Brom's Cover Art For Modiphius' Upcoming CONAN RPG

Voted the 4th most anticipated roleplaying game of 2016, Modiphius' Robert E Howard’s CONAN Roleplaying game - Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of is based on the company's own 2d20 system. Brom is a name you may recognise from Dark Sun and other D&D settings, as well as the covers of novels from the likes of Moorcock. He's a pretty big deal in the world of fantasy art. Apparently, Modiphius had trouble getting Brom for this cover - he was unavailable when they first approached him, but circumstances have brought his schedule in line with the game's 2016 release date, and so we now have a cover to ogle at!

 

[N01H3r3]

Is the Modiphius play test video not a "practical experience"?

A practical experience of an older version of the system, yes. But not a practical experience of "a problem". I wouldn't necessarily have run the game in quite that way, but that's a matter of personal preference too, and something that'll be helped by the more in-depth guidelines for the use of Doom that'll be in the finished book.

My point is, you regard it as a problem. I regard it as the game working as intended. The small number of people I've encountered online and in person who have had a problem with "immediate reward, delayed risk" suggest that the idea itself is not innately a problem.

It's a matter of taste, nothing more or less than that, and the dynamics of that choice and other choices available to players that have been adjusted and tweaked in the current form of the rules.

 

[Water Bob]

It's a matter of taste, nothing more or less than that, and the dynamics of that choice and other choices available to players that have been adjusted and tweaked in the current form of the rules.

So, you're saying that the Howard Conan stories reflected a style where Conan, when he was heroic (bought extra dice, paid Doom), always paid for it in some form later in the story.

You think that's a good model for a story set in the Hyborian Age.

 

[moldyderp]

So, you're saying that the Howard Conan stories reflected a style where Conan, when he was heroic (bought extra dice, paid Doom), always paid for it in some form later in the story.

Let's see...

... he's rendered helpless and cannot fight in a battle to save his kingdom, forcing a look-alike soldier to take his place on the field (who is eventually killed)
... he loses his kingdom
... he's crucified
... he's bewitched by the daughter of a god and nearly killed by frost giant's
... nearly killed by a gaseous demon when uncovering a lost treasure
... loses his "prince of thieves" companion to a giant spider
... Belit dies.
... a bard makes fun of him
... he fights a giant winged ape (the ape did not have wings before the DM spent threat).

All sounds like threat being spent to me. Any of the stories could provide dozens of similar examples if you were really interested in finding the answers. If you're trying to convert the stories into game mechanics, it's very easy to see where Conan might be considered as buying dice, and where the DM might be considered as spending threat.

 

[Water Bob]

Let's see...

... he's rendered helpless and cannot fight in a battle to save his kingdom, forcing a look-alike soldier to take his place on the field (who is eventually killed)
... he loses his kingdom
... he's crucified
... he's bewitched by the daughter of a god and nearly killed by frost giant's
... nearly killed by a gaseous demon when uncovering a lost treasure
... loses his "prince of thieves" companion to a giant spider
... Belit dies.
... a bard makes fun of him
... he fights a giant winged ape (the ape did not have wings before the DM spent threat).

All sounds like threat being spent to me. Any of the stories could provide dozens of similar examples if you were really interested in finding the answers. If you're trying to convert the stories into game mechanics, it's very easy to see where Conan might be considered as buying dice, and where the DM might be considered as spending threat.

You're confusing dramatic story points with automatic peril.

The relationship is, as the Modiphius guy says, Reward Now For Peril Later.

The Peril is not automatic in Conan stories.

 

[Water Bob]

I'd most likely like the game, if it were not for that poor choice of game design.

If Reward Now For Peril Later aspect of the game could be removed, I'd probably be a big supporter.

The mechanic just does not fit Howard's Conan universe.

And, I find it quite strange that a mechanic like this is accepted (Yes, I know there was no choice--Modiphius' House System had to be used) by the writers of a game that claims to be the closest to Howard's vision than any other game before it.

 

[moldyderp]

You're confusing dramatic story points with automatic peril.

The relationship is, as the Modiphius guy says, Reward Now For Peril Later.

The Peril is not automatic in Conan stories.

No. I'm not. Conan buying dice is built into the narrative, just as the DM spending threat is built into the narrative. You don't see Howard making a note in the story to suggest Conan bought some dice, just as you don't see a note from him indicating he buffed his encounter as the result of having more threat.

You didn't see this in the live play video, either.

As I said earlier, nothing you have said bears any resemblance to the way an RPG is played. Your conclusions aren't supported - players don't act the way you say they do, nor do DMs. Your anecdotal examples aren't supported. The video you submitted as supporting your argument doesn't, and in fact plays as a script that - if I didn't know better - was intentionally written to systematically annihilate every argument you've put forth.

How about you make one final post summing up all the terrible things about this mechanic, and then agree to either discuss something else or bow out of the conversation entirely.

 

[N01H3r3]

So, you're saying that the Howard Conan stories reflected a style where Conan, when he was heroic (bought extra dice, paid Doom), always paid for it in some form later in the story.

You think that's a good model for a story set in the Hyborian Age.

You're obsessed with the idea of "paid for it... later", as if the GM's Doom pool is some inevitable horror that will befall characters, rather than an abstraction of the natural consequences of doing risky things in dangerous places. You're also fixating on "heroic", as opposed to "reckless" or "risky" as a term to describe buying dice with Doom (because you can use other methods to do the big damn hero stuff, which you seem intent to ignore).

If someone acts recklessly, they may suffer some consequences later. That's literally what "reckless" means - to act without regard for the consequences - so there's plenty of logic there. There's no guarantee that the GM will spend Doom on some grand deleterious effect, as opposed to something minor to keep up the pressure of the adventure.

The key to all of this is that there are numerous means by which a player character can strive and attempt difficult and dangerous tasks. The tools and resources available to them all come with some form of cost, whether that cost is action, a finite quantity, or potential consequences. It is up to the players to determine how and when they want to use those resources; a cunning and skillful group of player characters can make the most of these options and triumph against otherwise-impossible odds. You don't ever have to buy dice with Doom if you don't want to - there are other ways to get those extra dice - but it remains an option for when it happens to be necessary to get extra dice when those other options aren't available or viable, so that there's never a situation when you can't buy extra dice (though there might be situations where you don't want to buy extra dice).

And, well, using skill and cunning and all the tools at your disposal to triumph against impossible odds... that seems quite evocative of Conan's exploits. As to how well it fits, I'm going to trust the experts we've hired to oversee the project, rather than some random angry guy on the internet. We've had no complaints so far as to the fit between system and setting.

 

[Water Bob]

How about you make one final post summing up all the terrible things about this mechanic, and then agree to either discuss something else or bow out of the conversation entirely.

Still trying to silence criticism, I see.

As for the game, I do like several other aspects that I've seen so far. Mainly, the art. Tim Truman's line art is damn cool. I like the new cover--it's much better than the first one proposed. And, I hear that they're go use some of Esteban Maroto's stuff. I haven't seen it, but the game should look good--it should look appropriate for a game set in Howard's Hyborian Age.

 

[moldyderp]

Still trying to silence criticism, I see.

Yeah.... more like trying to reduce the amount of never-ending echo reverberating off your massive chalice of overflowing button doom...

 

[N01H3r3]

Still trying to silence criticism, I see.

You've already said plenty, in several threads on several forums. At this point, it's basically just a morass of circular arguments, and we've all got better things to do.