HârnWorld, subtitled "A Real Fantasy World", is a fantasy role-playing game setting published by Columbia Games in 1990, an expanded revision of the Hârn Regional Module published in 1983. Although Columbia also published the HârnMaster role-playing rules system, this product contains information only, no rules or statistics, and can be adapted to any role-playing system.
Harnworld is a role-playing game campaign set on the fictional planet Kethira, and focussed mainly on Hârn, an island about three times the size of Great Britain, as well as Lythia, the world's largest continent. Broadly based on Norman England, it is a low-fantasy setting with minimal magic and no mythical "monsters"; some sense of fantasy is provided by the inclusion of dwarves, elves and orcs.[1]: 182
The set includes:
"Hârnworld", an 80-page book containing a general overview of the region of Hârn, the continent of Lythia and the planet Kethira, including historical background, religion, economics and culture.
"Hârndex": a 72-page encyclopedia containing indexed information about the island.
a 22" x 34" colour map of the island
a plastic binder to hold the contents
Like the original Hârn Regional Module, this edition does not include a role-playing game rules system. Although the setting could be used with the HârnMaster rules system published by Columbia, gamemasters could also adapt the Hârn campaign setting to another rules system of the time such as Advanced Dungeons & Dragons or RuneQuest.
Publication history
The Hârn Regional Module published by Columbia Games in 1983 was the first product about Hârn.[2] In 1990, Columbia Games published a revised and expanded second edition titled HârnWorld that also includes information from the Lythia Continent Module.[3]
HârnWorld was written by N. Robin Crossby, Tom Dalgliesh, and Edwin King, with additional contributions by Brad Carter, Brian Clemens, Rob Duff, Mike Dwyer, John Frazer, Doug Gillanders, John Greer, Stephen Hinchcliffe, David Kowan, Sharon MacLeod, Simon Matthews, Brad Murray, Gene Siegel, and Garry Steinhilber. Cartography was by Crossby, Ron Gibson, Richard Porter, and Eric Hotz; Hotz also created the interior art and the cover.[3]
Reception
In the May 1996 edition of Dragon (Issue 229), Rick Swan called the full-colour map "gorgeous" and the artwork "evocative." He noted that "Harn World emphasizes culture and economics at the expense of magic and monsters, making it less appealing to hack'n'slashers than to veterans who take their games seriously." Swan also admitted the amount of information here was overwhelming, but concluded, "Unwieldy? Perhaps. To call Harn World ambitious is like calling the Grand Canyon a large hole. But if you've outgrown dungeon crawls, you might be ready to jump in."[4]
hârnworld, subtitled, real, fantasy, world, fantasy, role, playing, game, setting, published, columbia, games, 1990, expanded, revision, hârn, regional, module, published, 1983, although, columbia, also, published, hârnmaster, role, playing, rules, system, thi. HarnWorld subtitled A Real Fantasy World is a fantasy role playing game setting published by Columbia Games in 1990 an expanded revision of the Harn Regional Module published in 1983 Although Columbia also published the HarnMaster role playing rules system this product contains information only no rules or statistics and can be adapted to any role playing system Cover art by Eric Hotz 1990 Contents 1 Contents 2 Publication history 3 Reception 4 Other reviews 5 ReferencesContents EditHarnworld is a role playing game campaign set on the fictional planet Kethira and focussed mainly on Harn an island about three times the size of Great Britain as well as Lythia the world s largest continent Broadly based on Norman England it is a low fantasy setting with minimal magic and no mythical monsters some sense of fantasy is provided by the inclusion of dwarves elves and orcs 1 182 The set includes Harnworld an 80 page book containing a general overview of the region of Harn the continent of Lythia and the planet Kethira including historical background religion economics and culture Harndex a 72 page encyclopedia containing indexed information about the island a 22 x 34 colour map of the island a plastic binder to hold the contentsLike the original Harn Regional Module this edition does not include a role playing game rules system Although the setting could be used with the HarnMaster rules system published by Columbia gamemasters could also adapt the Harn campaign setting to another rules system of the time such as Advanced Dungeons amp Dragons or RuneQuest Publication history EditThe Harn Regional Module published by Columbia Games in 1983 was the first product about Harn 2 In 1990 Columbia Games published a revised and expanded second edition titled HarnWorld that also includes information from the Lythia Continent Module 3 HarnWorld was written by N Robin Crossby Tom Dalgliesh and Edwin King with additional contributions by Brad Carter Brian Clemens Rob Duff Mike Dwyer John Frazer Doug Gillanders John Greer Stephen Hinchcliffe David Kowan Sharon MacLeod Simon Matthews Brad Murray Gene Siegel and Garry Steinhilber Cartography was by Crossby Ron Gibson Richard Porter and Eric Hotz Hotz also created the interior art and the cover 3 Reception EditIn the May 1996 edition of Dragon Issue 229 Rick Swan called the full colour map gorgeous and the artwork evocative He noted that Harn World emphasizes culture and economics at the expense of magic and monsters making it less appealing to hack n slashers than to veterans who take their games seriously Swan also admitted the amount of information here was overwhelming but concluded Unwieldy Perhaps To call Harn World ambitious is like calling the Grand Canyon a large hole But if you ve outgrown dungeon crawls you might be ready to jump in 4 Other reviews EditWhite Wolf 22 Aug Sept 1990 References Edit Appelcline Shannon 2011 Designers amp Dragons Mongoose Publishing ISBN 978 1 907702 58 7 Moore Roger September 1983 Harn universe is worth the price Dragon No 77 TSR Inc pp 66 67 a b Schick Lawrence 1991 Heroic Worlds A History and Guide to Role Playing Games Prometheus Books p 185 ISBN 0 87975 653 5 Swan Rick May 1996 Roleplaying Reviews Dragon No 229 TSR Inc p 114 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HarnWorld amp oldid 1128226177, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
