Any suggestions for the first time . . . ?

[BrotherD73]

Next Saturday, my group and I are going to finally crack open the Conan RPG tome and give the game a go for the first time. We've been gaming for years, and have plenty of experience with D&D and other forms of role-playing, and I've been a fan of Robert E. Howard's work ever since my high school Creative Writing teacher introduced me to the man's material oh-so-many years ago.

I've had the book ever since it was released, and have read through it a couple of times. (I've not picked up any of the supplements, however, nor do I have the AE - but I wouldn't mind knowing if it's still possible to get a copy of that.)

I'll be running the game, and it'll probably end up being more of a one-shot/one-off than anything else (we already have two other campaigns going - this Conan game is sort of a it's-my-birthday-that-day-and-I-wanna-freakin'-run-it-for-once sort of thing!), but I'm still feeling a little intimidated.

None of my players have the book, so we'll handle character generation at the table (and hope it doesn't take too long). I don't suppose there's a resources somewhere that clearly points out the differences between the d20 rules and the Conan OGL, is there?

Any other advice for a first time Conan GM?

Thanks so much in advance . . . ! I'll make sure to let everyone know how the game goes . . . !

- D

 

[AZZA]

For a one shot adventure I'd suggest checking out www.scarlet-blades.com/conan/adventures.htm . This site belongs to Red Tulwar, he used to be a regular contributor to the forum but I haven't seen him around for a while.
This address has a one shot adventure, "And the snow will run red with the blood of our enemies." that he wrote for a mini convention he was involved in a while back. Comes complete with 5 characters, 4 Cimmerians and 1 Nordheimer. Check it out. I ran it as a one shot and the group really enjoyed it.

As for rules just make sure you've got the 5 foot step rule down. In the original version you provoke if you take a 5 foot step and do anything, in the AE you provoke if you take the 5 foot step and perform an action that would normally provoke an AOOP, like shooting a bow.
Nothing else change much, there were a few clarifications and fixes but nothing major in the rules. Make sure you now the Armour rules, finesse attacks etc. Most of the rest is standard D20.
Relax, have fun and enjoy!
Aaron

 

[XcomSquaddie]

Go for romance. Dim the lights, romantic music, expensive champagne, maybe try a weekend getaway at a fancy hotel. Dinner at an expensive rest...

Oh. You meant...

Nevermind.

:twisted:

 

[Anonymous]

. . . and we all had a blast . . .

It took us a little longer than I would have liked to get through all the facets of character creation (especially with distractions like a birthday cake done up with D&D mini's and dark frosting lining the entire cake into one-inch squares!)m but once the dice started rolling, we were off and running!

We had three PCs - two friends played soldiers, one a Corinthian, one a Hyperborean; my wife was a Cimmerian barbarian . . . Worked out REAL well, and . . . well . . .

It's going to be tough to go back to our regular D&D campaign after this. It was just a really fun game! The players, including my wife, who hasn't been playing as consistently with me as much as the others, has been with me the longest and played in a the most variety of games with me, all told me that this was the most fun they've had playing.

I really enjoy the combat system of Conan. It took a little while to wrap my head around the Damage Reduction and Armor Piercing rules, the Parry Defense and Dodge Defense, but once we got it, it ran incredibly well!

A really good time . . . WONDERFUL game . . . !

- D

http://home.comcast.net/~dau.koch/Cake1.gif
http://home.comcast.net/~dau.koch/Cake2.gif
http://home.comcast.net/~dau.koch/Cake3.gif

 

[Mayhem]

Nice Cake, though using lead miniatures as decoration on something edible seems a strange choice...

****

I concur vis the system, by the way - at least for a fantasy game. We have had a real blast with it.

Like Howards writings, our games havn't been sophisticated or clever, but they have been incredibly good fun. ANd of course, there is no reason they couldn't be sophisticated or clever when we want them to be.