Hackmaster 4th Ed was produced by Kenzerco under license from WotC. At the time WotC were heavily into launching their AD&D 3rd Ed (d20) system and, IMHO, thought that 2nd Ed was dead and they could make some money by licensing 2nd Ed. To cover themselves though they only granted the license as a parody. So Hackmaster was produced to be the successor to 2nd Ed that people (who hated d20/3rd Ed system) wanted. It was loosely parodied on KoDT , so lots of everything: new classes, kits, races, spell, equipment as expected. All new stuff: penetrating dice, critical hits, IG Honour system, alignment charting. That’s it, really. Everything from 2nd Ed and made more so. Sortof like AD&D 2.75Ed. Oh, and there never was a HM 1st, 2nd or 3rd Ed.
Edit: 12 Oct 2016 - to add some flesh to this - the adventure is not a parody, it plays like 2nd Ed 90% of the time. The other 10% can be just amazing though. It starts off as an investigation, deepening into a (non-linear) mystery. Some traps, some humour, some combat, lots of potential for honorable or dishonorable actions. Some tension into how to be good and just in a society that some see as the opposite.
Some quotes:
Playtester: "Best.Char.Creation.Ever."
Player (tabletop): "Where's the f'ing dungeon, the wilderness is too damned dangerous."
My favorite spell: L1: Power Word: "Moon", very effective when used on someone in platemail.
End Edit.
The campaign here is intended as an introduction for players new to the system and is set in a subtropical region of ’Gaweese Wurld’, the published campaign setting. GM will help as required for character generation, but all aspects of this are under player control (choice).
Main piece of advice would be ’if in doubt, ask.’
The Big Sixteen are:
1. What game system are you running , and if applicable what edition?
HackMaster 4th Ed. This is initially intended as an introduction to the system.
2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be? What is the setting for the game?
Very similar in type & style to in AD&D 2nd Ed Greyhawk. The published campaign setting is ‘Gaweeze Wurld’.
3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
Initially up to 4 Players
4. How fast or slow of a pacing do you want to set?
Initially every three days;(possibly earlier if everyone has posted.)
5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
1st level
6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
Varies with character class, social class and family size. Can range from a hereditary debt to owning a small keep, but most probably 60 to 140gps
7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Initially just the 19 character classes from the PHB. But see #8.
8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
Initially just the 15 races from the PHB. But if you’ve been out and bought the additional books, e.g. “Spellslinger’s Guide to Wurld Domination” then in principle I allow anything published therein,(races, classes, kits, equipment, spells etc.) Talk to me first; otherwise you could be upset to find that if you play a Drow, the Wurld hates you. See also #10.
9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
4d6 drop lowest for 7 stats and rearrange 6 of them as you will, i.e. you can't use Comeliness as a 'Dump Stat'.
These can be modified by race and by spending Building Points.10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
Yes. Alignment is charted. If you change alignment, the Gawds penalise you a level.
You can play any alignment, but talk to me first. Otherwise you could be upset to find that if you play an Evil, not only the Goods but the Evils hate you too.
11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Allowed . Unless otherwise specified, these are the primary classes, e.g. Fighter/Cleric means Fighter Class & Cleric class, NOT subclasses such as Berserker or Speciality Priest.
12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Unseen Servant is preferred.
13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
I’ve tried to cover most things in the forum. There is a Q&A section.
14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
A decent character background can earn up to 25% xp for 1st level. More than 4 lines but less than 2 pages. No, it’s a character’s background. Within reason it’s up to me to work it in. Initial adventure setting is semitropical.
15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
Combination. But you won’t survive without some level of combat ability – it is called HACKmaster.
16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
In principle, if you’ve bought it, you can use it if I’ve read it. Talk to me first though, just in case.
(I think there’s just one out of print publication that I don’t have, and that was 2nd hand at $250, so I won’t be owning one of those any time soon).
