Get Conan the Barbarian back!

[TrippyHippy]

...fer Gawd's sake!

I've not had much time to game recently, but having just spoken to a number of new gaming associates in the last couple of days, it is patently obvious to me that RuneQuest needs Conan, and Conan needs RuneQuest.

Now, I am looking forward to other RQ settings, especially The Eternal Champion stuff - but it's clear to me that Conan is the real big fish here. Let's face it, he is the Original Swords and Sorcery hero, and the his character is just about the biggest name in the fantasy genre, with the possible exception of Lord of the Rings. The RQ2 system is the perfect system fit for the genre too - and the game is pretty much synonymous with gritty swords and sorcery in the minds of most gamers. Forget D&D - if RuneQuest is matched with the Conan brand, it'll be a big fish in it's own right.

Anybody else agree with my little rant?

 

[Antalon]

I fully agree.

Conan = RuneQuest.

Get on with it :!:

 

[ThatGuy]

Absolutely :!:

 

[danbuter]

Unfortunately, some royal jerks in scandinavia disagree.

 

[TrippyHippy]

It's not exactly turned into an overwhelming poll, this thread, has it? :roll:

 

[Stainless]

It would be nice, but I think obtaining (re-obtaining) the Conan license is effectively out of the control of Mongoose Publishing.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

It's dead. A non-issue. Move on.

 

[TrippyHippy]

From my understanding, it's far from being a done deal. All they've said is they won't renew it until the current contract expires. It expires in about a year, I think.

Last time I heard Matt comment on the subject, he said something to the effect of 'we're trying!'.

So why not encourage him?

 

[Deathdealer]

I'd certainly buy it.

Clearly CPI is just waiting to see if anyone offers bigger money since there is a new movie in the works.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

I don't know if Mongoose would bother now. It's been too long, and besides more than half the 'Conan-fans' seem to prefer d20 in any case.

It's a dead donkey.

 

[dbhoward]

I agree:

1) It would be perfect;

2) I'd buy it;

3) Licensing is a huge obstacle;

4) Conan fans want d20/D&D anyway;

5) It's a dead issue.

And as far as the "Conan teamed with RQ it would be a big fish" argument, please recall that LOTR is the biggest "fish" in fantasy, and there are at least 3 LOTR fantasy games I know of that are very dead fish now.

So let's all enjoy Elric and Lankhmar, shall we?

 

[andakitty]

I'd love to see RQII Conan. The more I study the system the more perfect a fit it seems to be.

Why not encourage an effort to do it? It may be that a good portion of the Conan fans are Conan fans, not necessarily D20 fans...and it looks to me like it is the D20 game line that is a 'dead issue'.

And I would buy RQII Conan, for sure. In a heartbeat. Or the system neutral material that they were talking about, for that matter.

 

[SnowDog]

Yes, RQII Conan would be awesome!

I understand that people who have been paying for and playing the d20 Conan for years are not all that keen on switching the system that they already know and have invested quite a lot of money to. For someone like me, the switch would be painless and since RQ as a system makes much more sense to me I would welcome the change.

Even though LotR has no living games (for some reason I think there is one in the works, maybe by Cubicle 7?) doesn't mean that switching the game system of the Conan would kill the game. Personally I think that Hyboria is a far better suited setting for gaming than the Middle Earth. Where ME has all the interesting parts mapped out in an epic battle (or preparation to it) the Hyboria is still quite free from that kind of stuff and thus free for PCs to roam as they please.

Obviously I don't know how commercially viable the new Conan would be (if Mongoose would get the license renewed). A dry year or so might whet they appetite of the old guard (d20 Conan crowd) enough that they just might be ready for switching to a new system. On the other hand changing the system of Slaine was not all that big a success. Dredd line is very different from the old one so I can't compare and Traveller B5 was (almost?) nothing more than the core book (but then again that was clear from the beginning).

 

[TrippyHippy]

5) It's a dead issue.

And as far as the "Conan teamed with RQ it would be a big fish" argument, please recall that LOTR is the biggest "fish" in fantasy, and there are at least 3 LOTR fantasy games I know of that are very dead fish now.

So let's all enjoy Elric and Lankhmar, shall we?

D20 Conan wasn't a dead fish - it was simply outmoded when the D20 bubble burst. It's not a dead issue, if we keep it alive. Elric and Lankhmar are fine, but how much better would the RQII family be if they got the original Sword and Sorcery icon in on the act too.

 

[tarkhan bey]

I agree, I think that the Conan license is far from being a dead fish. With it being in limbo for quite some time now, I reckon that if it was renewed as MRQ Conan then Mongoose would have a winner on their hands.
After all, Cubicle7 are working on a new LotR game, so obviusly they think that it is worth another try.

@ trippyhippy, the original clamour when the potential loss of the license was revealed indicated the strength of support for the Conan line continuing in one format or another. Many of the old Conan players have disappeared off the boards, or only visit occasionally now(like myself).

 

[AKAmra]

There almost certainly will be another Conan RPG, who and when are valid questions but I think that it is inevitable that there will be another Conan RPG. To suggest that that the Conan IP is "dead" for a future RPG seems absurd to me.

I've been pulling for MRQ Conan for YEARS, I'd like to see it happen. I'd also be happy with the new version being in a number of other (non-d20) systems.

 

[dbhoward]

I know there have been a number of Conan RPGs in the past, but there is a a reason they all failed. Conan is not distinctive enough.

Conan is definitive swords-and-sorcery (decadent cities, iron-thewed barbarians, and wicked sorcerers) much as Lord of the Rings is default high-fantasy (wizards, elves, dwarves, dragons). Where's the unique twist that makes for a different game? Much as I love REH's work, let's admit that there's nothing much that sets it apart; nothing that, when you're there, tells you, "Yeah, this is Conan" the way you know, for example, a Fafhrd and the Mouser story when you're in one. You need that, if it's going to create a unique & successful game experience. It's no coincidence that half a dozen different people have written Conan stories!

This is why Stormbringer and Call of Cthulhu were successful as RPGs but Conan and Lord of the Rings weren't, and never will be. And it's why Mongoose shouldn't sink another dime into the Conan property.

 

[Pascalahad]

You're kidding right ?

The Middle-Earth roleplaying game was published from 1984 to 1999 (15 years !). Conan was published for 6 years with some 40 products.

Hardly the failures you describe. If anything, it's Mongoose that proved the licence could be a rolepleying success.

TSR's Conan was a failure, GURPS' Conan was a failure, Deciphers'Lord of the Rings was a failure. But ICE's MERP and Mongoose's Conan are not.

 

[TrippyHippy]

I'm not 'in the know' about the sales figure's but I'm willing to bet that Conan has been one of Mongoose's biggest commercial successes ever. D20 Conan didn't fail - it simply got outmoded because of the demise of D20 as a concept.

Moreover, Conan is second only to Lord of the Rings as an instantly recognisable fantasy icon, which is only likely to get bigger next year when the new movie comes out. I suspect that is why the negotiations with Mongoose stalled - the Conan people quite possibly just want more money for a very big license.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

...outmoded because of the demise of D20 as a concept.

Well, 'Pathfinder' is the 2nd most popular FRPG by a wide margin.