Conan: Heroes & Archvillains Hardcover

[Strom]

Looking for some info on upcoming 2nd Edition Conan books and this popped up:

Conan: Heroes & Archvillains Hardcover
Mongoose Publishing
List price: $29.95

Also had a GM Screen listed for 2nd Edition ($14.95). Of course it also had the Conan & the Waking Dream adventure listed, which I think is off the table for now.

Any info on the Heroes & Archvillians book? Sounds like it could be really interesting original idea, which would be cool.

 

[The King]

This could be a kind of bestiary with humans instead. This was heavily demanded some times ago (that is to have some human NPCs as opponents).

 

[Padre]

Yeah, last Sunday I needed a generic pre-generated Kushite sorcerer and I thought "Damn, there should be a bestiary with pre-generated villains". Great idea for the lazy!

 

[VincentDarlage]

Yeah, last Sunday I needed a generic pre-generated Kushite sorcerer and I thought "Damn, there should be a bestiary with pre-generated villains". Great idea for the lazy!

A little late, but...

Kushite Tribal priest
Young Tribal priest: Medium Kushite Barbarian 1 / Scholar 2; Hit Dice: 1d10+2d6 (13 hit points); Initiative: +4 (+2 Dex, +2 Ref); Speed: 30 ft.; Dodge Defence: 12 (+0 level, +2 Dex); Parry Defence: 15 (+0 level, +1 Str, +4 shield); BAB/Grapple: +2/+3; Attack: Hunting Spear +3 melee ; Full Attack: Hunting Spear +3 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+2/ x2/ AP 2; Space/Reach: 5 ft (1)/5 ft (1); Special Attacks: Versatility (-2 penalty), sorcery styles; Special Qualities: Kushite traits, illiteracy, fearless, scholar, lay priest background, base power points, knowledge is power, +1 power point; Saves: Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +4 ; Abilities: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 15; Skills: Bluff +4, Craft (blacksmith) +1, Hide +6*, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (nature) +1, Knowledge (religion) +1, Listen +3*, Move Silently +6*, Perform (dance) +4, Perform (ritual) +6, Sense Motive +3, Spot +5*, Survival +5*; Feats: Fighting-Madness, Ritual Sacrifice, Hexer, Track; Code of Honour: None; Reputation: 4 (talented); Leadership: – ; Allegiances: Tribal Chief, Family; Base Power Points: 6 (4 base, +1 Wis, +1 bonus; 12 maximum); Magical Attack: +3/+5 (+1 level, +2 Cha / +2 if using Curses); Sorcery Styles: Curses, Hypnotism; Spells Known: Entrance, Lesser Ill-Fortune; Corruption: 0; Insanity: None; Possessions: Hunting Spear, shield, loin cloth, feathers, bones, fetish-wand

Experienced Tribal priest: Medium Kushite Barbarian 2 / Scholar 3; Hit Dice: 2d10+3d6 (22 hit points); Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Ref); Speed: 30 ft.; Dodge Defence: 14 (+2 level, +2 Dex); Parry Defence: 16 (+1 level, +1 Str, +4 shield); BAB/Grapple: +4/+5; Attack: Hunting Spear +5 melee ; Full Attack: Hunting Spear +5 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+2/ x2/ AP 2; Space/Reach: 5 ft (1)/5 ft (1); Special Attacks: Versatility (-2 penalty), sorcery styles; Special Qualities: Kushite traits, illiteracy, fearless, scholar, lay priest background, base power points, knowledge is power, +1 power point, advanced spell; Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +4 ; Abilities: Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 16; Skills: Bluff +7, Craft (blacksmith) +2, Craft (dolls) +1, Craft (herbalism) +1, Hide +6*, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (arcana) +2, Knowledge (nature) +2, Knowledge (religion) +2, Listen +3*, Move Silently +6*, Perform (dance) +5, Perform (ritual) +9, Sense Motive +5, Spot +7*, Survival +7*; Feats: Fighting-Madness, Ritual Sacrifice, Hexer, Persuasive, Track; Code of Honour: None; Reputation: 9 (villain); Leadership: – ; Allegiances: Tribal Chief, Family; Base Power Points: 6 (4 base, +1 Wis, +1 bonus; 12 maximum); Magical Attack: +4/+6 (+1 level, +3 Cha / +2 if using Curses); Sorcery Styles: Curses, Hypnotism; Spells Known: Entrance, Ill-Fortune Lesser, Ill-Fortune; Corruption: 0; Insanity: None; Possessions: Hunting Spear, shield, loin cloth, feathers, bones, fetish-wand

Accomplished Tribal priest: Medium Kushite Barbarian 2 / Scholar 5; Hit Dice: 2d10+5d6 (29 hit points); Initiative: +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Ref); Speed: 30 ft.; Dodge Defence: 14 (+2 level, +2 Dex); Parry Defence: 16 (+1 level, +1 Str, +4 shield); BAB/Grapple: +5/+6; Attack: Hunting Spear +6 melee ; Full Attack: Hunting Spear +6 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+2/ x2/ AP 2; Space/Reach: 5 ft (1)/5 ft (1); Special Attacks: Versatility (-2 penalty), sorcery styles; Special Qualities: Kushite traits, illiteracy, fearless, scholar, lay priest background, base power points, knowledge is power, +1 power point, advanced spell x3; Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +8 ; Abilities: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 17; Skills: Bluff +7, Craft (blacksmith) +4, Craft (dolls) +3, Craft (herbalism) +3, Hide +6*, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, Listen +4*, Move Silently +6*, Perform (dance) +5, Perform (ritual) +11, Sense Motive +4, Spot +6*, Survival +6*; Feats: Fighting-Madness, Ritual Sacrifice, Hexer, Iron Will, Persuasive, Tortured Sacrifice, Track; Code of Honour: None; Reputation: 10 (villain); Leadership: – ; Allegiances: Tribal Chief, Family; Base Power Points: 7 (4 base, +2 Wis, +1 bonus; 14 maximum); Magical Attack: +5/+7 (+2 level, +3 Cha / +2 if using Curses); Sorcery Styles: Curses, Hypnotism, Divination; Spells Known: Astrological Prediction, Entrance, Hypnotic Suggestion, Ill-Fortune, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Psychometry ; Corruption: 0; Insanity: None; Possessions: Hunting Spear, shield, loin cloth, feathers, bones, fetish-wand

Master Tribal priest: Medium Kushite Barbarian 2 / Scholar 7; Hit Dice: 2d10+7d6 (36 hit points); Initiative: +7 (+2 Dex, +5 Ref); Speed: 30 ft.; Dodge Defence: 15 (+3 level, +2 Dex); Parry Defence: 17 (+2 level, +1 Str, +4 shield); BAB/Grapple: +7/+8; Attack: Hunting Spear +8 melee ; Full Attack: Hunting Spear +8/+3 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+2/ x2/ AP 2; Space/Reach: 5 ft (1)/5 ft (1); Special Attacks: Versatility (-2 penalty), sorcery styles; Special Qualities: Kushite traits, illiteracy, fearless, scholar, lay priest background, base power points, knowledge is power, +2 power point, advanced spell x5, increased maximum power points (triple); Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +9 ; Abilities: Str 13, Dex 15, Con 11, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 18; Skills: Bluff +9, Craft (blacksmith) +4, Craft (dolls) +4, Craft (herbalism) +4, Hide +6*, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (nature) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Listen +4*, Move Silently +6*, Perform (dance) +6, Perform (ritual) +14, Sense Motive +6, Spot +6*, Survival +6*; Feats: Fighting-Madness, Focused Magical Link, Ritual Sacrifice, Hexer, Iron Will, Persuasive, Tortured Sacrifice, Track; Code of Honour: None; Reputation: 13 (villain); Leadership: – ; Allegiances: Tribal Chief, Family; Base Power Points: 8 (4 base, +2 Wis, +2 bonus; 24 maximum); Magical Attack: +7/+9 (+3 level, +4 Cha / +2 if using Curses); Sorcery Styles: Curses, Hypnotism, Divination; Spells Known: Astrological Prediction, Entrance, Greater Ill-Fortune, Hypnotic Suggestion, Ill-Fortune, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Psychometry, Savage Beast ; Corruption: 0; Insanity: None; Possessions: Hunting Spear, shield, loin cloth, feathers, bones, fetish-wand

Legendary Tribal priest: Medium Kushite Barbarian 2 / Scholar 9; Hit Dice: 2d10+8d6+10+2 (51 hit points); Initiative: +8 (+3 Dex, +5 Ref); Speed: 30 ft.; Dodge Defence: 17 (+4 level, +3 Dex); Parry Defence: 19 (+3 level, +2 Str, +4 shield); BAB/Grapple: +8/+10; Attack: Hunting Spear +10 melee ; Full Attack: Hunting Spear +10/+5 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+3/ x2/ AP 3; Space/Reach: 5 ft (1)/5 ft (1); Special Attacks: Versatility (-2 penalty), sorcery styles; Special Qualities: Kushite traits, illiteracy, fearless, scholar, lay priest background, base power points, knowledge is power, +2 power point, advanced spell x7, increased maximum power points (triple); Saves: Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +10 ; Abilities: Str 14, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 19; Skills: Bluff +11, Craft (blacksmith) +7, Craft (dolls) +7, Craft (herbalism) +7, Hide +7*, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, Listen +4*, Move Silently +7*, Perform (dance) +6, Perform (ritual) +14, Sense Motive +8, Spot +6*, Survival +6*; Feats: Fighting-Madness, Focused Magical Link, Ritual Sacrifice, Hexer, Iron Will, Persuasive, Priest, Tortured Sacrifice, Track; Code of Honour: None; Reputation: 13 (villain); Leadership: – ; Allegiances: Tribal Chief, Family; Base Power Points: 8 (4 base, +2 Wis, +2 bonus; 24 maximum); Magical Attack: +8/+10 (+4 level, +4 Cha / +2 if using Curses); Sorcery Styles: Curses, Hypnotism, Divination, Nature Magic; Spells Known: Astrological Prediction, Entrance, Greater Ill-Fortune, Domination, Hypnotic Suggestion, Ill-Fortune, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Psychometry, Savage Beast, Summon Beast, Torment** ; Corruption: 0; Insanity: None; Possessions: Hunting Spear, shield, loin cloth, feathers, bones, fetish-wand

* includes +2 circumstance bonus for being in a hot environment
** spell from Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos

 

[Padre]

A little late, but...

Excellent, thank you! We're playing again today, so that's extremely handy.

 

[The King]

It's awful. It is once again a great job Vincent, but this is why I dislike this system so much. It takes aeons just to create NPC's with their skills and feats.

 

[MongooseMatt]

It's awful. It is once again a great job Vincent, but this is why I dislike this system so much. It takes aeons just to create NPC's with their skills and feats.

This was one of the major drives behind RuneQuest - those who like the 'chrome' in their rules have Conan, those who prefer a looser system have RQ!

 

[B_Steele]

Any info on the Heroes & Archvillians book? Sounds like it could be really interesting original idea, which would be cool.

I know I wrote it, but I do not know if it is still on the future release list. Matt might have more information.

 

[The King]

It's awful. It is once again a great job Vincent, but this is why I dislike this system so much. It takes aeons just to create NPC's with their skills and feats.

This was one of the major drives behind RuneQuest - those who like the 'chrome' in their rules have Conan, those who prefer a looser system have RQ!

Yes, but now there is legendary abilities which not only add some chrome but are also a great improvement (or evolution?) to show real masteries in skills.
I don't know who did create these rules but this is an excellent idea.

I had the idea to create something like this years ago with a BRPG basis with arborescent skills using Gurps exhaustive list but in the end Legendary abilities do the job perfectly while still being simple.

 

[Strom]

Any info on the Heroes & Archvillians book? Sounds like it could be really interesting original idea, which would be cool.

I know I wrote it, but I do not know if it is still on the future release list. Matt might have more information.

Big book o' NPCs sound about right, MS?

 

[kintire]

It takes aeons just to create NPC's with their skills and feats.

Its not a problem. After all, Vincent's efforts above are mighty in their completeness, but you don't actually need 90% of that information. Here's the statblock for that legendary tribal priest as he actually appears in game:

Legendary Tribal priest: 51 hit points; Initiative: +8, Dodge Defence: 17 Parry Defence: 19 BAB/Grapple: +8/+10; Attack: Hunting Spear +10/+5 melee ; Damage: Hunting Spear 1d8+3/ x2/ AP 3; Saves: Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +10 ; Power Points: 8 (24) Hide +7*, Intimidate +13, Listen +4*, Move Silently +7*, Sense Motive +8, Spot +6*, Magical Attack: +8/+10 Spells Known: Astrological Prediction, Entrance, Greater Ill-Fortune, Domination, Hypnotic Suggestion, Ill-Fortune, Lesser Ill-Fortune, Psychometry, Savage Beast, Summon Beast, Torment**

And its only this long because he's a major NPC and a spell caster. Normal NPCs look like this:

Guard: Att +4 Dmge d8+2 Dr 2 F2 R3 W1 AC15 Hps 12 Skills 4. Fts Power Attack, Cleave.

I mean, do I REALLY need to know that Mr. "on stage for one encounter, if he even makes it to the last round" has Craft Blacksmith +7?

 

[The King]

I mean, do I REALLY need to know that Mr. "on stage for one encounter, if he even makes it to the last round" has Craft Blacksmith +7?

This makes me think of an ancien MERP soucebook I read recently where Sauron main skills are described. You'll thus be pleased to know that Sauron has a cook skill of 90%.

Of course It is not important, but it is still long to figure out the main features , if only to see all prerequisites are fullfilled. Moreover one still has to check out everything to avoid creating supervillain everytime.

 

[Style]

It's awful. It is once again a great job Vincent, but this is why I dislike this system so much. It takes aeons just to create NPC's with their skills and feats.

Oh Savage Worlds, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.



The test drive is free and the complete core rules are just $10. Best yet, Converting everything you have from Mongoose and creating new NPCs is so easy that you can do it on the fly/mid-game, and not miss a beat.

Mongoose has a great setting, but as far as systems go, Savage Worlds beats D20 at every turn (IMHO).

 

[Hervé]

Style wrote:

Oh Savage Worlds, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

:wink:

The test drive is free and the complete core rules are just $10. Best yet, Converting everything you have from Mongoose and creating new NPCs is so easy that you can do it on the fly/mid-game, and not miss a beat.

Mongoose has a great setting, but as far as systems go, Savage Worlds beats D20 at every turn (IMHO).

For those who plan to turn to SW, get the Solomon Kane book. It'll cost you a few more bucks, but it's Howard stuff and it really rocks!

 

[Padre]

Style wrote:

Oh Savage Worlds, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

:wink:

The test drive is free and the complete core rules are just $10. Best yet, Converting everything you have from Mongoose and creating new NPCs is so easy that you can do it on the fly/mid-game, and not miss a beat.

Mongoose has a great setting, but as far as systems go, Savage Worlds beats D20 at every turn (IMHO).

For those who plan to turn to SW, get the Solomon Kane book. It'll cost you a few more bucks, but it's Howard stuff and it really rocks!

That's what I am ordering right now.

 

[Style]

Style wrote:

Oh Savage Worlds, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

:wink:

The test drive is free and the complete core rules are just $10. Best yet, Converting everything you have from Mongoose and creating new NPCs is so easy that you can do it on the fly/mid-game, and not miss a beat.

Mongoose has a great setting, but as far as systems go, Savage Worlds beats D20 at every turn (IMHO).

For those who plan to turn to SW, get the Solomon Kane book. It'll cost you a few more bucks, but it's Howard stuff and it really rocks!

I second that. I have both the core rules and the Kane book, but for Conan you only need the Kane book. If you run Kane rules minus fire arms it's perfect for Conan.

 

[Dpetroc]

Style wrote:

Oh Savage Worlds, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

:wink:

The test drive is free and the complete core rules are just $10. Best yet, Converting everything you have from Mongoose and creating new NPCs is so easy that you can do it on the fly/mid-game, and not miss a beat.

Mongoose has a great setting, but as far as systems go, Savage Worlds beats D20 at every turn (IMHO).

For those who plan to turn to SW, get the Solomon Kane book. It'll cost you a few more bucks, but it's Howard stuff and it really rocks!

I second that. I have both the core rules and the Kane book, but for Conan you only need the Kane book. If you run Kane rules minus fire arms it's perfect for Conan.

Thirded. We dropped our Conan campaign for Solomon Kane. I have a D&D campaign to finish at some point, but after that I think I might be done with d20.

 

[Style]

Thirded. We dropped our Conan campaign for Solomon Kane. I have a D&D campaign to finish at some point, but after that I think I might be done with d20.

I may run a Kane campaign next, whenever we tire of Conan, but it doesn't look like we'll tire of Conan any time soon. I'd love to hear how your Kane game is going, but in the interest of not derailing the thread, perhaps you could start a new thread (or just pm me).

At any rate, yeah, if I have any say so I'm done with D20. Unfortunately, it's extremely hard to find gamers for non-D20 games, so I could see me caving in at some point to play some one else's D20 game. I don't think I'll ever GM another D20 game though.