[Conan] Standing the test of time?

[Hjorimir]

It looks like it is based on the Atlantean Edition.

From Mongoose Publishing:

"The Conan Atlantean Edition in a handy sized pocket filler format. No longer do you have to risk your lavish hardback rulebook at the gaming table, as this pint-sized version contains 80% of the rules found within the Atlantean Edition of the Conan RPG - all the essential things you need to play the game!"

 

[jcfiala]

I didn't enjoy it.

I played in an online playtest game, and had a lot of trouble with the little funny differences between d20 and Conan - they kept tripping me up. At low levels it really wasn't very fun.

But other people seem to think it's great - so I suggest trying it out with the cheap $20 edition first!

Alternately, a lot of people are selling their 'clipped' first printings on ebay for cheap.

John

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Road of Kings, the Hyborian world book, is fantastic. Johnn Four reviewed it, and pointed out the "running a Hyborian campaign" section at the end is very good. I agree wholeheartedly with that; it's one of the best explanations of how to capture the mood and feel of a specific setting I've ever seen. The Scrolls of Skelos, the magic book, is pretty good also, well worth the money. I have the pocket edition of the rules, as I've been unable to lay hands on the Atlantean Edition of the game. Anyway, the unfortunate thing is that I'd love to play, but haven't had the chance. I can say, though, that the supplements I've seen have been very, very good.

 

[Bront]

I realy liked the first edition of Conan a lot, barring some of the typos, but I was irked about how they handled releasing the Atlantean edition (Jack up the price, and offered a $5-10 discount if you turned in your first edition book). So, I haven't had a chance to play it much since.

That said, it's a very usable and interesting system, and I think they did a better job with the favored class thing than how it's done in base 3E, enough to where I've been considering houseruling to use it myself. I also like how stats improve regularly, but that's more a replacement for the lack of magical enhancements than anything else.

 

[Bront]

It looks like it is based on the Atlantean Edition.

From Mongoose Publishing:

"The Conan Atlantean Edition in a handy sized pocket filler format. No longer do you have to risk your lavish hardback rulebook at the gaming table, as this pint-sized version contains 80% of the rules found within the Atlantean Edition of the Conan RPG - all the essential things you need to play the game!"

Anyone know what rules it's missing?

 

[MonsterMash]

Anyone know what rules it's missing?

It doesn't contain the Gazetteer (not a big problem if you buy road of kings), the Bestiary (monsters section), or the frequent flavour quotes from Howard and the majority of the art is taken out (all except diagrams in combat section)
see http://www.enworld.org/reviews.php?do=review&reviewid=2153474 for my review.

 

[The Human Target]

As a person who before playing the game didn't care about Conan one way or the other I have to say its decent to good overall. My main beef with the core book is the setting itself. They did nothing to fill in any of the many giant holes Howard left in his world, and it really hurts the quailty IMO. For someone going in cold, I had to ask people who have read lots of Conan about basically everything in the world. It gets really old. The classes are interesting enough. The Nomad is almost totally worthless though, its way too dependant on having a horse. Its sort of like the DnD paladin in terms of how much I see it played. All the classes have some abilities that aere way to situationally specific actually. The Scholar is interesting, but doesn't fit well into the setting itself. I like how the set up the skills, and the favored classes.

 

[argo]

I have much love for the Conan RPG, it has become my default ruleset for fantasy games. The ruleset is taylored to Howard's Hyborian age but with a little work can very easily be ported to any swords 'n sorcery setting. There are a few rules that seem a little funky at first but once you get a few sessions under your belt I find that the system is very well balanced and highly playable.

The magic system is very flexible while still staying very true to the source material. It is not "low magic" but rather is expensive, dangerous and generally detremential to the health of everyone in the immediate area. If there is one complaint I have with the magic system it is that it works better for NPC's than for PC's. That is, PC sorcorers have a nasty tendancy to flip-flop between "destroyer of worlds" and "newborn kitten" even over the course of a single session. Having a PC sorcorer requires a good player who works with the GM and a GM who isn't afraid to put in a little extra legwork. Of course this is also partly intentional: PC sorcorers should not be common in a swords 'n sorcery game.

The combat in Conan is spot on. Bloody, dirty and fast while still leaving plenty of room for heroics. Many combat abilities are simply given to the players as basic options (for example, you do not need to spend a feat to finesse a weapon or to spring attack) which keeps the fights dynamic and encourages players to try different stratigies. Combat is mechanically very well balanced with many specific counters for specific stratigies. This really is a game for any wargamers in your party.

Support for the game has been comming out at a nice clip as well, check Mongoose's website for the full lineup. One thing that has been glaringly absent is a bestiairy; trying to convert/create monsters for the Conan ruleset can be a real pain at times.

Lastly there are a few genuine innovations in the book that have simply wowed me. Namely the way they handle multiclassing and the favored class mechanic and the twist they give to skill points you gain from a high Int. Conan is full of little tweaks to the core d20 system, you defenetly have to read the book two or three times to catch on to all the nuances.

So yes, IMO Conan is an excellent buy if you are interested in running a warrior-heavy swords 'n sorcery action game. If nothing else the Pocket Edition (mentioned by others) is an absolute steal!

Hope that helps.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

My friend just got Conan the pocket edition. And i was wondering what books do you need for the monsters?

 

[argo]

My friend just got Conan the pocket edition. And i was wondering what books do you need for the monsters?

As I mentioned above, there isn't one right now. The core rulebook has a bestiary chapter which is good ... but short. There are a few monster entries here and there in some of the other supplements but a true monster book really is sorely needed.

Supposedly one is in development but right now there is no word on when to expect it.

Sorry :\

ps. If he wants to attempt converting monsters to Conan I suggest dropping by Mongoose's Conan forum. It is a topic that we never get tired of discussing.