So, I’ve go
the newest version of Harnmaster Kelestia from Kelestia Productions, and it’s
beautiful – and complex. I’m looking
forward to running a one-shot demo of the system, and I’m refamiliarizing
myself with the ruleset, but I’m pretty sure I can’t convince my players to
engage in a long term campaign with HMK.
I did run an old Harnmaster 1st edition campaign for 4-5
years many many moons ago, and it was great, immersive, and I have a lot of
love for the setting. So, I engaged in a
thought experiment – what if I were to use an alternate system to try to create
the feel of Hârn and the ruleset Hâmaster, without being Hârnmaster? This would take a lot of effort but could be
a bridge to getting my players to the misty isle …
I pulled Fantasy
Hero and the Hero System (6th Edition) off my bookshelf – it’s very
customizable but suffers from the need for worldbuilding, so maybe it could be a
good match? Worth a thought experiment
and a couple blog posts if nothing else.
One of the
things I loved about Harnmaster (all editions) is the ruleset encouraged
players to have their characters act as they ought to – wizards reading dusty
tomes, priests spending hours in prayer, warriors spent time practicing in the
courtyard, all with game system effects that rewarded that behaviour. That might be harder in a point-buy system
like Hârnmaster, but possible?
So looking
at the newest version of Hârnmaster, they have a pretty neat effect – Fate Points,
and the ability to alter skill roll outcomes, and a whole way to power that
with astrology, divination, reading of runes, and the like – very mystical! Well, the Hero System has something like that
with the Luck ability. What if we took
Luck, made everyone buy it at some level, and power it with Fate Points that
you could gain through divination, runestone readings, and the like?
Below are
two abilities that all characters would have to buy, Fated and Fate Pool, which
use a special Endurance Reseerve, a new skill called Runecraft to allow access
to those Fate Points, and a sample Rune that a runecaster could carve to grant
a wielder some protection as an ongoing spell effect.
Thoughts? Ideas?
Drop me a note at archadethered@gmail.com
SKILLS
Runecraft (9 + AUR/5, Cost 3 pts, +1/2 pts)
The interpretation of Fate
(divination) as manifested in the casting of runestones, a technique native to
the Khuzdul and Ivinians.
Casting the Runes: If a character has this skill and a set of
runestones, they can cast them to determine someone’s fortune – if they succeed,
they can transfer 1 Fate Point from themselves to another person, if they
succeed by 6 or more they can grant the other person 1 Fate Point, and if they
fail the roll, the subject loses 1 Fate Point.
Rune Engraving: A character can engrave a rune in a process that
takes some time on stone or wood item of varying sizes, granting an effect if
they know the secrets of the rune in question (each rune is an ability that can
be purchased), and successfully make their Runecraft check.
A runecrafter cannot have more than AUR/5 runes active at a time, and if
they exceed that limit, their oldest rune loses it’s ability.
See the Magic section for runes.
ABILITIES
FATE POOL
Every
character must have a reserve of points earned through devout prayer or actions
in order to be able to call upon divine favour in their time of need.
Endurance Reserve (20 points, 0 REC) Only recovers
Fate Points through esoteric means or through quests (-1), Can Only Be Used For
Fated Ability (-½) – 2 pts
FATED
Every character in Hârn has follows the thread of their destiny, and
there are often strange forces at work that pull on that tapestry.
Every
character starts with the Fated ability, and can improve it if they wish. At the base level, by spending 1 point from
their Fate Pool at any time, a player can roll 1d6, even if it’s not their
turn, and for each 6 rolled the following is a guideline for what could occur:
1 The character might find a clue;
the character’s opponent could be momentarily distracted or stopped, giving the
character a temporary advantage. A die
roll just made by the character, or someone else interacting with the character
could be altered by +2 or -2.
2 The character could accidentally
happen upon someone important or stumble across someone he was looking for. The
character’s opponent could be troubled by a malfunctioning weapon. A die roll made by the character, or someone
else interacting with the character could be considered a 3 or an 18.
3 The character might be saved by
the most miraculous of coincidences. They may stumble upon a hidden foe, or
have a terrible fall broken by some well placed branches that just happen to be
in the right place. The enemy’s henchman could turn out to be a childhood
friend. Incredible luck is possible. A
die roll made by the character, or someone else interacting with the character
could be considered a 3 or 18, it could grant 8 points of PD or ED for one attack,
or it could grant a permanent 2 point Perk such as Favor or Contact.
Fortunate Soul: Luck (3d6), Character Can Decide When To use (+1),
Costs END (-½), Can Only Use Fate Pool Endurance Reserve (-¼) – 17 pts (3
Fate Points)
RUNE OF THE BEAR
A special rune that has been
carved into a stone that would fit in the palm of a hand, granting the person
holding it special favour and fate. The
rune must be bestowed as part of the carving process on a specific person, will
not work for anyone else, and will become worn and indecipherable after a
month.
Rune of the Bear: The symbol of the great protector and
endurance.
Resistant Protection (4PD, 4ED), Usable By Others (+¼), Costs Endurance
Only To Activate (+¼), OAF (Rune Carving Knife, -1), Concentration (0 DCV
through casting, (Extra Time (1 Minute, -1½), Requires a Runecraft Roll (-½),
Only works on hand sized stones of good quality (-1), Power stops working if
rune is marred, covered, or destroyed (-½), Rune must be held to work (-½), Can
only use Fate Pool Endurance Reserve (-¼), Time Limit 1 Month (0) – 3 pts (2
Fate Points)
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