HârnManor

Editors: Grant Dalgliesh, Penny Dalgliesh and Carl Stengel.
Maps and Plans: Jonathan Davidson and Eric Hotz.
Cover Art: Eric Hotz.
Contributors: Mark Abbot, Joe Adams, Daniel Andersson, Roy Denton, Bil Kilmer, J Patrick McDonald, F. Scott Pfeiffer, Robert Reinger, Mats Solderstam, Richard von Steinman, Blair Wettlaufer and Greg Willaby.

"HârnManor includes 4 generated manors and rules to create your own. Fully compatible with HârnMaster or any rules system.

"Villages : Rules to generate useful, realistic Hârnic villages, populated with a variety of serfs, freeholders, and craftsmen.

"Household : Rules to populate the lord's household. For most lords a rich household carries prestige and a penny saved is a penny wasted.

"Manor Budget : Rules to operate realistic medieval manors.

"Manors of Hârn : Four manors that illustrate the diverse politics and economics of rural Hârn are included. Each has a color local map, and data on each villager and retainer of the lord's household.
Avonel is a microcosm of the deadly politics of Rethem. The fief is a ward of the Earl of Ithiko and a pawn in his struggle with the Earl of Tormau. The underage Lord of Avonel simmers while a rapacious bailiff steals much of the fief's wealth. Religious strife looms between an Agrikan and Peonian cleric.
Clord is a manor on an island near Thay, recently granted to the Church of Peoni as an abbey and hospice. Most patients are lepers. The local serfs who work Clord's fields and otherwise support the church grow ever more afraid and many have fled the island.
Roganter is a secular manor in Kaldor, held by a knight from the Archbishop of Larani. The nearby woods and hills echo to the sounds of miners and outlaws.
Turenborg is a Jarin village conquered by the Ivinians. It was a hotbed of unrest during the Jarin Rebellion of 701-03 and the wounds of that conflict have yet to heal."

- Web Page Blurb

Content

The 80-page book is a publication by Columbia Games Inc. Written to work with HârnMaster Core (HMC), it contains system generic information detailing the Manor Life, Villages, Manor Generation, Manor Budget, Manor Events and a Glossary. There are also four villages of 10 pages each, generated and detailed using the information in this publication. The publication comes with a pad of blank Manor Data Forms.

Manors Chapter

This is, by far, the largest section of the publication with 38 pages. It details both how to generate the village, manor house and budget as well as detailing the crops, livestock and yearly events. This chapter breaks down into 8 sections.

Introduction: A two page article detailing what this publication was designed to do, a brief note about an attempt at realism, some mathematical notes and an explanation of the Manor Data Forms.
Manor Life: A six page article detailing the manor house, the lands and their contents, the tenants, peasant life, food, cooking, games and leisure, and hallmoots. It is, ultimately, a background article to help readers place the manor they are designing in a more realistic background.
Villages: A six page article that really should be called "Generating Villages" because it primarily deals with how to determine the number of tenants, the types of tenants and the lands they hold. Sidebar information in this article includes tidbits like how to generate the Manor Map, Freemasters, Ale, Beer and Cider, the feudal levy and a manor calendar. It also has a 69 item table of adjectives for describing the tenants (e.g.: Angry, Baby-Faced, Bald, ...).
Manor Generation: A two page article that describes how to generate the General Data on the Manor Budget Form.
Household: A six page article that details how the manor household should be generated, how much it will cost to maintain and what should be an average household based on the number of acres held by the manor. It provides definitions and details for: household nobles, servants, craftsmen, military and the lord's stable.
Manor Budget: This nine page article provides instructions for completing the Manor Budget Form. Specifically it details the Fief's Budget, the Lord's Budget, Church Manors and provides alternate rules for Crop Management, Livestock and Topography.
Glossary: A three page article detailing every strange, Hârnic or historical term used throughout the publication.
Manor Events: A four page article providing five tables with descriptions on possible monthly and yearly events for your manor.

Avonel

The small manorial village located in Hohnamshire, Rethem. It is held by the Earl Barzak of Ithiko. Population: Village 204, Manor 7. This manor, and this Earl are frequently referred to in the Columbia Games' publication of the "Kingdom of Rethem". This is the first publication of this manor and village. It is a 10 page article, providing maps of the manor house and two of the village (1 color for PCs, 1 black-and-white for GMs). It also includes the Village Census and Manor Budget Forms completed for this manorial village.

Clord

The small abbey is located in Lendershire, Melderyn. It is held by the Church of Peoni. Population: Village 123, Abbey 29. This abbey is the first publication from Columbia Games describing the history, use and contents of an abby. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously.

Roganter

This small manorial village is located in Hohnamshire, Kaldor and is held by the Church of Larani. Population: Village 269, Manor 40. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously.

Turenborg

This small manorial village is located in Geldehein Region of Orbaal and is held by Clan Turen. Population: Ivinians 87, Jarin 42. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously.

Appearance

HârnMaster Manor comes as an 80 standard U.S. letter-sized pages, three hole punched. The the cover is a wraparound piece of color card stock. You can purchase this item with, or without, a three-ring binder.

The art is new throughout the publication, including both realistic and poetic maps. The maps are clear and the black-and white versions are well numbered. The pictures range in type between woodcuts and realistic, busts and full body poses. The pages are in the HMC style, with a right hand side small column for additional data and a larger left side column for the main flow of text.

Conclusions

So, you have waded through the content and appearance explanations - hoping for a detailed opinion on this publication. Well then, here is the rating you have all been waiting for:

The Pros

At long last Columbia Games has provided detailed rules for generating a realistic manor for the island of Hârn This publication replaces the previous attempt at describing the process published in Encyclopedia Hârnica 3 long, long ago.
The maps are new and easier to user than those published in previous articles. The sample manors are each sufficiently different that they provide good working examples from which manors, for almost anywhere on the island of Hârn or in any medieval setting, can be generated.
The publication provides a definition and general guidelines for generating each item on the two Data Forms.
A pad of blank Data Forms comes with the publication so that you do not have to draw your own.
There is a wealth of background information allowing you to see how HârnWorld works at the manorial and village level.
The glossary greatly assists all of use who do not automatically recognize medieval terminology.
The optional rules are clearly marked and provide a great amount of optional realism.

The Cons

The layout of the publication does not directly correspond to the layout of the Data Forms. One is forced to read the entire publication and then, by memory go back and find the needed pieces of information to apply. While it's not quite so bad as it sounds, it does greatly slow the process of generating a manor.
The process of generating a manor is not, quite, random and instead requires a fair bit of manipulation aside from dice-rolls. For example when generating Tenant Offices: "Determine the villein with the most unfree acres. There is an 80% chance that tenant will take the job of Reeve. Repeat for each other office, except Beadle, who can be chosen by the lord." - taken from Manor 13, Tenant Offices. So you must first generate the Village Census, then go back and essentially erase the information for the vllein with the most unfree acres and rewrite it so that he is now a Reeve.
The publication has spawned numerous conversations on the HârnList asking specific questions about the publication and how something should be done. This, to me, says that the publication is either confusing to the majority or, perhaps, overwhelming.

In Conclusion

HârnMaster Manors updates and improves the previous attempt at providing rules for generating a manor. It is very detailed and while more detail could be added, I feel it is already inefficiently organized.

There is a lot of great new information in the publication that, whether you are an old hand at Medieval realism in fantasy role play or a novice to Hârn, is always nice to have. The background information includes recipes, notes on pass-times and other bits that are useful even if you do not use the manor generating information. The manor events tables provide a wealth of information for those trying to start a medieval fantasy campaign in a home town as well as lots of information on how to describe the regular goings-on in a manorial village.

I greatly enjoyed the publication. It took a few tries to successfully generate a manor to my liking, but it was well worth the effort. While the publication is not perfect, it is still a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to make their manors and villages more realistic.

I would give it a three out of a possible four stars for its great content, nice tables, and nice appearance.

Additional

If you are interested in more information about HârnMaster manor, the following may be of interest.

Several spreadsheets that attempt to generate a HârnMaster Manor automatically are available at the following URLs:

Practically all of the HârnFan pages have at least one detailed manor on their webpage. While I do suggest the following three as good starting points, those interested in acquiring copies of the HârnFans manors should start at HârnLink and work through the list themselves. The three starting points I recommend are:

Unfortunately no one has put forth an errata or FAQ on the HârnManor publication. The EGH (European HârnMaster Guild) does have a functional search for the HârnList archives, so at least the various HârnList conversations on HârnManor can still be found.

HârnMaster Manor
HârnMaster Manor Capsule Review by Rebecca Downey on 02/10/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) HârnMaster Manors updates and improves the previous attempt at providing rules for generating a manor. Product: HârnMaster Manor Author: Eds: Grant Dalgliesh, Penny Dalgliesh and Carl Stengel Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Columbia Games Ltd Line: HârnWorld/HârnMaster Cost: $29.98 Page count: 80 Year published: 2000 ISBN: SKU: 4751 Comp copy?: no Capsule Review by Rebecca Downey on 02/10/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	HârnManor Editors: Grant Dalgliesh, Penny Dalgliesh and Carl Stengel. Maps and Plans: Jonathan Davidson and Eric Hotz. Cover Art: Eric Hotz. Contributors: Mark Abbot, Joe Adams, Daniel Andersson, Roy Denton, Bil Kilmer, J Patrick McDonald, F. Scott Pfeiffer, Robert Reinger, Mats Solderstam, Richard von Steinman, Blair Wettlaufer and Greg Willaby. "HârnManor includes 4 generated manors and rules to create your own. Fully compatible with HârnMaster or any rules system. "Villages : Rules to generate useful, realistic Hârnic villages, populated with a variety of serfs, freeholders, and craftsmen. "Household : Rules to populate the lord's household. For most lords a rich household carries prestige and a penny saved is a penny wasted. "Manor Budget : Rules to operate realistic medieval manors. "Manors of Hârn : Four manors that illustrate the diverse politics and economics of rural Hârn are included. Each has a color local map, and data on each villager and retainer of the lord's household. Avonel is a microcosm of the deadly politics of Rethem. The fief is a ward of the Earl of Ithiko and a pawn in his struggle with the Earl of Tormau. The underage Lord of Avonel simmers while a rapacious bailiff steals much of the fief's wealth. Religious strife looms between an Agrikan and Peonian cleric. Clord is a manor on an island near Thay, recently granted to the Church of Peoni as an abbey and hospice. Most patients are lepers. The local serfs who work Clord's fields and otherwise support the church grow ever more afraid and many have fled the island. Roganter is a secular manor in Kaldor, held by a knight from the Archbishop of Larani. The nearby woods and hills echo to the sounds of miners and outlaws. Turenborg is a Jarin village conquered by the Ivinians. It was a hotbed of unrest during the Jarin Rebellion of 701-03 and the wounds of that conflict have yet to heal." - Web Page Blurb Content The 80-page book is a publication by Columbia Games Inc. Written to work with HârnMaster Core (HMC), it contains system generic information detailing the Manor Life, Villages, Manor Generation, Manor Budget, Manor Events and a Glossary. There are also four villages of 10 pages each, generated and detailed using the information in this publication. The publication comes with a pad of blank Manor Data Forms. Manors Chapter This is, by far, the largest section of the publication with 38 pages. It details both how to generate the village, manor house and budget as well as detailing the crops, livestock and yearly events. This chapter breaks down into 8 sections. Introduction: A two page article detailing what this publication was designed to do, a brief note about an attempt at realism, some mathematical notes and an explanation of the Manor Data Forms. Manor Life: A six page article detailing the manor house, the lands and their contents, the tenants, peasant life, food, cooking, games and leisure, and hallmoots. It is, ultimately, a background article to help readers place the manor they are designing in a more realistic background. Villages: A six page article that really should be called "Generating Villages" because it primarily deals with how to determine the number of tenants, the types of tenants and the lands they hold. Sidebar information in this article includes tidbits like how to generate the Manor Map, Freemasters, Ale, Beer and Cider, the feudal levy and a manor calendar. It also has a 69 item table of adjectives for describing the tenants (e.g.: Angry, Baby-Faced, Bald, ...). Manor Generation: A two page article that describes how to generate the General Data on the Manor Budget Form. Household: A six page article that details how the manor household should be generated, how much it will cost to maintain and what should be an average household based on the number of acres held by the manor. It provides definitions and details for: household nobles, servants, craftsmen, military and the lord's stable. Manor Budget: This nine page article provides instructions for completing the Manor Budget Form. Specifically it details the Fief's Budget, the Lord's Budget, Church Manors and provides alternate rules for Crop Management, Livestock and Topography. Glossary: A three page article detailing every strange, Hârnic or historical term used throughout the publication. Manor Events: A four page article providing five tables with descriptions on possible monthly and yearly events for your manor. Avonel The small manorial village located in Hohnamshire, Rethem. It is held by the Earl Barzak of Ithiko. Population: Village 204, Manor 7. This manor, and this Earl are frequently referred to in the Columbia Games' publication of the "Kingdom of Rethem". This is the first publication of this manor and village. It is a 10 page article, providing maps of the manor house and two of the village (1 color for PCs, 1 black-and-white for GMs). It also includes the Village Census and Manor Budget Forms completed for this manorial village. Clord The small abbey is located in Lendershire, Melderyn. It is held by the Church of Peoni. Population: Village 123, Abbey 29. This abbey is the first publication from Columbia Games describing the history, use and contents of an abby. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously. Roganter This small manorial village is located in Hohnamshire, Kaldor and is held by the Church of Larani. Population: Village 269, Manor 40. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously. Turenborg This small manorial village is located in Geldehein Region of Orbaal and is held by Clan Turen. Population: Ivinians 87, Jarin 42. It is a 10 page article of similar content to Avonel, described previously. Appearance HârnMaster Manor comes as an 80 standard U.S. letter-sized pages, three hole punched. The the cover is a wraparound piece of color card stock. You can purchase this item with, or without, a three-ring binder. The art is new throughout the publication, including both realistic and poetic maps. The maps are clear and the black-and white versions are well numbered. The pictures range in type between woodcuts and realistic, busts and full body poses. The pages are in the HMC style, with a right hand side small column for additional data and a larger left side column for the main flow of text. Conclusions So, you have waded through the content and appearance explanations - hoping for a detailed opinion on this publication. Well then, here is the rating you have all been waiting for: The Pros At long last Columbia Games has provided detailed rules for generating a realistic manor for the island of Hârn This publication replaces the previous attempt at describing the process published in Encyclopedia Hârnica 3 long, long ago. The maps are new and easier to user than those published in previous articles. The sample manors are each sufficiently different that they provide good working examples from which manors, for almost anywhere on the island of Hârn or in any medieval setting, can be generated. The publication provides a definition and general guidelines for generating each item on the two Data Forms. A pad of blank Data Forms comes with the publication so that you do not have to draw your own. There is a wealth of background information allowing you to see how HârnWorld works at the manorial and village level. The glossary greatly assists all of use who do not automatically recognize medieval terminology. The optional rules are clearly marked and provide a great amount of optional realism. The Cons The layout of the publication does not directly correspond to the layout of the Data Forms. One is forced to read the entire publication and then, by memory go back and find the needed pieces of information to apply. While it's not quite so bad as it sounds, it does greatly slow the process of generating a manor. The process of generating a manor is not, quite, random and instead requires a fair bit of manipulation aside from dice-rolls. For example when generating Tenant Offices: "Determine the villein with the most unfree acres. There is an 80% chance that tenant will take the job of Reeve. Repeat for each other office, except Beadle, who can be chosen by the lord." - taken from Manor 13, Tenant Offices. So you must first generate the Village Census, then go back and essentially erase the information for the vllein with the most unfree acres and rewrite it so that he is now a Reeve. The publication has spawned numerous conversations on the HârnList asking specific questions about the publication and how something should be done. This, to me, says that the publication is either confusing to the majority or, perhaps, overwhelming. In Conclusion HârnMaster Manors updates and improves the previous attempt at providing rules for generating a manor. It is very detailed and while more detail could be added, I feel it is already inefficiently organized. There is a lot of great new information in the publication that, whether you are an old hand at Medieval realism in fantasy role play or a novice to Hârn, is always nice to have. The background information includes recipes, notes on pass-times and other bits that are useful even if you do not use the manor generating information. The manor events tables provide a wealth of information for those trying to start a medieval fantasy campaign in a home town as well as lots of information on how to describe the regular goings-on in a manorial village. I greatly enjoyed the publication. It took a few tries to successfully generate a manor to my liking, but it was well worth the effort. While the publication is not perfect, it is still a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to make their manors and villages more realistic. I would give it a three out of a possible four stars for its great content, nice tables, and nice appearance. Additional If you are interested in more information about HârnMaster manor, the following may be of interest. Several spreadsheets that attempt to generate a HârnMaster Manor automatically are available at the following URLs: Columbia Games HârnPage HârnMaster Central Practically all of the HârnFan pages have at least one detailed manor on their webpage. While I do suggest the following three as good starting points, those interested in acquiring copies of the HârnFans manors should start at HârnLink and work through the list themselves. The three starting points I recommend are: Swords and Shields Andy Staples' Penultimate HârnPage Lythia Homepage Unfortunately no one has put forth an errata or FAQ on the HârnManor publication. The EGH (European HârnMaster Guild) does have a functional search for the HârnList archives, so at least the various HârnList conversations on HârnManor can still be found.