[Black Company also Conan] Should I buy the Black Company Book?

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Here's my situation:

I love the Black Company Novels.

Right now I am running Conan, there is no way I will not be running Conan.

I need a good mass combat system for my game, and I could use some inspiration in the magic department.

I can pick up a supplement for Conan I'm a little iffy on or, barring any great games coming out this month, I can pick up Black Company.

Should I get Black Company? Will it be a cool enough read in its own right and have a mass combat system that is generally useful enough to justify my spending the whole of my gaming budget for this month and likely next month as well on that product alone?

Or are there any other cool possibilities for a Conan/Black Company cross over that I'm not seeing?

 

[argo]

Unfortunately my good Doctor, I can't offer you any advice but I can share your pain The moment I got my copy of Conan the first thing I said to myself was "Self, as soon as you are tired of running a Hyborian game and need to take a break you are so totally running a Black Company game with these rules, they're perfect!"

But now!

At any rate I'm putting off the decision for a later date seing as how I don't have the spare cash for Black Company at the moment anyway. But boy, it is a tough decision.

Good luck.

 

[Old One]

Buy the Book...

I haven't read the mass combat section thoroughly yet...but the rest of the BCCS is top-notch. There are two reviews over in the review section Here and Here that go into some detail. The product does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the novels in a highly playable format.

The magic system is truly outstanding...almost worth the price of the book itself. Also, The Plain of Glitterin Stone and Shadow Gates provide endless opportunities for campaign crossover.

Go for it!

~ Old One

 

[drnuncheon]

The mass combat system - true to its roots - looks like it'll be great for large amounts of people fighting other people. Since that's what you'll get in Conan, it should do you just fine.

If you were looking for standard D&D you'd have to do some revising and altering to handle monster units or solo monsters.

J

 

[hellbender]

Yes, I reccomend the book as well, there are many innovative ideas, both with large scale combat and a magic system that cannot be beat. If you cannot get it locally, why pay full price? FRPGames is where I purchased my copy. It was fast and arrived shortly.

 

[Krieg]

Not having either of these products in my hands...yet (both have been ordered), I can't help but assume that The Free Companies would be much easier to use in an ongoing campaign as they will required zero conversion.

The Black Company, no matter how good will require some work to make it fit.


FWIW FRPGames is currently out of stock of The Black Company Campaign Setting.

 

[Ian Sturrock]

Hey, I *wrote* the Conan RPG, and I'm seriously considering picking up the Black Company game, it's had such superb reviews. I don't think I could tweak the Conan magic rules enough to represent Goblin/One-Eye magic to my own satisfaction, if nothing else.

That said, I can probably claim the cost of the book against tax if I do buy it.

 

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

Hey, I *wrote* the Conan RPG, and I'm seriously considering picking up the Black Company game, it's had such superb reviews. I don't think I could tweak the Conan magic rules enough to represent Goblin/One-Eye magic to my own satisfaction, if nothing else.

That said, I can probably claim the cost of the book against tax if I do buy it.

Ooohh, well that's a recommendation I doubt I can ignore.

 

[Maester Luwin]

I too have both products & recommend them both highly!!! Ian I love Conan (it has truely captured Howard's world!)!! The Black Company is great ( as stated the magic system is very diffrent from D20 but is dead on as far as the novels go). You should visit Green Ronin's forums as Yuan - Ti (a member of these & Green Ronin's forums) has put up some wonderful examples of characters & how the magic system works! And Ian I think you would really like this book! Thanks Maester Luwin

 

[Tharen the Damned]

Well,

the BCCS mass combat system is good if you want
a) an easy scaleable system (from PCs vs. enemies to Company scale -small groups up to a few hundred -to army scale

b) an easy calculatable and manageable data-wise.

c) a fast combat solution.

If you are looking for a very detailed mass combat system look at Cry Havoc from Malhavoc Press (done by the Sage Skip Williams).

Apart from that, the BCCS is a book that is a definitive must buy. If not for the setting, then for the Combat rules, Magic Rules, New Core Classes, Backrounds etc.