Topic: New to HARP and... OUCH!!!

[Longshot70]

So last month (Feb) I was at a convention in Denver, Co, Genghis con, when I came across the HARP + table in the dealers room.  I had seen the lite rules for HARP and decided that I would give it a full try and I am a rules junkie.  So I saw they were selling a cd called  HARP Essentials:
  - 3000P_HARP.pdf
  - 3001P_MartialLaw.pdf
  - 3002P_MonstersFieldGuide.pdf
  - 3003P_CollegeMagics.pdf
  - 3004P_Loot.pdf
 So I bought it. Imagine my surprise when I opened the CD and found it was an unmarked cd-rw with pdfs loaded on it. No label on the disk.  "Odd" I thought. Then I came to the web site and see that the cost of the PDFs, in the same bundle, is actually $23 / $29 less, depending on the discounted price, then what I paid which was $65. 
Kinda already puts me off the game.

Is this correct?  Do you actually sell it more at a con then you do on line? They are the same PDFs after all.

Well, I will see if the rules can actually pull me back in to the game even with bad feelings I currently have.

LS70

[jasonbrisbane]

Hi,

Welcome ot harp.

I'm sorry for your bad first impression.....


Who did you buy it off?
What Dealer?

I think you should get all this information off to ICE so they can investigate this...

If you dont have a receipt then you've just bought a CD from someone who bought it off the website and created the CD... I dont know if onselling it is allowed (pretty sure its not) so it woul dlook like they scammed you....

Again, I'd check with Rasyr with your Receipt details so he can check the dealer, etc and give you an offical explanation (if he can with the details you've got: names, company, dealer name, date and time por purchas on receipt, recipt number(?), etc...)

Hope that helps.

PS: Stick with it. If you find a HARP group and run a combat or three then you'll love how simplistic and easy and yet so complicated it is! (Its just a matter of whether you like the combination!). Good Luck!

[John Duffield]

Hi and welcome.

That is very un ICE and I would be surprised if that was offically sanctioned in any way.

As jasonbrisbane says - follow it up with Rasyr.

Stick with the game though - it is a great game and the rules system is elegant and easy to learn.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

1) The discounts currently on the online store are not permanent. They will go away sooner or later and ICE will do a different sale.

2) I don't think that anybody at ICE actually realized the price differences between the VP and the CD. I will look into it and speak with the boss and see what it up.

[ICEBruce]

Yup, makes no sense on the surface.  The real problem was that I had not considered the effect from conventions as we are just now getting back into having materials for sale at conventions.  And yes that trend will accelerate this year and next.

The CDs are more expensive as they cost money to make, but the main reason is that they were aimed primarily at distribution where we give a 60-68% discount.  The older HARP Essential disks are all unprinted.  The newer ones will be printed like the RMC Essentials disks.

Tim and I will be discussing this issues over the next week and come up with a permanent fix.  I had not told Fred to sell at a discount and I should have- my oversight entirely and Fred is blameless.

I have also offered Longshot a partial refund via paypal once he sends me the paypal address.

[Longshot70]

I have to say that this is some of the best customer service that I have seen in a long time.  I truly believe that ICE wants to keep me as a customer and they have proven it to me.
The above issue has been resolved and was handled quickly and with the customer in mind.
Thank you Bruce for your fast, polite and honest service in this.

LS70

[Matthias]

Now....onwards to HARP!

I think you will find it a very flexible game. The spell system is top notch and with the myriad of combat systems - you are bound to find one that suits the playstyle of your group. There are numerous threads on these forums discussing the different combat system (my favorite is the Condensed Combat System from HARPer's Bazaar).

The key to running (or playing for that matter) is preparation (like any RPG). HARP contains many more modifiers and situational bonuses than most RPGs and when not presented correctly, this often can turn players off, however it is easily one of the better aspects of the system. I find myself going a few extra steps in regards to managing characters for my players, printing out spell cards and all that. Also devising a system to track effects and modifiers in the beginning helps too - players will eventually get the hang of it, but with 50+ combat actions available to them, it will take some time for them to realize they can do more than just swing their weapon.

Also - make sure they understand the importance of parry/dodge!

All that said - this forum is great if you have any questions. Lots of particular issues have detailed answers in a past post and if that fails - post your question! I know when I started my HARP campaign awhile back I had a ton of weird/odd questions trying to resolve the system in my head and how different aspects of the optional combat systems worked with the core rules - all quickly and precisely answered!

Have fun!

Matthias

[SamwiseSeven]

You'll find the system very flexible (especially during character creation) and there are many combat systems that you can use depending on what you are looking for in the HARPer's Bazaars, Hack & Slash PDF (my favorite), Martial Law, etc. 

And it is also a system that seems to be easy to make house rules for, since it is so modular.   

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I am sorry about that. When I bought my copies of the PDFs, I bought them bundled with the books so paid much less. If I'd ever noticed the difference between the two prices, I'd have advised you to buy the PDFs from the website.

I'm glad the issue's been resolved for you.

[Cloven-Fruit-Games]

Oh, wow. That was me at the con in question.
I am very sorry about that.
I will make sure from this point forward to ask Tim and Bruce about any sells I should know about.

[jd.]

Hello there!

Just got my own copy of Essentials from Noble Knight thanks to my lovely wife, and I had the same surprise Longshot70 brought up about the lack of a label on the CD. (Just a surprise, not a gripe.)

Another surprise about this CD is that the PDF files' first page was in grayscale and not in colour. Not that I mind terribly, again, but I more or less expected them to be in colour, kind of like the original books look like. (It's not like the CD-Rom lacked space for that, either.)

So could someone please confirm that yes, the PDFs on Essentials are meant to be sold in grayscale? No real biggie about that, just surprised and curious.

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

The "Essentials" CD is an obsolescent product produced by Mjolnir when they had the license. We do not sell it and we strongly suggest that no one buys it (because those are not the latest versions of the HARP Fantasy line any longer). 

The PDFs on the soi-disant "Essentials" CD and indeed many of the pdfs sold by Mjolnir did have greyscale and/or lowres covers. GCP products have the proper colour covers.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[jd.]

The "Essentials" CD is an obsolescent product produced by Mjolnir when they had the license. We do not sell it and we strongly suggest that no one buys it (because those are not the latest versions of the HARP Fantasy line any longer). 

Well, too bad; I just did. Still, I'm glad I did, because it's still good stuff, it's PDF which has its uses and I'll buy the new book as well.
Also, I was curious about why it wasn't sold; thanks for satisfying my boundless curiosity.