Harnmaster...a more mature and complex rpg?

[Balesir]

until you play the game and your character is know as the guy that falls down. Trust me, they will.

In HM2 that is pretty apt, but the system is tunable to a good degree. The basic idea is just that injuries are not things that take away resource from a pool of "life" (except for bleeding, which actually does take away from a 'pool' of blood), but is something nasty that attaches to your character and provides limitations, dangers and potential long-lasting reduction in ability (lowered attributes).

But, yeah - dashing into regular conflicts will mean you get hurt a lot. That will happen.

 

[Ketherian]

Glad we caught your interest Mishihari Lord; the game can be combat rich and full of daring do. Or at least, mine is.

I ran a combat-based game for many years. If your players have the armor, you can withstand a lot of damage. In many fights, the bad guys (and sometimes the good guys) went down due to exhaustion or a lucky shot rather than wounds. That said, combat in HarnMaster is dangerous stuff. Failing in combat assures your character will be injured at best (dead at the worst); but isn't that supposed to be how combat works? As a GM I always want my player-characters to at least feel threatened by combat.

PS: Hi Balesir! Nice to see a familiar name.

 

[MrHemlocks]

Glad we caught your interest Mishihari Lord; the game can be combat rich and full of daring do. Or at least, mine is.

I ran a combat-based game for many years. If your players have the armor, you can withstand a lot of damage. In many fights, the bad guys (and sometimes the good guys) went down due to exhaustion or a lucky shot rather than wounds. That said, combat in HarnMaster is dangerous stuff. Failing in combat assures your character will be injured at best (dead at the worst); but isn't that supposed to be how combat works? As a GM I always want my player-characters to at least feel threatened by combat.

PS: Hi Balesir! Nice to see a familiar name.

That is the problem with games like AD&D. Combat is weak and players do the dumbest things knowing it. Most players, even those that continue to play their characters foolishly, have little to fear in combat. If they do get injured it is for generic hit point loose, that can be easily healed, and if they do die, which is VERY rare, they can get a rez.

 

[Balesir]

That is the problem with games like AD&D. Combat is weak and players do the dumbest things knowing it. Most players, even those that continue to play their characters foolishly, have little to fear in combat. If they do get injured it is for generic hit point loose, that can be easily healed, and if they do die, which is VERY rare, they can get a rez.

It's a different aesthetic, is all. In D&D, at least later editions, you are in Die Hard or an Indiana Jones movie; in HM you are in a Song of Ice & Fire book or a fantasy world so real you can almost touch and smell it...

Nothing wrong with either - just different.

 

[Ketherian]

Running a HarnMaster game will not save you from players who decide to take ... odd turns or act foolishly in dangerous situations. The D&D dynamic is different, but there are low-magic versions of d20 with a similar feel to HarnMaster combat, if that's what you're looking for.

 

[the Jester]

If they do get injured it is for generic hit point loose, that can be easily healed, and if they do die, which is VERY rare, they can get a rez.

Not in all D&D games. If you like it bloody and savage and little-rezzy, you'd probably like my game style.

 

[Treebore]

I've never warmed up to the Harn system, but I have still bought lots and lots of the products. Why? Because they are full of awesome! As is much of the content on Lythia.com that is linked earlier.

So even if a person isn't going to like the system, I still think they should buy the materials. The level of detail is simply amazing, and very usable in pretty much any medieval setting. I have used many of the awesomely detailed Manor houses (Yes, I own the Manors packet), the religions, the magic orders, etc...

 

[Ketherian]

And don't forget the maps. It was the maps that initially drew me into playing (and later running) the game. The newer maps are even better. I'm a real sucker for detailed background, and HarnWorld has it in spades.

Treebore, if you loved the Manors, have you seen the Inns of Harn?

 

[Treebore]

... have you seen the Inns of Harn?

Yes, but I haven't bought it.