Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds
ISBN: 1-58366-033-X
128 pages, Trade Paperback, Perfect Bound
Retail: $24.99
Author: Allen Thomas and Jason Walters
Artists: Keith Curtis (cover), various (interior)
Obligatory notes:
1. This is not a d20 product. It is intended for use with the Hero System.
2. The cartographer (Keith Curtis) is so dang good that I went out and hired him myself.
3. This is a partial play test.
4. This review is spoiler light so I will be circumspect about the details of the individual adventures.
Overview:
Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds is a mixed book offering three adventures and several re-usable locations. It is for use with the Hero System but the adventures & locations are readily adapted to any RPG system. It is a 'stat light' book meaning that most of the text is descriptive or narrative in nature rather than a compendium of rules.
Art: Keith Curtis (also the cartographer) did the cover for FHBg. It is passable, but too cartoonish for my tastes. An interesting side note: Keith also designed the Fantasy Hero logo, which is IMO a first-rate job. The interior art just barely passes muster for professional quality barring the full-page black and white illustrations that open up chapters 3 & 4. Additionally, 2-3 other pieces stand out as very well done.
Cartography: As mentioned in the obligatory notes section, I like the cartographer so much that I also employ him for my own setting. The large number of maps included in this project are both clean and well done. The castle & the abbey deserve individual notice - both are large and busy buildings that could have been a disaster if handled incorrectly but really shine as examples of fine and utilitarian cartography at its best. The best part about the maps is that they are given a full page treatment at the end of the book for easy copying or scanning.
What makes this book outstanding?
It is hard for me to justify a rating of 5 but this book deserves it for the following:
a. The writing. Hero text is generally well written and concise but the authors of FHBg went a step beyond. The writing is engaging and entertaining while covering the subject adequately. This book holds its own with the best-written RPG supplements that I have read.
b. The story. Every piece in this book is connected in some manner to the prophecy of a rising god of darkness. Tepid, you say? Not so, the plot is engaging and subtle in its build up, the prophecy well constructed and well written, and each of the pieces can be used for long periods before the connection is discovered.
c. The details. Each location is preceded with a curt historical discussion. A good example is crenellation - why it was important and to whom the king gave permission to do it. A second example is the farmhouse - during the summer, goats are brought onto the roof to eat the living sod. Because of the sod, the house is nearly fire proof but the roof tends to overgrow in the spring and summer and the most efficient manner of disposing of it is to feed it to the goats.
d. The cartography. As previously mentioned it is both good looking and usable. I would like to see what the Cartographer could do with a color interior.
e. The NPCs. The downtrodden that are never mentioned. The NPCs in this book are hands down the best NPCs I have ever read. They are quirky. They stand out. Nearly each and every one of them will see play in my home game, from the manor lord who wishes that he was born into an itinerant family so the he could be free to quest to the obscenely short dwarf with the napoleon complex who has his clothes tailored to make him look taller - these NPCs are refreshingly original.
f. The usability. This adventure book is filled to the brim with items that are reusable in nearly any fantasy game. Maps, NPCs, magic items, and the master plot.
Chapter One: A night out of the Rain
This mini module includes the stereotypical scenario that finds the players in an Inn while the bad guys want attempt to evict everyone. It is often said that the stories are not new just the spin on them and the writers successfully spun this cliché into a very good adventure. Evil is both inside and outside of the Inn and there is a tangible goal for the bad folks. Their plans are sound and devious.
Chapter Two: From out of the Depths
This is another scenario that starts off innocuous but rapidly takes a 180 into the realm of the uniquely bizarre. The party is hired to investigate a mine that has recently stopped communicating with the king. Upfront we have the ever-popular dungeon delve but once past the front gates, so to speak, the party will confront a series of inventive challenges that could end up with them in another dimension or even on another world. The sole negative aspect to this adventure is that it does not 'drag & drop' easily.
Chapter Three: Eisburk-Beyond-The-Shoals
Easily my favorite adventure in the group. The party finds themselves in an undermanned castle facing an overwhelming siege. The dynamics of this adventure are well thought out and accommodate both skirmish level of play and/or individual level of play. Careful attention was given so that the PCs may be directly involved and be suitably heroic rather than just another mook manning the walls. Like the previous two adventures, this one stands out not for its cunning set up but for its refreshing take on a staple type of adventure.
Chapter Four: Fantasy Locations
The adventures were excellent but few publishers are willing to gamble on publishing a book of nothing but adventures and Hero Games is no different. The goodies in this case are 8 stand-alone locations that have a very high reuse factor for overworked GMs. The locations covered are an Abbey, a Manor House, an Ifrits Magical Bottle, a Taproom, a Potion Shop, a Prison, a Farmhouse, and a Mages Tower. Each locale is well mapped and well written providing several adventure hooks for each. As mentioned, the discussions on each location are wonderful.
In Review - normally I am stuck debating the numerical score but in this instance, it was easy. The book has flaws - namely the art, the lack of portability in the second adventure, and it requires the use of two other books for full utilization (Fantasy Hero Grimore for spells & Monsters, Minions, & Marauders for a few of the creature write ups). However, those just fade into the background during the reading and playing of the modules. If a book is so good that I forget about how could it be better than it is good enough for a 5. If there is a major negative draw back to the book it is that the story does not conclude! I want another book and I want the climax of the engaging tale begun in Fantasy Hero Battlegrounds. That is a not so subtle hint!
Eosin
