Getting in to "Conan: RPG"

[darkwarlock1114]

Ok, I've been playing DND for a while and really like roleplaying. I was looking around on the site and noticed Conan and thought it sounded cool. I've never read the books so that is obviously something I need to do before I make the investment. And before I even take the time to read the books I'd like to find out some stuff about the game.

1-What books, other than the Conan: Atlantean Edition do you need to play?

2-Does the game have to be gory or genrally innappropriate? For example, I saw a preview of the magic system, and it described the ways to replenish your magical energy, and one of the ways was to sacrifice someone. That would not fly with my group of gamers. Our games don't have to be squeky clean, but that is really pushing it.

3-Is it necessary for the players to read the books?

 

[XcomSquaddie]

You should definitely read some of Howards stories. There is an oversized paperback out now called "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian". That has the good ones in it. It retails for about $15.

You can also find the older paperbacks at used bookstores cheap.

To play you only really need the core rules, especially if you're all new to Conan. Otherwise:

Conan Core Rules (Atlantean Edition)
The Road of Kings
The Scrolls of Skelos

There are also two pdf adventures that are good:
The Black Stones of Kovag Re
The Coming of Hanuman

Does it have to be gory or inappropriate?
Well, Conan has been described as T&A fantasy, as well as Dark Fantasy. How much of that you put in your game is up to you.

The game system is set up to encourage combat, with fast healing, cool maneuvers and feats, fate points, etc.

Additionally, there are very very few magic items like those in D&D. Magic weapons are even more rare and often only work against a specific foe. Also, you can count on losing and gaining equipment on a regular basis.

As far as magic goes, the powerful stuff does involve corruption, blood sacrifices, demons and worse. Protection and banishing spells do not. There are no healing spells.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

It's a mature game with mature themes. My advice is to flip through the books at a bookstore and see what you think. Read some of the Howard stories and see if you like the setting. The game captures the flavor of the stories perfectly.

Hope all that helps.

 

[darkwarlock1114]

When you say mature, do you mean it has to be mature or it could be if you wanted it to be. If the mature themes are actually added into the rules, how easy woudl it be to make them more, what's the right word for it...clean(for lack of a better word). I like what I see so far and of course I'd have to find out if my gaming group would like it and read the books of course. But the question of actually getting into it or not is the accrused mature themes.

 

[XcomSquaddie]

I guess the best way to put it is the mature themes are accounted for in the rules.

The darkest example is with sorcery. Spellcasting is done via power points. One of the ways to accumulate large amounts of power points very quickly is through blood sacrifice. Sacrificing a human gives much more power than sacrificing an animal. Certain feats such as "Tortured Sacrifice" allow you to gain more power points for torturing a victim to death.

Do you have to do it? No. Personally I wouldn't play such a character and as a GM I'd be reluctant to allow a player to do that. But the rules do allow it.

On the other end of the naughty spectrum, there is a feat called "Debaucher" which allows you to gain power points by engaging in sexual orgies. Again, you don't have to do this, but it's accounted for in the rules.

I stress that you do not have to use "evil" acts such as sacrifice and torture to be a sorcerer.

[ I'm editing this to account for the posts below. ]

There are other ways to regain lost power points. Sacrifice and the other rituals simply allow you to gain massive amounts of power points in a very short time to cast powerful spells.

Another thing I would like to add is about Corruption. The more a character engages in evil acts like sacrifice and torture, the higher their corruption score goes. Once it reaches a certain level they are no longer player characters and the GM takes them over as NPCs.

The Conan game encourages heroic roleplaying. But the world itself can be a dark and scary one.

 

[Anonymous]

Also, you can regain power points by performing regular dancing, chanting type rituals with a group or by simply resting. In a sort of "grey" area, you can gain power points by "sucking" them out of a helpless person, draining them of some wisdom. But you can't suck them dry this way, as they can't be used again until they recover. A less dark way of doing this might be to treat a victem to some serious drinking and once he's passed out, drain him that way. He can sleep it off and blame any residual effects to a hangover.

Personaly I would leave the sacrifice sort of thing to the evil NPC's.

 

[XcomSquaddie]

Personaly I would leave the sacrifice sort of thing to the evil NPC's.

As would I. But the darker methods are in the rules and you never know when a player is going to get desperate and start eyeballing the prisoners.

Especially if the prisoners are "evil" to begin with.

However you are entirely right. I did not mean to imply that the dark methods were the only way to gain power points. They are simply the quickest and easiest.

 

[darkwarlock1114]

Thanks you guys for clarifying that. My players probably wouldn't go for that stuff anyway, so I wouldn't have to wory about one of my players using those "questionable methods" to regain power points. One more question: what dice system does Conan use, d20, Coda, d10, none of the above(a totally different system)?

 

[Arkobla Conn]

It's a d20 game, with slight differences in how things like Initiative and such are calculated - but still very similiar.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

1-What books, other than the Conan: Atlantean Edition do you need to play?

None. It's a complete game in just that one book. You can even get the pocket edition for $20 US.

2-Does the game have to be gory or genrally innappropriate? For example, I saw a preview of the magic system, and it described the ways to replenish your magical energy, and one of the ways was to sacrifice someone. That would not fly with my group of gamers. Our games don't have to be squeky clean, but that is really pushing it.

I'd say it doesn't have to be particularly gory, no more so than any given hack 'n' slash D&D campaign. In Robert E. Howard's original stories, human sacrifice was often mentioned when it came to sorcery, but rarely (if ever) shown directly. He was writing for the pulp magazines of the 30s, after all, and while they'd allow enough to titillate, they didn't allow too much gore "onstage."

3-Is it necessary for the players to read the books?

Welllll...I'd say no, but the very reason there is a Conan game is because of those stories, so if you and your players are at all interested in the game, the stories will be invaluable in setting the mood for the game.

When you say mature, do you mean it has to be mature or it could be if you wanted it to be. If the mature themes are actually added into the rules, how easy woudl it be to make them more, what's the right word for it...clean(for lack of a better word). I like what I see so far and of course I'd have to find out if my gaming group would like it and read the books of course. But the question of actually getting into it or not is the accrused mature themes.

I don't think it has to be any more "mature" than you want it to be. You don't have to get into the why concerning a sorcerer's evil reputation; you just need to be able to gauge your players to be able to describe in terms appropriate to your group exactly what it is that makes the bad guys so evil. Pretty much like D&D; you know that troll is a people-eating machine, but do you describe in detail the troll skinning, boiling, and eating people? If you're like me, then probably not, except in very vague terms.

I'd recommend picking up any given Conan book that contains stories written by Robert E. Howard. Read "The Frost Giant's Daughter" as an example of a classic Conan story, one which contains no sorcerers, gore, or sacrifices like those being discussed here. My personal favorite is "Beyond the Black River," which contains some sorcery and a demon or two, but nothing beyond what you'd see in a D&D adventure. I can't emphasize enough the importance of reading the original Howard stories in getting a feel for whether the game is for you or not.

 

[darkwarlock1114]

Is the Pocket Conan book just like a condensed soup version? Is there any benefit to getting the Pocket book other then saving like thirty dollars? What does the pocket book leave out, if anything?

 

[Anonymous]

Is the Pocket Conan book just like a condensed soup version? Is there any benefit to getting the Pocket book other then saving like thirty dollars? What does the pocket book leave out, if anything?

I just got it, so I can't definitively answer your questions, but if it's like the other pocket editions Mongoose has put out - like the one for B5, especially - it doesn't leave anything out from the hardback version, as far as I know. Of course, it's smaller, paperback, and isn't illustrated in full color.

I was actually going to ask if anything was missing in the pocket edition, since there are no stats for creatures in it, but that might be the way the big book is (my local shop has yet to get the Atlantean Edition). I can always use the Monster Manual if I need such stats, so it isn't a huge problem.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Oops. That's me right above. Forgot to log in.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Yeah, it looks like creature stats were not included in the pocket version, where some animals and creatures appear in the full edition. As I said above, though, having D&D/d20 monster books should overcome this, with a bit of conversion.

 

[kiln publications]

So if you are getting the pocket version it is the exact same except in grayscale inside and a smaller size physically as well as some missing stats?

 

[Crazy 'Scaper]

Yeah, it looks like creature stats were not included in the pocket version, where some animals and creatures appear in the full edition. As I said above, though, having D&D/d20 monster books should overcome this, with a bit of conversion.

That seems like an unusual omission. Does anyone know the rationale behind dropping those from the pocket guide?

 

[darkwarlock1114]

I was looking at a preview of the Core Rulebook and noticed that the borders on the pages include very scantily clad women. Is that on every single page, just one chapter, or like on every few pages. I think if one of my parents saw that, I would never, ever be able to roleplay again. Are those borders included in the pocket version(I'm starting to like the POcket Conan a lot)?

 

[VincentDarlage]

The core rule book includes nudity on nearly every page. I don't know about the pocket book.

 

[lastbesthope]

I think if one of my parents saw that, I would never, ever be able to roleplay again. Are those borders included in the pocket version(I'm starting to like the POcket Conan a lot)?

How old are you Warlock? Depending on the answer, either you are misjudging your parents or they need to lighten up. Stopping all roleplaying because of nudity in one book is like banning you from watching all movies because of the crossing legs scene in Basic Instinct.

Of course if you are way young, then I can see how they might dissaprove of the Conan RPG.

No offense meant to you or your parents, just saying what I think.

I don't know about the pocket version either I'm afraid.

LBH

 

[Arkobla Conn]

The corner lady is present in the pocket handbook, but hte soft red of her nipples is definatley muted in black and white so much that it shouldn't be much else of a problem. Aside from the omission on creatures...(???)...the Pocket version should be exact other than pictures. In other words, it saves you the bucks. I have both, however, because I like the pictures - it goes a long way to having the ambiance, as well as like having the options to A. Share...and B. Carry to Conventions without lugging the big books.

 

[darkwarlock1114]

Let's put it this way...I'm not old enough to drive but old enough to get a user name on this board without getting parent permission.