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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MonsterMash" data-source="post: 2011917" data-attributes="member: 12974">Conan the Roleplaying Game Mongoose Publishing MGP7701 Paul Tucker and Ian Sturrock $49.95 Hardback 352pp Playtest Review. This review is based on the original release of the rules not the Atlantean edition.Conan and the Hyborian Age Just in case there is anyone who hasn't heard of Conan or the Hyborian Age. It all started back in the 1930s with a writer from Texas called Robert E Howard, who created the character of Conan and published stories about him in Weird Tales magazine. He did become a popular character and was still published after Howard's untimely death, with other authors completing some story outlines and writing new original stories few of which in my opinion have ever captured the verve of Howard's writing. As well as books and magazines, Marvel comics published a comic book adaptation, notable for Barry Smith's art. And of course there were the movies with the governator himself. Design and Production Art and DesignThis is a good point of the book. Chris Quilliams cover and interior art is really good and for me captures the look of Conan. The other art is also good and in a consistent style, probably the weakest piece for me is the page borders which are acceptable, but fairly weak.  The design does not waste space on pages which are probably about 85-90% text on average. Physical ProductionThis is a sewn hardbound book which looks like it will last well even with heavy use. My copy is second hand and apart from a few marks on the cover looks like it'll last for a good few years yet. The proof reading was lousy on this edition, but errata have been provided on Mongoose's web site and it is possible to ignore it and use the rules.Content This is a complete rule set for playing in the Hyborian Age so no further books are required; though I'm sure Mongoose would like you to buy the companion volumes which are now appearing. No other D20 or OGL books are required for playing the game.There is an introductory section about the Hyborian age and then it goes into the rules with the Robert E Howard essay The Hyborian Age and a brief gazetteer being included in the content. A separate chapter is included on running campaigns in the Hyborian Age, noting the differences between this and conventional D&D style fantasy campaigns. RulesNow the most important part, how well do the rules adapt the D20 system to get the flavour of Hyborian Age role-playing?There are no non human player characters, which is appropriate for the setting. Classes available are largely combat oriented; there is no straight equivalent of the Cleric or the arcane spell casters, just the Scholar class. There are a large number of subraces available for humans based on the nationality and background. In total there are 14 major races and 13 variants on these so there is no lack of variety, but generally a GM will specify which are appropriate for the adventure setting, e.g. a campaign on the Pictish border of Aquilonia is unlikely to have Stygian priest characters. Racial definitions may include characteristic adjustments, favoured and prohibited classes, background skills, bonus feats and languages. Ability increases come for single abilities at level 4 and every 4 levels after that, with an increase to all abilities at level 6 and every 4 levels after that. This will make high level characters very unlikely to have any negative ability modifiers. ClassesThe classes reflect the Hyborian world with few spell casters, but lots of varied combat types. The full list is:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Barbarian</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Borderer</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Noble</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Nomad</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Pirate</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Scholar</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Soldier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Thief</li> </ul>The only class with magic abilities is the Scholar. There are no penalties for cross-classing, but by gaining levels in favoured classes characters receive bonus feats at 1, 5 and 10 levels. Hit points are generated by die rolls + modifiers up to level 10 and after that a fixed amount, depending on class, is received. This means that higher level characters hit points will be lower than in other OGL games. The range of dice is only between D6 and D10 so the range of hit points between classes is lower than in D&D. At first level all characters gain the maximum possible hit points and given the low amounts of healing available this is necessary. Skills and FeatsThe skills and feats are one part of the system which is closest to the standard OGL rules with there just being an adjusted list of these and many feats having names changed to give more flavour. Equipment and MoneyCompared to D&D money is scarce - characters usually only have small amounts of case and the 'High Living' rule can be used to help dispose of any extra wealth over 50sp. The only coin types are gold and silver. Magical equipment is not easy to obtain and is not normally purchased, but would be received as part of the rewards from a successful adventure. Most characters will tend to receive a starting kit of equipment and arms based on the sets in the rulebooks or the GM's preference, but there are price lists and starting money tables if the purchase system is preferred. Fate PointsCharacters receive fate points at first level and can at later times at the GM's discretion.  These can be used for a number of purposes, probably most often to preserve a characters life as being 'left for dead', but they can also be used for a 'mighty blow' to deliver maximum damage on an attack, 'repentance' to remove corruption and 'destiny' to make minor changes to the game world. Codes of Honour and ReputationsThere is no alignment in the Conan game which reflects Howard's world, but characters can have a Code of Honour and Allegiances which affect their interaction with others. Reputations are earned based on the characters behaviour and level, this being used to help determine interaction with NPC, reputation points will gradually decrease for inactive characters.CombatThis is still basically D20 combat, but changed from standard D&D by there being different combat styles and rules for the effect of armour.In combat the main differences are the use of a Defence Value rather than an Armour Class for the to hit roll, there are two types of DV, dodge based and parry based. Armour also has damage reducing qualities, with weapons having an armour piercing factor to overcome this.  Finesse fighters can bypass Damage Reduction by getting an attack roll equal to or higher than the DV +DR for the target, which can make some weapons more attractive than in the basic D&D style rules. The rules are clarified and have some minor corrections in the Atlantean edition and Pocket rules. MagicThe magic system in Conan is substantially different from the standard D&D system to reflect how sorcery is used in Howard's stories. The limit on use is based on power points rather than spells per day. Power points are only received by the Scholar class or characters with the Dabbler feat. The number of points received is 4 + wisdom bonus for the Scholar and 2 + wisdom bonus if the Dabbler feat has been selected. Each spell has a cost in power points, with the limit on the amount of spells determined by a mixture of power points and spells known. Additional power points can be gained through sacrifices, energy drains, or rituals. Power points used up to the characters usual base PP can be regained by rest; each Sorcerer has a maximum number of power points.  There are special rules for magic, these are: the rule of success, rule of impermanence, rule of defence, rule of obsession, rule of the master and rule of the sorcerer’s soul. These can alter how effective magic is with the rule of success making spell casters potentially very powerful indeed. Magic use in Conan has the risk of corruption from associating with demons, with this being treated as a cumulative risk. There are other consequences of magic, these being runaway magic and insanity. There are nine styles of sorcery: Counterspells; Curses; Divination; Hypnotism; Natural Magic; Necromancy; Oriental Magic; Prestidigitation and Summoning.BestiaryA fairly restricted range of fantastic beasts are encountered in the Howard Conan stories, the main ones being Ape-men, giant snakes, and magical humanoids. This is reflected in the fairly short section of creatures, with a large proportion being wild animals rather than monsters per se. Web supportDownloads on the Mongoose Publishing site, and forums there have rules discussion.Positives<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> A Good attempt to get a game with the feel of Hyborian rolelaying using the D20 mechanism</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Relevant quotes from Robert Howard incorporated into the layout</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Attempts to show the differences between hyborian and D&D campaigns and how to run campaigns in this world</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Web and print support - Mongoose site and Signs and Portents magazine</li> </ul>Negatives<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> I'd have liked more examples with the rules as this is a stand alone book so doesn't have the option of saying look at the PHB for explanation</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> No diagrams in the combat explantions</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Editing on this edition was poor making some rules tricky to interpret</li> </ul>OverallThe adjustments to the rules tend to help give a 'grim and gritty' feel to the game which is appropriate. I give this four stars as an eight and a half out of 10. I do think it captures the flavour of the Hyborian age as well is possible using a D20 based system. Counts against this initial edition were the poor proof reading leading to a large number of typos and some unclear rules, but this has been dealt with in the Atlantean edition and the supporting products.</blockquote>

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