I am jaded gamer. It is rare that I sit down and read something straight through, I mean so rare it that is basically doesn't happen, but this module pulled me in and kept me entertained, even laughing out loud at times, but also inspired. To a large degree this is what I want my D&D to be like. This isn't slapstick or comedy, but just having fun with it is a missing element in a lot of gaming nowadays, at least on the writing end. And in my experience, that's what we're all really here for, and what gaming always gravitates towards. This module delivers that.

Now, humor is definitely a matter of taste. I've seen "funny" gaming materials that had me rolling my eyes and not laughing, or of the sort that I'd never use them at the table. Things like pop culture references, puns, "edgy" political humor, or just stuff that has me scratching my head. This module is not like that. The humor is classic fantasy and gaming tropes, character stereotypes, and is the sort of thing your gaming group probably already does at the table. It is set in a sewer so there is potential for potty humor, but it is understated and stops just sort of rubbing your face in it. It sets up the situation with images and ideas, but then leaves it to you whether to run with it or not, and how to spin it. No boxed text, but it is short and pithy so you won't need it.

Despite the disclaimers, the layout and production are actually quite good, the writing is clever and funny and free of glaring typos, the art entirely appropriate to the tone and theme. It is only amateurish in the sense that it doesn't take itself too seriously, is not highbrow or dignified but informal in tone. But the author knows his D&D and this is a solid fantasy offering, a mini-setting really, with attention to detail and a coherent theme. You could drop it into any D&D city with little effort. There are little details, magic items, etc that you will want to use and which may inspire new ideas for your setting.

It's more of a mini setting than an adventure module. You could run it as a shoot and loot but it's not really set up for that. The NPCs are so fun and well drawn that I would drop this in and have the players interact with it. Pick a large city that is otherwise dull, put this under it, and you instantly liven it up and make the players want to go there and poke around. I had the idea of a PC joining the thieves guild though I'm not sure there's enough meat for extended interaction. I think encountering the thieves, fencing items, trying to locate them, that sort of thing -- using it as color, as a sprinkle of seasoning rather than the main course.

In terms of usability, this module really needs to be placed beneath a mid-to-large city, in order to account for the voluminous flow of sewage as well as strange goings-on. I mean there's so much happening it needs a large and jaded city not to notice and do something about it. Otherwise there is nothing very specific about the contents, and it would drop into any "regular" D&D setting with virtually no effort.

In Mystara, I'd plunk this under Thyatis City, right alongside existing thieves' guilds. The city is big enough for it, and the ratmen notion is apropos. I think the humor would mesh nicely into Mystara which was never a very serious setting to begin with.

10/10 will definitely use. My only complaint is that it needs a digest-sized deadtree option in DTRPG. (The single column layout would not print well on a full sized page, unless you want a seriously large print edition.)

PS -- This would run really well in Dungeon World too.

This is the BEST introduction to the Fantasy Hero and to the Hero System in general, in my opinion. It leads you step by step through character creation with lots of cool examples. It presents an evocative and cohesive default setting resembling a grim "dark ages" style of fantasy. The artwork in the book is consistent with this single unified vision. To be fair this was published in 1985 and most of the art isn't great quality, but it does have some nice full-page pieces of the iconic characters in various adventures.

The Hero System (including fantasy hero) is often presented as a encyclopedia of options, and tries to cater to every possible genre variation, with artwork and examples of different styles and concepts. As a result, most Hero books read like dry textbooks, and are so generically bland that they fail to inspire. In a game where you have to build everything from scratch, inspiration is the most important thing... and too many options are paralyzing until you start to get a handle on them.

I find this book to be inspiring (I still pull it out and read it) and it will lead you by the hand to learn all the core aspects of Hero. It has a short solo adventure to try on your own, and a long adventure to run for your friends and teach them. There is enough here to get a campaign off the ground, but not so much that there is nothing left for you to create.

That said, these rules are old and have been made obsolete by newer editions. The mechanics are solid and have hardly changed, but some terminology and point costs are occasionally different in new editions. As such, be aware that learning this game will not be a perfect introduction to the modern Hero System. But it will teach you all about how powers work, how combat works, how to build characters and monsters and spells. All the core rules and strategies are there pretty much unchanged. I still use the monsters and spells and NPCs from this book in games today. And, it is a great little game in its own right, very playable. even if you never "upgrade" to the latest edition.

This book stands alone with nothing else needed to play. The scan is clean, readable and printer-friendly. If you like it I also recommend the Bestiary (3rd edition) and Spell Book (3rd edition) as supplements also available on this site. There was a magic items book as well that had some really cool ideas, but that is not available in PDF so far as I know.

NOTE: This is actually the first and original edition of Fantasy Hero. It is "3rd edition" because Champions was in its third edition when FH was first published. Third edition games all featured rules that were customized for their genre; ti wasn't until 4th edition that a genre-neutral rulebook was published. I think that is a lot of what gives this game its charm -- it wasn't generic and wasn't trying to be.

This is NOT a Hero System product!

I purchased this because it was specifically labeled as a Hero System adventure module. It contains no Hero System material nor even a reference to that game. Instead it is fully statted out for the Talespinner RPG (which I am not familiar with). Althought it claims to be "easily converted" I think that is true of nearly any RPG adventure, and that does not make it systemless and certainly does not make it a Hero System product.

This product is illustrated with poser artwork that is expertly done but provocatively racy, sometimes bordering on NSFW.

This actually contains 200 encounters. Instead of rolling d100, roll d20+d10.

Often products of this sort are a couple of dozen entries of the tediously obvious variety. Not here. These are all interesting and sometimes fantastic, with good roleplay potential and plenty of room to improvise. Many are adventure seeds in disguise and could lead to themes or side treks that last for many sessions. Some just inject some fun chaos into the group, like adopting a kitten.

This has great value in a hex-crawl sandbox game. When GMing a sandbox, the constant improvisation can lead to repetition or burnout. These encounters are a great way to instantly inject some pizzazz and stimulate the GM's creativity. You could pick, but as a GM I like to roll and be surprised.

This PDF disables scroll bars using Reader XI on Windows 8.1