HackMaster
Encyclopedia
HackMaster is a role-playing game
produced by Kenzer & Company
, being a revised expansion of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It started out as a fictional game, a parody
of the most ludicrous aspects of D&D played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table
comic strip
by Jolly R. Blackburn
. The characters in the comic began playing HackMaster 3rd Edition, which was updated to a numerously revised 4th edition, and it has been hinted the name of the game was originally changed for copyright reasons. In 2009, Hackmaster Basic (HMb) was released as the 5th edition of the game. The 5th edition tones back the parody aspect and its mechanics diverge much further from the original D&D source material.
" (KoK) setting. KoK was originally developed as a D&D setting, and has been very well developed and 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.
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 Garweeze Wurld Atlas and Garweeze Wurld Gazeteer. 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 World was a play on the name of D&D creator Gary Gygax
.
would be impossible. However, when they asked Wizards of the Coast
about creating a derivative work, they reached an agreement that led in 2001 to the publication of HackMaster 4th Edition.
K&C
acquired the rights to produce HackMaster after the Dragon Magazine Archive software was published where Wizards of the Coast
failed to get permission to reprint many of the original articles such as the Knights of the Dinner Table comic in the electronic media archive. A lawsuit was settled out of court, and K&C
started producing HackMaster afterwards. In part of that ability to use AD&D rules, K&C
was required to maintain a higher level of humor than in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic for products that are revised from previous AD&D material. Completely original works for Hackmaster are not subject to this restriction imposed by Wizards of the Coast
.
Whereas Wizards of the Coast overhauled the rules for 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons, Kenzer & Company took the opposite action by revising the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First and Second Edition rules (including various supplements such as 1st Edition Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures and the mid-90's Skills & Powers supplements) into a more coherent system and adding an element of parody. However, as a nod to the version from the comic, the first edition of Hackmaster was published as the 4th Edition.
The Hacklopedia of Beasts, the Hackmaster version of the Monster Manual, was next released as 8 separate volumes, costing $19.99 each. These books were somewhat optional as creature statistics from the 1st and 2nd edition versions of AD&D were compatible with Hackmaster. Kenzerco later released the Hackmaster Field Manual, which contained the more popular Hackmaster creatures in a single volume.
Since its release in 2001, HackMaster 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.
In 2002, HackMaster won the Origins Award
for Game of the Year 2001.
would replace Garweeze Wurld as the game's default setting. On July 11, 2007, Kenzer & Company announced that their license agreement with Wizards of the Coast would expire in August of that year. The loss of the license means that existing works containing licensed text would not be reprinted and that future editions of the game would not contain material copyrighted by Wizards.
The first rulebook for the new edition, HackMaster Basic, was sent out to preorderers on June 19, 2009. As the name implies, it focuses on the fundamentals of the new system, and is intended to take player characters from 1st level through 5th level. Reported future releases for the new edition include a single "mega volume" Hacklopedia of Beasts and the Hackmaster rulebook for higher-level campaigning.
The HMGMA audits and moderates GMs to ensure that there are no GMs who are making life too difficult, making it too easy, or even cheating outright. They are also required to act professionally, and to be impartial during games of Hackmaster. An HMGMA certified GM who is caught to be breaking either of these rules will suffer consequences. Some of them include:
The HMA initially started as a parody of the RPGA
in the Knights of the Dinner Table
comic. With Kenzer & Company
releasing HackMaster as an actual roleplaying game, the HMA has become a gaming organization in its own right, having several chapters in numerous countries including the U.S. and U.K., requiring annual dues of its members, and so forth. Membership also includes a subcription to the Hackjournal (an online only HM publication including optional rules, official rule additions, and fan submitted material).
The first HackMaster Association created and organized without direct assistance and contribution from Kenzer Co employees was the Northern California Chapter of the HackMaster Association. Brought together by Norm Hancock, co-founder, the first President and later Minister of Propaganda, the Nor Cal Chapter held several tournaments over the next two years and the Bay Area was one of the most active regions in the country. In 2006, Norm relocated to Oregon after resigning from his post, passing on the leadership role to Steve “Bloody-Mage” Willett.
Kenzer & Company
employee Mark Plemmons is the current manager of the HackMaster Association.
Some in the role-playing community dismiss the HMA (Hack Master Association) as an attempt to make people pay for a game that they feel should be free. The HMA believes everyone should join in order to fully enjoy the hobby. These arguments are similar to those made over the RPGA
in the past. Indeed, in form and function, the HMA is very similar to the RPGA, but on a much smaller scale. The HMA has stated their intention to expand their influence to include other Kenzerco games, specifically Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
.
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
produced by Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
, being a revised expansion of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It started out as a fictional game, a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the most ludicrous aspects of D&D played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
by Jolly R. Blackburn
Jolly Blackburn
Jolly Randall Blackburn is best known as the creator of the comic strip, Knights of the Dinner Table.-Biography:Jolly Blackburn majored in anthropology, history, and classical cultures in college...
. The characters in the comic began playing HackMaster 3rd Edition, which was updated to a numerously revised 4th edition, and it has been hinted the name of the game was originally changed for copyright reasons. In 2009, Hackmaster Basic (HMb) was released as the 5th edition of the game. The 5th edition tones back the parody aspect and its mechanics diverge much further from the original D&D source material.
Setting
In the current (5th) edition of the game, the setting has been switched to Kenzerco's "Kingdoms of KalamarKingdoms of Kalamar
The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting created by Kenzer and Company and released in 1994. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce...
" (KoK) setting. KoK was originally developed as a D&D setting, and has been very well developed and 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.
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 Garweeze Wurld Atlas and Garweeze Wurld Gazeteer. 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 World was a play on the name of D&D creator Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
.
History
Kenzer & Company received many requests from fans of the comic to produce an actual HackMaster game, but initially they thought that licensing Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
would be impossible. However, when they asked Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
about creating a derivative work, they reached an agreement that led in 2001 to the publication of HackMaster 4th Edition.
K&C
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
acquired the rights to produce HackMaster after the Dragon Magazine Archive software was published where Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
failed to get permission to reprint many of the original articles such as the Knights of the Dinner Table comic in the electronic media archive. A lawsuit was settled out of court, and K&C
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
started producing HackMaster afterwards. In part of that ability to use AD&D rules, K&C
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
was required to maintain a higher level of humor than in the Knights of the Dinner Table comic for products that are revised from previous AD&D material. Completely original works for Hackmaster are not subject to this restriction imposed by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
.
Whereas Wizards of the Coast overhauled the rules for 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons, Kenzer & Company took the opposite action by revising the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First and Second Edition rules (including various supplements such as 1st Edition Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures and the mid-90's Skills & Powers supplements) into a more coherent system and adding an element of parody. However, as a nod to the version from the comic, the first edition of Hackmaster was published as the 4th Edition.
The Hacklopedia of Beasts, the Hackmaster version of the Monster Manual, was next released as 8 separate volumes, costing $19.99 each. These books were somewhat optional as creature statistics from the 1st and 2nd edition versions of AD&D were compatible with Hackmaster. Kenzerco later released the Hackmaster Field Manual, which contained the more popular Hackmaster creatures in a single volume.
Since its release in 2001, HackMaster 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.
In 2002, HackMaster won the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Game of the Year 2001.
Future
On July 6, 2007, Kenzer & Company announced that Kingdoms of KalamarKingdoms of Kalamar
The Kingdoms of Kalamar is a fantasy role-playing game campaign setting created by Kenzer and Company and released in 1994. Shortly after Wizards of the Coast announced the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, they announced jointly with Kenzer & Company that Kenzer had acquired a license to produce...
would replace Garweeze Wurld as the game's default setting. On July 11, 2007, Kenzer & Company announced that their license agreement with Wizards of the Coast would expire in August of that year. The loss of the license means that existing works containing licensed text would not be reprinted and that future editions of the game would not contain material copyrighted by Wizards.
The first rulebook for the new edition, HackMaster Basic, was sent out to preorderers on June 19, 2009. As the name implies, it focuses on the fundamentals of the new system, and is intended to take player characters from 1st level through 5th level. Reported future releases for the new edition include a single "mega volume" Hacklopedia of Beasts and the Hackmaster rulebook for higher-level campaigning.
HackMaster Association
The Hackmaster Players Association (HMPA) and Hackmaster Game Master Association (HMGMA) are organizations created to ensure that any tournament level characters and players abide by the rules, and have no unfair advantages. Likewise they ensure that their sanctioned GMs strive to help see that players may enjoy themselves in environments free of prejudice, alienation, and favoritism. The HMPA/HMGA also has a system to allow players to have their home game characters to be used in sanctioned convention tournaments.The HMGMA audits and moderates GMs to ensure that there are no GMs who are making life too difficult, making it too easy, or even cheating outright. They are also required to act professionally, and to be impartial during games of Hackmaster. An HMGMA certified GM who is caught to be breaking either of these rules will suffer consequences. Some of them include:
- Having any Hackmaster chapters they GM for audited.
- Risking having their membership revoked, or possibly banned.
- If their actions have any legal impacts, they could even risk legal action.
The HMA initially started as a parody of the RPGA
RPGA
The RPGA , is part of the organized play arm of Wizards of the Coast that organizes and sanctions role-playing games worldwide, principally under the d20 system...
in the Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
comic. With Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
releasing HackMaster as an actual roleplaying game, the HMA has become a gaming organization in its own right, having several chapters in numerous countries including the U.S. and U.K., requiring annual dues of its members, and so forth. Membership also includes a subcription to the Hackjournal (an online only HM publication including optional rules, official rule additions, and fan submitted material).
The first HackMaster Association created and organized without direct assistance and contribution from Kenzer Co employees was the Northern California Chapter of the HackMaster Association. Brought together by Norm Hancock, co-founder, the first President and later Minister of Propaganda, the Nor Cal Chapter held several tournaments over the next two years and the Bay Area was one of the most active regions in the country. In 2006, Norm relocated to Oregon after resigning from his post, passing on the leadership role to Steve “Bloody-Mage” Willett.
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
employee Mark Plemmons is the current manager of the HackMaster Association.
Some in the role-playing community dismiss the HMA (Hack Master Association) as an attempt to make people pay for a game that they feel should be free. The HMA believes everyone should join in order to fully enjoy the hobby. These arguments are similar to those made over the RPGA
RPGA
The RPGA , is part of the organized play arm of Wizards of the Coast that organizes and sanctions role-playing games worldwide, principally under the d20 system...
in the past. Indeed, in form and function, the HMA is very similar to the RPGA, but on a much smaller scale. The HMA has stated their intention to expand their influence to include other Kenzerco games, specifically Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier
Aces & Eights: Shattered Frontier is an American award-winning role-playing game, written by Jolly R. Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson, Dave Kenzer, Jennifer Kenzer and Mark Plemmons, and published by Kenzer & Company in 2007...
.