Gods of Harn

In 1983, Columbia Games published the role-playing game Harn. Two years later, Columbia Games released Gods of Harn, a 72-page book written by N. Robin Crossby, Tom Dalgliesh, John Frazier, and Edwin King, with artwork by Eric Hotz. The book provides details of the ten deities which comprise the Harn pantheon and their religions.^[1]

Each deity is described in terms of

• their personality
• relationship to the other deities
• otherworldly servants
• their specific domain of influence
• prime moral principles of their followers
• the history and structure of their organized religion
• religious practices, including clerical orders, rituals, church politics, priestly garb, theological doctrine, iconography, saints, pilgrimages, sacred locales, religious festivals, regalia and significant dates
• notable churches dedicated to the specific deity and relative distribution across the continent^[2]

The book includes several full-color plates showing various pieces of religious garb, heraldry and badges.^[2]

Unlike other role-playing systems where deities are known to exist and can have a physical presence in the world, the deities of Harn are never seen, and the source of divine power wielded by priestly characters is unknown. As reviewer Ken Rolston noted, "Do the gods exist, or are they figments of man's imagination? Gods of Harn purports a tolerance for either view."^[2]