Another rules lite possibilty
- Thread starter afro-slav
- Start date
Etepete
Mongoose
HERE is my draft for Conan Microlite. I'm looking forward to hear your views on it.
rabindranath72
Mongoose
Very nice! I would have retained AC concept as a useful abstraction, but the rest seems spot-on.Etepete said:
rabindranath72
Mongoose
A suggestion:
if using the Microlite Expert supplement, I would provide options for giving the Survival skill to Barbarians, Picts and Eastern Nomads.
if using the Microlite Expert supplement, I would provide options for giving the Survival skill to Barbarians, Picts and Eastern Nomads.
rabindranath72
Mongoose
I would give Survival also to barbarians and picts.
E.g. Barbarians might be +1 STR, +1 Survival
Picts: +1 DEX, +1 Survival
E.g. Barbarians might be +1 STR, +1 Survival
Picts: +1 DEX, +1 Survival
Etepete
Mongoose
Re: armour, what would you propose? 4 is quite powerful when damage from weapons only ranges from 1d6 to 1d6 + 3, whereas 3 might be a bit weak, even light weapons have 50% chance to get through....
Re: Picts and Barbarians: Make's a lot of sense for Picts, but it means breaking out Picts from Zamorans and getting one more Culture. For Barbarians, also make's a lot of sense but I have a sentinmental attachment to the +2 to STR....
Re: Picts and Barbarians: Make's a lot of sense for Picts, but it means breaking out Picts from Zamorans and getting one more Culture. For Barbarians, also make's a lot of sense but I have a sentinmental attachment to the +2 to STR....
rabindranath72
Mongoose
Well, I do not see many relations between Picts and Zamorans. I would take as a focus the races themselves, not the bonuses, as a "clustering factor".Etepete said:
It also makes sense to divide them, since Zamorans are effectively a separate ethnic group, so putting them with the Picts does not match the known facts.
You might want to lump together under a Savage culture both Picts and Black Kingdoms races.
If you like STR+2 so much, you can retain it and add Survival +1
OTOH, if you would like to adhere to the d20 Conan setup, then you would need also to add other "bits". In any case, your approach is one of streamlining things, so something must give somewhere
Oh, and there are two typos:
Tarant should be Tarantia
Hyrcanians should be Hyrkanians
Etepete
Mongoose
I have to admit that I started out trying to do Conan d20 and am now increasingly doing REH:s Conan in Microlite. Anyway, I don't think the distinction is very important, I have always moded Conan d20 to fit my game and my vision of Conan anyway.
On further deliberation I think you're right on both points (I dont necessarily belive that "race" or ethnic origin is all that important in the "culture", they ar actually rather literary stereotypes).
Zamorians should remain +2 DEX, Picts should be +1 DEX, +1 Survival, +1 Subterfuge.
Barbarians should be +1 STR (sob... ), +1 Physical, +1 Survival.
This even catches the Cimmerian love of climbing, since that is done with physical
Barbarians would certainly include Black Kingdom tribesmen: again the distinction is more in genre cliches than in actual ethnical difference. "Picts" would be a catch all for skulking jungle-savages.
I'm sure that some groups/types have fallen between two chairs here: Himelian Hillmen for one...
On further deliberation I think you're right on both points (I dont necessarily belive that "race" or ethnic origin is all that important in the "culture", they ar actually rather literary stereotypes).
Zamorians should remain +2 DEX, Picts should be +1 DEX, +1 Survival, +1 Subterfuge.
Barbarians should be +1 STR (sob...
), +1 Physical, +1 Survival.This even catches the Cimmerian love of climbing, since that is done with physical
Barbarians would certainly include Black Kingdom tribesmen: again the distinction is more in genre cliches than in actual ethnical difference. "Picts" would be a catch all for skulking jungle-savages.
I'm sure that some groups/types have fallen between two chairs here: Himelian Hillmen for one...
rabindranath72
Mongoose
Since we are drifting away from d20 Conan...I am not sure I agree about Black Kingdom tribesmen to be barbarians with the same characteristics as Cimmerians or Nordheimer (i.e., that they are the same stereotype). OTOH, I agree when you say that Picts should include jungle savages. So, the question: aren't Black Kingdom tribesmen savages, too? From REH's descriptions, the stereotype seems exactly that.
Perhaps you could introduce Savages and remove Picts completely.
Oh, and Himelian hillmen could be considered barbarians IMO.
Perhaps you could introduce Savages and remove Picts completely.
Oh, and Himelian hillmen could be considered barbarians IMO.
rabindranath72
Mongoose
I see barbarism (as depicted by Howard) quite different from savagery. He goes to great length to disinguish the typical savage from a barbarian (with a healthy dose of political incorrectness!), so I firmly believe the two concept should be quite distinct when it comes to the people of the black kingdoms.
Cheers,
Antonio
Cheers,
Antonio
Etepete
Mongoose
Well, there are both noble barbarians and savage barbarians in both his nordheimr cultures and in the black kingdoms. I think the distinction REH makes is between cultures that seem to produce both, and cultures that produce only hostile savages. Don't know if this has any (really unwholesome) philosophical content, or if it is only for dramatic purposes.
Anyway, if the above assumption is right, then the Black Kingdoms produces both, but the picts only the savage kind.
Anyway, if the above assumption is right, then the Black Kingdoms produces both, but the picts only the savage kind.
Sutek
Mongoose
If you want a clear cut metric togo by, perhaps start with Barbaric cultures have no written law, and Civilized cultures do. That doesn't mean that the laws are good, just that they have them. Civilization is pretty clearly depicted as being both refined and decadent on different occasions, whereas Barbarism is typically more on the savage end of the scale. However, Cimmerians are "barbaric" but maintain a very sedate philosophy of the world.
Don't get hung up on labels. The words meant something different to REH when he was writing Conan stories that they mean to us nowadays, anyway.
Don't get hung up on labels. The words meant something different to REH when he was writing Conan stories that they mean to us nowadays, anyway.
Etepete
Mongoose
Actually, I certainly don't think there's a metric or dichotomy at all. Barbarian, Savage, Civilisation, Natural instincts, degeneration: all these are themes that REH plays on, and I just think that a game designer should go out of his way to create a framework that encourages players and DMs to do the same.
So it's more a matter of interpreting REH:s different portrayals of savage and barbaric people and cultures (since he certainly is one of those authors who tends to believe in the moral traits of a culture, a sign of the times he lived in) in game terms than anything else.
So it's more a matter of interpreting REH:s different portrayals of savage and barbaric people and cultures (since he certainly is one of those authors who tends to believe in the moral traits of a culture, a sign of the times he lived in) in game terms than anything else.
