Swords and Sorcery in 4e

[Korgoth]

I think that 4e handles S&S very well. Especially with the use of the Martial Powers book, each player can have a unique non-"caster" style class.

In addition to the tips given above, I would say that for S&S, add in some kind of wound system that requires the group to hole up in the seedy quarter of a town and heal up for a few days. Also, they'll mostly be fighting non-monsters, but many of the humanoid style monsters can just be re-skinned with a "National" flavor (goblins to Pygia Raiders or what have you).

Keep the big scary monsters down to one per adventure or session, use more traps and skill challenges than usual.

Do they have ability damage in 4E? You could just say that Critical Hits do CON damage in addition to HP damage. You've also got your Conanic insta-kills in there, too.

Spellcasters could mostly be handled by Rituals and magic items. An Enchantress? She's a hawt chick with a Ring of Human Control (or whatever it is called these days).

 

[Khairn]

We have played on and off since 1991. It's not a weekly or even monthly game. Among the group, I'm the only "gamer." The rest are purely casual.

I've also been somewhat of a stingy DM, so treasure, XP, and so on has been rather low, over all.

Given the casual nature of your game and players I think 4E would be a very easy fit as a S&S type game. From an in-game mechanics perspective, "spells" function the same way and are in essence the same thing as a rogue's backstab or a fighters attack, so the flavor you (as GM) give to any power defines what it is.

The only challenge for you and your players may be the self healing that every class gets. But as long as the players don't have the "hit points=physical health" paradigm then it shouldn't be a problem.