(Long-ass post warning!)
As anyone familiar with my posts already knows, Conan OGL is the only Conan RPG I am interested in purchasing & supporting. The game is what brought me back to d20-based gaming after more than a decade spent playing other systems.
Conan, for me, is the definitive Swords-n-Sorcery RPG. Along with Strom, I'd like to see Conan OGL get a sendoff book. My choice would be for Empires of Hyboria, but honestly, any big Conan OGL expansion that grabbed my interest would do.
Which, unfortunately, brings me to the problem I have with this whole thing... nothing's really grabbed my interest for a while.
I paid careful attention to the ongoing developments, checking almost daily for the latest official Mongoose weigh-in. I posted (perhaps vehemently at times) my preference for Conan to remain d20/OGL and not go MRQ even while I acknowledged Mongoose might have valid reasons for doing so.
I read the horrible news regarding the game, line, and license when Matt felt the impasse had been reached. I have always been impressed by Mongoose's up-front communications with its customers & I continue to be blown away by the great work they did on the Conan RPG. I will be playing the Conan RPG for many, many years to come. To the Mongoose team, and especially Ian Sturrock, Garreth Hanrahan, & Vincent Darlage, you have my heartfelt thanks. Not only did you provide me with the best swords-n-sorcery RPG engine I've ever played/run, you introduced me to the "real" Conan and the beautiful, raw complexity of Howard's Hyboria. (I'd only been exposed to Arnie & pastiche versions previously).
Since Matt's initial "here's where things are" announcement, a lot of time has passed. I'm no publisher, I'm not running a RPG company, and I don't have insider info on customer buying habits. All I have is my game experiences, the feedback of my players, and my own buying habits along with an ability to observe game companies from an outsider's viewpoint.
I say the following as a personal observation, not a condemnation: Conan could have remained viable under the OGL rules. My reasons for saying this:
#1. When I look objectively at my Conan RPG collection, the period ranging from the Atlantean Edition to the 2e rulebook was the line's "golden age". The books released in that period (of which I believe I have almost all) see regular use at my game. I read them for fun. They are cherished treasures in my RPG library. (Which is pretty damn big.)
#2. Conan 2e is a great book and a great jumping-on point. Several significant improvements were made. However, the 2e supplements I've purchased have been, at best, ok. They don't see regular use at my table. They don't grab & hold my interest as much. It's not the B&W vs color, either. You'd have to pry the H's F-est series from my hands. I've almost purchased additional 2e books but backed away when it came time to pull the trigger b/c either the reviews/comments weren't very good or I just wasn't sure the content would enhance my game.
#3. Innovative OGL mechanics. Conan OGL might have been reinvigorated by more innovative, but riskier, OGL mechanics innovations along the lines of the sorcery system itself, Free Companies' mass combat, and Pirate Isle's sea-based subsystems. This was one of the reasons I was so looking forward to Empires of Hyboria. Exhibit A: FantasyCraft. This game, while a big departure from 3.x, can support a tremendous variety of fantasy playstyles ranging from horror, swords-n-sorcery, to high fantasy. While crunchy, the mechanics have a tangible impact and help reinforce character concepts more than a simple character background can. That background now has in-game effects. The game showcases the tremendous flexibility the d20-engine can provide.
#4. OGL-based games are definitely viable, despite those crying the death of d20 & OGL games. Exhibit B: PATHFINDER RPG. Now I assign no blame here, as no one had a crystal ball and could be sure the demand would be there. Paizo was basically betting everything on a single roll of the dice and I can appreciate why Mongoose wouldn't do that. However, there is no denying the success of the RPG. (Over at ENWorld, there's a thread citing the 5 top-selling RPGs -- Pathfinder is #2. Not bad for a dead engine.)
Paizo's business model around all things Golarion is different, and if I had a time machine & a corporate bankroll, the approach I would have suggested would be to focus on Hyboria setting expansion (ala the PF Chronicles line) and adventures of Paizo quality rather than mechanics-oriented books. I also would have stripped down the Conan OGL engine and packaged a license or game around the idea that the Conan mechanics can serve more than just Hyboria. (I've been running campaigns using the Conan RPG in other settings much more than I've run games set in Hyboria itself. Hell, the next campaign I run will be using Conan RPG for a game IN Golarion.) And guess what, Golarion gives off heavy-duty swords-n-sorcery & pulp vibes. Howard is frequently cited as a source of inspiration.
Would this have been a viable option for Mongoose? I can't say and I suspect not.
However, I reject the notion that the Conan RPG using the OGL engine was no longer viable. THAT did not have to be the case. Businesses experience hardships & complications. Writers get burnt out. Competitors throw curve balls (like non-/barely-open new editions). Crap happens. Sometimes the stars have to align just right to capture lightning in the bottle. But it can happen and it COULD have happened under different circumstances.
The expansion into other RPG lines (RQ, Traveller, etc.) was a calculated move on Mongoose's part. Since they gave me my favorite RPG of all time, I wish them success and that ultimately, it was the right decision for the company and its employees.
I do, however, feel that the division of resources & focus negatively impacted the Conan RPG. The consideration of shifting Conan to RQ so soon after the 2e release I think further hurt the line as not only were few resources available, but how to allocate those resources further hurt the focus of the line and ultimately showed in the final content.
In the final analysis, things are where they stand today for a variety of different reasons. Mongoose was in a tought spot and no one knew where the industry was headed. From what I understand, the tenuous dip into 4e product didn't reproduce the success of d20 & OGL content of years past. Mongoose has an obligation to its employees and customers to try and prosper and survive and choices were made. While I wish those choices had stayed in the realm of the OGL and strengthened the Conan line, I didn't have to put my livelihood on the line to try it.
Thanks again, to everyone at Mongoose who helped create, write, produce, & publish the Conan RPG. I am in your debt and very, very grateful.
As anyone familiar with my posts already knows, Conan OGL is the only Conan RPG I am interested in purchasing & supporting. The game is what brought me back to d20-based gaming after more than a decade spent playing other systems.
Conan, for me, is the definitive Swords-n-Sorcery RPG. Along with Strom, I'd like to see Conan OGL get a sendoff book. My choice would be for Empires of Hyboria, but honestly, any big Conan OGL expansion that grabbed my interest would do.
Which, unfortunately, brings me to the problem I have with this whole thing... nothing's really grabbed my interest for a while.
I paid careful attention to the ongoing developments, checking almost daily for the latest official Mongoose weigh-in. I posted (perhaps vehemently at times) my preference for Conan to remain d20/OGL and not go MRQ even while I acknowledged Mongoose might have valid reasons for doing so.
I read the horrible news regarding the game, line, and license when Matt felt the impasse had been reached. I have always been impressed by Mongoose's up-front communications with its customers & I continue to be blown away by the great work they did on the Conan RPG. I will be playing the Conan RPG for many, many years to come. To the Mongoose team, and especially Ian Sturrock, Garreth Hanrahan, & Vincent Darlage, you have my heartfelt thanks. Not only did you provide me with the best swords-n-sorcery RPG engine I've ever played/run, you introduced me to the "real" Conan and the beautiful, raw complexity of Howard's Hyboria. (I'd only been exposed to Arnie & pastiche versions previously).
Since Matt's initial "here's where things are" announcement, a lot of time has passed. I'm no publisher, I'm not running a RPG company, and I don't have insider info on customer buying habits. All I have is my game experiences, the feedback of my players, and my own buying habits along with an ability to observe game companies from an outsider's viewpoint.
I say the following as a personal observation, not a condemnation: Conan could have remained viable under the OGL rules. My reasons for saying this:
#1. When I look objectively at my Conan RPG collection, the period ranging from the Atlantean Edition to the 2e rulebook was the line's "golden age". The books released in that period (of which I believe I have almost all) see regular use at my game. I read them for fun. They are cherished treasures in my RPG library. (Which is pretty damn big.)
#2. Conan 2e is a great book and a great jumping-on point. Several significant improvements were made. However, the 2e supplements I've purchased have been, at best, ok. They don't see regular use at my table. They don't grab & hold my interest as much. It's not the B&W vs color, either. You'd have to pry the H's F-est series from my hands. I've almost purchased additional 2e books but backed away when it came time to pull the trigger b/c either the reviews/comments weren't very good or I just wasn't sure the content would enhance my game.
#3. Innovative OGL mechanics. Conan OGL might have been reinvigorated by more innovative, but riskier, OGL mechanics innovations along the lines of the sorcery system itself, Free Companies' mass combat, and Pirate Isle's sea-based subsystems. This was one of the reasons I was so looking forward to Empires of Hyboria. Exhibit A: FantasyCraft. This game, while a big departure from 3.x, can support a tremendous variety of fantasy playstyles ranging from horror, swords-n-sorcery, to high fantasy. While crunchy, the mechanics have a tangible impact and help reinforce character concepts more than a simple character background can. That background now has in-game effects. The game showcases the tremendous flexibility the d20-engine can provide.
#4. OGL-based games are definitely viable, despite those crying the death of d20 & OGL games. Exhibit B: PATHFINDER RPG. Now I assign no blame here, as no one had a crystal ball and could be sure the demand would be there. Paizo was basically betting everything on a single roll of the dice and I can appreciate why Mongoose wouldn't do that. However, there is no denying the success of the RPG. (Over at ENWorld, there's a thread citing the 5 top-selling RPGs -- Pathfinder is #2. Not bad for a dead engine.)
Paizo's business model around all things Golarion is different, and if I had a time machine & a corporate bankroll, the approach I would have suggested would be to focus on Hyboria setting expansion (ala the PF Chronicles line) and adventures of Paizo quality rather than mechanics-oriented books. I also would have stripped down the Conan OGL engine and packaged a license or game around the idea that the Conan mechanics can serve more than just Hyboria. (I've been running campaigns using the Conan RPG in other settings much more than I've run games set in Hyboria itself. Hell, the next campaign I run will be using Conan RPG for a game IN Golarion.) And guess what, Golarion gives off heavy-duty swords-n-sorcery & pulp vibes. Howard is frequently cited as a source of inspiration.
Would this have been a viable option for Mongoose? I can't say and I suspect not.
However, I reject the notion that the Conan RPG using the OGL engine was no longer viable. THAT did not have to be the case. Businesses experience hardships & complications. Writers get burnt out. Competitors throw curve balls (like non-/barely-open new editions). Crap happens. Sometimes the stars have to align just right to capture lightning in the bottle. But it can happen and it COULD have happened under different circumstances.
The expansion into other RPG lines (RQ, Traveller, etc.) was a calculated move on Mongoose's part. Since they gave me my favorite RPG of all time, I wish them success and that ultimately, it was the right decision for the company and its employees.
I do, however, feel that the division of resources & focus negatively impacted the Conan RPG. The consideration of shifting Conan to RQ so soon after the 2e release I think further hurt the line as not only were few resources available, but how to allocate those resources further hurt the focus of the line and ultimately showed in the final content.
In the final analysis, things are where they stand today for a variety of different reasons. Mongoose was in a tought spot and no one knew where the industry was headed. From what I understand, the tenuous dip into 4e product didn't reproduce the success of d20 & OGL content of years past. Mongoose has an obligation to its employees and customers to try and prosper and survive and choices were made. While I wish those choices had stayed in the realm of the OGL and strengthened the Conan line, I didn't have to put my livelihood on the line to try it.
Thanks again, to everyone at Mongoose who helped create, write, produce, & publish the Conan RPG. I am in your debt and very, very grateful.
And I will continue to play the game as long as the books don't fall apart! :lol:
