Columbia Games have long provided Hârn in a three-ring binder format, and that has many advantages. However, it doesn’t make the collection an easy one to pop on a bookcase. The publisher has turned to Kickstarter to turn Kingdoms of Hârn into hardback and is starting with Kaldor.
Potentially introducing the system free setting to new audiences, Columbia is making it crystal clear; the world of Hârn can be violent, adult and unpleasant. The project also now has well over 600 backers, smashing the $5,000 goal with more than $25,000 pledged and two weeks still to go. You can see the latest total and join in from the pitch page.
Hârn is a mediaeval fantasy. It’s a world with non-humans and magic but set firmly at 12th century Norman England technology levels.
The realism claims come from attention to detail, such as maps showing if doors are locked and how they are locked and imagining that such a world would have no shortage of unpleasant people doing unpleasant things to survive.
The kingdom sourcebooks offer up maps, heraldry complete with genealogies and logistical insight on military strength. The series has been published by Columbia Games since 1983, so you can imagine just all the content that’s been built up.
Columbia makes no bones about the adult vibes in the setting in the Kickstarter pitch and argues the wealth of details gives encounters gravitas. In turn, that creates thought-provoking scenes, including combat, which can carry emotional weight.
Systems
There is a HarnMater RPG system, but this is not it.
Instead, this adult and detailed setting can be used with any system you care to adapt, and Columbia Games have some suggestions.
- There’s 5E Harn for D&D, a bestseller at DriveThruRPG.
- Resources for converting Pathfinder to Harn.
- An established GURPS Harn approach.
- Fate for Harn adapted from FATE Core.
- A discount has been provided for Chivalry and Sorcery too but please note that the link automatically adds the download to your DriveThruRPG basket.
Kingdoms of Hârn: Kaldor
The pledge approach is devilishly simply.
A pledge of just $1 unlocks the following; the full 58-page HarnWorld PDF and the 152-page HarnDex, the worldbuilding map at 34″x22″ and the Cities and Towns PDF. You get those within 48 hours of pledging.
Yes, the index of all potential Harn content comes in at 152-pages.
A pledge of $49 adds the 130-page Kingdom of Kaldor with the city of Tashal hardback.
There’s one other pledge, and that’s for brick and mortar stores only.
All the tiers are expected to fulfil by July 2021, and they all have add-on options.
Of course, as Columbia Games have pointed out in a comment or two if the combo of books in the tiers isn’t to your liking, you can still buy them from Columbia Games directly or check out the expansive collection on DriveThruRPG.
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