[CONAN] GM's Closet

[Supplement Four]

The "Average" Human


Too many times I've seen a GM or a player look at a set of character stats and think the character sub-par because the character has some negative modifiers for stats below 10.

Let's look into this a little bit closer.

I think most gamers would agree that a score of 10-11 is average, representing the average human. No where in the Conan RPG does it say such, but its easy to deduce by looking at the Attribute Modifier Table. Scores below the 10-11 mark have negative modifiers while scores above the 10-11 mark have positive modifiers.

So, a strictly average human would have three 10's and three 11's in all six of the game's designated attributes.

But, we all know, from real life experience, that people are people, and that although there is an average, we all very widely when we are measured.

As far as the game goes, I think it is fair to say that average people vary as much as 10%. Call it one standard deviation where most people fall within that range.

If my assumption is true, then the average human falls within a range of stats from 6-15. This range allows for people to be 10% (+2) better in an area than the strict norm, and it allows for people to be 10% less effective in an area from their strictly normal counterparts.

I say this because players see a 6 or an 8 in a stat, and they think the penalty is really worse than it is. Someone with an INT 6 is still an average character. He's within the range. He's the C-D and occasional F student. He's 10% less likely to achieve an intelligence based throw than the strictly average person with INT 10.

Thus, I submit to you, that the average person in the Conan RPG can have a stat as low as 6 and as high as 15 and still be considered average. Any score 16+ is considered superhuman, which any score 5- is considered sub-average.

In other words, it's quite OK for a character to have stats as low as 6. This would not represent a deformed person or a retarded person. What's represented is the natural variance in human beings.

We each have our own gifts and weaknesses.

HUMAN AVERAGE ATTRIBUTE RANGE = 6 TO 15.

Luckily, the default 4d6, drop lowest, arrange to taste method of generating stats skews characters away from the sub-average, 5- numbers. It's still possible to roll a score of 3, but it's highly unlikely (99%+ chance of rolling higher than a 3).

The next time you end up with a 7 in a stat, don't penalize your character in your mind, thinking of him as greatly handicapped. Because, he's not. The character still falls within the average zone, and if you take all of stats together, most likely he's the higher side of average--maybe with one or two superhuman attrbutes.





How far from average is your character?

To answer this, take this test. Add up the character's bonuses and penalties from his six stats. If the sum is 0, then the character is strictly average. If a positive number results, the character is above average. If a negative number results, then the character is below average.

Let's apply this test to Morghun Clanson, the NPC I posted above.

Morghun Clanson
STR: 16 (+3)
DEX: 14 (+1)
CON: 8 (-1)
INT: 11
WIS: 11
CHA: 7 (-2)

Adding up his modifiers: +3 +1 -1 +0 +0 -2 = +3.

You can say that this is an above average charater, 15% above the norm.

Looking individually at Morhun's stats, we see that his STR score is superhuman while the rest of his scores fall within the average human range.

Do this check the next time you end up with some low stats thinking your character is subpar.

 

[Spectator]

Great stuff, you got me convinced, lol!

 

[Supplement Four]

A Look At Massive Damage



Much ado has been made about the Massive Damage threshold in the Conan RPG. Set at a mere 20 points of damage, some have posited that the game is broken because of this.

I beg to differ.

Here's why.

First off, if your character has at least one Fate Point, failing the Massive Damage save will most likely not kill your character because you will spend your point using the Left For Dead option. This makes player characters greatly resistant to instant death by Massive Damage as long as the character still has at least one Fate Point. The use of the Fate Point in this manner does not guarrantee the character survives, but it does skew the situation in the character's favor.

Second, and contrary to what some have stated about the game, the Massive Damage threshold of 20+ points of damage is not easy to obtain without rolling a critical success (and, I think we all would agree that Massive Damage should be a possible outcome of a successful critical hit). Remember, though, even Critical Hits require a successful check.

How can I make the claim that Massive Damage is not easy to obtain?

Let's take a closer look.

Pg. 11-12 of the 2E Core Rulebook tells us that the average character is 3rd level or less. And, I've established above an average range of stats for the average human. Let's take the highest score in each category and give that character a formidable weapon, then see how easy it is for him to score Massive Damage on a foe.

This means we'll have a 3rd level character with STR 15 (+2 damage). Characters need Feats for differing reasons, but let's max out this average character's damage by giving him Power Attack.

So, we've got a Hyborian, he dominate race in the game world, and we'll make him a 3rd level Soldier with STR 15 and Power Attack as one of his Feats. We'll give him a weapon with the highest damage in the entire game: the greatsword (which Hyborians can treat as a Martial Weapon) which does damage of 1d10 + 1d8. That's a pretty strong "average" character, given the guidelines set forth in the game and what I've commented upon above.

But, I want to use this strong character to make the point.

As a 3rd level Soldier, the character can take up to a -3 on his attack in order to gain a +3 on damage.

So....

Let's assume that this character's target...

1. Was hit by our sample character, in spite of the -3 attack penalty.

2. Was not Fighting Defensively or using Total Defense, which would make the target even harder to hit.

3. Was not wearing armor (or was wearing armor that was defeated by the character's blow and allowed 20+ points of damage to penetrate past the armor).

Those three issues, right there (hitting in spite of penalties and armor protection), in part, keep the Massive Damage rule from being abused...but, let's say that our average human character (albeit on the high side of human "average") has been successful with a hit.

What is his damage?

He averages 10 points with the greatsword, +3 points for his STR, +3 points for the Power Attack bonus. This is an average of 16 points. That's not enough to trigger Massive Damage.

Let's keep looking at this, though....

Let's say that the character hits, in spite the penalties to the attack throw. And, let's say that the character rolls higher than average damage, in spite of any armor worn by the target, scoring 20 points of damage.

In order for Massive Damage to be triggered, the target still has to fail a DC 20 Fort Save (which, I'll grant you, is likely to be failed...but there's still a chance).

Even with the Fort Save failed, it is not a guarrantee that the target dies. Player Characters have Fate Points that can be used to re-roll a failed Fort Save. So a PC with Fate Points, hit with Massive damage, can have two tries at making the Fort Save, if a Fate Point is used.

Or, as I said above, the Fate Point could be used to have the character appear dead, but actually be Left For Dead.

But, even if we're talking about an NPC or a PC that is out of Fate Points, the failed Massive Damage save still does not guarrantee death. A failed Fort Save is 90% likely to leave the character dying in the -1 to -9 hit point range rather than killing him outright. Thus, given the stabilization rules, the character gains a 10% chance per point above -10 to stabilize himself. If a comrade is around to help stabilize and heal the character, his chances of survival are even greater.



So, what am I saying?

I'm saying that...

1. Penalties on the attack throw make death from Massive Damage less likely.

2. Armor makes death from Massive Damage less likely.

3. The Fort Saving throw makes death from Massive Damage less likely.

4. Fate Points make death from Massive Damage less likely.

5. Many weapons in the game are not likely to produce 20+ damage points, making death from Massive Damage less likely.

6. The Stabilization rules make death from Massive Damage less likely.

...and all a character has to do is succeed in one area. If he does, his character will not die from Massive Damage.





EDIT: Many of us are influenced by the Conan RPG's parent game, but we must remember that the two are separate games with different rules in many areas.

For example, in the tradition 3.5 D&D game, a character's weapons typically become more and more powerful as the character adventures and finds better, more powerful equipment. The character levels, and his BAB increases, but also the D&D plus on his weapons increase: He may start with a normal longsword, then find a +1 weapon. Later, he finds a +2, then a +3 weapon. Sometimes, the weapons have more powers than just increasing both attack probability and the amount of damage the weapon delivers on the character's foes.

But, in Conan, once a weapon is chosen, the damage does not increase. Sure, the character's BAB increases, but the weapon's damage and probability to hit stays the same. Feats, like Power Attack, are needed to obtain extra damage, but even this is limited by the character's BAB and provides a corresponding penalty to the attack throw.

And, besides the use of Power Attack, there is little in the game to increase damage besides the occasional increase in stats (every two levels, starting at 4th, depending on the player's choice).

Therefore, in many cases (not all), Massive Damage does not really become easier to achieve as the character levels. Special abilities are needed, like superhuman STR, exotic or hard-to-find weapons, and Feats like Power Attack, to skew a weapon's damage towards scoring Massive Damage often.

Remember that as a character levels, his BAB increases, but this only increases the chance that the character will hit. It does not increase damage. Also remember that, as characters level, their ACs for Dodge and Parry also increase, making them harder to hit...while damage remains the same.

This, given all that I've said in this post, I maintain that the Massive Damage rule in Conan is fairly balanced.

 

[Supplement Four]

Primitive Dagger made from Deer Antler


New weapons for your game: Allow your players to create weapons, especially when the characters are in a pinch, from things that they have available in their environment. A creative use of the rules would be to take the normal weaponsmithing procedure, using the Survival skill instead of the normal associated Craft skill. Taking a deer's antler, cutting off a piece easily held, and sharpening the point would qualify as an Improvised Dagger (see pg. 144 of the 2E Rulebook, under Improvised Weapons). As such, the character would be considered non-proficient in its use (-4 attack and -1 to Parry Defense). In addition, the weapon would be considered primitive and subject to the rules on pg. 152 and 154 of the 2E core rulebook.

A true craftsman, such as a character with ranks in Craft (weaponsmith), could use the substandard materials (in this case, a deer's antler) to make primitive weapons using the normal weapon creation rules. Below is a picture of a dagger made by a weaponsmith, carved from a deer's antler. Note that although this weapon would not be considered an Improvised Weapon, it is still subject to the Primtive Weapon Quality rules.

A dagger does damage via its point. For a knife, with an edge, harder materials are needed. A similar process to the above can be used to create primitive knives in the game. Of course, these would all be considered Primitive Quality weapons, subject to those special rules.

 

[Supplement Four]

Weapon & Equipment Availability


Pay heed to the Weapon and Armor availablity notes provided in the 2E Core Rulebook and Tito's Trading Post. Use common sense. Give different areas of your game world a flavor by the types of weapons that are available in that region. And remember that, while in standard 3.5 D&D, a player looks forward to finding new equipment (with bigger attack and damage modifiers), a similar reward system can be simulated in the Conan RPG by keeping some weapons unavailable to the PCs until they reach a certain point in the game.

You can simulate this in your game by not allowing every weapon in the game to be available at the game's outset. If there is something a player desires for his character, consider letting that character find the weapon later once the party has moved to the appropriate region--or maybe as a rare reward at the conclusion of an adventure. Remember, in the '82 Conan movie, how awed Conan was when he found the Atlantean sword?

For example, the crossbow should be a weapon found in the Hyborian kingdoms. This weapon would be too "fussy" for the Cimmerian smiths, thus, the weapon should be quite rare in Cimmeria. Likewise, the Cimmerian attitude towards bows is that the weapon is used for hunting, not for war. Thus, the vast majority of bows found in Cimmeria should be of the hunting bow type which do not provide a STR bonus.

On the other hand, the Hyrkanians are known for their bowmanship, and in certain regions of Hyrkania, the Hyrkanian Horn Bow should be readily available. In the deep regions of the Pictish Wilderness, away from Aquilonian influence, primitive weapons should be the norm. A western region of Stygia has not yet found the secret of steel, and, thus, arms its warriors with bronze and copper weapons (see the Primitive Weapon Quality rule).

Note the cost increase mentioned in Tito's Trading Post for rare items (where it says the cost can be 5, 10, or many more times the price given in the equipment lists). Also remember that coin is not used in all parts of the world. In some areas, that bearskin hunter's cloak may be more valuable than all the silver you carry in your pouch. In those places, barter is king.

Tito's Trading Post provides qualities for clothing and equipment. Consider that description and have the clothes and gear your PCs use wear out from time to time. An impromptu adventure could spring from the simple need to hunt a deer (using the Hunting Rules from the Fiercest book) and make new clothing from its skin (using the Crafting rules). The condition of a PC's gear can impact roleplaying situations and certain social checks. Don't nag and bore your players with this kind of stuff, though. Just throw it in when the reminder of the mundane would actually add some spice to the game, giving the players a different look at how their characters spend their lives in the game world.

Also, once a character gets a prized item, don't be afraid to take it away from him at some point. Items sometimes get lost while swimming. Weapons and armor can be subject to Sunder attacks, and without a smith or the proper equipment, may never get repaired. Use the weapon and armor repair rules (see the appropriate Feats, Skills, Equipment Chapter, and pg. 179 of the 2E rulebook). The quest to replace or repair a prized item can be a great push needed for a GM's adventure.

Various supplements bring new types of equipment to the game. The Warrior's Companion provides new items like Hyperborean Hide Armor and the Aquilonian Shieldknife. That book also provides rules for improving the stats of your weapons and armor. The Barbaric supplements provides excellent entries, such as piecemeal armor rules and fantastic section on mundane goods.

One of my favorite d20 (non-Conan) books is a hardback focusing (mostly) on real world equipment, called From Stone To Steel. That book is full of useful information that you could use in your Conan game. I highly recommend it, if you can still find a copy of this out of print book.

In Sum, with the right approach, the GM can make equipment an important and interesting part of the game, providing in-game rewards and making his game world seem more real, all at the same time.

In other words: Don't always reply, when one of your players says that he needs a new shield, "You went to the merchant and got a new one for 3 silvers. Let's move on." Sometimes, you'll want to do that, to keep the game moving, not allowing it to get sidetracked with the uninteresting. But, also, sometimes buying that shield can lead to the most fun encounter of the night.

 

[Supplement Four]

The Riddle of Steel


If you can still find it, there's a fan created, seven page pdf file out there in the ether called The Riddle of Steel. It was written by Silas A. DeBoer, and it presented a well-written set of rules that expanded upon black/weapon/armor smiths. This book included rules for Forge Facilities and the like. It's well worth adding to your Conan game if you can find it somewhere. (Please post a link here if you do!)

 

[Supplement Four]

Conan-izing Standard D&D Adventures



I'm better at editing than I am creating, and I can be inspired by the oddest things. When I started my campaign set in Cimmeria, focussing on a clan of Cimmerian Barbarians, I spotted a low-cost copy of a 3.5 D&D scenario called Scourge of the Howling Horde. Here's how I set about "Conan-izing" the adventure.

First off, I look at the adventure as a suggestion, not something that is cut in stone. It is meant to be change, twisted, and warped, especially since I'm using it as a starting point for a game with a different flavor. It is a base from which I will grow the actual encounters.

I like low level D&D modules because there are less fantasy elements that I have to throw away. No matter what level of Conan game I'm converting for, the low level D&D module is easier to convert than any higher level fair. Scourge is an introductory adventure meant for new 3.5 D&D GMs and 1st level characters.

From the start, I liked the opening encounter with the attack on the overturned cart. Instead of a halfling merchant with elven guards, these became on old woman and orphan Cimmerian children returning to the homestead from the big village festival of summer. The attacking goblin raiders became 1st level Barbarians from a rival clan--a clan that shares a blood fued with the PC's clan. I also cut down the number of enemies from 3 to 2 to accommodate my two (at the time) 1st level Barbarian PCs. I didn't want to kill them on their first big combat encounter.

Then, I let my imagination take over. It didn't work out as it played out, but I had hopes of turning one of the Grath (the attacking Cimmerian clan--the bad guys) into a recurring nemesis. Too bad for him, my PCs made sure that he did not escape from the incident.

As the PCs approached the massacre of the children and their care taker (In true Conan gritty style, I had one of the kid's decapitated head swinging from the upturned wagon's wheel, the child's hair used to tie it to a spoke. And, the old woman was staked out on the ground with primitive javelins used to staple her hands to the ground.), two of the attackers were still among the dead and dying, doing their wretched deeds.

I was inspired by a pic on pg. 61 of Hyboria's Fiercest. I thought it would be exciting to have a chase take place among the branches of these fantastically large trees, with these limbs that actually grow into the limbs of the tree next to it, makeing a criss-crossed network of limbs, high off the ground. A Cimmerian, I deemed, could move for miles up in the branches of a copse of these types of trees. Though not as big, things like this actually exist on Earth today, so I didn't think it to fantastic for the Hyborian Age, and, in fact, thought it an excellent setting to remind my players that they were gaming in Earth's prehistorical past. I liked the "adventure" and pulpy "Sword & Sorcery" feel of it. Thus, Cimmerian Thicket Trees were born, and the scene at the wagon led to a heroic jump from a cliff into these amazing, branch-locked trees.

Next, I pulled out my trusty Beastiary of the Hyborian Age and chose a new monster for my PCs to encounter. I was intrigued by the Chakan and decided, in true Hyborian Age style, that they were the result of Cimmerians who never clawed their way back up from beastiality after the cataclysm. They were proto-Cimmerians, and the PC's villagers somehow knew this concept. They used the Chakans a boogey men to scare children at night, but the clan council respected the Chakan lands as that clan's territory. Though there was no contact with them, the PC's clan treated the Chakans as just another hostile clan. The Chakan territory became the Blood River Basin, a forbidden area near the PCs clanholme.

And, just to add some more pulpy Swords & Sorcery atmosphere to the area, I created a mystery where time is not constant for every person's point of view. During the chase among the branches of the thicket trees, on of the PCs fell off, to the ground. The other PC went to the central trunk and climbed down to the ground. But, it took him three days to follow the limb out to where his clansman had fallen. It was strange. He walked normally, but his senses told him he moved very little. Actually, from his perspective, the limb of the tree was unimaginably long--3 days he walked to find its end!

By that time, a Chalkan tribe had captured the fallen PC, who, in turn, traded the PC to the bad guys. I had the Chalkans display a mix of animal-like and cave-man-ish actions, keeping them in line with the many non-developed beasts that Conan has encountered (such as Thak, the ape-man). I had the bad guys trading with them. And, it wasn't until later that the PCs realized that the Chalkans seemed to be unaffected by the sorcerous time bending that occurs in thier lands. Maybe, it was speculated, the time bending has retarded the Chalkan's evolution into modern humans.

Long story short, and a few game sessions later, the one PC had rescued the other, and the two were afoot in search of the bad guys' lair.

Here, I returned to the D&D module. I figured that Cimmeria had a lot of caves and crevices. And, I also thought that most of these would lack worked stone. So, I put the two together, making another mystery for my PC's. Who worked the stone of this cavern in ancient times?

The cave, in the adventure, is described as "The Howling Cave". It turns out that the wind blows through the corridors making this unearthly howl. I thought that was cool, so I kept it.

But, I threw out most of the fantastical elements and creatures featured in the adventure. The goblins and bugbear all became Grath warriors. I threw out the Dire Weasle but kept the guard dog. The Giant Spider I kept thinking that, if the PCs were captured, they'd be stripped of down to their loin cloths and thrown into its lair. This seemed very "Conan" to me, thinking of the giant snake in the '82 movie and the spider featured in The Tower of the Elephant. The Lesser Gray Ooze and the Shrieker, I threw out, but the Hobgloblin Wizard became a Hyperborean dabbler while the elite hobgloblins became Hyperborean soldiers. This added a new twist for the players--where did these foreigners come from? Why are they here?

The black dragon became a semi-major part of the plot. I turned the thing into a demon, more man-like with reptillian features including a snake's head. Instead of squirting acid, this thing would spit out gobs of thick, sticky mucus that would slowly start to disolve anything it landed upon. The demon is intelligent and sorcerous, and it ended up conjuring a thick, red mist that contained these man-sized whirlwinds. These small tornadoes would have arcs of electricity running through them, and when they attacked, they would simply charge their targets, running through and past their prey. This would disolve the whirlwind (only to be reformed at a different point in the red mist) but damage the target with electrical energy as it passed. They were impossible to fight, but a smart PC could take out all of the mist by destroying (probably with fire) the mist's source--the dead Hyperborean dabbler that the demon had killed in order to use his body for the dark component needed for this spell.

The demon could also raise the slain in the traditional Hyperborean style, so as the PCs would kill their foes, they'd eventually see the same foes, still suffering from their previous fatal wounds, shambling towards the PCs, controlled by the demon.

This led to a Hollywood style escape from the cavern, through the red mist, dodging the slow moving whirlwinds (though some could fire lightning bolts at the PCs), the cavern crumbling and falling down around them, with a group of those that they had already killed scrambling after them.

From here on out, the adventure was totally taken out of my imagination based on the situation as it had played out. I never did use the encounter with the shaman or the town of Barrow's Edge (though I did use many of the character names provided in the adventure). Maybe I'll find a use for that stuff later in the campaign.

The last part of the adventure developed into an overland chase into a new area I created called the Cracked Lands. It's an extremely rough section of the Eiglophian foothills with lots of rocks, uneven ground, and skree. On top of this, I brought in Cimmeria's dangerous weather and had a storm hit the PCs worthy of a Gulf Coast hurricane.

The PCs evaded the demon in the storm and survived a flash flood. They fought Cimmerian Mantids (Beastiary pg. 46) and made their way through the Cracked Lands until they found the Diamondrun River, which would lead them north and home.

Along this path, they encountered a long lost friend--an NPC that I had planted into the story at the beginning, citing that he had left the group some 10 years before, struck with wanderlust. I wanted an NPC like this in the village--someone that could dazzle them with tales of adventures in the civilized lands.

After a final, climatic encounter with the demon and his Risen Dead (Beastiary pg. 88), I ended up with the PCs returning to the village some two weeks later, with the NPC that I wanted in the village, and the PCs hailed as heroes.

The demon, after the defeat of his Risen Dead (the PC came across what they thought was a battlefield but ended up seeing the bodies rise from the river and shore), flew off into the horizon--and I can happily use the demon, now, as a recurring bad guy.

And, all of this sprang from the base of an introductory D&D adventure.

 

[Supplement Four]

Hidden Soldier Bonus



One of the fantastic aspects of the Conan RPG are the various Combat Maneuvers. I like how they are presented so much better than the generic, one-size-fits-all method provided in Pathfinder.

I want to draw your attention to the Riposte maneuver described on pg. 210 of the 2E rulebook. This is a powerful combat maneuver that is triggered anytime an opponent rolls so low that his total is less than half of your Parry Defense. When this happens, you get an attack of opportunity against your foe!

For example, if your Total Parry Defense is AC 18, then you get a free attack against your foe (provided you haven't used up your allotment of AoO's for the round) every time his attack roll results in a total of 9 or less.

The rub here is that you have to be fairly high level (for this game) to use the Combat Maneuver. You need a Base Parry bonus of +4.

For most character classes, +4 base Parry is attained at level 8. For the Barbarian and Temptress classes, it's level 11. But, for the Soldier....

The Soldier class is the only class to obtain a +4 base Parry at level 6, long before any of the other classes.

Thus the Riposte, really, is a hidden Soldier class benefit.

 

[Supplement Four]

Razor's Edge



Razor's Edge is an often overlooked rule that a player can rely upon in this often magic-less game. Where, in standard D&D, bonuses are obtained usually through the use of magic, in this game, bonuses are derrived by less magical, more realisic ways.

The Razor's Edge rule can be found in the Free Companies or Tito's Trading Post books under the description of the Sharpening Stone or Sharpening Wheel. What the rule says is that, if a character takes the time to hone his blade with a fine grained stone, over an hour's time, smothing over nicks in the blade, then the weapon is given a "razor's edge". In order to obtain the razor's edge, a DC 20 Craft (weaponsmith) skill check must be passed, one roll per hour honing the weapon. If successful, the razor's edge provides a +1 Critical Threat range for the weapon. The razor's edge is lost after it's first hit in combat.

For example, Critical Threat Range on a Broadsword is 19-20. But if the honed with a whet stone for an hour, and the check is passed, the broadsword is considered to have a razor's edge and a Critical Threat Range of 18-20 until the weapon's first hit is made in combat.





- Variant -

I think the rule, as written, is fair. I like the rule because it encourages characters to carry a sharpening stone and gives them a real in-game benefit to using the stone correctly. This rule also rewards those characters with ranks in weaponsmithing (that sometimes go wasted as the character adventures away from the forge). When dealing with large armed forces, the rule can apply to large numbers of troops, making a Sharpening Wheel an important piece of support equipment.

A variant to this rule would be to allow the razor's edge to remain on the weapon until the first Critical Threat Check is made or the combat ends. Thus, if a combat encounter ensues, and no Critical Threat Checks are made with the weapon, it is not longer considered to have a razor's edge. Or, if a check is made to see if a Critical Hit has been scored, the razor's edge expires with that first Critical Check, regardless of its success.

 

[Supplement Four]

Healer's Balm and Healer's Pitch



Most characters in the Conan RPG will never benefit from a healing spell or potion. Sorcerous healing is near non-existant. Therefore, any aid in recovering character hit points is usually quite important to players.

The Barbaric Treasures supplement provides two herbalistic means as aids in healing. Healer's Balm is an herbal blend that is spread over wounds to reduce scarring and promote natural healing. It's a type paste used as a Hyborian Age equivalent to a band-aid. Mechanically, the balm allows the character to heal 1 extra hit point per day of natural healing.

Healer's Pitch is used more immediately on bleeding wounds. This thick, sticky, herbal substance seals wounds and promotes blood clotting. In game terms, Healer's Pitch provides a +4 circumstance bonus to Heal check used to stabilize dying characters.

Don't forget that characters with bonus skill points gained from INT 12+ scores are allowed to put those points into a cross-class skill as if the skill were a class skill. Thus, many highly intelligent characters can improve the Heal skill as though it were a class skill.

Also remember that Healing Kits provide a +2 bonus to all Heal checks, thus a character with a healing kit and Healer's Pitch would gain a +6 bonus to any Heal check made to stabilize a downed comrade.

From the chapter on Herbs & Poisons in Tito's Trading Post, we see that Acacia can be used to cure 1d4 points of damage to an injured character, regardless of how the character was damaged. Other, more specific herbal cures, can be found in that chapter. In my game, I've speculated that the Acacia juice* acts quickly as a pain killer. It can be injested or used as a topical on wounds.

*This is actually based on real life Acacia Trees and ancient medicine techniques.

Luckily, the acacia tree grows in many regions of the world, especially in modern day Africa.

The 1d4 points regained from Acacia, plus the points regained from the Short Term Care use of the Heal skill can negate a significant amount of damage after each combat encounter. Take the sample character Morghun Clanson that I posted upthread. A successful Short Term Care check will return 2 points, plus an average of 2 points due to the Acacia, results in 4 points being returned to the characer (a range of 3-6 points). This is about 25%--one quarter--of the character's total hit points, even with the -1 CON penalty.

In D&D terms, this is the equivalent of an average Cure Light Wounds spell, except that in the Conan game, a character can use Short Term Care after every combat engagment and Acacia for as long as the supply holds out (in other words, you're not limited by the priest's allotment of D&D spells).

The Folk Healer Feat, on pg. 62 of The Player's Guide, and the Skill Focus Feat on the Heal skill, from the core rulebook, are two feats that can be combined to create a potent non-sorcerous, herbal healer.

GMs should reward creative players. Inspired by the vinegar soaked hemp bandages in the Arcania computer game, I had one player in my game suggest applying acacia to a gummy, herbal base, with all of this spread onto a hemp bandage. This way, the player would have coated, medicated bandages ready to slap on a wound.

I agreed but put a 3 day time limit on the bandages, saying that the herbal base would dry out and the crushed acacia would lose its potency. This seemed fair and acted as a measure to keep the character from making hundreds of these bandages in his off-camera time.

 

[Supplement Four]

Hand-To-Hand Attacks...expanded!



The core rulebook gives us an unarmed attack. The description of the unarmed attack, on page 152 of the 2E rulebook, tells us that the unarmed attack is done with the fist. It's a punch. So, what about other types of unarmed strikes?

The Barbaric Warrior supplement expands unarmed attacks to include other forms of attack, each with pros and cons.

So, your basic punch does 1d3 +STR bonus nonlethal damage. You can change that to lethal damage if you take a -4 penalty on your attack throw. The same basic rules apply to the other unarmed attack forms.

Some of these new unarmed attacks can only be performed while grappling or while very close to the target (meaning: Inside the same square, instead of adjacent, as the enemy--which will draw an Attack of Opportunity upon entering the enemy's square). The elbow, knee, and headbutt attacks can only be used in this fashion.

But, like the punch, unarmed attacks can also be kicks or backhands. A kick does more damage than your standard punch (a kick does 1d4 +STR bonus nonlethal damage), but it also leaves the character somewhat vulnerable for a round (-1 AC until the character's next turn comes up). A backhand can ony be used after a fist attack--this is the reverse swing of a normal punch. The backhand does the same damage as a normal punch, but it is +1 attack but the figher suffers a -1 AC until his next round.

The elbow, knee, and headbutt attacks all have their pros and cons as well, but, as I said above, are usually used as grappling maneuvers (making grappling more interesting) unless the character wasn to suffer an Attack of Opportunity while moving into his target's square in order to deliver the attack.

The book also has rules for brass knuckles, spiked brass knuckles, clawed hand, plus various weapon modifications. For example, your character might want to add spikes to his armor.

 

[Supplement Four]

Thoughts on Armor



Let's talk a bit about armor. The protection that some types of armor provide a character in this game will make him a formidable warrior and very hard to damage because of what he wears. Armor soaks up damage, keeping the character from losing precicous hit points, and it keeps the 20 damage point threshold for Massive Damage from happening. Armor is at the top of most player's equipment lists.

But, I encourage GMs to be stingy with armor (or with the means to obtain armor). I encourage this, first off, because it is true to the genre. Look at the Conan stories. Conan does wear armor, when he can, but in many stories, he's got very little equipment. Now, you can say that this is an aspect of the character, not the game's universe, but also look at the people that Conan fights. Many are unarmored as well, or, if they do wear armor, it's usually of the "Light" type. More armored foes are typically found wearing "Medium" armors. Conan, when he can afford it, will grab a mail shirt. And, note that he usually only wears the stuff when he knows he's going into a battle (and even then, not always).

Why is this?

It's realistic. Armor is heavy, restricting, hot, and uncomfortable. Plus, it's expensive. When do we see Conan in "Heavy" armor? We see that when cost is no object, as it was when he was armored to lead the battle in Black Colossus or later, in the massive combat scenes in the stories when Conan is king of Aquilonia.

Not too many foes in the Conan stories are described as wearing full plate armor, or even breastplates, for that matter. When such a foe does appear, the circumstances of the story (a massive battle) provides a reason for the foe to being wearing such.

A breastplate in this game is 2,000 sp. A set of plate armor is 6,500 sp. Both of those sums should be A LOT of money in your game. This isn't a game, like D&D, where characters go into a dungeon and come out with more loot than they can carry. Conan is forever coming close enough to unimaginable riches only to have the object of his larcenous desire slip through his fingers...because the gems turned into snakes...because he had to cut the heavy sack of coin from his waist to keep from drowning....because the fist-sized diamond was needed to trap the evil sorcerer. Remember the rule High Living rule from the 2E Equipment Chapter. Do what you can to keep PC's low on funds--so that they've got to save for that breastplate or maybe use their own skills to make it themselves.

This same line of thought should be applied to NPCs, too. Your typical NPC should not be wearing armor. If the NPC has a reason to be in armor, then put him in some Light stuff (Medium armor if there is reason for him to be heavily armored). Reserve Heavy Armor for the bad guy at the climax to a campaign. Use it as a reward.

And, once PCs obtain good quality equipment (this goes for weapons too), don't be afraid to damage the stuff. If a foe cannot penetrate, he might try to sunder the armor rather than using a finesse attack. Don't forget page 179 of the 2E rulebook where armor damage and repair is discussed.

Be careful what you allow beginning PCs to own as they enter a campaign. Coming straight from standard 3.5 D&D, it may not even occur to you not to allow a 1st level Soldier to have a breastplate, thinking that a wealthing 1st level D&D or Pathfinder character could obtain plate mail. I think of this the same way I think of giving a 1st level D&D character a Staff of the Magi or a +5 Holy Avenger--I most likely wouldn't allow it. A breastplate should be a reward that characters strive to obtain. These are rare items for which players should have a grand appreciation.





So, we've discussed that the heavier armors should be fairly rare in a Conan game: A GM keeps them rare by limiting the PC's ability to buy them. Keep treasure low. Don't think D&D. If the PCs kill a group of bandits and find 1d6 sp in their pockets, this should NOT BE NORMAL. In fact, this should alert the PCs that these very same bandits probably just completed a pretty good theft of a merchant's strong box on a caravan. Most of your Zuagirs and Kozaki, Picts, Vanirmen, and Barrachan Pirates should be dirt poor. Maybe one of the group has 1d6 sp, but this guy is probably the leader or the one stealing from the group. Let the PCs find a gemstone here and there. Put interesting, non-money, things into foe's pockets--like teeth that the NPC collected from his enemies, or maybe an otter pelt...a piece of a deer's antler. Page 143 of the 2E Core rulebook says many countries issue coins. So be creative. If you must allow the PC to find some coin (and they should find some from time to time--just keep it fairly rare), why not desribe the rectangular copper coins with a square hold in their center that has been pierced with a string of raw hide to form a necklace around a foe's neck. That's how he keeps his money. You can say that the character found 14 square copper Nemedian drakes, and all you've really given the character is less than 2 sp worth of loot.

When away from civilized lands, don't be afraid to let your PCs barter. Conan did this all the time. "Here, I've got seven jade stones. I'll give you one for food and lodging for the week." If you look at Barbaric Treasures book, you'll see a giant list of pelts, furs, and a multitude of mundane items to use for trade. Who knows, this could lead to some extremely fun roleplaying.

Tito's Trading Post mentions that the prices for items listed in the books are base pricesfor the items where they are fairly common and supply is strong. The GM should vary these prices greatly if he deems an item short on supply or rare/exotic to the area. Factors of x5, x10, x15 or more are mentioned. Thus, finding a crossbow while trading among the Picts might be near impossible. Finding a crossbow in the markets of Zamboula might be possible, if the GM thinks a caravan carrying some has arrived, but the thing might cost 200 sp. Finding a crossbow in Belverus would be easy and cost the standard 12 sp.

As GM, always play with the prices and availability as the PCs move from place to place. It will make your game world that much more real.

Also, nickle and dime your PCs for things. Make them buy new clothing, especially if their last adventure saw them trudge through hazardous terrain in the wicked mountains, through rain and mud and rockslides. You don't have to make a big deal out of this, unless you're just in the mood to stir up a roleplaying encounter. If you feel like something like that would bog the game down, just, from time to time, have the group remove a random amount of coin for "incidentals". This will cover everything that you don't roleplay and major equipment. Or, use the High Living rule and just cut the PC's funds in half from time to time, telling the PCs how that money is used for food and lodging and clothes and new loin cloths and such.






Keep all of this in mind when the PCs encounter NPCs, too. Unless the NPC has a reason to wear armor (like guard duty), then the NPC probably won't be in armor. Guards, during their free time, won't typicaly stumble around in their armor. They'll take it off and get comfortable.

Remember the rule about sleeping in armor: pg. 155 of the 2E Core Rulebook. Fail a save and be fatigued.

Some armors can make a character fatigued, too, just by wearing the stuff for long periods of time. I think this is common sense. But, if you've got to see a rule about this, check out the optional rule on pg. 41 of Tito's Trading Post.

And, if there are going to be a lot of situations where characters who have armor aren't wearing it, the rules on pg. 157-158 of the 2E core rule book will be needed to govern how fast character can get into and out of armor when time is of the essence.







Taking all the above into account, it becomes clear that the PCs, most of the time, are going to be running into various styles of Light armor. You've got the Leather Jerkin, Mail Shirt, and Quilted Jerkin described in the 2E Core rulebook. But, look farther. You've also got other choices.

The Barbaric Warrior and Barbaric Treasures books bring you rules for mixing and matching various armor pieces withe the Piecemeal Armor Rules. Using those rules, you can have your bare chested Cimmerian come screaming through the woods, broadsword in one hand, hide shield clutched in the other, wearing horned helmet and bone shin guards--and still have this character considered to be completed unemcumbered as if he were wearing no armor but with a DR 2 (Every little bit helps--usually translates to -1 damage, every time the character is hit. It adds up.) rating for the two pieces of armor he is wearing (the shin guards and the helmet).

Look at those rules, not only for the various ways armor can be piecemealed on a character but also for the different types of armor provided.

Various articles in S&P and book bring other armor types into play. Look at the Players Guide to the Hyborian Age, Tito's Trading Post, and other various sourcebooks. The Warrior's Companion has some interesting new types.

If you've got a type of real-world armor in mind that you want to bring into the game, I suggest you look at From Stone to Steel. That book will have standard d20 stats for most types of armor known from history. You'll have to eyeball some Conan RPG-specific ratings to use the stuff in our game, but that shouldn't be too hard.





Thus, maybe you've decided that the guards employed by the Zamorian merchant wear leather jerkins. A few, the elites of the mercenary squadron, have chain mail shirts, and the Captain of the Guard wears a brigadine coat. But, once your PC Cimmerian Barbarian/Thief climbs his way into the lofty towers of the merchant's mansion and spies the barracks, these guards shouldn't be wearing any armor at all, unless they're just coming off or going on to duty. A random guard chanced in the hallway won't be wearing armor either, not unless that guard is also on duty patrolling that hallway.

This should make things more realistic; more in-line with the Conan stories and the game's universe; and more palatable for the PC Cimmerian who is wearing naught but sandles and a loin cloth.

In my game, my PCs found an amazing breastplate of the utmost quality, created in an age long since past. I made the thing an awesome discovery. The players loved it (you'd have thought I game them a +5 Holy Avenger!). But, I still hampered it. The leather straps and whatnot that helped hold the armor in place had rotted. So, the players could not use it (I only allowed them to find one breastplate!) until they got it to a qualified armor smith. At their village, there were no armorsmiths, as Cimmerian smiths are few and far between. Thus, they had to make do with what they had (I allowed a Craft Armorsmith check with a +5 to difficulty) to fix the armor, or they faced a trek south into the civilized lands of Aquilonia to find a smith to fix it for them.

My point: By keeping the item rare, I've got some very pleased, thankful players on my hands (well, one player, anyway--the one who got the breastplate). I almost got a quest out of the presentation of the armor (My players decided against the quest and ended up fixing the armor with the less talented among them in the village.) And, I've got a neat mystery injected into my story (Where did this armor come from? Who made it?)

Also remember that you can keep your PCs interested with rewards that allow them to improve their weapons and armor using the various rules in the game (see Tito's Trading Post, The Barbaric Warrior, and The Warrior's Companion, plus the relevant section in the 2E Core rulebook). This will make the players of your amorsmiths and weaponsmiths among your PCs glad that they threw precious skill points into those skills--allowing them to get tangible benefits like improving the penetration of a weapon or adding spikes to armor or a shield.







One last thought: I've seen some interesting entries on clothing. The duellist cape, from The Warrior's Companion, provides a +2 to the bluff check when attempting a feint. There are head coverings in that same book that look so fierce that the character gets a +1 bonus to Intimidate checks while wearing the hood. The Borderer's Cloak, from Barbaric Treasures, grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Hide checks.

In this tradition, my thought is to allow some heavy, thick, clothing to serve as some armor. For example, a Cimmerian wears a mantle. This is a big, thick cloak. Why not allow this cloak to serve as DR 1 armor that cannot be combined to improve DR ratings of other armor? For example, a Cimmerian wearing a mantle is consider to have DR 1 armor. The, this same Cimmerian dons a helm. Normally, this would mean DR 2 (1 for the helm and 1 for the armor of the cloak), but because of the special rule that the DR rating of the cloak cannot improve other armor, the Cimmerian still has DR 1, with or without the helm.

This will give the character a piece of equipment with a little "umph". Not all cloaks are heavy enough to be considered DR 1 in this manner. And, you're not unbalancing the game by introducing "cloak armor" since the DR ratings don't stack.

In this manner, you can highlight the goods of different regions and what not, while at the same time giving your players some "goodies" to use in the game.

 

[Supplement Four]

-- Intimidate From Iron Heroes --

I have comments about the Intimidate skill posted earlier in the thread. Looking over the D&D variant Iron Heroes, I see another method for using Demoralize Other in the Conan game (as well as other ideas).

This is quoted from the Iron Heroes Players Handbook

INTIMIDATE

Check: You instill fear into your target, forcing him to take actions against his will or turning him into a nervous, clumsy wreck. You can use the Intimidate skill in one of two ways to
intimidate one target at a time.


Browbeat Target: You can change another’s behavior with a successful check. The result of your Intimidate check is the Difficulty Class that your target must achieve using his choice
of a Will save, a base attack check, or an Intimidate check of his own. Before your target acts, he must make a check.

If he fails, he does as you order him to do. You cannot compel a person to take a dangerous, self-destructive, or plainly foolish action. For example, you could browbeat a town guard into standing back while you carry off the crown jewels, but you could not force him to attack his allies or help you with your burden. In most cases, Intimidate can force a target to take no action or to stop interfering with you. The target makes a new save or check each round and continues to do so until 1d6 minutes after you have left his presence.

If the target succeeds in his check or saves against your intimidation attempt, he may act as normal, but you can try to intimidate him again. If he beats the DC by 5 points or more, you may not make another Intimidate check against him for the rest of the encounter.

Demoralize Opponent: You can also use Intimidate to weaken an opponent’s resolve in combat. The result of your Intimidate check is the Difficulty Class that your target must
achieve using his choice of a Will save, a base attack check, or an Intimidate check of his own.

If you win, the target becomes shaken for a number of rounds equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. You can intimidate only an opponent that you threaten in melee combat and that can see you.

Action: Intimidating an opponent is a standard action.

Special: You gain a +4 bonus on your Intimidate check for every size category that you are larger than your target. Conversely, you take a –4 penalty on your Intimidate check
for every size category that you are smaller than your target. A character immune to fear can’t be intimidated, nor can nonintelligent creatures.

Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, you get a +2 bonus to Intimidate checks.

Take 10/20: Trying to intimidate someone is an inherently stressful situation. You cannot take 10 or 20 with this skill.

Extended Skill Checks: You can use an extended Intimidate check to force someone slowly into subservience. You must achieve a given number of Intimidate check successes before hitting a certain number of failures. Make one check each day on consecutive days; if you miss one or more days, you suffer one automatic failure for each day missed. You must reach a number of successes equal to 5 + your target’s Charisma modifier, while getting five failures means that you cannot force him into service. You can intimidate only one person per day in this manner, spending at least four hours each day browbeating your unwilling servant. The target of this use of Intimidate can have no more than half your Hit Dice. You can have a number of unwilling servants equal to 1 + your Charisma modifier. (If this total is 0 or less, you cannot have any.) A person forced into service in this manner obeys any nondangerous commands you give
him. He never risks his life or property for you.

Mass Intimidation: You can attempt to intimidate more than one person at a time. In this case, one opponent of the DM’s choice makes a single check to resist you. This result stands
for everyone in the group. However, you suffer a –2 penalty to your check for each opponent beyond the first. Your DM may allow more than one person to make a check to resist
you, with each checker representing a different subgroup of those you wish to intimidate. For example, while you attempt to steal the Rendergest Emerald, the town guard and a small
group of thieves burst into Duke Rendergest’s vault. You use Intimidate to freeze them in place and escape up a rope leading to the roof. The DM judges that the captain of the guard will resist your check on behalf of his men, while the outlaw Tyra Redblade resists on behalf of her cronies.
You can use mass intimidation with either use of Intimidate (demoralizing or browbeating a foe).
Power Intimidate: You make a spectacular claim of power, call out your opponent’s courage, or take a risky gambit to find a foe’s secret fear. A tough or determined enemy can see
through your ploy, but a weak one quakes before your power.

In return for a –5 penalty to your Intimidate check, you can increase the morale penalty you inflict by –1 or force an opponent to take an action that is against his interests (but
not life threatening). For example, you could force a guard to help you carry the treasure he was supposed to protect. You can take this challenge multiple times to increase the morale penalty. In the case of compelling others to obey you, your DM may increase the penalty for particularly demanding commands. However, you can never use Intimidate to force someone to obey a life-threatening order.

 

[Supplement Four]

CLOBBERED!



One varian 3.5 D&D rule that doesn't appear in the Conan rules when a character becomes clobbered. This is like a stun. See page 27 of the 3.5 DMG. Any time a character takes damage equal to half his hit points or more, the character is clobbered. When a character is clobbered, he can only take one Standard Action during the round. This only lasts for one turn. On the following round, the character returns to normal.

For example, Morghun Clanson, the 3rd level Barbarian I posted upthread, has 17 hit points. Anytime Morghun is hit with 8 or more points of damage from a single blow, he is considered clobbered. If he's hit on round 1, then he's clobbered on round 2, and back to normal on round 3.

Using this variant rule will make hit points a more important measure of a warrior's ability to take damage, since higher hit points means higher damage is needed to clobber the foe.

I haven't playtested this. I just think it's a neat idea. Maybe, the idea would be improved if the victim were given a save. A Fortitude Save vs. the total damage* of the blow might work well. This will keep the condition of being clobbered a more rare happening because not only does the character have to suffer a blow equal to or better than half his current hit points, but he'll get a save to prevent it.

As written, the rule penalizes low level characters. But, using the save, lower level characters aren't penalized near as much because the save is easily made. If you've got a 1st level Barbarian, he's got 10 hit points, if there is no CON modifier. That means any blow of 5+ points of damage will call for a Clobbered Check, but the check will hardly ever fail because a DC 5, or so, is easily made--and maybe automatically made if Fort Save bonuses are high enough.

I like the save for two more reasons: First, it adds a touch of realism to the abstract hit point system. Second, it makes it a bit easier for characters to become Clobbered as they lose hit points, reflecting the character getting tired from the combat.



*You could also go with the more usual DC of 10 + damage, but I think this would not serve the game as well, making the save harder, especially for lower level chcaracters.

 

[Supplement Four]

Damage To Specific Areas



The 3.5 DMG refers to this as a variant rule (see pg. 27), but really, it's just advice on a use of the Favorable/Unfavorable Conditions rule from page 87 of the 2E core rulebook. It's good reading. Check it out if you have access to that book. You won't use it all the time, but it will add spice to particular encounters.

 

[Supplement Four]

EPIC CAMPAIGN!



I bought the first Red Sonja Omnibus only because I have a passion for all things set during the Hyborian Age. I wasn't expecting to actually like what a read. I mean, c'mon! A super-chick running around in a chain mail bikini? Gimme a break!

But the writing and the images hooked me. I was absolutely blown away by the story. I actually bought into the character, chain mail bikini or no. And, today, the epic story told in the first omnibus remains one of my favorite Hyborian Age tales (click on link above).

I can't help thinking that, not only is this a Hyborian Age answer to Lord of the Rings, but it would also make for a fantastic mega-campaign. That is, if a GM put the time into developing it.

This story has it all: Lots and lots of plot twists, interesting characters, meanacing foes, and plenty of action.

First off, the story takes place in Hyrkania. We know little of that part of the world. Just look at a Hyborian Age map. Hyrkania is the largest non-detailed region in the known world! Hyrkania is just blank! Sandwiched inbetween Khitai and the Vilayet, Hyrkania stretches from the hot, northern reaches of Vendyha, across the height of the Vilayet, up into the frozen northern regions.

This could be a hell of an area for a GM to create his own playground. And, the Red Sonja story presented in the omnibus will put a lot of detail (about cities and locations, terrain, people and culture) where there is little to no description.

You can play the campaign in many ways. You don't have to copy a female warrior Red Sonja type. It is important, though, that at least one character in the PC party have a strong connection with a god or goddess. You can use Red Sonja's goddess or replace her with one of the Hyrkanian gods. Which god doesn't matter. Customize for your campaign.

I always thought this adventure would play out fantastically with one of the player characters being a Thula Doom type character--maybe a Soldier/Scholar multi-class. The character can be fantatical about his god, or the character could be a type that could care less about gods (like Conan) but is being manipulated by at least one of them anyway.

The adventure starts simple enough. Put a PC on horseback, and set him on a trail to a town called Gathia. Other players can be this character's hired or sworn protection. Or, maybe, if the main character is a cult leader type, the others could be followers of the same god. These are just ideas, of course. A lot of choices for the PCs are available to the players.

 

[Supplement Four]

DYNAMIC COMBAT!



Combat in the Conan RPG can be more fun than combat in any other d20 based game. Where many have said that D&D is a magic-centric game, the Conan RPG can be a warrior focussed game (just look at the character classes!) if you play with all the game's bells and whistles.

Let's look at a sampling. Going into a combat scenario, what options does a 1st level character have?

(All references are to the 2E Core rulebook.)

A Feint can be attempted, using the Bluff skill. Pg. 93. See also pg. 207.

A character can use a standard action to try and intimidate a foe using the Demoralize Other function of the Intimidate skill. Pg. 107.

Shields are used defensively, to boost AC, and as weapons. All shields are stated both ways. Pg. 159.

Choice of weapon can heavily influence combat technique: Pros and Cons of Thrown or missle weapons vs. melee weapons. Reach weapons vs. weapons with standard 5' threat range. One handed vs. two handed weapons. One weapon fighting vs. two weapon fighting. Standard attack vs. Full Attack.

There are two forms of defense to choose from: Parry Defense and Dodge Defense. Pg. 170.

There are two basic forms of attack to choose from: Standard brute force based attacks and Finesse fighting. Pg. 171.

A character using the Dodge defense who is crowded on all sides takes a -2 penalty to his AC. Pg. 173.

When attack roll equals Parry Defense exactly, the Weapon Breakage rule kicks in to replace the successful hit as if the attacker had just made a successful sunder attack. Damage is placed on the defender's weapon or shield instead of reducing the defender's hit points. This makes the Dodge defense easier on equipment and allows equipment to deteriorate from use. Pg. 174.

The Weapon Length rule gives an advantage to a character using a bigger, longer weapon than his foe. For example, a character armed with a dagger would have a -2 penalty placed on his Parry defense if facing a foe using a two-handed greatsword. Likewise, the foe with the greatsword would benefit from a +2 bonus to his Parry defense when defending himself from the dagger wielder. This rule encourages the use of Dodge--jumping out of the way of that greatsword rather than Parrying it with a dagger! Pg. 174.

Armor reduces damage. It doesn't make a character harder to hit. Weapons have an Armor Piercing score, which is usually increased by a character's STR rating. This represents a character's ability to punch through armor. Pg. 178.

Armor can be damaged in melee. See the Armor damage and repair rule. Pg. 179.

The Fighting Defensively rule is one that should be used often in this most dangerous game. In effect, a character takes a -4 on his attack in order to benefit from a +2 bonus to the character's defense. Pg. 184.

The Fighting On The Run rule allows a character to move, attack, and then finish his movement, promoting some interesting tactical movement choices. Pg. 184.

Total Defense is a rule that allows a character to spend his Standard Action defending himself only, instead of attacking and defending. The character benefits by getting a +4 bonus to his defense. Pg. 185.

Withdraw is a way to attempt to disengage from melee and move more than 5 feet without earning an Attack of Opportunity from your enemy. Pg. 187.

Characters who have 1 HP or more are considered fully capable. Characters at 0 HP are Staggered. Characters at -1 HP or below are immobile and dying. Characters at -10 HP are dead. Pg. 191.

There are two types of damage, lethal and non-lethal. Pg. 192.

Cover, especially for ranged combatants, can improve defense with a +4 bonus. Pg. 196.

Flanking an enemy nets the flankers a +2 bonus to hit. Pg. 198.

Helpless defenders can be attacked with a regular attack or a coup de grace. Pg. 198.

Multiple opponents will gain ever increasing bonuses to attack the single foe that they encircle. Pg. 202.

Fighting with two weapons, one in each hand, is a deadly combat technique, and in the Conan RPG, the rules are kinder to this fighting style than in most other d20 games. Pg. 203.

The Aid Another rule can be used in combat. Pg. 204.

Those using missile weapons will gain a +2 attack bonus if the characters first spends a round to aim. Pg. 204.

If the goal is to push an enemy back a distance or knock him down, use the Bull Rush combat maneuver. Pg. 204.

The Charge is a favored, standard combat maneuver. Pg. 204.

When the attack throw is less than half a target's Dodge defense, the target is allowed an immediate, free action to move 5 feet in any direction the target (with a DEX 13+) desires. The Dance Aside rule can sometimes make for some interesting tactical movement decisions. Pg. 205.

The Delay action allows a character to lower his initiative score. Pg. 205.

In the right situation, with the right objects within reach, the Improvised Attack combat maneuver can give characters who have STR 13+ and DEX 13+ an extra attack during the round. Pg. 208.

The Lock Weapons rule gives both the attacker and defender a choice to lock weapons whenever the attack throw exactly equals the Parry defense. Both the attacker and defender have to decline to use the maneuver in order for this rule to be ignored. If either, or both, the attacker and defender want to use the rule, then the Lock Weapons attempt is played out. Also see the Weapon Breakage rule, above. Pg. 209.

The Ready action allows a character to trigger his action to some special event later in the round (like aiming at a doorway and firing your crossbow at the first creature through the door). Pg. 210.

If caught on the ground, the Roll maneuver allows a character to avoid standard prone penalties. Pg. 210.

Characters can take advantage of their skills and the combat terrain with the Use the Battlefield maneuver. In the most recent Conan movie, Conan runs up to a foe, jumps, then springs off a column with his feet, to come down swinging on his foe from above. A successful skill check would give Conan a +2 bonus on this creative attack. Jumping off a balcony, grabbing a chandelier, and dropping on an opponent would use this rule (and a couple skill checks). Pg. 212.



Now, that is A LOT OF CHOICES! And all 1st level characters can mix and match any of these maneuvers to gain their best tactical advantaged. And...I haven't even named them all! I left out all the stuff that you can do that allows your target an Attack Of Opportunity against you (like a Sunder or a Trip). I also left out special maneuvers that require Feats. I didn't touch special class abilities or sorcery, either.

COMBINE all of this stuff (after a fairly hefty learning curve, albeit), and what do you get?

Exciting, intricate combat encounters that transcend the traditional you-go-I-go aspect of many d20 combat encounters. Add in rules from other Conan sources, like the various unarmed combat strikes from the Barbaric Warrior book, and combat becomes even more rich.

Your Conan combats will go from the dull to the amazing, as seen in the video below, if you learn to use all of these choices in your game.

Your Conan combats can look and feel like this--->

AWESOME COMBAT SCENE FROM THE FILM "CENTURION"

 

[Supplement Four]

For Example....


After watching the clip from Centurion above, imagine a similar scene set in the Hyborian Age. For this example, we've got a lone Aquilonian 2nd level Soldier, on foot, walking down the gully pictured in the clip. Away in the forest, is a lone 1st level Pict warrior, tracking him. We can set this in the Westermark.

The Aquilonian makes a Listen check and stops to gaze up the slope into the forest. The Pict rises from his hiding spot and charges down the hill, screaming at the top of his lungs.





The Pict wins initiative.

That means the Soldier is flat footed.

The Charge results in the Pict getting an attack with a +2 bonus (it also means the Pict is -2 to his defense until his next action). The flat footed Aquilonian is AC 10.

The Pict is using a targe and primitive hunting spear. The Aquilonian uses a large shield and short sword, plus he wears a helm and scale corselet (DR 6).

The Pict easily hits but does no damage because his spear does not penetrate the Aquilonian's armor. In fact, the head of the spear snaps off when it makes contact (see page 152 under Primitive Weapons).

Now the Aquilonian is no longer flat footed. He strikes with his short sword and hits. The Pict wears no armor and takes the full brunt of the damage. 1d8 is rolled, resulting in a 2, plus 2 more for the Aquilonian's STR modifier. The Pict takes 4 points of damage, leaving him 7 points.





Round Two.

The Pict uses his 5' step to move back away from the Aquilonian, dropping both the broken spear and his shield as he does so. His fingers go to blood streaming down his chest from the Aquilonian's slash, then to his face. His fingertips trace three lines of blood from his chin, over his lips, and across his cheek. This is all done in a matter of seconds (and is, in fact, the Pict's standard action to Demoralize his foe).

The Pict gets a +1 modifier for his war paint. But, because of the situation, the Aquilonan gets a +2 cirumstance bonus on his resistance throw because he drew first blood and faces a pict that is weaponless.

Nevertheless, the Pict wins the toss, and the Soldier will be considered demoralized (-2 attack, -2 skill checks, -2 saves) for two rounds (using the Pathfinder version of the rule as I suggest above).

The Soldier steps up 5' and uses a Full Action to attack both with his shield and his shortsword.

If you attempt to Parry an armed foe without a weapon, you suffer a -4 penalty to your Parry AC. Therefore, the Pict is using his Dodge AC against the Aquilonian's swing.

The attack throw for the shortsword is poor. In fact, it's less than half the Pict's Dodge AC. This triggers the Dance Aside combat maneuver. Since this maneuver is an immediate action, the Pict is allowed a free action to move 5' in any direction he wants. He hops away from the shortsword swing, now 5' from the Aquilonian.

This maneuver might have just saved the Pict's life because now, the Soldier cannot connect with his shield bash. The Soldier did a Full Action when attacking with Two Weapons, and thus could only move 5' maximum. He cannot now move another 5' to follow the Pict and hit with his shield. Thus, the benefit of the Dance Aside maneuver.





It's now Round Three, and the Soldier is still considered demoralized this round.

The Pict screams his head off, death shining in his eyes, and moves to grapple the Soldier.

Attempting a grapple like this means the Aquilonian gets an Attack of Opportunity on the Pict, which he uses, swings, and misses by one point. The round spent demoralizing the Soldier turned out to be well worth it.

Now, the grapple is resolved. The Pict rolls a STR check vs. the Aquilonian's Grapple AC. The Grapple AC is penalized by the -8 Armor Check Penalty. But, still, the Pict fails! He rolls a natural 1! As the the Pict is a player character, though (where as the Aquilonian is a GM controlled NPC), the Pict has 3 Fate Points. The player uses one now, using the Reroll option. The grapple check is made again...and the Pict is successful!

The two are now considered to be grappling!

Now, it's the Aquilonian's turn. The grappling rules maintain that only light weapons can be used while grappling. Most other main weapons would have to be dropped, but a short sword is considered a light weapon. Therefore, the Aquilonan can still use it, even while grappled.

And, let's not forget that the Aquilonian is still demoralized this round. That's a -2 penalty to hit. And, because the character is grappling, that's another -4 penalty to hit. But, the Pict cannot use either the Parry or Dodge defense while grappling, which means the Pict is AC 10. The Aquilonian shoves with his sword, but the -6 penalty is too much for him. He fails to damage the Pict.





We're going into round 4 now--almost half a minute of combat being represented!

At this point, the two grappling characters are considered to be in the same square. The Aquilonian's armor and the penalties of grappling make it unlikely that the Pict will win this fight by drawing his dagger and slitting the Soldier's throat. It's a -4 penalty on the strike because of the grapple, and a Finesse attack would have to be used, meaning another -6 points to the attack roll. There is not way a 1st level Pict will overcome a -10 penalty unless he throws a natural 20--a perfect hit.

Instead, the Pict can ignore armor by using unarmed strikes and non-lethal damage.

With his left arm locked around the Soldier, the Pict begins slamming punches square into the Aquilonian's face. Smack. Smack. Smack. This is the only grapple attack without penalties.

The Pict rolls his attack (the grapple attack is used, not the standard attack) and lucks out with a 20! Then, maximum damage is thrown! The Wolf God is pleased with this Pict! The Soldier suffers 6 points of non-lethal damage, while his hit points remain at his max of 13.

On the Soldier's turn (no longer suffering from being demoralized), he drops the shield, which lowers his Armor Check Penalty by half to -4 and attempts to escape from the grapple. This is an Escape Artist check, or a Grapple check, vs. the Pict's Grapple AC.

The armor check penalty on the check is -4 because he is not longer encumbered with his shield. Still, it's enough to make the character fail and allow the Pict to maintain his grip.





Round 5. 30 second of combat.

The Pict keeps pounding the Soldier in the face, his knuckles red with blood now. He's just holding the Aquilonian by his armor, bracing the man's weapon arm, slamming his fist straight into the Soldier's face.

The Pict hits again, this time doing 2 more points of non-lethal damage, for a total of 8 points vs. 13 HP.

The Aquilonian struggles with his short sword, against the -4 attack penalty for the grapple, and shoves it again at the Pict's gut. He's getting the crap knocked out of him, and he's got to kill this savage. He hits, doing a total of 5 points of damage.

The Pict now only has 2 HP left.





Round 6.

The Pict moves to catch his opponent in a hold, suppressing his weapon arm. The two are standing, moving around, locked in a grapple, when the Pict attempts to move behind the Soldier.

This is a Pin maneuver. And it requires a Grapple check vs. the Aquilonian's Grapple AC.

The Pict wins, and the Aquilonian is held.

The Aquilonian attempts to break the pin but is unsuccessful.





Round 7.

With the Soldier pinned in the Pict's grip, the Pict graps the Aquilonian's weapon arm several times and slams it accross his knee, then, with wrestles to grab the hild out of the Soldier's hand. This is a Disarm action, modified by the grapple rules. This gives the Aquilonian an Attack of Opportunity, and knowing this, the Pict player decides to spend another Fate Point. This time, it allows him to Dodge or Parry, with a +5 bonus modifier, even in circumstance where he cannot normally Dodge or Parry (such as when grappling).

The Soldier gets his AoO and attempts to shove his sword down into the Pict's thigh. He easily misses this due to the Pict's Dodge.

Now, the Pict attempts the Disarm, which the Pict wins. By the Disarm rules, the short sword is now in the Pict's Hands.

On the Soldier's turn, he attempts to break the pin again, but with those Fate Point modifiers, it proves impossible.





Round 8.

With the Soldier pinned, he's got an effect DEX 0, which means he's AC 5. So, even with the armor, the Pict needs to roll an 11+ in order to damage the Soldier with the short sword. The Finesse hit is a success! And, the Pict shoves the short sword in between the panels of the Soldier's armor under his arm, into his ribs.

Damage is 6 points. The Soldier's HP total drops from 13 to 7. And, his non-lethal damage is 8.

The Soldier collapses back on the Pict at this moment. He's not dead, just exhausted. And beat. And about to die at the hands of this Pict.





We're out of rounds now, into scenes. It will take about half an hour for the Soldier to rouse himself, but he hasn't got an hour. The Pict uses the tip of the short sword to slice the straps holding the Aquilonian's helmet, then throws the thing down the gully. Next, fresh blood runs down the Soldier's face, and he begins to scream, in spite of his condition. The Pict removes his scalp. Then the Pict simply holds the short sword high, in a reverse grip, and slams the point down into the Aquilonian's throat, stapling him to the ground.

And with that, he lifts his war cry to the heavens. Another invader taught the cold, harsh lesson of the Pictish frontier.





Are your fights like this? Do you use this game to its fullest? Or do you just go back and forth with the opponents trading swipes at each other.

If you, as GM, start using all the special attacks and maneuvers that this game offers, I bet your players will see the advantage and start doing it, too.

With the above, you saw how a 1st level Pict PC with primitive weapons could take out a heavily armored 2nd level Soldier. Of course, I wrote this as an example. More likely, the fight would be shorter than what I wrote above (I wanted to highlight various combat techniques). The point is, the Conan RPG gives you all the tools you need to live through very exciting combats.

You've just got to spend some time learning the options.

 

[Supplement Four]

The Journey of Cian McDowd



If you're interested in reading the exploits of this character that I created for a solo game, click on the title above to be taken to that thread.

 

[Supplement Four]

GRAPPLE!



I should point out that one of the brilliant rule changes of the Second Edition Conan game is that the standard d20 grappling rules were improved. No longer would a character need to first make a touch attack AND THEN a grapple attack in order to first grab then hold his opponent in a grapple. Check out pg. 199 of the 2E core rules. There, you will a more simplified rules than what is presented in the other two editions of the game.

Now, with the 2E rules, a grapple is as simple as making an unarmed attack. First, the object of the grapple gets an Attack of Opportunity on his attacker. If that does not hit or fails to damage the character because of his armor, the grapple proceeds with a single, simple throw.

In order to attempt the grapple, a character makes a grapple check, which is basically an unarmed attack (d20 + BAB + STR mod). This can be thrown against his foe's own grapple check, or his foe can use his Grapple AC (which is his grapple check if he took 10 on the throw).

It's that easy.

In the following rounds, the grapple proceeds unless a throw is made to break the grapple.

Very easy stuff.