What's New With Iron Crown Enterprises?

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High Adventure Roleplaying (HARP) was born in 2003 in a desire to offer the slick combat table approach of Rolemaster in an easier-to-digest faster-to-play format. Despite wary detractor’s concerns the final product bears only a cursory semblance to its more complex and detailed cousin.

In 2011 Guild Companion Publications took over the helm for Iron Crown Enterprises. Their first releases were HARP Sci-Fi followed by HARP Sci-Fi Extreme. Correcting several errors and refining rules from fan input, the revised printing of HARP Fantasy was released later in 2011.

The HARP system is level-based, uses Professions instead of classes, has a broad detailed skill list and reads much like ICE’s alternative to D&D. The differences are in the details.

In HARP combat you roll an open-ended d100 roll; a result of 96 – 100 “explodes” keeping the previous roll, rerolling and adding the new results. The open-ended roll has no upper limit. Adding a skill modifier, considering any penalties and subtracting your opponent’s defense yields the attack result. The size of the attack or weapon then adds or subtracts from the attack result.

You then look up this result on the combat table for your attack. Results have a descriptive component, the number of "hits' subtracted from Endurance, the number of points added to an ongoing Action Penalty, and a possible number of points of Bleeding. Combat ebbs and flows with vivid descriptions and gritty consequences based on this fast single-roll lookup on a table.

Magic, detailed in the core book and the supplement HARP College of Magics, uses a Power Point (PP) concept where each spell requires a minimum PP cost and allows the caster to invest more PP to “power up” the spell. This flexibility grants plentiful options for the various spellcasting professions.

Races in HARP not only allow for the mainstream fantasy choices but offer up Lesser and Greater Racial Hybrids. Taking one of these options could create a Gnomish Blooded Dwarf or an Elven Blooded Gryx.

The latest release HARP Folkways presents an interesting format for a game supplement. The first half of the book informs with a detailed take on the “20 questions” approach, guiding the GM through the process of creating distinctive cultures. The last half of the book details a plethora of new races, professions and options for players. I found this book not only entertaining to read but imminently useful for fleshing out cultures.

The revised HARP Loot made its debut late last year. The traditional treasure tables are included with additional options for using land, titles and favors as rewards. Wrapping up the book are guidelines for creating a catalog of magic items both simple and fantastic.

The much-anticipated revised HARP Bestiary is due out in two to three months based on forum interactions with the line developer. Print-on-demand and PDF books are available from the various OBS sites.

[Links to products are affiliate links. If you buy something I get a small commission.]

 

[aramis erak]

Not sure where you get G crits and F crits from...
Rolemaster uses crit ranges from A through E, with E being the deadliest. For attacks you first roll your attack dice, look up the result and if a crit is indicated you roll on the appropriate crit table. Sometimes a stun was indicated and the defender could choose to make a stunned maneuver roll but other than that there were no other rolls to be made. There were optional rules for wrap around on the combat tables and in that case one could get more than one crit.
Now all this has to do with the older editions of RM and I am not that familiar with the way crits work in RMU (Rolemaster Unified). FYI, RMU is all supposed to be the good things from all the older version of RM and removing most of if not all the bad stuff, this according to fans like myself and some on here.

HARP is a great system and I have been running a campaign for the last two years using the HARP system but using a modified combat system I have been designing. I use an action point (AP) system that was inspired by CEATS (RMC V or VI) and a combat system that is inspired from the RM 2 roll combat and crit system only much more simple. There is a special thread on the HARP forums for beta testing my combat system, though without my AP system as I am still beta testing that with my group. Within the next month or two I will be putting out a new version of my combat charts for beta testing.

Spacemaster, at least the older editions, has them on several tables; the breaking 150 rule also triggers F & G crits in RMC. They're typically resolved as F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+C. See SMC1, and RMC1.

Looking at Tech Law from 1985:
Page 57, Attack table: Hand Laser, Goes up to (at AR 0, 148-150) 42H, noting that the base is Heat, and the second is puncture.
Page 58, Automatic Handheld Pistol goes up to I, but uses F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+B+A, G=E+C+A, both tables match; if Total Attack Roll <135, Pierce, otherwise, shrapnel.
Page 81, Blaster table. F=E+A, G=E+B, all blast
Page 82, Laser Canon. F=E+A ... I=E+D, all pierce
Page 83, Disruptor F=E+A ... H=E+C

 

[CapnZapp]

Not sure where you get G crits and F crits from...
Rolemaster uses crit ranges from A through E, with E being the deadliest. For attacks you first roll your attack dice

Let me stop you right there. Your answer presumes he doesn't know what he's talking about when he clearly does.

Thanks

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

 

[Hurin70]

Since September 2012 according to wikipedia, so almost 5 years and yes, ages...

Don't hold your breath (otherwise you may need to roll on the drowning critical table! RMCVII p.27)

They are making steady progress. Latest report was that Character and Arms Law are relatively polished and close to their final form now, and they are going over Spell Law, Creature Law, and Treasure Law. The developers comments on the boards suggest they are getting pretty close I think. Personally, I'm glad they are taking their time to get it right: this is the first new edition essentially since RMSS/FRP.

Anyone can use the ICE forums, but yes, you do have to sign in if you want to download and try the beta rules.

I am pretty excited about the new rules, which we've been playing for a while now. They are a lot of fun, especially the new spell rules (simpler to buy spells and there is a spell at every level for every list; simplified armor penalties for spellcasting), the new hit location rules (you can buy armor for each location on the body), and the general simplification and tidying up of some of the more complicated parts from previous editions.

 

[Hurin70]

That is the name of the company that owns ICE now.

Yes, they finally got the rights to the ICE name back just recently. It is the ICE guys who are making RMU, I am pretty sure.

 

[Hurin70]

Spacemaster, at least the older editions, has them on several tables; the breaking 150 rule also triggers F & G crits in RMC. They're typically resolved as F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+C. See SMC1, and RMC1.

Looking at Tech Law from 1985:
Page 57, Attack table: Hand Laser, Goes up to (at AR 0, 148-150) 42H, noting that the base is Heat, and the second is puncture.
Page 58, Automatic Handheld Pistol goes up to I, but uses F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+B+A, G=E+C+A, both tables match; if Total Attack Roll <135, Pierce, otherwise, shrapnel.
Page 81, Blaster table. F=E+A, G=E+B, all blast
Page 82, Laser Canon. F=E+A ... I=E+D, all pierce
Page 83, Disruptor F=E+A ... H=E+C

Yes, Rolemaster has the same system: crits beyond E are multiple crits, with F = E+A, G=E+B, etc., just exactly as you say here for Spacemaster.

 

[Hurin70]

Thanks for the constructive criticism. I wanted to give some brief context and then talk about what ICE was up to with HARP. At 500 words the "crispness" can come off as maybe too direct. I will try and be less "markety" in my next article if I'm fortunate enough to have another published. I should write up a proper review of HARP with pros and cons.

Thanks!

It might be good to do a true 'What's New with ICE' to let people know of the recent resurrection of the ICE name and the general products they are preparing for publication. I think it is a fair criticism to say that the article is mostly to do with HARP rather than ICE, but that doesn't mean you can't still do one on ICE as a whole. As the comments show, I think people are quite interested in other ICE stuff too (Rolemaster first and foremost).

Thanks for your work though; it is good to see ICE getting some luv!

 

[TreChriron]

It's probably worth submitting an article on the Rolemaster Beta 2! I have downloaded a couple of the play test documents, and I feel like you need to be an RM enthusiast to parse them properly. I don't want to misrepresent the game, so I need to dig in more to understand it.

 

[Hurin70]

It's probably worth submitting an article on the Rolemaster Beta 2! I have downloaded a couple of the play test documents, and I feel like you need to be an RM enthusiast to parse them properly. I don't want to misrepresent the game, so I need to dig in more to understand it.

Yes, it might be best to wait till closer to publication, as a few things have changed that could make a significant impact. The size rules and turn/initiative structure have been cleaned up, the spellcasting procedures and armor penalties have been simplified, and some other changes. We're getting to the point where they've moved past beta2 and closer to the final version, so maybe it would be better to wait for that.

 

[Madmaxneo]

Spacemaster, at least the older editions, has them on several tables; the breaking 150 rule also triggers F & G crits in RMC. They're typically resolved as F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+C. See SMC1, and RMC1.

Looking at Tech Law from 1985:
Page 57, Attack table: Hand Laser, Goes up to (at AR 0, 148-150) 42H, noting that the base is Heat, and the second is puncture.
Page 58, Automatic Handheld Pistol goes up to I, but uses F=E+A, G=E+B, H=E+B+A, G=E+C+A, both tables match; if Total Attack Roll <135, Pierce, otherwise, shrapnel.
Page 81, Blaster table. F=E+A, G=E+B, all blast
Page 82, Laser Canon. F=E+A ... I=E+D, all pierce
Page 83, Disruptor F=E+A ... H=E+C

I understood your original post to mean that those "F" and "G" crits were part of the Rolemaster core rules. They are an optional rule that as you quoted are in RMC1. They were part of Spacemaster core rules but I only used that system a few times in the 80's. I had forgotten about that system and those crits. Thanks for the reminder.

The RM companions were great reads but many of those optional rules overburdened the core rules way to much, exactly like you mention with the F and G crits optional rules.

Yes, Rolemaster has the same system: crits beyond E are multiple crits, with F = E+A, G=E+B, etc., just exactly as you say here for Spacemaster.

They were not part of the core rules as they are in RMC1. There are loads of optional rules in those companions, most of them were laughed at (like the similar skill system) and mostly never used. In fact other than some talents and skills here and there the only thing I ever used was the CEATS system in RMC V or VI (maybe VII). The group I ran the CEATS system with enjoyed it as the best part of the RM system. In fact one guy wanted to convert it to run in his D&D game. CEATS (Combat Environment Action Tracking System) is basically a second by second action resolution system that, IMHO, destroys the turn or round based system.

This discussion is making me miss those good old days of gaming. I am half convinced to convert my group to Rolemaster and stop playing HARP....lol.

 

[Hurin70]

They were not part of the core rules as they are in RMC1.

They were actually part of the core rules. In Arms Law (second edition Rolemaster), the animal and crush charts had F criticals, and in Spell Law, some of the elemental attack tables like Ice Bolt and Lightning Bolt had criticals as high as J.

This discussion is making me miss those good old days of gaming. I am half convinced to convert my group to Rolemaster and stop playing HARP....lol.

Come to the Dark Side!