In the far south of the great landmass of Westeros, the Principality of Dorne remains fiercely independent against the might of the Six Kingdoms to the north. It has been well over a century since the end of the great War of Conquest waged by Aegon I Targaryen, and a cautious truce between the two nations has prevailed ever since.

From their capital at Sunspear, House Nymeros Martell presides over a time of peace and prosperity for its broad desert realm. Under the watchful eye of Prince Aryon, the highborn Dornish have grown fat and rich as a result of lucrative trade agreements signed with several of the Free Cities, on the far side of the Narrow Sea.

But tensions are flaring once more along the Dornish Marches, as the frequent skirmishes with the men of the Reach and the Stormlands rise to a crescendo. Added to this, the ancient ancestral feuds between the great Dornish houses of the Red Mountains are rearing up once more, leading to civil strife and divisiveness among those who guard the borders.

And at the great castle of Skyreach, the smallfolk mutter worriedly about Lord Sedris Fowler, Warden of the Prince's Pass, who has been missing for the last eight months after what should have been a brief and trivial excursion into the mountains. His wife, the Lady Thilisa, rules Skyreach puissantly in his absence, but the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and whether or not he will ever return, remain a mystery.

Meanwhile, above the Prince's Pass, the wretched foulspawn - the goblins who dwell in the high valleys of the Red Mountains - are massing in numbers again. Already they grow bold as their population swells, and trepidation rises in the towns and villages below as the deadly prospect of a fresh "swarm" - a migration that will sweep down to rampage through the settled lands - looms large on the horizon...

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Hi everyone. I'm starting up a game of HarnMaster 3 set in the world of George R. R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire'.

Let me just point out right now that the game will be set in an alternate, more fantasy-oriented version of this world (though most of the original setting will remain intact), and the time period in which the game takes place will be substantially (i.e., generations) before the events depicted in the novels or the TV series.

The setting will be based primarily on the content of the novels, ignoring elements that are present only in the TV series. This will probably make very little difference to most, but if you are only familiar with the world from the series 'Game of Thrones', you might find it to be somewhat different to how you imagine. Due partially (but not entirely) to the addition of HarnMaster elements, I have also taken creative licence wherever I have felt the need, and will take a dim view of anyone 'correcting' my history of the setting. I will however make an effort to point out any noteworthy changes to the established history that the characters would be aware of.

The gritty realism of the HarnMaster rules system fits well with the feel of Martin's books, but do not come expecting (or intending to contribute) swathes of gratuitous sex or violence. The game is flagged as "Mature", not "Adult", and I intend it to be a fun, character-driven role-playing space set in a rich and detailed environment, not an effort to recreate the voyeuristic morbidity of the HBO series.

No previous experience of HarnMaster is necessary - though it will definitely help! Those not familiar with the system may find it difficult at first to adjust to HarnMaster's lack of character classes, levels, hit points, and ubiquitous magic spells/items, as well as its brutally realistic, complex, and highly dangerous combat system - but once you are familiar with it, you'll wonder where it's been all your life.

Okay, well, there's bound to be some incidental gore there - but that isn't the focus of the game. In fact, HarnMaster is generally best suited to players who are more interested in role-playing through an encounter than fighting their way through it. Combat should generally be thought of as a last-resort tactic; much like in real life, it is possible for even a skilled veteran to be killed by a single (un)lucky blow. Even those who emerge victorious may still fall victim to the wounds they have sustained, and "victory" can still mean spending weeks laid up recovering from injuries and being lucky enough to avoid infection.

I am looking for a small group of 2-3, and no more than 4, players, and as such I will not simply be choosing players in the order they apply - rather I will choose those who seem to be best suited to the game and the setting. My plan is that the party will already know each other at the start of play - regardless of how diverse their backgrounds may be, there will be some common factor between the characters. From there, the world will be an open sandbox to explore - ideally the characters and the party should have their own life goals, and tasks they wish to accomplish together - much of which should come out during the character creation process. I'm not a GM who likes to lead players by the nose, but I will be creating a detailed and (hopefully!) interesting world for you to explore and interact with.

So then. If, having read all of that, you would like to apply, head on over to the game and have a read of the RTJ information there so you know what I'm after - though I'm keeping it pretty basic.

Thanks for your interest.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:21, Sun 30 Dec 2018.

Hi all - due to some attrition in the party we're looking for 2-3 new players for this game. It's been running for over a year now and has been very slow-paced, but things are starting to speed up now that I have more free time on my hands.

At this point, entry into the game will be a on a first-come, first-served basis. The character creation process is highly involved and allows a player to briefly play through much of a character's early life before joining the game - this is just how HarnMaster does things, but it means the creation process can take weeks here on RPoL, depending on my availability to take you through each step. If this is a problem for you, then please don't bother applying - we'll only be wasting each other's time!

We probably only post 2-3 times a week at best, so if you're looking for something fast-paced, then you should look elsewhere. I'm looking for players who will stay with the game even when it gets slow, and are able to maintain a reasonable posting rate in response to the GM and other players. If we're all busy and things slow to a crawl, that's okay, just as long as we all come back!

This has been going on since the beginning of the game, and the players who've been in the game since the start have demonstrated great patience and perseverance. I'm saying this now because we've lost a few players due to the slow pacing of the game, so please don't apply if that's likely to be an issue for you, or you're not going to continue to be around on RPoL - unfortunately I've already wasted a lot of time with players who haven't even been prepared to make it through the entire character creation process.

Thanks for reading.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:22, Sun 30 Dec 2018.

It's time for another intake in this long-running game!

Please read all the info in the above posts before applying.

Thanks!

Looking for some new players to join our seasoned few. No previous experience with HarnMaster is necessary.

Creating a character in HarnMaster tends to be a game in itself, since choices made early on in life affect your later skills and opportunities when you fully enter the game. The creation process can take weeks or even months, so please be aware of this when applying.

That said, if you are eager just to gloss over this and get into the game, a character can be put together for you within the framework of a broad character concept. You won't get exactly what you want this way - in fact, the resulting character might end up being remarkably ill-suited to your desired career path - but it will enable a much quicker start.

We're looking for some new blood to join our current stalwart group. Please see the above posts for details of the game format.

But to reiterate, this is a low-combat, high-RP game in a detailed and (somewhat!) realistic setting with a large supporting cast of recurring NPCs.

We've been going for five years now and after some meandering adventures and near-disastrous mishaps, the game is once again about to shift into a new chapter.

As such, new players are welcome to join us during this transition period. No previous experience with or knowledge of HarnMaster is required.

Thanks!

EDIT: The character now has a new player. Thanks to all who applied.

Positions remain open for those wishing to create a new character, so feel free to come along and join us.

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We're looking for a new player to take over an existing character whose player has just left the game. The character is the linchpin in an important part of the story and without their guidance, the plotline in question is likely to fizzle out.

The task will take the form of a dangerous search-and-rescue mission in trackless and hostile mountains. The character on offer is an armsman who believes that he alone possesses the knowledge needed to locate the missing party.

Head over to the game and send me an RTJ for more information.

Thanks!
This message was last edited by the user at 16:22, Wed 20 Apr 2022.