The Kaldor Chronicles
"The Kaldor Chronicles" is a HârnMaster campaign, which was run intermittently as a secondary campaign when other players assumed primary GM responsibilities.
The campaign follows the adventures of the player characters on the continent of Hârn, in the kingdom of Kaldor. The campaign story is plot-based, and limited to the individual encounters since episodes can be few and far between. The first episode was played on September 5, 2009, and continued sporadically on Saturday evenings until September 4, 2010, when the primary campaign was not being run. The campaign entailed a 5 episode story arc, ending when the consistent interruptions to the primary campaign ended. However, one episode in 2015, then several more in 2020 allows for the players to better appreciate the nuances of the system.
Since a primary campaign was already in effect, participation in the campaign was sporadic, and ranged from two to five players per episode. The list of players included Brad, Brett, Carol, James B., James D., Jerry, Joe, Julie, Kelli, Leigh, Michael, Patrick, and Tommy. The position of Games Master is performed by Joel. The campaign meets irregularly on Saturdays. Game sessions are played at James and Leigh's home, Jerry's home, Joel and Lisa’s home, Kelli's home, and Tommy & Talisa's home.
Campaign Setting
The year is 720 T.R. (Tuzyn Reckoning) and life trudges on in the kingdom of Kaldor.
Kaldor is ripe with adventure possibilities. An adventurer might become involved in succession intrigue, become a knight ruling a manor, trade as a merchant on the Salt Route or the Silver Way, or campaign with the Oselmarch or Chelmarch armies in barbarian territory.
Player Characters
The main function of this campaign is a plot-driven story line with character just trying to survive the harsh environment when away from civilization. At the outset of the campaign, each player will start with one character. Stats were issued and not rolled: 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, and 8. All players will roll randomly on the background charts for up to three opportunities to determine which path their character might take. Disadvantages will also be rolled, but once dice are tossed, the results are final. Humans are highly recommended as Kaldor is not known for its non-human folk; save this when playing Dungeons and Dragons. The HârnMaster core box set will be the primary source of rules with additional downloadable primers being made available. Unlike other level-based campaigns, a level "floor" is unavailable as skill increases stem from actual game play.
Important NPCs
As the campaign is self-contained with the area of Kaldor, the players have an opportunity to meet and establish a variety of NPC contacts, allies, and enemies. All NPCs have an equal importance to the campaign, as each one tends to add enrichment with major NPCs might only be seen from afar if the characters to not have the family name to influence. Most NPCs are solitary folk with one primary base of operations as it is dangerous to travel outside of established towns and cities.
At the outset of the campaign, the PCs are traveling south of Tashal, helping a merchant move several barrels of wine. As fate would have it, the party is diverted to the village of Falkath because of severe weather in the area. Their notoriety in the realm begins with a search and rescue of a missing serf boy, fighting deadly eye-eating monsters and capturing a villain with a cursed dagger who is holding the boy hostage.
Episode Guide
Each weekend, the players assembled to play what has been designated as an episode. Each week, a recap of the most recent episode’s happenings was posted to allow those who have been missing for many or few episodes to get a feel for what they have missed. Any postings on this website have the same information given out each week via social media, although much of the personal commentary was left out.
Places of Note
Hârn is an island lying 160 km off the northwest coast of the continent of Lythia, on the edge of the Haonic cean. Compared to other regions of northwest Lythia, Hârn is a wild, barbaric land, where pockets of civilization are surrounded by large tracts of wilderness.
The main plot of the campaign revolved around the encounters taking place in the Kingdom of Kaldor. Kaldor has six main settlements. The Silver Way, the main trade route to the Khuzan (Dwarven) kingdom of Azadmere, runs to the east. Tashal, the capital and largest settlement in Kaldor, and is one of the largest cites on Hârn, lying at the nexus of four trade routes.
Rules and Redundancy
The main goal of the campaign is to have fun. Unfortunately, there are times when rules can come into conflict when players are attempting to achieve their goals. House Rules allow for situations like these to be mitigated when there is insufficient information to deal with specific encounters. The Redundancy aspect reflects on additional content which adds depth and complexity to the campaign and clears up any gray areas.
Weapons Locker
Core rule books contain a plethora of melee and ranged weapons for the players to choose from. However, there are times when the characters encounter weapons and items of power that go beyond the scope of what is readily available for purchase. Herein lies an inventory of non-standard items encountered throughout the campaign, from the mundane to the spectacular.
The Kaldor Chronicles by Brigitte Werner, Important NPCs by Hans Sebald Beham, Places of Note by Ernest Lavisse
All artwork on this page falls under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.