Topic: Future of HARP?

[Spellsinger]

HARP is now ca. 5 years old, do you think it is successfull?

Will there be further sourcebooks? I have the intention, that
there are more online pdf-products than print editions coming out.

Also I think that there are too much optional rules and to few
official rules. That makes it very hard to play it on conventions
or with other groups - compared to the big ones like D&D.

I also dont see any release schedule exept for Battlemaster -
which does not interest me at all. Miniature focused rules in
D&D was a reason I started HARP.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

The next HARP sourcebook will be HARP SF, which Nick is currentlyworking on and attempting to finish up.

Then he will be working on a book called Something WIcked - but as mentioned it has to wait for  HARP SF to get finished be it can be started on.

As for Battlemaster -- You don't NEED to use the mini-oriented rules. They were in it for those who want them. Those minis rules won't be in future Battlemaster products - just the adventures and maps.

[munchy]

To be quite honest I almost can't read even the title of Something wicked anymore, makes my stomach lurch by wanting this book so bad! Get this HARP SF published and move on with the rest.
BTW will HARP SF be in time for Christmas?

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

To be quite honest I almost can't read even the title of Something wicked anymore, makes my stomach lurch by wanting this book so bad! Get this HARP SF published and move on with the rest.
BTW will HARP SF be in time for Christmas?

Version 4g is waiting on the alpha playtesters commenting on a proposed High-G maneuvering skill that some of them have wanted. Once I find a consensus on that, I'll be getting 4g out to public beta. Unless the public beta testers find anything that requires tweaking, I suspect 4g will be the last beta version.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[munchy]

Cool! Great news. Awesome in fact! Sounds very good!
Good luck with the last tweakings!

[masque1223]

Also I think that there are too much optional rules and to few
official rules. That makes it very hard to play it on conventions
or with other groups - compared to the big ones like D&D.

Why is it hard to play at conventions because of optional rules?  I like the fact that there are so many optional rules, and only a relatively small number of official ones.  It leaves me free to ignore all those optional rules unless I deem them really necessary.  If I were to run it at a convention, I would try to keep it down to the basics.

[janpmueller]

Why is it hard to play at conventions because of optional rules? 

While I do not fully agree, I believe to understand Spellsinger's point. When stranger's meet, there may be very different opinions on which rules variant is the best for HARP. Hence on a convention,you'll have to find a consensus prior to play.
More specifically, new players might be overtaxed if they run into a game that is played differently at various tables on a convention (or at people's houses).

Alas: Start at the beginning. On a con, I would most definitely go with the core rules, and the same goes for new players (unless, of course, they enter a group where some rules variant has been chosen, but then you don't have a problem of choice but of learning).
In the long run (I agree with you, masque1223), the options are just that: Option that I may or may not use.

Spellsinger, concerning releases: I share your perception that ICE is slow in putting new stuff out, which is a pity (and yes people, I know there are good reasons for that, but it still *is* a pity). The company is way smaller than Wizards, so if you expect a similar frequency of releases, you'll be sure to be disappointed.
But, when you talk about the future of HARP, I wouldn't fear. ICE is those wackos that even support rolemaster classic, and it's THAT old
So, new material will not be frequent, but will be very well-made, will be supported for a very long time, and you get a great support (after ICE noted that their first print of HARP missed a few things, they remade the whole book and gave it as a PDF to everyone who bought the first print. I found that quite remarkable).

Jan

[masque1223]

Why is it hard to play at conventions because of optional rules? 

While I do not fully agree, I believe to understand Spellsinger's point. When stranger's meet, there may be very different opinions on which rules variant is the best for HARP. Hence on a convention,you'll have to find a consensus prior to play.
More specifically, new players might be overtaxed if they run into a game that is played differently at various tables on a convention (or at people's houses).

I haven't run HARP at a con, but I'm a MIB, and have run GURPS, and it has a similar "too many options" problem, so I generally keep it to the GURPS Lite rules in that situation.  In my experience, that's the best way to deal with it for people new to the game, and the old hands are usually understanding about it.

[Dr_Sage]

Yes,

ICE can be kinda slow somethimes, but at least they do not seem interested in releasing HARP 1.5 with would be a disrespect with people money.

[Thos]

I would love to see more products for HARP, but at least this way there is ample time for players and game masters to become intimately familiar with the already published books. I have never felt that I was seriously lagging behind because I didn't have enough money to keep up with the ten thousand additional source books that were released each month, as I often feel is the case with other games.

[Alwyn]

Ditto, I'm with Thos.

[Arioch]

I surely would like to see new books for HARP and RM, but I would definitely not like the same amount of books that d&d has: they're simply too much.

About optional rules, I cannot understand why you don't like them. At conventions you simply use the "plain" version of HARP, as in the core book (or in HARP lite) without any option. Then, when you're playing at home you can choose which options you like and which you don't. For me, more options are always welcome! 

[Xamex]

I'm not quite sure if I need more rules books at the moment.

I would like to see more books (adventures, campaigns, source) for Cyradon. 

[Blakkrall]

Do agree with Xamex. More adventures !!! 

[Kenstrel]

Yes, something like Paizo's Adventure Path will be helpful. And a Theist Companion too.

[WoeRie]

No, I don?t think that anything is missing for HARP. Not that I wouldn?t buy more stuff, but it is pretty much enough to play whatever you want to play. New products (like Something Wicked or the Construct Toolkit) would only fill small niches in the game which will nearly never be used.

Two years ago there were only a few adventures in the Vault or TGC, but today we have the Guild Adventurer 1&2 with a lot of good adventures and we have the Echoes of Heaven campaign if you look for a long ongoing campaign. So, no, I don?t see anything missing here, too. 

Maybe this thread should be renamed to ?Future of Cyradon??
Because what I see is that the Cyradon setting is given birth and then put aside. It had a lot of great ideas, but a single book is not enough to flesh out a world, it can only give you a hint how it could look like. Starting a Cyradon campaign would need nearly as much work (and time) as starting a world from scratch and in addition you have to be cautious to not interfere with possible stuff coming in the future (or you have to ignore all future products).

So, I would vote for new Cyradon stuff (and I don?t talk about sporadic articles).

[janpmueller]

Maybe this thread should be renamed to ?Future of Cyradon??

Good idea!

[Xamex]

Maybe this thread should be renamed to ?Future of Cyradon??

Good idea!

You both are right! 

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

Tangentially, version 4G of HARP SF has now been released to registered beta testers.

Best wishes,
Nicholas