Harn

I adore Harn. Simple and to the point. Sure, it's not for everyone or every game, but I love it. At one time I had a LOT of Harn material: the Harnic boxed set, the Ivinia boxed set, all of the Encyclopedia Harnicas, the Kaldor module, the Melderyn module, and 100 Bushes of Rye and Dead of Winter adventures. I also had Nasty, Brutish, and Short. All of this was before a house fire destroyed very nearly all of my gaming collection.

I ran a short-lived campaign centered on Trobridge Inn whilest living in Atlanta. We used GURPS 3rd Edition and conversion notes I found somewhere. It was fun, but we ultimately found GURPS too frustrating.

I have nothing against HarnMaster, having owned the 2nd and 3rd editions, along with HarnMaster Magic, pre-fire. I really like the rules set, but have no problem with the idea of using something else with a Harn campaign.

The point to this is simple: I'm rolling some ideas around for a Harn campaign using a rules set I've never talked about before (at least not to you lot). I apologize for the mystery. I promise I'm not gratuitously amping the drama, I just don't want to give away too much, too quickly. In truth, I found the key to the first stumbling block only this evening.

I really hope I can maintain some steam with this, if for nothing else than to collect some notes that I can refer back to when my mood swings around. And around.

Delving Deeper Compendium

It's here! Actually it came in yesterday morning, but I was at work. This is a very initial impression. I plan to expound upon it, but for now, these are my thoughts.

First and foremost, this is v4 of the Reference Rules. I haven't noted any significant changes from the v3 rules. In point of fact, for anyone that pays any attention to this project, the changes have been available for some time. The project's author, Simon Bull, is very good about posting his ideas on his blog and on Delving Deeper's Google+ community.

I will say that I am undecided about the cover. It is a very nice piece, but I'm not sure it survived the reduction to booklet size very well. There are a lot of little details in the piece, and it is black and white. I'm absolutely certain that at a larger size, such as maybe 8.5x11, it would look fantastic. As it is, to me it looks good, but too dark and too "busy". I hate to be critical about a game I love so much, but that's my honest feeling about the cover.

Speaking of the cover, the stock seems a little "light". I routinely cover all my softback game books with clear shelf liner. I definitely recommend that here. It added just the right amount of weight to the cover.

I ordered this because I respect Simon's work on these rules, his respect for the original rules that his are derived from, and his scholarship in these matters. I have two sets of the v3 rules printed, and didn't intend to order anything until the Reliquary finally comes out. I felt like giving my feedback was the least I could do to support Simon's work, though. I'm very happy to order this, offer my thoughts, and get some of my houserules posted this weekend. We'll see how that part goes. I do have some ideas, but actually getting them typed up and posted. Well, therein lies the rub.