Conan & Necropolis

[SJE]

OK, I've got Conan.

I've also got that old school tomb robbing classic of Set-bashing and idol snatching- Gary Gygax's Necropolis.

And I want to run Necropolis with the Conan rules in the Hyborean Age.

So, which country is best to substitute for Khem? And do people see any mechanical difficulties in combining the 2 books e.g. needing high magic to pass certain challenges or accessing certain areas?

Thx.

SJE

 

[Anonymous]

OK, I've got Conan.

I've also got that old school tomb robbing classic of Set-bashing and idol snatching- Gary Gygax's Necropolis.

And I want to run Necropolis with the Conan rules in the Hyborean Age.

So, which country is best to substitute for Khem? And do people see any mechanical difficulties in combining the 2 books e.g. needing high magic to pass certain challenges or accessing certain areas?

Thx.

SJE

I don't have Necropolis, but I've seen it and I would say Stygia would be your best bet, as it is the most Egyptian-like. There are haunted pyramids in the Eastern Desert that might fit, as well.

For impossible to convert (high magic) areas or situations, you can use either a Fate Point system (spend a Fate Point to bypass the high magic requirement, making up a suitable in-game explanation), or you'll have to tweak it to fit. I would say instead of high magic, you could replace it with mundane traps or puzzles (Traps & Treachery is a good d20 resource, or Gimtooth's Traps if you want to be truly sadistic).

 

[Malkaline]

Thanks SJE for simply typing the word Necropolis. I don't have the original, but I did pick up the d20 version. After reading through it, it has sat on the shelf, until now. I don't plan on transferring the whole adventure, but the book does contain a ton of ideas. The maps of the temples and shrines are great. The regular traps are easily transferrable. I like the fate point idea that Iron-Chef wrote. How about a "magical" trap that somehow tests the characters code of honor?

 

[Anonymous]

I like the fate point idea that Iron-Chef wrote. How about a "magical" trap that somehow tests the characters code of honor?

That is a cool idea. Please post your results here. But what about characters with no code of honour?

 

[S'mon]

2 problems:

1. Stygia would be the obvious place to set it, but Necropolis is set in a very black vs white 'high fantasy' Eqypt (Khemit) where Set is an outlawed, underground cult. In Sygia Set is the chief god! There isn't a suitable realm in Hyborea that I can think of; I guess making it Stygia and changing the setup might work - eg maybe the bad-guys could serve Apophis, a rival serpent-god.

2. I own and have tried to run Necropolis. We found it to be an unplayable, horrendously convoluted-yet-railroaded, well-nigh indecipherable nightmare of a scenario. It nearly killed my D&D campaign! We quit it ASAP. I'd be wary of it if I were you.

That said, the new monsters and general background info on Egypt seems fine, the deity write-ups are perfectly ok.

 

[Anonymous]

maybe the bad-guys could serve Apophis, a rival serpent-god.

Morath-Aminee, the Eater of Souls, is a rival serpent-god to Set cast out of Stygia and imprisoned by Set in another dimension. It, its relationship to its "priesthood" and sacrificial ceremonies to it are all detailed in Robert Jordan's first Hyborian Age novel, CONAN THE INVINCIBLE (Tor Books, 1983). The necromancer Amanar (an enemy of Thoth-Amon and the Black Ring) is Morath-Aminee's high priest (sole priest, actually). A fun book!