Blending Rules: Conan D20 and Black Company Campaign Setting

[Morfedel]

(hope no one objects to my talking about other party products in conjunction with this)

(BTW, cross posted at RPG.net and Green Ronin forums too)

Ok, I've decided that my favorite flavor of D20/D&D is the BCCS book.

However, there are two things I've realized I really, really like from Conan: the parry/dodge rules, and the armor rules.

Thus, I'm thinking about importing them into my BCCS variant campaign.

However, that would mean, of course, coming up with the values for Parrying and Dodging for each class.

Now, on reading the Conan d20 book, every class has either a 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 parry and dodge progression. I'm thinking about something like this:



Academician: dodge 1/3, parry 1/3 (based off conan scholar)
Berserker: dodge 2/3 , parry1/3 (based off conan berserker clas)
Fighter: dodge 1/2, parry 2/3 (based off conan soldier)
Jack of all Trades: dodge 1/2, parry 1/2 (based off "common sense" )
Noble: dodge 1/3, parry 1/2 (based off conan noble)
Ranger: dodge 1/2, parry 1/2 (based off conan borderer)
Scout: dodge 1/2, parry 1/2 (based off conan nomad)
Thief: dodge 1/2, parry 1/2 (based off conan thief)
Weapon Master dodge 2/3, parry 1/2 (based off conan pirate)
Wizard: dodge 1/3, parry 1/3 (based off conan scholar)
Zealot: dodge 1/3, parry 2/3 (based off reverse berserker )


What do you think? Good? Bad? Something else? Or would you do something completely different, or just not even do the rules blend?

Also, is the parry/dodge rules seemed sufficient? I saw a poster on RPG.net who said he bumped the parry/dodge bonuses a bit, because his experiences said that it wasnt good enough with the higher weapon damage rules, etc etc.

 

[The King]

I don't know the setting very much but read that there was a brand new magic system. Do you think it could be easily integrated in a Conan campaign?

 

[Morfedel]

Hm.

I don't know. I havent read Conan as thoroughly as I have BCCS yet. I do know that I skimmed Conan, and while the magic looked ok, it still looked as essentially a spell list, just like every other edition of D20 thus far.

BCCS does it somewhat differently. Magic is based off some very basic, barebones spells that don't do much... initially. You suffer Drain when you cast magic, which is 1d8 nonlethal damage initially, reduced by your Spell Energy (kind of like damage resistance, only against drain).

you have to make a Magic Use skill check to cast the spell. However, you can then twiddle and modify the spell using Augmentations to expand the parameters of the spell in a significant number of ways. Augmentations raise both the DC check for Magic Use, and the Drain suffered.

You can then also take more time casting the spell, add Props, all kinds of things, to increase your magic use skill check... although drain is not decreased.

You can even blend spells together to create a unique effect. For example, there is a spell in the Black Company novels that was a green lime mist, which ate away at flesh and inspired terror on others. It was a blend of Destroy, Fear, and the Water Talent (for the mist/cloud, occulding vision too).


So, using these as a kind of component magic system, you can cobble together some amazing effects. However, at the lowest levels, casters arent capable of much... at high levels, they do become frightening in power, but that was intentional, as thats how it worked in the novels.

And thus, its the most flexible magic system I've seen in d20 thus far; I'm overwhelmingly impressed.


What drew me to conan, in the meantime, is its parry/dodge and armor rules; I've never been fond of AC in standard D&D; thus, I had always planned on getting both BCCS and conan and blending the rules sets together, accomplishing everything I've wanted to do that D&D could not.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been playing Black Company, magic is way different than Conan, there are magnitudes (based from Glen Cooks works) and the spells are weaker than normal D&D and Conan magic system is more ritualistic and specialized.

 

[The King]

That magic system kicks! 8)

 

[Morfedel]

I have been playing Black Company, magic is way different than Conan, there are magnitudes (based from Glen Cooks works) and the spells are weaker than normal D&D and Conan magic system is more ritualistic and specialized.

Brommel, its only weaker at the low levels. A 4th magnitude wizard can do some pretty earthshattering stuff.

 

[Anonymous]

i agree 4th magnitude is powerful..GODLIKE, but if you are playing at a realistic pace starting from 1st level it would take quite some time to reach 4th magnitude, and not being a naysayer most campaigns seem to sputter out long before you can reach 4th magnitude. or the mage bites it in glorious battle around the 3rd level.

 

[Anonymous]

We were playing a black company campaign, our Games master decided to call it quits becaused he liked more high fantasy stuff, plus some in our playing group always seem to make very bad choices and had to keep remaking characters. Our mage could heal them, but they couldn't grasp how difficult it was for the mage..and kept getting wounded and killed. I was playing a noble/fighter.

 

[Morfedel]

I definitely prefer swords and sorcery myself. However, my favorite system for that is The Riddle of Steel.

But, BCCS is a great choice when playing d20, heh.