[Slavelords of Cydonia] How badly do I need Grim Tales?

[Ragnar_Deerslayer]

I've been eyeing Slavelords of Cydonia. I like the new rush of 1-20 level campaigns, and this one looks good.

How much do I need Grim Tales to run SoC? I've read the description, and I'm not really interested in it itself, but I'll get it if it makes SoC significantly easier to run. (That is, in fact, why I like the 1-20 level campaigns -- I like running much better than I like planning story arcs.)

Thanks,

Ragnar

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

You could run it with Modern with relatively little work or (I'm guessing) Spycraft. Stock D&D would take a lot more effort.

But, you really should get Grim Tales. Not only does it dove-tail nicely with Slavelords, it's one of the best things out there for running that kind of campaign.

 

[2WS-Steve]

I think even stock D&D would work fine -- there's even some discussion of how to start it off from a fantasy setting. Another cool alternative might be running it out of the Conan rules.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

I think even stock D&D would work fine -- there's even some discussion of how to start it off from a fantasy setting. Another cool alternative might be running it out of the Conan rules.

D&D spellcasters would be problematic, I think. Not impossible, but there are certain spells at high levels that could throw things for a loop.

 

[2WS-Steve]

Yah -- you're right about the high magic. Might work okay if one restricted players to just the secondary casters like paladins and rangers.

 

[GlassJaw]

Grim Tales will certainly make running SoC easier but there's still a lot you can do with just SoC. There is a section in the book that talks about converting - you can check it out in my SoC review.

Like others have mentioned though, Grim Tales is an awesome book and well worth the money.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Slavelords is d20 compatible, so if you are at all proficient with d20, you should have NO trouble.

Let me put it this way:

Slavelords of Cydonia is designed for experienced GM's.

"Converting" it from GT to some other d20 system will be one of the easiest tasks you'll have ahead of you.

I also recommend reading the reviews here. There are four:

http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=product&productid=119238

 

[Desdichado]

I think even stock D&D would work fine -- there's even some discussion of how to start it off from a fantasy setting. Another cool alternative might be running it out of the Conan rules.

Or the Black Company rules.

I think for stock D&D, maybe some minor tweaks would help it out though--a popular tweak for lower magic is to mandate that a spellcaster character can never have spellcaster class levels that exceed non-spellcaster class levels. That is, you have to alternate your wizard levels with rogue levels, or something like that.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

If you really want to run it with regular D&D, all I would do is eliminate the wizard class. There aren't really any arcane libraries on Cydonia to support a wizard.

Otherwise there's not much else you need to do. As I said before, any GM capable of running Slavelords in the first place is capable of reading a "Grim Tales" statblock and making any necessary conversions-- and really, there aren't that many-- on the fly.

The lack of magic items will probably require you to use Action Points. (Characters receive Action Points equal to 5 + 1/2 their character level; this pool of Action Points refreshes each time they gain a level.)

 

[scourger]

Based on reading about half of Slavelords of Cydonia, I think it is pretty portable to any d20-based rules variant you want to use. I planned to run it with the Omega World rules, but I doubt my players would go for it. I picked up Grim Tales anyway, and it is a good book. Again, I read about half. Since I just became a father 10 days ago , I doubt I'll ever read the other halves .

So, I'll make you a great deal on both books. Buy one get one free. $34.95 for both. I'll pay the shipping. Send me an email at eschurge@bellsouth.net if you're interested. My paypal account is the same when you want to take this offer by paying. Don't delay. I'll leave the offer open to anyone who reads this post. First email, first served. Heck, I may even put it over in Miniatures Trading and RPG Marketplace.

I'll even put it on eBay with a picture if it would make you feel better. My eBay member ID is sturdier. I've got 179 feedbacks, of which 98.9% are positive. You'll have to pay shipping if I list it on eBay, though, since they do charge fees.