The Ultimate Character Creation System and Roleplay Aid for All Heroic Fantasy Roleplaying Games! A detailed, stand-alone system for creating thoroughly individualized, involved and invigorating backgrounds, personalities, motivations, and skills for both player characters and nonplayer characters. DESIGN CREDITS Heroes of Legend, First Edition Heroes of Legend, Second Edition Author, Cover Artist, Illustrator Paul Jaquays New Material, Fiction, Layout, Editing Robert L. Sassone Editor Ruta Jaquays Publisher John Olsen, Task Force Games Logotype Design Darlene Editing, Production Timothy D. Olsen Special Thanks Mike Stackpole & Mark O'Green Additional Review Jamie Sassone Additional Review Randy Cox, Bob Leake, Logo Artist David Martin Tamara Wieland, Jennifer Matthies & Heather Matthies. Cover Artist John Matson Interior Artist Darla Hallmark "This book is lovingly dedicated to my wife Ruta, who has seen it develop over the last seven years and who has "Thanks to my family and to John and Tim for making had more than a little to say on its final content and form." this Second Edition possible, but also thanks to you, the –Paul Jaquays, 1988 discriminating gamer who recognizes the quality and value of this book," –Robert L. Sassone, 1995 Player One: Hey, Bill, you gonna' be there for th' campaign tonight? Did you decide which character you're gonna' take in? So, What's the Player Two: Are you kidding? We hit the Gambling Pit tonight! I wouldn't miss it for anything! . .. Oh, and I decided to bring in Gorg the Warrior. Difference? Player One: Really? What happened to Gruk the Strong? Player Two: Well, Gruk's strong, but I decided to go with Gorg's extra endurance. Player One: True . not that it makes a difference. If you've seen one warrior, you've seen them all. Right? Make a difference Perhaps the most important components As Paul Jaquays stated in the opening to of any gaming world are the characters who Heroes of Legend first edition, "If your charac­ with Central inhabit it. The effective combination of variety, ters end up seeming like heroes (or antiheroes) Casting: Heroes of depth and, most of all, creativity in players' out of melodramatic fiction, then Heroes of Legend! characters and members of the game master's Legend has done its job. The desired goal here "supporting cast" will determine the success or is good, fun role-playing, not the creation of failure of the role-playing campaign. More than superhuman beings." This new, second edition simply spark interest, characters must come to of the original Central Casting character back­ life. ground generator contains new, revised and Enter Central Casting: Heroes of Legend. expanded material, but the goal for its creation The Central Casting series of role-playing of character histories remains the same. products helps you, the role-play gamer, create Game masters and players alike will find in detailed, exciting, and even mysterious role- Heroes of Legend an invaluable role-playing playing campaigns. Heroes of Legend, the first aid. With Heroes of Legend, characters come book in the Central Casting series (now re­ alive in colorful detail of epic caliber. Dozens leased in its revised, expanded and improved of tables guide every move, leading from each second edition format), generates fantasy back­ character's genesis to his or her first steps down grounds for player and non-player characters the road to adventure. On the way, characters alike, determining details such as unusual birth learn occupational skills, pick up personality and childhood events, family histories, occupa­ traits, gain unusual pets, experience lost loves, tional experiences, social standing, and even and much, much more. "dark-side" traits and hidden, unsavory secrets. "If you've seen one warrior, you've seen Heroes of Legend creates unusual characters them all. Right?" Not anymore! Not with that break out of the mundane norm. Central Casting: Heroes of Legend! Central Casting: Heroes of Legend is not ters and the extent of victory will be determined Other Uses and limited to just creating character histories. A by table 633 Battle Events. clever (or desperate) CM can use this book to Between Adventures: Between each ad­ Abuses double for a vast array of other role-playing aids. venture, choose one character to be the subject It can be used as a combat system for battles (or victim) of an event. Select the event with between armies. It can form the basis for section 419 Significant Events of Adulthood, and adventure scenarios. It can also fill the time modify the event to work with the character's between adventures with interesting happen­ current circumstances. Be sure to involve other ings, create businesses for a town, predict the player characters in some way, and have the future, or set up random street encounters. All event affect subsequent campaign play. it takes is a little imagination. Who's Minding the Store: Need to select Wars and Rumors of Wars: Use section businesses for a town? First, decide the town's 633 Combat! to fight wars quickly. Always let Cultural Level. For civilized towns, also deter­ the player character's side (or a side which mine the Social Level of the neighborhood you favors the player characters) roll a d20 first, then are creating. Then use the Occupation Table roll a d20 for the enemy, adding or subtracting appropriate for the Culture and Social Level as appropriate to account for the size of the (see sections 310 through 313) to randomly opposing forces. The side with the highest select businesses in that area. You may wish to result wins, but additional effects for the charac- modify the table to include residences, public buildings and religious edifices. You can also character backgrounds for your science fiction, use table 107b Items of Note to help define the modern day and near future game systems. In shop's proprietor. a pinch, though, you can create a character Soothsaying: Use Heroes of Legend to background for those games by using Heroes of predict a character's future. Often a character Legend and converting elements of fantasy and will want to know things like, "When and how magic to something more appropriate to your will I die?" or "Whom will I marry?" Section 643 required era. For example, in a science fiction Death Situations can be used to describe the game, you may decide that your "barbarian type of death that awaits the character should horsemaster" is actually a primitive authority on he choose to stop adventuring. 640 Ah, Love! transports powered by internal combustion can be used to tell about a future love affair. engines. If you determine that the same charac­ Use 419 Significant Events of Adulthood to give ter suffers under a curse that sends a ghost or a brief glimpse of the near future. Timing is up evil spirit to attack him every so often, perhaps to the CM, but offer these futures as possible the "ghost" could actually be an extra-dimen­ futures, generally assuming the character does sional being or an alien bent on controlling the not die on the next adventure. character's mind. Random Street Encounters: Use section No Limits! Let your mind wander, and 745 Others to determine randomly encoun­ take Heroes of Legend with you! This huge tered people on the street or to fill a bar, inn or resource of fantasy gaming information will brothel with clientele. prove useful in any number of situations which Non-Fantasy Games: Additional Central are only limited by your own imagination. It is Casting products, Heroes for Tomorrow and your book, so use it however you wish, and be Heroes Now! will help you create detailed creative! (This is your book, right?) Central Casting™: Heroes of Legend 2nd (806) 372-1266, and our fax number is (806) Edition is written and published by 372-1361. Publisher's Task Force Games Players can contact Task Force Games via P. O. Box 50145 the GEnie computer network at the GEmail Information Amarillo,TX 79159-0145 address TFG, via [email protected]., Send the following correspondence to Task via CompuServe at 76443,3031, or via Ameri­ Force Games: requests for catalogs, orders for ca Online at TFG1. For more information about spare parts, replacement of defective or miss­ the GEnie network, please call them direct at 1­ ing parts, submissions of art (photocopies only, 800-638-9636 (voice only). For more informa­ please), rules questions, and inquiries into the tion about CompuServe, call them at 1-800-848­ release schedule of various products. The TFG 8990 in the US; 0800 289458 in the UK. mail order service accepts Visa, Mastercard, On America Online, look for Task Force and Discover. All consumer correspondence Games in the Gaming Company Support area (other than mail orders) requires a stamped, (keyword; GCS). self-addressed envelope. Our phone number is Central Casting™: Heroes of Legend 2nd Central Casting can be published by any party Edition and all contents thereof are copyright© without the advanced written permission of Copyright and 1995 by Task Force Games. All rights are Task Force Games. reserved under the Pan-American, Berne, and Central Casting is Task Force Games' trade­ Trademark International Copyright Conventions. No ma­ mark for its game aids dealing with character Information terial which is based on, for use with, incorpo­ and adventure creation. rates elements of, or is designed for use with "You've seen those ads for magic growth pills that flesh out 90 pound weaklings into 280 pound behemoths who never get sand kicked into their faces again? Heroes of Legend does that Shameless for characters." —Author of Superb Fantasy Role-Playing Supplements Endorsements "I hates flat char'cterz, I duz.