The Hero's Journey: Second Edition

The Hero’s Journey Fantasy Roleplaying, Second Edition is a fantasy roleplaying game that blends classic tradition and modern game design to bring you an experience where players take up the mantle of heroes in a world of danger and magic inspired by classic fairy stories and timeless fantasy literature.

Whether you’re taking a Knight clad in shining armor astride your grand steed, a cunning Burglar hoping to use your silver tongue to flatter a terrifying Elder Wyrm while your friends slip away, or a dedicated Yeoman who has given your heart and soul to defend the good and true people of the world from the strange dangers of Fairie and beyond, The Hero’s Journey, Second Edition creates a gaming experience firmly rooted traditional western folklore where the player characters are more than just sword-swinging mercenaries looking to kick in the door, kill the monster, and claim the loot. In The Hero’s Journey, Second Edition, they are all that stands between civilization and the unimaginable dangers just beyond the wild…

Why A Second Edition: It its original edition, The Hero’s Journey Fantasy Roleplaying was explicitly designed to be compatible with Swords & Wizardry: White Box and similar games. While this new edition is still rooted in that classic rules set,extensive changes have been made to almost every element of the game in order to further evoke and emphasize the tone and theme of the game. In addition, more modern elements of game design have been seamless incorporated to keep play fast and simple. Some example changes include, but are not limited to…

New Lineages: In addition to traditional fantasy lineages like Humans, Dwarves, and Elves, players will also have the option of playing the strange and obfuscated Changeling: A fey creature left as a replacement for a child stolen at birth and raised among mortals.

New Archetypes: The original edition of The Hero’s Journey featured thirteen classes. This edition has been streamlined to keep the focus on classic, folklore-infused fantasy and now features only eight classes: the charming Bard, the clever Burglar, the noble Knight, the rugged Ranger, the swashbuckling Swordsman, the stern Warrior, the enigmatic Wizard, and the stalwart Yeoman.

New Monsters: Every single monster in The Hero’s Journey, Second Edition has been given a complete overhaul to bring them more in line with folklore, fairy tradition, and classic fantasy literature. For example: Kobolds, commonly known as yipping dog-lizards to many fantasy gamers, are now strange and diminutive elementals that appear old men fading into the stone as they guide and waylay underground travelers. Several new monsters are also introduced, like the savage draconic Lindworm, which craves the taste of flesh and whose wrath can only be undone when its impenetrable scaled armor is peeled away layer by layer. There is no such thing as a “stock” monster in The Hero’s Journey, Second Edition.

New Spellcasting: The traditional Vancian magic system which previously appeared in The Hero’s Journey has been drastically overhauled. Now Wizards may cast any spell they know and each spell has a myriad of different potential effects! In addition, particularly brave and reckless arcanists may Tap the Essence and sacrifice their own body when they are otherwise unable to cast a spell. Instead of being a stock list of spells found in so many other classic fantasy RPGs, these spells have been modified and re-written to fit the tone and feel of The Hero’s Journey.

Myth Points and Magic Items: Unlike many traditional fantasy role-playing games, characters in The Hero’s Journey, Second Edition acquire magic items by performing heroic deeds that become inexonerably tied forever to the weapons, armor, and strange trinkets they carry on their adventures. As characters progress and grow, they earn Myth Points, which can be spent to create unique magic items specifically tailored by the player to their individual character instead simply finding a “better sword” in the next treasure hoard. Magics grow and develop alongside a character, becoming an important part of their legend.