Recent content by Truckle the Uncivil

Well, maybe you've got a four-year margin of error there. You may have heard of the "Long Count" of the Mayas, which is a pretty long reckoning, ending in the year 2011 (winter solstice, I believe). (If you ever got into Shadowrun, you'll know about it) I'm not too fond of intertwining...

I've been thinking back and forth, and have decided I'd better not use the post-migration setting -- simply because half of the book would be rendered useless then. I still want to reduce the "civilization density", however without wiping out entire nations. Major Pictish and Hyrkanian raids...

BTW: Though it's a fair point that enlisted soldiers should be proficient in one type of formation combat, and thus should be Level 3, the book states otherwise. The Aquilonian forces are described in good detail, and it clearly states that the largest share are level 1 soldiers; some more...

Yeah, right. "Their armour is weakest at the neck and beneath the arms", or what? :P That, my friend, should be handled as Called Shot.

Yeah, it would take all afternoon. But after the first waves, the soldiers will be fatigued, because they have to scale uphill to reach the heroes. I think you can expect 10th-level chars to be immune to level-1 attacks except for the natural 20. Crits can be neglected because it would require...

First things first, do _not_ scale NPCs with the party power by default. I'd say that should be proportional to the "pool" that the local institution can draw from. Also, you find some hints in the book. For example, each and every Cimmerian adult has at least 1 level of Barbarian -- so they...

I never read the aforementioned book, but I've long been fascinated with the Mesopotamian era. I even took an Akkadian class once. :) At the time, the prof borrowed me a great book with lots of photos and text, can't remember the title though. Expect it to be one of those $60 tomes. More...

Uh-uh. Reality check. I can wield a Greatsword myself, and I'm not particularly strong. To give a stat, I have to work out some more to master the new 55 lbs longbow I recently bought. From that, and from looking at the carrying capacity chart (and my hiking experiences), I'd deduce that I would...

I just want to second what "Guest" said. Mongoose's Conan RPG is excellent. They made all the rule changes that I've always bickered about in D&D times. Be it weapon weights, parry/dodge rules, restricted magic, and so forth... you guys cleaned up all that which I didn't like about D&D! To be...

I think the Bardiche's performance is very nice indeed, but the weapon should be a bit more expensive. Compare the Bardiche to the Greatsword: - same damage - Martial weapon vs. Exotic weapon - different crit range - AP 5 vs. 4 - hardness 7 vs. 10 - cost 8sp vs. 200sp That really sounds an...

@Sable Wyvern: 15 pounds? No, 50 is more like it! :P Okay, really now, the heaviest sword of my collection weighs a whopping 8 pounds - a Greatsword, read: Scottish Claymore. But swords of that manufacturer are very much on the heavy side for sake of durability. Historically, the weights cited...

The construction of a crossbow is not simple -- neither is that of a good bow, btw -- but it's a lot more simple to use a crossbow than a bow. Bow: insert arrow, tilt the bow just right, pull out, feel the entire draw weight in your arm and shoulder, aim quickly (before you start shaking) and...

*bump* The War Sword is about the most versatile weapon of them all, especially if you have the Exotic proficiency (or Versatility): - Two-handed Melee use for some added strength damage - One-handed use if you fight from horseback; leaves the other hand free for bridles and shield -...

This in interesting. *bump* So essentially, a Barbarian is kept from specializing in any weapon type. It may also be a balance issue, because they get all these other boons like full Exotic proficiency and such. You're "specialized in versatility", so to speak. So the "7 levels" threshold is...

Yeah, I've always been fascinated by the idea of Conan's world being our world, what with "panta rei" and all. However, I'm not a friend of mingling too many cultures and time periods in one setting. So that was also why I was so surprised at "finding" late medieval cultures in the Hyborian...