The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

[Steve Long]

Here’s our back-cover text describing FHG2:

 

LOST MAGICS AWAIT!

 

 

A Fantasy Hero game can always use more spells for wizards to cast, characters to find in long-lost libraries, and evil sorcerers to wield against heroes. The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II features hundreds of new spells for your campaign, in ten categories:

 

Arcanomancy, spells pertaining to fundamental magical forces

 

Areomancy, spells for use in warfare

 

Black Magic, spells used by the most evil wizards

 

Chaos Magic, the wizardry of the force called Chaos

 

Monster Magic, spells cast by dragons and other monsters

 

Naming Magic, spells requiring knowledge of the target’s True Name

 

Professional Magic, spells adventurers use to make their lives easier and safer

 

Rune Magic, the magic of carved and painted runes of power

 

Shamanism, spells involving spirits and the Spirit World

 

Song Magic, spells cast through singing, poetry, and jests

 

All spells are described using a common “spell template” for quick, easy reference, and include multiple options for easy customization. Every spellcaster can find some new magics for his spellbook in The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II!

 

 

ISBN: 1-58366-034-8

SKU: DOJHERO506

Price: $26.99 US

 

You can buy this book in our Online Store.

[Steve Long]

Re: The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

 

Here’s a copy of ghost-angel’s review of X. Feel free to post other reviews, or links to them, if you like!

 

The Upside:

 

Fantasy Hero Grimoire II is a collection of even more spells for a Fantasy Hero Setting. Like the first, it assumes that Turakian Age is the default campaign, though this one goes more out of it's way to be generic.

 

This book is, like the first, divided into various Arcana, or schools of magic. Each section is further divided into Offensive, Defensive, Movement, and Miscellaneous Spells. A few sections have some additional sub-categories, and the Monster Magic and Professional Magic sections are divided differently.

 

Arcanomancy. These spells focus on changing the nature of Magic and other Magic Spells themselves, it's described as possibly a form of Wizardry (thus expanding that Arcana greatly) or it's own Arcana. All of these spells work on affecting other spells directly, rather than actual targets or other objects. A good set of spells to have for a counter-magic mage.

 

Areomancy. These are another grouping of spells that could be placed under the general Wizardry Arcana from the first Grimoire. They focus directly on Battle Magic, and thus could also be their own school of magic. Battle Magic isn't damage or combat spells, but spells designed to help armies, fight wars and protect castles and cities from other armies. Most of these spells are designed to augment large numbers of soldiers before they go into combat with various effects. If your campaign, or mage, wants to focus on mass combat spell casting this is the group of spells they want to have on hand.

 

Black Magic. In the first Grimoire Black Magic is described as a subset of Witchcraft. However in many campaigns Black Magic is a type of school all to itself. Most of these spells focus on performing some foul deed or causing grievous harm via a dreaded curse. The section also has a side-bar on the concept of a White Magic Arcana, which are the mirror of the spells listed in this section. It also provides some ideas of what spells from the Arcana presented in the first Grimoire fit into either the Black or White Magic group.

 

Chaos Magic. This group of spells focuses on using the forces of raw chaos to affect a target. In many ways these spells are similar to any other harmful grouping of spells. Like Black Magic, this section has a side-bar discussing creating Order Magic, using pure order to counter chaos. Also both list some spells from the first book that could fall into this category.

 

Monster Magic. This grouping of spells is organized by Creature, as they are spells learned not by Mankind (or Dwarves, Elves or other similar races). The sections in this Arcana are Dragon Magic, Giant Magic, and Troll Magic. Each of the three provides spells that are unique to that race, such as a Dragon Spell that allows a Dragon to take a humanoid form, or change their breath weapons special effect (from fire to ice for example). Giant Magic has several that alter the size of objects or help them throw large boulders. Troll Magic has several that focus on the often used Trolls weakness to sunlight. These spells are all good for adding some depth and danger to the creatures PCs might encounter.

 

Naming Magic. This Arcana focuses on causing effects by knowing a persons or objects True Name. This section is a good example of taking spells that might look to belong with other schools and putting a more interesting twist on how they work. Instead of just conjuring wind you call forth the Winds True Name to have it do your bidding.

 

Professional Magic. Some campaigns have magic, sometimes in small amounts some times large, by nearly ubiquitous. This grouping of magic spells are good for such campaigns, where just about anyone knows a spell or three. This section is divided into spells by major profession. Craftsman And Merchant Spells, focusing on being able to identify, asses, trade and sell goods more effectively. Rogue Spells, which generally augment a sneaks skills in subterfuge and burglary. And Warrior Spells, which augment a fighters martial prowess. Most of these spells are built using Skill Levels that add to an already existing ability, instead of granting an ability someone doesn't possess.

 

Rune Magic. This Arcana uses runes writing on, carved into or spoken out loud to grant their effects. Like Naming Magic this section is another good example of how to take spells from a broad spectrum and give them a common theme to work from.

 

Shamanism. These spells focus on a Shaman calling forth spirits of various kinds to augment their abilities or perform tasks for them. This section had two unique sub categories. Spirit Summoning Spells are all built around the Summon Power and concentrate on bringing forth a generic spirit to do the Shaman's bidding. Totem Spells are based around augmenting a single ability based on the Totem Animal that the Shaman claims as their personal spirit guide. The rest of the spells tend to focus on calling forth a Spirit for a specific and defined function, or affecting the spirits directly.

 

Song Magic. Some campaigns have some kind of magic useable by Bards, where performance is part of the casting of the spells. This section provides just such kinds of ideas for Casting Bards to use. This is yet a third example of taking a broad spectrum of effects and giving them a common theme to work under.

 

Grimoire II provides two-hundred and thirteen more spells to add to your Fantasy Hero spell list. This book did a much better job than the first of presenting the Arcana, or spell groupings, in a more generic form and less in a Turakian Age Specific form.

 

The Downside:

 

In the end, you either want more ideas or more prebuilt spells to add to your collection, or you don't. Beyond that, a lot of space was given over to alternate versions of spells that weaken or strengthen them, remove a Limitation, or similar, very few major variations are provided. While doing some of the math for you is part of the point, it takes a lot of space up in the book that might otherwise go to more spell ideas.

 

The Otherside:

 

As with the first book, unless you're into system conversions or need lots of ideas for new and interesting spells this book has little appeal to the Non-Hero Gamer being primarily Hero System Write-ups.

 

For the Hero Gamer this is a solid addition for the new player looking for more ideas or examples of how to implement the many choices of Powers, Advantages and Limitations present in the system. An experienced gamer can use this book as a quick list of spells to choose from instead of spending time creating their own. And as a GM, experienced or new, it's a good way to introduce a large number of spells directly to the campaign with minimal, if any, work needed beforehand. Because you can never have enough magic on hand.

[Sketchpad]

Re: The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

 

Here's my old review for TFHGII:

Though it’s created for the Hero system, I highly recommend any GM running fantasy games (as well as any other game with spells in it) to look at Fantasy Hero Grimoire II for the ideas within it, as they could be easily adapted to any system.

I just received my copy of Fantasy Hero Grimoire II and I have to admit, after reading it twice, that I like the spells in this book more than the ones in FHG I. After the usual dedication/credits page and table of contents, the reader is immediately given a page index for each spell in the book. This is a change from FHG I in that there’s no quick stat list like there was in the previous edition’s index. From here, Mr. Long goes on to explain the spell templates that he used in writing this book, as well as a brief paragraph on what this book is not.

Getting into the spells, each school is treated like the ones in FHG I, that is, they are given separate chapters with sub-sections dependent on defensive, offensive, sensory abilities and the like. Looking through the book, the reader is first treated to Arcanomancy, or spells that deal with magic itself. Here you can find various staple spells like dispel or magomorphosis, which alters spells themselves. Personally, I think this school would be very useful in any magically driven campaign and not just fantasy. Next up is Areomancy, or battle magic. Heavy on the offensive side, this college boasts such useful spells as “Legion of Arrows” and “Unseen Regiment” for your battle mages. These, combined with mass healing spells and various movement powers, could very well make an army unstoppable … especially if combined with Fantasy Hero’s mass combat system.

Perfect for the villainous mages, the Black Magic school concentrates on darker side of fantasy magic, offering spells such as “Agony” and “Coffin Nails”. These, combined with spells from the Necromancy school from FHG I, would make a perfect combo for a master-mage villain to put in any game. With twenty-seven spells in the college, it offers many options for characters or GMs wanting to use said spells in their campaigns. Onto a different axial tilt with the next section: Chaos Magic. Akin to the school that was made popular in gaming books from 2nd edition AD&D, chaos mages are given many options in this chapter. Of the eleven spells given, I have to admit liking the “Unmaking” spell, which transforms a target into the chaotic material it is made from. Good stuff!

Next up is Monster Magic. Broken down into draconic, giant and troll magic, the seventeen spells within this chapter allow both the GM and player to utilize the various spells to make both characters and creatures a bit more powerful. With spells like “Troll-Touch” and “Wyrm’s Breath”, characters can emulate some of their most fearsome foes’ powers and exploit their weaknesses. I actually had to chuckle a bit, as this chapter also reminds me of various video games where you can get spell-based abilities akin to the enemies you battle.

The next two chapters are the two weakest in my opinion. Using the idea that everything has a true name and, by knowing that name, a mage can manipulate its target, Naming Magic falls in a bit frail to me. With only about ten spells, the only useful spells I can see in here are “Slay” (which is reminiscent of Power Word: Kill) and “Weathercalling”, which brings a storm to an area. Next up is Professional Magic with sub-categories such as “Craftsman and Merchant Spells” and “Rogue Spells”. Now, don’t get me wrong, some of these spells could be useful and it’s not as weak as “Naming Magic”, but, with a bit more than twenty spells, there are only about half that are real gems in the mix. Of the spells listed, I have to say that I really liked “Evaluate Goods” and “Song of the Marketplace” if for nothing else than just flavor.

Going along a traditional fantasy path, Rune Magic is the next chapter and one of my personal favorites. I’ve always been a sucker for rune spells and especially like all twenty-three spells in the list, as they are all very descriptive and well written. Kudos to Mr. Long for this chapter and especially for “Spila, The Rune of Ruin” … love the way it rolls off the tongue and the great write-up of it. Following Rune Magic is another favorite of mine: Shamanism. With forty-one spells on shaman spirits and totems, this chapter has some of the most thought-out rules of the book, especially where the summoning spells are listed. With this college your characters cannot only summon spiritual powers, but they may also destroy certain spirits as well as speak to the dead and enter the realm of the spirits. A great resource, not only for fantasy, but also for horror and old west campaigns that you may run or play in. Lastly, there is Song Magic. Like some of the bardic spells in D&D, these sixteen spells not only give you the stereotypical mood-shifters, but also spells like “Song of Springtime”, which changes the season of an area to spring.

Overall, I would say this book is at least on par with FHG I and adds a good mix of spells to the already numerous sorceries listed in the previous tome. Combine the information with a gorgeous cover by Nick Ingeri and John Davenport, and you have an excellent product.

[Dr Divago]

Re: The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

 

Hi.

yesterday i checked for PDF download of some 5Ed FH books; i bought Turakian Age and Grimoire but found no PDF Download of Grimoire II

i did something wrong in book research or just there is not PDF book for FHGII?

 

ty for answers

[Steve Long]

Re: The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

 

As far as I can recall we never produced a PDF of this book. It was published before we routinely produced PDFs of our books for sale and we've never had time to go back and get one ready.

[Dr Divago]

Re: The Fantasy Hero Grimoire II

 

ok, thanks

i was just wondering why there are "FH Grimoire" and not "FH Grimoire 2"