Conan Noob

[Mage]

I am Curious about this game, and with the second edition out, well, am tempted.

What I know about Conan:
There were two animated series I liked
Robert E howard wrote them, who knew lovecraft
Therefore there is some sort of Cthulhu link
Robert Jordan wrote versions of conan (which I heard were bad)
There were cool serpent men in the animated series
McFarlane Toys did some bad ass action figures for it
Conan always has to run without getting the money
Was the inspiration for heman

So, tell me this, why should I play this game? Tell me about the world, and suppliments. What makes this different and worth inversing in than say d&d?

 

[Belkregos]

check it out

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=30342
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29374

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

If you like D&D, and have always liked the d20 concept, you WILL LOVE CONAN. It is quite different, more deadly, less and more specific magic, and an all around Great game.

Of course, you have to collect all the supplements. All are compatible with 2nd edition.

Luckily, I got them as they came out..

 

[Clovenhoof]

Aaah yes, I remembered that there was a similar thread a few months back, but couldn't come up with a search term. "Why Should I" was the proper thread. Enjoy. ^^

 

[arderkrag]

I am Curious about this game, and with the second edition out, well, am tempted.

What I know about Conan:
There were two animated series I liked
Robert E howard wrote them, who knew lovecraft
Therefore there is some sort of Cthulhu link

Yes. Lovecraft, one of my favorite authors (Howard tops the list), maintained a circle of correspondence sort of like the Inklings, the Tolkien/Lewis writing circle. These groups exchanged ideas and world concepts, helping to develop each other's writing styles.

Robert Jordan wrote versions of conan (which I heard were bad)

Some of them are awful, some are good. I recommend the Further Chronicles if you're delving into Jordan's Conan stories.

There were cool serpent men in the animated series

Never watched it. I did watch Thundarr, which is also Conan-inspired.

McFarlane Toys did some bad ass action figures for it

Yep.

Conan always has to run without getting the money

Yes and no. Conan frequently almost gets the treasure, but sometimes he has the money and just pisses it away. There are even rules to simulate "high living" in the game.

Was the inspiration for heman

Roughly, yes.

So, tell me this, why should I play this game? Tell me about the world, and suppliments. What makes this different and worth inversing in than say d&d?

1. More gritty. There aren't clerics to resurrect you, heal you, and banish the big, nasty demons and undead.
2. Less books required for play. Got the core book? Check. That's all you need.
3. Magic more "cinematic". Fits more in the groove of being true to stories of magicians/witches/etc.
4. Epic battles actually feel epic, in part due to #3. There are no meteor swarms raining from the sky to clear out swaths of troops. You actually have to get down and dirty.
5. Weapons/Armor more correctly termed and represented. Ok, this is more a personal thing. I'm a history major. I do have some issues with how much damage siege weapons cause to people, but that's about it.

There are plenty more, this is just what sprang to mind.

 

[Mage]

So what are the different factions/enemies/monsters?

 

[Tathlum]

The races from the Conan stories. Each are meant to be the ancestors of later/historical races, so Cimmerians are loosely based on Celts, Hyrkanians are steppe nomads (like Mongols), Stygians inspired by Egypt, Aquilonians by medieval France (or ancient Rome to some) etc...

But Conan's world is pretty dark. Everyone is pretty much out for themselves. You're enemies could be anything from Cultists of Set, Acheronian Undead, Corrupt town officials or the family of that guy you killed in a duel, or the Demonic defenders of the ancient ruins you are about to loot.

There is no end of petty tyrants doing unspeakable things to poor innocents who need your help. Not interested? The baddy has loot and a cute prisoner....

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

Conan is NOT about tons of monsters running around eating people, there are monsters, but they are rare. Animals are there too... Your worst enemies are NPC's...


Mage, we have been this route before with two others. Just BUY THE BOOK, it is WORTH IT...

 

[Mage]

Ok Ill buy it. Not now, but I will get it. You twisted my arm.

So what are the red haired tribe or soemthing? Stygians?

 

[Clovenhoof]

Nah, red-haired would be the Vanir, one branch of the Nordheimer Race. Pretty disagreeable tribe that hates all their neighbours, i.e. Cimmerians, Aesir (the other Nordheimer tribe) and Hyperboreans. And very good swordfighters.

 

[arderkrag]

Vanir, one of he two great tribes of the Nordheimer.

Edit: Darn your posting speed, Clovenhoof.

 

[Mage]

Sorry to keep armbling but I am getting feirce enthusiastic.

These guys are covered in the main book?

And are there serpent men?

 

[Clovenhoof]

@arderkrag: hrrhrr 8) well it was just hitting refresh at the right time. ^^

@Mage: yes, the Vanir/Nordheimer are covered in the main book, and they are a playable race. ^^

Serpent men... no, definitely not as a player race. And although the concept does bring up a mental image, they don't seem to be in the 1E bestiary, either. Maybe something like that is covered in a splat. And otherwise you can just write them up for your campaign. Sounds pretty cool.

 

[thulsa]

And are there serpent men?

Yes, in Ruins of Hyboria.

- thulsa

 

[Tathlum]

Or if you have Dungeons and Dragons, the Yuan-ti would be a quick convert.

 

[Clovenhoof]

And are there serpent men?

Yes, in Ruins of Hyboria.

- thulsa

Aaaaaaah. That explains why it appears familiar. I ought to dig that book out of the moving crate soon. ^^

 

[Malcadon]

Sorry to keep armbling but I am getting feirce enthusiastic.

These guys are covered in the main book?

And are there serpent men?

Sorry, no Snake-men. The animated series is not seen as cannon, so you will not find any in the rulebook. You will only find the "Sons of Set", who are just giant snakes with human intelligence.

I do like the idea of using snake-men in my games too. I think I'm going to convert the Yuan-Ti into another form of Set's Children.

Before I have read the books, I only know Conan from the movies, cartoon and TV show. I found that Howard's Conan is NOTHING like the wank that I just noted, it worlds better! You can even read the stories for free at Wikisource.

 

[Tathlum]

Harsh, but fair. The actual stories rock.

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

Ok Ill buy it. Not now, but I will get it. You twisted my arm.

Cool, you will not be dissapointed. I promise.

by the way, does your arm still hurt?

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

Gee, I have not bought a game cause there was ONE monster type in it...