Scrolls of Skelos 1st impressions?
- Thread starter Belkregos
- Start date
Kostchtchie
Mongoose
Got one,
Pretty good, however more of the same as far as style goes. That is both good and bad. There is little variation from the theme (REH canon) which purists will say is good. Myself I think there is a bit of a lack of depth. I was just about value for money but not much more than you could extrapolate from the pre-existing rules. In fact my house rules already cover this ground and more.
:?
i'd give it 3 & 1/2 of out 5. But I haven't seen the new stuff in practice like I have the core conan book
Pretty good, however more of the same as far as style goes. That is both good and bad. There is little variation from the theme (REH canon) which purists will say is good. Myself I think there is a bit of a lack of depth. I was just about value for money but not much more than you could extrapolate from the pre-existing rules. In fact my house rules already cover this ground and more.
:?
i'd give it 3 & 1/2 of out 5. But I haven't seen the new stuff in practice like I have the core conan book
I've had a chance to form a first impression; picked it up at the FLGS on the way home today. I did have it on reserve (after getting and reading the Conan core book, I let them know I wanted the next few releases, at least).
Overall, it's a nice book. Slim, full color - same layout as the corebook as was previously mentioned. Seems to stay on target: sorcerers and sorcery. I liked the chapter dedicated to Sorcerous Culture (religions and secret societies), and there's a handful of pages adding to the core book GM advice with respect to sorcery.
As a 1st impression, I'd probably go with 4 out of 5.
Overall, it's a nice book. Slim, full color - same layout as the corebook as was previously mentioned. Seems to stay on target: sorcerers and sorcery. I liked the chapter dedicated to Sorcerous Culture (religions and secret societies), and there's a handful of pages adding to the core book GM advice with respect to sorcery.
As a 1st impression, I'd probably go with 4 out of 5.
I too want pastiche material included in future Conan RPG sourcebooks.
I'm thinking that the "Titan Snake" in Skelos would make a good stand-in for the imprisoned demon-god "Morath-Aminee, the Eater Of Souls" in Robert Jordan's Conan The Invincible novel. Change its type to "outsider", give it knowledge of some sorcery styles, and its bite devours the soul of its victim. Otherwise, it's stats seem pretty formidable, and the picture is almost spot-on from the back of the Jordan novel. I wonder which REH story the Titan Snake is derived from?
Also, Thaug would probably work for Al-Kiir from Jordan's Conan The Triumphant.
I'm thinking that the "Titan Snake" in Skelos would make a good stand-in for the imprisoned demon-god "Morath-Aminee, the Eater Of Souls" in Robert Jordan's Conan The Invincible novel. Change its type to "outsider", give it knowledge of some sorcery styles, and its bite devours the soul of its victim. Otherwise, it's stats seem pretty formidable, and the picture is almost spot-on from the back of the Jordan novel. I wonder which REH story the Titan Snake is derived from?
Also, Thaug would probably work for Al-Kiir from Jordan's Conan The Triumphant.
Iron_Chef said:
I, on the other hand, was prefer not to see any of the pastiche materials at all. They do nothing for me whatsoever. I was quite happy to see the core Conan book focus on the early canon material, and likewise the Scolls.
Having said that, if Moongoose is able to bring well written materials inspired by pastiche source, I'll consider purchasing it. There's a difference between the pastiche works themselves, and good gaming material drawn from said pastiches.
A
Anonymous
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I'm suitably impressed by the book. I'm about a third of the way through and the new spells and feats are welcome additions without making Scholars unbalanced (power wise...they're all unbalanced mentally).
I'm looking forward to checking out the new beasties and magic items, but it seems like an excellent supplement, thus far.
Well done, Mongoose!
I'm looking forward to checking out the new beasties and magic items, but it seems like an excellent supplement, thus far.
Well done, Mongoose!
Its a good book, the new spells are great (though I wish they had given necromancy at least one more lower powered spell).
The new creatures are a welcome addition to the game, though I prefer the stats for all those evil sorcerers.
My favoret part of the book is the part at the end that has been very useful at creating a Conan-like feel for my game.
The new creatures are a welcome addition to the game, though I prefer the stats for all those evil sorcerers.
My favoret part of the book is the part at the end that has been very useful at creating a Conan-like feel for my game.
Belkregos said:
Hey, another San Diegan! Website by website we will take over the world!
Anyway I finally got my copy after having it on hold for a week. Haven't had time to read it in depth. I think I like the nasty NPCs and monsters, this is the book to terrify players with. One really cool thing happened- I am currently reading "Black Colossus". The first time I opened Scrolls of Skelos it went right to the page with the write up of Nahtok! I think I like this book a lot.
Also received the SoC adventure today . 8)
Skelos, adventure, Natohk...coincidence or
THE CURSE OF AN EVIL SORCERER FROM THE PAST :twisted: :shock: :wink:
I just got mine in the mail, and I like it. I thought it would just be new sorcery stuff, but it's so much more. It details all the major sorcerous nasties like Bit-Yakin's servants, major sorcerers of the age like Thoth-Amon and Xaltotun, magical goodies like the Ring of Set, and even a few 'general' feats for the big monsters. It was nice to see the demon lords too, though I feel kinda bad at how I downgraded Thaug for my PC's 
The version in Skelos is so much meaner 
All in all, I was impressed with the variety of material presented therein.
The version in Skelos is so much meaner All in all, I was impressed with the variety of material presented therein.
I almost hate to ask, but if this has been touched upon in another thread I haven't seen it:
How is the editing and proofreading in this one? Are there the same sorts of inconsistencies we saw in the 1st printing of the core Conan rules? Any leftover terms and rules from the SRD? Alb.eits?
I don't wish to seem petty, since the heart of what Mongoose has provided with the game is excellent, and their sense of customer care with SoC deserves praise. But I don't want to buy the book and be forced to fix it myself; I do that for a living, and I prefer to leave work at the office.
How is the editing and proofreading in this one? Are there the same sorts of inconsistencies we saw in the 1st printing of the core Conan rules? Any leftover terms and rules from the SRD? Alb.eits?
I don't wish to seem petty, since the heart of what Mongoose has provided with the game is excellent, and their sense of customer care with SoC deserves praise. But I don't want to buy the book and be forced to fix it myself; I do that for a living, and I prefer to leave work at the office.
There are a few SNAFUs, but nothing approaching the core rulebook. The most glaring error I saw was a note in Thoth-Amon's entry saying "Full game statistics for the Serpent Ring of Set can be found in the forthcoming sorcery supplement for Conan the RPG, the Book of Skelos." Sounds like Thoth-Amon was supposed to be included in the first book
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