MongooseMatt
First Post
Hi guys,
A brand new sourcebook for Conan is due to arrive on your shores this week – the Pirate Isles, a 128 page sourcebook covering one of the wildest areas of the Hyborean Kingdoms.
Written by Shannon Kalvar (assisted admirably by Conan-supremo Vincent Darlage), the Pirate Isles kicks off with a look at the Pirates of Hyboria. This starts with a look at the various cultures that support piracy and the brotherhoods that have arisen from them – the Barachan Pirates (the Red Brotherhood), the Black Corsairs and the Fellowship of Freebooters. Shannon covers the kind of life a new pirate can expect, as well the fundamental differences between the brotherhoods. More information covers the effects of mutinies, the kind of prey pirates go for and the dreaded omens to be found on the waves.
Scurvy Dogs introduces the roles of each pirate on board a ship, leading into Foreign Shores, a chapter which complements the recently released Road of Kings rather well. When players decide on a land target for their plunder, the Games Master will have every tool he needs to keep the game flowing, from the size of settlements, to their defences and monetary worth. Full rules are also supplied for trading and fencing these ill-gotten gains. Once the pirates leave for the open sea, however, they will need guidelines on unknown islands, the Ancients, travel by sea and the kind of perils (natural and otherwise) that plague ships making hazardous voyages.
Pirate Feats is a short chapter that will allow you to fine tune your characters to a life on the waves but perhaps the best looking chapter is Ships of the Sea which not only provides a ship construction system and rules for maintenance but also some classic examples of Hyboerean ships themselves, together with full colour illustrations and deck plans. From the Argossean Galleon to Zingaran Carracks, there are some truly beautiful ships here – including Belit’s own Tigress. . .
Seas of Steel will allow you to run Conan-style combat on the seas, from boarding actions to ships attempting to sink one another at range, while Wave Riders looks at some of the famous personalities to have sailed in the Conan stories. Each is superbly illustrated and include Amra the Lion (you know who. . .), Belit, Olivia, Strom, Valenso and many more. We have also included some ‘general’ characters, such as a Merchant Captain, Militia, Black Corsairs and other peoples players are likely to meet.
Beasts of the Seas starts tame enough, introducing the likes of Dolphins and Octopi into your Conan scenarios. However, your players will soon be crying for help as they venture further out to sea and meet the Aquatic Dragon, Great Shark, Demons of the Dark Waters, and many others.
All this piracy will seem attractive to sword-wielders no doubt, but scholars have not been forgotten either and there are some who specialise in the use of sea power. More spells have been included for existing styles of sorcery (such as Wrath of the Deep and Choke Harbour), while some new brands of sorcery also make their debut – Sea Witchery and Weather Witching.
If ideas for new games and scenarios are not already beginning to fire in your imagination, you will be left fully armed by The Call of the Sea, which demonstrates just how to integrate pirates into your campaign and how to set up convincing nautical adventures.
Pirates have their own code of honour and the Laws of the Lawless chapter inspects these in great detail, for each of the pirate brotherhoods. The book winds up with Pirate Coves, which covers those captains wanting to find a safe place to rest his crew and repair his ship from time to time.
So, Conan enjoyed a life on the seas, if only for a brief while – should your players not follow in his footsteps too?
Pirate Isles is a full colour 128 page book priced at $24.95. It is available in all good book shops and games stores this week.
A brand new sourcebook for Conan is due to arrive on your shores this week – the Pirate Isles, a 128 page sourcebook covering one of the wildest areas of the Hyborean Kingdoms.
Written by Shannon Kalvar (assisted admirably by Conan-supremo Vincent Darlage), the Pirate Isles kicks off with a look at the Pirates of Hyboria. This starts with a look at the various cultures that support piracy and the brotherhoods that have arisen from them – the Barachan Pirates (the Red Brotherhood), the Black Corsairs and the Fellowship of Freebooters. Shannon covers the kind of life a new pirate can expect, as well the fundamental differences between the brotherhoods. More information covers the effects of mutinies, the kind of prey pirates go for and the dreaded omens to be found on the waves.
Scurvy Dogs introduces the roles of each pirate on board a ship, leading into Foreign Shores, a chapter which complements the recently released Road of Kings rather well. When players decide on a land target for their plunder, the Games Master will have every tool he needs to keep the game flowing, from the size of settlements, to their defences and monetary worth. Full rules are also supplied for trading and fencing these ill-gotten gains. Once the pirates leave for the open sea, however, they will need guidelines on unknown islands, the Ancients, travel by sea and the kind of perils (natural and otherwise) that plague ships making hazardous voyages.
Pirate Feats is a short chapter that will allow you to fine tune your characters to a life on the waves but perhaps the best looking chapter is Ships of the Sea which not only provides a ship construction system and rules for maintenance but also some classic examples of Hyboerean ships themselves, together with full colour illustrations and deck plans. From the Argossean Galleon to Zingaran Carracks, there are some truly beautiful ships here – including Belit’s own Tigress. . .
Seas of Steel will allow you to run Conan-style combat on the seas, from boarding actions to ships attempting to sink one another at range, while Wave Riders looks at some of the famous personalities to have sailed in the Conan stories. Each is superbly illustrated and include Amra the Lion (you know who. . .), Belit, Olivia, Strom, Valenso and many more. We have also included some ‘general’ characters, such as a Merchant Captain, Militia, Black Corsairs and other peoples players are likely to meet.
Beasts of the Seas starts tame enough, introducing the likes of Dolphins and Octopi into your Conan scenarios. However, your players will soon be crying for help as they venture further out to sea and meet the Aquatic Dragon, Great Shark, Demons of the Dark Waters, and many others.
All this piracy will seem attractive to sword-wielders no doubt, but scholars have not been forgotten either and there are some who specialise in the use of sea power. More spells have been included for existing styles of sorcery (such as Wrath of the Deep and Choke Harbour), while some new brands of sorcery also make their debut – Sea Witchery and Weather Witching.
If ideas for new games and scenarios are not already beginning to fire in your imagination, you will be left fully armed by The Call of the Sea, which demonstrates just how to integrate pirates into your campaign and how to set up convincing nautical adventures.
Pirates have their own code of honour and the Laws of the Lawless chapter inspects these in great detail, for each of the pirate brotherhoods. The book winds up with Pirate Coves, which covers those captains wanting to find a safe place to rest his crew and repair his ship from time to time.
So, Conan enjoyed a life on the seas, if only for a brief while – should your players not follow in his footsteps too?
Pirate Isles is a full colour 128 page book priced at $24.95. It is available in all good book shops and games stores this week.
