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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about role-playing game. For Palm OS program, see <a href="HackMaster_(software)" class="mw-redirect" title="HackMaster (software)">HackMaster (software)</a>.</div>

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</style><table class="infobox"><caption class="infobox-title">HackMaster</caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><div class="infobox-caption">4th edition Player's Handbook cover</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="Game_designer" class="mw-redirect" title="Game designer">Designers</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><i>Jolly R. Blackburn, <a href="David_Kenzer" title="David Kenzer">David Kenzer</a>, et al.</i></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publishers</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="Kenzer_%26_Company" title="Kenzer & Company">Kenzer & Company</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publication</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">

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<ul><li>2001 (4th Edition)</li>

<li>2009 (Basic)</li>

<li>2011 (5th Edition)</li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Genres</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="Fantasy" title="Fantasy">fantasy</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Systems</th><td class="infobox-data">Custom, derived from <a href="Editions_of_Dungeons_%26_Dragons#Advanced_Dungeons_&_Dragons" title="Editions of Dungeons & Dragons">AD&D</a> system</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-below">Spun off from the <i><a href="Knights_of_the_Dinner_Table" title="Knights of the Dinner Table">Knights of the Dinner Table</a></i> <a href="Comic_strip" title="Comic strip">comic strip</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

<p><b>HackMaster</b> is a fantasy <a href="Role-playing_game" title="Role-playing game">role-playing game</a> produced by <a href="Kenzer_%26_Company" title="Kenzer & Company">Kenzer & Company</a>. It began as a <a href="List_of_fictional_games" title="List of fictional games">fictional game</a>, a <a href="Parody" title="Parody">parody</a> of <i><a href="Dungeons_%26_Dragons" title="Dungeons & Dragons">Dungeons & Dragons</a></i> played by the characters of the <i><a href="Knights_of_the_Dinner_Table" title="Knights of the Dinner Table">Knights of the Dinner Table</a></i> <a href="Comic_strip" title="Comic strip">comic strip</a> by <a href="Jolly_Blackburn" title="Jolly Blackburn">Jolly R. Blackburn</a>. The characters in the comic began playing fictional <i>HackMaster 3rd Edition</i>, which was updated and published in 2001 as a numerously revised 4th edition. It has been hinted the name of the game was originally changed for copyright reasons.

</p><p>The current 5th edition has removed most of the parody aspects, and contains game mechanics written from scratch in order to avoid any intellectual property problems.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Publication_history">Publication history</h2></div>

<p>Kenzer & Company received many requests from fans of the comic to produce an actual <i>HackMaster</i> game, but initially they thought that licensing <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> would be impossible. In 1999 the <i><a href="Dragon_Magazine_Archive" class="mw-redirect" title="Dragon Magazine Archive">Dragon Magazine Archive</a></i> software was published where <a href="Wizards_of_the_Coast" title="Wizards of the Coast">Wizards of the Coast</a> failed to get permission to reprint many of the original articles such as the <i>Knights of the Dinner Table</i> comic in the electronic media archive. A contract dispute was settled out of court, they reached an agreement about creating a derivative work, that led to K&C's publication of <i>HackMaster 4th Edition</i> in 2001. As a nod to the fictional version from the comic, this first edition of <i>Hackmaster</i> was published as the 4th Edition.

</p><p>Since its release in 2001, <i>HackMaster</i> has evolved into a full-fledged role-playing game, spawning over forty add-ons, supplements and game aids. Most notable products include a 32-panel gamemaster's shield, a 16-page character sheet and a 10-volume monster encyclopedia. The <i>Hacklopedia of Beasts</i>, the <i>Hackmaster</i> version of the <i>Monster Manual</i>, was next released as eight separate volumes. These books were somewhat optional as creature statistics from the 1st and 2nd edition versions of <i><a href="Advanced_Dungeons_%26_Dragons" class="mw-redirect" title="Advanced Dungeons & Dragons">Advanced Dungeons & Dragons</a></i> (AD&D) were compatible with <i>Hackmaster</i>. K&C later released the <i>Hackmaster Field Manual</i>, which contained the more popular <i>Hackmaster</i> creatures in a single volume.

</p><p>Whereas Wizards of the Coast overhauled the rules for 3rd edition <i>D&D</i>, Kenzer & Company took the opposite action by revising the <i>AD&D</i> First and Second Edition rules (including various supplements such as 1st Edition <i>Unearthed Arcana</i> and <i>Oriental Adventures</i> and the mid-1990s <i>Skills & Powers</i> supplements) into a more coherent system and adding an element of parody. In part of that ability to use <i>AD&D</i> rules, K&C was required to maintain a higher level of humor than in the <i>Knights of the Dinner Table</i> comic for products that are revised from previous <i>AD&D</i> material.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Completely original works for <i>Hackmaster</i> are not subject to this restriction imposed by Wizards of the Coast.

</p><p>In 2002, <i>HackMaster</i> won the <a href="Origins_Award" class="mw-redirect" title="Origins Award">Origins Award</a> for <i>Game of the Year 2001</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>The first rulebook for the new edition, <i><b>HackMaster Basic</b></i>, was sent out to preorderers on June 19, 2009. HackMaster Basic was created due to Kenzer's licensing for <i>AD&D</i> running out. The title is a nod to the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set, although HackMaster Basic was re-written so as to not contain any copyrighted material from Wizards of the Coast.

</p><p>The game includes an official player's handbook, an alternate campaign setting changed from Garweeze Wurld to Kingdoms of Kalamar, a comprehensive, one-volume bestiary called the Hacklopedia of Beasts, and a GM's guide. Also provided are a pantheon of gods and attendant rituals and spells for the cleric class to choose from.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Mechanics">Mechanics</h2></div>

<p>Some of the game rule changes include a count-up system, as opposed to a "combat round" type of in-game time-keeping method. Players plan their actions second-by-second, with little or no down time between actions. Player characters in combat actively defend as well as attack and various combat maneuvers are offered to create a more realistic feel to the hostile encounter.

The magic system has been overhauled to use spell points rather than a fixed number of spells. Clerics are no longer a single class, but are specific to the various deities within the pantheon.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Setting">Setting</h2></div>

<p>In 4th edition, the official setting of Hackmaster was Garweeze Wurld, a giant continent on the planet Aldrazar based on the notes of Jolly Blackburn. This has been developed in the <i>Garweeze Wurld Atlas</i> and <i>Garweeze Wurld Gazetteer</i>. Garweeze Wurld is about eight thousand miles across, circling much of the northern hemisphere of its planet. The continent is mapped based on forty-eight "sectors", each one thousand miles across. The continent reaches from the tropical band of Aldrazar to its Arctic Circle. The name Garweeze Wurld was a play on the name of the fictional creator of Hackmaster in <i>Knights of the Dinner Table</i>, Gary Jackson, who is himself a parody of both <i>D&D</i> co-creator <a href="Gary_Gygax" title="Gary Gygax">Gary Gygax</a> and <a href="Steve_Jackson_(American_game_designer)" title="Steve Jackson (American game designer)">Steve Jackson</a> of <a href="Steve_Jackson_Games" title="Steve Jackson Games">Steve Jackson Games</a>.

</p><p>In the 5th edition of the game, the setting has been switched to Kenzerco's "<a href="Kingdoms_of_Kalamar" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingdoms of Kalamar">Kingdoms of Kalamar</a>" (KoK) setting. KoK was originally developed as a <i>D&D</i> setting, and has been detailed in several supplements and adventures. Developers for Kenzerco have stated on their forums that the world will not be significantly altered for HM 5th.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Adventure_modules">Adventure modules</h2></div>

<p>The following premade adventures were published for both 4th and 5th edition of the game. Most of the 4th edition adventures are parody and alteration of the TSR era <i>D&D</i> modules.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="4th_Edition">4th Edition</h3></div>

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<ul><li>B1: Quest for the Unknown, Character levels 1-3</li>

<li>B2: Little Keep on the Borderlands, Character levels 1-4</li>

<li>C1: The Hidden Shrine, Character levels 4-6</li>

<li>C2: Demon Tower of Madness, Character levels 5-7</li>

<li>C4: The Prophecy of Shardar, Character levels 4-7</li>

<li>D1-2: Descent Into the NetherDeep, Character levels 9-12</li>

<li>G1-3: Annihilate the Giants, Character levels 7-11</li>

<li>I2: Crypt of the Lizard King, Character levels 5-7</li>

<li>K1: Slaughterhouse Indigo, Character levels 4-6</li>

<li>S1: Tomb of Unspeakable Horrors, Character levels 10-14</li>

<li>S4: Lost Caverns, Character levels 6-10</li>

<li>S5: Dead Gawd's Hand, Character levels 4-7</li>

<li>S6: Isle of Death, Character levels 5-8</li>

<li>T1-4: The Temple of Existential Evil, Character levels 1 and up</li>

<li>UK1: Porpher's Enchanted Garden, Character levels 3-5</li>

<li>Road to Aster, Character levels 5-7</li>

<li>R1: Robinloft, Character levels 5-7</li>

<li>R2: Robinloft 2: Tahd's Legacy, Character levels 8-10</li>

<li>Smackdown the Slavers, Character levels 4-7</li>

<li>White Doom Mountain, Character levels 4-7</li>

<li>Sir Robilar's City of Brass, Character levels 7 and up</li></ul>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="5th_Edition_(Basic_&_Advanced)">5th Edition (Basic & Advanced)</h3></div>

<ul><li>Vidar's Final Trek (PDF)</li>

<li>Sheep Thief (PDF)</li>

<li>Raktavira's Villa (PDF)</li>

<li>The Forgotten Monastery</li>

<li>The Brindonwood Syndrome</li>

<li>The Prodigal Sons (PDF)</li>

<li>Shadow Over Tiwidu</li>

<li>In the Dark of Fright</li>

<li>Strangers on the Trail</li>

<li>Tiwidu: Village on the Verge</li>

<li>Legacy of the Elm King</li>

<li>Baurgar's Prize (PDF)</li>

<li>Frandor's Keep (PDF)</li>

<li>The Gauntlet (PDF)</li>

<li>The Secret of Blackgate Farm (PDF)</li>

<li>A Sewer Runs Through It (PDF)</li>

<li>Mugful of Mayhem (PDF)</li>

<li>Nest of the RatMaster (PDF)</li>

<li>Plague of Cosolen (PDF)</li>

<li>In the Realm of the Elm King (PDF)</li>

<li>The Temple of Unrelenting Despair (PDF)</li>

<li>Wrath of the Vohven (PDF)</li>

<li>Mysterious Shrine (PDF)</li>

<li>White Palette, Ivory Horns (PDF)</li>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110615023759/http://www.enworld.org/forum/3500376-post46.html">"2007 ENWorld forums (reply by Mark Plemmons)"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/3500376-post46.html">the original</a> on June 15, 2011<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">April 22,</span> 2009</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070830114254/http://www.originsgames.com/awards/2001">"2001 – Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.originsgames.com/awards/2001">the original</a> on August 30, 2007<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 13,</span> 2007</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kenzerco.com/hackmaster/">"HackMaster"</a>. <i>www.kenzerco.com</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 2,</span> 2017</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

</ol></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=25_26/">Official HackMaster site</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kenzerco.com/hma/main/index.php">Official Hackmaster Association (HMA) site</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20061105060604/http://www.kenzerco.com/hma/main/index.php">Archived</a> November 5, 2006, at the <a href="Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul></div><div><div class="zim-footer">

This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2024-07-05" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=HackMaster&oldid=1232736296">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

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