Servant of Bit-Yakin
Mongoose
I can't wait to get this book.
No Alkmeenon? That's ok still seems like an awesome book.
No Alkmeenon? That's ok still seems like an awesome book.
Ruins of Hyboria rocks!
- Thread starter thulsa
- Start date
Thoth Aw C'mon
Mongoose
GrimJesta said:
Cutting down to one RPG WOULD be a good thing, financially... Not likely to happen for me though...I like too many good RPGs to cut down to one... I probably shouldn't figure out how much $ I've spent on all the various RPGs I own over the years...Heh heh. So you says World O' Darkness is pretty cool, huh? Hmmmm. I'd better not look into that too closely...
GrimJesta
Mongoose
The World of Darkness is alot darker and Lovecraftian now (as opposed to the old World of Darkness that was too comic-bookish), but they come out with books as often as Mongoose does for Conan, so it's hard to do both. It's almost down to me flipping a coin to see which one to stick with since they both have been putting out quality books lately.
The Conan books have alot more setting fluff than system crunch, so they might win out just because that means they're worth getting even if I want to use another system for my Conan game (I might use 4th Edition Hero System actually).
-=Grim=-
The Conan books have alot more setting fluff than system crunch, so they might win out just because that means they're worth getting even if I want to use another system for my Conan game (I might use 4th Edition Hero System actually).
-=Grim=-
This book DOES sound seriously cool. The ruins are hands down my favorite aspect of the Conan genre -- though I liked it all. Howard really knew how to evoke a dark and brooding ruin though. His creations lured you in and appalled you all at the same time.
In addition, I'm really curious to see Vincent's takes on several of the ruins I've written about as well. One can never get enough of a good thing...
In addition, I'm really curious to see Vincent's takes on several of the ruins I've written about as well. One can never get enough of a good thing...
slaughterj
Mongoose
GrimJesta said:
On a related note, I used to run a lot of Lankhmar using 4th/5th ed Hero System / Fantasy Hero...
I cast Raise Corpse on this thread to proclaim that I like Ruins of Hyboria a lot as well. I finally bought it today and it seems I was right to trust the general opinion of the people on these forums - it is definetely one of the basic books of Conan RPG, along with Road of the Kings.
VincentDarlage
Mongoose
Majestic7, thank you. You made my day.
Vincent
Vincent
Clovenhoof
Mongoose
Even though I decided to set our campaign in a homebrew world, "Ruins" is at the top of my Wanted list, simply because the "remnants of ancient civilizations" theme plays an important role in my campaign idea.
And now I even found a gaming store that carries many (though not all) Conan books. Hurray. =) Time to part with some buck.
However, here the typical problem arises: what to buy, what to leave? You will understand that I have a limited budget.
So far I am considering the following:
- Ruins of Hyboria
- The Free Companies
- Hyboria's Fiercest
- Tito's Trading Post
- Conan Compendium
Getting them all is out of the question -- that's $130 just for supplements. I'll have to limit myself to two books for the time being. So I'd like to ask you for your advice.
As I said, we have a homebrew world, so in supplements I need mainly crunch and very little fluff. The world is very wilderness-heavy, with the biggest civilized entity being city-states. The party currently consists of a Barbarian, a Borderer, a Pirate, a Thief and a Pit Fighter.
Which should I get, what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance. =)
And now I even found a gaming store that carries many (though not all) Conan books. Hurray. =) Time to part with some buck.
However, here the typical problem arises: what to buy, what to leave? You will understand that I have a limited budget.
So far I am considering the following:
- Ruins of Hyboria
- The Free Companies
- Hyboria's Fiercest
- Tito's Trading Post
- Conan Compendium
Getting them all is out of the question -- that's $130 just for supplements. I'll have to limit myself to two books for the time being. So I'd like to ask you for your advice.
As I said, we have a homebrew world, so in supplements I need mainly crunch and very little fluff. The world is very wilderness-heavy, with the biggest civilized entity being city-states. The party currently consists of a Barbarian, a Borderer, a Pirate, a Thief and a Pit Fighter.
Which should I get, what do you recommend?
Thanks in advance. =)
VincentDarlage
Mongoose
Keep in mind that I am biased here, but I would recommend Ruins of Hyboria and Hyboria's Fiercest. Both have a focus that would arguably fit your needs better.
Brass Jester
Mongoose
I don't have Hyboria's Fiercest (yet) but I will recommend Ruins It is generic enough to be usable in any setting and just going through the book creating a ruined area is fun in itself
Clovenhoof said:
On a side note, for the first time ever (and I go to Borders quite a bit) I saw two Conan RPG books at my local Borders book store. They had Faith & Fervor and Pirates Isles. I've seen the Pocket Conan RPG book there before but never any of the supplements. 8)
I have all of those books and would rank them like so:
1. Ruins of Hyboria
2. The Free Companies
3. Hyboria's Fiercest
4. Conan Compendium
5. Tito's Trading Post
I like the Free Companies book even though many do not. It has some great info on mercenaries and armies of the Hyborian Age. At some point that has to be important IMO as "adventurers" in Conan equals mercenary in my game. There is always a war somewhere on the Thurian continent.
Also, I would keep an eye open at ebay - or ebay.uk. I've seen some pretty good deals on Conan RPG products lately. Could grab a few books for a good price.
Considering your campaign, I recommend Ruins and Hyboria's Fiercest. There's a variant rule for gladiators in the later book, barbarians raised in pits and the rules from the SRD about the different terrains (Spot/Hide, Listen/Move Silently and so on) and some combat maneuvers. Ruins is excellent, you will find in it some places well-describded but also the possibility to create your own ruins as well as a list of traps and some critters.Clovenhoof said:
Clovenhoof
Mongoose
Thanks for the input, and after reading some web reviews, I think I'm going to order "Ruins" and "Fiercest". There's also a Thief and a Pirate in our group so I am suggesting to them that they buy "Fallen" together. =)
By the way, concerning my homebrew world, I am strongly tempted to define the setting as our Earth, 20.000 years in the future. It's going to be either an ice age (like 20.000 years ago) or a hot spell (all ice melted), haven't decided yet.
By the way, concerning my homebrew world, I am strongly tempted to define the setting as our Earth, 20.000 years in the future. It's going to be either an ice age (like 20.000 years ago) or a hot spell (all ice melted), haven't decided yet.
Clovenhoof
Mongoose
*bump*
Ruins of Hyboria arrived today and I'm just flicking through the pages.
It's the first supplement I bought for Conan, so here are my thoughts -- not a full review but my first impression:
The appearance is excellent, hardcover and full colour with many illustrations. The layout follows the Core book (with slave girl in the lower left corner and all).
The "Ruin Generator" is basically bunch of charts, and though you could possible actually roll up everything, I think I'd rather use it just as a guideline for all the parameters you should consider.
Then, after an overview what known ruins lie in which country, there is a bunch of ruined cities described in detail, usually including their current populace of ghastly creatures. Several of those detailed cities lie in the Black Kingdoms, so if your group has no intention of going there, you either have to scrap the content or relocate the city in your game.
I also noticed that the occupants of one ruin tend to vary greatly in HD. If a party wanted to clear out an entire city, it would have to wade through heaps and heaps of Level 1s in order to get to their Level 8 bosses, not to mention the really mighty demon-god that typically resides in such a ruined city and is best left alone.
In fact, it is probably usually smarter to enter a ruin, plunder as much as you can carry, and get out there without triggering the real nasty baddies. Although these are usually the ones in possession of the best treasure.
Talking about treasure, a few special magic items are also described. I suppose these are meant to set the scale for the world of Conan.
Anyway, each of the cities has some unique special surprise, and I look forward to leading my group into one or the other.
The book also contains other useful GM information, like new monsters or some pages about characters from Red Nails, and a chapter about the introduction of ruins into play, or rather, what leads the PCs into the ruins in the first place.
Not counting the monster stats, the book is 90% Fluff, and very little Crunch -- for players, there's essentially just three new special feats. In this case, I was aware of it beforehand, though usually I prefer books with more crunchy bits. Just so you know before you buy.
One point of critique: the book refers to other supplements repeatedly, like "Spell X from Scrolls of Skelos" or "Item Y as described in Hyboria's Fallen" etc. IMO a splat book should avoid this. All I can do is ignore these items, spells or effects since I don't have these books.
Verdict: since exploring ancient ruins is quite the kind of game I like, this book will come in very handy for my campaign.
Now for some questions:
- The Demon-God Quf-Jushke-Een has Swallow Whole as special attack. How much damage does a swallowed creature need to inflict in order to cut its way out? I can't find the figure, afraid it was forgotten.
- The Ax of Varanghi: Is this a one- or two-handed weapon? Also, what weapon proficiency is need to wield it, martial or exotic?
Ruins of Hyboria arrived today and I'm just flicking through the pages.
It's the first supplement I bought for Conan, so here are my thoughts -- not a full review but my first impression:
The appearance is excellent, hardcover and full colour with many illustrations. The layout follows the Core book (with slave girl in the lower left corner and all).
The "Ruin Generator" is basically bunch of charts, and though you could possible actually roll up everything, I think I'd rather use it just as a guideline for all the parameters you should consider.
Then, after an overview what known ruins lie in which country, there is a bunch of ruined cities described in detail, usually including their current populace of ghastly creatures. Several of those detailed cities lie in the Black Kingdoms, so if your group has no intention of going there, you either have to scrap the content or relocate the city in your game.
I also noticed that the occupants of one ruin tend to vary greatly in HD. If a party wanted to clear out an entire city, it would have to wade through heaps and heaps of Level 1s in order to get to their Level 8 bosses, not to mention the really mighty demon-god that typically resides in such a ruined city and is best left alone.
In fact, it is probably usually smarter to enter a ruin, plunder as much as you can carry, and get out there without triggering the real nasty baddies. Although these are usually the ones in possession of the best treasure.
Talking about treasure, a few special magic items are also described. I suppose these are meant to set the scale for the world of Conan.
Anyway, each of the cities has some unique special surprise, and I look forward to leading my group into one or the other.
The book also contains other useful GM information, like new monsters or some pages about characters from Red Nails, and a chapter about the introduction of ruins into play, or rather, what leads the PCs into the ruins in the first place.
Not counting the monster stats, the book is 90% Fluff, and very little Crunch -- for players, there's essentially just three new special feats. In this case, I was aware of it beforehand, though usually I prefer books with more crunchy bits. Just so you know before you buy.
One point of critique: the book refers to other supplements repeatedly, like "Spell X from Scrolls of Skelos" or "Item Y as described in Hyboria's Fallen" etc. IMO a splat book should avoid this. All I can do is ignore these items, spells or effects since I don't have these books.
Verdict: since exploring ancient ruins is quite the kind of game I like, this book will come in very handy for my campaign.
Now for some questions:
- The Demon-God Quf-Jushke-Een has Swallow Whole as special attack. How much damage does a swallowed creature need to inflict in order to cut its way out? I can't find the figure, afraid it was forgotten.
- The Ax of Varanghi: Is this a one- or two-handed weapon? Also, what weapon proficiency is need to wield it, martial or exotic?
Aholibamah
Mongoose
Clovenhoof: I appreciate you putting up this review, it prompts me to consider getting it. Since I may at some point run an adventure through Xuthol it may come in handy.
VincentDarlage
Mongoose
Clovenhoof said:
That is the catch-22 I am in. If I reprint the relevant material (which is my inclination), people complain. If I don't reprint the material but simply say where it can be found (which was the rule given to me around the time I wrote that book), people complain.
Clovenhoof said:
1. 55 hit points.
2. One handed. Martial weapon proficiency. It's a battle axe.
