Finally, after all the WotC OGL drama has died down, I have decided to revisit this project and rename it Hârnic 5E (or should it be Hârnic 5e)? To keep things simple, and to avoid being overwhelmed like I was with the original project, I’ll keep this one much smaller, and focus on materials in the freely available HârnMaster QuickStart rules. I expect it to include a single class, a handful of backgrounds and limited weapons and armor options.

I will, however, include a fully detailed Critical Hit system. In addition, armor will reduce (absorb) damage rather than affect Armor Class. Shields will function as usual (affecting AC directly). Weapons will also now add attack bonuses to hit and parrying bonus to AC when equipped. This will reflect attack and defense qualities for each weapon, similar to the concept used in HârnMaster.

As I start to put things together, I will post more information, and hopefully some screenshots. My intent is to build this out using the Fantasy Grounds VTT, the D&D 5e Ruleset, and multiple extensions available for that VTT (some free, some not). Then, once I have a functioning system, I’ll make a call for playtesters (if my regular group chooses to not participate).

For those interested in the Old-School Essentials Ruleset for Fantasy Grounds Unity Talen’s Tavern VTT has recently uploaded a content review of that product.

TT 5 – Old-School Essentials for Fantasy Grounds Unity Review – YouTube

Recently completed the Old-School Essentials Kickstarter and it got me interested in starting a new campaign using the Fantasy Grounds VTT. For the ‘theme’ I’m thinking of recreating either the “Knights of Belsirasin” or “Ghosts of Ezar’s War” campaign I briefly started many, many years ago. As far as the system, it’ll either be a heavily modded D&D 5e or Old-School Essentials one. Before using either I want to gritty it up, reskinning any classes and converting all of the equipment, in particular, the weapons.

It appears the latest Fantasy Grounds VTT release includes a tool for building reference manuals. Previously, these were made manually, using a text editor such as Notepad++ which took lots of time and had a pretty steep learning curve to learn and remember all the markup text needed.

With this new tool, it should speed up reference manual creation exponentially. In any event, I’ll need to create all the ‘content’ before working on a reference manual as that is usually the last step in Fantasy Grounds module creation. I’ll try to put together and post some screenshots to show off its capabilities.

Dwelling further on this I believe I will work up two different “Settings” so there will be 2 different “Fantasy Grounds modules” but one “book”. That way the GM can load the content for the setting he plans to run.

The first will be designed to fit Savage Worlds meaning all HârnMaster-like attributes, skills, etc., will be mapped to the core Savage Worlds content. For the most part they will retain the Savage Worlds naming conventions (i.e. using the Obese Hindrance as is, not referencing the HârnMaster Obesity Medical Trait). Ideally this is intended more towards running vanilla Savage Worlds in HârnWorld. Players will be able to build their PC’s using the existing Savage Worlds Character Creation steps using ‘Concepts’ for guidance.

The second will be what I would call more Hârn hardcore in that it will be tweaked to better fit a HârnMaster-like game. Character Creation will be more rigid and make use of tables (few things will be chosen by the player). Occupations (with new special edges), starting attributes, skills, Edges and Hindrances, will be renamed (and rewritten) to HârnMaster terms where needed (i.e. the Savage Worlds Obese Hindrance will be renamed Obesity and modified to reflect the HârnMaster Medical Trait).

Anyway, these are just my “current” design thoughts and are always subject to change. 

As part of the ‘Design’ process of this project (and all of what I post is of course subject to change should obstacles be encountered), I am trying to stick to the following 3 main Columbia Games Hârn books, HârnMaster, Hârndex and HârnWorld. Ideally, I would like to have a separate “Fantasy Grounds” module covering the content for each of the above books BUT some information needs to be available in other modules. Upon initial review though, it may just be HârnMaster and Hârndex that need to be combined into a single module while HârnWorld would be its own module.

With weapons, using Spear for example, the information as far as weapon name, combat related information, weight, cost and weapon skill categories are found in HârnMaster (Spear is found on pages SKILL 19 and COMBAT 3) however, weapon descriptions are actually found in Hârndex (Spear is on page 125). This means in the Weapon entry (in SWADE for Fantasy Grounds) will be in one location but has to come from multiple Hârn publications.

NOTE: I have also noted some discrepancies on information in the different books such as the ‘CLOTH Tunic’ in HârnMaster but seemingly being listed as ‘TUNIC/Wool’ in Hârndex. So, it appears that HârnMaster uses CLOTH Armour while Hârndex identifies this as WOOL Armour?? I’m fine with either BUT if content from these 2 books is covered in a single Fantasy Grounds Module the naming conventions need to be the same.

For design reasons I think defaulting to HârnWorld/Hârndex over HârnMaster content/data would be the way to go since this is intended to be a Savage Worlds Adventure Edition RPG as far as the mechanics are concerned and HârnWorld being the setting (meaning any Hârn content not using HârnMaster mechanics could be used as is).

Unfortunately, the original project stalled out about 3 years ago (got busy with a career change at age 55 and then the pandemic hit). Now that things are getting back to normal, my free time is opening up, and seeing the recent release of the Pathfinder for Savage Worlds I have decided to give it another go. The new project will also have a new name, HârnMaster for Savage Worlds. My plans are to avoid overcomplicating things this time around by sticking to the Core Savage Worlds Rules/Content as much as possible.

Archetypes: The newer Savage Worlds stuff I have looked over (for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition) seems to avoid using Archetypes and just reference/recommend concepts to build around. In this project, there will be one Archetypes for each HârnMaster Occupation AND, they will NOT be balanced with each other. In other words, some Archetypes will have more Skills than others. Characters will be based on their Archetypes (with their appropriate Base setup) and then have up to 5 points to distribute among their Attributes. Some Archetypes will have a point or 2 automatically allocated based on the Occupation and so the 5 points would be reduced by those already allocated points.

Skills: Ideally, I see 3, maybe 4 new Skills (with at least one of them being a new Core Skill) and each will have a few already allocated Skills (based on the Occupation the Archetype represents). Some Archetypes will have more Skills than others at start. Next, each character will have 5 points (not the standard 12) to put into new or existing Skills. This is because each Archetype will already have pre-allocated Skills based on their Occupation. I may also decide to make use of the Skill Specialization Setting Rule.

Hindrances and Edges: At this point, I have not settled on these yet but almost all of the Savage Worlds options will be available. I also expect to create several Altered and New ones for the setting.

Of course, the above intentions are subject to change. More information will be posted as it comes available.

So, I’ve decided to run a Savage Worlds game (finally convinced my regular D&D group to give it a shot) though I’ve never even played the system before. Fantasy Grounds is our VTT of choice however, the setting that caught my attention, “All for One: Régime Diabolique”, doesn’t have a Fantasy Grounds module available for the 2nd Edition. Soooo, I decided to create one, for my personal use. Actually 2, a GM and Player module and even though they are far from complete, I’m certainly making progress.

So I have decided to get back into designing some RPG content, in this case for Savage Worlds. Actually, it’s just creating a Fantasy Grounds module for use with their Savage Worlds ruleset of an already existing setting. I recently came across the “All for One: Régime Diabolique” setting from Triple Ace Games and thought it might be nice to GM a few sessions for my current D&D 5E group to mix things up and get them interested in the Savage Worlds RPG system.

To give an idea of the setting, it’s sort of like The Three Musketeers but with a supernatural element. An overview is posted below;

“The year is 1636 and France is a troubled nation.  A great and terrible evil gnaws at its core, and darkness stalks the land. All that stands between chaos and order are the King’s Musketeers.

Explore a France of swashbuckling action, powerful magic, daring deeds, courtly intrigue, witty repartee, and vile monsters! The characters are France’s bravest and proudest defenders, the King’s Musketeers. Pitted against them is a plethora of corrupt nobles, black magicians, fell demons, and twisted secret societies.

Set at the height of power of Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII, All for One: Régime Diabolique mixes the action of literary works such as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers with horror and intrigue to create a unique, vibrant setting.

While the setting is intended to center around France and western Europe, I am planning to have the sessions/campaign move over the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the French Colonies there.
For those with an interest . . .

New France (French: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Anyway, I anticipate it’ll take some time to build the Fantasy Grounds module and I plan to post updates (and screenshots) as this whole project progresses.