WarFlail's Archives - May 2003

Go to WarFlail's Archives - June 2003

House Rules Update

Just a quick note to let you know that I have updated my HMA GM Screen, after receiving approval from Columbia Games. For those of you who don't know what HMA is, it stands for HârnMaster Advanced and is a set of rules put together using elements from HârnMaster 3rd edition, the out-of-print HârnMaster Gold and my own house rules.

More HMA house rules and utilities available here.

Link Additions

The latest addition to HÂRN LINK is this fine site by Arthur Reyes:

Arthur's Hârn and HârnMaster Resource Page

Of particular interest on this site is Arthur's well-researched Hârn Calendar, which can be downloaded in a number of formats. It is a very handy reference that all Hârn GMs will appreciate.

Also at Arthur's site are several excellent house rules, so check them out!

Still More Reviews

Graham the Review Factory continues to churn out reviews over at RPG.net, this time focussing on an unofficial, fan-built article:

Hârn Encounters
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9317.phtml

Spoiler warning! Only read this review if you are a GM! Players stay out!

I have it on good authority that Graham's reviews for the Ivinia and Shorkyne modules are due out very soon at the same site. Watch for them...

A Couple More Reviews

Graham Donald appears to have been busy - two more Hârn reviews that he had written have appeared at RPG.net:

Azadmere: Kingdom of the Dwarves
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9311.phtml

Encyclopedia Hârnica, Number Nine
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9291.phtml

News from Dicey Business

DICEY BUSINESS is sent to all gamers on Columbia Games' mailing list, highlighting the new features added to www.columbiagames.com in the past two weeks. If you wish to subscribe please email: grant@columbiagames.com.

FREE SHIPPING IN MAY

Columbia Games is offering free shipping for all orders (even overseas) for the month of May. If you live abroad this saves you 30%. Quantity discounts can save you even more. Fill out your collection of Hârn books now!

HÂRNQUEST 4

HQ 4 is nearly ready to ship. The articles in this issue have a martime theme and include Fishing, Aquatic Creatures, and two island sites in Melderyn, Karveth and Glenoth. You can read about each new article at:

http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/cfg/harnsubcategory2-HQ.cfg

If you are not part of the HârnQuest subscription list (you should be) you can still order these articles from the website.

HÂRN GAMEPLAN

Hârn Gameplan has been very well received since its introduction on April 1. Voting totals are still climbing. However it is evident that not all of you have acted yet. Maybe you're waiting for something else to appear on the GamePlan? We will be adding more items soon...

HÂRNIC CONVENTION IN VANCOUVER, BC CANADA

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hârn, some dedicated fans are organizing HârnCon to be held in Vancouver, BC, Canada on June 6-8th 2003. This is a call for volunteers to run events at HârnCon 2003. Read about HârnCon at:

http://harncon.harnlist.com/

Contact: Peter Leitch (peter-at-drypond.com) or Brian McNeilly (bmcneilly-at-shaw.ca) to find out more.

Naturally, Columbia Games will sponsor the event and provide prizes and promotional goodies.

A Slew of Reviews

There seems to be a Hârn review fever over at RPG.net. Check these out, all written by Jay Triplett:

HârnMaster (Combat System)
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9298.phtml

HârnMaster Magic
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9301.phtml

HârnMaster Religion
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9307.phtml

Graham Donald told me over lunch today that he has also written several Hârn reviews at that site. Examples:

Castles of Hârn
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7650.html

Encyclopedia Hârnica, Number Two
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9278.phtml

Kingdom of Chybisa
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7626.html

Kingdom of Menglana
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7625.html

Kingdom of Rethem
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7644.html

Thardic Republic
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7633.html

...And there are more to come. Hopefully, Graham will get around to reviewing modules that are actually still in print. :-)

The End of Swords & Shields?

Today, Patrick Nilsson announced the closure of Swords & Shields, arguably the most popular Hârn fansite ever, brimming with extremely high quality free downloads. This is what he had to say:

Because of CGI's new internet policy and the agreement we have made, S&S will no longer be the primary Hârn download site that it has always been. From mid-june this will be the site for Richard's and my own work for official companies.

Henceforth all the downloads will be made available on Lythia.com but for the forseable future no new material will appear on S&S. For me this means that all my focus on the Hârn RPG will come as the Line Developer for the HârnQuest line as well as mapper, writer, organizer for a few not yet named projects.

S&S existed as a Hârn site for almost 8 years and grew to become without a doubt the most popular site for the fans of Hârn. I have spent together with the writers, mappers, and artists countless hours of work to create free material, but to tell you the truth it has been worth it all the way.

So from now on we shall only meet on the forum and other places around the web, but I will do my best to make sure that every single official module I am involved with, will be as great as they always have been. Good riddance folks, you have been fun to work for on this site.

Patrick had often joked about the sudden termination of his esteemed site, which usually brought on an outcry from fans pleading for the site to be brought back up. But this time it is over for good. It is indeed sad to see such a quality site flushed away.... <sniff>

What is this new internet policy he was referring to, you may well ask. It is a clarification of Columbia Games's policy on the publication of Hârn fan material on the web, announced a couple of days ago. Details may be found here. Nothing world-shattering, though, so I am a bit puzzled as to what is the connection between that and Patrick's decision to kill his site. Oh well, it's his call and the deed is done.

Go to WarFlail's Archives - April 2003

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