HackMaster

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HackMaster
Image:RPG_hackmaster_cover.jpg
Player's Handbook cover
Designer(s) Jolly R. Blackburn, David Kenzer, et al.
Publisher(s) Kenzer & Company
Publication date 2001
Genre(s) Parody, fantasy
System Custom, derived from AD&D system
Spun off from the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip

HackMaster is a role-playing game produced by Kenzer & Company. It started out as a fictional game, a parody of Dungeons & Dragons played by the characters of the Knights of the Dinner Table comic strip by Jolly R. Blackburn. The characters in the comic play HackMaster 3rd Edition, and it has been hinted the name of the game was changed for copyright reasons.

Contents

[edit] Setting

As of the 3rd edition, the official setting of Hackmaster is Garweeze Wurld, a giant continent on the planet Aldrazar based off of the notes of Jolly Blackburn. This has been developed in the Garweeze Wurld Atlas and Garweeze Wurld Gazeteer.

[edit] History

Kenzer & Company received many requests from fans of the comic to produce an actual HackMaster game, but initially they thought that licensing Dungeons & Dragons 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, sometimes ironically referred to as the most realistic and complete set of role-playing rules in existence.

K&C is speculated to have 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 Knight 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 is 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.[citation needed] 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 fully-fledged role-playing game, spawning a plethora of 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.

[edit] HackMaster associations

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 HMGMA 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 HMGMA 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.

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 for HackMaster.

In 2006, Norm relocated to Oregon after resigning from his post, passing on the leadership role to Steve “Bloody-Mage” Willett.

[edit] Other uses

HackMaster is also a noted piece of software for the Palm OS that allows extra software (usually that manages the low-level hardware), such as software to enable desk accessories to be run on the operating system, which is normally not possible.

The HackMaster +12 known as Ravager is also a powerful magical sword used by El Ravager of the characters in Knights of the Dinner Table.

[edit] External links

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