character creation

gav

Mongoose
I will be creating a character soon. I have the original rules not the AE. We are not new to role playing having played AD&D 2nd Ed for many years but we are new to 3rd edition. I am still trying to get my head around Different types of actions standard, move, full, attacks of oppotunity and the baffling 5 ft step. :?
My questions are, is there anything vital I should remember when creating a character e.g something thats easy to miss if never having played the system before.
Also how the changes to the rules above affect gameplay e.g the 5ft step, basically I need something to tell the players that this system is better with the added detail so I can convince them to give it a go.

Hope this makes sense :D
 
Vis character creation, I would say that the easiest thing to overlook as a new player is favoured classes.

In order to explain, and not knowing just how new to 3e you are, I will need to go off on a brief tangent to do with Multi-classing:

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Unlike 2e, where you were both classes at once, and advanced in them both, in 3e (and therefore Conan) multiclassing is something you do when you go up a level.

You start as a single class, and when you go up a level you can choose to go up in that class, becoming, for example, a 2nd level barbarian, or you can choose to take a level in an entirely different class, becoming a 1st level barbarian/1st level theif, for example. The BAB (the 3e version of THACO), Saving Throws etc you get from each class are added together.

It is a very neat system that allows for a lot of flexibility.

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Now, where Conan differs from other 3e games:

The fact that the stats tend to be more heroic is generally pretty obvious, but it is worth paying attention to - if you are used to typical D&D stats the Conan characters might seem overpowered. They aren't. It's a dangerous world out there.

But I would say that the easiest thing to overlook as a new player is favoured classes.

In D&D and most other 3e products, your favoured class only comes into play when multiclassing, affecting whether or not you get an experience penalty or not dependig on your combination of race and class.

In Conan, this is quite different. Rather than avoiding a penalty, it allows you to gain a bonus.

If you take the favoured class for your race, you imediately gain a bonus feat at 1st level, and gain others at higher levels.

An extra feat is quite a significant bonus, especially if used as a pre-requisite for another feat, so players should think carefully before playing against type!

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The other thing to look out for are Skills. Unlike D&D, Conan characters are encouraged to pick up a wide variety of skills. This can be seen in the fact that most races give you at least 3 starting skills at 2 ranks, for free.

In addition, the bonus skill points that you get for having an INT above 11 can be spent on skills at the ordinary cost of one point per rank, instead of the more usual 2 points per rank that you would normally pay for cross-class skills.

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Two Weapon Fighting:

Almost every class in Conan starts with Proficiency in two weapon fighting. And the penalties are significantly less than in D&D.

Therefore, expect any character who has suitable weapons and no shield to be fighting in this style.

This should include NPCs.

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Weapon Finesse:

The ability to attack in melee using your DEX rather than STR is free to all characters in Conan. It is used for trying to hit an opponent in places his armour doesn't cover, rather than smashing through it in a conventional fashion.

When combined with TWF, this means that a high dex, low STR character with light weaponry can be deadly against lightly armoured foes - especially if he has any damage bonuses such as sneak attack.

So be careful. That half a dozen picts armed with a pair of crude hatchets each might not look like too much of a challenge for your low-level party, but if they are using their abilities to their full extent, you might have a massacre on your hands - and not the one you intended.

Finally: Weapons and armour.

A quick perusal of the weapons list will soon reveal that weapons in Conan do significantly more damage than in D&D. This, coupled with the higher stats and the massive damage rule (taking 20 points of damage in a single hit forces a Fortitude save) means combat can be exceptionally lethal - unless you are wearing armour.

Make no mistake. In D&D armour and a high DEX do exactly the same thing, so it is not uncommon to see High Dex characters forego armour entirely, and leap into the fray. If you try to do this in Conan, you will die. All it will take will be one lucky hit from a decent weapon, and it will be all over bar the fate points.

Therefore, it is my advice that any character who plans on getting into melee wear at least some armour. Even quilted armour can make the difference between life and death.
 
Thanks for the help :D We have never played or read any 3E
What about the new combat manouvers 5ft step AoO how relevant are they, do they fall into place once you have played a few games, also I found the different types of actions a bit confusing, e.g standard ,move or full :oops: Thanks again for the tips :D
 
Let me say that Mayhem did an outstanding job describing the Character Creation differences and considerations...I do not have time to help on your latest questions Gav, but someone will, or I'll get back to the forum when I do have time. Best of luck and great work Mayhem!
 
Thanks again Mayhem, greatly appreciated and thanks to mongoose who have helped revive my interest in role playing :wink: Keep it coming
 
Quick question for Two-Weapon Fighting - Can you attack with your second weapon IF you only have one attack?

thanks
 
Yes, but in order to attack more than once, two-weapon fighting included, you must make a full-attack action. Also, you'll generally have a lower chance to hit with both those weapons, although that can be negated via feats.

Keep in mind that if you have multiple attacks, you can once attack once with your other weapon (only one extra attack) unless you acquire the feat that allows you to attack equally with both weapons.
 
And don't forget the penalty for 2-weapons attacks too (-6 for both hands) unless you have the specific feat.
 
I believe you need improved two weapon combat to ignore the negatives. If, for example, you are sixth level and hit at +6/+1, you need to take a full attack action to hit +6/+1 with the primary hand and +6/+1 with the alternate hand ...as I understand it. (the above is only for Base attack Bonus only)
 
Arkobla Conn said:
I believe you need improved two weapon combat to ignore the negatives. If, for example, you are sixth level and hit at +6/+1, you need to take a full attack action to hit +6/+1 with the primary hand and +6/+1 with the alternate hand ...as I understand it. (the above is only for Base attack Bonus only)

No, the Two Weapon Fighting Proficiency feat is enough to ignore the penalties, assuming you're using a light weapon in your off-hand. Improved Two Weapon Fighting merely allows you to make a second attack with your off-hand at +1 (As opposed to +6/+1 with your primary weapon, and +6 with your secondary.)
 
So only 3 attacks with Improved TWF?

+6/+1 with main, and +6 with secondary???

dang, I thought for sure I had discussed this on the forum before and figured it out...
 
Read it again. :)

Having Improved Two Weapon Fighting in this case would allow you to make attacks with each hand at +6/+1.

Not having ITWF would only let you make +6/+1 with your primary, while your secondary would be +6.
 
Tristan, this is the way I thought I had it calculated...with Improved TWF, my characters get 2 attacks per hand...netting +6/+1, +6/+1
 
This stuff is the typical example why I dislike the d20 system: combat has become too complex if you don't have any physical representation (i.e. miniatures and map).
And why don't they apply hexagones instead of squares.
 
Thanks Tristan

King, I use mini's all the time. I have before the new system, not as a result of the new system. For my new campaign, I painted the mini's in different ways and used alot of them. I find that mini's on a grid are critical to conceptualizing the combat....but not if you are using a narrative style...which I may use occasionally.

Don't know about the hex grid...my thoughts?? it was more difficult to produce and squares became a standard...Also, squares are a direct translation from mapping...and graph paper.
 
Arkobla Conn said:
Don't know about the hex grid...my thoughts?? it was more difficult to produce and squares became a standard...Also, squares are a direct translation from mapping...and graph paper.
Squares are ok for the horizontals and verticals; for diagonals, however, the problem is that distances are not the same. That's why I also prefer hexagones (probably from my "old" wargaming habits).
 
Doesn't that just generate the same problem, though - If you can go due north following hexes, you won't be able to go due east without moving in a wobbly line, which will be a different distance than if you had moved the same no of hexes in a straight line.

At least with squares you can get a good approximation by counting every second diagonal as two squares.
 
d20 and its derivatives work perfectly fine with hexes instead of squares. I've used both. And the method of counting diagonal squares as 5'/10' comes pretty close to accurate.

Post #100
 
Mayhem said:
Doesn't that just generate the same problem, though - If you can go due north following hexes, you won't be able to go due east without moving in a wobbly line, which will be a different distance than if you had moved the same no of hexes in a straight line.

At least with squares you can get a good approximation by counting every second diagonal as two squares.
You are right Mayhem. I fear there are no absolute truth in this case. But I can suggest this:
- Using squares for mapping
- Using hexagones for tactical combat

I remember that in older ADD versions it was written that the maximum number of opponents you could fight at one time (or better that could encircle another) was 6. Now it has changed a bit partially due to the fact that size are taken into consideration but I love it because you have one front, then a protected flank (if you have a shield), an unprotected flank and the rest is "behind".
 
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