Fantasy Hero

Fantasy Hero is a role-playing game book that supports the Fantasy genre using the Hero System rules. Since the release of the 5th edition of the Hero System, Steven S. Long of Hero Games has published a new version of the Fantasy Hero book, as well as several supplementary publications to support Fantasy Hero-based campaigns. The Hero system book is required to make full use of this work in a game. The book contains information that is useful to both the Game Master (GM) and the Players. Recently, a new edition of Fantasy Hero has been released, updating the genre book to the new Hero System 6th Edition.

The 5th edition book is a fairly extensive work, with 416 pages of text bound in a stiff-paper cover. Each 21.5 × 27.5 cm-sized page is printed in double-column text with occasional side-bar information. The interior is moderately illustrated with non-color drawings, while the jacket has a full-color painting. The book received the Gold Medal ENnie Award in 2004 for Best Non-D20 Supplement.

A substantial portion of the book consists of information about fantasy gaming that is non-game-system-specific. This content can be used by game masters who want to create their own campaign setting, or to modify an existing publication to suit their interests. The remainder of the work then delves into specifics of the Hero system in a fantasy campaign. However the flexible nature of the system is utilized throughout the book, allowing the Game Master to attune the rules to fit their setting.

The seven chapters in this work cover the following topics: an overview of the fantasy genre; information for constructing player characters; rules for combat in a fantasy setting; various systems of magic and spell creation; the geographic, cultural, economic, and social aspects of fantasy societies; advice about creation of a campaign setting and how to run a game, and a small number of sample characters and structures that can be inserted into a campaign.

Fantasy characters in the Hero system are built using the point-based method. That is to say, each of the character's statistics are determined by spending "character points" based on the costs listed in the Hero system rules manual. The listed character races are the conventional types commonly found in many fantasy settings for role-playing games. Thus it includes the usual dwarves, elves, gnomes, and halflings found in Dungeons & Dragons, as well as giants, centaurs, orcs, trolls, and so forth. The race-specific modifiers are provided in the form of "packages" which can then be adjusted by the player, based on the allowances by the GM.

The character skills are described as they relate to fantasy settings, with recommendations for the GM. In particular there is a listing of the various professional and knowledge-based skills relevant to these settings. Skills that are specific to more advanced societies are listed as such. Similar commentaries are given for the prequisites, talents, and especially the powers available to the characters. Finally the book includes a lengthy list of equipment available for the character, although such a listing will likely need to be modified based on the type of setting.

True to the nature of the genre, there is extensive information provided both on tactical combat and on the use of magic. The system allows flexibility in implementing the type of magic system that the GM wants to make available in their setting. The magic discussion is replete with examples, something that is often necessary for newcomers to this system. There is also a "mass combat system" for use when the characters are operating as part of a much larger force.