Lodoss, the Accursed Isle

[Stupendous Press]

Anyone else think the Conan rules would make a rockin' Record of Lodoss War RPG? I'm going to assume if you're reading this thread you already know what I'm talking about. In particular, I'm thinking about how relatively low-magic Lodoss is, at least compared to D&D. The only changes would be needing Lodoss-specific races, classes, magic, and equipment (and some feats for flavor, naturally). Within the movies (Record of Lodoss War and Chronicle of the Heroic Knight; never read the manga), there aren't too many classes to begin with anyway. It might be possible to just use what Conan already has, perhaps adding one or two, and cutting a few out (I don't see any barbarians or nomads, for instance).

I guess mainly I'm thinking about the magic, though. I think the Conan magic system would be ideal for Lodoss. Obviously, there'd be the need to create entirely different styles and spells, but I bet it'd work out great. Magic items would need a bit of a boost, but I don't think that's a big issue. Magic items are still extremely rare and mysterious, secluded to a couple of magic swords (even Carla's circlet isn't "magic," but simply possessed). I think it'd be a fun take on high fantasy using a fairly low-fantasy system.

 

[Mortepierre]

Hmm, I am not so sure.

You have plenty of non-human races (elf, dwarf, goblin, ogre, drow,..). Magic isn't that rare (at least sorcery, wizardry that's another matter..), plus you have *true* divine spellcasters, not just Scholars posing as priests.

Healing magic is present (they sure use it a lot!) as well as combat magic (of the 'I blast you to Hell!' kind).

I don't recall any spellcaster having to sacrifice anyone in order to boost their PP total (ok, one did but it was to awake a goddess!)

The magical items are suitably rare but they aren't cursed at all (apart from the Demon Sword)

All this reminds me more of traditional heroic-fantasy than the Conan d20 rules.

That said, Conan's combat system can be readily imported in other settings. I use it almost exclusively in all my D&D game sessions now. But that's about all.

 

[InsomNY]

Ironic, don't you think, that a story that was built from the Basic D&D Boxed Set (Party consisting of Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief, Dwarf and Elf) is being suggested as a candidate for a Conan RPG overlay? :roll:

 

[Stupendous Press]

Oh, the irony isn't lost on me.

There are non-human races, but that wouldn't take more than some swapping. Magic is rare enough that the common folk don't really encounter it. Among humans, it seems relatively rare, with only Ato, Slain, Carla, and Wagnard as evidenced casters. Elves also seem to use magic fairly commonly, but that seems a racial element more than anything, and elves are seemingly even more rare than magic-users. As for items, I only recall three magic items, and two of them were cursed (the Soulcrusher sword and Carla's circlet).

Healing magic is present, but limited. It's pretty clear what they use is supposed to represent a cure light wounds or somesuch, but you never see anything greater than that. Also, most of the story progresses without divine casters always waiting in the wings to heal everyone. It could be present but limited - particularly if Conan's sorcery system is used. There is a touch of combat magic (Slain's fire magic and Wagnard's telekinetic magic), but that even isn't overly-extensive. It adds some magic flair to fights without dominating them, which I think could be perfectly represented with Conan's sorcery mechanics.

It might need some light modifications to give a little boost to non-evil casters, but not very much. In the end, Wagnard was clearly the superior wizard through his evil dealings. Considering it's based on D&D, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to offer some minor boosts. For instance, priests could gain a little PP through prayer, not unlike a domonic pact (albeit benevolent).

So that's basically what I'm saying. It'd be like playing D&D using the Conan mechanics, ultimately, but with a clearly different flavor. I mean, for all that I don't think it'd be too hard to figure out D&D magic using Conan rules and just use D&D races, classes, and feats. All the same, given how magic is treated in Lodoss, I think Conan's very limited-but-open approach would make volumes of sense, and there's a lot of evidence pointing to Sorcery Styles meshing perfectly with Lodoss magic (Deedlit's spirit magic, Slain's evocations, Ato's healing, and Wagnard's telekinesis and immortality magic). After magic, races are simple window-dressing. Classes would be tough, honestly, and might take some work to figure out. Equipment's easy, using Conan's as a base. And I think that'd cover everything.

 

[Mortepierre]

There are non-human races, but that wouldn't take more than some swapping. Magic is rare enough that the common folk don't really encounter it. Among humans, it seems relatively rare, with only Ato, Slain, Carla, and Wagnard as evidenced casters. Elves also seem to use magic fairly commonly, but that seems a racial element more than anything, and elves are seemingly even more rare than magic-users. As for items, I only recall three magic items, and two of them were cursed (the Soulcrusher sword and Carla's circlet).

Healing magic is present, but limited. It's pretty clear what they use is supposed to represent a cure light wounds or somesuch, but you never see anything greater than that. Also, most of the story progresses without divine casters always waiting in the wings to heal everyone. It could be present but limited - particularly if Conan's sorcery system is used. There is a touch of combat magic (Slain's fire magic and Wagnard's telekinetic magic), but that even isn't overly-extensive. It adds some magic flair to fights without dominating them, which I think could be perfectly represented with Conan's sorcery mechanics.

For magical items, we have the governor's treasures (those items guarded by the five dragons of the island). Those weren't cursed, they were powerful beyond belief.

The Grey Witch's Fireballs (I should say Meteor Swarm), Phantasmal Killer, Death Spell, Lightning Bolt, etc.. do look a bit 'overly-extensive' from where I am standing.

Slayne confines himself to Wall of Force, Dispel Magic and Magic Weapon mainly but Wagnard is witnessed using Dimension Door, Teleportation, Horrid Wilting and equally potent stuff.

Eto isn't the only priest around by far. Remember that ceremony in Valis when he and the other priests make a huge column of light emerge from the temple? Or that time at the beach when he erects a Life Shield to protect the whole army from the wraiths coming from the cursed island?

Bless seems another common spell used by priests of the god of war. Healing seems confined to CLW and CMW though, I agree. Still, that's a lot more than what you find in Conan.

 

[Stupendous Press]

It is a lot more, true. I had forgotten a lot of the spells that went on (just ordered the DVDs so I can watch them again). Still, I think the mechanics of Conan would better-suit Lodoss than D&D would. While there are a lot more spells being slung, the average adventurer (not even talking commoners) doesn't tote one iota of magic around. We've got Parn, Ghim, Woodchuck, Shiris and Orson, and King Kashue who all go without magic. Besides a simple lack of magic, there are other things to consider.

The party is never concerned with treasure, which is a key advancement element in D&D (and one I tend to loathe). Characters only become better with age (evidenced by King Fahn and Emperor Beld, although I grant that was probably intended to show character level). Characters seem to have a much higher degree of mortality when it comes to swordplay. Overall though, it's a much more narrative style which D&D doesn't really support.

My biggest concern is actually over classes, because those in Conan are expressly suited to the Conan setting. I don't mind all casters becoming Scholars, even divine ones. The Soldier works extremely well within Lodoss, as does the Thief and Noble. The Borderer seems like a possibility for mercenaries like Shiris, although that's a bit of a stretch. The Barbarian, Nomad, and Pirate, though... those seem extremely out of place. That also leaves Lodoss without many character options, which is distressing.

I might just sit and brew on this idea for a little while. I'm fixing on doing some research, for one thing, to try and get a better grip on the setting. The classes, in particular, have me thrown for a bit of a loop. It's basically because the movies were based on the original Basic Set, so there were also classes like "dwarf" and "elf." I'm betting there's a way around it, though. Thanks for the input so far, it's been a big help.

 

[argo]

Naw, Lodoss is classic DnD (literally :wink: ) and I don't really think the Conan rules do it justice. Conan is gritty, Lodoss is epic. Conan is swords 'n sorcery, Lodoss is high fantasy. And one thing Lodoss is not is "low magic" as others have pointed out.

To me this seems a situation that is best resolved not by a system change but by a simple setting change. If I were to run a Lodoss game I would probably use either DnD or maybe AU/AE. I'd run it with DMG standard demographics (which I normally loathe but which serve their purpose here to ensure your world is populated with 1st level comoners with no magic items) then I'd plan the campaign to top out at somewhere between level 12-14 (avoiding those earth-shattering high levels) and have most of the NPC's such as king Kashue top out at about level 10. Lastly edit the spell lists to remove some of the game-breakers like raise dead and teleport.

Hope that helps.

 

[hal]

I agree. Lodoss is best done under D&D not Conan. You may want to look at Castle & Crusades or True 20 for slightly different takes on a classic D&D Lodoss game. BESMd20 could also be a possibility.

 

[Raven Blackwell]

As I recall, there already is a Lodoss RPG somewhere. I recall playing a couple sessions with a GM that frankly, didn't do the world justice. Of the system, I remember little. The rules were in a three ring binder and printed from a computer which leads me to believe that he downloaded it from the Internet. Since it has been almost ten years my knowledge of that GM's location has vanished to the sand of time, so I can't ask him, nor do I know where to look on the Internet or even if the website(s) with the system still exist.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Raven

 

[Mortepierre]

Correct, and here it is:

http://www.lodossdreams.net/records/others/other.html#trpg

It appears from time to time on eBay.

 

[Stupendous Press]

There's an RPG in Japan that was published, and there's also a free RPG on the internet using the Fuzion system. I wouldn't know much about the Japanese one, but the free Fuzion one is quite well researched from the look of things.