D&D 5E Is Conan in 5e?

[AverageCitizen]

Thule has got me thinking about Conan. Now, I am not a Conan aficionado, but I have read a few of his adventures. It seems to me he is not well-represented by the Barbarian class and its sub-classes. For one, he doesn't really seem to be a berserker, in the sense of the historical battle-frenzy that got baked into the barbarian class, he is not a spirit-harnessing totem-warrior (from what I have read), and he certainly isn't a doubled-down super berserker. But, he certainly seems to have some kind of preternatural sense (a barbarian feature) and he seems to shrug off blows despite being unarmored. To me, it seems like he is somewhere between a 5e Barbarian and a 5e Fighter so players can't really recreate him very well, and I think that may be problematic for settings like Thule and Sword and Sorcery campaigns. What do you guys think?

 

[Remathilis]

Trying to replicate ANY fictional character in D&D faithfully is a fool's-errand. D&D rules don't even model their OWN fiction-based characters very well!

That said, a mix of Barbarian, Fighter, and Rogue might be a decent way to make a Conanesque character, depending on what version of Conan you're after (movie, comic, Howard-era novels, etc). In a pinch, a Totem-Barbarian who ignores the totem-based fluff could work as well (especially using bear and tiger totem powers).

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah. In any RPG, Conan would be rules-breaking, or multi-classed out the wazoo. If you haven't read any of Conan's tales, I'd suggest "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian." His tales are rip-roaring awesome, a mixture of Jack London and Poe, albeit with some awfully dated gender and racial roles.

 

[AverageCitizen]

D&D rules don't even model their OWN fiction-based characters very well!

Yeah I don't think that is a great thing, either, but this isn't like a "is Guenhwyvar an animal companion or a follower" level of incompatibility, this is like, we can't even make a stone cold badass who doesn't wear armor. It's not in the game. I know how to do my own thing and make it work, but it seems like a gap to me.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yeah I don't think that is a great thing, either, but this isn't like a "is Guenhwyvar an animal companion or a follower" level of incompatibility, this is like, we can't even make a stone cold badass who doesn't wear armor. It's not in the game. I know how to do my own thing and make it work, but it seems like a gap to me.

Um, both the barbarian and monk are stone cold badasses who don't wear armor. Just because neither emulates Conan perfectly, doesn't mean that stone cold badasses who don't wear armor aren't in the game. They are two of the core classes...

 

[pming]

Hiya!

And just to elaborate on what @Sacrosanct said...

A character in D&D is a character...not just a set of stats and abilities. I played a warrior-general type character. Massive strength, decent con, very intelligent and fairly wise. He was always thinking tactically, planning battles he could and utilizing the other PC's cababilities. He would wade into battle with his two-handed sword to help bolster his side and kick some ass! He had OK hp's, and his AC wasn't horrible, and he took a lot of damage during battle...but damn it all if he wasn't heroic and inspirational!

Oh, did I mention he was a wizard? The point is that if novels/stories had been written about him, he would have been a pretty serious badass. He used his arcane training and knowledge to help gain an advantage or execute some battle plan. He was a "battle wizard", I guess. Even up into the mid-teens, he was often toe-to-toe with giants, dragons and demons. It just goes to prove that just because D&D doesn't have some specific 'ability' or 'class' that perfectly represents (in game mechanical terms) some character concept, that that character concept isn't able to be played. I didn't have to "fudge" the rules to make his concept work...I just had to play him as his concept and let the dice fall where they may (and the story play out however it did).

Conan in 5e? Same thing. I'd probably stat him as a Fighter (Champion), with the Criminal background. Then just play him as...well, Conan. If we were using Feats, I'd give him something like Skilled so he can pick up some skills that fit his concept. Maybe that one that gives you more HP's as well.

Anyway, IME how a player actually plays the character makes FAR more of a difference in how the character is perceived than what stats/skills/feats/whatever is listed on his sheet.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Jester David]

Um, both the barbarian and monk are stone cold badasses who don't wear armor. Just because neither emulates Conan perfectly, doesn't mean that stone cold badasses who don't wear armor aren't in the game. They are two of the core classes...

But Conan spends half his adventures in armour, mostly some form of mail...

 

[dave2008]

and he seems to shrug off blows despite being unarmored.?

Just wanted to point out that Conan often wore armor in the books, it was just the vastly inferior movies when he did not. One of my favorite scenes from the books is when Conan is grappling an ape beast and the strength of the beast is felt through the tense description of the links of Conan's chainmail breaking as he tries to work his dagger into it heart.

 

[ClockworkNinja]

Conan in the books is stated to have been raised as a child thief before returning to the norther wastes, then wandering the world, mostly as a mercenary. Over the course of the MANY Conan stories, he has also been a pirate, a slave, and a king.

He uses nearly every form or arms or armor at various points, speaks "a number of languages that would astound a dusty academic", and also occasionally lets the "red haze of battle-lust cloud his eyes".

So for a Conan PC I would recommend a background of criminal, urchin, or pirate, starting as a Barbarian for between 2 and 7 levels before multiclassing into fighter. Shifting to fighter earlier would probably be better- he will need a lot of ASIs for both incredible stats and feats like tavern brawler, Skilled, ect...

 

[n00b f00]

Conan from most stories is best represented as a fighter with criminal background. He's not a berserker, he often wears armor.

Even in the first Conan movie (which is my favorite template for that seems like a fun SND campaign). He usually wears armor when appropriate. When he isn't it's because he isn't allowed to or is stealthing.

If you really want you can dip for the one level to fight with a loin cloth. Or you can play him full barb. While not a berserker proper he does lose his temper can get juiced sometimes. Either way he has rounded attributes, which isn't hard to do if you're not optimizing . He can punch out a camel not a dragon, but maybe he just stopped leveling at 10.