The Hero System Bestiary is a supplement published by Hero Games in 1986 to provide a variety of creatures for superhero, espionage and fantasy role-playing games that use the Hero System rules. As new editions of the Hero System rules were published, new editions of the Bestiary were also published.
The Hero System Bestiary describes creatures for Hero System games, and includes a special section detailing how the creatures can be used for each genre in the system. [1]
In 1981, Hero Games published the superhero role-playing game (RPG) Champions that used the "Hero System" set of rules. Hero Games subsequently published a number of role-playing games in other genres that used the same Hero System rules, including the pulp-inspired Justice Inc. (1984), espionage RPG Danger International (1985), and fantasy RPG Fantasy Hero (1986). To provide opponents for the heroes, Hero Games and Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published The Hero System Bestiary in 1986, a collection of animals and creatures that could be used with any of the Hero Games RPGs that used the 3rd edition of the Hero System rules. The 56-page softcover book was designed by Michael Susko, Jr., with artwork by James Holloway, Stephan Peregrine, and Jason Waltrip. [2]
In 1992, I.C.E., which had taken over Hero Games, published a revised and greatly expanded edition of the Bestiary for the 4th edition of the Hero System rules, a 192-page softcover book designed by Doug Tabb, with contributions by Darrin Zielinski, Brian Nystul, and Mark Bennet, interior art by Storn Cook, Stephan Peregrine, Mitch Byrd, Jennell Jaquays [lower-alpha 1] , Liz Danforth, Albert Deschesne, Denis Loubet, Luther, Elissa Martin, Darrell Midgette, Giorgia Ponticelli, Roger Raupp, Paulo Romano, Shawn Sharp, and Jason Waltrip, and cover art by Storn Cook. [3]
Following the demise of I.C.E., Hero Games was resurrected by DOJ Inc. in 2001, and a new version of the Hero System Bestiary was published for the 5th edition of the Hero System Rules in 2002. This 239-page softcover book was designed by Stephen Long, with artwork by Peter Bergting, Mitch Byrd, Andrew Cremeans, Keith Curtis, Eric Rademaker, Greg Smith, and Jonathan Wyke. [4]
A greatly expanded version was published by Hero Games/DOJ Inc. in 2010 for the 6th edition of the Hero System Rules, a 498-page softcover book designed by Steven Long, Michael Surbrook, and Darren Watts. [5]
In the August–September 1987 edition of Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (No. 79), Frank Jesse liked the wide range of creatures portrayed in the original edition of The Hero System Bestiary, saying "The Bestiary is more than a monster manual. Any Game master worth their weight in dice, should feel the tingling of ideas. And this will most likely turn to impatience as the Game master waits to spring these surprises on those unsuspecting adventurers." [1]
In the September 1993 edition of Dragon (Issue 197), Allen Varney was grateful that Hero Games had "at last released an expanded and updated Hero Bestiary [for the 4th edition of the Hero System]," but noted that many of the creatures were fairly ordinary, saying, "this thick volume devotes unusual amounts of space to mundane beasts as well as fantasy monsters, so let’s hope most Fantasy Hero campaigns need not only dragons but also, say, ostriches." [6]
RuneQuest is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, publication passed between a number of companies, including Avalon Hill, Mongoose Publishing, and The Design Mechanism, before finally returning to Chaosium in 2016. RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis for numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.
Champions is a role-playing game published by Hero Games designed to simulate a superhero comic book world. It was originally created by George MacDonald and Steve Peterson in collaboration with Rob Bell, Bruce Harlick and Ray Greer. The latest edition of the game uses the sixth edition of the Hero System, as revised by Steve Long, and was written by Aaron Allston. It was released in early 2010.
Castle Falkenstein is a steampunk-themed fantasy role-playing game (RPG) designed by Mike Pondsmith and originally published by R. Talsorian Games in 1994. The game is named for a legendary unbuilt castle in the Bavarian Alps. Players play the roles of gallant adventurers who take on quests of intrigue and derring-do in the spirit of Victorian adventures such as The Prisoner of Zenda.
Hero Games is the publisher of the Hero System, a generic roleplaying rules set that can be used to simulate many different genres, and was the co-developer of the Fuzion system.
Fantasy Hero is a role-playing game book originally published by Hero Games in 1985 that allows gamemasters to plan and present fantasy role-playing games using the Hero System rules. Several revised editions of the book have subsequently been published.
An owlbear is a fictional creature originally created for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. An owlbear is depicted as a cross between a bear and an owl, which "hugs" like a bear and attacks with its beak. Inspired by a plastic toy made in Hong Kong, Gary Gygax created the owlbear and introduced the creature to the game in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement; the creature has since appeared in every subsequent edition of the game. Owlbears, or similar beasts, also appear in several other fantasy role-playing games, video games and other media.
Atlantis is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) originally published by Bard Games, set in the ancient world before Atlantis sank. It first consisted of three books: The Arcanum, The Lexicon, and The Bestiary, and for this reason was originally called The Atlantean Trilogy or The Atlantis Trilogy.
DC Heroes is an out-of-print superhero role-playing game set in the DC Universe and published by Mayfair Games. Other than sharing the same licensed setting, DC Heroes is unrelated to the West End Games DC Universe or the more recent Green Ronin Publishing DC Adventures game.
The Arcanum, published by Bard Games in 1984, is the first book in the fantasy role-playing game Atlantean Trilogy, later known simply as Atlantis.
Catapult Run, subtitled "A Race of Epic Proportions", is a fantasy role-playing game adventure published by Fantasy Factory in 1984.
Champions Universe is a supplement published by Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) in 1992 for the superhero role-playing game Champions.
Creatures of Barsaive is a supplement published by FASA in 1994 for the fantasy role-playing game Earthdawn.
Dark Champions: Heroes of Vengeance is a 1993 role-playing game supplement published by Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises in 1993 for the superhero role-playing game Champions.
Earthdawn Companion is a supplement published by FASA in 1994 for the fantasy role-playing game Earthdawn.
GURPS Space Adventures is an adventure published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1991 for the role-playing system GURPS, and more specifically, for the science-fiction setting provided by the previously published GURPS Space.
Heroic Adventures Volume 1 is a collection of three adventures published under license by Gold Rush Games in 1996 for Hero Games' superhero role-playing games Champions and Dark Champions.
Hero System Rulesbook is a supplement published by Hero Games/Iron Crown Enterprises in 1990 for role-playing games using the Hero System rules.
High Tech Enemies is a supplement published by Hero Games/I.C.E. in 1992 for the 4th edition of the superhero role-playing game Champions.
The Bestiary, subtitled A Compendium of Creatures and Beings from the Lost World of Atlantis, is a supplement published by Bard Games in 1986 for The Atlantean Trilogy fantasy role-playing game, later known simply as Atlantis.