''Ivinia'', subtitled "The Viking Lands", is a supplement published by
Columbia Games
Columbia Games is one of the oldest manufacturers of board wargames, and has also produced the '' Hârn'' role-playing game as well as various card games and collectible card games. Their wargames are notable for using small wooden or plastic bl ...
in 1985 for the fantasy role-playing game ''
Hârn
Hârn is a campaign setting for fantasy role-playing games, designed by N. Robin Crossby, and published by Columbia Games in 1983.
In 1998 Crossby founded Kelestia Productions (KP), an electronic publishing e-company. KP and Columbia Games now ...
''.
Contents
''Ivinia'' details an area to the northeast of the continent of Hârn that is populated by small clans of farmers.
While Hârn has a feudal English background, Ivinia evokes a
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
flavour.
The book is divided into an overview and an index, and the
boxed set
A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit.
Music
Artists ...
contains a 22" x 34" full-colour map.
Publication history
N. Robin Crossby designed the fictional world of Hârn and founded Columbia Games in 1983 to publish it. Two years later Crossby created a Nordic setting that could be used in Hârn campaigns, ''Ivinia''. The boxed set contained an 80-page softcover book and a map.
Reception
In the September–October 1985 edition of ''
Space Gamer
''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...
'' (No. 76), David Noel was somewhat put off by the high retail price, commenting "Overall, ''Ivinia'' is an excellent product, and I recommend it to anyone who uses ''Harn'' or is looking for a fantasy setting with a definite Norse flavor. The high price is a drawback, and I would not recommend it to those who are only looking for source material for their campaigns."
In the March 1986 edition of ''
Dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' (Issue 107), Eric Pass also noted the high retail cost, saying he found it hard to justify. But Pass admitted that the book contained "a staggering amount of detail" and that the map "is simply beautiful, of a style and quality reminscent of the full-sized maps found in ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
''." He concluded, "This material is a savior for the hard-pressed GM whose players expect and demand detailed playing environments and backgrounds."
References
{{reflist
Hârn supplements
Role-playing game supplements introduced in 1985