Law by N. Robin Crossby and Edwin King is a role playing game supplement published by Columbia Games Inc. for use with Hârn and HârnMaster.
The supplement is available as a 12-page PDF from DriveThruRPG for $3.99 but was purchased at a reduced price during a sale.
It starts by saying that laws and a legal system are crucial to the functioning of society, and that though Hârn is relatively barbaric compared to western Lythia, its system of justice is still surprisingly complex.
Family Law looks at the fundamental level of law, which is the clan or family, with a sidebar looking at tribal law.
Vendetta Law is a system that is fading from Hârn, as it has drawbacks, namely might making right and long-running feuds.
Feudal Law is the dominant form in civilised Hârn and this looks at the nobility, largely above the law, feudal obligations and feudal tenants.
Royal Justice and royal courts are a recent innovation, expanding on the original concept of royal courts under feudal law.
Forest Law is a law that isn’t something that applies to just forest regions, but any region designated as a royal forest, as forest is a legal term in this case. These regions preserve wildlife for hunting, but not by anyone.
Town Law is that which is enacted in most towns, which is different to rural law and complex enough to support a guild of litigants.
Hârnic Variations looks at how the broad categories of law vary in different countries.
Crimes and Punishments looks at the different types of crime, divided into different categories, and their punishments.
Bearing Arms looks at who has the right to bear such and their definitions, as different classes can bear different weapons, and a dialogue box has an example of a player character arguing with a guard and getting locked up as a result; PCs are not above the law and in a setting like Hârn are not superpowered either.
Law in Review
The PDF lacks bookmarks and is long enough with enough different sections that these would have been useful. Navigation could be better. The text is either single column with sidebar or two column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a variety of colour illustrations. Presentation is decent.
This supplement lacks any HârnMaster stats, being one that is generally useful. It provides background on law for Hârn, and in specific areas, presented as a coherent whole that is based on real world legal systems of about the time Hârn is based, which makes it far more realistic than typical fantasy systems. Whether or not that realism is desired is another matter, but it is a useful reference. Law can be found by clicking here.
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