itch.io

Hello, I believe I added this entry twice to increase the chance of this weapon occurring as a weapon which was more commonly used.

Hey @rkhigdon, it's next on the list of books to update but real life is getting in the way. Probably likely to have a draft out by Xmas but don't hold me to that.

Hey thanks for taking the time to post. What house rules have you applied out of interest?

Yes, the target level limitation only applies if this is marked in italics in the spell description. 

For example, some spell affects that could harm/constrain an opponent may need to be cast at a higher level to succeed (more effort required to affect a higher level target and it avoids a situation where low level spells can be spammed to defeat a tough opponent). Where the effect is beneficial and welcome, this tends not to apply.

Thanks for checking out the game.

Hey Grymm428, thanks for the question (and any question is good feedback on how things could be explained better).  

Only the spell effects stated in brackets of the spell description apply to the spell.

So the limitations on the Heal spell is just the range and effect die. If you cast it at a higher level then you can cast it further and it heals more. The target level doesn't apply here.

For the Missile spell (Missile (Range, Targets = Number of Missiles) then the factors that you can increase are the number of missiles you cast, each one does d6 damage. (i.e. level 1 = 1 missile at d6, level 2 = 2 missiles at d6 and level 3 = 4 missiles at d6).

Does that make it clearer?

The Referee's Guide needs to be updated first (and this may be an update and expansion) so a while away yet. Not sure whether I will update the Compendium or just close it down as it will be out of date.

Yes, the plan is to update both the Monsters Compendium and Referees Guide.

There’s a first version of the Monsters Compendium available on the Discord channel out for early feedback. Revised Referees Guide will follow afterwards.

Thanks for checking out the game.

Hey there, thanks for checking out the game. Sorry to say I can't help you with Lulu specific issues but I can confirm that I have successfully printed the zine in A5 size at a (local to UK) place I use www.doxzoo.com with no issues. I believe they post outside the UK if an alternative printer is an option. 

I've posted some specific print instructions here for Doxzoo.

FYI - I am not affiliated with Doxzoo in anyway but am a happy customer of their services.

Hey Hapshant, thanks for taking the time to post.

Heroes of Adventure is a constantly evolving system as I continue to playtest and tweak this along with an improvement in my own layout and presentation skills. In terms of the key thinking behind version 3.

• I wanted to streamline and rationalise the system to make it as easy as possible to play.
• I definitely wanted to streamline the character creation system (the current ABC, Ancestry, Background and Class choices with fixed starting benefits mean characters can be created in 5 minutes).
• I wanted to introduce the 'inspiration' system to give players a simpler and more flexible way to use spells/abilities.
• General layout and presentation improvements.
• Reverted to some classic names (Elf, Dwarf). HoA is a homage to classic fantasy adventure games I wanted to revert to that theme.
• Will definitely be revising the core rulebooks (Players, Referee, Monsters books) not sure on the supplements yet.

There's a small friendly discord community here if you want to chat about the game further. I also post draft versions of upcoming releases for feedback.

Fantastic, thanks very much for sharing your story. It's great to see other people using the system.

The latest version of the Heroes of Adventure Players Handbook has now been publicly released and can be downloaded for free here https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure-players-handbook

This book contains all the information a player need to create and manage their characters (heroes) in the Heroes of Adventure game.

The key changes from the previous version includes.

• Revised (and faster) character creation (The "ABC method" i.e. Ancestry, Background, Class). It now takes 5 mins to create a hero.
• Expanded ancestries and reverted to traditional names.
• Rationalised classes to 10 but added 4 class options each.
• Added "Inspiration" statistic, a pool of points which are spent on spells and ability use.
• Layout, art and presentation updated.
• Lots of rule tweaks, edits and balancing.
• Spells and spell system refined.
• Experience Point system simplified.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, commented, tested and provided feedback on the revised Players Handbook.

Hey everyone, Heroes of Adventure (Bookmark Edition) has just been released and can be downloaded for free at the link below:

https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure-bookmark-edition

This is a cut down version of the Heroes of Adventure ruleset in portable format and was created as a design test to see if I could shrink the core game rules into a 1 page RPG format.

There are 5 downloads covering; Rules, Hero Creation, Monsters, Equipment and a mini Adventure Setting. Each of these can be printed on 2 sides of an A4 page and then folded to create a bookmark style format.

Enjoy!

Hey pale81, thanks for checking out the content I've released and taking the time to post a comment. 

I'm not the owner but there is a discord server and here's the link https://discord.gg/cQj5nrFr9A

Feel free to drop by.

Sounds like a sensible approach, the game is there to be tweaked and hacked.

Oooh nice question. It's not specifically covered with the rules so I would suggest this is referee's choice/decision.

A couple of thoughts:

• You could just add a new skill of Arts/Entertainment
• You could link this to skill with an instrument i.e. agility or sleight of hand
• You could link this to the outcome of music i.e. command or guile

Let me know what you choose to do.

Hey zanaffar81, thanks for checking out the game.

In answer to your questions, the spell 'stat block' determines the effects of the spell.

• Portal spell, you have interpreted this correctly. The term 'resisted' was added to help clarify that a level 3 or above Monster can resist (i.e. being cast into a portal against their will). 
• Blackfire spell, the stat block should over-rule the description here. I could tighten the wording to 'engulfs all targets within range' and leave the spell stat block to inform how many targets and range.
• Please note that all spells can be 'amplified' (Page 51 of the Players Handbook) and so targets and range for example can be increased by spending more health.

Hope this clarifies your questions and thanks for the feedback.

Hey Mike, yes skills increase from 0 > d4 >d6 > d8 > d10 > d12 max. However, these only increase when you improve the skill.

When you gain a level you can increase 1 attribute and 2 skills to the next skill die so not every skill will be increased each level.

You may also find some attributes or skills may improve more than once at creation if they are chosen twice through class/race combination or player choice.

Hope this helps.

Looks great, thanks for showing an interest in the system. Let us know if you ever end up running a session.

Introduction

Our party of adventurers entered the village of Ashburn on a sunny summers day to find the place quiet and deserted. Our group consisted of Lady Nova and Lady Sky, the daughters of Lord Jameson ruler of the local lands who have been sent on a mission to visit the local villagers whom they are sworn to protect as part of their education. Accompanying them is their bodyguard, the young noble knight Sir Gallant along with the expert hunter and tracker Aurora and finally making up the group is the ladies tutor Friar Hugh, their educator and advisor.

• Lady Sky, Level 1 Human Mage
• Lady Nova, Level 1 Human Mage
• Sir Gallant, Level 1 Human Knight
• Aurora, Level 1 Human Ranger
• Friar Hugh, Level 1 Human Cleric

This was the first face to face session I was running in a long time and I was running the game for a group of rpg newbies with a broad age range (from 6yrs old to teenagers to someone in their 70’s) and I was using my home-brew system (Heroes of Adventure). In view of the age range I was going to keep the tone fairly light (i.e. avoiding graphic detail and heavy violence for example).

To keep things nice and simple, I had pre-generated the characters and matched the heroes roles with the profile of the players (i.e. the youngest two played the two daughters and the eldest player portrayed Friar Hugh). With little to no rpg playing experience in the group the rules were broken down into the following two points.

1. This is a ‘story’ game where you each portray a character (like a part in a play). You play most of the game by telling me what you would like your character to do and I will then explain what happens next.
2. Sometimes, I may ask you to roll a dice to determine the outcome of an action. You roll the d20 die and the higher result the better.

Each player was given a character sheet and their own set of dice (which they could keep afterwards as a momento of their first ever game) and I made sure to give each person a couple of interesting pieces of equipment (potions, scrolls etc) they could use in the game and then we jumped into the first scene.

In addition, I had hand drawn a map of the rooms (on A3 paper) which I could piece together or replace as they moved from room to room. I had created some 2D miniatures to help the group visualise their characters exploring the adventure location. During the exploration phase I simply asked them to move and position their characters where they wanted and would ‘pause’ them somewhere if this led to a clue, hazard or encounter.

The Adventure

The group made their way to the centre of the village to see a woman kneeling down and sobbing next to a stone statue. Some gentle questioning and interaction revealed some ruffians had broken the hand of the statue and stolen it away and were last seen heading towards the abandoned temple at the edge of the forest. The stone statue was said to bring good fortune and fertile lands to the village and the missing piece must be returned otherwise some corruption may befall the village. To emphasise the point, the grass near the foot of the statue had started to darken and turn to ash.

This was the players first NPC interaction with the visibly upset villager (Merelle) and was intended to set the scene and give them a clear objection (return the missing piece of the statue) and a destination (the abandoned temple). The party wanted to make sure Merelle was safe and I gently fast-forwarded her safe return home and moved them onto the front of the temple where the adventure started.

The party arrived at an old abandoned template forgotten by time on the edge of the forest, its moss covered stone features suggesting it has been abandoned for centuries. A large twisting gnarled tree seems to have grown through the building from the inside with its roots and branches weaving around and through crumbling walls. As you approach the sturdy oaken entrance door you hear a voice snapping at you from behind the door.

The words were unclear to most of the party however, Lady Nova and Friar Hugh understand the darkling tongue, the language spoken by Goblins, Wretches and other underground dwelling creatures. The words were translated to ‘I am King Snotweezle and you have trespassed on my lands. You are not welcome here, go away!”. From further behind the door, the party could also hear the deep growling sounds of some sort of beast inside the temple.

This encounter introducted the main protagonist King Snotweezle, a dastardly, cunning but cowardly Goblin and sign-posted a potential danger (the beasts) inside the first room. After a brief interaction, King Snotweezle closed the door and ran away, the chase was on.

Sir Gallant bravely sprinted forward and opened the door followed by the rest of the group which revealed a room with crumbling pillars either side and a set of steps ahead leading to another room. Next to the steps were two very large makeshift kennels from which the group could hear some deep growls and the clanking of chains, there was no sign of King Snotweezle. As they entered the room from within the shadows of the kennel they could make out the movement of two very large wolves (Direwolves) within the shadows of the kennels.

This was the players first challenge, two powerful creatures potentially blocking the party’s advance although the clanking of chains suggested they were locked up. The youngest player of the group (6 years old!) cleverly identified her sleeping potion as an option and they poured the potion over some fresh meat carried by the Ranger and threw two slabs of doctored meet into the kennels. I made a check to see how this would affect each of the wolves with one falling asleep and one resisting.

I had some printed pictures of any monsters and adversaries and displayed the picture of the fearsome Direwolf to help the players visualise the beast.

The group scoured their equipment and found one carried some wolfsbane (which I indicated was a toxic plant wolves do not like) and allowed then to throw it near the kennel so the remaining Direwolf so it retreated back and the party continued onwards having overcome the first challenge.

The party entered a long wide hallway in a darkened room, to the right a stair case covered in thick cobwebs led up to an attic level and ahead stood a closed wooden door.

There was some brief debate about which direction to head and the group correctly decided that King Snotweezle didn’t go upstairs otherwise he would have damaged the cobwebs leaving a trail. They searched the hallway and identified some scuff marks on the floor which they found was caused by a shifting wall leading to a secret chamber to the left.

The party peered into the secret chamber which was covered in loose rocks and debris fallen from an unstable ceiling. In the centre of the room lay a large wooden table and chairs and a wooden hatch leading downwards. However, their eyes were drawn to an open wooden chest full of sparking gems and jewels which sparkled and glistened lighting up the room.

The chest was an illusion created by the crafty King Snotweezle as a diversion and the group resisted the temptation to interact with a seemingly obvious trap/distraction. They searched the room and opened the hatch which led down to a deeper level in the darkness. They sent one of the players familiars (a cat named Midnight) into the tunnel and after a few minutes of waiting and then gently calling for its return it sprinted back covered in sweat and seemingly startled (signposting a potential danger in the deeper level).

Friar Hugh cautioned the group as to the potential dangers below and they made their way out of the chamber back into the hallway and through the wooden door which led to a room where the structural integrity of the floor had succumbed to the advance of nature as roots and branches had ripped up the floor causing it to warp and break leaving loose earth, dust, debris, holes and unstable flagstones. The party could see another wooden door at the far end of the room.

This room was a trap due to the instability of the floor. However, on the physical map I had drawn some faint footsteps in the dust which successfully led them to the door. No checks or dice rolls were required this was simply a ‘player’ test to see if they could work out the (fairly obvious) clue. The group successfully navigated the correct route to the next room.

I had been making random encounter checks every turn but so far the party had been careful with their approach and hadn’t encountered any denizens.

Opening the wooden door led to a dimly lit room where the stone walls and ceiling were buckling under the weight of large tree roots growing through the ceiling. The wall and ceiling has collapsed on one side of the room leaving rocks, stones and boulders although this was now covered in thick cobwebs. In the centre of the room stood a large statue of a man formed of rock who stands in front of an impressive looking portcullis leading to a room beyond. Two additional passageways lead north and south.

This room gave the party a few options (i.e. which way to explore). However, hidden amongst the collapsed wall and ceiling were a couple of dormant Giant Spiders which could be awoken. The party examined the statue but found no way to activate it (the solution was elsewhere) and tried to open the portcullis which was sealed shut due to a rusted chain. Sir Gallant started to smash the chain with his mace which echoed loudly around the room and awoke the Giant Spiders which moved to attack. Aurora the Ranger had the highest senses skill and I allowed a check to see if she heard their approach. A low roll meant the party were surprised the Giant Spiders tore into the group biting both Sir Gallant and Aurora causing minor wounds before the party rallied and defeated the spiders.

I usually run an ‘individual initiative’ approach (i.e. everyone rolls individually with group rolls for similar monsters and we take it in turns from highest to lowest). However, at the table with several excited players each wanting to do something I found it easier to control the combat turn from a ‘side initiative’ (monsters act then players act in turn) along with a ‘left to right’ approach around the table. Having established this approach people then knew when it would be their turn and everyone had a chance to act in the spotlight.

The combat encounter wasn’t difficult with strength of numbers leading to a quick victory with a few minor wounds.

Sir Gallant decided that whilst he could break the chain eventually the noise was likely to attract more creatures and the party took the northern passageway through a door to a large room which unfolded like a vibrant tapestry of life with an array o lush greenery and plants covering the room from floor to ceiling. In the heart of the room lay a raised well adorned with soft moss and delicate vines connecting the plants. A wooden door stood closed at the far side of the room.

The group examined and tested the waters (dipping a staff then tasting a mouthful) in the well which had healing properties (the lush foliage all around being the clue) and those people with wounds healed themselves. No dice rolls were used at all here, this was simply determined by player descriptions of their actions.

Moving through the exit of the garden room led to a large unstable room, the ceiling above had collapsed leaving piles of rock and rubble on the floor next to thick roots which had grown upwards from below making travel potentially hazardous. In the centre of the room lay a marble statue of a cloaked woman, it had fallen and lay broken in two pieces on the floor. A further passageway led south ahead of the group.

The group searched the room and found a gold rimmed key hung on a small chain on the neck of the statue and cautiously navigated the hazardous terrain. If a combat situation was to take place this may have presented a danger of slipping or tripping but with sufficient time and care the group moved on.

The passageway led to a flight of stairs leading down and a locked door. Using the gold rimmed key from the previous room they opened the door to reveal a dust filled library, the musty air and dust causing the party to cough and sneeze. Within the room were shelves full of books, scrolls and parchments in various condition from readable to tattered fragments. From the amount of dust in the room, no-one had been in here for quite some time.

The group searched the room, Lady Sky using her magic lodestone to feel the vibration of magic leading her to finding two scrolls (Sleep and Animation). The remaining party members searched for useful books and particular any reference to King Snotweezle. This was a reasonable idea but the temple had been built centuries before King Snotweezle had lived so flawed idea but I did allow a random roll (d20, high good, low bad) to see if they could find anything useful which led to one character finding a book on the biology and ecology of monsters.

Putting away the books and scrolls from the library, the group cautiously made their way down the flight of steps lighting a lantern to illuminate their path ahead. A winding set of steps led to an underground room which was dominated by a large tree trunk growing in the centre of the room with various roots and branches extending outwards. Surrounding the walls of the room were different suits of armour on stands and hanging on the walls were shields and an assortment of old, dusty and rusted weapons. Lying next to the tree was the form of a green skinned humanoid leaving over the inert form of another of its species laid upon a bed of leaves but firmly held in place by a tree root.

This was the final encounter room where the story outcome would be revealed. Through a series of interactions and discussions the party identified the humanoid as King Snotweezle and the unconscious goblin as Griselda his Queen who was suffering some curse or sickness for which he required the hand of the statue (which contained a healing gem). This left the party with a simple dilemma of how to approach this situation and to complicate matters as they approached the tree, the form of a Wood Weird revealed itself as the source of the tree growth and curse.

A scene of chaos unfolded which was manic but good fun with some of the group trying to fight off the powerful and intimidating Wood Weird, some of the group trying to revive Griselda, one member of the party trying to steal back the statue hand from King Snotweezle and then trying to assassinate him with another member of the party trying to prevent harm coming to him. 

Having got a feel for their skills and abilities we had a series of illusions being created, the animate scroll being used to animate tree roots to crush King Snotweezle and then backfiring (natural 1) and causing the roots to start to crush the caster, the lantern and oil being thrown at the Wood Weird, the Knight stoutly defending his ground and losing his shield under a powerful attack by the Wood Weird.

Eventually, the group cut the roots away from Griselda and Friar Hugh used his healing hands to help Griselda recover. Lady Nova stole the statue hand from Snotweezle who then escaped with Griselda through a portal he cast. Friar Hugh led Lady Sky and Lady Nova away having recovered the statue hand leaving Aurora the Ranger and Sir Gallant the Knight to defend their retreat and fight off the Wood Weird which was narrowly defeated with both suffering serious wounds (down to a few health points left each). 

We fast forwarded to the epilogue to finish off the story. The statue hand was returned and resealed to the statue allowing the lands to once again grow to the thanks of the villagers of Ashburn. The party rested and recovered from their wounds having gained some valuable knowledge and experience of potential threats and dangers in then lands. Alas, King Snotweezle had escaped but his card was marked by members of the party although there was some healthy tension concerning his motives (to save Griselda) and the extent of his punishment should he be captured in the future.

Post Adventure Notes

Everyone enjoyed the game and participated and contributed to the story so I hope it was a success. I even received a message the next day to say the youngsters had still been talking about the adventure a day later and were looking forward to part 2 at some point in the future. 

A few things that I think worked well considered I was running the game for a group of newcomers with a wide variety of ages.

• We broke a 3-4 hour session into two parts with a lunch break which kept everyone’s concentration levels up.
• All I asked of the players was ‘tell me what you want to do/what’s your intent’ and I translated these into options with an idea of success/consequence (there’s a good chance this will work, you can try it but this might happen). The players could then make informed decisions over their actions and didn’t need to learn any rules to play the game.
• Giving a set of dice the players could keep was a nice token to remember the game by.
• We used pre-generated characters and dived straight into the game and only referred to the character sheet when needed. The only thing the players needed to track was their health score (hit points) and each player had a yellow ‘post it’ note they used to do this.
• I played a fast and flexible with the rules to keep the story moving forward which was mainly narration (i.e. 80%) with some (i.e. 20%) dice rolling.
• Using maps and miniatures gave the players visual references and something tangible to interact with (i.e. moving their character around the map).
• I kept the story simple and clear and introduced the dilemma (i.e. the protagonists motive) towards the end.
• I gave the players lots of things they could use (scrolls, potions etc) and interact with and encouraged lateral thinking (i.e. the sleeping potion on the meat to put the Direwolves to sleep).
• From a personal perspective, I don’t run a lot of games and have only really play with the same group of players (for many many years) but running a game with youngsters I felt more comfortable embellishing the NPC’s and monsters actions and behaviours (voices, sound effects, interactions etc) which (I hope) they enjoyed.

A few things which I’ve taken away as potential refinements for my home-brew system.

• ‘Side initiative’ and players acting in a clear sequence (left to right around the table) was quicker and much clearer to players and easier to follow then individual initiative.
• I have an idea on how I can streamline the limits on ability use (i.e. feats) even further to make this even easier for players to follow.
• I use a slot based inventory system but would like to design equipment tokens to provide some more tangible components the players can interact with.
• We didn’t track XP (as it was a one-shot) but this did make we think about the merits of a milestone vs. Individual XP award approach.

Hey Tovakwyrmstalker, thanks for the interest in the game. The A5 version is essentially the booklet sized images resized (i.e. shrunk and stretched) to fit the A5 format size. I was originally a little hesitant to produce this size as it is a bit of a pain trying to maintain multiple versions of multiple books so this was the compromise option.

I haven't personally printed the A5 size of the rules compendium (I have printed A5 copies of the individual books) but from uploading and looking at the document through Doxzoo it looks to me to be 'acceptable' (i.e. the image shown above doesn't cut-off the titles).

If you are printing through Doxzoo, you can use the A5 (cover included version) and select the 'Cover design is included' option if you are experiencing an issue with the pdf cover. The reason for the 'No Cover version' was to appease a few requests from people wanting to print through Lulu. 

It seems like that trying to cater for people's individual preferences opens up more challenges so you may just have to work with the files you have.

However, someone on the HoA sub-reddit has produced an A5 version (link here).

Hope that helps a bit.

Hey everyone. I have just released the next adventure, Magi of the Misty Isle which was based on the second campaign I ran for my players earlier this year and you can download this for free at this link. The adventure module contains:

• A map and overview of the Isle of Cadaris Mon
• An adventure plot (based on a Mage undergoing a trial to be accepted into the Order of Magi)
• 2 Settlements (The Acropolis and Fisher Town)
• 14 Adventure Sites (inc. The Citadel, a multi-level adventure site)
• 4 Factions
• 12 new Monsters

The adventure was largely written on a system neutral basis so can be adapted for other systems. The back page contains Monster & NPC statistics for the Heroes of Adventure system for those looking to use it with the system it was intended for.

Thank you to the handful of community members who helped me review and edit the draft version.

If anyone actually runs the adventure for their group then I would love to hear how those play sessions went.

Have a Merry Xmas everyone!

That looks fantastic, well done. Looking forward to seeing some solo play reports/experience.

Yes, its been added here https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure-rules-compendium

Hey Zsolan, apologies I'm on UK time so didn't see this earlier. I have had a look at this and uploaded an A5 pdf (resized as per above suggestions) with no front/back cover (replaced by blank pages to keep the page count at 180 pages). You can find it here https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure-rules-compendium

Let me know if that works for you (and interested in seeing a picture of any printed copies.

Hey there, I don't have a template as such. I use Affinity Publisher to create the books. The circle avatar is simple created with a base layer of the NPC portrait and then a top layer is added with a white circle and a hole from which you can see the portrait to give the circle avatar appearance, simple as that.

Hey there, I use Midjourney AI to create the art and use the in the style of 'darkest dungeon' and 'borderlands' as inspiration.

Sorry, no. The old version has been replaced by  v2 so the rules and stats are consistent with the Players Handbook and Referee's Guide.

Thanks for posting this, very useful.

Hey Lastiel, thanks for posting.

Can you elaborate on the issue with using the book way of generating a map. Are the instructions not clear or is this related to the fact that you are trying to play 'on the road' and a dice drop method doesn't work in your environment.

Assuming it's option 2. You could draw a 24x24 grid and then roll for where each die would fall on the basis that each different die equates to a number of different squares (i.e. d4 = 6 squares, d6 = 4 squares, d8 = 3 squares, d10 = 2 squares and d20 = 1 square). For the d10 & d20 you could shift the starting point along 2.

(Example. Assuming a 24 x 24 grid. I roll a d4 twice and get a 2 and a 3 and interpret this as 2 x 6 = 12 squares along and 3 x 6 = 18 squares up or down).

Alternatively just blindly mark the map page for each die by closing your eye and placing a dot perhaps twisting the map around 180 degrees for the second round.

In terms of solo, then the Fate Table on Page 6 is the most useful tool. I haven't tried solo play but if you have already created a map and stocked it then the environment is ready to explore. 

I hope this helps. Let us known how you get on.

Can be found here https://sousley2100.itch.io/fillable-character-sheet-for-heroes-of-adventure-v21 thanks to sousley2100 who created these (his work not mine)

Hey Grymm428, you have correctly interpreted the rules. When you learn a new spell domain you automatically become proficient with 2 spells from that list.

• A level 1 mage starts with Arcane Magic and can choose to be proficient with two spells from this domain. If they pick Form Magic as their other class ability then they can pick two more spells from the Form domain.
• When they reach level 2 they can pick 2 spells to be proficient in from any known spell domain.
• If they learn a new spell domain (new class ability say Earth Magic) then they automatically become proficient in 2 spells from this list.

Hope that clears it up for you.

Thanks for taking the time to post. Would love to hear about any play sessions you run.

PS - The author of the Vagabonds & Wastrels add-on is Logen Nein.

Hey Letharion, I have an image file I used for a box set mockup/gift I made for my players which you can see here.

https://itch.io/t/2561050/heroes-of-adventure-box-set-pics

It shouldn't take my very long to tweak this box set image size as a one-off.

Do you know what dimensions everything works out as? (Cover, Spine and Back Size)

Hey mbh7271, sorry to say no plans to create an 'art free' version as it ends up being too many versions to maintain and the art for me is part of the book.

However, if you want to run a game with minimal printing and/or don't have the .pdfs handy to access you can:

• Print the Rules (4 pages)
• Print Character sheets (2 pages each - which contains everything the players need to reference)
• Print the Equipment lists (4 pages)
• Print the Monsters Reference statistics (4 pages)

Aside from the adventure you may be running, that's generally all I have referenced during play.

:)

Added these to the referee's guide as mentioned above with the idea to help people create their own homebrew classes.

If you create any, feel free to share them. Would love to see what people come up with.

No worries, I hope you find it useful.

Hey Skeolan, thanks for the question.

The intent was to create some tactical choices and limits for the players to decide what they wanted to focus their project on.

As ever, my motto is 'your game, your rules' so feel free to tweak this as suits your game.

However, in terms of a 'ruling' rather than 'rules' approach I would suggest as long as there is some cost/consequence or risk (i.e. time and unable to go out on missions as they are focussed on a project for example) then why not? The only concern here is the 'mission' aspect is the main part of the game with the 'outpost' phase a supporting phase. 

Hope that helps.

Yes, no problem. I have uploaded separate A5 cover images for all books.

Heroes of Adventure - Referee's Guide

Hey everyone, I'm pleased to announce that version 2 of the Heroes of Adventure Referee's Guide has now been released. You can download this (for free) here.

What's different from version 1?

• A much 'cleaner' layout
• Added procedure for creating a bespoke Hero Class
• Added an optional Multi-Classing rules
• Added 'Downtime' procedure
• Added creating 'Non-Human' NPC procedure
• Revised NPC creation and advancement procedures
• Revised Artefact generation procedures
• Revised Resource & Component information
• Updated artwork - now settled on a particular 'style' for the books
• Rule tweaks - no major changes but some simplification, clarification and general tidying up

Heroes of Adventure - Players Handbook

Please note that this has also been updated to version 2.1 to include the following:

• Minor tweaks and balances to bring this in-line with the version 2 of the Referee and Monster books
• Minor amendments/balancing of class abilities (these are now 'passive' or 'encounter' based to mirror Monsters approach)
• Equipment cost amendments
• Crafting & Alchemy section revised
• Additional Elven & Dwarven Gods added
• Renamed Spy class to Assassin class
• Updated artwork

This brings all of the books up to date with the new layout standard so I am not intending to tweak and update the core rules in the short to medium term (never say never of course) and will probably focus on writing the next adventure module/campaign.

Zine (A5) sized editions

Finally (as a few people had asked for this) every single Heroes of Adventure release now has an accompanying A5 zine sized .pdf version of the books. Admittedly the text is a little small as there's lots of information to condense to a smaller page size but its readable and usable based on my test print.

However,  this is simply a re-sized version of the 'letter' booklet (and has been slightly stretched to fit the A5 format) and does not contain embedded .pdf links within the document.

Thanks

I should also add a quick thank you to community members Azaule and Greymark who have very kindly helped proof read all of the version updates and provided some input on rule tweaks and balancing, Thanks chaps, your help was very much appreciated.