#harn

[thedawner]

A small portrait of Harn.

[vintagerpg]

How do I explain this? OK, so, when Harn first came out, it was an exercise in creating a detailed, rules-free campaign setting. The first product was called Harn Master Module (1983) or the Harn Regional Module (1983) depending on whether it came in a box or a folio folder, and it consisted of two booklets, “HarnView” is an overview of the geography and cultures of Harn while “HarnDex” is a sort of dictionary of more fine-grained Harn information. Later on, creator N. Robin Crossby created a system for Harn, called HarnMaster (1986). It’s pretty complex, probably sitting somewhere between RuneQuest and Rolemaster on the spectrum. With the advent of HarnMaster, the generic material was rebranded as HarnWorld (1990) and came in a number of different formats. Still later, the generic material was revised again with players in mind. Thus: HarnPlayer: A Player’s Guide to HarnWorld (1994).

This takes the HarnView and HarnDex material (in entirety, I think) and adds a deeply informative Common Knowledge section (I am not sure if this section is original to Player, as there are a confusing number of configurations of the stuff put out by Columbia, but I think it is). That section is very noteworthy. It’s a collection of legends and songs and historical sketches and it does an excellent job of quickening the static world information into something living and breathing. I’ve been a fan of Harn for a while, but I never really looked at this book as anything more than an afterthought, but when I finally dug in, I was surprised at how essential these 20ish pages now feel.

Worth noting that I own this book for the same reason I initially dismissed it: because the cover (as ever, by Chris Hotz) delights me. It is somehow a perfect distillation of the Harn experience. But because it was cartoonish, well, I judged the book by its cover and never really looked beyond it. Silly me.

[treasonagainstatyrantking]

More ttrpg character posting! This is Dàfyl fal Hásketh, née Ledensen, a terrifying shieldmaiden who I’m playing in a one-on-one Hârnmaster campaign! She’s seen a ghost, killed a man at a religious festival, seen visions of her god, obtained a sword with runes she can’t read, been adopted by a far wealthier and more prestigious clan, demolished a cult of assassins, and is currently leading a mercenary company into battle for the first time. 

Likes: strict warrior codes, her god, his wives, the satisfying crunch an axe makes when it hits a pelvis

Dislikes: ghosts, squid, dishonour

Hârnmaster is one of the best systems I’ve played recently, with lots of fun chunky rolling in character creation. Also you can really crunch into someone’s pelvis with an axe and it absolutely ruins their day. Excellent system.

[forlath]

Love marginalia - shout out to @cuties-in-codices and others who search the digital depths of scriptoriums to bring us these masterpieces.

[nevermissblog]

"Dogon Couple" Kehinde Wiley, Harn Museum

[warduke]

[oldschoolfrp]

The Khuzdul, the dwarves of the world of Hârn  (Brad Murray, Encyclopedia Harnica 1, Columbia Games, 1984)

[rjalker]

WIP collection of stories with cool public domain aliens. Will be updated. Check the original post if you see it on your dashboard.

Feel free to link cool stuff you've found!

Cat and Mouse by Ralph Williams.

An old man who lives in the woods finds an opening to another world outside his doorstep, and has been, unbeknownst to him, recruited to help deal with a pest problem.

Warning: Weird useage of the N slur to describe a tree stump???

Main cool species: The Harn

Around 10k words long

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Cry from a Far Planet by Tom Godwin around 5k words long

Terra has sent out many missions to other planets with intelligent life on a quest for understanding and learning -- but the lack of a shared spoken and body language, and the fear and misunderstandings it brings, keeps dooming every attempt the Terrans make to gain the trust of the aliens they encounter.

Main cool species: The Varn

around 5k words long

(Very ironic that both of them so far have rhyming names lol)

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Trader's Risk by Roger Aycock

A dangerous wild animal accidentally gets loose on an alien ship, so they deposit it onto a nearby planet, after making sure it won't harm any of the native species. But, unfortunately, no one told them that Terrans had arrived on the planet since their last visit...

Many cool species

Around 5k words long

This post will keep getting updated. Check the original post if you see it on your dashboard.

PRoblem by Alan Edward Nourse

cool species: Grdznth (pronounced gird-zinth)

around 5k words