Welcome to the HârnFAQ, a fan-maintained list of all the questions that are commonly asked by people new to Hârn.
This Frequently Asked Questions list is intended to answer many of the most common questions about Hârn and HârnMaster. Some of these questions are very general, but others ask specific details about the world of Hârn or the rules of HârnMaster. Many of these questions have been raised multiple times on the HârnList, a Hârn fan mailing list. Many have been raised and discussed again, at length, on the HârnForum, a web-based discussion forum, Hopefully, this FAQ will help answer common questions so that people can concentrate on answering more complex, or new, questions.
This is not an official publication of N. Robin Crossby, Columbia Games, and thus cannot be considered to contain "official" answers to these questions. However, every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of these answers. See also "Where do I send corrections and additions?".
This FAQ was primarily the work of Steve McDonald who, for many years was the HârnList's Admin. To him goes the greatest thanks. Others who have helped Steve and myself, and who we jointly thank for their suggestions and input to this FAQ include:
This FAQ was compiled by Steve McDonald, but is now being maintained by Peter Leitch. If you have a correction or comment on any of the contents, or if you have a question or especially an answer that you think should be included, you can contact Peter on the address listed here.
Like all groups, a common lingo or jargon has evolved over the years. Find out what everyone's talking about.
Messages on the HârnList and HârnForum frequently contain abbreviations. Here are some abbreviations peculiar to Hârn fans:
Many other abbreviations are common on the Internet, including:
Hârn is an island on an imaginary world called Kethira. This island and world are the setting for a fantasy role-playing game. The proper spelling of Hârn has a carat (^) over the 'a'; in LaTeX it would be spelled H\^arn. Sometimes the word Hârn is used by players to refer to the entire world of Kethira, or at least those parts that have been described in official and fan-developed publications.
HârnWorld is the name of the game product which describes the environment, culture, and history of Hârn. The term is also sometimes used to refer to the entire world of Kethira or to the body of published material which describes it (as opposed to material about rules). HârnWorld is designed to be largely independant of gaming system, and focuses on description, background, detailed environment, and wonderful maps. HârnWorld was created and originally written by N. Robin Crossby [qv] and published by Columbia Games Inc [qv].
HârnMaster is a set of gaming rules specifically designed and published for Hârn by Columbia Games. The first edition rules were published as a single book. Subsequent editions published by CGI split these up into several sections, each published separately. The sections will be the Core rules, Magic, Religion, and Bestiary. To date, the Rules, Magic, and Religion have been published, while the Bestiary is being gradually published as a series of additions to the HârnQuest line. The sections of the second edition were all three-hole punched heavy cardstock with full color, and the Core rules came with a binder. The third edition of the main rules has been released, introducing new material, expanding some sections, and streamlining others. The existing Magic and Religion rules are for use with HM3 (as is is called). This edition uses heavy paper instead of cardstock, and black & white illustrations only, no colour, although it is still looseleaf. There is a Player's Edition of the HM3 rules, but this is merely a truncated set of the main rules, and includes a copy of the existing HârnPlayer volume.
HârnMaster Gold is Robin Crossby's own version of the HârnMaster rules. It is different from both HM1, HMC, and HM3 but fairly compatible with all. There was a previous version that was self-published in 1999, but now that there has been a split betwen N. Robin Crossby and Columbia Games Inc, Robin has published HârnMaster Gold Players and GM Editions on his own website. You'll find these, and more, products at http://www.kelestia.com.
Robin Crossby is the original creator of Hârn and author of many of the published Hârn materials. He does read the HârnList but does not necessarily see every message there. His home page, called "Penny Arcane", is http://www.crossby.ca/, and his eShop, selling PDF copies of material, is http://www.kelestia.com.
Columbia Games Inc is the primary publisher of Hârnic material in book form. They had a license from Robin Crossby to publish this material, although this was officially revoked by Robin in July 2003. However, due to the nature of the issues surrounding this, there is an outstanding dispute, and Columbia Games is still publishing new and expanded material. Grant Dalgliesh is the main contact at the company for Hârn products (grant@columbiagames.com). Their web site is http://www.columbiagames.com/. They may be also contacted at the address below.
Columbia Games, Inc.
POB 2457
Blaine, WA 98231
U.S.A
Canada/USA: 1-800/636-3631
Other Countries: 360/366-2228
Fax: 360/366-3313
Auran is a computer gaming company. They had an exclusive license to producing Hârn material in electonic form, but this fell through in early 2002. They now produce d20 material. Their website is http://www.auran.com/.
The HârnList is an electronic mail forum for discussing anything related to Hârn. It is run by a list server process on the Lýthia.com list server. To subscribe, go to http://lists.lythia.com/listinfo.cgi/Hârnlist-lythia.com, fill out the form by providing your email address and a password, and clicking the "Subscribe" button. You will receive a confirmation email; simply click the REPLY button on your email client, and send it back to the HârnList. You should also look at the HârnList Support web site for more details.
The HârnForum is a site containing a web-based bulletin board, or forum software, for discussion of anything relating to Hârn. To become a member, go to http://www.harnforum.com and click on the Register button. There are more details on the What is the HârnForum? page on this website
The HârnPage is a Web site dedicated to HârnWorld and HârnMaster. It contains numerous articles, pictures, and weblinks created by the fans of Hârn, including some from the author, Robin Crossby. New submissions are strongly encouraged and welcomed by Hârn fans. The URL is http://www.columbiagames.com/HârnPage.
The HârnLine used to be an electronic bulletin board (bbs) dedicated to Hârn. It was run by Rob Duff from a 286 in Burnaby, North Vancouver, BC. Some of the oldest material on the HârnPage was originally posted to the HârnLine.
The Duffleboard is another name used for the HârnLine. The bbs was based on a machine called duffleboard, along with another unrelated bbs. Hârn fans on the HârnLine sometimes used the term duffleboard to refer to the HârnLine.
Originally, Encyclopedia Hârnica referred specifically to the first publications of Hârn material, which were titled Encyclopedia Hârnica 1 through 16. These publications were written in a modular format which had originated in Cities of Hârn, with each article having separate page numbering. This was intended to allow the articles to be hole-punched and placed in a notebook in an arbitrary order. Later, Columbia Games switched to publishing kingdom modules and other types of collections, but retained the modular format of the articles in most publications. Now the term Encyclopedia Hârnica is sometimes used to refer to the entire body of published Hârn articles. Almost all of the material found in the original Encyclopedia Hârnica series has been republished in later modules (see also Has everything in the original EH modules been republished? in the Questions About Articles section).
Hârndex is one of the two books sold together as HârnWorld. It contains an encyclopedic listing of many titles, organizations, locations, and important pieces of knowledge about the island of Hârn and it's inhabitants. See also What are the differences between 1st and 2nd edition HârnWorld? in the Questions About Articles section.
BattleLust is a system for miniatures war gaming in the Hârn environment and published by Columbia Games Inc. It is designed to work on a scale of one figure per character, though some players have successfully run it using one figure per five characters. BattleLust is compatible with the HârnMaster rules, and it is possible to use them in combination, BattleLust for the masses of fighters and HârnMaster for special characters (especially those with esoteric abilities).
HârnLore was an official Hârn magazine put out by Columbia Games for several years. It contained short adventures, new optional rules, publication updates from Columbia Games, and notes from Robin Crossby. Unfortunately, it was subject to long publication delays and few subscriptions, and was discontinued. HârnLore had only eleven issues. Issues 10 and 11 included full color inserts. As with all other out of print books from Columbia Games, photocopies of issues of HârnLore can be purchased; contact Columbia Games for prices.
Var-Hyvrak was a Hârn fanzine published in the German language by Lantern Productions, similar in concept to HârnLore. Seven issues came out before it was discontinued. Most of the material was written for the magazine, while some articles were translations from Encyclopedia Hârnica, Hârnlore, Hârnpage and Hârnline. Most of the articles are not available in English. A webpage has been created, where a few of the articles have been converted to Adobe PDF format and are available for download (http://www.edepol.de/vh), however all articles are in German for now.
The HRT is a collaborative project inspired by a discussion on the HârnList about the nature of Hârnic religions. A number of interesting ideas for expanding the backgrounds of the various religions were proposed, which inspired people to create a team to write up and organize new material on the Gods of Hârn to complement the published articles. Some of this material has since been included in HârnMaster Religion. New submissions and ideas are always welcome. The web site for the Hârn Religion Team is http://pages.sbcglobal.net/Hârn-religion-team/.
Hârnic Tarot is an article written by Robin Crossby about the use of cartomancy (divination using a deck of cards) on Hârn and specifically on the 72 cards which comprise the Genin Deck of tarot-like cards. Robin has published this article independantly, and it was available from Hyperbooks (http://www.hyperbooks.com/). Unfortunately, it is currently sold out and unavailable. This should not be confused with the P'varic Tarot by Mike Kavanagh, which is available on the HârnPage at http://www.columbiagames.com/HarnPage/harnmaster/tarotpvaric.html. Mike invented his own deck of tarot cards for Hârn, independant of Robin's work.
Like the Hârnic Tarot, Robin has published an article called On Divinity which describes his ideas about the nature of polytheistic gods and divine intervention in a game world. The article is written with many references to Hârn, but is very generic and can be applied to any game world. On Divinity is available from Kelestia Productions (http://www.kelestia.com/).
Harshlands is a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon) based on Hârn. A MUD is essentially an interactive text-based computer game where many people can simultaneously explore and interact with each other in an environment which is described to the player as he goes along. To play in a MUD, you usually need a MUD client program, which are widely available, although simple 'telnet' will suffice. The URL to access Harshlands is: http://www.harshlands.net/index.asp.
The EHG is a group of Hârnic fans in Europe. They communicate about European conventions and organize group projects. Their web site is http://www.johalla.de/EHG/. They also have a low-volume mailing list. To subscribe, send a message to ehg-request@johalla.de and put the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
Some years ago, a discussion on the HârnList about dangerous animals brought up ferrets. In a later discussion which was already quite silly, people started referring to trained war ferrets. Since then, the Hârnic War Ferret has become the epitome of silly topics on the HârnList. Occasionally, when a discussion starts to turn silly, someone will bring up the dreaded Hârnic War Ferret. Fortunately for our collective sanities, the topic usually disintegrates soon after that.
"Canon" refers to the body of Hârn material, including both Hârnmaster rules and Hârnworld environment, that has been officially published by CGI or Kelestia. The term is used to distinguish such material from fan-produced material (sometimes called "fanon").
Yes. On the HârnPage is a list of all Hârn articles published by Columbia Games: http://www.columbiagames.com/HarnPage/ArticleIndex/articles1.html. There is another, more complete listing, compiled by Keith Mann, available for download via Lythia.com.
There are a number of small differences between the first and second editions of HârnWorld, but no one has written up a comprehensive list of the differences yet. Some of the original Hârndex listings were dropped or modified, particularly the short biographies of important persons. The price listings scattered through the Hârndex were compiled and modified into a single price index in the main HârnWorld book. The maps in the original Lythia module were shrunk by 50% in both dimensions when incorporated into the second edition HârnWorld. If you have a good list of the differences, please send it to the author of this FAQ.
Here is a brief summary of the most important changes so far between second and first edition HârnMaster (HM3 is merely an extension and or/refinement of HM2):
Check out Robin Crossby's website dedicated to HârnMaster Gold for the answers to this and many other questions about HM Gold: http://www.crossby.ca.
No, there are several articles from the original Encyclopedia Hârnica modules which have not been republished. Here is a list of the EH articles which were dropped or changed in later publications. See also: Where can I find out of print articles? below.
There are plans to reprint all unavailable articles in the future as part of the HârnQuest line.
Columbia Games will sell photocopies of all out-of-print Hârn material they have published. These are sold at the original prices and include color maps. Contact Grant (grant@columbiagames.com) for sales information. Sometimes the original materials may be found in auctions and sales, both on-line and at game-stores or auction houses. Checking out the online auction sites may be useful.
Son of Cities was originally published as an extension to the Cities of Hârn book. It contained additional pages which could be added to the end of the seven city articles in Cities of Hârn, mostly additional details of specific buildings. Later, the Cities of Hârn and Son of Cities books were sold together under the name Cities of Hârn. The Cities of Hârn material is undergoing revision and expansion (possibly doubling in size), but the publication format and dates have not been set.
The points below answer some of the most common questions about the HârnWorld setting.
The short statement in HârnWorld that Hârn does not have root crops has puzzled many fans. It appears to have been an error. Potatoes and several other root crops were unknown in the middle ages on Earth, and so were deliberately kept out of descriptions of Hârn. Somehow, this decision was accidentally expanded to become the statement that "root crops" were unknown on Hârn. So now some GM's go strictly by that statement (with the understanding that Hârn is not the same as Earth), and others simply interpret "root crops" to mean those roots (principally tubers) which were unknown in medieval Europe. Overall it is a pretty insignificant issue, though it has caused extensive discussion in the past.
The symbols using in maps and floorplans of Hârn material can be found on a floorplan key and a map key that have been published in several modules, including Cities of Hârn and several kingdom modules. The map key, including the atlas and interior keys, has been scanned and converted to PDF, and is available from Lythia.com (http://www.lythia.com/downloads/16.html) with permission from Columbia Games Inc.
In particular, on the kingdom and regional maps, the red circles and squares are towns and villages of various sizes. Black-filled triangles with the point up are mountain peaks. Hollow triangles with the point down are special "Points of interest" — Gargun lairs, Earthmaster sites, caves, and other interesting places.
There are some symbols which are not explained anywhere. These are small circles or squares surrounding a letter. These appear on some of the kingdom maps. A circle or square surrounding an 'r' indicates a ruin. The square means it was fortified, i.e. a ruined manor, while the circle was usually an unfortified village. Other letters indicate tribal moots, tribal villages, or other tribal gathering places. The letter is the initial of the relevant tribe, e.g. 'p' for the Pagaelin augur lodges.
The Hârn Regional Map marks a "point of interest" symbol in the Rayesha Mountains between Mt. Niphel and Mt. Eben, but does not label it with a name. There has been frequent speculation about what it is intended to be. Proposals have included: the lost Sindarin city of Alarienel, the legendary Earthmaster city Lahr-Darin (which is sometimes associated with Mt. Niphel), some other undiscovered Earthmaster site, an unknown Gargun tribe, a magical confluence, and so on.
As near as can be determined at this point, the mark is merely a printing error. However, gamemasters are encouraged to use the unmarked site as inspiration for whatever their imagination can invent.
There are many questions about the various rules systems and versions.
The HârnPage contains several articles on using GURPS and the Hero system with Hârn. Some Gamemasters have said that RuneQuest can be used with Hârn with little change except the visibility of magic. A freeware rpg system called DCS has conversion notes for Hârn. A search will reveal a number of threads on the HârnForum that discuss various alternate rules systems. If you have pointers to other conversions, please notify the author of this FAQ.
Robin Crossby wrote an article in 1990 for the HârnLine suggesting some rules for handling area effect damage in HârnMaster I. While the rules are designed for HârnMaster I, they could easily be used with HârnMaster Gold or modified to work with HârnMaster II or 3rd Edition.
Most of the missing spells from the Spell Tomes have already been converted to the HârnMaster Magic system. Rebecca Downey has a collection of all spells on her Pax Tharda site.
Here is a rough guide for converting other spells to the HârnMaster Magic rules; a more complete guide would be a welcome addition to this FAQ:
Some skills (such as Cooking, Swimming, Lovecraft, or any Combat Skill) explicitly state that they are automatically opened at OML when the skill is attempted for the first time. Language skills can be automatically opened after constant exposure to it for a month. There are no explicit rules for opening most other skills. It is reasonable to assume that the amount of time it takes to teach these skills will vary from a month to many months, depending on the difficulty of the skill. Certain obscure lore skills and difficult craft skills take the longest to learn (that is, to open at OML). Teaching requires a teacher of decent skill and access to the tools or texts as appropriate. Self-teaching is possible with access to the tools or texts and lots of experimentation, but will take much longer (at least three to five times as long). However, the tools, texts, and techniques of many crafts and lores are held as guild secrets, so self-teaching the most difficult skills may take many years and may not be possible at all without access to secret information.
HârnMaster I, HârnMaster 3rd Edition and HârnMaster Gold Player Edition all include rules for mounted combat. Such rules did not appear in HârnMaster II.
In short, the official rules do not contain any justification for the physics of magic on Hârn. It is not truly necessary to have such a justification in a fantasy role-playing game, as long as the magic rules are internally consistent.. However, some players and gamemasters feel more comfortable or find it interesting to develop rational theories of the physics of magic. The HârnPage contains a couple expositions on the subject. More are always welcome.
In the HârnMaster I and Shek P'var module rules, one could make a minor artifact simply by casting 'Store' on it and storing a spell. This is not possible in HârnMaster Magic; 'Store' is now a major artifact spell only. In order to create a minor artifact, one must use a spell which can store itself. 'Focus' is one such spell. Similarly, major artifacts must contain spells which are designed to be installed in a major artifact. Here are some basic tenets of artifact creation:
To meet the fifth tenet above, most major artifacts are created with 'False Soul' or 'Esten's Mirror'. Discussion has suggested the possibility of a spell which binds an existing spirit to an artifact for the same purpose, and other spells could also be invented. After the ego or will has been bound to the artifact, other spells can be emplaced in the artifact, up to the limit of its WIL or EGO. Each emplaced spell must be one which is explicitly described as a major artifact power, including how many point of EGO it fills up. 'Store' is one such power, and it is unusual in that it enables other (non-artifact) spells to be temporarily stored in the artifact. Some have suggested that any spell which is a minor artifact power should logically also be a major artifact power, but the rules do not say so. If the GM decides this is the case he or she will have to judge how many EGO points the spell takes, since the minor artifact powers in the published material do not include this information.
One final word. Several people have noted that there are no examples in the published material of an artifact with permanently activated powers, except for those powers which enhance or modify attributes of the artifact's material. All other powers can only be activated for a limited time, and often consume a limited number of spell charges. It is probably best to continue this tradition in newly designed artifacts; permanently activated powers are extremely powerful.
A list of errata for HârnMaster 3rd Edition can be found on Lýthia.com, and this has now been incorporated into the latest version of the product (version 3.01). Neither HârnMaster Magic nor HârnMaster Religion include any errata. Errata for previous versions of HârnMaster do not exist, as the products have been superceded. Errata for HârnMaster Gold can be found at Kelestia.com.
There are no official rules for fighting with two weapons at once. One reason is that this style of combat is very unlike medieval combat. However, several people have developed their own house rules for two-weapon combat. If you have a pointer to some decent rules, feel free to contact the author of this FAQ.
HârnMaster Gold includes some rules for martial arts styles and some examples. Aaron Kavli has written a Laranian martial arts form. A number of people have created their own house rules for martial arts styles for Hârn. Some examples can be found at Pax Tharda.
In the standard rules, there is no normal way to improve the basic attributes (Strength, Dexterity, etc.) for characters after they have been created. There are some spells and potions which can affect stats temporarily and potentially permanently, and GM's can create new spells and potions. Also, Eric Anderson has written an article suggesting a house rule for statistic improvement. The article is available on the HârnPage.
Columbia Games has been plagued for most of it's life with major production delays. There are a number of reasons. First, the authors and editors are all sticklers for details. Most of the material goes through numerous revisions and wholesale changes before being published. Second, Columbia Games has a small staff, and they publish several products besides Hârn. Production of other products often causes delays in Hârn material simply because they don't have the manpower to do too many things at once. Third, Columbia Games has a small budget. Printers require money up-front, so bad sales on one product can cause delays on printing the next one, as they have to wait to collect enough money for the print run. This is improving, however, as more people join autoship.
Columbia Games' production schedule has improved in recent years, and there is hope that it will continue to improve.
As for Trierzon and Azeryan specifically, Columbia Games does not expect to publish either of these soon. These are both extremely large modules and no work is being done on these modules at this time.
The HârnList has discussed this several times and determined that, while the list members would love to see all the Hârn articles on one CD ROM, it would not be a sufficiently interesting product to generate profit for the company. As much as its fans love the products, all companies are run by profits. To organize, index and scan all the articles on Hârn into a CD ROM would take a lot of time and money. The other problem is copyright. If all the articles were in an electronic format the publisher could not assure its authors and artists that their works would not be copied without their permission. In this case it's not just a question of losing profits to illegal copies - but infringment on the artist/author in that their works could be used in ways they had not originally forseen nor given permission for.
It is not easy to get A4 paper or notebooks in North America. Since that is where Hârn is published and where a majority of the Hârn customers are, HârnMaster 3rd Edition and it companion books are being published for American-style notebooks. While it would be possible for the printer to put in more holes to accomodate A4 notebooks and other styles of notebooks, some of the holes would overlap and it would significantly weaken the holes against tearing.
People have suggested that US military bases or US corporations in non-North American countries might be good sources of US three-ring notebooks. Also, apparently some European stores do stock them. They could also be ordered from the US though that would be more expensive. Three ring binders can even be purchased from Columbia Games, along with full-color inserts for HârnMaster.
Copyright assures that the author, or artist, or copyright holder retains some control over their works. Each country has its own set of laws on the subject, though the Berne Convention established a standard for signatory nations (including the US). Copyright protects a published work for a certain amount of time, even if the author dies. The following guidelines may help, but are nowhere near complete. Do not assume this information is definitive! For a definitive answer about a copyright question, ask a lawyer.
Quoting a very short section from a published work (so long as you list where you got it and who owns the copyright) is OK. Photocopying a table, character sheet, or any sheet that has the phrase "Permission to Photocopy" at the bottom to give out to your players/friends is OK. Photocopying a book (or chapter, or even page) so you don't have to buy a copy is NOT. Scanning in the cover art of a module to include in a review (so long as you list where you got it and who owns the copyright) is OK. Scanning in art work from published material so you can liven up your own web site/articles is NOT. Use common sense when copying, scanning, or photocoping from published works. For more details on copyright in the United States check out the following web sites:
The HârnPage and most of the fan web pages will accept anything. If you have specific questions, you should ask the person maintaining the web site. However, for the sake of the fans who might be interested in your submission, it is strongly recommended that the format of submissions be both as simple and as portable as possible. Here are a few guidelines you can follow.
The most portable format of all is plain ascii text. Any computer and any program for displaying, formatting, or printing text can work with plain ASCII. Another good choice is HTML. But avoid fancy formatting features which may not work with all browsers. Postscript is easily handled by Mac's and UNIX systems, and ghostscript is available for reading postscript on Windows machines but this isn't ideal. Word is a poor choice because of incompatibilities between versions and the difficulty of translating it on UNIX systems. RTF is also a bad choice because of several incompatible versions.
But the best choice of all is PDF; the Acrobat Reader is available for free for all types of machines, and PDF maintains the format of the article as you want it. There are any number of free PDF creation programs available for all platforms
As for compression, gzip is pretty universal. DOS zip, Mac Stuffit, and UNIX compress are much less portable. And if the file isn't huge, don't bother compressing it; uncompressed is the most portable of all.
There is no standard interchange format for spreadsheets, so you are on your own with those. If it is simply a table without calculation columns, a text output (ASCII) with tab separators is extremely portable. However, Microsoft Excel (xls) format is understand by most spreadsheet products and can usually be read natively or at least imported.
One final note. It has been deemed inappropriate to discuss the proper formats for web page submissions on the HârnList. It is a subject best dealt with between the page manager and the submitter.
There are submission guidelines for the Hârnpage on the Columbia Games web site.
Here is a summary of the most common answer to this question:
Some things which might be useful, but are not critical:
And finally, browse the HârnPage and other websites (especially Lýthia.com) for ideas and files written by other Hârn fans!