Picts anyone?

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

I am looking for ideas to run a campaign with the picts.

Anyone done this?

 

[Spectator]

Picts attack border fort, and they will sacrifice the governor's daughter.

Unfortunately, for me, picts are so 1-dimensional.

I hope you have better luck.

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

I guess that is what they do best. But I was contemplating throwing in a few wayward dinosaurs.

 

[Vortigern]

With, as in an element of the game, or with as in the players are picts?

 

[Sir Hackalot]

I have been reading Across the Thunder River and they give some really good information on Picts. I have presently just started a campaign in Pictland and have found it to be very useful so far.

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

I am an addict when it comes to Conan RPG, I have ALL the books, and the rest on pre-order.

THe players ARE picts. Oddly enough. They did character creation on their own, and though they are all friends of mine, only two of them have ever met. So, the chances of doing this deliberately is not good.

 

[Strom]

Across Thunder River is a must for any Pict adventure. Picts, when done right, should be numerous, quick hitting and savage as you can make them. Here's a cool thread from way back that might help:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1883&highlight=picts

 

[Sir Hackalot]

I am an addict when it comes to Conan RPG, I have ALL the books, and the rest on pre-order.

THe players ARE picts. Oddly enough. They did character creation on their own, and though they are all friends of mine, only two of them have ever met. So, the chances of doing this deliberately is not good.

Not to get off-topic but this reminds of a World of Darkness game I played in years ago. We were basically playing monster hunter types dealing with the supernatural. Well two of the players, Alec and Richard had decided to play NSA character who had infiltrated the F.B.I. They were both NSA, they were both oriental, and just to break the stereotype they didn't know any martial arts. So what was wierd about this?

They had made both characters seperately and have not told each other what they were making.

Strange but true.

 

[Ichabod]

I am looking for ideas to run a campaign with the picts.

Anyone done this?

Been reading Across _ a fair amount recently and it should give a bunch of ideas.

In my mind, there's lots of Pict v. Pict going on, even down to the village level nevermind clan or tribe. Pict v. Aquilonia is a different sort of flavor. The thing about the former is that you can stress the limited warfare nature of it all and should probably play up the specialists among the Picts (the archery squad, the brute squad, the shaman squad, whatever) and the narrow goals of the Picts to make things less bland, while the latter is more about total warfare, the inhumanity of the enemy, the strange weapons/magic/strategies of the enemy. Pict v. Cimmeria seems like it could fall in between.

Whichever way you go, there's probably a call for more short term thinking, eschewing of many things more sophisticated peoples would care about, and the like such that the feel of the game will be distinct.

 

[Kyorou]

Never done this, although it could be interesting. Pictland is a boring place, imo, so I would rather go for a "group of Picts sent into Hyboria on a mystic quest of some kind"campaign. The cultural clash should bring lots of fun.

Discover the world, meet interesting people, start fights out of mutual incomprehension, kill everybody...

 

[librarycharlie]

One tribe of picts has been getting armor and weapons of a serious and impressive nature. They have been in secret negotiations with Nemedia/Cimmeria/Zingara/etc. which is about to invade Aquilonia, and this other country is arming the Picts in exchange for Aquilonian slaves.

The idea is that this tribe will come to dominate all of pictdom due to superior equipment (and see what a difference chainmail makes!). Once done, this tribe will use their clout to force all Picts into seriously raiding Aquilonian towns, much farther into the countryside than usual, forcing the King (Conan, perhaps) to move his armies toward the western border, repelling the invasion.

Once this is done, the other neighboring country will move in, controlling half of Aquilonia before the King can even get his army out of the quagmire with the Picts.

If you add some Stygian sorcerer as a subplot, it's classic Conan.

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

DAMN GOOD IDEA, you are nearly as devious as I am...

THANKS

 

[Strom]

One tribe of picts has been getting armor and weapons of a serious and impressive nature. They have been in secret negotiations with Nemedia/Cimmeria/Zingara/etc. which is about to invade Aquilonia, and this other country is arming the Picts in exchange for Aquilonian slaves.

The idea is that this tribe will come to dominate all of pictdom due to superior equipment (and see what a difference chainmail makes!). Once done, this tribe will use their clout to force all Picts into seriously raiding Aquilonian towns, much farther into the countryside than usual, forcing the King (Conan, perhaps) to move his armies toward the western border, repelling the invasion.

Once this is done, the other neighboring country will move in, controlling half of Aquilonia before the King can even get his army out of the quagmire with the Picts.

If you add some Stygian sorcerer as a subplot, it's classic Conan.

That is basically what Robert E. Howard details in the Hyborian Age essay for the rise of the Picts under the leadership of Gorm, King of the Picts. Howard even mentions that the Picts join the Aquilonian mercenary armies and travel freely in Aquilonia. Nice touch having them work in secret with Aquilonia's enemies and fast tracking the Picts rise from the muck into Conan's reign. Gorm would make an excellent, reoccurring NPC villian. 8)

 

[sidkfjjteidlkkf]

Thanks Guys, this is my second group of COnan, I run another one every other weekend.

I was reading Beyond Thunder River, and I came up with many scenerios. Than after seeing Beowulf, I thought of more...

 

[Ltlconf]

Hello Folks,


Yeup, Picts can be fun if you break out of the mold, both as PCs and as NPC competition. Been playing along the Black River for years and enjoyed it, but then we take on the idea that the Picts, like any other people on a frontier are neither universally hostile, nor allies. Think more "Last of the Mohicans" than "Beowulf" here, with Zingarans, Cimmerians, Picts, Aquilonians, not to mention various freebooters (we take the pre-modern reality of VERY loose law-enforcement idea seriously) all competing on the frontier and changing sides periodicly. Our PCs study tatoos pretty rigorously! :twisted:
"13th Warrior" type scenarios do happen, but more often it's like one of those westerns were the Apaches are bumping the party of travellers off one by one because they are just so danged sneaky (how many Picts are in this room? AS MANY AS THEY WANT TO BE!!). Being caught flat footed is a real pain. Not to mention often fatal.
On a side note, to make ambushes by Picts more brutal try this little idea from the Black Company RPG: Its called the "lethal surprise round" in that all damage done when caught surprised are done direct to the victim's constitiution. Every two points to Con adds a negative to all Fort saves and all Concentration and Resistance checks as well dropping HP by one point each character level for each two points of Con lost. If the Con damage is equal to the character's Con score then, well, he's belly up.
Also, the game has a system called "Deadly Massive Damage Threshold." Basicly, all characters' have a DMDT, this equal to their CON score. Thus a 16 CON means a MDT of 16. If a single attack deals lethal damage equal or greater than the character's massive damge threshold, that character must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 15+1 per 5 points of damage). If you suceed, role for damage to HP only, happy day! On a unsuccessful save of 5 or less, the character's hit points fall to 0 and things go south, oh well... On a failed save by 6 or more, the character is unconscious and dying. Further, tha character must roll on very nasty Grievious Injury table. Brutal even by Conan RPG standards!