Hârn Info - Revision history

Shealladh: /* Inspirations: Hârn */

2021-01-17T04:39:50Z

‎Inspirations: Hârn

Shealladh: /* Inspirations: Hârn */

2021-01-17T04:38:59Z

‎Inspirations: Hârn

Shealladh: Shealladh moved page Game Design Ideas Hârn Info to Hârn Info without leaving a redirect

2017-08-17T07:03:38Z

Shealladh moved page Game Design Ideas Hârn Info to Hârn Info without leaving a redirect

Shealladh at 07:03, 17 August 2017

2017-08-17T07:03:22Z

Shealladh: /* Inspirations: Hârn */

2017-08-09T17:51:35Z

‎Inspirations: Hârn

Shealladh: /* Inspirations: Hârn */

2017-08-09T17:49:39Z

‎Inspirations: Hârn

Shealladh: /* Inspirations: Hârn */

2017-08-09T17:44:17Z

‎Inspirations: Hârn

Shealladh at 17:33, 9 August 2017

2017-08-09T17:33:25Z

Shealladh at 06:30, 8 June 2017

2017-06-08T06:30:04Z

Shealladh at 09:19, 29 August 2016

2016-08-29T09:19:29Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:39, 17 January 2021
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−	* [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html\| Inspirations: Hârn]	+	* [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html \|Inspirations: Hârn]

	== A ==		== A ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:38, 17 January 2021
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−	* [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com~~.au~~/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html\| Inspirations: Hârn]	+	* [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html\| Inspirations: Hârn]

	== A ==		== A ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:03, 17 August 2017
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	The role-playing game ''[[HârnMaster]]'' was developed specifically for use with Hârn. It enables players, gamemasters, and writers to develop character descriptions that exploit the deep level of detail found in Hârn.		The role-playing game ''[[HârnMaster]]'' was developed specifically for use with Hârn. It enables players, gamemasters, and writers to develop character descriptions that exploit the deep level of detail found in Hârn.
		+
		+	'''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.
		+
		+
		+	'''Note:''' Text Highlight and Background Colour: <span style="color:#FFDE30; background:#176727">'''Kandáy'''</span>
		+
		+
		+	'''Note:''' Green = '''<span style="color:#008000">I Have</span>''', Red = '''<span style="color:#FF0000">Don't Have</span>''', Orange = '''<span style="color:#E18700">Old Scan</span>''', Blue = '''<span style="color:#000080">Misc</span>''', Black = '''<span style="color:#000000">ALL Base (Template)</span>'''
		+
		+	'''Note:''' Colour Highlights: <span style="background:#FCFF19">Yellow</span>
		+
		+	Colour LINK Text: '''<span style="color:#006699">Possible Link</span>''' [[Game_Design_Ideas_H%C3%A2rn_Kandáy_SHIRE_HUNDRED_NAME\|NAME]]
		+
		+
		+	'''Note:''' Hidden comments <nowiki><!-- TEXT HERE WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED --></nowiki>
		+
		+
		+	'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">Anchor Points - Section linking WITHIN pages</span>''' <u>USE</u> <nowiki>[[Help:Section#Section_linking\|Section linking]]</nowiki> or <u>To link to a section in the same page</u> you can use <nowiki>[[#section name\|displayed text]]</nowiki>, and to <u>link to a section in another page</u> <nowiki>[[page name#section name\|displayed text]]</nowiki>.
		+
		+
		+	'''Note:''' '''<span style="color:#FF0000">Section linking with arbitrary id</span>''' <u>USE</u> <nowiki><span id="anchor_name"></span></nowiki>. 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. '''<span style="color:#FF0000">ADD</span>''' inside '''<span style="color:#006699">Table Caption/Heaer Text</span>'''
		+


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−	~~[[Category:Research]] [[Category:Game Design]] [[Category:Articles]] [[Category:Ideas]]~~ [[Category:Hârn]]	+	[[Category:Hârn]]

@@ Line 257: / Line 257: @@
 {|
 |+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''[[Kingdom of Réthem|Kingdom of Réthem]] '''<span style="color:#008000">COL5740</span> Map Scale'''
-| [[File:map_rethem1.jpg|900px|center|link= ]]
+| [[File:map_rethem1.jpg|center|link= ]]
 |}
 </center>
@@ Line 268: / Line 268: @@
 {|
 |+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Lýthia'''
-| [[File:Lythia-500x370.png|900px|center|link= ]]
+| [[File:Lythia-500x370.png|center|link= ]]
 |}
 </center>
@@ Line 279: / Line 279: @@
 {|
 |+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''HârnMaster'''
-| [[File:4001harnmasterlarge.jpg|900px|center|link= ]]
+| [[File:4001harnmasterlarge.jpg|center|link= ]]
 |}
 </center>

@@ Line 256: / Line 256: @@
 <center>
 {|
-|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Rethem Map Scale'''
+|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''[[Kingdom of Réthem|Kingdom of Réthem]] '''<span style="color:#008000">COL5740</span> Map Scale'''
 | [[File:map_rethem1.jpg|900px|center|link= ]]
 |}
@@ Line 267: / Line 267: @@
 <center>
 {|
-|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Lythia'''
+|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Lýthia'''
 | [[File:Lythia-500x370.png|900px|center|link= ]]
 |}

← Older revision	Revision as of 07:03, 17 August 2017
(No difference)

@@ Line 254: / Line 254: @@
 The full-color "regional" ''Hârn'' are done in a cartographic style by the setting's creator, the late [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Robin_Crossby| N. Robin Crossby]. Both beautiful and absolutely packed with information, they are the gold standard for RPG maps, and have in my judgement never been equaled for their combination of utility and aesthetic appeal. The local and kingdom-level maps are almost as stunning and just as useful, and the written background material is both rich and engaging, at least if you like Hârn's very medieval and somewhat low-fantasy approach.
-IMAGE map_rethem1.jpg
+<center>
 It wasn't long before I started to collect ''Hârn'' stuff of my own. Some of that product had become quite hard to find by the mid 90s. Inevitably, I wanted to run campaigns set there myself... but it would be quite a while for that to really come to fruition. The product line evolved interestingly after that original core set; over the course of a number of Kingdom Modules covering the human and nonhuman nations of Hârn in immense detail, as well as a series of Encyclopedia Hârnica volumes that expanded on various other topics, the island of Hârn became increasingly thoroughly filled-in. At this point, although Hârn proper has seen relatively little development in recent years (but see below) almost every site or topic of interest on the island has a multi-page article about it. It's a perfect example, according to the tastes of some, of too much setting material filling in every imaginable gap until the GM has little room to maneuver.
@@ Line 260: / Line 265: @@
 I say that's misleading. Obviously, some GMs, happy to riff off of published material, thrive in settings that are very detailed out of the box. Also, in order for this to be true you have ''find'' all the material, which in the case of Hârn could be fairly difficult to do. And you have to make the decision to ''care'' about all that supplemental stuff. I say that the [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0920711006/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0920711006&linkCode=as2&tag=ardsgamtab-20| HarnWorld core set] has everything you need for a splendid and very loose sandbox campaign, including Hârn-specific encounter tables, travel and weather rules. If the relatively low implied amount of magic isn't enough for your tastes, you can always add more. If you ''do'' need or want more material, It's out there in spades. And the Hârn setting materials are system-free; you can use them with any rules set you like, although there is a set of dedicated ''HârnMaster'' rules that does some interesting things.
-IMAGE Lythia-500x370.png
+<center>
-Aside, then, from my admiration of Hârn as a setting, I think it along with the HârnMaster have some very interesting general design principles built in. From the setting side there is the idea of a "framework" setting that provides rich high-level detail but maximum creative freedom for the group and GM, done elsewhere but, I think, never so well as here. The integration of travel and weather rules adds a great deal to those wanting to run an exploration-driven sandbox. And of course many details of the setting itself, including the abundant wilderness through which stretches long and perilous trade routes, the rationale for a near-infinite array of weird monsters, the precursor race which left an array of ruins and magical (or perhaps technological) artifacts laying about, and the interplanar gates found here and there, allowing for a number of interesting things to happen.
+Aside, then, from my admiration of Hârn as a setting, I think it along with the ''HârnMaster'' have some very interesting general design principles built in. From the setting side there is the idea of a "framework" setting that provides rich high-level detail but maximum creative freedom for the group and GM, done elsewhere but, I think, never so well as here. The integration of travel and weather rules adds a great deal to those wanting to run an exploration-driven sandbox. And of course many details of the setting itself, including the abundant wilderness through which stretches long and perilous trade routes, the rationale for a near-infinite array of weird monsters, the precursor race which left an array of ruins and magical (or perhaps technological) artifacts laying about, and the interplanar gates found here and there, allowing for a number of interesting things to happen.
-From the HârnMaster rules, there is a very interesting and elegant cosmology underlying an equally interesting magic system that's very reliant on player-created spells and magic items... without an Ars Magica-style array of rigid rules for designing them. Instead, GM are given latitude in determining what works for their table along with instructions to use the provided examples as guidelines... and a couple of different ways to approach informing players of whether their designs will work or not, a couple of which will satisfy the most Gygaxian tastes. There are also some really cool and clever rules for psionics, and a combat system that, like Rolemaster, deals out specific injuries rather than just marking off hit points.
+From the ''HârnMaster'' rules, there is a very interesting and elegant cosmology underlying an equally interesting magic system that's very reliant on player-created spells and magic items... ''without'' an ''Ars Magica''-style array of rigid rules for designing them. Instead, GM are given latitude in determining what works for their table along with instructions to use the provided examples as guidelines... and a couple of different ways to approach informing players of whether their designs will work or not, a couple of which will satisfy the most Gygaxian tastes. There are also some really cool and clever rules for psionics, and a combat system that, like ''Rolemaster'', deals out specific injuries rather than just marking off hit points.
-IMAGE
+<center>
+{|
-Which brings me to one final oddity. In its creator's final years there was a dispute over creative control and ownership of Hârn and its world, with neither party having the financial wherewithal to settle the matter in the courts. The ''result'' is that two companies are publishing HârnWorld material. Columbia Games, the original publisher, is mostly doing revisions (some of them substantial) of older material set on the island of Hârn itself, made available as individual articles. The other, Kelestia Productions, is doing mostly all-new material set outside of Hârn proper, in the wider world of Kethira upon which Hârn is set. I have no idea how much angst there is between the two companies, but from a fan's perspective there is little to complain about, especially since Columbia had largely let Hârn fall fallow before the current status quo arose.
+|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''HârnMaster'''
 * [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html| Inspirations: Hârn]
 == A ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:33, 9 August 2017
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	* [http://www.columbiagames.com/ Columbia Games Harn and Harn Master]		* [http://www.columbiagames.com/ Columbia Games Harn and Harn Master]
	* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HârnMaster HârnMaster]		* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HârnMaster HârnMaster]
		+
		+
		+	== Inspirations: Hârn ==
		+	Friday, October 25, 2013
		+
		+	Many of us who were around back in the day recall the memorable ads for Columbia Games' ''Hârn'' that ran in ''Dragon'' magazine throughout the early to mid 80s. I took note of them at the time, and one of the local hobby stores near me carried some of the product line, which I'm certain I at least leafed through. For whatever reason, though, it didn't take — I just didn't get it. My guess is that the detailed campaign material just ran well over my early teenaged head.
		+
		+	Cut to many years later. In the early 90s I had just left college for the first time and was looking for a campaign. There was an ad for a ''Rolemaster'' game on the board at a local hobby shop in Lakewood, Ohio. At that point I has owned the books for ''Rolemaster'' for some time but hadn't yet played, so I made the call and set up a meeting with Dave, the GM, to talk it over. ''Rolemaster'' I didn't need to be sold on... but Dave began to show me some really amazing-looking setting material for ''Hârn'', that campaign world that I remembered from all those years before, but had more or less ignored at the time. He kept most of the written material close to the vest, of course. But he showed me the full-color heraldry, the calendar of religious holidays, the writeups of the deities and the glorious, glorious maps.
		+
		+	The full-color "regional" ''Hârn'' are done in a cartographic style by the setting's creator, the late [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Robin_Crossby\| N. Robin Crossby]. Both beautiful and absolutely packed with information, they are the gold standard for RPG maps, and have in my judgement never been equaled for their combination of utility and aesthetic appeal. The local and kingdom-level maps are almost as stunning and just as useful, and the written background material is both rich and engaging, at least if you like Hârn's very medieval and somewhat low-fantasy approach.
		+
		+	IMAGE map_rethem1.jpg
		+
		+	It wasn't long before I started to collect ''Hârn'' stuff of my own. Some of that product had become quite hard to find by the mid 90s. Inevitably, I wanted to run campaigns set there myself... but it would be quite a while for that to really come to fruition. The product line evolved interestingly after that original core set; over the course of a number of Kingdom Modules covering the human and nonhuman nations of Hârn in immense detail, as well as a series of Encyclopedia Hârnica volumes that expanded on various other topics, the island of Hârn became increasingly thoroughly filled-in. At this point, although Hârn proper has seen relatively little development in recent years (but see below) almost every site or topic of interest on the island has a multi-page article about it. It's a perfect example, according to the tastes of some, of too much setting material filling in every imaginable gap until the GM has little room to maneuver.
		+
		+	I say that's misleading. Obviously, some GMs, happy to riff off of published material, thrive in settings that are very detailed out of the box. Also, in order for this to be true you have ''find'' all the material, which in the case of Hârn could be fairly difficult to do. And you have to make the decision to ''care'' about all that supplemental stuff. I say that the [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0920711006/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0920711006&linkCode=as2&tag=ardsgamtab-20\| HarnWorld core set] has everything you need for a splendid and very loose sandbox campaign, including Hârn-specific encounter tables, travel and weather rules. If the relatively low implied amount of magic isn't enough for your tastes, you can always add more. If you ''do'' need or want more material, It's out there in spades. And the Hârn setting materials are system-free; you can use them with any rules set you like, although there is a set of dedicated ''HârnMaster'' rules that does some interesting things.
		+
		+	IMAGE Lythia-500x370.png
		+
		+	Aside, then, from my admiration of Hârn as a setting, I think it along with the HârnMaster have some very interesting general design principles built in. From the setting side there is the idea of a "framework" setting that provides rich high-level detail but maximum creative freedom for the group and GM, done elsewhere but, I think, never so well as here. The integration of travel and weather rules adds a great deal to those wanting to run an exploration-driven sandbox. And of course many details of the setting itself, including the abundant wilderness through which stretches long and perilous trade routes, the rationale for a near-infinite array of weird monsters, the precursor race which left an array of ruins and magical (or perhaps technological) artifacts laying about, and the interplanar gates found here and there, allowing for a number of interesting things to happen.
		+
		+	From the HârnMaster rules, there is a very interesting and elegant cosmology underlying an equally interesting magic system that's very reliant on player-created spells and magic items... without an Ars Magica-style array of rigid rules for designing them. Instead, GM are given latitude in determining what works for their table along with instructions to use the provided examples as guidelines... and a couple of different ways to approach informing players of whether their designs will work or not, a couple of which will satisfy the most Gygaxian tastes. There are also some really cool and clever rules for psionics, and a combat system that, like Rolemaster, deals out specific injuries rather than just marking off hit points.
		+
		+	IMAGE
		+
		+	Which brings me to one final oddity. In its creator's final years there was a dispute over creative control and ownership of Hârn and its world, with neither party having the financial wherewithal to settle the matter in the courts. The ''result'' is that two companies are publishing HârnWorld material. Columbia Games, the original publisher, is mostly doing revisions (some of them substantial) of older material set on the island of Hârn itself, made available as individual articles. The other, Kelestia Productions, is doing mostly all-new material set outside of Hârn proper, in the wider world of Kethira upon which Hârn is set. I have no idea how much angst there is between the two companies, but from a fan's perspective there is little to complain about, especially since Columbia had largely let Hârn fall fallow before the current status quo arose.
		+
		+
		+
		+	* [http://forsakenage.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/inspirations-harn.html\| Inspirations: Hârn]
		+	** A
		+
		+
		+	== A ==
		+	* A
		+	** A
		+
		+
		+	== A ==
		+	* A
		+	** A

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
-==History==
+== What is Hârn? ==
 The world of Hârn first appeared in ''Hârn'' (1983) from [[Columbia Games]], which presented the Hârn campaign world as a folio that offered a general overview of a campaign area, the island of Hârn, which was about three times the size of Great Britain. It included background, history, a look of religion and a small encyclopaedia called the Hârndex, and a map of Hârn drawn by [[N. Robin Crossby]]. Hârn was broadly based on Norman England, with some fantasy elements appearing through dwarves, elves and orcs. It was low magic and ''Hârn'' tried to create a genuinely real setting, based on careful research and consideration.
-==Setting==
+== Setting ==
 Properly speaking, Hârn is an [[island]] off the western coast of the region of '''Venârivè''' (the northwestern part of the continent of '''Lýthia''') on the planet '''Kèthîra''', but as Hârn has traditionally been the focus of the setting, many people refer to the world as Hârn or HârnWorld. Hârn is notable for several reasons:
@@ Line 40: / Line 62: @@
 Most recently, a product has been released which details the whole sub-continental region of '''Venârivè''' (an area roughly equivalent to [[Europe]], the [[Mediterranean]], and the [[Middle-East]]). This product provides the basis for adventuring and exploration beyond the island of Hârn, and puts the island and its cultures in their wider context.
-===Setting===
+=== Setting ===
 [http://www.lythia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21584&p=196015&hilit=favorite+kingdom#p196015 From Hârn Forum]
@@ Line 119: / Line 141: @@
-== Community==
+== Community ==
 Columbia published most of the [[Canon (fiction)|canon]] material about Hârn in the early 1980s; at that point (around the time the first edition of the Hârnmaster rules was published) the interval between new products lengthened and some scheduled products were never completed (such as the Trierzon and Azeryan regional modules). The setting was sustained throughout the 1990s and early 2000s by fan-created material, popularly called "fanon." The high quality and consistency of the fanon products, as well as the interactivity of message fora such as HârnList and [http://www.lythia.com/forum/ HârnForum] have kept the setting alive.
@@ Line 135: / Line 157: @@
-==Rule Systems==
+== Rule Systems ==
 There are many variants and version for the rules, [http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/harn/rules_versions.html found here] as follows;
-===HârnMaster Rules Versions===
+=== HârnMaster Rules Versions ===
 HârnMaster is unusual in that it has a divergent set of rules editions.
@@ Line 150: / Line 172: @@
-===HârnMaster Core===
+=== HârnMaster Core ===
 Here is a brief summary of the most important changes so far between second and first edition HârnMaster:
@@ Line 186: / Line 208: @@
-===HârnMaster Gold===
+=== HârnMaster Gold ===
 HârnMaster Gold is an edition of the game self-published by the original author (Robin Crossby). It is a more complex system than HMC, essentially a revision of the original rules adding in more options and covering more situations. It retains more compatibility with the original (HM1) rules. Changes from HM1 to HMG include:
@@ Line 217: / Line 239: @@
-==External links ==
+== External links ==
 * [http://www.kelestia.com/ Kelestia.com: authorised by the estate of N. Robin Crossby]
 * [http://www.columbiagames.com/ Columbia Games  Harn and Harn Master]
@@ Line 223: / Line 245: @@
-==Notes==
+== Notes ==
 * A
 ** A

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:19, 29 August 2016
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	'''Hârn''' is a campaign setting for [[fantasy]] [[role-playing games]], designed by [[N. Robin Crossby]] and published by [[Columbia Games]] since 1983.	+	'''[[Game_Design_Ideas_Hârn\|Hârn]]''' is a campaign setting for [[fantasy]] [[role-playing games]], designed by [[N. Robin Crossby]] and published by [[Columbia Games]] since 1983.

	In 1997 Crossby founded Kelestia Productions (KP), an electronic publishing e-company. KP and CGI now independently produce printed and online materials for use with Hârn-based role-playing campaigns and fiction.		In 1997 Crossby founded Kelestia Productions (KP), an electronic publishing e-company. KP and CGI now independently produce printed and online materials for use with Hârn-based role-playing campaigns and fiction.