OF Fantasy! WOnDROUs WORLDs. Sample file HERO GAMES

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1 WOnDROUs WORLDs OF Fantasy! Daring swordsmen, wise wizards, noble knights, deadly dragons, and mythic kingdoms all these, and more, are part of the wondrous worlds of Fantasy. Fantasy Hero discusses and describes the Fantasy genre for gaming, and shows how to create characters, campaigns, spells and magic systems, worlds, and other elements of Fantasy with the HERO System rules. It includes: H a complete review of the Fantasy genre, from the most mundane Low Fantasy and Urban Fantasy tales to wondrous and bizarre High Fantasy and Epic Fantasy sagas, with guidelines and suggestions for simulating each part of the genre using the HERO System rules H an extensive section on creating Fantasy characters in the HERO System, including over five dozen Templates for major character races, backgrounds, and professions H Fantasy-specific combat and adventuring rules, including expanded rules for weapons and mass combat H a detailed chapter on magic, describing how to create magic systems, spells, and enchanted items, with dozens of examples to get you started H discussions about Fantasy civilizations and cultures, with guidelines for economies and currencies, travel times and methods, government and law, religion, and much more H a comprehensive chapter on gamemastering Fantasy games Whatever type of Fantasy game you like to play, and however you like to play it, Fantasy Hero helps you make it even better! HERO GAMES ISBN: DOJHERO1200 $44.99 US

2 Fantasy HERO

3 Fantasy Hero A Genre Book for the HERO System Author Steven S. Long Editing and Development Darren Watts Layout and Graphic Design Fred Hicks Cover Art Tyler Walpole Interior Art Brett Barkley, Christopher Burdett, Storn Cook, Brendon & Brian Fraim, Melissa Gay, Alexander Gustafson, Hal Hefner, Mark Helwig, Jesse Parrotti, Christian N. St. Pierre, Julien Tainmont-Pierrat, Jason Williford, and Jonathan Wyke Dedication To all the gamers with whom I ve had such amazing Fantasy adventures and explored so many wondrous Fantasy worlds. HERO System is DOJ, Inc. s trademark for its roleplaying system. HERO System Copyright 1984, 1989, 2002, 2009 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Champions, Dark Champions, and all associated characters Cryptic Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. Champions and Dark Champions are trademarks of Cryptic Studios, Inc. Champions and Dark Champions are used under license from Cryptic Studios, Inc. Fantasy Hero Copyright 2003, 2010 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Pulp Hero Copyright 2005 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Star Hero, Justice Inc., Danger International, and Western Hero Copyright 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., 226 E. 54th Street, #605, New York, NY Printed in Canada. First printing July Produced and distributed by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. Stock Number: DOJHERO1200 ISBN Number:

4 INTRODUCTION... 5 CHAPTER ONE WARRIORS, WIZARDS, AND WONDROUS WORLDS: THE FANTASY GENRE WHAT IS FANTASY?... 8 ELEMENTS OF FANTASY FANTASY SUBGENRES CROSSWORLDS FANTASY EPIC FANTASY HIGH FANTASY LOW FANTASY SWORDS AND SORCERY URBAN FANTASY FANTASY, METAGENRES, AND OTHER GENRES 44 FANTASY AND META-GENRES Comedy Horror Mystery Romance Tragedy FANTASY AND OTHER GENRES Champions Dark Champions Martial Arts Star Hero Western Hero CHAPTER TWO HEROES OF THE REALM: CHARACTER CREATION FANTASY CHARACTER BASICS Character Background Character Theme Goals And Motivations FANTASY RACES RACIAL TEMPLATES CULTURAL TEMPLATES ENVIRONMENT/ANCESTRY TEMPLATES PROFESSIONAL TEMPLATES PRIEST TEMPLATES ROGUE TEMPLATES WARRIOR TEMPLATES WIZARD TEMPLATES MISCELLANEOUS TEMPLATES CHARACTERISTICS Characteristic Maxima Characteristic Ranges SKILLS GENERAL RULES Skill Modifiers Skill Maxima Everyman Skills SKILL DESCRIPTIONS PERQUISITES TALENTS EXISTING TALENTS NEW TALENTS POWERS POWER ADVANTAGES POWER LIMITATIONS COMPLICATIONS FANTASY EQUIPMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER THREE BLADES AND BATTLES: FANTASY COMBAT AND ADVENTURING FANTASY HERO COMBAT ENTERING COMBAT COMBAT MODIFIERS COMBAT MANEUVERS Standard Combat Maneuvers Optional Combat Maneuvers New Optional Fantasy Hero Combat Maneuvers FIGHTING TRICKS Being Impressive DAMAGE Optional Effects Of Damage Relative Positions WEAPONS WEAPONS TABLES...190, 195 Explanation Of Hand-To-Hand Weapons Table Explanation Of Ranged Weapons Table Poisons MAKING WEAPONS Advanced Weapon Creation Rules And Guidelines USING WEAPONS Choosing The Right Weapon Special Maneuvers For Weapons Weapon And Shield Breakage ARMOR TYPES OF ARMOR Sectional Armor USING ARMOR Balancing Armor Use Wearing Multiple Armors Armor Breakage SHIELDS FANTASY HERO MASS COMBAT BEFORE MASS COMBAT BATTLE SCALE UNITS Creating Units Unit Size Unit Characteristics Unit Skills Unit Powers Unit Complications MOVEMENT UNIT COMBAT Entering Combat Fighting Determining Damage SPECIAL SITUATIONS Prominent Characters Magic In Mass Combat SIEGES CHAPTER FOUR ARCANE CREATIONS: MAGIC MAGIC SYSTEMS DEFINITIONAL ISSUES Where Magic Comes From The Commonality Of Magic The Power Of Magic Types Of Magic Users Of Magic Learning Magic Methods Of Casting Spells Restrictions On Wizards And Spells Flavoring Magic SOCIAL ISSUES Magic Organizations Perspectives On Magic And Spellcasters.264 Magic s Effect On Society RULES ISSUES Buying Spells Using Spells Balancing Spells SPELL CREATION AND USE THE SPELL EFFECT CASTING METHOD Required Skill Rolls Procedures Other Casting Methods Avoiding Restrictions CASTING TIME DURATION TARGET; AREA AFFECTED RANGE EXAMPLE MAGIC SYSTEMS THE ARTS ARCANE AZGANDIAN MAGIC CHAOS BLADES DIVINE MAGIC ELDRITCH LORE ELEMENTAL DWEOMERCRAFT THE GIFT LEX MAGISTERIUM NAMING MAGIC AND WORDS OF POWER.304 NA SENRA RUNE MAGIC THE SECRET SCIENCES THE SPELLS OF SARILLON TALRIADAN DRUIDRY TORVANIAN MIND-MAGIC VANSARJAK ENCHANTED ITEMS BASIC ISSUES Acquiring Enchanted Items CREATING ENCHANTED ITEMS Who Can Create Enchanted Items? Item Creation Requirements Other Item Creation Issues The Creation Process USING ENCHANTED ITEMS TYPES OF MAGIC ITEMS Armor And Shields Potions Rings Scrolls Wands And Staffs Weapons Miscellaneous Items

5 CHAPTER FIVE BEYOND THE FIELDS WE KNOW: FANTASY WORLDS AND RACES FANTASY WORLDS GEOGRAPHY Climatological Zones Common Terrain Features Ecology Geography, History, And Culture SUNS, MOONS, AND THE CALENDAR FANTASY DEMOGRAPHICS FANTASY RACES RACIAL ARCHETYPES CREATING PLAYER CHARACTER RACES Template Components DIVERSITY LANGUAGE FANTASY CIVILIZATIONS HISTORY CULTURE Arts, Architecture, And Entertainment Family, Women, And Children Social Classes Culture And Character Creation ECONOMICS Creating An Economy Currency Income Outgo Trade Rules Considerations GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS The Basics Of Government International Governments Feudalism Functions Of Government Crime And Punishment RELIGION Creating The Gods Gods And Men Priests, Priesthoods, And Religious Organizations Religion And Society TECHNOLOGY Magic And Technology TRAVEL CHAPTER SIX WONDERS OF THE IMAGINATION: GAMEMASTERING FANTASY HERO CREATING A CAMPAIGN CHARACTER GUIDELINES CAMPAIGN TONE CAMPAIGN THEME CAMPAIGN TYPES Subgenre Campaign Subject SETTINGS RUNNING THE GAME ADVENTURE STRUCTURE Plotting DEALING WITH DISCONNECTS COMPLICATIONS AND HOW TO USE THEM.410 THE FANTASY ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS Corruption Fear And Awe Light Traps THE UNDERGROUND ENVIRONMENT WALLS AND DOORS VILLAINS AND NPCs VILLAINS Villain Qualities Villain Archetypes MONSTERS Creating Monsters Using Monsters NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS NPC Archetypes CHAPTER SEVEN DRUDARYON S LEGION DRUDARYON VALERIUS THE HARPER HALFREDA TARINA DRAGO VILLAINS TAAL SALIRA LORD GARETHON MINION GALLERY Bandit Barbarian Warrior City Guard Horse Nomad Knight Merchant Nobleman Pirate Priest Soldier Thief Wizard BIBLIOGRAPHY FANTASY FICTION NONFICTION BOOKS MOVIES AND TELEVISION ROLEPLAYING GAMES

6 Fantasy Hero Introduction 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-seventies 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, the second in 1990, and the third in 2003). 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 there ever was an official Fantasy Hero book, in fact. 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 you to use a pre-defined 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, Fantasy Hero is a genre book, a sort of guidebook to the genre of Fantasy that shows you how to use the HERO System rules to create the sort of Fantasy campaigns and characters you want whether that s in the style of your favorite Fantasy novels, short stories, and movies, or some idea that s entirely original to you. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Fantasy Hero 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. First it discusses what Fantasy is, and describes many of the classic Fantasy bits and elements things like dragons, necromancy, prophecies, and swords. Then it explores the major sub-genres of Fantasy, such as High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Swords And Sorcery, and Urban Fantasy, as well as the interaction of Fantasy with meta-genres such as Tragedy, Comedy, and Romance. Chapter Two, Heroes Of The Realm, reviews the subject of Fantasy Hero character creation in two sections. The first section contains over five dozen Racial, Environment/Ancestry, Culture, and Professional Templates 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 Fantasy Hero 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. 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 ABBREVIATIONS Fantasy Hero uses the following abbreviations to refer to other HERO System books: 6E1: The HERO System 6th Edition, Volume I: Character Creation 6E2: The HERO System 6th Edition, Volume II: Combat And Adventuring APG: The HERO System Advanced Player s Guide HSB: The HERO System Bestiary HSEG: The HERO System Equipment Guide HSMA: HERO System Martial Arts HSS: HERO System Skills UBA: The Ultimate Base