New Conan RPG

[John R Davis]

There is a progression of the odds. It starts with a d10 but goes down to a d8 and then a d6, which increases the odds of happening. Considering the Effects of a Flex Roll, I feel the odds are ok. With a party of 4 to 5 players rolling for attacks 3-5 rounds per combat, it's bound to happen often enough.

Criticals in D&D are on a 20 which is only 5%.

Yeah, I read the QS. Still feels dull for mighty thews heroes, my dude only getting a cool thing every 3 combat potentially. I do like the Modiphius one so will stick with that and the many books we have

 

[Reynard]

When people say 'official conan RPG' what is that in reference to exactly (I was under the impression that the Howard stories were all in the public domain---is that not the case?)

Copyright and Trademarks are different things.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Not to mention the 70's FGU minis game, Royal Armies of the Hybroian Age.

Still available, like most things FGU published.

 

[The Soloist]

Ultimately, the Flex rules are easy to hack, if the group feel the odds are too low. Start with +9 on the d10 (20%), then +8 (30%) and finally 7+ (40%).

 

[dbm]

For Conan, or pretty much any Sword & Sorcery, Savage Worlds would be my first pick personally. It does it well with just the core rules, and the fantasy companion allows you to take that up a couple of notches to cover it in an excellent way to my tastes.

I already have three full adaptions for Conan so don’t need any more campaign info for conversion material.

 

[aramis erak]

Astonishing Swordsman & Sorcerers of Hyperborea could make the list. From the reviews it strikes the perfect balance between BX and AD&D1.

Source:

Review of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Second Edition - RPGnet RPG Game Index

That's the one niggling the back of my brain.

 

[Thomas Shey]

5 maybe? AD&D. GURPS (I think). D20. Modiphius. This one.

There might be more.

There was a TSR era one that wasn't AD&D (at least as I recall).

 

[The Soloist]

That's the one niggling the back of my brain.

I did a bit of research, there has been a cleaned-up and upgraded 3e since Dec 2021. The book was split into a Player's Manual and a Referees Manual. It's a sound decision. PDFs are cheap on Drivethru

The game is simply called Hyperboria now

There is a bundle deal:

HYPERBOREA 3E Bundle Deal!

HYPERBOREA 3E Bundle Deal! Save $15 when purchasing the new Player's Manual, Referee's Manual, and Atlas of Hyperborea together.

www.hyperborea.tv

 

[aramis erak]

When people say 'official conan RPG' what is that in reference to exactly (I was under the impression that the Howard stories were all in the public domain---is that not the case?)

The issues with Conan are not that cut and dried.
The last of REH's released-in-his-lifetime works are not in the public domain in the US. The copyrights were extended, so, being post Steamboat willy, it's life + 95 years. He died in 1936, so.. 1941... 2031. 7 more years for the last of them. (Note that Australia has a shorter copuyright term, so many things are on Gutenberg.net.au that are not yet on gutenberg.org. Including certain Howard and Borroughs works.)

But Howard actually isn't the most prolific of the Conan authors. Lin Carter, L. Sprague deCamp, Donald M. Grant, and others have written as much or more each, and those works are all still in copyright.

The estate, I don't know if it's a corporate entity, or just IP ownership, also owns the Trademarks.

Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers, for all it's derivation from Howard's work, and legit being able to do so under copyright, can't use "Conan" in the name, because it's a trademark owned by the estate's ownership.


In Howard's time, it was a proposed name for a lost continent in the then recently (1912) introduced theory of Continental Drift. That Howard may have been the inspiration for that cannot be ruled out, and Howard is partly why it was rejected.

There was a TSR era one that wasn't AD&D (at least as I recall).

That's the color table one I mentioned. Its adventures had a different code than the AD&D ones. Conan: The Roleplaying Game. It plays just fine. It's also the basis for the ZeFRS (Zeb's Fantasy Roleplay System) pseudoclone.

 

[Bedrockgames]

But Howard actually isn't the most prolific of the Conan authors. Lin Carter, L. Sprague deCamp, Donald M. Grant, and others have written as much or more each, and those works are all still in copyright.

I only like the Howard Conan stories. So if other Conan IP isn't in an RPG or something, that wouldn't bother me too much.