New Price Cyclopedia PDF
When I look into a new role-playing game, the first thing I do generally is:
- make a character;
- make my own version of the character sheet;
- make a price list.
Like most, I start by making characters. Then I notice that the character sheet provided is lacking, either in organization or quality, so I make my own. And, of course, the last thing in character creation is to equip the character, and at this point I generally find the list of equipment either too limited or spread over too many chapters, which means that you need to flip pages all the time. Granted, this is not the case for all game systems, but it happens very often. As a game master, I also like to have a comprehensive price list at hand because I know my players, and I know they'll ask for something very specific, so I like to be prepared.
HârnMaster Kèthîra is an exception. I really like the character sheet that is included. It is both functional and very nice! As for the list of equipment, this is always a balancing act for publishers because of the page count, but HMK is well balanced and well organized. But still, HarnMaster has been around for more than 40 years and you just can't fit everything into an already large tome.
HarnMaster has a long history. The world of Hârn was first published as a system-agnostic setting. Then the first version of the HarnMaster rules came out. Many supplements added details to either the setting or the rules. Very quickly I decided that I needed to compile all the prices from those various sources into a single price list. And so the first version of my price list came out in the 1980s. I made it available in various bulletin board systems of the time. You can still find one version or another in the internet archives.
There have been many versions over the years. I made new versions for HarnMaster 2 and HarnMaster 3. I also made a version for when I used the AD&D rules in HarnWorld. Last year I made a few changes to include the weapons and armour from HârnMaster Kèthîra, but I didn't change the rest of the information.
HârnMaster Kèthîra is game for all of Venârivè and my old price list was Hârn-centric, so I decided to update everything to be compatible with this much wider region in general and with the HMK rules in particular. I removed the Hârn kingdoms’ economic data because I don't have those details for all of Venârivè. I updated the floor plans of the Black Swan inn that is included. In fact I had to start over because I don't even have the software that I used to make it all those years ago. I also changed the example Lìa-Kaváir organization to something much simpler.
Other modifications include:
- new spot art for every location/entry;
- more consistent formatting everywhere;
- revised and improved index with links to page references;
- many new entries, like astrologer, harbourmaster, guild/mangai, etc.;
- rule-specific details, like potions, elixirs, and mixtures;
- updated physician's treatment prices for the HMK injury system;
- revised and updated the chandler's entries for items from other sources;
- added many prices that were missing, fixed many errors and inconsistencies;
- regrouped all weapons, projectiles, and projectile containers under Weaponcrafter for ease of reference;
- also regrouped all armour articles, including clothing, under Weaponcrafer;
- added amour article coverage and armour values table.
With all of that, I think this is a useful tool in your HârnMaster Kèthîra toolbox and I encourage you to take a look!
You can download it from the HMK Resources page or with this direct link.
