Post originally by Jay Triplett at 2003-04-29 19:38:38
Converted from Phorums BB System

P.S.

To call the system slow WAS misrepresenting the game. What I meant was that the game may provide too much detail for some players. Whenever there is detail involved it slows down the game a little. HarnMaster handles this nicely by putting all of their combat tables on one side of one page for quick reference and by reducing mental calculation wherever possible. I didn't really experience slowness when playing the game and I am sorry I worded it that way now, but unfortunately I can't change it, now. It is definitely faster than Rolemaster, the Hero System, and GURPS combat that includes all of the optional rules, in my opinion. I think it is slower than RuneQuest, the Silhouette system, and the Storyteller System. It seems to play about the same as D&D 3E, but I can't understand why. (D&D 3E should, logically, play faster because it is less detailed and has fewer dice rolls.)

I also wanted to mention that I have played Ars Magica, which I think is excellent for a group of all magic users. HarnMaster keeps characters in balance, so that magic users do not overshadow other players. It also has a very realistic (detailed and descriptive) magic system which provides rules for a magic user to create his own spells. It does not have a ton of spells like some other games do, but I believe it was the intention that the spells included would be all that were needed to get characters started, and that either the GM or the characters would make up new spells throughout game play. Also many new spells are offered on the internet. Harn is very well supported on the internet as far as gaming aids go.