I've known about Hârn for years, but only recently decided to delve in and explore. I must say it seems daunting. I downloaded and read the intro file from the site here, and am wondering where to go further. I'm interested in the world, less so in the HârnMaster game system.

So, where does one begin? It seems that with so much written officially and by fans there is so much to choose from. A Dummies Guide to Hârn would be pretty useful.

I would begin by hoarding everything you can. You may as well do it now because once you start you wont stop."

Buy HarnWorld. Read it.

If you're still interested, explore the treasure trove of free material that can be downloaded here.

Then, purchase articles from Columbia and/or Kelestia as they interest you.

TheHistorian gives good advice; HârnWorld is a kind of short encyclopaedia of much of the setting (i.e., a little bit about a lot of things).

The sheer amount of information *can* be very daunting, even for experienced Hârn nuts. Doubly so for Hârn newbies like yourself. The thing to remember is this; you don't need to read—let alone remember—all that information. You only need to take in what you need at the time. There are hundreds of individual locations or settlements described, mapped, their inhabitants detailed, and adventure hooks compiled. But unless you intend for your players to go there, there's no reason for you to even buy it or download it. I'd recommend this same strategy for the individual kingdoms available. You probably need an understanding of what the kingdoms are all about, but the detail can wait until you need it.

But you do need some kind of framework to figure out what's going on and where things are happening, and that's where HârnWorld comes in. It can give you that overview you need without overwhelming you. It's not exactly "Hârn For Dummies", but it's the best we have.

And remember, as the GM you have the final say. If an article about a place doesn't fit what you need then change it. It's your game, after all. The caveat is radical changes may negatively impact too much other material to be controllable. Hârn material (both canon and fanon) has been written to be internally consistent (mostly). The mass of material can take small changes easily, moderate changes pretty well (although some work will be required to maintain consistency), but big changes are going to be a problem.

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Cheers

Leitchy
List & Forum Admin
Admin FAQs
[Updated 25-FEB-2011]

Welcome.

One of the best free downloads for folks new to Harn, in my opinion, is Jedes and the related adventure Shower of Silver. You can find it on lythia.com. It includes sidebars that explain cultural bits and guides you though it.

My favorite Harn download is probably The Earl's Progress, but I would not recommend it to new folks.

- Ed

EDIT: I almost forgot Asolade Hundred, a description of the area where Jedes keep is located. Warrior's Grave is also good but unrelated to this set.

EDIT AGAIN: Or google "Knights of Kaldor" for a keep and about a dozen manors and related adventures in the northern part of the Kingdom of Kaldor. This is intended as a local campaign, and so knowledge of the greater realm are less important.

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"Your logic is flawless. But that doesn't mean you're right." - Tedd Good

Firstly the Harn environment and HarnMaster are two seperate product ranges. You can, and many (perhaps the majority of) people, use Harn the world without ever touching HarnMaster. If, when!, you grow to love Harn you may want to use HarnMaster since it has a good fit, but as someone new to Harn I wouldn't worry about HarnMaster for now.

HarnWorld or HarnPlayer will tell you a little bit more about Harn. You don't need both. If you want to GM on Harn then HarnWorld is the longer term better buy. It will give you an overview of the world and tell you something about the design values of the products. However, remember it is the original publication and its style is not as good as more recently published materials.

Once you are hooked on Harn, come back to the forum and ask where to start. Many people will tell you Kaldor and there is certainly a lot of free material to base a trial game there. Other options exist, if you are an experience GM then you might prefer Chelemby for example. But I don't think you need to worry about these options yet.

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··<SableFox>··
AKA Jonathan M Davidson

My boxed set of HârnWorld is on its way. I'll be camping out at my mailbox.

Thanks for the tips on downloads. So much to read and explore.

I suppose I will check out HârnMaster at some point. Aside from my flirtation with Burning Wheel, the other two systems I currently play wouldn't fit.

The system is not terribly important. I have used Harnmaster, Runequest, and GURPS. Others have used the Hero System.

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"Your logic is flawless. But that doesn't mean you're right." - Tedd Good

Indeed. I've used Savage Worlds and even Shadowrun (2nd Edition) with HârnWorld and had no problems.

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Cheers

Leitchy
List & Forum Admin
Admin FAQs
[Updated 25-FEB-2011]

I'd also like to point out the Harn FAQ, even if it's made in 1999.

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~Laudant illa, sed ista legunt~
~You may leave Hârn, but Hârn never leaves you!~