Kingdom of Kanday: Encyclopedia Hârnica
By: N. Robin Crosby, Ed King and John Sgammato
Published by:Columbia Games, $29.99
Reviewed by: Jonathan Oliver
Kingdom of Kanday is a supplement for the vast medieval fantasy world of Hârn, conceived by N. Robin Crosby. With Hârn the emphasis is on realism and a lot of time has clearly been put into mapping this world in very intricate detail. This is less a supplement for the Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast and more a source book for those interested in medieval history.
One thing that Columbia Games does brilliantly are maps. Kanday comes with two full colour maps that would garner the respect of any professional topographer. This adds further realism to what is already a beautifully portrayed setting. Kanday is very GM friendly also, as it comes in its own ring binder and an index of all the Kandanian settlements in Hârn is included. You may like to get some hole reinforcers though, as repeated use of this material may lead to the pages dropping out of the binder.
Kanday sounds like a pretty excellent place to game in. There is political intrigue, warring factions, rugged landscape but, be warned, the "thin red wines of the area are strictly for local consumption." Best stick to the Ouzo eh? Yes, Kanday really does read like a Rough Guide for adventurers. This isn't to detract from the quality of the text it but just shows how realistically the region has been depicted.
The price of the product may put some off and with many more of these supplements planned you could end up spending hundreds of dollars on world material. I'm sure though that Hârn fans will appreciate the time and care that has been put into this world and with so much detail at their fingertips GMs will find it that much easier to create memorable adventures.
