[Conan] Standing the test of time?

[redkobold]

Ok, I have been reading and collecting the new Conan comic by Dark Horse. With the exception of this title, I am not a comic book collector so that should tell you something. It is awesome and I highly recommend it to any gamer.

That said, it has me interested in the Conan d20 game. Now that some time has passed and it has been out for a while, what is the consensus? Has it just become part of your gaming books collection or do you play it regularly or even exclusively?

Let me know the pros and cons and if I should buy it. I really want to hear from some folks who have played it extensively.

I was thinking of purchasing Iron Heroes but I think I will wait until the next print run is done and errata are fixed and maybe magic is fixed.

I hate getting error filled books and that is why I was not in a rush to get Conan but I assume most of that stuff has been fixed by now.

Specifically, I want to know about combat and magic. I am sure that lots of this has been addressed in other threads. Give me some links if you know of some.


Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[GlassJaw]

Conan: Atlantean Edition is my second favorite d20 book. The first is Grim Tales. Conan is that good. I got a chance to play in a Conan game at GenCon and it was a lot of fun. The classes are really fun - lots of skills and options even though there isn't any magic. It does a very good job of capturing the feel of the Howard stories as well. Go for it - you won't regret it.

 

[Azgulor]

Simarly to Glassjaw, Conan and Grim Tales are the tops in my d20/OGL collection. Conan is my favorite RPG book, Grim Tales comes in second.

While I can't say I've played it extensively, perhaps the following background will be of value to you.

I became unsatisfied with D&D back with AD&D 2e. Although I picked up D&D 3e and thought it a huge improvement, it didn't go far enough to correct the things I disliked about AD&D.

The past several years, my systems of choice were Rolemaster and later GURPS. Both were liked by myself and my players (I'm typically the GM) because of the grittiness and omnipresent danger they presented which was sorely lacking in D&D, especially at high levels.

I bought the Conan RPG to see how it was, expecting nothing more than perhaps an interesting read. It was my first OGL purchase and I wanted to see how d20 could be tweaked to support swords-&-sorcery. I was very impressed, even with the typos of the first edition. Here was a game that screamed "run this" as I read it. Combat was gritty yet heroic. You could effectively simulate the differences between an agile finesse fighter and a savage brawler. The fire-n-forget spell system and it's plot-wrecking spells were gone, replaced by magic which was mysterious, powerful, and all too likely to be corrupting. High level characters had reason to fear multiple lower-level assailants and could be felled by a single blow. Weapon damage increased and armor provided DR. It also contained a comprehensive gazetteer of the Hyborian lands - I now understood the difference between a Nemedian and a Zingaran. All in a single rulebook. After reading the thing and seeing all it contained, I would have gladly paid the $50 list price and considered it a bargain (I bought in online for less).

I eventually purchased the Atlantean Edition and began collecting the sourcebooks. I told myself, "we'll see if this holds or was a flash in the pan". The supplements were among the best RPG supplements I had ever purchased, let alone being ones that supported a d20 system. The line is solid and shows no sign of letting up soon.

Two months ago, I converted my campaign from GURPS to the Conan RPG rules and haven't looked back.

Azgulor

 

[Khorod]

Let me add in a vote for Conan. I haven't had a chance to really look at Iron Heroes, but if its Errata you're waiting for, than might take a while.

I played in a short Conan game, and it was a blast. For a variety of reasons, I played about five characters across 8 sessions. (No, I wasn't dying a lot. I was the 'local guy' in each game as the rest of the guys traveled).

Combat was deadly. A guy in heavy armor was nearly unkillable. Steely Gaze let you get some guy to wet themselves before you stick your sword in him so hard you can't pull it out in time to protect yourself from attack the next round.

A member of the party was a Scholar. By the end of the campaign he'd been slowly slipping to Evil. He had a couple slaves, and the power to warp minds and souls to his bidding. Scholars are scary. The more they kill your friends, the easier time they will have of killing you.

Anyhow, I recommend it. its on my list of something I should probably get... I'm just not the guy to run S&S around here.

 

[MonsterMash]

I've had it a while now and like it a lot. See my reviews of the rules (original "typo" edition) and pocket rulebook for more details. I've played a couple of times, but need to have a chance to play more.

If you want to run it and don't like typos then make sure you get the Atlantean edition (shouldn't be a problem with FLGS or Amazon, but may not be so clear if you look on ebay).

The supplements are generally good though I'm less impressed by the city boxes than the others, my favourite is probably the Road of Kings.

 

[Odhanan]

I've got Conan RPG and it just became part of my extensive collection. I prefer Iron Heroes obviously, and do not know Grim Tales as of yet.

As for your question, my edition of the Conan game doesn't compare to new releases these days, I think, but I own the original edition, not the Atlantean one. I don't think in either case that you would be disappointed though. It is a good game.

 

[Karl Green]

You can grab the Pocket Edition for $20 and it has everything BUT the gazer and the monsters. It will give you a good idea about the rules though before you plop down more money for the full-colored book. I personally love the system and it is also my second favorite, after, strangely Grim Tales. I have not looked at Iron Heroes yet but from the previews I am not overly interested.

I have run a short game (12 or so sessions) and played in a longer one (20 or so session) where I played a Scholar/Sorcerer and it was HEEPS of fun. NOTE that the Sorcerers have some cool powers they are NOT that powerful, you really have to be careful and ‘hide’ behind allies if you want to survive. My guy used a lot of TK abilities and some Hypnotism powers and for some funny reason, I was the one who would generally take out the main bad guy each and every game With Greater Telekinesis, I used ‘Hidden Death’ a lot to throw items around and smack people, catching them flat-footed etc. I also would use the Mesmerize (basic Hypnosis spell) to ‘freeze’ guards etc so that the rest of the party would come along and chop them down while they just stood there. In the end I was gaining a lot of Corruption and turning a bit ‘evil’ because we ran into a few daemons etc and I would enter into a kind of mental combat with them, because it caused them to ‘freeze’ and again the other players could go whack them good… but it ALWAYS cause me Corruption points (you are basically ‘looking into the face of evil’ and it changes you for the worst).

Overall the game is a LOT of fun. Barbarians and Thieves are way cool, and I love the Nomads and Pirates also. Lots of nifty little abilities here and there. There are to many feats IMO but they are sooooo cool, I just wish you could get more I never got to play him, but my Border with Armored Stealth and super Listen and Spot (he was 5th level and I think both those bonuses were close to +20 each) would have been a lot of fun… someday

 

[freebfrost]

I'm running a Conan game as one of my current campaigns, and it has been a blast!

The combat changes have been enthusiastically embraced by my group, with the DR-reducing armor, low massive damage threshold, and finessable weapons very welcome changes in particular.

Magic certainly has the potential for much greater impact, but cannot be counted on, and exacts a toll in Conan. It makes magic as creepy and mysterious as it is in the REH books.

My experience has been such that I am considering taking whole swaths of the rules and using them for my upcoming Forgotten Realms campaign.

Also, I have heard nothing but good things from my entire group since we started. I can't recommend it enough.

 

[Akrasia]

Conan is pretty much the only 'similar-to-3e' game that I would run in the future. The mechanics are a bit too crunchy for my tastes, but the game does such a good job in emulating its source material I'd be willing to deal with it. I'm especially impressed with the magic system.

 

[DanMcS]

You can grab the Pocket Edition for $20 and it has everything BUT the gazer and the monsters. It will give you a good idea about the rules though before you plop down more money for the full-colored book. I personally love the system and it is also my second favorite, after, strangely Grim Tales. I have not looked at Iron Heroes yet but from the previews I am not overly interested.

Is the pocket edition the same as the corrected one ("Atlantean" is the un-screwed-up reprint, right?), or is it based on the screwed up version?