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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pming" data-source="post: 6101216" data-attributes="member: 45197">Hiya. Yup. Played in a friends campaign until he kicked me and my wife out (long story short...he took it far to seriously as a "realistic medieval game" without absorbing the fact that magic actually works, the gods are real, monsters creep in dark caves, etc.). Anyway, for the few months we played, it was quite a bit of fun! It definitely has a *strong* "medieval society" feel. Combat is quite interesting, where you choose how you want to attack and how you want to defend, 'secretly', then reveal and check your rolls. Armor makes a HUGE difference...a knight in chain & plate, with a shield and a broadsword, can easily take on a dozen irate farmers with pitchforks; while a bandit in leather jerkin is pretty much dead after the first pitchfork stab.Magic is interesting in that it has 6 "convocations" (with names like "Lyahvi", "Jmorvi", "Savorya", etc.). Each convocation has magic that it is good at, ok at, and not so good at. You have a small'ish selection of spells, but with the supplements and whatnot, there is a nice wide range.Skills/checks are basically a d100 roll and you can get Critical Success, Moderate Success, Moderate Failure or Critical Failure. Simple, yet varied. It's a nice system that plays smoothly.Balance. If you are coming from a "3e/4e" mindset, prepare to be completely lost and confused. It is *not* "balanced" in that way. If you are a knight, you have a *huge* advantage. If you are a Shek-Pvar (wizard), you have power and respect...and fear/condemnation. If you are a farmer...well, you're a farmer, so don't expect to be as 'capable' as a trained knight or even a barbarian warrior. As long as you and your players realize that the world of Harn (and thus,  HarnMaster) is focused on the role-playing aspect of "what if you were in medieval times, but magic, the gods and monsters were real?"...and not the aspect of "you're a hero, destined to slay dragons, conquer kingdoms and attain godhood!", you'll all have a blast.Community. It's a bit..."odd". If you ask a question that can't easily be answered by looking in the history books (real history books, of Earth, y'know, 'real life') and extrapolating...forget about it. You'll either be berated (rarely), ignored (likely), or be given a "non-answer" (e.g., Q: "Does a Shek-Pvar casting a spell in town constitute a breach of law?"; A: "Well, it's magic and that's what they do." ...Q: "Yeah, but does it break some sort of 'law'?": A: "Well, it is magic after all"...Q:"Right. But will my character be burned as a witch or something? Can I get a 'permit'?"; A: "Hmmm. He's a Shek-Pvar. They cast magic." ...repeat ad nasium). In short, the community...at least when I last was part of it 15 years or so ago...is very keen and eager to answer questions that have "real-life" written all over it from a historical perspective. But questions that bring the focus towards the "game" or "fantasy" part of Harn tend to confuse them.  Anyway, yes, I'd recommend giving it a shot at least. Just make *sure* your players realise it's focus is on "simulating a realistic world based on actual medieval history, with magic/monsters/gods as background". If they go into it thinking like a D&D player, you are all in for a world of hurt and disappointment.^_^Paul L. Ming</blockquote>

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