Kingdoms of Harn | Chybisa (Columbia Games 2020)

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[sdev]

Great video on Chybisa. I have owned most of the older Harn work since it started coming out in 1983 - collected almost all of it and although I did not use it (had my own world) eventually we switched to it by the 90's as I realised it was much easier to use a developed world than to keep fleshing out my own. The game system we use is Chivalry & Sorcery 2nd edition (and most of 1st edition) which I was also using since 1983 when it first came out. C&S was a PERFECT fit for Harn as it was pure Medieval in setting with fantasy added with low or more to the point, subtle magic which was also a perfect fit for what I wanted. C&S allowed me to use a system that suited the grit and grime of a medieval world such as Harn that was realistic, without all of the mega fantasy that say AD&D had. By the 90's my group were well established in Harnworld and very comfortable with the setting, they got to know the regions, the places of interest, the history, cultures, politics and combat/war of the world. I have been playing RPG's now for 41 years, 38 of those years as a C&S GM and 30 of them in Harn. Although my group of players have spent much of their time in Harn they have also traveled and explored parts of Lythia and even Hypekeria and beyond all while using the C&S system. They have always had a base of operations that they have gone back to between adventures for downtime, learning skills, learning spells, changing to a different character etc to go off on the next adventure while the previous character was busy in downtime etc. Originally this base was south of Azedmere near Habe but many years ago the party were involved in an adventure here in Chybisa where they helped the King be rid of Paegelin raiders. In return the King granted the party a small holding of land north of the Ulmerien River around a ruin called Darcen. You can see it on the map. This place was given to the party on the proviso they would re-build the fortification and garrison it. This they did and they have been there for over two years (real time). Now included as a small Bannerette holding the party use this place as a home and base to start their adventures from. Last count is close to 20 full adventure campaigns the party have completed in this time while using Darcen as a base. Thanks for the video of this region, it helps people who may want to play in this setting get the feel for the world, the setting, the region and the possibilities for adventure while using Harn.

[joeadams]

Thanks for the review! I'm interested in seeing your reviews on the Cities of Harn that were done in the Kickstarter campaign.
FWIW, a couple of comments:
-- Crossby and King wrote the original material. Ed Barach and I wrote the expansion.
-- The map inside the module has the parts of maps K7 and L7 that show the settlements of the kingdom. K7 will be published in the future.
-- All of the kingdom modules since 2014 (?) have a very similar format that includes the economic data, subinfeudation, and military resource tables.
Thanks again for the review. I look forward to seeing more Harn reviews in the future.

[sdev]

PS. as a side note many years ago I was in email contact with Robin Crosby before he passed. He explained to me that after splitting with Columbia games he focused on content for Lythia while Columbia focused on content for Harn. His health was already gone and he knew his time was almost up and wanted to just complete work for Kelestia for Lythia for as long as he could. Although it was sad to see the split he got to run with work that he had always wanted to do outside of Harn. Columbia wanted to just focus on the Isle of Harn and for us consumers we got to benefit from the work both companies put out. Harn/Lythia is growing and expanding which is fantastic

[dq]

Great review.
There is a heraldry article available that explains all the terms, etc.

[TheCommandTent]

Harn has always intrigued me but I've never taken the full plunge as I know 0 people who would want to play an RPG. That being said the last few years I've picked up a few free supplements and even purchased Harn Manor so I would definitely be interested in more Harm content. Now I'm off to find your other Harm videos.

[wsclulin]

Another great video; RPGs aren't my thing but your presentations are very interesting. Thanks for posting

[lvd]

Hey, just wanted to say thank you for these really useful videos! I'm considering getting into harn, and these review/overview videos really help figuring out what to buy.

[karlrodriguez]

a Cities of Harn review would be fantastic!

[freddaniel]

Very nice overview of Chybisa. You obviously know Hârn quite well. I have always wondered about the origins of this setting - specifically concerning any possible connection the creator may have had to the SCA or the Chivalry & Sorcery game?

[pklassen]

According to HarnPlayer, the pronunciation of Chybisa is "Chih-BEE-sa".

[sdev]

Populations are more in line with Briton, not Europe