LFPs; Harnmaster; M, T, or Th Evenings EST, FGU
Intro: I would like to form a small group (5-6 including myself) of mature, middle aged, like minded players (more into grognard sim and good, fulfilling RP, than hack and slash shenanigans) for a Harnmaster campaign.
Biggest Disqualifier Right Up Front: Harn is a deadly, gritty, realistic ruleset/setting with low fantasy/magic set in a world based (loosely) on 12th century Great Britain. You’ve been warned!
Other immediate disqualifiers:
1. Scheduled play will be weekly on either Mon, Tue or Thu, Eastern Standard time zone (GMT-4). ---Edit: looking for player for THU evenings (7pm-11pm) only.--- No earlier than 6pm EST. As the group forms, we will settle on a schedule that works for everyone. First gaming session will not happen quickly. I plan to have a Session 0 to get a feel for what the players want, then take a couple weeks to get the start of the campaign together (with intervening sessions for character creation, tutorials on FGU and Harn, as well as practice encounters). Frankly, a serious roleplayer will want the extra time to familiarize themselves with the world and how their PC concept works in it.
2. Gameplay will be on Fantasy Grounds Unity (you can get a free version to connect to my game) and voice through Discord.
For those needing an intro to Harnmaster, look here: https://www.kelestia.com/node/73
For a detailed look at the campaign setting (HarnWorld), look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68UeNySToBI
More about me and the campaign:
I prefer creating and running story based campaigns, laden with combats that move the plot forward. I’ve GM'd DnD 2E & 5E, Pathfinder 1E & 2E, Harnmaster, Mythras, PCCS (huh?) and Twilight2000. Looking for roleplayers who enjoy in-depth interactions between other players, the GM, and the setting. If your style of play is mostly about combat, getting to the next encounter, and adding up your XP and loot, than this group probably isn't for you. We will do all of those things, but as a way to progress a story we are all engaged in, as well as intrigued about where it will take us next.
Being a retired (20yrs) Army infantry officer with plenty of experiences overseas, I tend to find real world problems much more fascinating and engaging (and, I must say, entertaining), than your average (overdone) tropes about little people saving the world from the Big Evil. I know most players of RPGs do so for the escapism aspect. That’s fine. Escapism for me is playing out what-ifs of real world problems, with real world consequences. I fully recognize that puts me in a small (perhaps tiny) sub-genre of the gaming culture. I only need to find five of you… (No, not talking about rings here.)
I am fond of problem solving and the social aspects of coming up with solutions. Given the option, I would prefer to play a James of Average noble knight of the 12th century who is trying to gain favor with his king and/or liege, staying one step ahead of becoming a plundering bandit himself (the infamous “routier”). Since those types of opportunities (well done) are extremely rare, I decided to GM a campaign that allows for other, like minded souls, to give it a shot. The group doesn’t have to play knights of course, that’s just a personal example.
When I say fulfilling RP, I am not talking about spending 20 minutes of game time haggling with a shopkeeper. That’s great fun for some, but in my view does nothing to move forward a plot (unless you’re playing a merchant or shopkeeper, which you won’t be allowed to do in my campaign). My campaigns are about conflict, usually on a large scale, and how the people who make up the inner workings of those conflicts, interact with each other. When my players come to town, the merchants and shopkeepers have already lost their livelihood and probably soiled their last good set of robe and slippers. Fulfilling RP examples: talking an outnumbered foe into laying down their arms; balancing a tyrannical, powerful (and prejudiced) bishop and a weak willed, drunkard baron you’ve sworn allegiance to; recruiting essential craftsman and soldiers to your cause; building a coalition of diverse nobles to defeat an usurper to the throne, or perhaps intimidating a local landlord into giving up his (allegedly) rapist son.
Ruleset: For those of you who know Harnmaster and HarnWorld, I plan to play both as written, with the exception of psionics (as in there will be none) and some additions to combat. The combat additions are an attempt to increase the player's choices for combat and allow them a bit of artistic license when it comes to engaging an opponent. I will introduce a few Homebrew rules based on the Exploits rules from the Low Fantasy Gaming ruleset. Essentially, your PC has hero/luck points they can expend during combat to carry out an Exploit which will give them a momentary advantage, based on how you describe their actions or tactics. These can be used for powerful strikes and finishes or for noble saves and sacrifices. The mechanic simply gives the player the opportunity to use their imagination to briefly narrate combat, while attempting to gain a mechanical advantage over an opponent.
We can discuss what sort of other options for house rules we want to explore later, as a group.
If interested, send me a PM with any questions.
