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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alcareru" data-source="post: 1297088" data-attributes="member: 14718">Heres some info I found in my fevered Conan search for tidbits bout the rpg from Oct 03, taken from the official Conan site forums:The following are answers to the questions submitted by members of this forum to Paul Tucker of Mongoose Publishing. They provide information on the upcoming Conan RPG. BTW, I made an error, Mr Tucker is both line developer and editor for the game, not just the editor. We greatly appreciate the time and effort that Mr. Tucker took in answering these questions.System1, Will the Conan game be complete, or will I need to buy a D&D PlayersHandbook?The game will be complete, you won't need any other products in order to make use of the Conan The Roleplaying Game.2, Since Conan took part in several major battles, will there be a masscombat system included with the game?Yes, we've included an expansive mass-combat system so players and games masters can weave battles into their adventures.3, Since Conan was, for a time, a pirate, will any form of ship to shipcombat be included in the game?Not in the main rulebook no. With the depth we've gone into, some areas had to be sacrificed and, as Conan's time as a pirate was mostly alluded to by Howard, we've left this one area to a future supplement which will fully detail pirates in the Hyborian age.4, Will the Conan RPG be compatible with other D20 products?In terms of the core mechanics, yes. However, Mongoose Publishing's attitude to our licensed properties is to change the rules, not the setting. Therefore areas such as combat, armour class, magic etc are different to those of the core d20 game rules.5, Standard D&D magic does not feel properly "Hyborian". What changes weremade to capture REH's style of magic user?The short answer is - all of it. Magic in Conan is totally different to the 'standard' d20 magic. With things such as corruption, all of the spells from Howard's stories and different types of magic included the game's magic system is far more evocative of that seen in Conan's tales.6, Will the standard alignment system be used and if not, what willreplace it?Conan The Roleplaying Game features Codes of Honour rather than alignment - better capturing the more amoral feel of Conan and his contemporaries than alignment.7, What changes were made to the character classes to capture the feel ofthe stories?The classes were completely redone, Conan classes tend to be a little tougher than those seen in 'standard' d20. Essentially they're all new.8, Will there be new character/prestige classes?Yes, the full class list is: Barbarian, Borderer, Noble, Nomad, Pirate, Scholar, Soldier and Thief9, Can creatures/monsters from other D20 material be used in Conan?We're not encouraging it and we've gone to some lengths to recreate the majority of the creatures, supernatural and natural, seen in Howard's stories and the Hyborian age. They could be converted with some numbercrunching if someone wanted to, however.10, What, if any, changes, additions, modifications or improvements weremade to the combat system?Again, a lot. Armour doesn't reduce your chance of being hit, it reduces the amount of damage you actually take. Massive damage is more likely to kill you. There are parrying and dodging mechanics, more combat manoeuvres, Armour penetration, different rules for wielding two weapons etc.Setting11, Will the game include stats for Conan, Belit, Valerious and othercharacters from the stories?Yes, we've included statistics and details on a variety of the iconic characters, including Conan at different stages of his life.12, Are there going to be full details on the different countries?We have an expansive gazetteer in the main rulebook and will be further detailing the countries and world of Conan in future supplements.13, Will there be different forms/types of magic. i.e. Pictish shamins,Stygian necromancers, etc.Absolutely, mesmerism, necromancy, curses, summoning and more are all detailed as sorcery styles. Together with things such as corruption, the rule of success and rule of obsession.14, Will characters be able to fight the Hyborian gods?No. Well, I'd imagine a GM could work something up if he wanted to, but short of possibly the Frost Giants which could be possibly considered godlike, Conan didn't do a lot of deity slaying. We have, however, got a detailed chapter on Religion.15, Will groups like, The Black Ring, The Black Circle, The RedBrotherhood and others be included?Absolutely, and expanded upon in the future.16, Which creatures from the stories will be in the game?Quite a number, Ghost Snakes, Black Fiends, the Risen Dead, a host of human opponents and animals, we've included an expansive bestiary.17, Which villains from the stories will be in the game?We've included a number of the more iconic Conan villains - Thoth-Amon, Nafertari and Tsotha-lanti are just some of the villains depicted.18, Will the regional weapons that REH included in the stories be in thegame?Yep, from scimitars to Ghanata knives to a nice selection of bows, the equipment chapter has a wide range of Howard featured weapons.19, Will the game cover the entire Hyborian Era, or only the period whenConan was alive?We're only covering the period while Conan was alive, though the past is much alluded to.Art/Design/Production20, Just how big will the game be?Current plans are 352 pages.21, Will there be a full color map, including scale, in the game?We're in the middle of approving the colour map at the moment and it's looking very nice indeed.22, Are there any current plans for supplements, adventures and GM screen?Yes, we've got plans for a number of Conan supplements to follow up the release of the main rulebook.23, I've heard that only the original REH stories will be used for thegame. Are you completely ignoring the pastiches from the other authors whohave added to the Conan sagas?Not ignoring entirely, though the main rulebook is about 99% pure Howard in direction and inspiration.24, Will any of the de Camp and Carter material be added to futurematerial?With future supplements, we might well be drawing more on some of the other authors, including de Camp and Carter.25, Will Frank Frazetta's artwork be in the game book?Unfortunately no.26, Will any of the art from the Wandering Star editions be included?Not planned at present, no.27, Who is doing the art for the game?We've got a wide selection of established artists working on the project under our direction, and the art direction of the Conan License Holders, Conan Properties Inc.28, Most new gamers have never read REH. Will information be added on howto run a Howard/Conan style story?Absolutely, it's one of the sections I'm adding to at the moment. Don't worry, we'll be including a lot of information on how to properly capture the feel of Howard's stories.29, Has a release date been set?January 2004Misc30, In your opinion, has Mr. Sturrock captured the essence of REH's style?Yes, just a quick perusal will show the influence of the stories in every chapter.31, Was "political correctness" ever a concern when this game was beingwritten?Not at all.32, What other games has Mr. Sturrock written?Ian's also written Slaine and Armageddon 2089: Total War.Paul Tucker</blockquote>

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