Conan RPG - What do I need?

[Maester Luwin]

Hey everyone! Not to get too off topic but does anyone know how the second edition will differ from the current? Also does anyone know when this will be coming out? Thanks Maester Luwin

 

[GlassJaw]

Hey everyone! Not to get too off topic but does anyone know how the second edition will differ from the current? Also does anyone know when this will be coming out? Thanks Maester Luwin

"summer"

Check the Mongoose Conan forums - lots of discussion (i.e. speculation) there. No one really knows yet. Supposedly it's not going to be a huge change - just some tweaks here and there.

Like I said earlier, I highly recommend Mongoose's Conan forums. You can find reviews of all the books and people tend to know their stuff, both rules-wise and Conan lore. A lot of the writers chime in as well, quite regularly in fact.

 

[GlassJaw]

The Conan RPG's one flaw is that it doesn't model the quick and dirty flow that characterized the Conan stories.

Hmm, well I think it certainly models the "dirty" quite well. It's a deadly system. I would agree that it's certainly not rules-light but I don't think it's any more or less cumbersome than standard 3.5.

Part of the trouble with doing Conan right is that no one can seem to agree on what the flavor of Conan should be. Some think it should be super-gritty, uber realist, while others think it should be more cinematic.

I think the rules are more on the gritty/realist side, which is generally easier to model through mechanics. There are certainly plenty of rules options for some more cinematic events though. Check out the optional Parrying Rules (pg. 150), especially Weapon Breakage. Nothing like having your weapon break in the middle of combat! The Combat Maneuvers (or manoeuvres if you are so inclined) section has a lot of cool actions as well.

 

[replicant2]

I hear you, and I love the Conan books in general, but what brought me into the character way, way back in the day was a long-running (now defunct) magazine called Savage Sword of Conan.

For whatever reason they are basically worth nothing now, if you go to aComic Shop you will likley be able to pick them up for about a buck apiece. they are great inspiration for a Conan game: bleak, bloody, amoral and fun

The art (usually by a dude named Ernie Chan) is uniformly great and inspiring.

I agree. I've got a pile of Savage Swords that I refuse to part with. They're great stories with great artwork that hold up even today.

Many of the early Savage Swords, particularly the first 20 or so issues, can cost a pretty penny. I'd recommend Conan Saga, which is a much cheaper reprint of Savage Sword. Same stories and same great black and white art, and you can get them really cheap.

 

[Jim Hague]

Hmm, well I think it certainly models the "dirty" quite well. It's a deadly system. I would agree that it's certainly not rules-light but I don't think it's any more or less cumbersome than standard 3.5.

Agreed - I like a lot of the rules - enhanced weapon damage, lower hit points, class-based Defense, separate Parry...but I think it's a tetch too crunchy, and some rules definitely need to be clarified. For my group, it runs too slowly, and they're really, really familiar with 'em. It's a preference thing more than anything else.

I think the rules are more on the gritty/realist side, which is generally easier to model through mechanics. There are certainly plenty of rules options for some more cinematic events though. Check out the optional Parrying Rules (pg. 150), especially Weapon Breakage. Nothing like having your weapon break in the middle of combat! The Combat Maneuvers (or manoeuvres if you are so inclined) section has a lot of cool actions as well.

Oh, jeez yeah. I like CMs enough that I want to port them to True20 and see how they fly...

 

[Emirikol]

What an awful post

[edit] I think suicide is a bad and irresponsible choice.



jh

 

[Emirikol]

...to not have to put up with you stereotyping them. Dude, you know broad and vaguely insulting generalizations are bad mojo around here. Please get rid of it, or I'll have to do it for you.

Take a chill pill guys. I posted that way to show that Hyboria is a fight-pickin', tough world, not some pansy-unicorn world Looks like some of you bit It's a simple our world is better than your world post. Relax.

[edit: sorry for offending anyone..just trying to keep the topic motivated]

jh/

 

[Plane Sailing]

Take a chill pill guys. I posted that way to show that Hyboria is a fight-pickin', tough world, not some pansy-unicorn world Looks like some of you bit It's a simple our world is better than your world post. Relax.

jh/

Emrikol, you have been here long enough to know that if you have anything to say about a moderators comments you can email them (or even report the post), but you don't talk back to them in the thread about it.

A simple 'sorry, I'll edit that' would have been the most appropriate response.

As a result, I'm afraid it is a three day ban for you.

 

[ruleslawyer]

I know I'll draw fire from the tolkien folks here, but I really, really consider REH to be a far superior fantasist to JRRT or Moorcock. Conan grabbed me story-wise in ways the works of those two never have.

You're right that you'll draw fire... But I'll just say it's a matter of apples and oranges and have done with. Pulp fantasy and literary fantasy are two very different subgenres, and REH and JRRT are very clearly entrenched in one of those respective subgenres. I do think that where REH attempted to "cross over" (Hour of the Dragon, for instance) his prose was at its weakest.

 

[GlassJaw]

But I'll just say it's a matter of apples and oranges and have done with. Pulp fantasy and literary fantasy are two very different subgenres, and REH and JRRT are very clearly entrenched in one of those respective subgenres.

Definitely agree. No one can question either author's skill at what they do. For me, however, I enjoy reading REH/Conan much more than Tolkien, especially if I'm looking to find some gaming inspiration.

REH reads much faster and the episodic nature of the stories lend themselves to the gaming table quite well.