Both HARP and HARP Sci-FI. Does anyone here still use them? I liked Rolemaster, but a Rolemaster lite would be just about right for the way I've been feeling of late. I want something where I can run fun and fast monsters and encounters and mix up races.

What is the Site's thoughts on HARP?

Quote from: Mostlyjoe;712497Both HARP and HARP Sci-FI. Does anyone here still use them? I liked Rolemaster, but a Rolemaster lite would be just about right for the way I've been feeling of late. I want something where I can run fun and fast monsters and encounters and mix up races.

What is the Site's thoughts on HARP?

Meh. Just play RM or get RMexpress or MERP.

HARP was a fun experiment but ultimately adopted too many d20isms.

D20isms?

Quote from: Mostlyjoe;712512D20isms?

Yeah just various ways the system worked felt like they were taking cues from d20 rather than RM to the extent that I eventually just went back to RM.

I was hoping for a gateway system to help get a d20 group out of a rut.

I ran HARP some years ago when it first came out.
Actually I really enjoyed it. It's very flexible.

I made the mistake of getting all the various addons as they came out.
By the end I may as well of been running Rolemaster.

I suggest getting the core game and just using that. It's simplicity and flexibility is it's strength which is taken away with all the addons.

Quote from: Piestrio;712509Meh. Just play RM or get RMexpress or MERP.

HARP was a fun experiment but ultimately adopted too many d20isms.

That's ironic, because I've always thought that d20 adopted too many Rolemaster-isms (by way of Monte Cooke, who worked at ICE for years)

I'd like to pick up the ARMS Law and College of Magic if I need it not because I'll feel forced to use it. My big thing is I want meaty enough but not overbearing. If I pulled out RMSS on my players I think I'd have some heads explode. (I don't know why, RMSS is reasonable.)

Quote from: Piestrio;712509Meh. Just play RM or get RMexpress or MERP.

HARP was a fun experiment but ultimately adopted too many d20isms.

I find that interesting. HARP redeemed the system for me. I found RM to be needless fiddly. Especially with the 101 weapon charts. HARP would be my 'go to' game if I didn't want to run Pathfinder or Radiance.

I never took a look at HARP Sci-Fi, is it any good?

Quote from: JeremyR;712528That's ironic, because I've always thought that d20 adopted too many Rolemaster-isms (by way of Monte Cooke, who worked at ICE for years)

Exactly. Large chunks of 3e were just Rolemaster modified from d% to d20.

Quote from: danbuter;712584Exactly. Large chunks of 3e were just Rolemaster modified from d% to d20.

Care to be specific?

Is HARP still a thing?

I liked classic RM, never cared for all the others (RMSS, RMFRP, ETC.), just wish they would stick with RM Classic and drop the rest and keep it in print.  I would probably play it again if they did, but finding a RM Classic set is mind numbing.

HARP was one of the games my group play-tested looking for a Fantasy game. The critical tables ruined combat. If you house-rule your own and pump up defense a tad, it might work. I wasn't interested in fiddling with a game, so it was voted off the island. Mages can die casting spells, which is hilarious for a comedy, but makes the game somewhat less fun. Also, combat was slow. The game needs a tune-up.

We also play-tested Novus, by the same designer. Much better game than HARP IMHO, however you need to have an iron fist as the GM. There are "power builds" in that game (like the Monk) that can seriously overpower the other PCs in combat (in fact, ditch the Monk). Novus rolls happen more often than you might expect. I thought a 2d10 roll would "normalize" the spread, but it didn't (at least in play). Of course, many may see this as a feature so YMMV. I think it's worth checking out. Has a similar feel to HARP but is better tuned. The maneuvers in combat you get for rolling higher than DEF (getting boon points) of your opponent are fun, and give the players lots of options. We house-ruled the knock down option to 2 boon points however, as it was the obvious GO TO for every combat boon. Ultimately (again) I punted. Didn't want to tune it up for my table and my experience helped me realize I'm super-tired of the point buy optimization game.

We are currently playing Hackmaster 5e and I appreciate the level of crunch (I consider it medium+) and the count-up in seconds aspect of combat. So far it's scratching my fantasy gaming itch really well without some of the aspects that irk me about D&D. It's close enough to D&D with classes and an old-school spirit, that it eliminates much of the whole character optimization game. It has a nice crunchy skill system and mages use spell points and can enhance/upgrade spells. I think it's the game I would design to meet my needs in play. The group is really enjoying our experience with it!