Novendo is a fantasy role playing world that has been evolving since I created it in 1975. Many players have contributed to this evolution, leaving their mark on Novendo just as surely as I have. I’ve always thought of fantasy role playing as collaborative story-telling, and I hope this blog will demonstrate that. The current adventures that the players and I are creating between us, as well as those stories of years and players past, that make up the fabric of the history of Novendo, will all be available here. Maps, illustrations, and deep background material will also be available, for those who want to round out their knowledge of this fictional world.

The world we play in is our joint creation, but the way we interact with that world is through a specific set of rules – a gaming system. Novendo began under the original Dungeons & Dragons rules, and over the years adapted to the various iterations of that system. But I, at least, was never completely happy with the often arbitrary nature of D&D. In the mid-Eighties I discovered the simple elegance and “realism” of the HarnMaster system, and it’s been the Novendo game system ever since. Created by N. Robin Crosby and Columbia Games, it’s a skill-based system that strikes a nice balance between realism and playability. No artificial character classes or restrictions, beyond what common sense implies – you can practice magic, wield a sword and be a carpenter if you wish; you might not be as good at any of them as one who specializes, but it’s up to you.

Harn also provides a wonderful array of settings (cities, castles, whole kingdoms) that can be used by any game system, and over the years I’ve integrated some of those pieces into Novendo. The names have been changed, and all of it redesigned to fit within a Novendoan framework, but the bones can sometimes be seen. The Ocean Empire, Tor Andar, Tür Kovan, the Theocracy… all are my invention. The north shore of the Sea of Ukalis, however, is strongly influenced by the Harnworld material, and where I’ve adapted others’ work to my own needs I try to give proper credit.

This site is divided into several general sections or archives: Recaps of the current campaign, played once a month; connecting narrative that fills in the gaps in the PCs lives between adventures; a collection of history, common knowledge, gossip and folk tales; and sections with profiles of both current PCs and relevant NPCs. Players can (and are encouraged to) comment/argue/augment what I write in the recaps, and I hope they will add their own narrative about what their character is doing to the “The Story Continues…” section.

I hope this format will be an enjoyable way for us all to share our collaborative efforts in the world of Novendo!