HârnMaster

History

Hârnmaster, the Hârn RPG, was published by Columbia Games in 1986. All Hârn supplements were system independent but based on reader interest, Columbia decided to produce a Hârn game system too. N. Robin Crossby took the lead on the game and based the new game on designs that he had first written down in the 1970s. Columbia shifted their focus toward supporting their new Hârnmaster RPG, and the first ever Hârn adventures appeared, 100 Bushels of Rye (1988) and The Staff of Fanon (1988), as well as the rules-oriented Pilots' Almanac (1988), followed by a series of magic books and other RPG supplements. Columbia also started publishing wargames again and one Hârn wargame also appeared: Battlelust (1992), a Hârn-based miniatures game, fully compatible with Hârnmaster. A few adventures and a second edition (1996) of Hârnmaster were published; second edition Hârnmaster was a somewhat simplified version of the game that extracted out the magic systems into Hârnmaster Magic (1997) and Hârnmaster Religion (1998). The set of rulebooks concluded with Hârnmaster Manor (1999) and finally Hârnmaster Barbarians (2000). After Columbia released their updated vision of the game, Crossby started working on his own version, Hârnmaster Gold (1998), a divergent set of rules that sought to increase realism. When the d20 System came out, Columbia reprinted classic setting material like Trobridge Inn (2001) and Evael: Kingdom of the Elves (2002) with dual Hârnmaster/d20 stats. Keléstia Productions started out with a new edition of the Hârnmaster Gold Player Edition (2003), which was followed by a few other rule books. Columbia began work on a more streamlined third edition of Hârnmaster (2003).

Description

There are now multiple versions of HârnMaster available through the original publishers and through various third-party vendors. Each version has different strengths:

The original high-realism HârnMaster was published by Columbia Games and is now long out of print.

HârnMaster Core Rules was published by Columbia Games and later supplemented by HârnMaster Religion, HârnMaster Magic, HârnMaster Barbarians, and HârnManor (a set of rules for developing consistent medieval manors for use as role-playing settings or as settings for collaborative fiction). The Core Rules were well-suited for a gamist style of play, but many players felt it suffered from some complexities that interfered with play.

HârnMaster Core was seen by some as an oversimplification of the original. Some fans appreciated the change as it made play move faster at the expense of realism. Others preferred the realism of the original. Original author N. Robin Crossby responded with the even more detailed HârnMaster Gold.

HârnMaster Gold Player's Edition and GM's Edition are published by Kelestia Productions and is known for exceptional realism. It is best suited for a realist style of play, and is not well-suited for those who prefer a fast-paced game.

Many players wanted a still faster, better-balanced game with more social options for characters. Columbia Games HârnMaster 3rd Edition fixed many of the difficulties of the Core Rules while remaining compatible with the Magic, Religion, and other expansions. It is suited for a faster-paced game than HârnMaster Gold.

In addition to the multiple versions of HârnMaster published by Kelestia Productions and Columbia Games, there are numerous house rules available through the dedicated fan community.

Rules

Hârnmaster characters are described primarily by their attributes and skills. Attributes are initially generated in the range of 3-18 and may be modified by race, background, gender, or medical conditions. Compared to many other games, Hârnmaster has a very large and detailed set of attributes. In addition to the common qualities of Strength, Stamina, and Intelligence, etc., Hârnmaster attributes independently measure a character's eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell, his physical attractiveness (to a member of the same species), both manual and bodily dexterity, willpower, and psychic strength. In addition to these basic attributes, a number of derived attributes (such as Endurance, derived from Strength, Stamina, and Will) are used to describe a character's basic qualities and abilities.

Attributes are also used as a basis for the skill system, which is the core mechanism for combat and non-combat task resolution. The Hârnmaster system provides no character classes, instead using a character's background (which is generated in great detail) to determine his initial skills. A character generally begins play with several sets of skills:

Each skill is improved independently, in response to use in play or to study and training. There are no theoretical limitations on what skills a character can learn; a priest or wizard is free to learn combat skills of any type, and a knight or soldier is free to focus on knowledge skills or stealth and thievery. In practice, skill acquisition and advancement can be limited by in-game circumstances, such as the availability of a teacher or social norms (non-noble characters, for instance, are prohibited from owning certain weapons- making it difficult for non-noble characters to attain proficiency with these weapons).

While attributes are rated on a 3-18 scale, skills are rated from 1-95 and attempts to use skills are resolved with a 1d100 roll. Attributes are tested directly by multiplying the attribute by a number between 1 and 5 (depending on the difficulty of the task), and rolling a 1d100. Penalties to skill or attribute checks- due to fatigue, injury, encumbrance, or other circumstances- decrease the 'target' number that the player must roll under in order to succeed. Successes or failures by rolls that end in 5 are considered to be Critical Success or Critical Failure; other successes and failures are rated as Marginal. Conflicts between two characters- such as combat- are resolved by cross referencing the degrees of success and failure of each party on a chart. For example, in combat, a Critical Success for an attacker combined with Critical Failure for a defender would mean that a particularly fierce blow had been struck. Critical Success for a defender and Critical Failure for the attacker might indicate that not only had a blow been blocked or dodged, but that the attacker may have been thrown off balance, disarmed, or put at a tactical disadvantage. More moderate results would result in more modest successes for one party, or a temporary stalemate.

In combat, each injury is tracked individually, rather than subtracting from a pool of Hit Points or Life Points. More serious injuries introduce the risk of a character being knocked unconscious from shock, being instantly killed, or (optionally) losing a limb. A character may also be killed or knocked unconscious by blood loss or a combination of lesser injuries. Unhealed injuries penalize a characters actions, including combat actions, reducing their overall effectiveness. Each injury heals at a different rate, depending on its severity, and open wounds have the potential to become infected, slowing healing and possibly causing death. Permanent injuries- either in the form of amputated or otherwise lost limbs- or attribute penalties caused by poorly-healed injuries are also a possibility. The combat and injury system is quite lethal, compared to many roleplaying systems. Even for veteran characters, combat with a skilled opponent or a sneak attack by an opponent armed with a modest weapon can lead to death in a single strike; an unarmed blow to the neck or a bowshot to the eye can be fatal.

The magic system is based around six elemental principles: Lyahvi (Air/Light/Illusion), Peleahn (Fire), Jmorvi (Metal/Artifice), Fyrvia (Life/Growth/Decay), Odivshe (Water/Cold), and Savorya (Mind/Spirit/Knowledge). The principles are arranged in a wheel, with Lyahvi being opposed to Fyrvia, Peleahn to Odivshe, and Jmorvi to Savorya. Mages, known as Shek-Pvar, begin their careers attuned to one of the elements, and are said to be in that elemental convocation. Spells are learned as skills, with substantial bonuses for spells in one's own convocation, substantial penalties for spells in the opposing convocation, and smaller effects for the other convocations; there are also neutral spells which are not part of any convocation, and common spells for which a version exists in each convocation. Eventually a mage can become a grey mage, losing both the penalties and bonuses based on spells' elemental alignment. The system also has rules for researching and learning new spells as well as creating spells "on the fly" (usually with a large chance of failure).

Characters track a piety level with their patron deity, if any (Hârn has ten well-detailed major deities and a larger number of lesser ones). Characters with high piety scores and proper priestly training may then petition their deity for miracles appropriate to the deity's nature (healing, divination, sustenance, etc.).

There are also rules for psionic abilities (telepathy, telekinesis, precognition, etc.) which are handled in the same way as other skills.