Ivashu by N. Robin Crossby, Edwin King and Kevin Knight is a role playing game supplement published by Columbia Games Inc. for use with Hârn and HârnMaster. This is a bestiary article.
The supplement is available as a 14-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $6.99 but was purchased at a reduced price thanks to a special discount.
The opening page explains that the Ivashu are Ilvir’s creatures. The deity Ilvir creates the creatures at Araka-Kalai from a limited number of souls; they are sexless and cannot breed, but some are fairly common because either they are better at surviving or easier to make. Others are unique, created for a specific task or for amusement. Once slain, their souls are placed in new bodies. Many have strange powers and some can be benign. Their natural lifespan ranges from months to apparently centuries. There’s a GM note that explains that Ilvir and the Ivashu can be used to introduce any kind of creature; the inability to breed means they won’t unbalance a campaign. A sidebar covers Araka-Kalai and the Pit itself, as well as the Ilvirans.
The creatures then follow. Each has a sidebar showing their range on Hârn and their HârnMaster stats. The main details vary; all have a basic description and most but not all have habitat & hunting, and some have more details as well.
Adwena is a giant worm with spiked tentacles and a large mouth. Victims are devoured slowly by acid.
Aklash is a semi-intelligent large humanoid with breath so bad it is a weapon.
Ergath are humanoid amphibians that are reasonably intelligent and rarely hostile.
Hru is a rock giant that is gentle and sociable.
Hygith is a water creature that is small but has a mouth full of teeth.
Miuruca are rare amphibians which primarily prey on small animals but sometimes larger creatures including humans.
The Nolah is also called the Hârnic Troll which is intelligent and can charm victims, including humans.
Ogarna is unaggressive and mostly immobile. It is highly intelligent and telepathic.
The Polan-Tekek is two Ivashu in symbiosis, the Polan, a large, semi-intelligent humanoid, and the Tekek, a small crab-like and more intelligent creature.
The Scurgah is a flying Ivashu that primarily hunts the treetops.
The Tave is a creature that can shapeshift between human and serpent.
The Umbathri are short, ugly humanoids that display a mischievous insanity.
Vlasta are small predators with an ability to jump high and a taste for eyes.
Ivashu in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and, though comparatively short, has enough different sections that these would have been useful. Navigation could be better. The text maintains a single column with sidebar format layout and appeared to be free of errors. There are a variety of illustrations, including one for each monster, all but two in colour and they appear to be mostly custom. Presentation is decent.
As-is, the supplement contains a range of varied creatures that could be encountered of differing degrees of danger and levels of hostility or friendliness. The idea that this is also a way of introducing any new creature into a campaign without worrying about things such as sustainable numbers is also an interesting concept that could prove useful for this, or any other, campaign. The crunch is aimed at HârnMaster, but it should be possible to convert it to other systems, and the fluff is interesting. Ivashu can be found by clicking here.
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