Response to TheGM's HARP question

[TheGM]

Man, you guys are killing me. Here I'm supposed to be getting ready for my first C&C campaign, and I'm thinking about pulling the HARP books back out and see if I judged too hastily.

So many games, so little time...

 

[Rasyr]

I can see why you'd do that, and bringing the two groups together is a good use for it.

But once you know the RMFRP rules (I loved the detail in the original "Law" series, but RMFRP is a much more solid system), you may as well use them. There's honestly so much overlap in mind-set between that and D&D 3.5 that I am still frequently amazed.

Think "stepping stones".....

3.5 to HARP, HARP to RM.....

And the best thing is that you can easily add in portions of RM to HARP if you like. For example, If you prefer Arms Law to the HARP combat system, just a few tiny adjustments, and you can use it without a problem...

Man, you guys are killing me. Here I'm supposed to be getting ready for my first C&C campaign, and I'm thinking about pulling the HARP books back out and see if I judged too hastily.

:begin subliminal broadcast:
You want to give HARP another try.... You want to give HARP another try..... You want to give HARP another try...
:end subliminal broadcast: (well, actually not end, just taking it subconscious, and letting my cats use their Jedi Purr Tricks on you.....)

 

[greywulf]

lol.........

Darth Mouse: you cannot defeat me, Obi Wan Catobi
Obi Wan: But if you defeat me I shall purr more loudly that you can possibly imagine........

Please don't start putting these images in my head or I'll have to pull out Bunnies and Burrows or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just to see if I can run a Star Wars parody. Nooooooooo..........

(greywulf sees his hand reaching for the Old RolePlaying Games Bookcase. completely out of his control...........)

Darn those feline mind tricks!

Anyway. Yes, give HARP another chance. I'll let you know how the game goes tomorrow. Promise. Unless I end up generating Princess Leia as a Siamese Cat instead.

 

[romp]

Dangnabit, now I am looking to pull the HARP rulebook off the shelf, must remember to buy the second edition .pdf sometime soon. To get that revised combat system...

I keep looking for a good fantasy ruleset and I had a lot of fun with my somewhat aborted PbP HARP game. Maybe I should just continue with HARP. I spotted some weaknesses in my own GM'ing that I can overcome...

 

[greywulf]

If I recall correctly, the second edition of the combat system is a free pdf download from the site........

 

[Rasyr]

Yes, the revised Combat chapter, in its entirety is available here >>---> http://www.harphq.com/webextras.htm

Just scroll down to the revised section....

 

[romp]

Yes, the revised Combat chapter, in its entirety is available here >>---> http://www.harphq.com/webextras.htm

Just scroll down to the revised section....

yipee!! i just d'led almost evrything on the webextras page, thank guys

 

[der_kluge]

The character creation in HARP was what really sold me on it. The flexibility and the customizations are all incredible. And they are all realistic. I love that you can make a wizard and devote every last point you have to "mana" and forego everything else including to-hit, saves, and even hit points. That's an awesome concept in my mind.

I ran a game of HARP at the DC game day, and I ended up statting up like 13 PCs for the occasion, and I was amazed at how many different kinds of clerics I could make, and the variety of just roguish characters that can be produced. Take a few spells - or not; add in some fighting styles - or not. It's incredible.

Rasyr's gonna fix the combat system for me, so it may yet end up being the world's most perfect system*.

* according to der_kluge

 

[Teflon Billy]

Hey! don't knock HARP. I'm GM'ing my first HARP game tomorrow night, and looking forward to it immensely. The character generation is gorgeous - like a cross between d20 and RM, and the players have had a whale of a time with it, creating those non-archetypal characters that are so hard to get right in d20. We've run through a few sample combats and find it the perfect balance between cinematic "swashbuckling" and realism. In other words, it's hitting that sweet spot dang on...

That was our experience with HARP as well

 

[Rasyr]

And the funny part is, that during the entire creation and development of HARP, not once, ever, did we even concern ourselves with "realism" (c'mon, it is a game with magic and dragons!). What we did concern ourselves with was consistency, flexibility, and simplicity (where possible - it was a balancing act between keeping things simple and keeping them flexible - I think we pulled it off quite well).

romp - glad you are enjoying yourself.