How to run Classic Sword and Sorcery Adventures

[nikolai]

Hi all;

I want to run a campaign in the style of the classic Sword & Sorcery short stories (Conan, Elric, Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser, etc.). Any ideas? Which source books should I think about getting my hands on for designing the world and the campaign? And any ideas for rule modifications to make D&D a little more in keeping with the source material?

Thanks!

 

[francisca]

Conan d20 is the way to go, in my opinion.

I tried doing what you want with 3E, and ended up with so much "X"ed out and modified that it wasn't worth it. The players were like, "Why bother calling it D&D?"

You might also have a look at the New Argonauts, and the House Rules forum here at ENW.

 

[VorpalBunny]

I agree. For d20, Conan is it. If you want to go non-d20, take a look at Sorcerer or The Riddle of Steel.

 

[scourger]

Mesopotamia

Check out Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia by Necromancer Games. I love it. It should be plug & play for the kind of D&D game you want.

 

[GlassJaw]

The Conan book is pretty sweet. It's a bit rules-heavy for my taste though but tons of great ideas. I'm actually planning a similar campaign but I'm using Grim Tales as the mechanical base but I also got the Conan book, if for nothing else than inspiration. The fluff is very good as well (and GT doesn't really have much fluff).

As far as the campaign itself goes, get the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. I just got The Coming of Conan - The Cimmerian for Xmas and it's quite amazing. It's really begun to chang the way I look at campaign and adventure design.

 

[DaveStebbins]

My belief, stated many times in the past, is that you can acheive a good old-fashioned sword and sorcery feel simply by eliminating evocations from core D&D. Wizards and Sorcerers become specialists for free (essentially taking evocation as their first banned school). Removing evocations in most other places has little effect. Some evocations (mostly divine ones like spiritual weapon or consecrate) become a new category of "sacred" spells. Other spells with good flavor (ones which are not instant damage spells), like fire shield or shatter, slip into other schools (conjuration and transmutation in this example).

Removing evocations has a profound effect on the feel of the game. Arcanists become conjurers, necromancers, enchanters, etc., as you find in the classic swords and sorcery literature. Since the change is basically an enforced specialization, it is already balanced within the core rules with only a little tweaking necesary.

The game becomes "High Adventure, No Fireballs!" which is the catchphrase for the campaign I am perpetually working on, but never really making any progress upon.

-Dave

 

[Yair]

That's a great idea DaveStebbins! *this idea is taken, and will not be returned*

 

[The Shaman]

That's a great idea DaveStebbins! *this idea is taken, and will not be returned*

That really is an intriguing idea...

There is much more of an emphasis in swords-'n'-sorcery on spells like conjuring, divination, even illusion - I never thought about it in these terms, though.

Sweet.

 

[philreed]

You may want to track down Sorcerer & Sword from Adept Press. It includes some very useful advice on running games set in the genre.

 

[Sado]

My belief, stated many times in the past, is that you can acheive a good old-fashioned sword and sorcery feel simply by eliminating evocations from core D&D. Wizards and Sorcerers become specialists for free (essentially taking evocation as their first banned school). Removing evocations in most other places has little effect. Some evocations (mostly divine ones like spiritual weapon or consecrate) become a new category of "sacred" spells. Other spells with good flavor (ones which are not instant damage spells), like fire shield or shatter, slip into other schools (conjuration and transmutation in this example).


-Dave

Dang it, why didn't you say something before? I'd love to try a game like that.