"Ravin Manor" is location article for Columbia Games Harn generic fantasy role-playing setting, written by Kerry Mould. It is accompanied by an adventure module entitled "The Sleeping Heir", that makes use of the background material presented.
For those not familiar with the setting, Harn is a Madagascar sized island, loosely based on 11th/12th century Britain. It is a place of mystery and strange happenings, on the island are nine states, seven human (Chybisa, Kaldor, Kanday, Melderyn, Orbaal, Rethem & Tharda) and two non-human (Azadmere & Evael).
The article is available from www.lythia.com, as a free 5.66MB ZIP file, which contains a 30 page PDF file. The adventure module is available a separate 189KB ZIP file, containing a 6 page PDF file.
HARNWORLD: RAVIN MANOR, OVERVIEW.
"Ravin Manor", deals with a manor in the western Harnic kingdom of Kanday, unlike the setting of the authors previous article ("Charmic Manor"), Ravin is a prosperous, well run settlement that forms part of the estate of the King of Kanday.
The article begins with geographical and historical information on the settlement, this is in keeping with the standard Columbia Games format, used in earlier articles.
What follows, however, is a departure from that format, the third page of the article is topped with a map showing the portion of northern Kanday in which Ravin lies. This map is color coded to indicate which family or organization holds which manor. The text beneath the map provides an overview of the region and its politics.
The following page covers the lands surrounding the manor and is accompanied by a map showing the lands in question, and the two manors that are subordinate to Ravin.
The next two pages are devoted to providing an overview of all three manors featured on the previous page and also information on the economy of Ravin itself. This material is followed by the map key and thumbnail descriptions of the village inhabitents.
Pages twelve through eighteen of the article describe the manor house and its current occupants. The next page is an overview of the workings of Royal Justice in the Kingdom of Kanday and how Ravin fits into that system. This is followed by detailed information, including a family tree, on the family that is currently holding Ravin in the name of the King.
The article concludes with a description of one of the villages largest farmhouses, manorial budget sheets and maps of the village for the GM and players.
The separate adventure module, like that accompanying "Charmic Manor" is a 6 page document. The plot of the adventure is drawn from the manors past history, twenty four years prior to the present, the last male heir of the family that originally held the manor vanished. Seeking to end a feud between the original manor holders and another family in the area the King claimed Ravin for himself. Now someone has found the missing heir held in a magical sleep, can the PCs help to end a long ago injustice?
HARNWORLD: RAVIN MANOR, COMMENTS.
As with all HarnFan articles to date, the presentation is excellent, the text, maps and artwork are all clearly readable and attractive to the eye.
"Ravin Manor" is very different from the authors previous work ("Charmic Manor"). There is no big dramatic event in the past to provide an obvious plot to embroil player characters in, instead plots are drawn from the various NPCs and the villages situation.
To give a few examples, the lord of the manor is noted as a breeder of horses, one farmer is addicted to 'get rich quick' schemes, while another is an obsessive collector of secrets and the owner of the farmhouse described at the end of the article, he has his own secrets, ones dating back to his days as a mercenary in the mighty, troubled Lythian kingdom of Shorkyne.
Similarly Ravins position as a centre of Royal Justice, could see PCs called in as witnesses or defendants, and while the gibbet shown in the illustration on page 21 currently contains only cobwebs, it does not always have to.
One very welcome feature of this article are the maps and information on pages three and four. This represents the first time I have seen any attempt to put a detailed location in context with the surrounding kingdom, something that should be of great help to GMs and it is a feature that I hope will appear in future articles.
The supplimental adventure is a simple, seemingly linear scenario that could provide the hook into a much longer campaign.
HARNWORLD: RAVIN MANOR, VERDICT.
This free location article is well written, excellently presented and is worth downloading, especially with Columbia Games decision to reissue the Kanday Kingdom module as part of the HarnClassic Line.
