I'll be running 4 HARP games at the con! One each of Fantasy and Sci-Fi on FRI and SAT. I will be available to run a "part 2" on SUN (or even later FRI/SAT) for those who really like the game and want to see more.  Also, there are some VERY interesting panel discussions. Take a gander on the site.

http://www.rustycon.com/

Below is the (tentative) schedule and descriptions of the games I'm running (of course you can see the panel info at the site link above).

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Game: HARP Fantasy - The Lost March
Max # Players: 6 (prefer 6)
Time/Day: (open)/Friday 16th

Game: HARP Sci-Fi - The Venture
Max # Players: 6 (prefer 6)
Time/Day: (open)/Friday 16th

Game: HARP Fantasy - The Lost March
Max # Players: 6 (prefer 6)
Time/Day: (open)/Saturday 17th

Game: HARP Sci-Fi - The Venture
Max # Players: 6 (prefer 6)
Time/Day: (open)/Saturday 17th

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HARP Fantasy - The Lost March (Description)

The Baron of the Checkered March, growing tired of the constant raids from the High Hills, has posted an open writ to any brave adventurers who might go forth and tame the Lost March for The Seven Gods and Country. An expedition was formed containing nearly 50 brave souls filled with a desire for land, treasure and renown. Countless battles with unhumans and dark creatures took a great toll on the expedition, barely making it into the High Hills. The Lost March was more lost than any could have imagined.

Only six of you are left.

You have learned through interrogation, happenstance and pure luck that the ruined town at Hill Crest contains one of the famed "Gates of Leopold", a two-way portal that instantly whisks travelers to another portal anywhere it exists. A portal just like the one in the Baron's high hall! You also know the town is home to unspeakable horrors, haunted ruins, and frequent unhuman patrols. You know any attempt to return via the road would end in death. But a quick jaunt via a magical gate would be a sure way to survive and return word to the Baron of just how far the Lost March has truly fallen.

You brave six now stand on a hill, looking down into a small valley at the ruins of Hill Crest. The day is young, but the night comes swiftly. A howl resounds behind you, the telltale cry of an unhound, the favored mounts of the unhuman patrol. Before you lies danger and perhaps even salvation. You quietly make your way down the overgrown path into the ruined town.

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HARP Sci-Fi - The Venture (Description)


Freelance Explorers. The job title sounds so exciting, yes?

You have signed on to the Venture as one of seven members of a privately funded exploration to chart new systems and determine the value they hold for either mining, colonization or both. Captain Lanna Ellis hired each one of you for your skills, experience and your desire to earn a nice bonus doing dangerous work. What's the point of having a gate that can take you anywhere in the galaxy if you're not going to use it, right?

After a nice respite at Tintamar, the space station that guards the greater gate in the Asteroid Belt, the team is ready to embark on the first of several trips to unexplored systems. A mixture of excitement and fear fills the air as the Venture crosses the threshold of the gate and jumps into the unknown.

The next moments are only chaotic scrambled memories. The proximity alarms scream warnings as the crew scrambles to avoid a large object pulling The Venture towards it. Loud explosions and rending sounds fill your ears as the ship shakes violently. The air is filled with the taste and tingling of electricity. The ship spins and wobbles as artificial gravity and life support systems fail. Engines stop. The final moments of free fall punctuated by desperate gasps for air until a final, bone-wrenching thud ends both your journey and consciousness.

You awake on a badly damaged ship to find that somehow you have life support and gravity. Looking out of a gaping hole in the side of the ship reveals an impossibly large ship underneath you. It's as if the Venture landed on the outside of a kilometers long spacecraft of no configuration you have seen before. There is a strange sheen at the periphery of the ship and your vision, outside the Venture's new window, that seems to be a force field keeping breathable air and crew in tact.

After a quick assessment, you determine everyone is alive albeit a tad bruised. A quick damage assessment and inventory shows the ship will need significant repairs to be space-worthy, supplies and equipment are about 50% depleted, and there is a large hollow pillar poking up through the bottom hull. It appears to have an open end with a descending ladder. The Captain orders everyone to suit up, arm up, and get ready to recon.

She clears her throat. "We need to find materials to fix our boat or another ship to fly out of here. We need to find out what we landed on. We need a threat assessment." The rest of you nod in agreement as the Captain makes her way to the make-shift docking pillar sticking through the deck.

"Most importantly..." she finishes, looking over her shoulder at you. "We need to make sure we get back alive."

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Interesting. I've lived in the area for 37 years and never heard of RustyCon. (But, I'm generally out of touch with most local cons). Maybe I should check it out.

I know next to nothing about HARP, or RoleMaster for that matter. How heavy are the rules?

aww for a moment there i though wa meant western australia

Quote from: K Peterson;805247Interesting. I've lived in the area for 37 years and never heard of RustyCon. (But, I'm generally out of touch with most local cons). Maybe I should check it out.

I know next to nothing about HARP, or RoleMaster for that matter. How heavy are the rules?

Medium Crunch. It's like a Rolemaster light (ish). d% + bonus +/- modifiers over TN (usually 101). One roll combat, look-up on "critical table", apply results. DEF is subtracted from attackers roll. You can boost your DEF by allocating some attack bonus to "parry". Damage is measured in "hits", stun, penalties and wound effects (like a sprain or crippled limb). Awesome magic system.

Check out the thread I have here on the hardcovers. Some info on the revised editions in there.

That's cool. I finally got my RM2 set for my collection, and spent some time rely reading it (for like the 1st time since High School), and actually ran it some.

Rolemaster  plays a lot differently after 20 some odd years of doing finance spreadsheets and such.

I played around with HARP the first time after it's release - my recollection is it was streamlined by comparison.  

Have fun!

Quote from: Molotov;805367...

I played around with HARP the first time after it's release - my recollection is it was streamlined by comparison.  ...

It is streamlined, but I love the magic system. You can build you're own spells, rituals and very solid rules on making potions, charms, magic items. Magic is probably my favorite part of a game. :-)

Quote from: Molotov;805367...  Have fun!

Thanks!