Hârn - The Most Medieval of Campaign Settings

Necron 99 · Post February 7th, 2022, 8:13 am

Nice find, I'll have to make some time to check it out.

Ancalagon · Post February 17th, 2022, 8:53 pm

Necron 99 wrote: ↑September 4th, 2021, 10:10 am
Ancalagon wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2021, 11:55 pm Columbia Games produces quality work and they've always had solid customer service! I went in on the Melderyn KS, too.
Hellz to the yeah! Right on.

I love that cover for the Melderyn book, it's really evocative for a low/moderate fantasy setting. Matter of fact, the majority of all the artwork I've seen for the Harn products has been fantastic. I think delving into Harn was one of the things that made me look into the later TSR Birthright setting. Having run so many games in the Forgotten Realms, which is typically more high-fantasy, and then finding something that had the appearance of low to moderate fantasy, just felt more appealing.

It's been over a decade since I've looked at the actual HarnMaster system, I recall we had a good time testing it out back in the Valdosta days. I need to throw the PDF on my iPad and spend some time reading over it again, refresh my memory and maybe suggest it for one of our online game sessions to go back through the play, test it out again.

I received an email today that the vessel with the Melderyn hardcovers is now at port. It shouldn't be much longer before Columbia Games receives them and ships them to backers. Looking forward to having that one on the shelf with the Kaldor book.

Necron 99 · Post February 18th, 2022, 7:06 am

Ancalagon wrote: ↑February 17th, 2022, 8:53 pm I received an email today that the vessel with the Melderyn hardcovers is now at port. It shouldn't be much longer before Columbia Games receives them and ships them to backers. Looking forward to having that one on the shelf with the Kaldor book.

Yep, got the same email, hopefully not too much longer.

Ancalagon · Post February 18th, 2022, 3:25 pm

I found a video of an interview with Grant Dalgliesh from GenCon 2019 in which Harn and many other Columbia Games products are discussed. Since Harn is part of the video I figured "why not?"

Ancalagon · Post March 9th, 2022, 11:45 pm

Ancalagon wrote: ↑April 21st, 2021, 10:26 pm The fine folks at Columbia Games made the Lythia continent map pdf available for free. I don't know how long this will last, so go here: https://secure.columbiagames.com/product/4050A-PDF and snag a copy if you don't already own it! And while you're there, take a look at the accompanying Lythia article and/or any of the other Hârn goodness.

A good place to start exploring, if you're curious, is with a kingdom. The island of Hârn has seven human kingdoms and two kingdoms ruled by other species. In alphabetical order, these are:

Azadmere is the home of the Khuzan, the Hârnic dwarves.
Chybisa is viewed as a struggling independent monarchy or a breakaway county of Kaldor.
Evael is located along the southern coast and is the forest home of the reclusive Sinái, the Hârnic elves.
Kaldor is a feudal kingdom with a weak king. Located at the hub of four trade routes, it is a power in the east. It is perhaps the most detailed of all of the kingdoms.
Kanday is a stolid, chivalric kingdom situated in the western part of the island.
Melderyn is the most ancient kingdom, reputedly founded by wizards. It is located in the southeastern part of the island and claims a monopoly on trade with the Lythian continent.
The northern land of Orbaal was once a collection of peaceful princedoms inhabited by the Jarin people (analogues of the British Celts) until it was conquered by the Ivinians (analogous to the Vikings). Now the Jarin are brutally suppressed, but some plot rebellion.
Rethem is widely viewed as the "evil kingdom" but this is because its rulers value might and merit over birth and privilege (or, possibly, because its largest town was the base for a crusade by the church of the death-god Morgath). It is a kingdom born of war and beset by enemies on all sides.
Tharda rose from the ashes of the former Corani Empire (as did Kanday and Rethem) and is the island's only non-monarchist state; its patron-client social structure is superficially similar to that of Republican Rome. Petty corruption and patronage are rife, however, and the Republic is very ambitious in its territorial claims.

In addition to the island of Hârn itself, products have been released covering the nearby regions of Shôrkýnè (a large feudal kingdom with a weak king) and Ivínia (an analogue of Scandinavia complete with fjords, Vikings, and a religion similar to that of the old Norse).

I was thinking it would be really cool if our circle of friends / gamers all developed an interest in Hârn. Each person could pick a kingdom to read up on and exlpore then run something there. We could actually make Hârn a shared setting among us.

For example: I'm already interested in the Kingdom of Kanday. If Necron 99 started grooving on Melderyn, characters could travel by land or by sea back and forth between the two for whatever reasons. While in Kanday, I could run an adventure. While in Melderyn, Necron 99 could run the adventure. And if Cap'n Blood and alester found kingdoms that tripped their triggers, they could run adventures for the characters when they visited their respective areas.

Ah, well. Just a thought, maybe a dream. It seems a cool possibility!

Necron 99 · Post March 11th, 2022, 7:17 am

Not a bad idea, maybe one day. So many games, so many settings, so many adventures, not enough time for them all. But, maybe one day.

Ancalagon · Post March 11th, 2022, 1:22 pm

Necron 99 wrote: ↑March 11th, 2022, 7:17 am Not a bad idea, maybe one day. So many games, so many settings, so many adventures, not enough time for them all. But, maybe one day.

Awww yeah - that's what Imma talkin' 'bout! I'm a patient man.

Ancalagon · Post March 19th, 2022, 11:59 pm

Columbia Games sent out an email that included a deal on a Beginner's Guide to HârnWorld which gets you pdfs of

HârnWorld - This 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.
HârnDex - an alphabetical, general reference source book for gamemasters using HârnWorld. Geographical, economic, guild, religious cultural and political entries make up this 154-page tome. It also contains material from the “Hârnic Dictionary”
Cities and Towns - Immerses you into the intricate societal connections of the power brokers in the guilds, the churches, government, and underworld. These eight pages are layered with intrigue and offers dozens of adventure hooks for all types of campaigns.
A Gorgeous double-sided 22″ x 34″ inch map of HârnWorld is considered by many as one of the most beautiful RPG creations of all time! On the front is the full map of Hârn. The reverse side includes a cultural map with even more valuable details for the gamemaster!

All for only $1 to get you started!

https://columbiagames.com/harnbeginnersguide/

No idea how long this will last so if you've not read over / experienced the Hârn goodness then why not now?

Ancalagon · Post March 20th, 2022, 6:20 pm

Columbia Games will soon be releasing a supplement called Laket Keep, which is the westernmost keep in the Kingdom of Melderyn.
It is primarily a frontier fort and center of administration for the borderland region known as Dyriamarch.

Here is a brief video showing the keep area:

Necron 99 · Post March 20th, 2022, 7:06 pm

Nice. They are getting all sorts of fancy with their maps from the look of that video.