HârnMaster Edition 3.5 Reviewed 

A friend introduced Hârn to me in the mid-80s. I first used some of the books, like the Cities of Hârn book, for my own campaign world, but soon found that the entire setting was right up my alley. I got the rules, kingdom books, regional modules, etc, and ran a campaign. I also used the rules for a Third Crusade campaign, for which they worked eminently. Like many other grognards, I tend towards OSR stuff these days, but I have kept all my HârnMaster and HârnWorld books, and recently dug them out from the basement. I might never play it again, but the setting and system are inspiring and on a level found in few other games.

There is a hardcover in the works for Harnmaster, confirmed by Columbia

I love Harn and it has been in my TOP 3 Favorite of all TTRPGS. I started with Harn when it was first produced and have followed it through it years of development, drama, and continuing build out. I’m even a Harn subscription member. It is arguable one of the absolute best system neutral settings you will ever find that have been produced since the beginning of this hobby. Folks that have never seen or experienced Hard (The World), they’ve have no idea what they have been missing. Game changing and Life Changing for GMs and DMs.

I discovered Harnmaster 1e after a few years of playing Runequest 2e and found Harnmaster to be an improved d100 skill based system in every regard except maybe for armor and wounds. Setting up a layered suit of mixed armor pieces can be rather complicated. Doing so seems realistic and taken together with the combat system which produces individual and detailed wounds rather than the usual generic hit point damage is something unique in the hobby. If a festering wound is your idea of fun, Harnmaster is your game! Of course you don't have to go in for the infected wound options. Dangerous combat is a feature of Harnmaster however you dial it. I would also add that Harnmaster is able to handle a magic centric campaign if that is your preference. All the referee has to do is focus on that aspect of the world. The default setting of Harn gives a low magic and rather historical feel unless the referee wants to focus on magic or on religion or on any other fantastic or mystical aspect of the setting. It's all there, but it's subtle unless it becomes the focus of play. The strength of the system and setting is its depth. Everything is there and the ideas for adventure abound. The players can focus their activities on any of a vast number of possible targets and pursue what interests them. Political, economic, exploration and discovery, conquest, and so much more are all detailed in the setting material. High fantasy, low fantasy, even epic fantasy are all possible with Harnworld but the game will require you to make some decisions otherwise the number of possibilities may seem overwhelming. My advice is to pick one geographic area on the map and one goal to pursue, create characters with those choices in mind and Harnmaster can provide years of enjoyment. It is one of the few TTRPG products that I never tire of and one of my favorite published settings. Cheers!

Nice to see HarnMaster hasn't changed too much in the last 40 years. Definitely a little more streamlined with better magic options, but really solid d% system to backup their detailed world. If I were closer to my 20s than 60s, I'd definitely be picking this up and going medieval all over again. I'd also be expediting purchase of a wire-binding machine to keep those papers in the best condition!

Thanks for the video! AS someone who always thought highly of the Harn setting material even in their earliest releases because of their quality and thoroughness, but who also hadn't ever used the HarnMaster rules, I was curious about their most recent release(s). One of the nifty things about their format was the ability to integrate expansions and subsequent offerings with the base setting and rules.

Apologies. Jeff and Clan. I missed the live stream for this. But watching it now.

I played ADnD (1e), Hero System, and Rolemaster back in the earliest days (early 80s). I liked them all. I started buying Harn products (Cities, etc) at that time. When HarnMaster (1e) came out I immediately snagged it up. It looked cool, but I never found anyone to play it, then life did what it does and i haven't played much in the intervening years. HM is a system i think i would rather play, than run. We will see. My taste is more in the old school direction these days (although I really dig me some DCC RPG!). HM certainly has tons of cool stuff in it. The Shek Pvar and HM magic rules are pretty cool, the Harn pantheon is the best developed of such that I've ever seen, and the HM rules for miracles and such clerical powers (piety, etc) are pretty interesting. Good review!

Harn is much easier and faster moving than Rolemaster. My son writes for them here and there and we have done RM since it came out for me and my son has been doing RM ever since I showed it to him when he was younger, and now, as an adult it’s his favorite Fantasy TTRPG.

I've been aware of Harn since first getting into the hobby, but I've never dipped in. Ironically, considering Ars Magica is probably my favorite Fantasy RPG, I tend to like my Fantasy less Medieval European-esque, which I think has always kept me from this game. Though it's another one I'd be interested in trying it. Maybe I'm mellowing in my old age. I do like skill based, percentile based games.

I’ve heard of Harn but never played it.

Chocolate from the peanut butter. Lol

The primary reason to send an unbound book is cost... in other words, they're cheap.