D&D General GM's Closet for the CONAN RPG

[Water Bob]

ALTERNATIVE IDEA FOR FATE POINTS



I'm not 100% accepting of the official rules for PCs regaining Fate Points. In first edition, the rule is that the players are awarded one or two FPs at the completion of a major goal, usually at the end of an adventure. In second edition, players can use that method or they can use Foreshadowing where they write up some general instance in the game, and if what is written up comes true, FPs are awarded.

For example, Conan, at the start of The Tower of the Elephant, foreshadows, "that he will be mocked for being a barbarian." No kidding. That's straight out of the 2nd Edition Core rulebook. It's supposed to be a way that the player communicates to the GM the types of things the player would like to see in the game. This would tell the GM that the player likes the idea of his fish out of water barbarian and would like to play up that aspect of the game.

This just seems silly to me. And, I would think it boring for the players when they recognize their foreshadowing coming true in the game. "Hey, I foreshadowed that my character would meet an ally, and now we've met a new NPC. Let's asking him to join the group so that I can get my Fate Points!"

I don't like that at all.

So, I've been sticking to the first edition method.



BUYING FATE

I had a thought today about this, but it's not something I'm advocating. It's something that I'm exploring--thinking about. Fate Point awards should be rare. I think once per adventure is about right. What if the character were allowed to pay for FPs using XP?

If you want to buy an FP, then you spend a number of XP equal to the amount it takes you to gain a level. If you are a 1st level Barbarian, then it will cost 1,000 XP to gain a new Fate Point. If you are a 5th level character, then FPs cost 5,000 XP.

The game is meant to be played at the lower levels, and this House Rule would certainly encourage that to happen in the game. PCs would spend twice the amount of time in a level if they want to level and get a new FP at the same time.

Of course, this may be too stern. If it is, then we can lower the cost. Half a level?

Just thinking out loud, here.

 

[Water Bob]

READING L. SPRAGUE DE CAMP'S AND LIN CARTER'S NOVELIZATION OF....

CONAN THE BARBARIAN

THIEF.

WARRIOR.

BARBARIAN.

KING.



Now...how about we read the novelization of the original Conan movie!

It looks to be a small book. It clocks in at 181 pages. L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter wrote the novelization based on the screenplay by John Milius and Oliver Stone.

The prologue is similar to, but not exactly like, the famous passage from Howard's story, The Phoenix on the Sword. Then, as Chapter One begins, there is another like passage written by Kallias of Shamar. Shamar is a city in Aquilonia, and Kallias identifies himself as King Conan's chronicler. He says that what is inscribed in this book came straight from the lips of Conan himself in the later days of the king's reign.

Conan is 9 years old at the start of the tale. He and his father are high up in the Eiglophian mountains. It is bitter cold. A storm rages about. It is dark--night time.

I love the writing...

Flinging back his cloak to float like a flag against the nighted sky, the man drew from its scabbard an enormous two-handed sword, the weapon of a god.

Gives me goosebumps!

Note that the sword seems to be described as much larger than the (awesome looking) sword Conan has in the movie.

Another interesting thing is that the description goes on to show Conan's father chanting a rune spell, which strikes me as odd, since Cimmerians are so suspicious of magic. At the same time, the passage is so damn cool to read, I don't care.

Father's Sword, from the 1982 film.

 

[Water Bob]

CTB Novelization - 2



-- Wind and Fire are the children of the sky gods. Father Crom rules the earth, the heavens, and the sea.

-- Giants once dwelt in the earth. They were fashioners of wood and stone; miners of gems and gold. They fooled Crom and stole the secret of steel from him. Notice how this is all different from the movie. Crom was angered, and he smote them. The earth opened and swallowed them. These earth giants may still be alive within the deep dark bowels of the earth.

-- The first men, the Atlanteans, found the Secret, which was left on the battlefield. Atlanteans are said to be the ancestors of the Cimmerians.

-- The scene with Conan and his father, where his father tells him of steel, is longer than in the film--and done...better!

-- Conan's father is a smith (as we knew he was). His name is Nial. He had come to this clan from the Southlands.

-- The forging of steel does not seem to be widely known, at least among the Cimmerians. The secret of steel is believed lost in this dark age after the time of the Atlanteans.

 

[Water Bob]

CTB Novelization - 3


-- The Sword: the crossguard is fashioned to resemble a stag's antlers; the two-handed grip is wrapped with string made from the gut of forest tigers; the steel pommel is fashioned into the likeness of the hooves of elk.

-- The scene on the mountain ties into the creation of the sword. The chanting and mystic rite serves to render the sword invincible.

-- The attack comes at dawn. It is graphic and bloody, in the book. Even children are described in the massacre. One little girl has her throat pulled out by a war dog that chased her down. Conan wasn't fishing, as shown in the film.

-- Nial is a hell of a fighter. He takes out several of the attackers.

-- Young Conan fights with a knife, hamstringing an enemy. He fights along side his father.

-- The invaders wear bronze and iron breastplates, and leather armor. Their weapons were iron. Which is interesting. This means that steel came into more wide-spread use during Conan's lifetime.

-- Conan's mother fights with a broadsword, and she is a vixen. Her name is Maeve.

-- The enemy is a Vanir raiding party and not a mixed force (including Picts) as shown in the film.

-- Unlike in the film, the Cimmerians actually beat back the Vanir. There is a lull in the fighting. Little Conan utters a prayer to Crom, but his mother tells him that Crom does not hear his prayers.

Crom is a god of frosts and stars and storms, not of humankind.

-- The Vanir withdraw outside the village, and the archers start to pellet the Cimmerians with blankets of brass tipped arrows. The Cimmerians had created a shield-wall, and it crumbled with men dying and shafts sticking from their vitals. Then, the Vanir loosed the hounds! It's a hell of a fight! As the Cimmerians dealt with the war dogs, the Vanir archers were ordered to let fly another flight.

-- I thought the Vanir would shun the bow, as do the Cimmerians, seeing the weapon as that used by women and children, or only for hunting.

-- Nial goes down when his leg is hit by an arrow. He becomes a pin-cushion. His hand is stapled to the ground by one of the arrows. Then, the dogs get to him to finish him off. What a way to go!

 

[Water Bob]

CTB Novelization - 4


-- Rexor directs the battle from a hill across the river from the village. No mention is made yet of Thulsa Doom. Is Rexor a Vanir?

-- This strikes me as strange, too: when it was obvious that they had lost (the must have failed a Morale check based on number of casualties), the Cimmerians surrendered. All but Maeve and Conan threw their weapons at their attackers' feet.

-- Maeve is out of breath from the fighting, not standing motionless as in the film. She leans on her broadsword. Her son, Conan, stands ready, knife in hand, a cub that bites. Maeve is half naked, as this attack happened before she and the rest of the village had risen for the day. One of her breasts is exposed having fallen from its covering as she fought. She did not find modesty now.

-- The Vanir raiders kneel as the commander rides towards the last two Cimmerians to brandish weapons, Conan and his mother. The Vanir chant his name.

-- Thulsa Doom appears!

 

[Water Bob]

CTB Novelization - 5


-- Thulsa Doom's helmet is jeweled. He wears serpentine mail.

-- The Cimmerian captives are taken north, into Vanaheim.

-- Rexor and Doom leave the Vanir sometime during this journey. Captives speculate that the Vanir paid the two for their services in the raid.

-- It is Spring before the Vanir reach their destination, the walled Vanir town of Thrudvang.

-- The Wheel is a grinder. It grinds grain--mainly corn--to make flour and bread. The slaves that perish are fed to the dogs.

-- Years pass with Conan on the Wheel, day in and day out.

-- Conan has a head for languages. He becomes fluent in Vannish, listening to his captors, and he picks up some Aquilonian and Nemedian from fellow captives. But, Conan remains un-lettered. He cannot write. This is applicable to the RPG, given the languages a character can speak.

-- This is neat: Sometimes the text is broken by an italicized section where King Conan speaks to his chronicler about the events being told.

-- A famine came to Thrudvang. Plague killed all the slaves died except for Conan. To the astonishment of the Vanir, the one Cimmerian could turn the Wheel, and he did so for several days until new slaves were brought to the town. Word spread wide of this deed by those who traveled to Thrudvang to have their grain milled.

-- The coins used to purchase Conan were gold, coins of a square shape. The man who purchased the barbarian seems to be Hyrkanian. He does have red, ragged hair, and a beard, but also slanted eyes and wears armor of lacquered leather. His name is Toghrul (which is a Hyrkanian name).

 

[Water Bob]

NEW FEAT: IMPROVED DEMORALIZE OTHER (GENERAL)



You are skilled at landing fear into the souls of your enemies. Demoralize Other is a use of the Intimidate skill.

Benefit: Demoralize Others is a standard action that can be combined with a (standard action) attack during combat. In addition, the demoralizing (shaken) effect can possibly remain in effect for a number of rounds. The demoralized character is allowed a check each round as a free action to shrug off the effect. The target rolls his modified level check against the original Intimidate throw at the start of his combat round. The shaken/demoralized effect continues if this roll is failed.

Normal: Demoralize Other is used as described under the Intimidate skill.

 

[Water Bob]

SCROLLS


When converting a standard D&D adventure, or an adventure from most other fantasy games, for use in a Conan game, the GM will most likely dispense with most of the "drops" that are common in such things. Things like +1 daggers, rings of invisibility, cloaks of protection, and what not are either dropped from the adventure completely or converted to their mundane counterparts.

One idea that a GM can use for magical scrolls is to change them to herbal recipes. There are lots of concoctions to be found in the various Conan RPG supplements that show items that can be created with the Craft (Herbalism) or Craft (Alchemy) skills. Plus, there are other, non-Conan supplements that feature lots of usable herbalism ideas.

So, when converting a D&D adventure for use with a Conan game, a GM comes across a scroll of magic missile, he might want to consider either dropping the item all together, or making it a mundane item (like blank parchment--which is rare and can be sold...or making the scroll a note that is a clue or "pull" to another adventure), or substituting the magic missile scroll for something like a recipe for the herbal drug, Grey Desert Lotus*.

Grey Desert Lotus

This is an herbal drug, which is treated in the rules like a type of poison that has beneficial effects but requires saving throws against harmful side effects. At the GM's option, repeated use of a herbal drug could cause addiction.

Grey Desert Lotus leaves are powdered and mixed with water. The drying and powdering process is what is covered by the Craft (Herbalism) throw. Anyone can mix the powdered result with water--Herbalism skill is not needed.

Drinking this mixture will boost Strength by +2 for 1d3 hours. A DC 15 Fortitude save must be made to avoid a penalty -1 Wisdom. One hour later, another save must be made and if this save is failed, the person becomes nervous and skittish (treat as shaken).

The shaken effect will wear off with the STR bonus. Any Wisdom damage will heal naturally after the concoction dissipates in the body with the STR bonus effect.

Craft (Herbalism)
DC 20
Average Market Price: 20 sp.

*Grey Desert Lotus is something I found in the adventure anthology called The Spider-God's Bride and Other Tales of Swords and Sorcery, published by Xoth.net Publishing.



Isn't that a much more interesting item to put into your game rather than a plain old Magic Missile spell? If the players are interested, herbalism could become a major focus in your campaign.

Note, though, that herbalistic items are rarely found for sale in many parts of the Known World. Civilized and uncivilized communities, alike, view herbalism as a finger of sorcery! Thus, one who dabbles in the effects of plants may find himself outcast or even hunted by society at large. Jealous priests look upon such things as either Holy--something reserved for the most Holy of their religion--or as Evil--something that needs to be smited from the face of the Earth!

 

[Water Bob]

 

[Water Bob]