[RPG]: HARP: High Adventure Role Playing, reviewed by wljohnso (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10057.phtml

Wes Johnson's Summary:

Iron Crown's HARP is a very good game that should appeal to Rolemaster and D20 fans looking for something different.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by Mark at 2004-01-26 14:52:09
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Is a characters Defensive bonus alot higher then it would be in rolemaster or Merp? In those games i recall the system was the same but you would require a number usually much greater then 1 to hit and do any damage(depending on the armour) IT seems that it would be very easy to hit in this game. is that the case?

Post originally by chris at 2004-01-26 17:36:26
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Yes they do tend to be higher but parrying and dodging become very important.

there are no ATs in HARP Armor adds directly to DB so the heavier the armor the higher starting DB you have.

Post originally by Rasyr at 2004-01-26 19:05:06
Converted from Phorums BB System

Yes, the DB of HARP characters is much higher. Armor adds directly to DB and reflects not so much whether or not you get hit, but whether or not you get hit hard enough to be damaged....

Post originally by Wes Johnson at 2004-01-26 19:29:45
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It is High Adventure...not High Action as stated in the first paragraph of the review. I should have caught that...and not do my once over at 1AM...

Sorry.

Wes

Post originally by Wes Johnson at 2004-01-26 19:32:12
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Yup. I do like that simplification, it makes what is obstensively RM into something much less chart heavy.

The combat mechanic does do a good job of simplifying many of RM's concepts and resoltion into one roll of the dice. I just did not care for the critical charts as they are a little dull, especially over time.

Maybe Martial Law due out early this year will resolve this problem for me.

--Wes

Post originally by Wes Johnson at 2004-01-26 21:07:57
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In RM the tables sort of did that. AT20 would be a lot of nickle and diming of its wearer until someone got lucky or was VERY skilled. AT1 would mean it would be harder to hit but when a character without armor was...the hits were a lot worse.

IN RM terms wearing AT20 and taking 5 points of damage...where as on the same roll wearing AT it could be something like 7 points and a B critical. Of course there was always the manuver penalties in RM to worry about....


--Wes

Post originally by Rasyr at 2004-01-27 04:37:08
Converted from Phorums BB System

Another error - Your ranks in Power Points does not limit what you can cast.

It is your number of ranks in the spell itself that is the limiting factor. If you have six ranks in a spell, you can only put six Power Points into it. Thus a spell with a base cost of 3 PP may only be scaled an additional 3 PP via the scaling option.


Other than that, thanks for the great review!

Post originally by Andreas Davour at 2004-01-27 08:48:03
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There are no maneuver(sp?) penalties in HARP? I always found it kind of ridiculous that you could barely move in plate armor.

I have seen it done a few times... :-)

Post originally by Rasyr at 2004-01-27 10:30:35
Converted from Phorums BB System

Yes, HARP has Maneuver penalties that affect all quickness or agility related skill, including combat.

Plate armor has a base of -100 if you do not have the skill for wearing Armor. It can be reduced down to a minimum of -20. However it also works more to keep you from getting seriously hurt....