Page | 1 FANTASY HERO PRIMER

Fantasy is a classic genre. However, for that reason BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS dozens of game systems have tackled it. What exactly does Fantasy Hero bring to the table, then? Let’s get right to it. Fantasy Hero is an adaptation of the long-running The Hero System is a classless system. That means Hero System rules. Using the Hero System, players and that you are not constrained by rigid, preset roles the GMs alike have a well-tested system that offers more game has laid out for you ahead of time (unless you flexibility than any other fantasy game. A classless, want that, of course, in which case the system easily point-based ruleset, Fantasy Hero allows you to craft allows you to create such things). In other words, what your races, your roles, your spells, your feats and makes a fighter? Whatever you say makes one. talents, and almost anything else you can imagine, and Knowing this, feel free to stretch your imagination all exactly the way you want it. In terms of gameplay, when considering your options in the pages ahead. If Fantasy Hero offers rewarding tactical combat (with or you want mages to have heavy armour, go for it. If you without miniatures), and ample non-combat options think a hardened pit fighter should be able to toss a too. spell or two, we’ve made sure there’s options for that, too. Why shouldn’t a healer know how to sneak WHAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HANDS around or pick a few locks? Don’t let yourself be limited by preconceptions. The Fantasy Hero Primer is not a rulebook. Instead, it’s meant to introduce you to Fantasy Hero: how it broadly POINTS works, its strengths, its foundations, and its The Hero System uses Character Points as the basis for assumptions. Along these lines, the Primer presents almost everything. These points are used to build many Hero System concepts in a simplified fashion. characters, monsters, and items, and are earned as The goal is to get you into the action as quickly and as experience points to further improve your character as simply as possible, while giving you a taste of how the you play it. In short, they’re the building blocks of the system can give you opportunities most others can’t. system. The greatest strength of the Hero System is its The Hero System’s flexibility begins here: you can flexibility. Using it, you can run a bog-standard fantasy start with as many or as few points to build a starting setting, or an alien world of fantastic horrors. Majestic character as you and the GM wish. elves can run alongside psionic insects. Compared to a mage, the sword-swinging martial hero can be an CHARACTERISTICS equal or greater threat, or as an ant to an elephant. Here’s the vital characteristics that define someone in Magic itself can be as common as water, or the last the Hero System. gasp of a dying age; world-shaking or good only as a parlour trick; easy to wield or something that demands Base Stats (FHC pp. 16-19): the most terrible sacrifices. It’s important to understand this because all too Strength (STR: raw physical damage, lifting ability) often our experiences in other games can colour what Dexterity (DEX: agility and reaction time) we expect a system can do. The answer when using the Hero System is “almost anything”. As such, this primer Constitution (CON: health and hardiness) will show you the basics, but often also present Intelligence (INT: intellect, memory, perceptiveness) additional options to give you a feel for how you can Ego (EGO: willpower) make your game do exactly what you want. Going forward, try to remember that the options and even the Presence (PRE: charisma and force of personality) innate balance of the material presented are entirely adjustable once you understand the system. Each Base Stat point costs 1 Character Point each, You’ll see page references to the main rulebook, except DEX, which costs 2 points each. Everyone Fantasy Hero Complete (FHC), throughout this primer. normally starts with a base value of 10 in these There’s no need to look anything up, however: the Characteristics: this costs no points. Higher is better. page references are there for later, if you feel like it.

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Combat Stats (FHC pp. 20-23): The point costs and starting values of each Combat Stat DIGGING DEEPER: CHARACTERISTICS vary a lot more than your Base Stats do. Sometimes you want a character that excels in a Offensive Combat Value very specific area, rather than being all-round (OCV: used to hit targets) superb. For example, maybe you want a fighter Base Value: 3. Cost: 5 points per +1. that’s really good at bashing down doors or lifting gates, but don’t want to give them the immense Defensive Combat Value amounts of Strength you’d need to accomplish this. (DCV: used to avoid being hit) In Fantasy Hero, you can buy limited forms of Base Value: 3. Cost: 5 points per +1. Characteristics, allowing you to customize your character so that they’re good at just such tricks. For Offensive Mental Combat Value example, your warrior could buy +2 DCV that only (OMCV: used to attack in mental combat) applies when fighting more than two opponents (or Base Value: 3. Cost: 3 points per +1. three, or four—you decide). The warrior’s base DCV wouldn’t change, but when the appropriate situation Defensive Mental Combat Value occurs their DCV raises, only to drop back to normal (DMCV: used to avoid being hit in mental combat) when the threat passes. Similarly, you can buy +10 Base Value: 3. Cost: 3 points per +1. Strength that applies only when trying to force open gates and doors, to represent those sorts of characters Speed who aren’t built like tanks, but always seem to be (SPD: how often a character acts in combat) able to bash their way into a room when needed. Base Value: 2. Cost: 10 points per +1. We won’t cover exactly how to do this right now, but bear it in mind as you examine the character Physical Defense concepts ahead. We’ll be giving you options like this (PD: the ability to resist damage from physical attacks, throughout this primer. such as punches or sword slashes) Base Value: 2. Cost: 1 point per +1. CHARACTERISTIC COMPARISONS Energy Defense The Base Stats—Strength in particular—are well- (ED: the ability to resist damage from energy attacks, defined in terms of real-life equivalents. However, the such as fire or magic) Combat Stats are more flexible: how much OCV, for Base Value: 2. Cost: 1 point per +1. example, defines a master bladesman is set by each GM and campaign setting. Endurance Since, with no firm limits, character stats can wildly (END: energy typically expended to fight or use magic) spiral out of control—resulting in an arms race and no Base Value: 20. Cost: 1 point per +5. sense of what the real limitations of a human or other species are—campaigns typically set characteristic Recovery limits. This helps define how the world works, and (REC: how quickly you recover from injury or gives everyone an understanding of what they might exhaustion) realistically encounter. Base Value: 4. Cost: 1 point per +1. On page 24 there’s a table giving you a quick way to compare your Characteristics against real- and Body fantasy-world equivalents. These are just guidelines. (BODY: how much damage you can take before dying) Base Value: 10. Cost: 1 point per +1. Selling Back Characteristics

All characters come with the Base Value in each stat. Stun What if you feel that’s too much? What if you want, (STUN: how much damage you can take before being say, a feeble character with 6 Strength instead? knocked out) To address this, you can reduce any Characteristic Base Value: 20. Cost: 1 point per +2. by any amount desired (to a minimum of 1). For each

point you reduce that stat by, you receive its cost in You can also buy up your running, leaping, and points back. swimming, but for now we’ll be ignoring those.

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SKILLS (FHC p. 25) Hunteds are also straightforward: someone wants Skills in the Hero System work much like other games. you. How badly they want you, for what reason, and The main difference is that skills can have direct what they intend to do with you once they catch you— combat effects, in addition to the usual out-of-combat all these determine how much a Hunted is worth. role you’d expect. You’ll see how this works when we Alternatively, they may be just Watching you for some look at characters and combat. reason: this is worth fewer points. A character obtains a skill by paying its point cost Physical Complications are those related to the (typically 3 points). You can improve your proficiency body. This could be being deaf or hard of hearing, with a skill by paying additional points (usually 2 blind in one eye, or unusually short, tall, or heavy. points for every +1 you add to your skill rating). Psychological Complications are those related to Most skills are rated with a number indicating how the character’s mind. These can be as extreme as well a character knows the skill (e.g. 14-). To check a mental illnesses, or more commonplace hindrances skill, you roll 3D6, apply any modifiers, and compare such as codes of honour that restrict how a character that with the skill rating the character has. If you roll can act. Never breaking one’s word, being afraid of equal to or under your skill rating, you pass the check. fire, accepting any challenge to a duel, or never killing As such, the higher your skill rating, the better you are a defenseless foe—all these are Psychological at that skill. For example, if you have a skill rating of Complications. 14-, then any roll of 14 or less, after all modifiers are Social Complications are those related to a applied, means you pass a check against that skill. character’s place in society. A thief banned from the local thieves’ guild; being a member of a hated SPECIAL ABILITIES minority—these are Social Complications. This is the broadest category, as it can encompass Lastly, Unluck might mean that you’re cursed, or it special talents, racial abilities, psionics, and magic of might mean that the universe simply dislikes you. any kind. The regenerating wounds of a troll, the powerful leap of the cat warrior, the ability to move in There are a few more specific types, but these cover perfect silence of the assassin monk: all these are the most common. special abilities. Complications are NOT designed to cripple your character or make them a chore to play. Rather, they’re COMPLICATIONS (FHC p. 146) intended to make your character more interesting: to Most campaigns require characters to have a certain help define how they think, how they act, and the number of Complications: things that make the challenges they strive to overcome. They’re your character’s life more difficult, but also help flesh it out. choice: think of ones that help give you goals to work As with Special Abilities, these can be incredibly wide- towards and dilemmas you’re interested in facing. ranging. You choose your character’s Complications. The GM sets the amount of Complication points required, but 50 points worth is common. These points don’t come off your character-building points: they’re a separate total.

Dependencies are fairly straightforward. Your character is addicted to something, or needs something in order to function properly. This can be as simple as getting cranky without their pipe of tobacco, or the vampire’s desperate need for blood. Distinctive Features mean that you have something that makes you stand out in your typical environment: for example, being covered in tattoos, emanating an aura of good or evil, or simply having a noticeable dueling scar. Remember that it must be odd within your typical environment: a lizardman stands out in the land of the elves, but in a campaign set in the land of lizardmen, being a reptile is par for the course.

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CHARACTER CREATION I. Characteristics

Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

Now it’s time to make your character come to life. On STR 16 1 6 the following pages you’ll find three basic archetypes, DEX 14 2 8 common to almost any fantasy setting: the warrior, the CON 17 1 7 rogue, and the wizard. INT 11 1 1 For each archetype, we’ll walk you through four EGO 8 1 –2 parts: Characteristics, Skills, Special Abilities, and Complications. At each stage, you’ll be given a base set PRE 15 1 5 of values suitable to that archetype. However, you’ll also find further options to help better fit your play OCV 4 5 5 style, plus an optional Digging Deeper discussion if you DCV 4 5 5 want more detail on what’s happening and how the OMCV 1 3 –6 system works. DMCV 3 3

For each character, we’re going to have 175 points SPD 3 10 10 to spend. That has to cover everything except PD 4 1 2 equipment. We also need 50 points in Complications. ED 2 1 If you just want to jump to the completed warrior, REC 7 2 5 see page 7. END 30 1/5 2

BODY 15 1 5 —Laakash, Lizardman Warrior— STUN 36 1/2 8 Total Points Spent: 61

DIGGING DEEPER: CHARACTERISTICS Laakash, scaliness aside, is a fairly generic warrior right now: strong, hardy, able to take a beating (his OCV, DCV, and PD are low, but we’re going to fix that with skills and equipment later). What if we want to make him a bit more interesting even at this early stage? The most obvious way is to just increase his stats. There’s no restriction on buying multiple characteristics to high values, unless the GM says otherwise. As such, your warrior can be strong, quick, charismatic, AND cunning (much like the famous Conan). The only cost is that your character has fewer points to spend when it comes time to purchase skills and other abilities. Laakash has no DMCV beyond the 3 points all characters get for free, and he even “sold back” some of his OMCV to gain a few points. This is based on the idea that he is not a wizard or psionicist and so has no special mental training. However, there’s no reason you couldn’t give a warrior one or more points of DMCV and explain this as exceptional resistance to mental attacks, due to training or even an innate resistance due to their race. Similarly, if we wanted to say that lizardmen recovered from injury very rapidly, we could add more REC. If they rarely tire, another 10 or 20 points of END would mean Laakash could outlast most any human in an endurance contest.

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II. Skills

Combat Skills Roll Points FHC +2 Combat Skill Levels DIGGING DEEPER: SKILLS — 6 p. 31 with Axes Laakash knows his way around a brawl, +2 Combat Skill Levels especially if axes are involved. Combat Skill Levels — 16 p. 31 with HtH Combat are ways of increasing your OCV, DCV, or damage. They act as “floating” bonuses that a player can Non-Combat Skills Roll Points FHC apply each time they act in combat. For example, Climbing 12- 3 p. 30 Laakash could take two levels and apply them to his Disguise 12- 3 p. 33 OCV, and the other two levels and apply them to his DCV. The next time he acts, he could rearrange this, Fast Draw 14- 7 p. 33 assigning all four to OCV, or to damage. You could Language: Ornathi — 3 p. 35 just buy higher stats to get all these effects at once, (completely fluent) but that would cost a lot more points. Survival 11- 3 p. 40 Combat Skill Levels are flexible, but the Tactics 11- 3 p. 40 conditions for their use must be met. If Laakash has Weapon Familiarity: his axe taken away, he loses the ability to use his two — 2 p. 41 Common Melee Weapons axe-based Skill Levels until he gets it back. The other Total Points Spent: 46 two work with any form of hand-to-hand (HtH)

combat: punching or biting, slashing with a sword, or swinging a tavern chair (but not when throwing Additional Skill Options: that chair: that’s ranged combat). As far as non-combat skills go, Laakash is Watches his Back (3 points) apparently not bad with a disguise. Of course, this is Laakash always knows when someone is trying to relative: he may be a master of disguise amongst his sneak up on him. own people, but to an elf or a human he’s obviously a Defense Maneuver I (FHC p. 33) big lizard, no matter what sort of wig he wears. No enemy receives the rear attack bonus. What else could Laakash do? For one, there’s no special restriction on skill types or aptitude. As such, Blindfighter (4 points) you could feel free to make him quite the scholar, Laakash can’t see in the dark, but his training has made loading him down with all sorts of languages and it so that his enemies think he can. other esoteric knowledge. Perhaps he knows the +2 Penalty Skill Levels when fighting blind forbidden secrets of necromancy, even though he Advanced rules: Penalty Skill Levels (FHC p. 37) and lacks the arcane talent to wield them. Maybe he’s a Lack of Senses (FHC p. 157). skilled cutpurse, supplementing his mercenary pay with a bit of pickpocketing. Do what you want. Martial Arts Training (13 points) Defensive Strike (FHC pp. 35, 181) An attack, but on the cautious side. +1 OCV, +3 DCV.

Ranged Disarm (FHC p. 35, 182) By throwing his axe, Laakash can knock an enemy’s weapon from their hands. –1 OCV, –1 DCV, enemy may be disarmed. Advanced rules: Disarm (FHC p. 174).

Martial Dodge (FHC p. 35, 181) Abandoning any attempt to strike, Laakash focuses on defending himself. +5 DCV, but the character must abort an action.

Advanced rules: Aborting an Action (FHC p. 162).

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III. Special Abilities (Total: 68 points) DIGGING DEEPER: SPECIAL ABILITIES Desert Dweller (6 points) Laakash’s people inhabit the barren, sandy expanse of In the interests of not going crazy with advanced the Trackless Wastes. rules, we’ve stuck to a fairly basic package of abilities Safe Environment: Intense Heat (FHC p. 87) for our friend Laakash. However, special abilities are Diminished Eating (only needs to eat and drink really where you can go wild when making your once per week) (FHC p. 87) character. The more you learn the Hero System, the stranger and more creative you can get. There’s no Lightsleep (FHC p. 47) reason that our lizardmen couldn’t spit venom,

tunnel through the earth, have six arms (and fight Follow-Through (20 points) with all of them!), be able to burst into flames, or A deadly brawler, if Laakash kills an enemy in hand- whatever you can imagine and are willing to pay the to-hand combat, he can instantly make another attack points for. against any enemy in HtH combat range. We’ve assumed here that you didn’t buy any of Follow-Through Attack (FHC p. 47) the Additional Skill Options listed on the previous page. As there’s no rule that you have to spend X Reptilian Healing (2 points) amount on skills or abilities, feel free to drop some of It’s not particularly rapid, but Laakash’s people still the special abilities here and go back and pick up heal faster than most others. some of the listed Skill options. For example, by Regeneration (1 extra BODY per week) (FHC p. 97) dropping either Follow-Through or Storm of Steel, you could buy all the Skill options listed. Reptilian Tracking (5 points) One thing you can do, without even needing to By darting his tongue in and out, Laakash can taste the really know the system, is again remember that you air and hunt down his prey. don’t have arbitrary class limits to deal with. As Tracking w/ Taste (FHC p. 77) such, it would be easy to spend some of these points on a magical ability or two, a few clever rogue tricks, Solid Footing (3 points) or a replenishable source of alchemical potions. With his clawed feet and well-developed sense of When we examine our other characters, try to balance, Laakash is hard to knock around. think how some of the abilities suggested there might Knockback Resistance: 3” (FHC p. 86) be applied to Laakash. If you like the notion, go ahead and use it! Storm of Steel (20 points) Laakash uses his beloved axe to rain strikes down on his foes. IV. Complications (50 points) Storm of Steel (FHC p. 48) Hunted by The Circle (20 points) Veteran Warrior (6 points) In hindsight, looting that temple was a bad idea. Most armour is impractical in the desert heat, but Hunted (FHC p. 149): The Circle (More Powerful; Laakash has seen many a battle, and knows a thing or Frequently; Extensive Influence; Limited Area). two about avoiding damage. Combat Luck (+3 PD & ED; Resistant) (FHC p. 45) Fear of Water (15 points) Rain is bizarre but ultimately bearable, but the idea of Vicious Bite (3 points) large bodies of water is a horror greater than any beast. Laakash is never truly disarmed, as his razor-sharp Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Hates and teeth can tear an unprotected man to pieces. avoids large bodies of water (Common; Strong). ½D6 Killing Attack (FHC p. 86); Reduced Penetration (FHC p. 135), Restrainable (FHC p. 137) Loves a Good Brawl (15 points) Laakash is a touch less inclined to diplomacy than Vicious Kick (3 points) most. This tends to get him into trouble. Similarly, the claws on Laakash’s feet make his kicks a Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Prefers potent threat. combat to negotiation (Common; Strong). ½D6 Killing Attack (FHC p. 86); Reduced Penetration (FHC p. 135), Restrainable (FHC p. 137)

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Loves a Good Brawl —Laakash, Lizardman Warrior— Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Prefers combat to negotiation (Common; Strong). Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

STR 16 1 6 DEX 14 2 8 SPECIAL ABILITIES (68 points) CON 17 1 7 Desert Dweller (6 points) INT 11 1 1 Laakash’s people inhabit the barren, sandy expanse of the EGO 8 1 –2 Trackless Wastes. PRE 15 1 5 Safe Environment: Intense Heat (FHC p. 87) Diminished Eating (only needs to eat and drink once per week) (FHC p. 87) OCV 4 5 5 Lightsleep (FHC p. 47) DCV 4 5 5 OMCV 1 3 –6 Follow-Through (20 points) DMCV 3 3 A deadly brawler, if Laakash kills an enemy in hand-to-hand

SPD 3 10 10 combat, he can instantly make another attack against any enemy in HtH combat range. PD 4 1 2 Follow-Through Attack (FHC p. 47) ED 2 1

REC 7 2 5 Reptilian Healing (2 points) END 30 1/5 2 It’s not particularly rapid, but Laakash’s people still heal BODY 15 1 5 faster than most others. Regeneration (1 extra BODY per week) (FHC p. 97) STUN 36 1/2 8 Total Char. Points: 61 Reptilian Tracking (5 points) By darting his tongue in and out, Laakash can taste the air Combat Skills Roll Points Spent and hunt down his prey. +2 Combat Skill Levels with Tracking w/ Taste (FHC p. 77) — 6 Axes Solid Footing (3 points) +2 Combat Skill Levels with — 16 With his clawed feet and well-developed sense of balance, HtH Combat Laakash is hard to knock around. Knockback Resistance: 3” (FHC p. 86) Non-Combat Skills Roll Points Spent Climbing 12- 3 Storm of Steel (20 points) Disguise 12- 3 Laakash uses his beloved axe to rain strikes down on his foes. Storm of Steel (FHC p. 48) Fast Draw 14- 7 Language: Ornathi — 3 Veteran Warrior (6 points) (completely fluent) Most armour is impractical in the desert heat, but Laakash Survival 11- 3 has seen many a battle, and knows a thing or two about Tactics 11- 3 avoiding damage. Weapon Familiarity: Combat Luck (+3 PD & +3 ED; Resistant) (FHC p. 45) — 2 Common Melee Weapons Total Skill Points: 46 Vicious Bite (3 points)

Laakash is never truly disarmed, as his razor-sharp teeth can tear an unprotected man to pieces. COMPLICATIONS ½D6 Killing Attack (FHC p. 86); Reduced Penetration (FHC p. 135), Restrainable (FHC p. 137) Hunted by The Circle Hunted (FHC p. 149): The Circle (More Powerful; Frequently; Vicious Kick (3 points) Extensive Influence; Limited Area). Similarly, the claws on Laakash’s feet make his kicks a potent threat. Fear of Water ½D6 Killing Attack (FHC p. 86); Reduced Penetration Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Hates and avoids (FHC p. 135), Restrainable (FHC p. 137) large bodies of water (Common; Strong).

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—Talien, Ne’er-Do-Well— I. Characteristics

Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

STR 12 1 2 DEX 18 2 16 CON 12 1 2 INT 13 1 3 EGO 10 1

PRE 16 1 6

OCV 4 5 5 DCV 5 5 10 OMCV 3 3

DMCV 3 3

SPD 4 10 20 PD 2 1

ED 2 1

REC 5 2 2 END 25 1/5 1 BODY 12 1 2 STUN 28 1/2 4 Total Points Spent: 73

II. Skills Combat Skills Roll Points FHC 3 Combat Skill Levels with — 9 p. 31 Whips and Chains

Non-Combat Skills Roll Points FHC Breakfall 13- 3 p. 29 Bribery 12- 3 p. 30 Charm 12- 3 p. 30 Climbing 13- 3 p. 30 Conversation 12- 3 p. 32 Forgery 13- 5 p. 33 Gambling 12- 3 p. 33 High Society 13- 5 p. 33 Knowledge Skill: Appraisal 13- 4 p. 34 Language: Thieves’ Cant — 2 p. 35 Lockpicking 12- 3 p. 35 Persuasion 12- 3 p. 37 Security Systems 12- 3 p. 39 Stealth 13- 3 p. 39 Streetwise 12- 3 p. 40 +1 Skill Level w/ any non- — 10 p. 39 combat skill Weapon Familiarity: — 2 p. 41 Whips & Chains

Weapon Familiarity: — 2 p. 41 Common Melee Weapons Total Points Spent: 72

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III. Special Abilities (Total: 30 points) IV. Complications (50 points)

Perk Pt. Cost FHC Adalbar Lightfinger (5 points) Access: Thieves’ Guild 4 p. 42 “Greatest thief in Edelbran”, my arse. The man’s a Contact: Assassin’s Guild 3 p. 42 jumped-up coinclipper with delusions of grandeur. Contact: Blackmailed Noble 3 p. 42 And that’s on a good day. Rivalry (FHC p. 151): Professional; As Powerful. Deep Cover: Art Dealer 2 p. 43

Money: Well-Off 3 p. 44 Hates Elves (15 points) Total Points Spent: 15 Talien isn’t sure what is worse: their mystical ponciness or tree-hugging smugness. Absolute Time Sense (3 points) Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Despises Talien never loses track of time, an invaluable skill elves (Common; Strong). when timing guard watches and the like. Hunted by the City Watch (10 points) Thieves’ Lenses (12 points) If only they knew he’s been right under their nose the Talien sank some of his early profits into these magical whole time. jeweller’s lenses. They have paid for themselves many Hunted (FHC p. 149): City Watch (More Powerful; times over. Infrequently; Limited Area). Nightvision (FHC p. 74) +3 to KS: Appraisal rolls Lust for Wealth (15 points) +4 to Perception checks, only to spot hidden doors He who dies with the most may have enough to hire a cleric and ensure that he can take it with him. Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Greed DIGGING DEEPER: PERKS (Common; Strong). Perks (FHC p. 42) are useful resources, items, privileges, and benefits a character has (unlike other Snuff Fiend (5 points) abilities, which typically define things a character is His mother warned him about the devil’s weed, but or can do). then again, his mother wasn’t really one to talk about Perks are more transitory in nature than most proper mores. character abilities, often being gained and lost Dependence (FHC p. 147): Addicted to Polani snuff during the course of a campaign. For example, (Very Common; Incompetence; Needs every six Money can be stolen, mistreating a Contact can hours). cause the character to lose that Contact, a Deep Cover can be “blown”, a Follower can die, and so on. Talien has invested a decent number of points in making sure he has, if not friends, then reliable associates who can help him when needed. His access to the local thieves’ guild gives him shelter, a place to fence his stolen goods, and a way of picking of supplies and tips on a promising heist. His Money perk means he has a reliable source of silver on-hand should the need arise, and his Deep Cover as an art dealer mixes well with his High Society and Conversational skills to allow him to get close to his latest mark.

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—Talien, Ne’er-Do-Well—

Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

STR 12 1 2 COMPLICATIONS DEX 18 2 16 CON 12 1 2 Adalbar Lightfinger (5 points) INT 13 1 3 Rivalry (FHC p. 151): Professional; As Powerful. EGO 10 1

PRE 16 1 6 Hates Elves (15 points) Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Despises

elves (Common; Strong). OCV 4 5 5

DCV 5 5 10 Hunted by the City Watch (10 points) OMCV 3 3 Hunted (FHC p. 149): City Watch (More Powerful; DMCV 3 3 Infrequently; Limited Area). SPD 4 10 20 PD 2 1 Lust for Wealth (15 points)

ED 2 1 Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Greed

REC 5 2 2 (Common; Strong). END 25 1/5 1 BODY 12 1 2 Snuff Fiend (5 points) Dependence (FHC p. 147): Addicted to Polani snuff STUN 28 1/2 4 (Very Common; Incompetence; Needs every six hours). Total Points Spent: 73

Combat Skills Roll Points SPECIAL ABILITIES (30 points) 3 Combat Skill Levels with — 9 Whips and Chains Perk Pt. Cost FHC Non-Combat Skills Roll Points Access: Thieves’ Guild 4 p. 42 Breakfall 13- 3 Contact: Assassin’s Guild 3 p. 42 Bribery 12- 3 Contact: Blackmailed Noble 3 p. 42 Charm 12- 3 Deep Cover: Art Dealer 2 p. 43 Climbing 13- 3 Conversation 12- 3 Money: Well-Off 3 p. 44 Total Points Spent: 15 Forgery 13- 5 Gambling 12- 3 High Society 13- 5 Absolute Time Sense (3 points) Knowledge Skill: Appraisal 13- 4 Talien never loses track of time, an invaluable skill Language: Thieves’ Cant — 2 when timing guard watches and the like. Lockpicking 12- 3 Persuasion 12- 3 Thieves’ Lenses (12 points) Security Systems 12- 3 Talien sank some of his early profits into these magical Stealth 13- 3 Streetwise 12- 3 jeweller’s lenses. They have paid for themselves many +1 Skill Level w/ any non- times over. — 10 combat skill Nightvision (FHC p. 74) Weapon Familiarity: +3 to KS: Appraisal rolls — 2 Whips & Chains +4 to Perception checks, only to spot hidden doors Weapon Familiarity: — 2 Common Melee Weapons Total Points Spent: 72

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—Dominika, Priestess of Shadows—

I. Characteristics

Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

STR 11 1 1

DEX 13 2 6

CON 13 1 3

INT 14 1 4 EGO 15 1 5 PRE 15 1 5

OCV 4 5 5 DCV 5 5 10 OMCV 3 3

DMCV 5 3 6 SPD 3 10 10 PD 2 1

ED 4 1 2 REC 5 2 2 END 25 1/5 1 BODY 12 1 2 STUN 24 1/2 2 Total Points Spent: 64

DIGGING DEEPER: MAGIC & CHARACTERISTICS There’s an endless number of ways to handle magic. The most common is the “fire and forget” method of spellcasting, commonly known as Vancian magic. With this sort of magic system, spells are memorized, but once cast have to be memorized all over again. However, another staple of fantasy is the price one must pay for forbidden knowledge. In many worlds, magic demands something of the caster; it leeches one’s energy or even very life force as the price of power. With such a system, a character’s Endurance (END) becomes very important, as this is typically what is drawn on to fuel spells. Dominika is as much a warrior as she is a The problem with buying lots of END so you can priestess: the Hierophants of Shadow demand be good at magery is that it also winds up making more than just a quick mind. In Fantasy your character never tire physically. Fortunately, in Hero, combining the two roles is a very the Hero System you can buy limited forms of stats simple matter. for very specific purposes. In the case of Dominika, when we get to Special Abilities you’ll see that she has extra Endurance, but it’s only available to cast spells with. This gives us a way of making a character with a hefty magic “pool”, without also creating one that can run marathons all day.

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II. Skills

Combat Skills Roll Points FHC 2 Combat Skill Levels DIGGING DEEPER: SKILLS — 16 p. 31 with HtH Combat Dominika needs to know the canon and creed of her eldritch order. This is covered by “KS: Rites of Non-Combat Skills Roll Points FHC Shadows”; the “KS” stands for Knowledge Skill. Deduction 12- 3 p. 32 Knowledge Skills are ways of giving a character a KS: Rites of Shadow 15- 6 p. 34 very specific set of knowledge that wouldn’t Language: Ornathi normally appear on a skill list. You can choose pretty (completely fluent + — 4 p. 35 much anything you can think of: brewing, dancing, literate) the art world of a major city, the history of a lost Language: empire. Knowledge Skills are a great way to flesh out Ancient Żólneren a character. — 4 p. 35 (completely fluent + Note that, unlike Talien and Laakash, Dominika literate) can read the languages she possesses. You can decide Power: Shadow Magic 14- 7 p. 37 that literacy is the default in your game (and so Riding 12- 3 p. 38 would not cost points), but for many fantasy games, the ability to read is the exception, rather than the Stealth 12- 3 p. 39 rule, and raises the cost of a language by a point (as Survival 12- 3 p. 40 it does here). Weapon Familiarity: — 2 p. 41 Her “Power” skill is what Dominika uses Common Melee Weapons whenever she casts a spell. Again, you can customize Total Points Spent: 51 your magic system however you want. As such, there’s no need to mandate that spellcasting be roll- based: you could instead decide that it always Additional Skill Options: works—no roll required. But here we’ve gone with needing a roll each time she casts a spell, with the Shield Bash (4 points) more powerful the spell, the greater the penalty The art of the shadow is a subtle approach, but applied to the roll. sometimes the situation just calls for knocking Why would you do such a thing? In some cases somebody’s teeth out. it’s a matter of flavour: you may not want magic to +2 OCV when attacking with a shield (FHC p. 31) be a predictable, reliable force, for instance. However, in the Hero System, anything that makes an ability Two-Weapon Fighting (10 points) (such as a spell) less useful than normal also makes Dominika can bash people with her shield at the same it cost fewer points, which is a major consideration time that she slashes with her sword, or abandon her when trying to squeeze in more with the points you shield to fight with a dagger or shortsword in her off have. hand. Two-Weapon Fighting (FHC p. 41) Advanced rules: Multiple Attack (FHC p. 177)

Additional Option: Normally a two-weapon strike is a full-phase action, meaning you cannot perform any other action that phase. For +5 points more, you can buy the Rapid Attack skill (FHC p. 38), which makes a two- weapon attack a half-phase action. This lets you move or do something else that phase and still perform a two-weapon strike.

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III. Special Abilities (Total: 60 points) Shadow Form With this spell, Dominika can become one with the Kiss of the Night (13 points) very shadows themselves, allowing her to walk The Night Mother grants all inducted into the Order of through walls and ignore physical attacks. In such a Shadows her blessings. state, she cannot affect the physical world. Nightvision (FHC p. 74) Desolidification (FHC p. 74), affected by magic +4 to Shadow Magic rolls, only at night Range: Self. END Cost: 8. +45 END, only to cast Shadow Magic Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points.

Shadow Magic (47 points) Shadow Walk All Shadow Magic spells have the same basic The caster may step into an area of shadow or requirements: darkness, only to emerge in another such area leagues away. The darkness in both cases must be  The ability to gesture freely with at least one large enough to completely cover the caster. hand (Gestures; FHC p. 125). Incantations are not Teleportation (FHC p. 107) 20m w/ MegaScale required, for Shadow Magic is an art of stealth. (FHC p. 130)  A Power skill roll (Requires a Roll; FHC p. 135). Range: Self. END Cost: 8.  Some sort of obvious material component that is Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points. expended when the spell is cast, and difficult to replace (Focus; FHC p. 124).  A greater expenditure of personal energy than DIGGING DEEPER: most schools of magic call for (usually Increased Endurance Cost; x 2 END; FHC p. 126). THE JOY OF LIMITS Limits to powers restrict their general utility, These requirements limit each spell’s effectiveness, yes. However, they can also make powers feel more and so reduce their point costs. thematic. For example, making it so that your power requires incantations to use is a great way to Banish Undead simulate spellcasting, in addition to saving points. All creatures of the night answer to the power of Beyond power limitations, there are also shadow. limitations of general selection. The Hero System Turn Undead (+50 Presence, only for Presence lets you create almost any effect; it’s up to you (and Attacks vs. Undead; FHC p. 49) the GM and your available points) what you’re Range: Self. END Cost: 5. going to buy. However, restricting the effects a Power Roll Penalty: –5. Cost: 8 points. character can perform based on a theme, even a very broad one, helps make a character more than just a Flickering Flame collection of random abilities. The ignorant wonder why servants of shadow are It’s best when these two ideas work in harmony. adept at summoning this dancing, wavering light, For instance, Dominika’s Shadow Magic is but Dominika knows that only with light is there purposely restricted to night- or shadow-themed shadow. powers. The “requires a roll” limitation on all its Images (FHC p. 83), 4-metre radius spells helps make those powers feel “magical”: less quantifiable and reliable. However, Dominika Cancels all non-magical darkness penalties in its receives a substantial bonus to that roll at night, area of effect. through her Kiss of the Night ability. The result is Range: 220 metres. END Cost: 6. that the mechanics reinforce the theme: at night is Power Roll Penalty: –3. Cost: 6 points. where Dominika truly works best.

As always, the general package of power Shadow’s Embrace limitations applied here to Shadow Magic spells can This spell creates a pool of impenetrable shadow. be tweaked, just like anything else. You could easily Those outside it cannot see in; those inside it cannot require its spells to take extra time, or come with see out, even if they have nightvision. some hideous side effect. These would make each Darkness to Sight (FHC p. 67), 8-metre radius spell cheaper. Alternatively, you could remove Range: 400 metres. END Cost: 8. limitations, with each removed increasing the cost. Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points.

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—Dominika, Priestess of Shadows— Rid Me of this Priestess Rivalry (FHC p. 151) (Professional; More Powerful). Value Cost Per Pt. Points Spent

STR 11 1 1 War of Night DEX 13 2 6 Hunted (FHC p. 149) by Alnemari the Lich King and his minions (Frequently; More Powerful; Harshly Punish). CON 13 1 3 INT 14 1 4 SPECIAL ABILITIES (60 points) EGO 15 1 5 PRE 15 1 5 Kiss of the Night The Night Mother grants all inducted into the Order of Shadows her blessings. OCV 4 5 5 Nightvision (FHC p. 74) DCV 5 5 10 +4 to Shadow Magic rolls, only at night OMCV 3 3 +45 END, only to cast Shadow Magic

DMCV 5 3 6 SPD 3 10 10 Shadow Magic All spells require gestures, a Power roll, and spell components. PD 2 1

ED 4 1 2 Banish Undead REC 5 2 2 Turn Undead (+50 Presence, only for Presence Attacks END 25 1/5 1 vs. Undead; FHC p. 49) Range: Self. END Cost: 5. BODY 12 1 2 Power Roll Penalty: –5. Cost: 8 points. STUN 24 1/2 2 Total Points Spent: 64 Flickering Flame

Cancels all non-magical darkness penalties in its area of Combat Skills Roll Points Spent effect. Images (FHC p. 83), 4-metre radius +2 Combat Skill Levels with — 16 Range: 220 metres. END Cost: 6. HtH Combat Power Roll Penalty: –3. Cost: 6 points.

Non-Combat Skills Roll Points Spent Shadow’s Embrace Deduction 12- 3 This spell creates a pool of impenetrable shadow. Those KS: Rites of Shadow 15- 6 outside it cannot see in; those inside it cannot see out, Language: Ornathi even if they have nightvision. — 4 (completely fluent + literate) Darkness to Sight (FHC p. 67), 8-metre radius Language: Range: 400 metres. END Cost: 8. Ancient Żólneren — 4 Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points. (completely fluent + literate) Power: Shadow Magic 14- 7 Shadow Form With this spell, Dominika can become one with the very Riding 12- 3 shadows themselves, allowing her to walk through walls Stealth 12- 3 and ignore physical attacks. In turn, she cannot affect the Survival 12- 3 physical world. Weapon Familiarity: Desolidification (FHC p. 74), affected by magic — 2 Common Melee Weapons Range: Self. END Cost: 8. Total Skill Points: 51 Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points.

Shadow Walk COMPLICATIONS The caster may step into an area of shadow or darkness, only to emerge in another such area leagues away. The Binding Oath darkness in both cases must be large enough to Psychological Complication (FHC p. 150): Dedicated to the completely cover the caster. Night Mother’s purposes (Very Common; Total). Teleportation (FHC p. 107) 20m w/ MegaScale (FHC p. 130) Range: Self. END Cost: 8. Power Roll Penalty: –4. Cost: 11 points.

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EQUIPMENT Damage STR Min Pt. Cost Dagger 1D6-1 6 8 There are two main ways of acquiring equipment in Battle Axe 2D6 13 16 Fantasy Hero: buying it with money and buying it with Hand Axe / 1D6 6 / 10 10 / 9 character points. Short Sword Equipment purchased with money is bought with Long Sword / 1D6+1 10 / 12 12 the standard currency of your gaming world. This sort Mace of gear can be broken, stolen, or damaged while Great Sword 2D6 17 15 adventuring or in battle. Club / Staff 4D6 ND 10 10 There may be no difference in terms of game mechanics between a sword bought with money and Damage STR Min Range one bought with character points, but the one paid for Short Bow 1D6 8 150m with points is assumed to be more of an integral part of Crossbow w/ 1½D6, AP 14 250m the character. This means that while it’s still vulnerable AP bolts to being temporarily removed (via disarming in Longbow 2D6 15 300m combat, seizure after capture, and so on), there’s an Throwing Based on 1D6 7 implicit assumption that you’re going to get it back, Knife STR because you’ve paid precious points for it. However, since items can always be disarmed, restrained, or AP = Armour Piercing (FHC p. 116). The appropriate defense is halved against an AP attack. Cancelled by stolen—even temporarily—anything bought as an item Hardened protection (FHC p. 127). receives a point-cost discount. Conan is an excellent example of someone who ND = Normal Damage. Weapons generally do killing never spends points on his gear. He has no damage, which acts primarily against BODY. ND weapons do less BODY and more STUN, meaning you’re trademarked sword or bit of armour: it comes and goes much more likely to knock a victim out than you are to as dictated by the logic of the story. Sometimes he has kill them. We’ll examine this more closely in Combat. an axe, sometimes a sword, sometimes fine plate, and sometimes nothing more than his bare hands and a Based on STR: the stronger the thrower, the further the item can be thrown. A human can typically throw from loincloth. It’s impossible to think of Elric of Melniboné, 12m-16m (STR 8-10) up to to 32m (STR 20). on the other hand, without his baleful black blade, Stormbringer. Basic Armour (FHC p. 248) In general, points are spent on magic items, while Armour prevents damage (rather than making you money is used for mundane items, though it doesn’t harder to hit). Here are some typical armour types: always have to be that way. Armour Type Defense (PD & ED) Basic Weapons (FHC p. 249) Padded Cloth 1 The typical weapon does between 1D6 and 2D6 Studded Leather 2 damage, though some can have armour-piercing Heavy Hide / Boiled Leather 3 properties (such as military picks or specialized arrows Brigandine 4 or crossbow bolts) or deal mostly non-lethal damage Lamellar / Splint 5 (such as a staff or club). Chainmail 6 However, weapon damage can be increased by the Plate and Chain 7 wielder’s Strength. Thus, the stronger the wielder, the Full Plate 8 more damage a weapon attack will do. Here’s the stats for some common weapons. For There’s no guarantee that armour stops an attack: each melee weapon, you have its damage, the even the finest suit will have gaps and weak spots. minimum STR required to wield it properly, and how Armour comes with an activation roll, which works in many points it would cost to buy if you wanted to do the same way as a skill check or a magic activation roll. so. The point cost entries for the ranged weapons have The better the coverage the armour provides, the been excised in favour of ranges, but if you’re curious, higher its roll will be. If, when hit, you roll equal to or their cost is very similar to melee weapons (5, 8, 9, and under your armour’s activation roll, you receive its 6 points, respectively). extra PD and ED vs. that attack. A small vest would offer 8- protection, while a full suit would cover 15-.

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Shields Unlike armour, shields makes you harder to hit. DIGGING DEEPER:

Small: +1 DCV (can shield bash for 1D6 ND) MAGIC ATTACKS VS. DEFENSES Medium: +2 DCV (can shield bash for 2D6 ND) In terms of damage and defense, a common way Large: +3 DCV (can shield bash for 3D6 ND) to model the power of magic weapons to slice Tower: +4 DCV (can shield bash for 3D6 ND) through mundane armour is by giving all magic weapons the Armour Piercing advantage (FHC p. Magic Weapons & Armour 116). This halves the PD and ED of the target, As with most other things in the Hero System, there’s a including its armour, allowing a magic weapon to host of ways to customize your magic gear. They can cleave through even plate armour. Magic armour, in simply be better at dealing or resisting damage, or be turn, can be given the Hardened advantage (FHC p. intelligent items wielding all the power of the greatest 127), which cancels Armour Piercing. The result is of sorcerors. Magic items often provide abilities that magic weapons and magic armour are matched otherwise inappropriate for a character (e.g. the fact vs. one another, just like regular weapons vs. regular that you have the points to give a character a fireball armour, but the armour-piercing properties of non- spell might be trumped by a campaign rule that forbids magical crossbows and stillettos are defeated by that sort of creature from casting spells at all). magical protection. Common weapon enhancements include less Another common way of modelling the power of weight, being nigh-unbreakable, more base damage, or magic attacks is to greatly reduce the amount of ED extra damage vs. a specific type of enemy (such as the that normal armour provides. If normal armour undead). Common armour enhancements include provides only half the ED—instead of assuming that reduced weight, unearthly protection, and a variety of it gives the same amount as it does PD—that means personal enhancements, such as extra Dexterity, that spells, dragon fire, and the like will mostly blast Presence, or Strength. But again, you can largely do right through it. what you want. Here are some examples.

Armour of the Lion Ring of Survival 7 PD & 7 ED, Hardened (FHC p. 127). Provides +10 A character wearing this ring can stand even the Presence to the wearer. Cost: 20 points. most horrible natural extremes of heat and cold. Life Support (FHC p. 87): Safe Environement Brigand’s Sheath (Intense Heat and Intense Cold). Any dagger in this sheath practically leaps into the Cost: 3 points. owner’s hand. +5 to Fast Draw rolls w/ Dagger. Cost: 7 points. Ring of Sustenance A character wearing this ring does not need to eat Cloak of Invisibility or drink. When the wearer raises the hood of this cloak, they Life Support (FHC p. 87): Does not eat or drink. become invisible to sight. More powerful versions Cost: 2 points. conceal the wearer from more senses. Staff of the Wyrm Apprentice’s version: Invisibility to Sight (FHC p. Once per day, this staff can pour forth a gout of the 85) w/ Reduced Endurance (requires 0 END) most potent dragonfire. (FHC p. 135). 4D6 Ranged Killing Attack (FHC p. 86) Cost: 20 points. Area of Effect: 72m Line (FHC p. 115) Master’s version: Invisiblity to Sight, Smell, and Armor Piercing (FHC p. 116) Hearing w/ Reduced Endurance (requires 0 Cost: 34 points. END). Cost: 30 points. Stormhammer 2½D6 damage, Armour Piercing (FHC p. 116). Gauntlets of Giant Strength When it strikes the target, a thunderclap goes off +25 STR w/ Reduced Endurance (requires 0 END) which deafens the victim (4D6 Flash; FHC p. 80). (FHC p. 135). Cost: 25 points. Cost: 28 points.

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COMBAT

Now we’ll take a look at a simple combat. COMBAT & SPEED (SPD)

The Order of Shadow has ordered their faithful priestess Each combat turn is broken into twelve phases. A Dominika to investigate rumours of an ancient temple to the character’s Speed (SPD) determines how many times north, recently unearthed by the region’s peasants. The they act in a turn (i.e. in how many of those phases eldest records of the Order indicate that it may contain they have an action). The higher their SPD value, certain ritualistic treasures thought lost forever. the more phases the character has an action in. Though Dominika can take care of herself, she has brought Talien—an expert in treasures new and old—and  Dominika and Laakash, each with SPD 3, act Laakash, a hardened mercenary. One never knows what may on phases 4, 8, and 12 (three times a turn). slumber in the ruins of ages past.  Talien, with SPD 4, acts on phases 3, 6, 9, Soon enough, the idea of bringing along extra brawn and 12 (four times a turn). proves its worth. In the shattered great hall of the buried,  The shuffling zombies are a mere SPD 2, and centuries-old structure, the last acolytes of the temple, so only act on phases 6 and 12 (twice a turn). faithful beyond death, shamble to its defense. Combat begins on phase 12. Everyone, even a character with a SPD of 1, acts on phase 12. From there we move to phase 1, 2, 3 and so on. The GM announces when each phase comes up, and anyone who has an action to take in that phase announces their intended action for that phase at that time. Initiative is not random. Instead, actions are resolved in DEX order, from highest to lowest. The person with the highest DEX always goes first, and the person with the lowest DEX always goes last. Ties are rolled off. Some actions take up the full phase, but most are half-phase actions. This means they take only half a phase to do, and so you can perform two half-phase actions in a phase. An attack is a half-phase action, and movement is as well. However, making an attack always ends your phase, even if you haven’t taken your other half-phase action yet. As such, in a phase you can move and attack, but not attack and then move.

First, let’s return to a few Characteristics acronyms, as you’ll be seeing them a lot in this section:

OCV: Offensive Combat Value DCV: Defensive Combat Value PD: Physical Defense ED: Energy Defense END: Endurance

As the section progresses, be sure to examine the sidebars, like the one on the right, for the full information on how the system works.

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We can also sum up our combatants’ DEX, STR and base combat stats here.

Dominika Laakash OCV 4 OCV 4 DCV 5 DCV 4 SPD 3 SPD 3 PD 2 PD 4 ED 4 ED 2 REC 5 REC 7 END 25 END 30 BODY 12 BODY 15 STUN 24 STUN 36

DEX 13 DEX 14 STR 11 STR 16

Talien Undead Acolytes OCV 4 OCV 3 DCV 5 DCV 3 SPD 4 SPD 2 PD 2 PD 4 ED 2 ED 2 REC 5 REC 5 END 25 END – BODY 12 BODY 10 STUN 28 STUN –

DEX 18 DEX 10 STR 12 STR 20

The acolytes, being undead, do not tire and cannot Let’s assume that no one is taken by surprise. be stunned. As such, they have no END and STUN Combat always begins on phase 12, and everyone stats. This makes undead feel very different from the gets to act on phase 12. Each phase, actions begin with living in a combat scenario. the character with the highest DEX: that’s Talien (DEX 18). Talien, like most other characters acting in a phase, Dominika has a longsword (1D6+1 damage). For has a few options: armour, she wears a studded leather vest and greaves (+2 PD & ED, intervenes on a roll of 11-). She also  He can wait and let the enemy make the first carries a medium shield (+2 DCV). move. Laakash carries a hand axe (1D6 damage). For armour, he wears heavy hide over his upper torso (+3  He can move. Half his movement is a half- PD & ED, intervenes on a roll of 8-). phase action; taking his full movement is a full- Talien has a chain whip. It deals 1D6-1 damage, but phase action. also allows him to entangle his targets. His armour consists of a studded leather vest (+2 PD & ED,  He can take an attack action. An attack action intervenes on a roll of 9-). is only a half-phase action, but can only be The Acolytes wield a variety of miscellaneous done once a phase, and automatically ends his melee weapons. We could stat them all out if we phase. wanted, but let’s just say they all deal 1D6 damage and call it a day. Half have full breastplates (+8 PD & ED, 9- “Attack actions” are not always literal attacks; each to intervene); the other half wear only rotting robes. ability will tell you if it requires an attack action to use or not.

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Laakash has four Combat Skill Levels. Two are only available when he’s using an axe (which he is most Talien decides to wait: the smart money is on letting definitely using). The other two apply in any hand-to- the acolytes come to him. hand combat situation. Alone for the moment, and facing multiple opponents, Laakash decides to put all four Combat COMBAT & TACTICS I Skill Levels into his DCV. This means he receives +4 DCV against all attacks until his next phase (phase 4), Different Speed values act at different times. As such, sometimes you may want to wait to act until giving him an impressive DCV of 8. He awaits the later in the turn, to see what other people are doing. acolytes’ attacks with confidence. This is called holding your action (FHC p. 162). Dominika acts next (DEX 13). At night the logical You can hold either a full action or a half action, and choice of action would be clear: Dominika would it is held until its your next phase to act. If you harness the power of her Order and send the undead haven’t used your held action before your next one scurrying with her Banish Undead spell. However, the comes up, you lose it (i.e. you can’t “bank” actions). party has ventured into the temple during the day, and By waiting, Talien has decided to hold his phase so she does not have the significant bonus to her spell 12 action. He has to use that action in either phase 1 rolls she possesses at night. or phase 2, because in phase 3 it’s lost (since he Nonetheless, she decides to give it a try. Her base receives a new action then). Shadow Magic roll is 14-. However, her Banish Undead Being able to hold your action gives you a nice spell gives a –5 penalty to the roll. Thus, Dominika amount of tactical flexibility. needs a 9 or less to successfully cast Banish Undead. Rolling 3D6, the result is 10: the spell fails (this still costs her 5 END—the cost of the spell). The spell is an Next is Laakash (DEX 14). He has different plans, attack action, and so even though casting it was only a none of which involve waiting around. The acolytes half-phase action, her phase is done. The acolytes are 10 metres away. Since Laakash can run 12 meters, a advance upon Laakash. half-move would carry him 6 metres: not close enough The acolytes only have a running speed of 4 metres. to combat range. He decides to make a full move and However, as Laakash has dived almost into their midst wade right into combat. (he’s two metres away), the acolytes can just reach him Of course, this leaves him right in front of the with half-moves, even as slow as they are. Four take a acolytes with no actions left, and so no ability to strike half-move and then attack. until his next phase (phase 4). But Laakash’s mother The base to-hit number for all attacks is 11- on 3D6. didn’t raise a clutch of fools: he’s prepared for such an To that, you apply the difference between the occasion. This is where Combat Skill Levels come in. attacker’s OCV and the defender’s DCV. If the OCV is higher than DCV, the difference raises the number to roll under; if the OCV is lower than DCV, the difference lowers the number to roll under. The acolytes have COMBAT & TACTICS II OCVs of 3; compared to Laakash’s DCV of 8, that’s a Combat Skill Levels are flexible combat bonuses. difference of 5. The acolytes’ to-hit number is thus 6-. They let you react to the changing combat situation, The first three acolytes miss, their rusted weapons each improving your offense, defense, or damage as swinging past the surprisingly nimble warrior. But the you decide the situation warrants. fourth and final undead attacker rolls a 5: it hits! You can buy them in a variety of forms: the more expensive the level, the more flexible it is. In terms of Combat Value bonuses, most let you either add +1 OCV or +1 DCV. The bonus from applying a Combat Skill Level lasts until the start of the next phase you act on.

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The acolytes wield standard weapons, and so this is Next, you roll ½D6 (i.e. “1D3” or “1D6/2”: a roll of a killing damage attack. 1-2 = 1, a roll of 3-4 = 2, and a roll of 5-6 = 3). This is your STUN multiplier. Multiply the damage dealt by the STUN multiplier to determine how much STUN DAMAGE IN THE HERO SYSTEM damage the attack does. The acolyte rolls a 3, which gives a multiplier of 2. This means its attack does (7 × There are two kinds of damage: Normal, and Killing. 2) 14 STUN. The total damage from the attack is thus 7 Normal damage is the sort of thing you take from BODY and 14 STUN. falls, hand to hand combat, and the like: think of Each kind of damage is resolved separately. your battered and bruised action hero who gets Damage is applied to either PD or ED, depending on increasingly winded and groggy, but if given a the attack (physical weapons deal PD unless stated chance to recover will be okay pretty quick. Normal otherwise, and we’ll be referring to PD only from this damage can still cause serious injuries if dealt in point forward for that reason). large amounts or by particularly strong individuals Let’s start with the STUN. You always get to apply (the fact that a giant “only” punched you doesn’t all your PD against STUN damage. Laakash has 4 base mean you won’t be feeling it for a while). PD, plus 3 more from his Veteran Warrior ability. Killing damage is the sort usually dealt by Lastly, he has armour, which could give him another 3 weapons. This is the bone-breaking, skin-tearing sort PD. However, armour is never guaranteed protection. of potentially lethal damage that is a serious threat. After each attack that strikes him, Laakash rolls 3D6. If he rolls an 8-, his armour is in the way of the attack. Unfortunately he rolls an 11; the armour does nothing For a killing attack, you first roll the damage listed this attack. Laakash takes (14 – 7 PD) 7 STUN. for the weapon (in this case, 1D6). This is the amount Now we move to the BODY damage. One of the of BODY damage the attack deals. Then you add any things that differentiates killing damage is that only extra due to the attacker’s Strength (STR). resistant defense stops the BODY dealt by killing attacks. That is, it’s not enough to have PD: you have to have resistant PD. STRENGTH AND DAMAGE (FHC p. 183) Strength (STR) adds to damage dealt by RESISTANT DEFENSES weapons. If dealing killing damage, every full 5 points of STR above your weapon’s STR Min (see p. “Resistant” is a modifier that can be bought for 15) moves you a little up the scale: PD and ED. A defense is always non-resistant unless specified otherwise, including a character’s 5 STR gets you +1 damage natural PD and ED. Why? Well, a brawny 10 STR gets you +½D6 damage (i.e. 1D3) barbarian might be immensely tough and strong (i.e. 15 STR gets you a full +1D6 of damage high BODY and high non-resistant PD). With characteristics like that, punching him is going to be We’ve given the acolytes generic weapons to like beating your fist against a brick wall. However, make things easy; let’s say that all their weapons none of that makes him any harder to cut with even a have a STR 10 minimum. The acolytes, with their 20 kitchen knife. STR, thus get an additional +½D6 damage when As such, BODY dealt by killing attacks bypasses attacking with their weapons (10 STR higher than all non-resistance defenses. their weapon’s STR minimum), thanks to their Worn armour by default is always resistant. uncanny might. Another common way of giving squishy mortals a bit of resistant defense is through buying the Combat Luck ability (FHC p. 45). This gives a character 3 The acolytes, after including their STR bonus, deal points each of resistant PD and ED. Laakash has it, 1½D6 damage. After rolling, the acolyte scores 7 BODY but for him it’s modelled as exceptional experience damage. (“Veteran Warrior”), rather than him just being quite lucky. You can always “reskin” abilities in this way in the Hero System to make them meet the flavour you have in mind.

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Since this is a killing attack, Laakash’s base PD of 4 On phase 2, no one has any actions. On to phase 3, doesn’t help him stop the BODY damage (because his where Talien gets an action. Now in range, he lashes base PD isn’t resistant). However, he does have 3 out at the nearest acolyte. resistant PD from his Veteran Warrior special ability: Talien has three Combat Skill Levels with his chain that applies. This reduces the BODY damage to 4. whip. He places two of them into his OCV, and decides If Laakash had made his armour roll, it would have to put one into his DCV, in case he’s about to get the dropped the BODY damage to 1 point. However, he acolytes’ attention. This gives him an OCV of 6 and a failed the roll (and you only roll once for an attack, not DCV of 6. once for each type of damage dealt by an attack). As The acolytes have a DCV of 3. The difference such, Laakash takes 4 point of BODY damage. between Talien’s OCV and the target’s DCV is 3 in With everyone having acted, phase 12 comes to an Talien’s favour; this difference is applied to the normal end, and with it, the first turn of combat (a turn always 11- you need to hit. As such, Talien needs a 14- to hit. ends after phase 12; the first combat turn is always just He rolls a 12: success! one phase long). Talien’s chain whip does killing damage: 1D6-1. He At the end of every turn, each character gets their doesn’t have a high enough STR to modify this REC (Recovery) score back in END and STUN (but not damage, and so the result after rolling is a straight 4 BODY). This means Dominika recovers the 5 END BODY. He chose an acolyte without armour, and they spent on her failed spell (because her REC is 5), and have no natural resistant defense, so the full BODY Laakash removes the 7 STUN damage he took (since damage gets through. As the acolytes are undead, they his REC is 7). He still has the 4 BODY damage he took. don’t take STUN (after all, you can’t tire out a corpse). A new turn begins. On to phase 4, where Talien’s compatriots act. Laakash goes first (as his DEX is the highest). He’s a little angry that one of these rotting apes actually COMBAT & TACTICS III managed to hit him, and takes his frustrations out on the acolyte that Talien just struck. Placing one of his Because combat always starts on phase 12, it’s Combat Skill Levels into offense (and the other three very common for characters to focus their attacks on into defense), he has an OCV of 6, and so needs the just one or two targets that phase. This is because everyone immediately gets a recovery after that same 14- that Talien needed. An 8 hits! phase. By concentrating your damage, you don’t Laakash’s hand axe does a base 1D6 damage. wind up doing just 1 or 2 damage (or even none at However, because its STR Min is 6, and his STR is 16, all) to multiple targets after all recoveries are taken that means he has a full 10 points of STR more than his into account. (Holding your action until after phase STR Min. That’s good enough to get him an extra ½D6 12 is also common.) damage; his total damage with any hand axe strike will Characters can also, as a full-phase action, take a thus be 1½D6. After rolling, he scores 7 BODY. Added recovery. This has the same result as what happens to the 4 BODY Talien did earlier, that’s 11: enough to after phase 12 (you get both END and STUN back destroy the acolyte (which started with 10 BODY). It equal to your REC score). This allows you to trade crumples to dust in front of Laakash. your ability to act in order to catch a breather. Special abilities can really shake the regular flow of Note that creatures without END or STUN combat up. Laakash has the Follow-Through special scores (such as our undead acolytes) can’t recover. ability: whenever he kills an enemy, he receives a free follow-on attack. He must use it immediately: it’s not an action he can hold. With one acolyte shattered We start the new turn with phase 1. No one has the before him, Laakash lashes at another. All rolls for this Speed to normally act on phase 1, but remember attack are the same, and Laakash hits, dealing another Talien? He’s holding his phase 12 action. If he wants to 6 BODY. use it, he needs to either now or on phase 2, because Next up is Dominika. She takes a half-phase action it’s lost on phase 3 (when he gets another action). to move closer to the action, and another half-phase With the acolytes having committed themselves, action to draw her sword (drawing weapons is a half- and with that idiot lizard occupying their attention, phase action, unless you have the Fast Draw skill and Talien moves to the attack. He takes a full move, make your skill roll). She had left her sword sheathed placing himself within range to strike. so that she could attempt a spell; Shadow Magic requires having at least one hand free.

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A character who has 0 or less END can still act. However, lacking END, they must spend STUN in its place: 1D6 STUN damage is dealt for every 2 END (or fraction thereof) normally used (no defenses apply). Basically, people can work themselves the point of exhaustion to make sure the job gets done. There are also rules for spending extra END to hit harder than you normally can, for especially desperate situations (see Pushing, FHC p. 23). END wasn’t covered in the combat example when dealing with melee weapon attacks because, while part of the standard rules, some find it requires too much bookkeeping. Some ignore it for anything except spell use, or even remove it from the game altogether. For a grittier, more realistic game, END is a great mechanic to simulate how people get worn down over time. For more cinematic campaigns where characters can leap about swinging swords all day, it may be something

you want to look at discarding. It’s up to you. There’s no need to carry this combat example through until the end: you have a good idea of how More on Normal-Damage Attacks battle works at this point. Let’s just take a quick look at An attack tells you if it deals normal damage or not, as a few other possible situations. explained earlier. The main differences with normal

damage attacks (such as a punch, a blackjack, or a club) Becoming Stunned are in how your STR adds to them, how to calculate the If the STUN dealt by a single attack (after defenses) BODY damage they deal, and how to apply PD against exceeds the target’s Constitution (CON) stat, they’re that BODY damage. stunned. If stunned, their DCV and DMCV are Working out how STR adds to normal damage is instantly halved, and any held action is lost. At the end easy. For every 5 points of STR over a weapon’s STR of that phase, any abilities that require END shut off, Minimum, you add an extra 1D6 of damage. That’s it and bonuses from Skill Levels of any kind are nullified. (if you have 3 or 4 points of STR over, that’s good for The target can take no actions until they recover. an extra ½D6). Recovering from being stunned automatically happens Determining BODY damage is little more on the character’s next phase. The full phase is needed complicated. Once you’ve rolled the dice to see how to recover: no other actions can be taken that phase. much STUN the attack dealt, look again at the numbers Creatures with no STUN scores (such as golems or rolled. For each die, a 1 is 0 BODY, a 2-5 is 1 BODY, the undead) cannot be stunned. This gives them a real and a 6 is 2 BODY. Add this all up to find the BODY feeling of implacability in combat. dealt. Thus, the amount of BODY dealt is usually close

to the number of dice rolled. Getting Tired Remember, unlike killing attacks, all PD a character Attacking and spellcasting usually costs Endurance has (resistant or not) is applied against this BODY (END). damage. Anything that requires Strength costs 1 END per 5 points of STR used. For example, a character with 15 Let’s say you strike a thug with a 2D6 damage club. If STR that attacks with a melee weapon spends 3 END the club has a STR Min of 15, and you have 20 STR, then per attack. you have +5 STR above the STR Min: good for an extra 1D6 Spells typically cost 1 END for every 10 points they of damage. Your total damage would thus be 3D6. cost (calculated before you apply any point-cost Say you roll a 1, a 4, and a 6. That’s 11 STUN damage. discounts). However, you can add advantages to spells The BODY damage would be 3 (the roll of “1” is worth 0, to make them use up less END (though this makes the the roll of “4” is worth 1, and the roll of “6” is worth 2). The spell cost more character points), or disadvantages that defender gets to apply all their PD against both the STUN make them require more END (but cost fewer and the BODY. character points).

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APPENDIX 2) Endurance (END) As mentioned earlier, if you want to have a more How Would I Design Magic Systems? free-flowing, action-packed game, dropping the need Take all powers belonging to a system or school and to track END for movement and physical attacks apply a blanket set of one or more advantages and/or speeds things up and allows your heroes to ignore the (more commonly) disadvantages: less cinematic elements of combat.

 Charges (FHC p. 118). Each spell can only be 3) Knockback used once (or twice, or fourteen—whatever Fantasy Hero combat by default features the ability you want) times a day. to knock an opponent off their feet if you deal enough  Concentration (FHC p. 120). Requires focus to damage. However, there’s a simple set of knockback properly use, during which time the user is rules that make it easy to send opponents flying with vulnerable. every strike instead. This really helps give you the feel  Extra Time (FHC p. 123). Requires more time of some of the wilder martial arts movie battles, with than normal to properly use. mighty punches and kicks sending people flying into  Focus (FHC p. 124). Spells must be cast (and through!) walls. through an item, and/or require (usually expendable) spell components. 4) Hit Locations  Gestures (FHC p. 125). One or both hands must Hit location rules are commonly used in Fantasy be free to use the power. Hero games, allowing you to get a better feel of where  Incantations (FHC p. 126). You must be free to you hit and increasing a sense of realism: you roll 3D6 speak loudly and clearly to use the power. after every hit and consult the Hit Location Chart to  Increased Endurance Cost (FHC p. 126). The see how your base damage is modified. At the same power is especially tiring to use. time, if you’re not interested in that level of detail,  Limited Power (FHC p. 128). Entire spell they’re fully optional. schools can be made that only work at night, or only work when following god X’s purpose, or How Do I Know If My Stats Are High Or Low? only vs. the undead, or only on Tuesdays, or… There’s an official Hero System Bestiary containing  Reduced Endurance (FHC p. 135). The power many dozens of monsters and animals for you to face. draws less on the user than normal. On the next page you’ll see a comparison chart that  Requires a Roll (FHC p. 135). The power gives you a ballpark range of stats to work with and doesn’t work automatically. weigh characters against, based on the Bestiary and  Side Effects (FHC p. 138). If the power fails, FHC’s STR chart (see FHC, p. 17). something bad happens… However, to some degree this is set by the GM and the campaign. For example, is SPD 4 really superior? If Applying one or more of the above to all spells cast the GM decides your average warrior is SPD 4, then by a certain type of magic user can ensure that a no: it’s average. Is OCV or DCV 6 good? Again, not if system has a particular feel to it. When you combine the GM sets the averages above that. this with regulating which types of spells certain users Additionally, following the comparison chart you’ll can wield (e.g. illusion spells, necromancy spells), you see official Bestiary write-ups for two monsters: a basic can easily make magic and magic wielders that are orc and a formidable demon hound. both mechanically and thematically distinct.

Can I Adjust The Feel Of Combat? There’s a lot of ways to adjust how Fantasy Hero combat plays out to make it convey the campaign tone you’re going for. Here’s a few suggestions.

1) Bleeding and Injuries If you want a gritty, teeth-clenched, realistic feel to your battles, there are optional rules for additional STUN and BODY loss through bleeding out, as well as special effects for taking especially serious blows.

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CHARACTERISTICS COMPARISON

Weak Challenged Average Skilled Superior Legendary Superhuman STR 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-30 31+ DEX 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-30 31+ CON 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-30 31+ INT 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-50 51+ EGO 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-50 51+ PRE 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-50 51+

OCV/DCV 1 2 2-3 3-4 5-7 8-10 11+ OMCV/DMCV 1 2 2-3 3-4 5-7 8-10 11+ SPD 1 1 2 3 4-5 6-7 8+ PD/ED 0-1 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 11-15 16+ REC 1 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-10 11-13 14+ END 1-4 6-10 11-20 21-26 27-40 41-60 61+ BODY 1-2 3-5 6-10 11-13 14-20 21-30 31+ STUN 1-4 7-11 12-20 21-27 28-40 41-60 61+

Running 1-2m 3-6m 7-12m 13-16m 17-20m 21-26m 27+m Leaping 0-1m 1-2m 3-4m 5-6m 7-10m 11-22m 23+m Swimming 0-1m 1-2m 3-4m 5-6m 7-10m 11-18m 19+m

Weak Challenged Average Skilled Superior Legendary Superhuman Typical Olympic- Grizzly bear, Elephant, A child, Average STR Infant weight-lifter, level weight- Draft horse, Cave bear, the elderly human Orc lifter Minotaur Triceratops A child, Orc, Hippogriff, Djinn, DEX ~ ~ Gods the elderly Hobgoblin Chimera Weretiger A child, Orc, Centaur, Ogre, CON ~ ~ Gods the elderly Wild boar Cockatrice Minotaur Imbecile, Unicorn, Succubus, Lich, INT ~ ~ Gods Zombie Gorgon Djinn Dragons Weak-willed Succubus, Demon EGO ~ ~ Gorgon Gods human Wyvern Prince PRE ~ Coward ~ Giant Rat Phoenix Lich Gods

A child, Orc, Zombie, Vampires, Elementals, OCV/DCV ~ ~ Gods The elderly Skeleton Lich War Demon Orc, Vampires, Elder OMCV/DMCV ~ ~ ~ Gods Hobgoblin Lich Dragons

SPD ~ ~ ~ Orc Vampires Demon Prince Gods PD/ED ~ ~ ~ Wight Crocodile Troll Wyvern REC ~ ~ ~ Orc Tiger Ogre Kraken Orc, Gorilla, Minotaur, Elder END ~ ~ ~ Hobgoblin Werewolf Troll, Hydra Dragon BODY ~ ~ ~ Orc Werewolf Hill Giant Triceratops Orc, Gorilla, Rhino, Troll, Cloud Giant, STUN ~ ~ ~ Hobgoblin Giant Wolf Fomorian T-Rex

Ogre, Dog, Tiger, Troll, Giants, Cheetah, Running ~ ~ ~ Wolf Werewolf Riding horse Velociraptor Leaping ~ ~ ~ Velociraptor Deer Werewolf Giant Spider Swimming ~ ~ ~ Polar Bear Crocodile Killer Whale

~ Repeat from last entry above ORC STR Char Cost roll Notes Cost Powers eND 12 str X 11- Lift 133 kg; 2d6 HTH damage [1] orcish hide: Resistant (+½) for 1 PD/1 ED 0 12 dEx ON 11- 5 orcish Eyes: Nightvision 0 13 Con I NT 8 int GO 11- PER Roll 11- 3 orcish senses: +1 PER with all Sense Groups 0 8 Ego -2 11- Skills 10 prE 0 11- PRE Attack: 2d6 3 Stealth 11- V oCv 5 4 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons 4 dCv 5 total powers & skills Cost: 16 SPDv 0 3 dmCv 0 total Cost: 55 3 spd 10 Phases: 4, 8, 12 D pd 3 Total: 5 PD (1 rPD) 4 Ed ND Total: 4 ED (1 rED) 6 rEC 2 25 End 1 13 body 3 26 stun 3 total Characteristics Cost: 39 movement: Running: 12m oPTioNS

Cost Power 10 Fangs: HKA ½d6 (1d6+1 with STR) 8 Claws: HKA ½d6 (1d6+1 with STR); Reduced Penetra- tion (-¼) +6 black orc: Buy Fangs and Claws (above), and add +3 STR, +2 CON, +1 BODY +9 grey orc: Reduce STR to 10 and add +3 DEX, +5 INT (20) psychological Complication: Aversion To Sunlight (Common, Total) (15) psychological Complication: Hatred Of [Another Tribe, Race, Or People] (Common, Strong) EeMON hOUND Val Char Cost roll Notes S str 10 13- Lift 400 kg; 4d6 HTH damage [2] Cost Powers eND X dEx 14 12- 30 Fiery breath: RKA 2d6 4 ON Con 7 12- Armor Piercing (+¼); Limited Range (18m; -¼) int -2 11- PER Roll 11- 22 demonhound’s Fangs: HKA 1d6 (2d6-1 with STR) 2 GO Ego 0 11- Penetrating (+½) 20 prE 10 13- PRE Attack: 4d6 15 demonhound Claws: HKA 1d6 (2d6 with STR) 1 V oCv 15 30 infernal shield: Physical and Energy Damage 6 dCv 15 Reduction, Resistant, 25% 0 SPDv 0 4 demon’s skin: Resistant (+½) for 4 PD/4 ED 0 3 dmCv 0 5 infernal Form: Life Support (Longevity: Immortality) 0 4 spd 20 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 10 demon’s legs: Running +10m (22m total) 2 10 pd 8 Total: 10 PD (4 rPD) 2 demon’s legs: Leaping +4m (8m forward, D Ed 8 Total: 10 ED (4 rED) 4m upward) 1 ND EC 4 5 demon’s Eyes: Infrared Perception (Sight Group) 0 35 End 3 5 demonhound’s nose: Tracking for Normal Smell 0 18 body 8 36 stun 8 total Characteristics Cost: 128 6 demonhound’s senses: +2 PER with all Sense Groups 0 ovement: Running: 22m total powers & skills Cost: 134 Leaping: 8m total Cost: 262

Complications 20 distinctive Features: Aura Of Infernal Evil (Concealable With Effort; Causes Fear) 20 physical Complication: Animal Intelligence (Frequently, Greatly Impairing) 0 physical Complication: Human Size 20 physical Complication: Very Limited Manipulation (Frequently, Greatly Impairing) 25 psychological Complication: Utterly Evil (Very Common, Total) 25 susceptibility: to holy places and objects, takes 2d6 damage per Phase demon is on holy ground, in a holy place, or within 2m of a holy object (Common)

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I Want To Know More For ready to go campaign settings, you have several The base rulebook for Fantasy Hero is Fantasy Hero options. All but the last were written for the previous Complete: edition of Hero, but are adaptable with next to no work (since setting isn’t something that relies too much on Book + PDF: rules): http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/508- fantasy-hero-complete-bookpdf/ The Turakian Age is classic high fantasy:

http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/417- PDF only: turakian-age-bookpdf/ http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/507- fantasy-hero-complete-pdf/ The Valdorian Age is a setting built around the Fantasy Hero Complete is all you need to play. rarely explored sword and sorcery theme. Low magic, few monsters, no other races—the feel is If you’re looking for sourcebooks and expansions, very gritty and Conan-esque: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/447- you have a variety of options. valdorian-age-book/ For a more thorough examination of the fantasy genre as a whole, with piles of extra suggestions on Tuala Morn is a setting built around Celtic myths how to run all sorts of fantasy games using the Hero and legends: System, there’s the Fantasy Hero PDF: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/414- tuala-morn-bookpdf/ http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/58- fantasy-hero-6th-edition-pdf/ Narosia: Sea of Tears is built around the latest edition of Hero, and is its own setting entirely, For a ton of monsters and animals, there’s the Hero rather than being built to emulate an existing genre System Bestiary: or mythos: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/532- Book + PDF: narosia-sea-of-tears-fantasy-rpg-pdf/ http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/81709/HERO-System- Bestiary

PDF only: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/78-the- hero-system-bestiary-pdf/

And for hundreds of spells, there’s the Hero System Grimoire:

Book + PDF: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/88363/The-HERO- System-Grimoire

PDF only: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/82-the- hero-system-grimoire-pdf/

For hundreds of magic items, Enchanted Items is excellent. Though for the previous edition, the changes applicable to this book are very small.

Book + PDF: http://www.herogames.com/forums/store/product/228- enchanted-items-bookpdf/

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Fantasy Hero Primer version 1.3

The art on pages 3, 5, 8, 12, 22, 23, and 27 is copyright © 2019 Martin McKenna (www.martinmckenna.net) and is used with kind permission.

Some artwork © 2015 Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved. See page 17.

Some artwork copyright William McAusland, used with permission. See page 19.

The art on pages 4 and 7 belongs to Rainwalker 1060: http://rainwalker1060.deviantart.com

The art on pages 8 & 10 and 11 & 14 belongs to unknown artists. If you are the artist, or know who they are, please contact me at [email protected].

The art on page 18 belongs to redcapture: http://redcapture.deviantart.com

The Orc and Demon Hound entries on pages 25 and 26 are from the HERO System Bestiary, copyright © 2002, 2010.

HERO System™® is DOJ, Inc.’s trademark for its roleplaying system. HERO System Copyright © 1984, 1989, 2002, 2009, 2012 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved. Fantasy Hero © 2003, 2010, 2015 by DOJ, Inc. d/b/a Hero Games. All rights reserved.