED ..................259

RANGE ..............................................260

EXAMPLE MAGIC SYSTEMS ...............261

THE ARTS ARCANE ............................261

CHAOS BLADES ................................262

DIVINE MAGIC ...................................263

ELDRITCH LORE ................................264

THE GIFT ...........................................265

LEX MAGISTERIUM ............................265

NAMING MAGIC AND WORDS OF

POWER ..........................................268

NA’SENRA .........................................269

RUNE MAGIC .....................................270

THE SECRET SCIENCES .....................270

TALRIADAN DRUIDRY .........................271

VANSARJAK ......................................272

ENCHANTED ITEMS ............................274

BASIC ISSUES ...................................274

Acquiring Enchanted Items ..............275

CREATING ENCHANTED ITEMS ...........276

Who Can Create Enchanted Items? ..276

Item Creation Requirements ............277

Other Item Creation Issues ..............278

The Creation Process ......................279

USING ENCHANTED ITEMS .................280

TYPES OF MAGIC ITEMS ....................280

Armor And Shields ..........................281

Potions ...........................................281

Rings .............................................282

Scrolls ............................................283

Wands And Staffs ...........................285

Weapons ........................................285

Miscellaneous Items ........................287

CHAPTER FIVE:

FANTASY WORLDS .............................290

GEOGRAPHY .....................................290

Climatological Zones .......................291

Common Terrain Features ................291

Ecology ..........................................293

Geography, History, And Culture .......294

SUNS, MOONS, AND THE CALENDAR ..295

FANTASY HERO TABLE OF CONTENTS

FANTASY DEMOGRAPHICS .................295

FANTASY RACES ................................298

RACIAL ARCHETYPES ........................298

CREATING PLAYER CHARACTER

RACES ...........................................299

Package Deal Components ..............300

DIVERSITY .........................................301

LANGUAGE .......................................301

FANTASY CIVILIZATIONS .....................303

HISTORY ...........................................303

CULTURE ..........................................305

Arts, Architecture, And Entertainment ..305

Family, Women, And Children ...........307

Social Classes And Customs ............309

Culture And Character Creation ........310

ECONOMICS .....................................311

Creating An Economy ......................311

Currency ........................................312

Income ...........................................314

Outgo .............................................314

Trade .............................................315

Rules Considerations .......................317

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS .............318

The Basics Of Government ..............318

International Governments ...............319

Feudalism ......................................320

Functions Of Government ................321

Crime And Punishment ....................322

RELIGION ..........................................324

Creating The Gods ..........................324

Gods And Men ................................327

Priests, Priesthoods, And Religious

Organizations ...............................329

Religion And Society ........................331

TECHNOLOGY ...................................332

TRAVEL .............................................332

CHAPTER SIX:

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CREATING A CAMPAIGN ......................336

CHARACTER GUIDELINES ...................336

CAMPAIGN TONE ...............................339

CAMPAIGN THEME ............................340

CAMPAIGN TYPES .............................341

Subgenre .......................................341

Campaign Subject ...........................343

SETTINGS .........................................345

RUNNING THE GAME ..........................347

ADVENTURE STRUCTURE ...................347

Plotting ..........................................348

DEALING WITH DISCONNECTS ...........351

DISADVANTAGES AND HOW

TO USE THEM .................................353

THE FANTASY ENVIRONMENT ............358

ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS ................358

FEAR AND AWE .................................359

LIGHT ...............................................359

TRAPS ..............................................360

Sample Traps ..................................361

Secret And Concealed Doors ...........363

THE UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT ..364

WALLS AND DOORS ..........................365

VILLAINS AND NPCs ...........................367

VILLAINS ...........................................367

Villain Qualities ...............................367

Villain Archetypes ............................369

MONSTERS .......................................372

Creating Monsters ..........................372

Using Monsters ...............................374

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS ...............375

NPC Archetypes ..............................376

CHAPTER SEVEN:

DRUDARYON’S LEGION ......................379

DRUDARYON .....................................381

VALERIUS THE HARPER ......................383

HALFREDA ........................................387

TARINA .............................................389

DRAGO .............................................391

VILLAINS ............................................393

TAAL SALIRA .....................................393

LORD GARETHON ..............................396

ORC .................................................398

OGRE ................................................399

TROLL ..............................................400

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................401

FANTASY FICTION ..............................401

NONFICTION BOOKS ..........................406

MOVIES ............................................406

APPENDIX ..........................................407

VALGARD CASTLE .............................407

WIZARD’S TOWER .............................408

THE IRONTREE INN ............................409

TEMPLE OF THE SUN GOD .................410

FantasyHero

5

INTRODUCTION

Fantasy has long been the most popular genre

for gaming — in fact, it’s the genre that led

to the creation of roleplaying games in the

first place. The release of the Dungeons &

Dragons game in the mid-1970s introduced millions

of people to the concept of roleplaying, slaying

monsters, and adventuring using only their

imaginations, some paper and pencils, and dice.

D&D inspired many other games, including Champions

and the HERO System — and thus, eventually,

this book (and its predecessors, the first edition

released in 1985, and the second in 1990).

But long before gaming came along, Fantasy

was working its magic on the minds of readers.

Beginning with the tales and legends of ancient

days, and leading up to novels by such modern

masters of the genre as Tolkien, Vance, Dunsany,

Moorcock, Howard, Leiber, Kurtz, and Kay, stories

of wizards, quests, swordplay, dragons, and magic

have long enthralled us. In fact, most gamers come

to Fantasy gaming through their love of Fantasy

literature, rather than the other way around.

Thanks to their interest in Fantasy, gamers

have run Fantasy campaigns using the HERO

System rules for decades — before, in fact, there

ever was an official “FantasyHero” book. No two

Fantasy settings are identical, and the unmatched

adaptability, flexibility, and customizability of

the HERO System makes it a natural for Fantasy

gaming. Rather than forcing gamers to use a predefined

list of spells, monsters, or the like, Fantasy

Hero lets you decide what magic is like, how characters

create and cast spells, what attributes different

types of characters have, how strong giants are,

and how your Fantasy world functions.

Thus, FantasyHero is a set of rules, guidelines,

and advice you can use to run gaming campaigns

in the style of your favorite Fantasy novels, short

stories, and movies. Like Hero’s other genre books,

you can think of it as a sort of “instruction manual”

that shows you how to use the HERO System 5 th

Edition “toolkit” to create the best, most interesting

characters and campaigns possible.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

FantasyHero is designed both for players

experienced with Fantasy roleplaying and those

who are new to this style and genre of play. Nothing

in these pages is secret or for the GM’s eyes only,

so every reader can read it all the way through and

then decide which portions he wants to utilize.

Chapter One, Warriors, Wizards, And Wondrous

Worlds: The Fantasy Genre, delves into the nuts and

bolts of Fantasy as a genre. After first discussing

what “Fantasy” is, it explores the major sub-genres

of Fantasy, such as High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, and

Urban Fantasy, as well as the interaction of Fantasy

with meta-genres such as tragedy, comedy, and

romance. It also describes classic Fantasy “bits”

and elements — things like dragons, necromancy,

prophecies, and swords.

Chapter Two, Subjects Of The Realm, reviews the

subject of FantasyHero character creation in two

sections. The first section contains over five dozen

Racial, Environment/Ancestry, Culture, and Professional

Package Deals covering not only the “typical”

races and professions found in Fantasy gaming

— dwarves, elves, gnomes, warriors, wizard, priests,

and so on — but many more unusual ones as well

(winged folk, lizard-men, shamans, bounty hunters,

and the like). The second section reviews the

major elements of the HERO System, such as Skills

and Powers, and describes how they function in

Fantasy games. This section includes several new or

expanded Perks and Talents as well.

Chapter Three, Battles And Blades: Combat And

Adventuring, discusses the subject of FantasyHero

combat. It includes optional rules for the use of

Combat Modifiers and Maneuvers in Fantasy

settings, an expanded weapons list and rules for

weapons use, and a mass combat system so you can

include battles and sieges in your games.

Sample file

Chapter Four, Arcane Creations: Magic, is perhaps

the most important one in the book. Magic is a core

defining element of most Fantasy settings, and how

magic works influences many other aspects of the

setting. Thus, it’s important for the GM to take the

time to define how magic functions in his campaign,

and what affect it has on society, history, the

economy, and even geography. First the GM has to

create a magic system, a framework and set of rules

explaining how magic works in the game. After he

knows how magic works generally, he has to create

spells for the characters to buy (or let the players

create their characters’ spells themselves). This

chapter walks you step-by-step through the process,

discussing not only basic considerations but social

and rules-related issues; it includes twelve sample

magic systems, each with several spells, to get you

started. Lastly, the chapter describes enchanted

items — how they function in the campaign, how

characters can create them, and so forth — and

provides examples.

Chapter Five, Beyond The Fields We Know: Fantasy

Worlds And Races, describes how to create Fantasy

settings and races. For many gamers, creating their

own Fantasy world is one of the most enjoyable

things about gaming, and this chapter discusses the

creation process in detail. It includes sections on

DUPLICATION;

HERO GAMES

TEXT ONLY (-2)

FantasyHero contains

some text reprinted

(with appropriate

changes in points of

detail) from Star Hero,

since general advice

about world design and

GMing Heroic-level

games applies to both

Science Fiction and

Fantasy.

6 Hero System 5 th Edition

OTHER RESOURCES

In addition to Fantasy

Hero, Hero Games

publishes many other

books Fantasy gamers

may find useful. These

include:

The HERO System Bestiary,

a collection of 180

monsters and animals

that will provide any

GM with plenty of

adversaries for the PCs.

The Ultimate Martial

Artist, which not only

contains dozens of martial

arts styles suitable

for Fantasy games, but a

long list of Asian melee

weapons.

The Ultimate Vehicle,

which has expanded

rules for creating

and using Vehicles

in the HERO System.

It includes dozens of

sample vehicles, many

appropriate for Fantasy

settings.

Ninja Hero, if you want

to include lots of martial

arts and martial artsstyle

special abilities and

powers in your Fantasy

game.

The UNTIL Superpowers

Database, which

contains thousands of

superpowers you can

easily convert into spells

by applying appropriate

Limitations (OAF,

Gestures, Incantations,

Requires A Skill Roll,

and the like).

In addition to these

books, be sure to check

out the rest of the Fantasy

Hero line, including

The FantasyHero Grimoire,

Monsters, Minions,

And Marauders,

and setting books. You’ll

find plenty of material

in them to enhance your

FantasyHero games.

government, population, trade, travel, technology,

and religion, among other subjects.

Chapter Six, Wonders Of The Imagination:

Gamemastering FantasyHero, provides advice for

the GM. It discusses campaign guidelines and standards,

themes, and morality, and covers the Fantasy

Hero environment (including underground adventuring,

traps, and the like). It also describes Fantasy

villains and NPCs — how to create memorable

ones and use them to best effect in the game.

Chapter Seven, Drudaryon’s Legion, provides

a selection of sample heroes and villains to inspire

players and GMs, or even to adopt for their own

use. The characters all come from Hero Games’s

Turakian Age setting, but you can easily adapt them

to other Fantasy worlds.

Lastly, the book concludes with a detailed Bibliography

of Fantasy literature and movies. It’s not

complete (no Fantasy bibliography could be!), but

it contains a long list of Fantasy works gamers may

find inspirational — not to mention just plain fun.

So, draw your sword, prepare your spells, and

get ready — realms of wondrous Fantasy await!

HISTORICAL REALISM

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Most Fantasy games portray quasi-medieval

societies, or other societies based, in whole or in

part, on earlier eras of human civilization. This

raises the issue of conducting research to make

the settings more historically “accurate,” increase

the verisimilitude of the world, and even unearth

unusual and interesting facts that might add flavor

and color to a game.

While there’s no question that historical

research often proves helpful to a Fantasy game,

FantasyHero only contains a few historical facts

here and there as points of comparison. There are

several reasons for this (beside the lack of page

space).

First, there’s often little consensus on what

constitutes “historical fact.” Historians have only

limited information about many subjects relevant

to gaming, and in other cases their conclusions

inspire extensive discussion and debate. What one

historian (or gamer) regards as “fact,” another dismisses

as speculation or erroneous information

— and it’s entirely possible both views are justified.

Second, most Fantasy gamers don’t want historical

realism. They want their games to have a

veneer of historical realism — a political system

approximating Western European feudalism, weapons

and armor similar to those used in medieval

cultures around the world, and so forth. They don’t

care about the nature and function of incorporeal

hereditaments, how medieval economies “really”

worked, or the precise relative merits of one type of

weapon over another. An approximation, often one

made with dramatic rather than “realistic” considerations

in mind, suffices. Like most Fantasy novels

and movies, they want the flavor and the feel, not

the substance.

Third and most importantly, in many cases

historical data, accurate or not, is totally irrelevant

to a Fantasy game. A Fantasy world is not our

world, and it’s questionable just how analogous

real-world data can be to a Fantasy setting. Numerous

factors, including geography, natural disasters,

influential persons, and native flora and fauna vary

so much from the real world to the Fantasy world

that it’s hard to say that the state of affairs prevailing

on Earth (or some part of Earth) at various

points in history would duplicate, even to a slight

degree, in another world.

In particular, the existence of magic has an

enormous effect on Fantasy settings. All but the

most mundane of Low Fantasy settings features

magic; it suffuses some High Fantasy worlds. Once

you bring magic into the picture, analogizing

between the real world and your Fantasy world

becomes much harder, and perhaps even futile

— especially when magic is common and powerful

enough to effectively take the place of high technology.

What would the Roman Empire have been

like with fireballs and sorcery? We don’t know, and

we never will, and speculation about the subject is

largely meaningless...

...but of course, sometimes meaningless subjects

are fun to pursue. Even though FantasyHero

doesn’t include a lot of historical research, there’s

no reason you can’t do all the research you want,

if you’re so inclined. The books in the “Nonfiction”

section of the Bibliography are a good start. Examine

the facts, draw your own conclusions, and plan

your game as you see fit. As long as you and your

players have fun, you win, whether you’re “historically

correct” or not.

WARRIORS, WIZARDS AND WONDEROUS WORLDS — CHAPTER ONE

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THE

FANTASY

GENRE