D&D 5E Translating d20 Conan to 5e?

[KRussellB]

Does anyone know of any efforts made to translate d20 Conan to 5e?

For those without the wonderful experience of playing d20 Conan, it became my group's go-to rulebook for playing d20 campaigns. We loved the designers' choice to mostly throw out balance and focus on recreating the abilities, themes, and narratives of the old Conan stories.

I ran one campaign set in the world of Conan, one set in a homebrew setting set after the side of evil won in a global war between good and evil, and two short campaigns set in a magical Wild West.

I've been trying to find out if anyone has ported this system over to 5e (before I take a shot). Anyone have any leads?

 

[Morrus]

I’m sure there are various d20->5E conversion documents around. I guess it would be a question of using those to convert specific monsters and stuff?

 

[epithet]

Have you looked at Primeval Thule for 5e?

Inspired by the tales of Robert E. Howard (Conan), H.P. Lovecraft (Cthulhu), and Clark Ashton Smith, Primeval Thule is a dark and mysterious continent you can either integrate with your existing RPG campaign or use as the foundation for a new one. Only the bravest and most resourceful can survive and thrive in Thule. But beware! Thule is a dangerous place full of barbaric wilderness, decadent city-states, horrific monsters, and eldritch mysteries connecting it all.

Brief info here and here.

The first chapter of the setting book is available as a stand alone pdf for free at DTRPG, it gives you a feel for their material.

I think you could easily use the sub-classes and setting-specific rules with your d20 conan material, or just stick a Conan adventure in the Primeval Thule setting with minimal modification.

 

[Barantor]

I was going to mention Primeval Thule as well, has the right aesthetic for Conan with minimal changes and is already set up for 5E.

 

[Satyrn]

That's my suggestion, too. At least as a starting point.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I run a Primeval Thule campaign, with what I suppose is a heavily modified 5e rules set - modifications largely based on the writings of Howard, Lieber, et al.

I don't allow any casters except the warlock for PCs. That alone takes care of 90% of the problems you'd run into. The rest is just
Semantics and refluffing.

 

[GlassJaw]

I was a huge fan of the Conan d20 system. It was one of my favorite d20 variants. I recently looked at the old books as well and had a similar thought about how some of the mechanics would translate to 5e.

Honestly, Primeval Thule is fairly useless, at least as far as a natural evolution of Conan d20. Conan d20 was primarily about the mechanics. It rewrote a TON of the core d20 mechanics. It had things like Vitality and Wound points, Dodge and Parry defense scores, Armor as DR, weapon wear and breakage, Armor Piercing weapons, etc, etc. That stuff is the meat of Conan d20.

 

[KRussellB]

I was a huge fan of the Conan d20 system. It was one of my favorite d20 variants. I recently looked at the old books as well and had a similar thought about how some of the mechanics would translate to 5e.

Honestly, Primeval Thule is fairly useless, at least as far as a natural evolution of Conan d20. Conan d20 was primarily about the mechanics. It rewrote a TON of the core d20 mechanics. It had things like Vitality and Wound points, Dodge and Parry defense scores, Armor as DR, weapon wear and breakage, Armor Piercing weapons, etc, etc. That stuff is the meat of Conan d20.

Ah! Nostalgia attack! I LOVED that system!

 

[KRussellB]

I feel like translating d20 Conan would really require an overhaul. I'd really be interested in taking the classes and translating them to 5e, much more so than adjusting the existing 5e classes.

Plus you'd need to just port over all the spells. I loved how ALL the spells were basically Save or Die. Even summoning a demon was Save or Die because of the fear mechanic. I remember the scholar summoning a demon, and about twelve enemies just turning tail and running away.

One of the greatest spells was the one in which you through a twig at your target. If the target failed their saving throw, they thought you were throwing a poisonous snake at them and they died. If they succeeded, they just got hit by a stick.

 

[CapnZapp]

I was a huge fan of the Conan d20 system. It was one of my favorite d20 variants. I recently looked at the old books as well and had a similar thought about how some of the mechanics would translate to 5e.

Honestly, Primeval Thule is fairly useless, at least as far as a natural evolution of Conan d20. Conan d20 was primarily about the mechanics. It rewrote a TON of the core d20 mechanics. It had things like Vitality and Wound points, Dodge and Parry defense scores, Armor as DR, weapon wear and breakage, Armor Piercing weapons, etc, etc. That stuff is the meat of Conan d20.

While I thank you for a sober evaluation of the Primeval Thule suggestion, what you're saying gives me concern.

Every single one of the subsystems you mention is a perfect example of what 5e is... not about.

5e is a fundamentally different game than 3e. It looks similar but it is way WAY simpler in every detail.

So if you mentioned those systems to support your argument against using PT, fine.

But if what you're saying is that you can't get to the Conan d20 feeling without them, then you'd probably be better of not trying a 5e conversion.

Or at the very least, you have a hard task ahead of you, creating a version of 5e that gives the feel of those subsystems without actually incorporating any of their complexity. Because if you don't succeed at that, I would argue you have failed to make a true 5e conversion.

Best Regards,

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