Difference between revisions of "Hârn HârnWorld"

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==== SideBar ====
 
==== SideBar ====
 
===== Gargun Nations =====
 
===== Gargun Nations =====
 +
'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">ADD</span>''' Proper links, alphabetical order, etc.
 +
 
====== Nomadic Tribes ======
 
====== Nomadic Tribes ======
 
INSERT TABLE
 
INSERT TABLE
  
−
Chindra Moym Pryeh Toset
+
{|
−
Diaffa Nuthuk Ruthuba Wurokin
+
| Nomadic Tribes
 +
|-
 +
| Chindra
 +
| Moym
 +
| Pryeh
 +
| Toset
 +
|-
 +
| Diaffa
 +
| Nuthuk
 +
| Ruthuba
 +
| Wurokin
 +
|}
 +
 
  
 
====== Colonies ======
 
====== Colonies ======
 
INSERT TABLE
 
INSERT TABLE
  
−
Amekt Gedyf Korego Qustup
+
{|
−
Bwaft Gifuso Lucrain Sokus
+
| Colonies
−
Carcust Huxuth Nizus Ushet
+
|-
−
Ejatus Jobasa Pazel Yzug
+
| Amekt
−
Fana Jufyx Pujet Zedabir
+
| Gedyf
−
Felgoth Jusiku Pyxyn Zhakom
+
| Korego
 +
| Qustup
 +
|-
 +
| Bwaft
 +
| Gifuso
 +
| Lucrain
 +
| Sokus
 +
|-
 +
| Carcust
 +
| Huxuth
 +
| Nizus
 +
| Ushet
 +
|-
 +
| Ejatus
 +
| Jobasa
 +
| Pazel
 +
| Yzug
 +
|-
 +
| Fana
 +
| Jufyx
 +
| Pujet
 +
| Zedabir
 +
|-
 +
| Felgoth
 +
| Jusiku
 +
| Pyxyn
 +
| Zhakom
 +
|}
 +
 
  
 
===== Ilme =====
 
===== Ilme =====
Line 911: Line 953:
  
 
== Government ==
 
== Government ==
−
INSERT HEADER TABLE
 
 
=== Feudalism ===
 
=== Feudalism ===
−
* A
+
The prevailing form of government in civilized
−
** A
+
Hârn is feudalism. All land is owned by the king, who
 +
then grants fiefs to trusted magnates to provide for local
 +
government and defense. Such grants are inheritable
 +
although the monarch may revoke them for treason or
 +
rebellion. To help them govern and meet their obligations
 +
to the crown, the great nobles grant portions of their fiefs
 +
to lesser nobles, a process known as subinfeudation.
  
−
==== SideBar ====
+
==== Feudal Nobility ====
 +
The distinction between noble and common blood
 +
is the most significant in Hârnic society. The exclusive
 +
rights and privileges of the nobility include the right to
 +
bear heraldic arms and chivalric weapons, ride warhorses,
 +
organize military forces, hold fortifications, and dispense
 +
justice at feudal courts. Any commoner who trespasses
 +
on these rights can expect swift and harsh punishment.
 +
The ranks of feudal nobility on Hârn are as follows.
 +
 
 +
===== Earl =====
 +
The highest feudal noble (on Hârn). An earl’s seat
 +
will usually be a castle, sometimes a keep, and he will
 +
(typically) owe the king the military services of 60–120
 +
knights, varying with the size of his holding. Roughly 80%
 +
of the earldom will be subinfeudated to vassal barons
 +
and knights. The rest will be held directly by the earl and
 +
managed by appointed constables or bailiffs.
 +
 
 +
===== Baron =====
 +
The word baron is a generic term on Hârn for any
 +
major land-holding noble with less status than an earl.
 +
A barony usually contains a keep and 10–30 manors. In
 +
smaller kingdoms, notably Chybisa, a baron may not hold
 +
a keep. Regardless of the size of a barony, a few manors
 +
will be held directly by the baron and managed by his
 +
bailiffs but most will be held by vassal knights. Some
 +
barons are vassals of an earl and some are tenants-inchief,
 +
holding directly from the king.
 +
 
 +
===== Manorial Lord =====
 +
A knight who holds a manorial fief, usually from
 +
a baron or earl. Such fiefs are given in exchange for
 +
the military services of a mounted knight, hence most
 +
holders are knights. By custom, the amount of land
 +
deemed necessary to support a knight (from revenues)
 +
is between 1,200 and 1,800 acres. A grant of this size is
 +
called a knight’s fee.
 +
 
 +
==== Knighthood ====
 +
Knighthood is not a feudal title. All barons and earls,
 +
and even the king, are knights. Anyone may theoretically
 +
be knighted, most often for exemplary military service to
 +
the crown. Knighthood is non-hereditary but most knights
 +
are born to the station. The training for knighthood
 +
(apprentice knights are called squires) is undertaken
 +
when the young son of a knight is invited to foster at the
 +
household of another knight. Boys begin training at 12
 +
to learn the knightly virtues: skill at arms, heraldry, and
 +
horsemanship. If all goes well, the squire can expect to be
 +
knighted around the age of 21.
 +
 
 +
===== Knights Bachelor =====
 +
The number of knights on Hârn far exceeds the
 +
number that can be granted fiefs. While some knights
 +
will inherit or marry into land, most are landless Knights
 +
Bachelor. A few will realize their burning ambition of
 +
obtaining a fief but most spend their lives as the retainers
 +
of great nobles, within the ranks of fighting orders, or
 +
(gods forbid) adventuring.
 +
 
 +
INSERT TABLE
 
<center>
 
<center>
 
{|
 
{|
−
|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Kandáy Coat of Arms'''
+
|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Knights'''
 
| [[File:Kandáy_Player_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 
| [[File:Kandáy_Player_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 
|}
 
|}
 
</center>
 
</center>
  
 +
==== Feudal Obligations ====
 +
When a noble accepts a fief, he owes fealty to and
 +
becomes a vassal of the person (liege) who bestowed
 +
it. A vassal is expected to give absolute loyalty to his
 +
liege. There is great variety in the contract arrangements
 +
between lord and vassal (many are unique), but some
 +
generalities may be made concerning their mutual
 +
obligations.
  
−
== A ==
+
All feudal lords are responsible for the administration
−
* A
+
of justice within their own fiefs. They are also obliged
−
** A
+
to protect their law-abiding tenants from outside
 +
interference. In return for providing basic security, a
 +
liege is entitled to some specified military and/or feudal
 +
service. He also has the right to collect various traditional
 +
taxes including merchet (marriage tax), heriot (death
 +
tax), and aids (incidental levies) to finance the knighting
 +
of his eldest son and the dowry of his eldest daughter,
 +
and to ransom his person from enemies. The crown may
 +
levy special aids, such as to finance a war or build royal
 +
castles.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
=== Royal Government ===
 +
Although feudalism implies decentralization of royal
 +
government, few Hârnic kings rely entirely on feudal
 +
magnates to provide government of the realm. For one
 +
thing, the conduct of foreign affairs is an exclusive royal
 +
privilege. Secondly, with regard to domestic affairs, feudal
 +
nobles tend to place their own interests above those of
 +
the crown. To help them govern, Hârnic monarchs have
 +
created royal bureaucracies and divided their realms into
 +
a system of royal shires.
 +
 
 +
==== The Royal Bureaucracy ====
 +
There are four basic departments in royal
 +
government: Chamber, Chancery, Exchequer, and
 +
Constabulary. The monarch appoints the officers in
 +
charge of each department; this is often an exercise in
 +
nepotism. There is a great deal of bribery and intrigue to
 +
obtain positions in the royal service, even though there is
 +
little tenure. When someone loses favor, his appointees
 +
(mostly relatives) may also be purged. The appeal in such
 +
a job is really the exercise of power and prestige.
 +
 
 +
<center>
 +
{|
 +
|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Royal Government (General)'''
 +
| [[File:Kandáy_Player_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 +
|}
 +
</center>
 +
 
 +
===== The Chamber =====
 +
Run by the Royal Chamberlain, this department is
 +
responsible for the day-to-day operation of the royal
 +
household. The Chamberlain wields immense power due
 +
to his overall familiarity with royal affairs and his right to
 +
control access to the monarch.
 +
 
 +
===== The Chancery =====
 +
The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the general
 +
government and judiciary of the kingdom as a whole. He
 +
presides over the chancery court, the highest court below
 +
that of the king.
 +
 
 +
===== The Exchequer =====
 +
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the chief financial
 +
officer of the realm. His responsibilities include the
 +
collection of royal revenues (through the sheriffs) from
 +
the provinces and towns. He also controls the minting of
 +
coins and advises the king on budgetary matters.
 +
 
 +
===== The Constabulary =====
 +
The Lord Constable is the kingdom’s chief military
 +
officer. Some kingdoms call this official Lord Warden or
 +
Lord High Sheriff. He is generally the constable of the
 +
royal seat and oversees all other royal constables, sheriffs
 +
of the realm, etc. His department, more than any other,
 +
interacts with the other three, financial matters being
 +
referred to the Exchequer, judicial matters to the Chancery,
 +
and so on. In the king’s absence or death, this powerful
 +
individual may function, effectively, as “deputy king.”
 +
 
 +
==== Royal Shires ====
 +
Except for Chybisa, all feudal kingdoms on Hârn
 +
are divided into judicial provinces called shires, which
 +
are subdivided into hundreds. By design, the boundaries
 +
of shires and hundreds often cut through the holdings
 +
of great nobles, which creates some interesting judicial
 +
problems. The chief royal officer of a shire is called a
 +
Sheriff (shire-reeve); that of a hundred is termed the
 +
Bailiff of the Hundred.
 +
 
 +
===== Sheriffs =====
 +
Appointed by the crown, sheriffs are responsible
 +
for administering royal justice and collecting all royal
 +
revenues within their shires. The sheriff presides at the
 +
royal courts (open only to freemen) held in the shire
 +
moots at regular intervals and may initiate prosecution of
 +
those who offend the King’s Law. Most shires are “farmed”
 +
by the crown; annual taxes and other revenues in the shire
 +
are estimated by the Exchequer and paid by the sheriff
 +
in advance. He may then collect all royal revenues for
 +
himself; he is always vigilant because he may keep any
 +
“profit” for himself. Sheriffs command a royal keep or
 +
castle plus a company or two of mercenaries. In terms
 +
of power and influence, sheriffs are the equal of earls
 +
although the office and its privileges are not hereditary.
 +
 
 +
===== Royal Forests =====
 +
Some hundreds are designated “royal forests” and
 +
are administered under Forest Law and theoretically
 +
reserved to the king for hunting. “Forest” is a legal term
 +
that has nothing to do with trees, although most such
 +
areas are wooded. Forest law prohibits any activity
 +
harmful to most wildlife and is unpopular with those who
 +
live under it. Poaching is probably the most common
 +
crime on Hârn. It is particularly dangerous in royal
 +
forests, which are policed by royal foresters who are apt
 +
to be harsh in their judgments. A first offender might be
 +
beaten and fined. A repeat offender may be branded or
 +
summarily hanged.
  
  
 
== Rural Manors ==
 
== Rural Manors ==
−
INSERT HEADER TABLE
+
=== Manorialism ===
−
=== A ===
+
The power of the nobility is ultimately vested in
−
* A
+
its control of land. Agriculture accounts for 80% of
−
** A
+
all Hârnic economic activity and employs 90% of its
 +
population; feudal lords control most productive land.
 +
 
 +
The basic economic unit of rural Hârn is the
 +
manorial fief. These can range from 600 to 4,800 acres
 +
in size, although 1,200 to 1,800 acres is typical. Manors
 +
are not shown on the regional map. Each hex on the map
 +
is nearly 90,000 acres and 10–30 manors are clustered
 +
around every keep, castle, or town. However, since
 +
manors are so important and because they appear in
 +
local expansion modules, the following information on
 +
Hârnic manors is included here.
 +
 
 +
A manorial fief on Hârn is either held by a knight
 +
who owes fealty and military service to a baron or earl
 +
for the grant of land or is held directly by some greater
 +
noble who will appoint a loyal relative or retainer to
 +
manage the estate for him. Some manors are held by
 +
religious orders, most notably those associated with
 +
the Church of Larani. A few manors around chartered
 +
freetowns are held by wealthy commoners, who usually
 +
have such estates managed by appointed bailiffs.
 +
 
 +
==== Manorial Tenants ====
 +
The notion of private property is somewhat alien in a
 +
feudal society. The vast majority of Hârnians are tenants
 +
of some feudal lord. The contracts between the lord of a
 +
manor and his tenants can have endless permutations of
 +
military service, agricultural service, scutage, rent, and
 +
crop share. The exact mix varies with the personalities
 +
involved, local custom, and the current situation.
 +
 
 +
===== Serfs =====
 +
Sometimes called unfree tenants, serfs make up
 +
70–90% of the rural population. They possess few legal
 +
rights but should not be thought of as slaves. Although
 +
they are bound to the land and the lord and may not
 +
marry without the lord’s permission, serfs cannot be
 +
deprived of their land without just cause and are entitled
 +
to the lord’s protection and justice. Serfdom is a contract
 +
between lord and tenant; each is honor-bound to the
 +
other. The amount of land held varies: Villeins hold
 +
25–40 acres, Half-Villeins 10–25 acres, and Cottars 1–5
 +
acres. In return for their land, serfs owe labor working the
 +
lord’s own fields, typically 3–5 days per year for each acre
 +
of land held.
 +
 
 +
===== Freeholders =====
 +
Freeholders are simply individuals who hold land on
 +
which no serf-like obligations are due, a distinction that is
 +
often problematical. Freeholders rarely own the land they
 +
work, but instead pay rent or crop shares for its use, a
 +
process known as farming the land. Some freeholders are
 +
rural guildsmen, such as millers or metalsmiths, who may
 +
or may not also farm some acreage. Freeholders have the
 +
right to come and go as they wish, grow whatever crops
 +
they please, and appeal their lord’s justice to the king’s
 +
law. Naturally, ignoring the wishes of the lord may be
 +
unwise, for it might lead to expulsion (or worse). In many
 +
ways, a serf has greater security in land tenure than a
 +
freeholder.
 +
 
 +
==== Manorial Villages ====
 +
A typical manorial fief contains a manorhouse for
 +
the lord, one village that is home to 10–30 rural families,
 +
and probably one mill. All of these are generally clustered
 +
together, ideally near the center of a fief.
 +
 
 +
===== The Manorhouse =====
 +
The lord’s home is usually a fortified stronghold
 +
of wood or stone, essentially a miniature keep with a
 +
palisade enclosing several outbuildings such as barns and
 +
stables. When possible, the house is situated on a natural
 +
or artificial hill and may be surrounded by a ditch, moat,
 +
or earthworks.
 +
 
 +
===== Peasant Cottages =====
 +
Each village family will have a cottage and small
 +
adjacent garden plot. The style and size of peasant
 +
cottages are fairly standard on Hârn. Most are 800–1,200
 +
square feet in size with thatched roofs and walls of daub
 +
and wattle. They look about the same regardless of the
 +
prosperity of the owner, for in a violent world it’s foolish
 +
to advertise prosperity. Wealth is defined in terms of
 +
livestock and acreage, not personal comfort.
 +
 
 +
Most peasant cottages consist of two rooms: a large
 +
living room and a smaller attached stable. Some cottages
 +
have a sleeping chamber separate from the living room.
 +
The living room has a straw-covered, dirt-packed floor,
 +
heated by a fire in a stone hearth. The attached stable
 +
may contain livestock and a variety of agricultural tools:
 +
spades, hoes, axes, and the like. Most stables also have a
 +
loft for storing a variety of grains in wicker baskets.
 +
 
 +
===== The Mill =====
 +
'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">ADD</span>''' Millers fanon article LINK
 +
 
 +
Nearly every manorial village has a mill. Some are
 +
owned by the lord but most are owned by freemasters
 +
of the powerful Millers’ Guild. The miller typically pays
 +
an annual license of 240d to the lord of the manor
 +
for the right to operate the mill. Most mills are waterpowered,
 +
some are ox-powered, and a few (especially in
 +
southwestern Hârn) are windmills.
 +
 
 +
==== Manorial Land Use ====
 +
Manorial lords may cultivate their land themselves
 +
by hiring agricultural labor or may farm-out the land to
 +
freehold tenants in return for cash rents or crop shares.
 +
Most, however, choose a blend of these two extremes,
 +
dividing the fief into (roughly) one third demense (lord’s
 +
land) and two thirds tenancy, utilizing the custom of
 +
serfdom to provide the labor for their own land.
 +
 
 +
The respective areas of land use depend mainly on
 +
the size, location, and fertility of the fief. Long-established
 +
fiefs tend to be well populated and favor higher arable
 +
land use. New holdings in frontier regions are generally
 +
underpopulated and these will have higher pasture and
 +
woods acreages.
 +
 
 +
INSERT TABLE
 +
 
 +
{|
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Arable</span>'''
 +
| 20–60%
 +
| (40% average)
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Pasture</span>'''
 +
| 20–60%
 +
| (40% average)
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Woods</span>'''
 +
| 10–30%
 +
| (20% average)
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
===== Agriculture =====
 +
The manor’s arable land is typically divided into two
 +
large fields. The fields are usually open (no fences or
 +
hedges) but are divided into strips separated by footpaths.
 +
One field will be sown with various crops (rye, wheat,
 +
barley, oats, beans, and peas), the other will lie fallow
 +
for one year in an effort to keep the soil from exhausting
 +
itself. All of the land will be cultivated by freehold tenants
 +
or serfs and the holdings of any one family are typically
 +
scattered throughout the fief in narrow strips. The lord’s
 +
demense will consist of enclosed fruit orchards and
 +
lush meadowlands plus numerous small strips dispersed
 +
among the lands of his tenants.
 +
 
 +
The land held by each peasant family is divided
 +
between the two fields. So if a family has 30 acres, they
 +
can plant only 15 in a given year. Since the average crop
 +
yield is about ten bushels per acre and each person
 +
requires about 20 bushels of grain a year for the barest
 +
survival, an individual needs four acres to feed himself,
 +
half under cultivation and half fallow.
 +
 
 +
Although plowing, sowing, and weeding are generally
 +
tasks performed by each individual family on their own
 +
land, harvesting is a communal affair. All able-bodied
 +
villagers work to clear the fields, then the produce is
 +
divided among them according to the amount of land
 +
held and labor provided. Harvesting usually begins early
 +
in the late-summer month of Agrazhar and takes two to
 +
four weeks to complete; three men can reap and bind one
 +
acre per day.
 +
 
 +
Weather is, of course, critical. The crops must be
 +
left to mature and this can be delayed if the summer is
 +
particularly wet or dry. When ready to harvest, speed is
 +
crucial. One heavy rain could batter the ripe crops to the
 +
ground and destroy the bulk of the harvest.
  
−
==== SideBar ====
 
 
<center>
 
<center>
 
{|
 
{|
Line 943: Line 1,342:
 
|}
 
|}
 
</center>
 
</center>
 +
 +
===== Husbandry =====
 +
Open and common pasture is maintained for grazing
 +
sheep, oxen, horses, and goats, some owned by the lord
 +
and some by the tenants. The best pasture (10–30%) will
 +
be enclosed and reserved as meadowland where winter
 +
fodder (hay) is harvested. The fallow fields are also used
 +
for grazing animals, partly to keep the weeds down but
 +
mainly to manure the resting soil.
 +
 +
Animals are not raised to be eaten, mainly because it
 +
takes roughly eight pounds of feed to produce one pound
 +
of animal protein. Hogs, which thrive on food scraps and
 +
forage in woodland, are the exception. Sheep are raised
 +
for wool, cattle as beasts of burden and to give milk, and
 +
chickens for eggs. Of course, animals will be slaughtered
 +
for meat and hides when they become unproductive.
 +
 +
Most villagers keep chickens and all but the poorest
 +
are likely to have at least one cow and several pigs. Oxen
 +
are kept as plow animals by richer peasants and rented
 +
to others as needed. Horses are a luxury that are usually
 +
kept only by nobles; they are not as hardy as oxen and
 +
require two or three times the winter fodder.
 +
 +
Livestock populations tend to peak in the summer
 +
as a result of spring births. Because the villagers cannot
 +
afford to provide winter feed for all the animals born,
 +
surplus flocks and herds are driven to be sold or bartered
 +
at the nearest market soon after the harvest is completed.
 +
Wealthy peasants may slaughter an animal or two, then
 +
dry, smoke, or salt the meat for future consumption.
 +
 +
===== Woodland =====
 +
The remainder of the fief will be woodland, which
 +
may be extensive in recently settled lands. Woodlands
 +
are prized and usually zealously protected, as game forms
 +
a major part of the noble diet and hunting is the sole
 +
prerogative of the lord. Poachers are likely to receive
 +
harsh treatment, especially trespassers from outside the
 +
estate. Tenants may collect dropwood and graze their
 +
pigs in woodland but must pay an annual fee to the lord
 +
for this right.
  
  
 
== Towns and Cities ==
 
== Towns and Cities ==
−
INSERT HEADER TABLE
+
<center>
−
=== A ===
+
{|
−
* A
+
|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Cityscape'''
−
** A
+
| [[File:Kandáy_Player_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 +
|}
 +
</center>
 +
 
 +
=== Towns and Cities ===
 +
Compared to other regions on western Lythia,
 +
Hârn is not very urbanized. No more than 10% of the
 +
population live in towns. The largest urban center on the
 +
island is Coranan, with a population of about 12,500. It
 +
is perhaps the only center deserving of the name “city,”
 +
although this term is commonly applied to any walled
 +
town. There are eight walled towns on Hârn.
 +
 
 +
INSERT TABLE
 +
 
 +
'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">ADD</span>''' Proper names and relavent links.
 +
 
 +
{|
 +
! City
 +
! Kingdom
 +
! Population
 +
! Map
 +
|-
 +
| Coranan
 +
| Tharda
 +
| 12,500
 +
| E7
 +
|-
 +
| Tashal
 +
| Kaldor
 +
| 11,400
 +
| J5
 +
|-
 +
| Cherafir
 +
| Melderyn
 +
| 7,000
 +
| N10
 +
|-
 +
| Golotha
 +
| Rethem
 +
| 6,200
 +
| D7
 +
|-
 +
| Azadmere
 +
| Azadmere
 +
| 5,900
 +
| L4
 +
|-
 +
| Aleath
 +
| Kanday
 +
| 5,800
 +
| E8
 +
|-
 +
| Thay
 +
| Melderyn
 +
| 4,200
 +
| M7
 +
|-
 +
| Shiran
 +
| Tharda
 +
| 3,900
 +
| G6
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
In addition to these cities, most settlements marked
 +
as castles and keeps on the regional map have small
 +
unwalled towns adjacent to them where a market is held
 +
at least once a month. Several of these, notably Dyrisa,
 +
Kiban, Shostim, and Telen, are budding walled towns with
 +
populations of 2,000–3,000.
 +
 
 +
==== Government of Towns ====
 +
In a strict legal sense, there are two different kinds
 +
of towns on Hârn: freetowns and feudal towns. Aleath,
 +
Golotha, and Thay are freetowns and enjoy a fairly
 +
high degree of independence from external authority.
 +
Azadmere, Cherafir, Coranan, Shiran, and Tashal are
 +
feudal towns, held directly by the king or state. To the
 +
average citizen, the distinctions are minimal. All towns
 +
tax their citizens and pay aids and taxes to the king or
 +
state. However, taxes levied by freetowns tend to be less
 +
onerous and collected with less enthusiasm. To a runaway
 +
serf, the distinction is crucial. Only freetowns allow the
 +
serf to claim freedom after a year and a day of residence.
 +
Feudal towns offer no such protection.
 +
 
 +
===== Town Charters =====
 +
Freetowns possess a charter from the crown that sets
 +
out the rights and privileges of their citizens and their
 +
obligations to the king. Each charter is unique but all
 +
have some basic common provisions. These include the
 +
right to build and maintain a city wall, hire mercenaries
 +
for defense, hold markets and fairs as often as desired,
 +
and freedom from feudal or other obligations to anyone
 +
except the king. Various clauses detailing the form and
 +
powers of civic government, responsibility for taxation,
 +
defense, and the administration of justice are also laid out
 +
in a town’s charter.
 +
 
 +
Feudal towns have no need for a charter but often
 +
have a document outlining the form and nature of
 +
town government. There is also a tendency for civic
 +
governments in both kinds of towns to be similar in form.
 +
Civic offices are mainly filled by guildsmen and military
 +
offices go to men with military experience. The key
 +
officers in Hârnic towns are described below.
 +
 
 +
====== Alderman ======
 +
An alderman is a custodian and expounder of the
 +
law and member of the town court. Although aldermen
 +
must be invested in their office by the sovereign or his
 +
representative, the office is often inherited because this
 +
is the way that knowledge of customary law is passed
 +
from one generation to the next. Most Hârnic cities have
 +
12 aldermen, all of whom are prominent guildsmen and
 +
often members of the Litigants’ Guild.
 +
 
 +
====== Mayor ======
 +
Only freetowns have mayors, as such, but all others
 +
have some official who is responsible for administering
 +
civil and financial affairs. Mayors are usually appointed
 +
by the aldermen, often from a short list of candidates
 +
supplied by the crown. This official will run a sizable
 +
bureaucracy, including tax assessors and collectors.
 +
 
 +
====== Warden ======
 +
Wardens command the city garrison and are
 +
responsible for maintaining civic law and order. A major
 +
expense for any city will be its military budget. In
 +
freetowns, the warden is appointed by the mayor; in feudal
 +
towns by the crown, usually the constable of the citadel.
 +
 
 +
====== Harbormaster ======
 +
This officer is in charge of the town port, if any.
 +
Appointed by the mayor, he is either a retired member
 +
of the Pilots’ Guild or a political appointee who hires a
 +
master pilot as an assistant. Duties of a harbormaster
 +
include supervising port maintenance, providing pilotage
 +
services, and collecting maritime taxes such as pilotage,
 +
wharfage, and vessel registration fees. Harbormasters in
 +
the larger ports have several assistants.
 +
 
 +
====== Bondmaster ======
 +
The bondmaster is responsible for overseeing the city
 +
bonding house and collecting hawking taxes and import
 +
duties. Appointed by the mayor, the bondmaster is usually
 +
a member of an important guild and may have assistants.
 +
Guards will be provided by the warden.
 +
 
 +
=== Town Law ===
 +
Town law is quite different from rural justice and
 +
is sufficiently complex to support a guild of litigants.
 +
Towns are inhabited mainly by freemen, so royal justice
 +
is available to most citizens. Towns regard the right to
 +
operate their own courts, free from the interference of any
 +
local lord, as their most treasured prerogative. Freetown
 +
charters give their courts a place in the judicial hierarchy
 +
equal to a shire. Appeal from them is directly to the crown.
 +
Feudal towns are considered part of the shire in which
 +
they lie, so appeals are made first to the shire moot.
 +
 
 +
Towns are centers of trade and sometimes of
 +
scholarship and there is a somewhat greater dependence
 +
on written statute and precedent in town law. Financial
 +
transactions are much more common and civic penal
 +
codes may view economic or civil cases as dimly as
 +
crimes of violence. The importance of a suit is often a
 +
matter of how much (and whose) money is involved.
 +
 
 +
Most cases are settled informally. The parties to
 +
a dispute make an appointment for adjudication and
 +
the case will then be argued before a single alderman.
 +
The financial interests of the participants often lend
 +
themselves to a quick execution of justice. The alderman
 +
will pass judgment and levy and collect fines with
 +
dispatch. Appeals may be made to a town court of
 +
assembled aldermen. Important or complex cases will
 +
usually go directly to the town court. Aldermen may issue
 +
writs and warrants but, in a corrupt town, it is usually
 +
cheaper to seek a writ elsewhere.
 +
 
 +
==== Urban Geography ====
 +
Most towns are roughly circular. Streets tend to
 +
radiate from several key points, notably the market and
 +
citadel, but they may well detour around vanished ponds
 +
or trees. Many streets existed before the town walls were
 +
built but new construction will take into account the
 +
location of city gates and gradually make the city appear
 +
more planned.
 +
 
 +
Street names are rarely posted; they tend to be a
 +
matter of oral rather than written tradition and change
 +
from time to time. Houses are not numbered. There
 +
is no official post office; mail is carried privately, at
 +
considerable expense. Few can read anyway.
 +
 
 +
Crime is rampant in most cities. Street illumination
 +
is rare so the streets are dark and dangerous at night.
 +
Policing, such as it exists, is typically in the hands of
 +
notoriously corrupt and incompetent city garrison. The
 +
open carrying of weapons is discouraged by most civic
 +
authorities.
 +
 
 +
The quality
 +
of urban
 +
construction tends
 +
to be somewhat
 +
higher than in
 +
the countryside
 +
but there is wide
 +
variation from town
 +
to town. Aleath is
 +
famous on Hârn for
 +
its high standards of
 +
civic architecture;
 +
Golotha, on the
 +
other hand, is an
 +
urban blight. Sewers
 +
are rare.
  
−
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 +
Government buildings and temples tend to be built
 +
of stone on a lavish scale. However, most townsmen live
 +
in two- or three-story slums of wooden construction in
 +
which overcrowding is the norm. Guildsmen can usually
 +
afford better accommodation and the homes of a few
 +
wealthy guildsmen may be quite luxurious.
 +
 +
City lots change hands without reference to any
 +
zoning bylaws, although government will occasionally
 +
step in to forbid construction and all urban governments
 +
have unlimited expropriation powers.
 +
 +
===== Town Markets =====
 +
Towns are essentially defensible markets, where the
 +
countryside trades its agricultural surplus for the civilized
 +
artifacts of the city. The relationship is symbiotic; each
 +
has its own monopoly, but the countryside could exist
 +
without towns while the converse is untrue.
 +
 +
The heart of the town is its marketplace, the
 +
place where money and goods are exchanged more
 +
or less freely. It is illegal to sell anything within five
 +
leagues of most towns except within its marketplace.
 +
Impromptu highway sales within this zone are forbidden
 +
by royal laws; the minimum penalty is confiscation. The
 +
marketplace itself is administered by the Mangai, who
 +
rent space for a penny or two per day. Vendors can sell
 +
from their own carts, tents, or stalls, or rent them from
 +
tentmakers or woodcrafters.
 +
 +
Local guildsmen have an advantage in the town
 +
economy. Town aldermen and mayors are usually local
 +
guildsmen and members of a local guild are the only
 +
ones permitted to freely sell their goods within the town.
 +
Goods imported into a city are subject to payment of
 +
hawking taxes and, if they are covered by a local guild
 +
monopoly, they must be offered first to local guildsmen
 +
handling such wares to be marked up and resold.
 +
 +
===== Townsmen =====
 +
Town life is more sophisticated and volatile than life
 +
in the countryside. On the rural manor, everyone has
 +
his place, high or low, governed in accordance with old
 +
feudal traditions and almost all rural activities center
 +
around the seasonal nature of agriculture. Townsmen,
 +
on the other hand, are freemen and their social and legal
 +
obligations seem less. Their duties may be limited to
 +
the payment of some rents or taxes, perhaps to military
 +
service in time of war. But while townsmen are not
 +
required to work on the land, no one guarantees them
 +
food or shelter. Their freedom from service is paid for
 +
by their lack of security. Unemployment and starvation
 +
come hand in hand; in time of famine, it is the urban poor
 +
who starve first. Townsmen are divided into two major
 +
classes, guilded and unguilded.
 +
 +
==== The Guilds ====
 +
A guild is a brotherhood of craftsmen who have
 +
banded together to control economic activity in specific
 +
or related trades. Throughout Hârn and western Lythia,
 +
virtually all significant commercial and professional
 +
activities are within the control of powerful international
 +
guilds whose monopolistic rights are protected by law.
 +
Unlike the countryside, towns are dominated by the
 +
activities of the guilds; it is their activities that justify a
 +
town’s very existence.
 +
 +
===== The Individual Guilds =====
 +
A list of the guilded occupations is noted on the
 +
Income Table on page 26 and their badges are shown
 +
on page 21. Each guild is described in Hârndex. Most are
 +
urban and some are rural; a few are both. Some guilds
 +
may be weak and have loosely defined monopolies, but
 +
most are strong with rigid monopolies. In Orbaal and
 +
among the Khuzdul, the functions of guilds are performed
 +
by clans, equally monopolistic but simpler in organization.
 +
 +
===== The Mangai =====
 +
The Mangai is the association of all guilds. Grand
 +
chapters exist in Hârnic states in one form or another.
 +
The Mangai’s principal functions are to regulate guilds,
 +
settle disputes between them, organize and regulate
 +
town markets and fairs, and lobby with governments
 +
concerning guild rights and privileges. The Mangai
 +
operates under the Charter of the Mangai, a law that has
 +
been enacted by most civilized governments of western
 +
Lythia. It is this charter that fosters and protects the legal
 +
monopolies held by all guilds.
 +
 +
A Mangai chapter is made up of (at least) one
 +
representative of each local guild. This assembly
 +
generally elects an executive council. Different chapters
 +
have various modes of operation, but most are
 +
democratic. Although it wields enormous power, the
 +
Mangai stays out of politics. Governments respond by
 +
limiting their involvement in guild affairs to taxation.
 +
 +
===== Guild Franchises =====
 +
Guilds have one prime purpose, to provide economic
 +
security for their members. To achieve this objective, they
 +
employ their legal monopolies to limit competition. This
 +
is done primarily by restricting the number of franchises
 +
in a specific market. A franchise is a license granted by a
 +
guild to a qualified master to own and operate a business
 +
within a specific area. Although the custom varies, there
 +
are usually three ranks within each guild: apprentice,
 +
journeyman, and master.
  
−
== Hârnic Guilds ==
 
−
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 +
 +
 +
== Hârnic Guilds ==
 +
'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">ADD</span>''' a list of all Guilds, links to a seperate Page to descibe each in detail. As well as creating Vector Images of Guild Badges.
 +
 +
INSERT TABLE
 +
 +
<center>
 +
{|
 +
|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Badges of the Guilds of Hârn'''
 +
| [[File:Kandáy_Player_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 +
|}
 +
</center>
 +
 +
{|
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Apothecaries</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Arcane Lore</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Chandlers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Charcoalers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Clothiers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Courtesans</span>'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Embalmers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Glassworkers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Harpers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Heralds</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Hideworkers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Innkeepers</span>'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Jewellers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Lexigraphers</span>'''
 +
|
 +
|
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Litigants</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Locksmiths</span>'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Masons</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Mercantylers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Metalsmiths</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Millers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Miners</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Ostlers</span>'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Perfumers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Physicians</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Pilots</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Potters</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Salters</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Seamen</span>'''
 +
|-
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Shipwrights</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Tentmakers</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Thespians</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Timberwrights</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Weaponcrafters</span>'''
 +
| '''<span style="color:#006699">Woodcrafters</span>'''
 +
|}
 +
 +
 +
===== Apprentices =====
 +
Apprenticeship is deemed a privilege, usually granted
 +
to the eldest son of an existing master. The guild may
 +
also permit or sell additional apprenticeships, mostly to
 +
the younger offspring of masters or to non-guildsmen
 +
able to pay the most. An apprenticeship generally lasts
 +
from four to seven years, depending on the guild. To
 +
ensure strict discipline, apprentices are rarely permitted
 +
to serve under their own fathers. Typically, two masters
 +
in nearby settlements will exchange their apprentice
 +
children. Wealthy guildsmen often try to place their sons
 +
with highly skilled and respected masters, paying such
 +
mentors a fee for this privilege. The treatment received by
 +
apprentices varies; frequent beatings and long hours of
 +
menial labor are considered normal. Apprentices receive
 +
only room and board, although some get pocket money
 +
from generous masters.
 +
 +
===== Journeymen =====
 +
The rules governing promotion from apprentice to
 +
journeyman vary from guild to guild. The candidate may
 +
have to pass a practical and/or oral examination before
 +
the guild’s Board of Syndics (see below) or the simple
 +
vouching of his master may suffice. The professional
 +
guilds usually have the most stringent requirements.
 +
Some masters will intentionally deny advancement
 +
to their apprentices because of the cheap labor they
 +
represent but the guild will usually step in to prevent this
 +
from going on too long. A few guilds do not have the rank
 +
of journeyman.
 +
 +
In addition to room and board, journeymen are
 +
entitled to a small wage, typically between one third
 +
and two thirds of the bonded master rate, depending
 +
on experience. They are usually expected to travel from
 +
one location to another working for different masters of
 +
their guild. After a prescribed period (usually 3–5 years)
 +
the journeyman may apply to any Board of Syndics for
 +
promotion to the rank of master. This generally requires
 +
the recommendations of at least three masters under
 +
whom the journeyman has served and often some kind of
 +
oral and/or written examination.
 +
 +
===== Masters =====
 +
Most guilds have two kinds of masters: freemaster
 +
and bonded master. A freemaster is one who holds a
 +
franchise, which is simply a license granted by the guild
 +
to own and operate a business in a particular location.
 +
A bonded master works under contract for a wealthy
 +
person or institution. Unemployed masters who do not
 +
hold franchises are called simply masters. All masters pay
 +
10 percent of their income to the guild as dues.
 +
 +
Franchises must be inherited or purchased; they are
 +
not automatically granted to new masters. Many masters
 +
work alongside their fathers until they inherit the family
 +
franchise, while others seek employment as bonded
 +
masters until they can afford to purchase a new franchise.
 +
The fees to buy a new franchise are stiff, ranging from
 +
two to ten years’ income of a master, plus the customary
 +
bribes. Many masters, either by choice or financial
 +
circumstance, never obtain a franchise.
 +
 +
Most guilds seek to preserve the security of their
 +
masters by limiting the number of franchisees and
 +
establishing “fair price” guidelines for wares of specific
 +
qualities. A master who sells high quality wares cheap,
 +
or low quality wares dear, will receive a visit from guild
 +
officials. They will no doubt remind him that fines can be
 +
imposed and, ultimately, a franchise can be revoked.
 +
 +
===== Guildmasters and Syndics =====
 +
All masters are members of the local guild chapter
 +
with one vote. They elect a board of syndics from
 +
among their number who then appoint a guildmaster
 +
from among themselves. These officers are responsible
 +
for the day-to-day administration of the chapter and,
 +
except in the case of very wealthy guilds, continue to
 +
be practicing masters. They usually receive a stipend for
 +
their administrative role. The guildmaster will represent
 +
the guild in the local chapter of the Mangai and at any
 +
regional conventions the guild may hold. The way in
 +
which a specific guild chapter is actually run depends
 +
mostly on the personalities involved.
 +
 +
==== Unguilded Occupations ====
 +
Most townsmen do not, however, belong to guilds.
 +
Anyone may enter an unguilded occupation, but these
 +
tend to be insecure, unfulfilling, and unprofitable. Some
 +
unguilded freemen are common soldiers and a few are
 +
successful scribes, artists, or toymakers, but most are
 +
common laborers who are typically worse off than the
 +
serfs of the countryside.
  
  
 
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Revision as of 22:14, 3 September 2017

Note: ADD proper names and cross-internal links.

Note: ADD list of "special" details to add the various details for extras, ie. saltmarshes of Vashel, under Tamsen Forest.

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Note: Colour Highlights: Yellow

Colour LINK Text: Possible Link NAME

Note: Hidden comments <!-- TEXT HERE WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED -->

Note: Anchor Points - Section linking WITHIN pages USE [[Help:Section#Section_linking|Section linking]] or To link to a section in the same page you can use [[#section name|displayed text]], and to link to a section in another page [[page name#section name|displayed text]].

Note: Section linking with arbitrary id USE <span id="anchor_name"></span>. Be sure to use a name that is not likely to be duplicated. One way to do this is to incorporate the titles of the higher-level sections, at least in abbreviated form, e.g., Ontario-Natural_features for the "Natural features" subsection of the "Ontario" section of an article about the provinces of Canada.

ADD inside Table Caption/Heaer Text


Contents

HârnWorld COL5001

(64 Pages) - version 1.2 Possible Link INSERT HEADER TABLE

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Credits

Writers

N. Robin Crossby

Tom Dalgliesh

Edwin King

Map and Plans

N. Robin Crossby

Brent Bailey

Ron Gibson

Eric Hotz

Richard Porter

Alun Rees

Illustrations

Eric Hotz

Richard Luschek

Cover

Richard Luschek

Editing and Layout

Brent Bailey

Contributors

Brad Carter

Brian Clemens

Rob Duff

Mike Dwyer

John Frazer

Doug Gillanders

John Greer

Stephen Hinchcliffe

David Kowan

Sharon MacLeod

Simon Matthews

Brad Murray

Gene Siegel

Garry Steinhilber

Heraldry

C.I. Roegner

Matt Roegner

© 2014, Columbia Games, Inc.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner, without written permission of the publisher, is strictly prohibited by law.

“Hârn,” “HârnWorld,” and “HârnMaster” are registered trademarks of Columbia Games, Inc.


Introduction

What Is Hârnworld HârnWorld is a detailed, realistic, flexible, and system-neutral setting for fantasy role-playing games. Since 1983, HârnWorld has been used by thousands of people across the world to run a wide array of medieval fantasy adventures. HârnWorld can accommodate whatever style of campaign you are looking for, whether your player characters are knights, mages, barbarians, clerics, noble lords, mercenaries, gladiators, craftsmen, merchants, thieves, or even simple peasants yearning for adventure.

This basic HârnWorld module has two components:

Hârn Overview

The 58-page Hârn article is a general overview of Hârnic cultures, governments, economics, history, and more. It also includes campaign aids for such tasks as generating weather conditions and character backgrounds.

Hârn Regional Map

The map of Hârn provides a vast amount of information with a unique cartographic system developed specifically for fantasy gaming. The area detailed measures 620×930 miles (1000×1500 km). The colors and textures show vegetation and terrain as noted on the map key.

Encyclopedia Hârnica

Beyond this master module, HârnWorld is described in a series of articles covering a variety of topics. At the highest level is Hârndex, a master index that includes entries for kingdoms, cities, castles, and major settlements; historical and present-day monarchs and other important people; gods and religions; mountains, lakes, and other geographic features; and a number of strange, dangerous creatures unique to HârnWorld. Hârndex also includes definitions of terms related to medieval economics, warfare, and society.

Hârndex is expanded upon by a series of stand-alone articles collectively referred to as the Encyclopedia Hârnica. These supplements cover a wide range of topics in much greater detail. Articles for the major kingdoms describe their people, histories, and political intrigues, while those covering individual castles and keeps provide details of the settlement’s residents, fortifications, and resources. Various religious orders are covered, giving GMs and players a rich panoply of realistic faiths from which to choose. Material about the various guilds brings greater depth to the world’s economics and articles on wilderness areas and barbarian tribes provide fertile ground for adventuring. Throughout, GMs are provided with plentiful adventure hooks and story seeds to introduce the players to the setting. With more than 200 supplements published to date, GMs won’t lack for choices in how to tailor their campaigns.

Modules are presented in an expandable format: they are loose-leaf and hole-punched, allowing you to insert them into binders to create your own Encyclopedia Hârnica to fit the needs of your campaign.

Where to Start

With all this detail, HârnWorld can seem overwhelming to newcomers. But don’t worry, you don’t need everything we’ve published to get started. The descriptions of the Hârnic kingdoms in this module will give you a taste for each and should spark ideas of the kinds of adventures they are best suited for. Just pick one and then dive into the related supplements. Use what fits your game, change what doesn’t. Above all, enjoy exploring Hârn!


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Why Use HârnWorld?

The following was written by N. Robin Crossby, creator of Hârn, in the second edition of HârnWorld, published in 1990.

Fantasy role playing is a trinity of three vital elements: gamemastering, rules, and environment. The first needs little explanation; even the best environment and rules will not survive the misjudgments of a bad GM, but they can make a talented rookie shine. Rules are no more than a mechanical set of guidelines, an attempt to formulate common sense into some pretty weird stuff.

HârnWorld belongs to the third element of FRP. A good environmental framework is a painstaking endeavor that takes many, many years of blood and sweat to create. Something like 30 man-years has gone into HârnWorld products.

All works of fantasy should be woven of familiar threads. Because it is impossible to entirely describe an alien world, readers must be able to fill in the gaps with their own knowledge and experience. Although more than one million words have gone into describing HârnWorld and its expansion modules, lots more can be said and will be said. In the meantime, the reader can take comfort from knowing that this world operates under the same physical laws and social dynamics as medieval Terra.

Of course, in any fantasy the viewer/player must suspend his disbelief. In fantasy role playing, most are willing to accept that magic works and that fell beasties roam the wilderness. Outlandish beasts with strange powers and strange esoteric phenomena exist in HârnWorld, but they are carefully blended with medieval reality.

With roleplaying, there is a vital element of mood, and this elusive principle lies at the heart of HârnWorld. While it is true that magic-strong, hack-and-slash environs can keep players busy for a time, only an environment that is fundamentally rational can give the feeling that one is involved in an epic.

HârnWorld was specifically created for roleplaying as opposed to dragon-bashing. Those who have so far limited their FRP activity to random forays into disjointed chaos have missed at least half the fun of this exciting hobby. HârnWorld is, I believe, an epic product, with all the fantasy you want, and all the realism you need.

N. Robin Crossby

1954–2008


Cultures

Hârn Regional Map
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Hârn is a rough, hazy, forested island about 100 miles off the northwest coast of the continent of Lythia on the edge of the Haonic Ocean. It is a wild, dangerous land, where pockets of civilization are surrounded by large tracts of wilderness. It is a land of feudal kingdoms, religious turmoil, savage monsters, noble knights, beleaguered peasants, industrious craftsmen, barbaric tribesmen, and secretive wizards.

Hârnic Cultures

While Hârn contains unique cultures and creatures, its closest historical equivalent is 9th to 14th century Britain. Elements from this entire period may be found and, with the exception of the unique elements described, the GM may use this historical era as a model.

Kingdoms There are seven civilized human states on Hârn. Five of them are feudal, one is pre-feudal (Orbaal), and the last is a plutocratic republic (Tharda). Two demi-human states exist: Azadmere, kingdom of the Khuzdul (dwarves), and Evael, kingdom of the Sindarin (elves). Both prefer to maintain their distance from the human nations and each other.

Barbarian Nations The wilderness of Hârn is home to 18 tribal nations with a total population exceeding 100,000. There is almost constant conflict between tribes and their civilized neighbors but some are more warlike than others.

Gargun Nations Hârnic orcs, or gargun, are sometimes called Foulspawn. Five species of these creatures live in Hârn’s mountains, either in cave complexes or as wandering nomadic bands. Hârn may have as many as 50,000 gargun.

Unique Cultures Two unique “cultures” exist on Hârn: the Ivashu of Misyn, a diverse group of creatures spawned by the god Ilvir; and the Ilme of Ilmen Marsh, a race of intelligent mere-dragons.


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Geography Hârn’s center is dominated by Lake Benath, a freshwater lake drained by the Thard River. The longest river is the Kald (375 miles), which drains the eastern interior. Much of Hârn is hilly. There are four mountain ranges of note: the Felshas, running north-south in central Hârn; the Rayeshas, running east-west along the top of Lake Benath; the Sorkins, running northsouth along the east coast; and the Jahls in the extreme north.

Weather and Climate Hârn’s climate is basically maritimetemperate (cool summers, mild winters, and damp). Some say that Hârn has no climate, just weather. The prevailing southwesterly winds off the Haonic Ocean are moist. Fog, drizzle, and overcast skies are common. The island receives ample precipitation all year round. This falls mostly as rain, although winter snow and sleet occur, especially in the north and at high elevations. The seas around Hârn are notoriously rough; calm waters, which are rare, can build swiftly into terrible storms.

Vegetation The moist climate promotes a luxurious vegetation, mostly summergreen deciduous forest and woodland. Needleleaf forests, alpine tundras, and permanent snowcaps are found at higher elevations. Heathlands are common along western margins.

Communications A lack of good roads and rough terrain combine to make travel difficult, especially in winter. The island is regarded with disdain by continental Lythians and is generally avoided. Tales of wild men and fearsome beasts have served to daunt visitors from abroad. Despite the unpredictable seas, a few adventurous seamen ply their trade between Hârn and Lythia. The Hârnic guilds maintain good contact with their foreign colleagues.

Calendar The Hârnic calender, called Tuzyn Reckoning (TR), has a lunar year of 12 months, each with 30 days:

Spring: Nuzyael, Peonu, Kelen

Summer: Nolus, Larane, Agrazhar

Autumn: Azura, Halane, Savor

Winter: Ilvin, Navek, Morgat

The game year is 720 TR.


Ázadmêre

Azadmere is the kingdom of the Khuzdul in Hârn’s Sorkin Mountains. Ruled by King Hazmadul III of Clan Tarazakh, the kingdom is centered on the city of the same name but includes most of the mountains surrounding Lake Arain. It was founded more than 7,000 years ago and is the last settlement of Khuzdul on Hârn.

The kingdom is a unique hybrid culture of dwarves and humans. Of the 11,000 total population, 6,200 are human descendants of a few hundred trusted Jarin who were given refuge after the Atani Wars. Most of the humans live around the settlement of Habe, the main source of food for the kingdom. They owe allegiance to Hazmadul’s chief human vassal, Baron Kophar, who rules his barony with little interference from the king. Most other humans live in the city of Azadmere, as do almost all of the Khuzdul.

The city of Azadmere is an impressive walled settlement, with a moat, stout double walls, and prominent round towers. It is really two cities, the Outer City and Inner City. The Outer City lies between Lake Arain and Mount Zaduryn, at the foot of a megalithic cliff with large granite outcrops at its summit known as “the Knives.” It is devoted primarily to human residences and various trades and crafts. The Inner City features extensive chambers and passages carved into the living rock of the mountain. It contains the mines and residences for the Khuzdul, most of whom work in the Outer City. Very few humans are permitted access to the Inner City, notably Baron Kophar, his closest lieutenants, and some local officials.

The high altitude and poor soils are not suitable for growing wheat so the kingdom relies on imported grain from Kaldor to supplement its own crops. In return, Azadmere exports weapons and armour, gems and jewelry, and gold and silver artifacts. The mines of Azadmere produce iron, silver, and gems, and are the major active source of gold on Hârn. The Khuzdul have no formal guild system but various clans have economic rights that amount to monopolies in their chosen crafts.

The Khuzdul have a strong enmity for the gargun that infest the surrounding mountains. In addition to the city’s fortifications, the kingdom includes the formidable fortress of Zerhun. Built into the rugged cliffs overlooking the Silver Way, Zerhun is strategically placed to guard the approaches to Azadmere.

Although a few adventurous or outlawed Khuzdul may be found anywhere on Hârn, the Kingdom of Azadmere has minimal contact with outsiders other than the limited trade with Kaldor. It is deemed a great honor for an outsider to be permitted entry to the kingdom.

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Ázadmêre Coat of Arms
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Location: Eastern Hârn

Atlas Maps: L4

Government: Monarchy

King: Hazmadul III, Clan Tarazakh

Culture: Khuzdul

Population: 4,800 Khuzdul, 6,200 Human

Royal Seat: Azadmere

Largest Town: Azadmere (pop. 4,100 Khuzdul, 1,800 Human)

Exports: Weapons and armour, gems and jewelry, gold and silver products

Religion: Khuzdul worship Siem; Jarin worship Peoni, Siem, or Ilvir.


Related Products

  • Azadmere Kingdom Module (COL #5004). Includes Azadmere, Khuzdul, Habe, and Zerhun.
  • Sorkin Mountains (COL #5890)
  • Silver Way (COL #5895)
  • Kiraz (COL #5016)
  • Nasty, Brutish, and Short: The Orcs of Hârn (COL #5071)


Chybísa

Chybisa is Hârn’s smallest state, a tiny kingdom in southeastern Hârn. The kingdom is centered on Burzyn Castle in the Ulmerien River valley. It is bounded to the north by the region of Upper Osel, to the east by the Anadel highlands, to the south by the plains of Horadir, and to the west by Setha Heath. The natural vegetation is mostly mixed woodland with tracts of cropland and pasture. The Ulmerien valley includes some of the most fertile land on Hârn.

Chybisa was founded in 160 TR by adventurous Melderyni settlers led by a knight errant named Shobald, who carved out a realm from the petty Jarin tribes and declared himself king. At first vibrant and growing, Chybisa suffered great losses to rampaging Pagaelin and Hodiri tribesmen during the Migration Wars that began soon after the kingdom’s founding.

Chybisa’s relations with the kingdoms of Kaldor and Melderyn are peaceful but somewhat strained. Both have a claim to the kingdom and while neither seems presently inclined to press their case, the situation worries the current monarch, Verlid VII of Clan Geledoth. At the moment, trade flows freely through Burzyn and there are frequent visitors from Kaldor and Melderyn.

Verlid VII succeeded his father at age 17 and has proven himself a competent if somewhat nervous monarch. His father ran up huge debts, as yet unpaid, with usurers in Thay. These debts and his concerns over the claims to his throne by Melderyn and Kaldor have not helped his congenitally weak heart. To add to Verlid’s worries, he gets on poorly with his only surviving son, who appears to be undergoing the early stages of syphilis.

The lands surrounding the kingdom are home to three tribal nations. Although the Bujoc to the east are shy and few in number, the Hodiri to the south and Pagaelin in the north are among the most populous tribes on Hârn. Fortunately for the Chybisans, neither nation is now particularly hostile, although the past is another tale. Both nations trade with the kingdom. Hodiri tribesmen can be found in Burzyn and other settlements and the Pagaelin are common visitors to the villages north of the Ulmerien.

Chybisa controls the only bridge across the Ulmerien and draws considerable revenue from caravan traffic using the Genin Trail between Tashal and Thay. Extensive mining in the Anadel hills also swells the treasury. It has been whispered that gold has been found on one of the tributary streams of the Ulmerien in the Anadel highlands but there has been no reliable confirmation.

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Chybísa Coat of Arms
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Location: Southeastern Hârn

Atlas Maps: K7, L7

Government: Monarchy

King: Verlid VII (Clan Geledoth)

Culture: Feudal

Population: 8,000

Royal Seat: Burzyn

Largest Town: Burzyn (pop. 510)

Exports: Grain

Religion: Churches of Larani (nobility) and Peoni (commoners) dominate.


Related Products

  • Kingdom of Chybisa (COL #5007) Includes Chybisa, Burzyn, and Hârnic Law.
  • Onden Keep (COL #5602)
  • HârnMaster Barbarians (COL #4761)


Eváel

Evael is the last remnant of the Sindarin kingdom that once covered all of Hârn. Unable to stem the tide of human immigration, the Sindarin renounced claim to Hârnic sovereignty some 14 centuries ago and withdrew to the Shava Forest. Evael is now more of a sanctuary for Hârn’s 5,000 Sindarin than a kingdom in the human sense. Evael’s borders are the Farin River in the west, the Wend in the north, and the Kald in the east. The islands of Yaelin and Keboth are loosely controlled parts of the kingdom.

The majority of humans who live in Evael are descendants of the Jarin who accompanied the Sindarin during their withdrawal into the Shava Forest after the Atani Wars. Others are descended from “newbloods” who were allowed to settle in Evael to prevent inbreeding. Human residents are full citizens of the kingdom. The rare humans who are invited to live in Evael, most often to apprentice under a Sindarin artisan, are residents only at their master’s pleasure. When training is complete, they are expected to depart the kingdom within a year. Hasty marriages to Jarin residents to avoid deportation are not uncommon.

The economy of Evael is based on barter. The kingdom does not mint coins and foreign coinage is rare. Transactions between Sindarin are always bartered or gifted. To outsiders, the system is a confused and inefficient tangle of favors and exchanges but the Sindarin value the close relationships that develop. The system of mutual trust, honor, and generosity works because transactions are few. Jarin craftsmen accept coinage from visitors.

Elshavel, or Tarminas as it is known to the Sindarin, is the capital and largest settlement; it is the most beautiful city in all of Hârn. Its inhabitants enjoy the highest standard of living and the entire community reflects the Sindarin eye for aesthetics and function. Businesses, fortifications, and residences blend with the sylvan setting for an effect that is unearthly to the eyes of men. Elshavel is a place visitors regard with awe.

Ulfshafen, or Nimfalas, is the major port and trade center. It is located on the mouth of the Enorien and controls maritime traffic in the Kald River estuary. Although beautiful and exotic, Ulfshafen’s lack of raucous pleasures and its almost invisible civic authority can be unsettling to human visitors.

The Chelni, Pagaelin, and Tulwyn tribal nations surround Evael. All have legends about the inhabitants of the Shava Forest. The Chelni fought against the Sindarin in the Battle of Sorrows and have since viewed them with respect and awe. The Pagaelin consider them to be “devils of the forest” and keep their distance. The Tulwyn will not cross the Farin River after a disastrous attempt to invade Evael around 150.

The Sindarin are largely self-sufficient and Evael has minimal contact with other civilized nations. Almost all imports and exports are handled by the Jarin, who act as intermediaries. Some trade is conducted through the port at Ulfshafen or overland through Trobridge Inn. Generally, the Sindarin kingdom pursues a neutral policy towards the rest of Hârn. Kaldor and the Thardic Republic both claim lands right up to the borders of Evael. These claims are only nominal and neither state has the strength to extend its power into the region. The Sindarin and Khuzdul, once great allies, have ignored each other for 14 centuries. Evael’s isolation from the rest of Hârn lends it an aura of mystery and a reputation that all manner of enchantments will befall the unwary. Visitors are few.


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Eváel Coat of Arms
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Location: Southern Hârn

Atlas Maps: H6–8, I6–8, J6–7

Government: Monarch and advisory council

King: Aranath Halirien

Culture: Sindarin

Population: 5,100 Sindarin, 500 Human

Royal Seat: Elshavel

Largest Town: Elshavel (pop. 600 Sindarin, 200 Humans)

Exports: Glasswares, musical instruments, jewelry

Religion: Sindarin and some Jarin worship Siem; other Jarin worship Peoni or Ilvir.


Related Products

  • Kingdom of Evael (COL #5081) Includes Evael, Elshavel Castle, Ulfshafen Castle, Bejist Earthmaster Site, Pesino Earthmaster Site, and an adventure scenario.
  • Trobridge Inn (COL #5072) Includes “Pepper and Spice” adventure scenario.
  • HârnMaster Barbarians (COL #4761)


Káldôr

Located in the eastern interior of Hârn, Kaldor is a feudal realm ruled by King Miginath from his royal castle in the city of Tashal. Founded more than five centuries ago (188), external threats to Kaldor have been minimal but internal strife has been common, notably the Kaldoric Civil War (362–377) and Baronial Revolt (599–603). Both conflicts were the result of a tendency for kings to draw too much power into their own hands at the expense of the barons. The current dynasty, Clan Elendsa, was founded in 603 and has encouraged a return to traditional principles of feudalism and chivalry while maintaining royal justice.

The present monarch, King Miginath Elendsa, was 41 when he succeeded his father (Torastra) in 693. He has always been sickly and there are yearly predictions of his imminent death from any of numerous ailments. After 27 years, the aged king continues to baffle his subjects simply by getting up each morning. He has never married, leaving the succession a matter of contention between three bastard sons and a score of nieces and nephews. During his reign, Miginath has substantially increased the royal bureaucracy, handing out new offices in exchange for concessions from individual nobles and their clans. He is popular with the common people because he has kept the kingdom prosperous and at peace.

Many of the lands claimed by Kaldor are controlled by tribal nations. In the western Chelmarch, the Salt Route crosses Chelni and Kath lands. Kaldor has a token presence at Trobridge Inn but only because the Chelni allow it to survive. The southern Oselmarch lies within Pagaelin territory, a region crossed by the Genin Trail and subject to raids. Beyond the Pagaelin territory lies small but rich Chybisa, a kingdom to which Kaldor occasionally asserts a claim.

The commercial life of Kaldor and its merchant class peaks at the great Tashal Summer Fair. Caravans converge on this economic hub city from all corners of Hârn: from Orbaal down the Fur Road, from Azadmere along the Silver Way, from Thay and the Lythian continent via the Genin Trail, and from western Hârn by the Salt Route. Mercantylers trade through much of the summer before returning home with wagons laden with goods.

Gatehouse, Qualdris Castle
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Káldôr Coat of Arms
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Location: Eastern Hârn

Atlas Maps: J4–6, K4–6

Government: Monarchy

King: Miginath, Clan Elendsa

Culture: Feudal

Population: 105,000

Royal Seat: Olokand

Largest Town: Tashal (pop. 11,400)

Exports: Grain, vellum, wool

Religion: Churches of Larani (nobility) and Peoni (commoners) dominate.

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  • Kingdom of Kaldor (COL #5610)
  • City of Tashal (COL #5611)
  • Gardiren Castle (COL #5623)
  • Kiban Castle (COL #5628)
  • Minarsas Castle (COL #5634)
  • Olokand Castle (COL #5651)
  • Qualdris Castle (COL #5638)
  • Heru Keep (COL #5639)
  • Oselbridge (COL #5651)
  • Silver Way (COL #5895)
  • Tontury Lake (COL #5893)
  • Field of Daisies (COL #5951)
  • 100 Bushels of Rye (COL #5051)
  • Trobridge Inn (COL #5072)
  • Tournaments (COL #4721)
  • HârnManor (COL #4751)
  • HârnMaster Barbarians (COL #4761)


Kingdom of Kandáy COL5660

Kanday is a feudal kingdom in southwestern Hârn. Created in 589 after the collapse of the despotic Theocracy of Tekhos, Kanday now stands as a realm committed to peace and prosperity. Despite its tradition of enlightened and peaceful government, the kingdom has seen three major wars over the past 60 years, mainly because its policies are in direct conflict with those of its neighbors, Rethem and Tharda.

King Andasin IV is unmarried and there is some pressure on him to provide an heir. Negotiations are underway for him to marry the daughter of Earl Cassean of Heroth. Andasin is privately reluctant, as Dorthea Cassean is well known for her shrewish temper and plain appearance.

Some lords are troubled by the power of the king’s father, the Earl of Sarkum, who has considerable influence over Andasin IV. The king’s younger brother, Prince Anaflas, is widely seen as the more pragmatic and energetic of the two. Many would prefer his leadership should war break out.

Relations between Kanday and its neighbors are peaceful but tense. Although the Agrikan Order of Copper Hook and the Laranian Order of the Checkered Shield have frequently skirmished across the Rethem-Kanday border since the end of Ezar’s War, neither monarch officially recognizes the conflict nor supports the combatants. Both claim it is a religious dispute; should either order make substantive gains it is likely that the secular governments would become involved. The Rethemi Earl of Tormau, who detests King Chafin III, has been covertly giving aid to both orders to keep the conflict simmering. He has also approached Anaflas through intermediaries to explore alternatives should war break out between Kanday and Rethem.

Kanday recently suffered defeat at the hands of the Thardic Republic during the Kuseme War (712–713). King Andasin fears the martial skills and expansionist designs of Marshal Kronas Elernin. The problem is made greater by the erratic (from Andasin’s point of view) policies of the Thardic Senate. Andasin fears that the pro-Kronas and Imperial factions will gain dominance. His greatest worry is an alliance of his northern neighbors against him. Kanday and Tharda are also at odds over the range of the Gozyda tribesmen. King Andasin I swore an oath that his kingdom would always defend the Gozyda. The Republic claims most of the Gozyda lands and occasionally captures the tribesmen as slaves.

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Kandáy Coat of Arms
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Location: Southwestern Hârn

Atlas Maps: D7–9, E7–9, F7–9

Government: Monarchy

King: Andasin IV (Clan Kand)

Culture: Feudal

Population: 96,000

Royal Seat: Dyrisa

Largest Town: Aleath (pop. 5800)

Exports: Linen, vellum, wool

Religion: Churches of Larani (nobility) and Peoni (commoners) dominate.


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  • City of ALEATH (COL #5661)
  • Dyrisa Castle (COL #5662)
  • Heroth Castle (COL #5675)
  • Menekod Castle (COL #5669)
  • Minilaous Keep (COL #5670)
  • Sarkum Castle (COL #5680)
  • Selvos Castle (COL #5684)
  • Dunir Keep (COL #5685)
  • Larani: Order of the Checkered Shield (COL #4442)
  • Larani: Order of Hyvrik (COL #4441)
  • Dead of Winter (COL #5041)
  • Dead Weight (COL #5952)
  • Tesien Earthmaster Site (COL #5688)
  • HârnMaster Barbarians (COL #4761)


Mèlderýn

Melderyn, Hârn’s oldest kingdom, is named for the island off the southeast coast of Hârn on which it was founded. The many strange goingson and mystical persons attributed to the island, which is commonly called “The Wizards’ Isle,” have given the realm a reputation as a place of mystery and enchantment. To some, Melderyn appears timeless, unaffected by mundane happenings in the rest of Hârn.

In addition to Melderyn Island and the many smaller islands nearby, the kingdom includes considerable holdings on the Hârnic mainland. The kingdom is bounded on the south and east by the Gulf of Ederwyn and the Sea of Ivae, extends to the Onden River in the north, and to the Ulmerien river and the coast of Horadir in the west.

The tiny feudal kingdom of Chybisa, which the Melderyni crown still recognizes as a vassal, lies to the northwest and is the nearest civilized neighbor. The kingdom of Emelrene on the Lythian continent is some 30 leagues southeast across the Melderyni Channel. Melderyn is enriched by its command of trade between the Misty Isles and western Lythia.

Three barbarian tribal nations inhabit lands claimed by Melderyn. The reclusive, matriarchal Bujoc roam the Anadel highlands and prefer little contact with civilization. The horse-breeding Hodiri, the largest tribal group on Hârn, occupy the woodland plains of Horadir. The wild and primitive Solori dwell in the hills of Solora. Nomadic gargun of the Chindra and Moym tribes prowl the northern reaches of the realm. Melderyn is ruled by King Chunel Toron, who is advised by a secret assembly of scholars, wizards, and priests called the Council of Eleven.

Melderyn’s kings have traditionally used diplomacy to achieve their ends; no Melderyni king has fielded an army on Hârn. Melderyn’s history is not without violence, however. Foreigners have occasionally attacked the kingdom, such as the Ivinian vikings who sacked manors along the Horka River just a generation ago. Melderyni knights and adventurers have carved out petty kingdoms and joined causes that stained Hârn with blood, including the crusade currently being waged by the Laranian Order of the Lady of Paladins against the Solori.


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Mèlderýn Coat of Arms
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Location: Southeastern Hârn

Atlas Maps: L7–10, M7–10, N8–10

Government: Monarchy

King: Chunel, Clan Toron

Culture: Feudal

Population: 160,000

Royal Seat: Cherafir

Largest Town: Cherafir (pop. 7,000)

Exports: Pottery, minerals, fish

Religion: Churches of Larani (nobility) and Peoni (commoners) dominate. Church of Save-K’nor influential.


Related Products

  • Kingdom of Melderyn (COL #5700)
  • City of Cherafir (COL #5701)
  • City of Thay (COL #5702)
  • Chyrefal Castle (COL #5703)
  • Gythrun Castle (COL #5713)
  • Harden Castle (COL#5718)
  • Karveth Castle (COL #5723)
  • Nurisel Castle (COL #5725)
  • Glenoth Keep (COL #5726)
  • Menio Keep (COL #5715)
  • Gelimo Chantry (COL #5731)
  • Escorsen’s Hermitage (COL #5733)
  • Telumar Earthmaster Site (COL #5889)
  • HârnMaster Barbarians (COL #4761)


Orbáal

Orbaal is a pre-feudal state in northeastern Hârn ruled by King Alegar II from Geldeheim. The region was formerly called Jara until the Kingdom of Orbaal was proclaimed in 686 after the Ivinian conquest of the indigenous Jarin. It is a very unstable realm, where less than 8,000 rowdy and ungovernable Ivinians have subjugated about 65,000 rebellious Jarin.

Orbaal is really a host of semi-independent squabbling domains. Small clans pay tribute to more powerful ones who in turn pay it to the king. The clans are constantly fighting among themselves, each going their own way with very little interference from the king, whose only real claim to the crown is that he has the biggest and most powerful domain.

Racial stratification has led to serious tensions in Orbaalese society and several Jarin rebellions have been put down with considerable bloodshed. The few remaining major landholding Jarin lords are a significant divisive faction, with some promoting unrest and plotting the expulsion of the hated “barbarians” from their native soil.

The Ivinians are known for piracy, a tradition that all coastal peoples in northwestern Lythia have come to dread. In hard economic times, various clans take to the sea in their dragonships and go viking, that is, raiding and pillaging coastal villages and towns. The golden age of viking may have passed, but recent attempts to sack the city of Thay were a potent reminder that the mercenary sea power of Ivinian clansmen is still to be feared.

There have been three Orbaalese kings since 686, all members of Clan Taareskeld of Geldeheim. King Alegar II faces considerable problems ruling his fractious realm. Both the Ivinians and Jarin are freedom-loving, rowdy, and rebellious. In addition, the Ivinian kingdoms of Rogna, Menglana, and Seldenbaal all regard Orbaal as a colony and periodically demand tribute, although none has been given for many years.

The region is also home to two semi-nomadic nations, the Anoa and the Ymodi, who have withstood the previous Jarin lords and current Ivinian conquerors, frequently bloodying the noses of any would-be overlords.

The rugged Jahl Mountains shelter several tribes of gargun and other dangerous creatures, including yelgri, Ivashu, and even dragons; travel there is hazardous.

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Location: Northeastern Hârn

Atlas Maps: G1–3, H1–3, I1–3, J1–3, K1–3

Government: Monarchy

King: Alegar II, Clan Taareskeld

Culture: Feudal/Viking

Population: 73,000

Royal Seat: Geldeheim

Largest Town: Keiren (pop. 820)

Exports: Furs/hides, amber, honey, whale and seal products

Religion: Ivinians worship Sarajin; Jarin worship Ilvir or Siem


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Réthem

Founded in 635, the Kingdom of Rethem is the latest stage in a bloody evolution that started with Corani imperialism and has gone through Morgathian revolt and theocracy, barbarian conquest, Agrikan ascendancy, and a brutal attempt at feudalism by force. The political situation is far from settled and the threat of civil war looms over the kingdom.

Unlike other Hârnic kingdoms, Rethem is dominated by the churches of Agrik and Morgath, giving it a reputation as “the black-souled and evil” kingdom. Religious freedom and tolerance are not a part of Rethemi culture.

Rethem is bounded by the Kingdom of Kanday to the south, the Peran wilderness to the north, and the Thardic Republic to the east. With a long history of violence, a rulership built on cunning and strength, and a shaky political structure, Rethem is viewed warily by its neighbors.

Peran is home to the Kubora, a fierce and numerous tribal nation. Rethem was created by the conquests of a Kuboran chieftain, something that neither the tribesmen nor the Rethemi are likely to forget. The Kuboran influence is still significant in Rethem and most Rethemi nobility are of Kuboran descent, although it is not currently fashionable to admit to it.

Rethem’s northern forests are rich in timber and furs and the abundant minerals of the lowlands have been extensively mined since Corani times. The fertile Thard Valley has long been one of the most densely populated regions of Hârn and boasts the strongest economy in the west.

Rethem’s eighth and current ruler, King Chafin III, is not the product of a long and respected dynasty, his clan having seized the throne a mere 40 years ago. He has constructed a network of allegiances that relies upon the careful placement of kin and the manipulation of competing loyalties that he himself may not fully command. Chafin often uses the threat of invasion from the kingdom’s neighbors to keep his rivals off guard.

Chafin III keeps his seat at Shostim and spends little time at the royal castle in Golotha. He is aware that five of Rethem’s seven monarchs have died violently. Few expect the current uneasy bout of peace in Rethem to last long. If Chafin can live long enough and unite his chronically rebellious kingdom, it is likely he will again attack hated Kanday. Chafin is more secure and shrewd than his predecessors but suspicion of his many rivals may cripple his state-building efforts. It is certain that both internal strife and external wars will reshape the kingdom in the coming years.


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Location: Western Hârn

Atlas Maps: C6, D6–7, E6–7

Government: Monarchy

King: Chafin III, Clan Araku

Culture: Feudal

Population: 95,000

Royal Seat: Shostim

Largest Town: Golotha (pop. 6,200)

Exports: Wild beasts, leatherwares, oils

Religion: Church of Agrik dominates, Morgathians influential in Golotha


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Thârda/Thârdic Republic

The Thardic Republic is a plutocratic state governed by a republican senate. The republic was founded in 674, having evolved from the Thardic League. The capital, Coranan, is Hârn’s largest city. The republic has one other walled city, Shiran, and several large towns.

The supreme governing body of the republic is the Thardic Senate, housed in the Chamber of the Red Domes in Coranan. The Senate is controlled by 66 wealthy families who own 90 percent of the republic’s land. The major responsibilities of the Senate are to levy taxes, conduct foreign affairs, and appoint various key officials. The Senate is often deadlocked because of the rivalry between powerful factions, including an imperialist party that intrigues for a revival of the once-mighty Corani Empire.

The republic is divided into six administrative provinces: Coranan, Eidel, Gerium, Kom, Ramala, and Shiran. Each province has two governors: a civil administrator called a magistrate and a marshal who commands the provincial legion. Each is appointed for a three-year term that may be extended at the pleasure of the Senate. Each governor can veto the other’s decisions; deadlocks are referred back to the Senate. Neither official is paid and corruption is rampant. It has been said that a provincial governor can steal enough money in his first year to pay the bribes that got him the appointment, enough in the second year to bribe the jury that will try him for corruption when he retires, and more than enough in the third year to live in luxury for the rest of his life. It is possible, although rare, for one person to hold both offices, as is currently the case in Eidel Province. Although the city of Coranan lies within Coranan Province, it has its own separate government.

The cohorts and companies of the provincial legions are assigned at the discretion of the Senate. Each legion is responsible for maintaining order within a specific province and for defense against foreign aggression. All Thardic keeps and castles are garrisoned by legion units. It is treason (a capital offense) for any marshal to lead his army outside his province without Senate approval. The Red Guard garrison Coranan and serve as the senatorial bodyguard. Although technically also responsible for policing the city, they have grown so lax in this regard that several religious and mercenary groups have taken over much of that duty.

The Church of Halea is popular among the upper and middle classes in the Republic and many senators are adherents. Arenas in Coranan and Shiran run by the Agrikan church are the site of the popular Pamesani Games, which feature contests between gladiators, combats involving wild beasts, judicial duels, and spectacles of a depraved and perverse nature.


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Location: Western Hârn

Atlas Maps: E6–7, F6–7, G6–7

Government: Republican Senate; Provincial Marshals and Magistrates

Culture: Republic

Population: 104,000

Royal Seat: Coranan

Largest Town: Coranan (pop. 12,500)

Exports: Salt, metals, dyes, perfumes, slaves, brasswares, pottery, textiles

Religion: All faiths except Naveh are accepted. Halean church most influential.


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Tribal Nations

Hârn contains 18 barbarian nations, whose total population exceeds 100,000. Each of these nations has fairly well-defined homelands in the wilderness areas of Hârn, which are noted on the Cultural-Political map. For the most part, the tribal nations are of the same racial stock as the civilized human cultures but, for one reason or another, have remained barbaric or semi-civilized. They are mostly semi-nomadic, moving from one location to another within their range either seasonally or every few years. Some are hunter-gatherers who do not practice more than rudimentary agriculture. Each tribal nation is divided into several dozen tribes of 30 to 1,200 persons, although few tribes would exceed 200 in size. Each tribal nation is described in Hârndex.

Adaenum

The Adaenum subsist by primitive agriculture and fishing on Anfla Island off the southwest coast of Hârn.

Anoa

These nomadic hunters live in the Anoth River valley in southern Orbaal. Conflict with gargun and the Orbaalese is common.

Bujoc

This nation of shy, superstitious, forest nomads has a strong matrilineal culture. They are sometimes encountered by travelers on the Genin Trail in Melderyn.

Chelni

The Chelni herd cattle and ponies in the Chelna Gap and surrounding hills. They are famed for their mounted warriors and their hostility toward travelers and each other.

Chymak

The sea-folk of Belna Island are renowned fishermen. They range the Gulf of Ederwyn in large sea-going canoes and are valued as seamen on merchant ships.

Equani

The warriors of Equeth are one of the most primitive tribes. They are noted for their elaborate facial scars and tattoos and their merciless treatment of intruders.

Gozyda

These forest tribesmen are skilled guerrilla fighters and control the Mimea Hills in western Hârn. Outlaws from Tharda and Kanday have brought them new blood and technology.

Hodiri

The Hodiri are proud nomadic horsemen and fierce warriors. They are not particularly hostile to their neighbors and frequently travel to Chybisa to trade their horses and cattle for the products of civilization.

Kabloqui

These degenerate cannibals from the north shore of Lake Benath are related to the Equani, who detest them. Their gargun neighbors may destroy them, if their own treachery doesn’t first.

Kamaki

These fisherfolk and herders inhabit the island of Kamace off southwestern Hârn.

Kath

This loose federation of wild and primitive tribes trades with or attacks travelers in the Kathela Hills in eastern Hârn. Kath women are known for their beauty.

Kubora

This powerful warrior nation of Peran once united under Arlun the Barbarian and conquered Rethem. They export wild beasts for the Pamesani Games. Some find employment in the south as gladiators or mercenaries.

Pagaelin

The Pagaelin are violent, brutal, and vicious. They dwell roughly between the Osel River and Setha Heath and are under the influence of a heretical Navehan sect.

Solori

This primitive and wild nation in southeastern Hârn is slowly being exterminated in a genocidal crusade waged by the Laranian Order of the Lady of Paladins.

Taelda

The Taelda are nomadic hunter-gatherers who inhabit the vast forests of southern Nuthela. They are renowned healers and woodsmen. They clash constantly with gargun but bear no malice toward strangers.

Tulwyn

These ruthless barbarians inhabit the wilderness of Athul and are a threat to the Thardic outpost of Fort Taztos and travelers on the Salt Route; some are berserkers. They have a strict code of personal honor.

Urdu

The Urdu are nomadic hunters who inhabit the range between the Chetul and Pemetta rivers in northwestern Hârn. Although they are related to the Kubora and Equani, the tribes frequently raid each other.

Ymodi

These wild, fierce forest tribesmen live in the Himod region of northern Hârn. They are beleaguered by the Equani to the west, Anoa to the east, and gargun to the north and south; they survive because of their impressive skill with the bow and spear.


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Gârgún

The gargun, or Hârnic orcs, are the most aggressive and barbaric of the intelligent, culture-forming Hârnic species. They are also the most alien, being dramatically distinct from all others in their origin, biology, and society. It is rare for a culture to have no redeeming features, but that of the gargun comes close. They are violent and malevolent, with an almost insane hatred for the Khuzdul. They are carnivorous, even cannibalistic.

The ancestral gargun originated beyond Kethira and first appeared on Hârn in Elkall-Anuz around 110. It has been speculated that Lothrim brought them to Hârn by means of great enchantment to serve as warriors for his burgeoning empire. In any event, they outlived their “creator” and by 250 had spread throughout the island.

The gargun have a reproductive system resembling that of some insects. In each tribe there will be, at most, one fertile female (the queen) and generally only one fertile male (the king). Gargun hatch from gelatinous eggs laid by the queen and kept in dark, humid chambers. Newborn gargun have an extensive racial memory that preserves the customs of the gargun from one generation to the next. A crucial element of their racial memory is an instinct to submit to a clearly superior authority. They will accept the authority of a king, provided he shows an ability to eliminate rivals; any sign of weakness brings immediate revolt, which is inevitably fatal to the tyrant.

Overcrowding in a gargun colony will lead to a bloody civil war or a swarm. Civil wars can kill up to 80% of the population in an uncontrollable orgy of bloodletting, perhaps lasting a mere hour. A swarm occurs when a significant number of males, perhaps 40%, seizes the queen or a princess and escapes to establish a new colony. A swarm can be extremely unpleasant for any settlements or wandering parties in its path.

They are divided onto five sub-species which are unable to interbreed. Each has a distinct language. Gargu-araki (Small or Streaked Orc) are the smallest of the gargun and the most comfortable in the outdoors; they are feared nocturnal predators. Gargu-hyeka (Common or Brown Orc) are the most numerous sub-species and are noted for their cave complexes. Gargu-khanu (Great or Black Orc) are the largest, strongest, and most murderous gargun. Gargu-kyani (White Orc) are the second smallest and the least prone to violence; they live mostly in cave complexes in alpine regions. Gargu-viasal (Red Orc) are similar to the Common Orc but are larger, live in smaller communities, and swarm less frequently.


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Gargun Nations

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Nomadic Tribes

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Nomadic Tribes
Chindra Moym Pryeh Toset
Diaffa Nuthuk Ruthuba Wurokin


Colonies

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Amekt Gedyf Korego Qustup
Bwaft Gifuso Lucrain Sokus
Carcust Huxuth Nizus Ushet
Ejatus Jobasa Pazel Yzug
Fana Jufyx Pujet Zedabir
Felgoth Jusiku Pyxyn Zhakom


Ilme

The Ilme are a strange race of intelligent mere-dragons. They bear some likeness to their great dragon cousins and many reported tales of dragonkind are almost certainly really an Ilme encounter. Ilme are reptilian like dragons but have no wings. They commonly attain a height of 12’ and a weight of two tons. The two sexes live apart except when mating. Despite their undisputed strength, male Ilme are somewhat cowardly and are frequently bullied and robbed by gargun bands. They prefer to hunt from ambush or eat carrion. They will rarely attack intruders but will fight with desperation when cornered if negotiations fail. Female Ilme will attack and fight intruders with limb-tearing ferocity, especially to protect their young. The Ilme do not breathe fire although their breath is far from sweet.

Ivashu

Ivashu are creatures created by the god Ilvir, who enjoys creating strange life forms. The Ivashu are totally sexless and cannot breed. When they die, their auras return to Ilvir’s tower at Araka-Kalai, where they are reincarnated in a new body. After spending some time in attendance at Ilvir’s court, they are sent into the world. Most are slain quite quickly and others are taken captive for shipment to Tharda and Rethem to appear in the Pamesani arenas. A few Ivashu get past these obstacles and may be found in any part of Hârn. The Ivashu make up for their sterility by possessing strange powers. Some are intelligent and speak their own Ivashi language; others are semi-intelligent, speaking not at all and operating mostly on instinct. Almost any conceivable type of creature may be produced in small numbers by Ilvir, but a few varieties are most common. These are described in Hârndex.

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Government

Feudalism

The prevailing form of government in civilized Hârn is feudalism. All land is owned by the king, who then grants fiefs to trusted magnates to provide for local government and defense. Such grants are inheritable although the monarch may revoke them for treason or rebellion. To help them govern and meet their obligations to the crown, the great nobles grant portions of their fiefs to lesser nobles, a process known as subinfeudation.

Feudal Nobility

The distinction between noble and common blood is the most significant in Hârnic society. The exclusive rights and privileges of the nobility include the right to bear heraldic arms and chivalric weapons, ride warhorses, organize military forces, hold fortifications, and dispense justice at feudal courts. Any commoner who trespasses on these rights can expect swift and harsh punishment. The ranks of feudal nobility on Hârn are as follows.

Earl

The highest feudal noble (on Hârn). An earl’s seat will usually be a castle, sometimes a keep, and he will (typically) owe the king the military services of 60–120 knights, varying with the size of his holding. Roughly 80% of the earldom will be subinfeudated to vassal barons and knights. The rest will be held directly by the earl and managed by appointed constables or bailiffs.

Baron

The word baron is a generic term on Hârn for any major land-holding noble with less status than an earl. A barony usually contains a keep and 10–30 manors. In smaller kingdoms, notably Chybisa, a baron may not hold a keep. Regardless of the size of a barony, a few manors will be held directly by the baron and managed by his bailiffs but most will be held by vassal knights. Some barons are vassals of an earl and some are tenants-inchief, holding directly from the king.

Manorial Lord

A knight who holds a manorial fief, usually from a baron or earl. Such fiefs are given in exchange for the military services of a mounted knight, hence most holders are knights. By custom, the amount of land deemed necessary to support a knight (from revenues) is between 1,200 and 1,800 acres. A grant of this size is called a knight’s fee.

Knighthood

Knighthood is not a feudal title. All barons and earls, and even the king, are knights. Anyone may theoretically be knighted, most often for exemplary military service to the crown. Knighthood is non-hereditary but most knights are born to the station. The training for knighthood (apprentice knights are called squires) is undertaken when the young son of a knight is invited to foster at the household of another knight. Boys begin training at 12 to learn the knightly virtues: skill at arms, heraldry, and horsemanship. If all goes well, the squire can expect to be knighted around the age of 21.

Knights Bachelor

The number of knights on Hârn far exceeds the number that can be granted fiefs. While some knights will inherit or marry into land, most are landless Knights Bachelor. A few will realize their burning ambition of obtaining a fief but most spend their lives as the retainers of great nobles, within the ranks of fighting orders, or (gods forbid) adventuring.

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Feudal Obligations

When a noble accepts a fief, he owes fealty to and becomes a vassal of the person (liege) who bestowed it. A vassal is expected to give absolute loyalty to his liege. There is great variety in the contract arrangements between lord and vassal (many are unique), but some generalities may be made concerning their mutual obligations.

All feudal lords are responsible for the administration of justice within their own fiefs. They are also obliged to protect their law-abiding tenants from outside interference. In return for providing basic security, a liege is entitled to some specified military and/or feudal service. He also has the right to collect various traditional taxes including merchet (marriage tax), heriot (death tax), and aids (incidental levies) to finance the knighting of his eldest son and the dowry of his eldest daughter, and to ransom his person from enemies. The crown may levy special aids, such as to finance a war or build royal castles.


Royal Government

Although feudalism implies decentralization of royal government, few Hârnic kings rely entirely on feudal magnates to provide government of the realm. For one thing, the conduct of foreign affairs is an exclusive royal privilege. Secondly, with regard to domestic affairs, feudal nobles tend to place their own interests above those of the crown. To help them govern, Hârnic monarchs have created royal bureaucracies and divided their realms into a system of royal shires.

The Royal Bureaucracy

There are four basic departments in royal government: Chamber, Chancery, Exchequer, and Constabulary. The monarch appoints the officers in charge of each department; this is often an exercise in nepotism. There is a great deal of bribery and intrigue to obtain positions in the royal service, even though there is little tenure. When someone loses favor, his appointees (mostly relatives) may also be purged. The appeal in such a job is really the exercise of power and prestige.

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The Chamber

Run by the Royal Chamberlain, this department is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the royal household. The Chamberlain wields immense power due to his overall familiarity with royal affairs and his right to control access to the monarch.

The Chancery

The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the general government and judiciary of the kingdom as a whole. He presides over the chancery court, the highest court below that of the king.

The Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the chief financial officer of the realm. His responsibilities include the collection of royal revenues (through the sheriffs) from the provinces and towns. He also controls the minting of coins and advises the king on budgetary matters.

The Constabulary

The Lord Constable is the kingdom’s chief military officer. Some kingdoms call this official Lord Warden or Lord High Sheriff. He is generally the constable of the royal seat and oversees all other royal constables, sheriffs of the realm, etc. His department, more than any other, interacts with the other three, financial matters being referred to the Exchequer, judicial matters to the Chancery, and so on. In the king’s absence or death, this powerful individual may function, effectively, as “deputy king.”

Royal Shires

Except for Chybisa, all feudal kingdoms on Hârn are divided into judicial provinces called shires, which are subdivided into hundreds. By design, the boundaries of shires and hundreds often cut through the holdings of great nobles, which creates some interesting judicial problems. The chief royal officer of a shire is called a Sheriff (shire-reeve); that of a hundred is termed the Bailiff of the Hundred.

Sheriffs

Appointed by the crown, sheriffs are responsible for administering royal justice and collecting all royal revenues within their shires. The sheriff presides at the royal courts (open only to freemen) held in the shire moots at regular intervals and may initiate prosecution of those who offend the King’s Law. Most shires are “farmed” by the crown; annual taxes and other revenues in the shire are estimated by the Exchequer and paid by the sheriff in advance. He may then collect all royal revenues for himself; he is always vigilant because he may keep any “profit” for himself. Sheriffs command a royal keep or castle plus a company or two of mercenaries. In terms of power and influence, sheriffs are the equal of earls although the office and its privileges are not hereditary.

Royal Forests

Some hundreds are designated “royal forests” and are administered under Forest Law and theoretically reserved to the king for hunting. “Forest” is a legal term that has nothing to do with trees, although most such areas are wooded. Forest law prohibits any activity harmful to most wildlife and is unpopular with those who live under it. Poaching is probably the most common crime on Hârn. It is particularly dangerous in royal forests, which are policed by royal foresters who are apt to be harsh in their judgments. A first offender might be beaten and fined. A repeat offender may be branded or summarily hanged.


Rural Manors

Manorialism

The power of the nobility is ultimately vested in its control of land. Agriculture accounts for 80% of all Hârnic economic activity and employs 90% of its population; feudal lords control most productive land.

The basic economic unit of rural Hârn is the manorial fief. These can range from 600 to 4,800 acres in size, although 1,200 to 1,800 acres is typical. Manors are not shown on the regional map. Each hex on the map is nearly 90,000 acres and 10–30 manors are clustered around every keep, castle, or town. However, since manors are so important and because they appear in local expansion modules, the following information on Hârnic manors is included here.

A manorial fief on Hârn is either held by a knight who owes fealty and military service to a baron or earl for the grant of land or is held directly by some greater noble who will appoint a loyal relative or retainer to manage the estate for him. Some manors are held by religious orders, most notably those associated with the Church of Larani. A few manors around chartered freetowns are held by wealthy commoners, who usually have such estates managed by appointed bailiffs.

Manorial Tenants

The notion of private property is somewhat alien in a feudal society. The vast majority of Hârnians are tenants of some feudal lord. The contracts between the lord of a manor and his tenants can have endless permutations of military service, agricultural service, scutage, rent, and crop share. The exact mix varies with the personalities involved, local custom, and the current situation.

Serfs

Sometimes called unfree tenants, serfs make up 70–90% of the rural population. They possess few legal rights but should not be thought of as slaves. Although they are bound to the land and the lord and may not marry without the lord’s permission, serfs cannot be deprived of their land without just cause and are entitled to the lord’s protection and justice. Serfdom is a contract between lord and tenant; each is honor-bound to the other. The amount of land held varies: Villeins hold 25–40 acres, Half-Villeins 10–25 acres, and Cottars 1–5 acres. In return for their land, serfs owe labor working the lord’s own fields, typically 3–5 days per year for each acre of land held.

Freeholders

Freeholders are simply individuals who hold land on which no serf-like obligations are due, a distinction that is often problematical. Freeholders rarely own the land they work, but instead pay rent or crop shares for its use, a process known as farming the land. Some freeholders are rural guildsmen, such as millers or metalsmiths, who may or may not also farm some acreage. Freeholders have the right to come and go as they wish, grow whatever crops they please, and appeal their lord’s justice to the king’s law. Naturally, ignoring the wishes of the lord may be unwise, for it might lead to expulsion (or worse). In many ways, a serf has greater security in land tenure than a freeholder.

Manorial Villages

A typical manorial fief contains a manorhouse for the lord, one village that is home to 10–30 rural families, and probably one mill. All of these are generally clustered together, ideally near the center of a fief.

The Manorhouse

The lord’s home is usually a fortified stronghold of wood or stone, essentially a miniature keep with a palisade enclosing several outbuildings such as barns and stables. When possible, the house is situated on a natural or artificial hill and may be surrounded by a ditch, moat, or earthworks.

Peasant Cottages

Each village family will have a cottage and small adjacent garden plot. The style and size of peasant cottages are fairly standard on Hârn. Most are 800–1,200 square feet in size with thatched roofs and walls of daub and wattle. They look about the same regardless of the prosperity of the owner, for in a violent world it’s foolish to advertise prosperity. Wealth is defined in terms of livestock and acreage, not personal comfort.

Most peasant cottages consist of two rooms: a large living room and a smaller attached stable. Some cottages have a sleeping chamber separate from the living room. The living room has a straw-covered, dirt-packed floor, heated by a fire in a stone hearth. The attached stable may contain livestock and a variety of agricultural tools: spades, hoes, axes, and the like. Most stables also have a loft for storing a variety of grains in wicker baskets.

The Mill

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Nearly every manorial village has a mill. Some are owned by the lord but most are owned by freemasters of the powerful Millers’ Guild. The miller typically pays an annual license of 240d to the lord of the manor for the right to operate the mill. Most mills are waterpowered, some are ox-powered, and a few (especially in southwestern Hârn) are windmills.

Manorial Land Use

Manorial lords may cultivate their land themselves by hiring agricultural labor or may farm-out the land to freehold tenants in return for cash rents or crop shares. Most, however, choose a blend of these two extremes, dividing the fief into (roughly) one third demense (lord’s land) and two thirds tenancy, utilizing the custom of serfdom to provide the labor for their own land.

The respective areas of land use depend mainly on the size, location, and fertility of the fief. Long-established fiefs tend to be well populated and favor higher arable land use. New holdings in frontier regions are generally underpopulated and these will have higher pasture and woods acreages.

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Arable 20–60% (40% average)
Pasture 20–60% (40% average)
Woods 10–30% (20% average)
Agriculture

The manor’s arable land is typically divided into two large fields. The fields are usually open (no fences or hedges) but are divided into strips separated by footpaths. One field will be sown with various crops (rye, wheat, barley, oats, beans, and peas), the other will lie fallow for one year in an effort to keep the soil from exhausting itself. All of the land will be cultivated by freehold tenants or serfs and the holdings of any one family are typically scattered throughout the fief in narrow strips. The lord’s demense will consist of enclosed fruit orchards and lush meadowlands plus numerous small strips dispersed among the lands of his tenants.

The land held by each peasant family is divided between the two fields. So if a family has 30 acres, they can plant only 15 in a given year. Since the average crop yield is about ten bushels per acre and each person requires about 20 bushels of grain a year for the barest survival, an individual needs four acres to feed himself, half under cultivation and half fallow.

Although plowing, sowing, and weeding are generally tasks performed by each individual family on their own land, harvesting is a communal affair. All able-bodied villagers work to clear the fields, then the produce is divided among them according to the amount of land held and labor provided. Harvesting usually begins early in the late-summer month of Agrazhar and takes two to four weeks to complete; three men can reap and bind one acre per day.

Weather is, of course, critical. The crops must be left to mature and this can be delayed if the summer is particularly wet or dry. When ready to harvest, speed is crucial. One heavy rain could batter the ripe crops to the ground and destroy the bulk of the harvest.

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Husbandry

Open and common pasture is maintained for grazing sheep, oxen, horses, and goats, some owned by the lord and some by the tenants. The best pasture (10–30%) will be enclosed and reserved as meadowland where winter fodder (hay) is harvested. The fallow fields are also used for grazing animals, partly to keep the weeds down but mainly to manure the resting soil.

Animals are not raised to be eaten, mainly because it takes roughly eight pounds of feed to produce one pound of animal protein. Hogs, which thrive on food scraps and forage in woodland, are the exception. Sheep are raised for wool, cattle as beasts of burden and to give milk, and chickens for eggs. Of course, animals will be slaughtered for meat and hides when they become unproductive.

Most villagers keep chickens and all but the poorest are likely to have at least one cow and several pigs. Oxen are kept as plow animals by richer peasants and rented to others as needed. Horses are a luxury that are usually kept only by nobles; they are not as hardy as oxen and require two or three times the winter fodder.

Livestock populations tend to peak in the summer as a result of spring births. Because the villagers cannot afford to provide winter feed for all the animals born, surplus flocks and herds are driven to be sold or bartered at the nearest market soon after the harvest is completed. Wealthy peasants may slaughter an animal or two, then dry, smoke, or salt the meat for future consumption.

Woodland

The remainder of the fief will be woodland, which may be extensive in recently settled lands. Woodlands are prized and usually zealously protected, as game forms a major part of the noble diet and hunting is the sole prerogative of the lord. Poachers are likely to receive harsh treatment, especially trespassers from outside the estate. Tenants may collect dropwood and graze their pigs in woodland but must pay an annual fee to the lord for this right.


Towns and Cities

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Towns and Cities

Compared to other regions on western Lythia, Hârn is not very urbanized. No more than 10% of the population live in towns. The largest urban center on the island is Coranan, with a population of about 12,500. It is perhaps the only center deserving of the name “city,” although this term is commonly applied to any walled town. There are eight walled towns on Hârn.

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City Kingdom Population Map
Coranan Tharda 12,500 E7
Tashal Kaldor 11,400 J5
Cherafir Melderyn 7,000 N10
Golotha Rethem 6,200 D7
Azadmere Azadmere 5,900 L4
Aleath Kanday 5,800 E8
Thay Melderyn 4,200 M7
Shiran Tharda 3,900 G6


In addition to these cities, most settlements marked as castles and keeps on the regional map have small unwalled towns adjacent to them where a market is held at least once a month. Several of these, notably Dyrisa, Kiban, Shostim, and Telen, are budding walled towns with populations of 2,000–3,000.

Government of Towns

In a strict legal sense, there are two different kinds of towns on Hârn: freetowns and feudal towns. Aleath, Golotha, and Thay are freetowns and enjoy a fairly high degree of independence from external authority. Azadmere, Cherafir, Coranan, Shiran, and Tashal are feudal towns, held directly by the king or state. To the average citizen, the distinctions are minimal. All towns tax their citizens and pay aids and taxes to the king or state. However, taxes levied by freetowns tend to be less onerous and collected with less enthusiasm. To a runaway serf, the distinction is crucial. Only freetowns allow the serf to claim freedom after a year and a day of residence. Feudal towns offer no such protection.

Town Charters

Freetowns possess a charter from the crown that sets out the rights and privileges of their citizens and their obligations to the king. Each charter is unique but all have some basic common provisions. These include the right to build and maintain a city wall, hire mercenaries for defense, hold markets and fairs as often as desired, and freedom from feudal or other obligations to anyone except the king. Various clauses detailing the form and powers of civic government, responsibility for taxation, defense, and the administration of justice are also laid out in a town’s charter.

Feudal towns have no need for a charter but often have a document outlining the form and nature of town government. There is also a tendency for civic governments in both kinds of towns to be similar in form. Civic offices are mainly filled by guildsmen and military offices go to men with military experience. The key officers in Hârnic towns are described below.

Alderman

An alderman is a custodian and expounder of the law and member of the town court. Although aldermen must be invested in their office by the sovereign or his representative, the office is often inherited because this is the way that knowledge of customary law is passed from one generation to the next. Most Hârnic cities have 12 aldermen, all of whom are prominent guildsmen and often members of the Litigants’ Guild.

Mayor

Only freetowns have mayors, as such, but all others have some official who is responsible for administering civil and financial affairs. Mayors are usually appointed by the aldermen, often from a short list of candidates supplied by the crown. This official will run a sizable bureaucracy, including tax assessors and collectors.

Warden

Wardens command the city garrison and are responsible for maintaining civic law and order. A major expense for any city will be its military budget. In freetowns, the warden is appointed by the mayor; in feudal towns by the crown, usually the constable of the citadel.

Harbormaster

This officer is in charge of the town port, if any. Appointed by the mayor, he is either a retired member of the Pilots’ Guild or a political appointee who hires a master pilot as an assistant. Duties of a harbormaster include supervising port maintenance, providing pilotage services, and collecting maritime taxes such as pilotage, wharfage, and vessel registration fees. Harbormasters in the larger ports have several assistants.

Bondmaster

The bondmaster is responsible for overseeing the city bonding house and collecting hawking taxes and import duties. Appointed by the mayor, the bondmaster is usually a member of an important guild and may have assistants. Guards will be provided by the warden.

Town Law

Town law is quite different from rural justice and is sufficiently complex to support a guild of litigants. Towns are inhabited mainly by freemen, so royal justice is available to most citizens. Towns regard the right to operate their own courts, free from the interference of any local lord, as their most treasured prerogative. Freetown charters give their courts a place in the judicial hierarchy equal to a shire. Appeal from them is directly to the crown. Feudal towns are considered part of the shire in which they lie, so appeals are made first to the shire moot.

Towns are centers of trade and sometimes of scholarship and there is a somewhat greater dependence on written statute and precedent in town law. Financial transactions are much more common and civic penal codes may view economic or civil cases as dimly as crimes of violence. The importance of a suit is often a matter of how much (and whose) money is involved.

Most cases are settled informally. The parties to a dispute make an appointment for adjudication and the case will then be argued before a single alderman. The financial interests of the participants often lend themselves to a quick execution of justice. The alderman will pass judgment and levy and collect fines with dispatch. Appeals may be made to a town court of assembled aldermen. Important or complex cases will usually go directly to the town court. Aldermen may issue writs and warrants but, in a corrupt town, it is usually cheaper to seek a writ elsewhere.

Urban Geography

Most towns are roughly circular. Streets tend to radiate from several key points, notably the market and citadel, but they may well detour around vanished ponds or trees. Many streets existed before the town walls were built but new construction will take into account the location of city gates and gradually make the city appear more planned.

Street names are rarely posted; they tend to be a matter of oral rather than written tradition and change from time to time. Houses are not numbered. There is no official post office; mail is carried privately, at considerable expense. Few can read anyway.

Crime is rampant in most cities. Street illumination is rare so the streets are dark and dangerous at night. Policing, such as it exists, is typically in the hands of notoriously corrupt and incompetent city garrison. The open carrying of weapons is discouraged by most civic authorities.

The quality of urban construction tends to be somewhat higher than in the countryside but there is wide variation from town to town. Aleath is famous on Hârn for its high standards of civic architecture; Golotha, on the other hand, is an urban blight. Sewers are rare.

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Government buildings and temples tend to be built of stone on a lavish scale. However, most townsmen live in two- or three-story slums of wooden construction in which overcrowding is the norm. Guildsmen can usually afford better accommodation and the homes of a few wealthy guildsmen may be quite luxurious.

City lots change hands without reference to any zoning bylaws, although government will occasionally step in to forbid construction and all urban governments have unlimited expropriation powers.

Town Markets

Towns are essentially defensible markets, where the countryside trades its agricultural surplus for the civilized artifacts of the city. The relationship is symbiotic; each has its own monopoly, but the countryside could exist without towns while the converse is untrue.

The heart of the town is its marketplace, the place where money and goods are exchanged more or less freely. It is illegal to sell anything within five leagues of most towns except within its marketplace. Impromptu highway sales within this zone are forbidden by royal laws; the minimum penalty is confiscation. The marketplace itself is administered by the Mangai, who rent space for a penny or two per day. Vendors can sell from their own carts, tents, or stalls, or rent them from tentmakers or woodcrafters.

Local guildsmen have an advantage in the town economy. Town aldermen and mayors are usually local guildsmen and members of a local guild are the only ones permitted to freely sell their goods within the town. Goods imported into a city are subject to payment of hawking taxes and, if they are covered by a local guild monopoly, they must be offered first to local guildsmen handling such wares to be marked up and resold.

Townsmen

Town life is more sophisticated and volatile than life in the countryside. On the rural manor, everyone has his place, high or low, governed in accordance with old feudal traditions and almost all rural activities center around the seasonal nature of agriculture. Townsmen, on the other hand, are freemen and their social and legal obligations seem less. Their duties may be limited to the payment of some rents or taxes, perhaps to military service in time of war. But while townsmen are not required to work on the land, no one guarantees them food or shelter. Their freedom from service is paid for by their lack of security. Unemployment and starvation come hand in hand; in time of famine, it is the urban poor who starve first. Townsmen are divided into two major classes, guilded and unguilded.

The Guilds

A guild is a brotherhood of craftsmen who have banded together to control economic activity in specific or related trades. Throughout Hârn and western Lythia, virtually all significant commercial and professional activities are within the control of powerful international guilds whose monopolistic rights are protected by law. Unlike the countryside, towns are dominated by the activities of the guilds; it is their activities that justify a town’s very existence.

The Individual Guilds

A list of the guilded occupations is noted on the Income Table on page 26 and their badges are shown on page 21. Each guild is described in Hârndex. Most are urban and some are rural; a few are both. Some guilds may be weak and have loosely defined monopolies, but most are strong with rigid monopolies. In Orbaal and among the Khuzdul, the functions of guilds are performed by clans, equally monopolistic but simpler in organization.

The Mangai

The Mangai is the association of all guilds. Grand chapters exist in Hârnic states in one form or another. The Mangai’s principal functions are to regulate guilds, settle disputes between them, organize and regulate town markets and fairs, and lobby with governments concerning guild rights and privileges. The Mangai operates under the Charter of the Mangai, a law that has been enacted by most civilized governments of western Lythia. It is this charter that fosters and protects the legal monopolies held by all guilds.

A Mangai chapter is made up of (at least) one representative of each local guild. This assembly generally elects an executive council. Different chapters have various modes of operation, but most are democratic. Although it wields enormous power, the Mangai stays out of politics. Governments respond by limiting their involvement in guild affairs to taxation.

Guild Franchises

Guilds have one prime purpose, to provide economic security for their members. To achieve this objective, they employ their legal monopolies to limit competition. This is done primarily by restricting the number of franchises in a specific market. A franchise is a license granted by a guild to a qualified master to own and operate a business within a specific area. Although the custom varies, there are usually three ranks within each guild: apprentice, journeyman, and master.


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Hârnic Guilds

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Apothecaries Arcane Lore Chandlers Charcoalers Clothiers Courtesans
Embalmers Glassworkers Harpers Heralds Hideworkers Innkeepers
Jewellers Lexigraphers Litigants Locksmiths
Masons Mercantylers Metalsmiths Millers Miners Ostlers
Perfumers Physicians Pilots Potters Salters Seamen
Shipwrights Tentmakers Thespians Timberwrights Weaponcrafters Woodcrafters


Apprentices

Apprenticeship is deemed a privilege, usually granted to the eldest son of an existing master. The guild may also permit or sell additional apprenticeships, mostly to the younger offspring of masters or to non-guildsmen able to pay the most. An apprenticeship generally lasts from four to seven years, depending on the guild. To ensure strict discipline, apprentices are rarely permitted to serve under their own fathers. Typically, two masters in nearby settlements will exchange their apprentice children. Wealthy guildsmen often try to place their sons with highly skilled and respected masters, paying such mentors a fee for this privilege. The treatment received by apprentices varies; frequent beatings and long hours of menial labor are considered normal. Apprentices receive only room and board, although some get pocket money from generous masters.

Journeymen

The rules governing promotion from apprentice to journeyman vary from guild to guild. The candidate may have to pass a practical and/or oral examination before the guild’s Board of Syndics (see below) or the simple vouching of his master may suffice. The professional guilds usually have the most stringent requirements. Some masters will intentionally deny advancement to their apprentices because of the cheap labor they represent but the guild will usually step in to prevent this from going on too long. A few guilds do not have the rank of journeyman.

In addition to room and board, journeymen are entitled to a small wage, typically between one third and two thirds of the bonded master rate, depending on experience. They are usually expected to travel from one location to another working for different masters of their guild. After a prescribed period (usually 3–5 years) the journeyman may apply to any Board of Syndics for promotion to the rank of master. This generally requires the recommendations of at least three masters under whom the journeyman has served and often some kind of oral and/or written examination.

Masters

Most guilds have two kinds of masters: freemaster and bonded master. A freemaster is one who holds a franchise, which is simply a license granted by the guild to own and operate a business in a particular location. A bonded master works under contract for a wealthy person or institution. Unemployed masters who do not hold franchises are called simply masters. All masters pay 10 percent of their income to the guild as dues.

Franchises must be inherited or purchased; they are not automatically granted to new masters. Many masters work alongside their fathers until they inherit the family franchise, while others seek employment as bonded masters until they can afford to purchase a new franchise. The fees to buy a new franchise are stiff, ranging from two to ten years’ income of a master, plus the customary bribes. Many masters, either by choice or financial circumstance, never obtain a franchise.

Most guilds seek to preserve the security of their masters by limiting the number of franchisees and establishing “fair price” guidelines for wares of specific qualities. A master who sells high quality wares cheap, or low quality wares dear, will receive a visit from guild officials. They will no doubt remind him that fines can be imposed and, ultimately, a franchise can be revoked.

Guildmasters and Syndics

All masters are members of the local guild chapter with one vote. They elect a board of syndics from among their number who then appoint a guildmaster from among themselves. These officers are responsible for the day-to-day administration of the chapter and, except in the case of very wealthy guilds, continue to be practicing masters. They usually receive a stipend for their administrative role. The guildmaster will represent the guild in the local chapter of the Mangai and at any regional conventions the guild may hold. The way in which a specific guild chapter is actually run depends mostly on the personalities involved.

Unguilded Occupations

Most townsmen do not, however, belong to guilds. Anyone may enter an unguilded occupation, but these tend to be insecure, unfulfilling, and unprofitable. Some unguilded freemen are common soldiers and a few are successful scribes, artists, or toymakers, but most are common laborers who are typically worse off than the serfs of the countryside.


Economics

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Hârn Poetic Map

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Back Cover

HârnWorld®

  • A medieval world designed specifically for fantasy gaming and suitable for any rule system.
  • Run your epic quests within a believable, stable, and rational world that really could exist.
  • Quality, detail, and consistency are our hallmarks. Nothing is better.

This module contains the basic setting information for HârnWorld. Text, illustrations, and maps in this edition have been taken from material published by Columbia Games throughout Hârn’s 30-year history!

Hârn: A general overview of Hârnic cultures, history, governments, economics, and more. Includes aids for determining character background, watch routines, and weather conditions.

Hârn Regional Map: Features a unique cartographic system developed specifically for fantasy gaming. Includes major settlements and roads as well as vegetation and terrain.


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