Scrolls of Skelos

[The Warlord]

So, is the upcoming scholars and nobles class book going to contain redundant information? I mean, isn't Scrolls of Skelos essentially a class book? Maybe just a book on the nobles and families of hyboria would be in order.

Also the Free Companies is close to a soldiers class book. Are the multiclasses going to be in the soldeirs, barbarians, borderes book?

I love the the Conan game and all the work Mongoose has done, but as with Road of Kings, it looks like future releases are going to conflict/overlap current books.

Is there any other way to organize the line?

 

[VincentDarlage]

There will not be reduntant information between the various books. The information between Scrolls of Skelos and the scholar portion of the class book and the information between Free Companies and the soldier portion of the class book do not conflict or overlap in a redundant manner.

 

[XcomSquaddie]

Scrolls of Skelos is more like a rules expansion. It's got:

Feats that are not related to magic and available to all, such as "Noble Blood".

Magic items and new monsters which are more tuned to a GM rather than players.

Information on powerful NPC's and magical groups, such as The Black Ring and Thoth Amon, again, tuned to the GM more than players.

New spells and alchemical preparations, like those wierd puffball thingies.

Prestige classes, more in line with NPC's rather than player characters.

***********************************

As far as class books go, I'm not sure how I feel about them.

I've played games like Shadowrun and Deadlands where you really needed the class books to make the game work. Conan is not like that now, and I hope they keep it that way.

Another thing is that Skelos, Pirate Isles and Thunder River are all half class-book, half GM book, for scholars, pirates and picts, respectively.

But none are essential for play and all benefit both player and GM. This increases their marketability.

In any case, I've been pleased with the Conan stuff so far. I'll check the class books out when they hit the shelves.

 

[The Warlord]

Thanks, for that confirmation Vincent!

I agree Darth Mikey, they are like half GM/half class books. I was concerned that the class portion may be contained (or conflict) in the new class books. After all the Chakan was in Scrolls of Skelos *and* Across Thunder River. It has a place in both. I could see many other items being relevant to current releases and the future class books.

I'm hoping the class books will be attractive to my players, and not contain stuff I already have on hand. After all, like I've said before, I'd like to think of the current stuff as GM material, and it's nice to be privy to that info. Give the players something else entirely. I mean, I can see where a Pirate character may want information to one of the Pirate groups in Pirate Isles for character background. Via Vincent's reply, it's nice to know I can use those groups without the PC's having 'insider information'.

 

[VincentDarlage]

After all the Chakan was in Scrolls of Skelos *and* Across Thunder River.

When I wrote Across the Thunder River, Scrolls of Skelos hadn't been published yet and I did not know what was in the book (other than the small portion I wrote). I wrote the adventure with my own version of the Chaken. I was sent the files from Scrolls toward the end of the writing of Thunder River, and I was able to change the stats so it didn't conflict with Scrolls, but at that point I didn't want to use a different monster. Since Scrolls and Free Companies are both published, I know what is in them, so I can better avoid such things than I could then.

 

[GhostWolf69]

I allready find parts overlaping. The section about Hyborian religion is one that bugs me enormously.

I read it the first time in the Conan Rule book.
The second time in Road of Kings.
And a third time in Thunder River.

All sections are more or less the same.

/wolf

 

[Lucius]

To be truthfull, I would rather have information overlapping, rather than missing from books. Better to have all the information on hand, than having to use several sources to find what you are looking for. Each supplement should be stand alone. For example, playing a pirate character should not require both the class book and Pirate Isles, should it? Better to have the occassional paragraphs repeated then to have missing information.

On the subject of class books, I am concerned that Conan will become more and more bogged down with rules/feats/new equipement etc. What additional information could a Pirate or Soldier class book contain that was not touched upon in Pirate Isles or Free Companies? In my opinion, Mongoose outdid themselves the first time around, and it will be difficult to improve on these classes. The other classes, on the other hand, will be much looked forward to. :wink:

 

[GhostWolf69]

To be truthfull, I would rather have information overlapping, rather than missing from books. Better to have all the information on hand, than having to use several sources to find what you are looking for. Each supplement should be stand alone. For example, playing a pirate character should not require both the class book and Pirate Isles, should it? Better to have the occassional paragraphs repeated then to have missing information.

That depends in my book. If it is allready mentioned in the basic rulebook, like this religion stuff I mentioned, then I don't see the need for repeating it again. I think it is fair to assume that everyone buying the supplement allready have the core book. But if it is stuff only mentioned in another suplement then fine, print it again if you must. I guess I was just dissapointed in reading the same stuff over and over thinking it would give me MORE info that the basic book, maybe it did... but not near enough as I expected. My hopes now is for the Aquilonia book to delve deeper into the Mitran mysteries... if the text is just copy/pasted once more I'm gonna break down and cry. :wink:

/wolf

 

[The King]

On the subject of class books, I am concerned that Conan will become more and more bogged down with rules/feats/new equipement etc.
....

That's the point! ADD used to include some new monsters/treasures/etc. in each book, even in the smallest 32-pages adventures but these were stand-alone.
With Conan it seems the list of rules goes on and on with each new book. Even if I recognized there are some local specificities, I don't want to remember 30 new possible feats in each new supplement.
So I hope the class books will the last ones presenting new rules.
Then on with adventures and campaigns (and of course the regional sourcebooks).

 

[GhostWolf69]

So I hope the class books will the last ones presenting new rules.
Then on with adventures and campaigns (and of course the regional sourcebooks).

You must be rather novice at this d20-OGL stuff :wink:
Look around you... new feats and skills and rules and spells is all there is, decent source material is rare, good adventures is even harder to come by... but new Prestige Classes and Feats.... I'm telling you there's a hundred to a dosen in that departement!!!

But I agree with your point. Let's hope this Conan game is th exception to the rule... though doubtfully so.

/wolf

 

[VincentDarlage]

As of right now, I haven't written any prestige classes for the class books and the feats are minimal. The game doesn't really need prestige classes. There are better ways to customise a Conan character. Besides, in this game, I think race and nationality determines more about a character than his class. A Nordheimer scholar is going to be a different animal than a Stygian scholar. The class books do more exploration along those lines.

 

[GhostWolf69]

As of right now, I haven't written any prestige classes for the class books and the feats are minimal. The game doesn't really need prestige classes. There are better ways to customise a Conan character. Besides, in this game, I think race and nationality determines more about a character than his class. A Nordheimer scholar is going to be a different animal than a Stygian scholar. The class books do more exploration along those lines.

And THAT is why I love you Vincent!

/wolf

 

[The King]

You must be rather novice at this d20-OGL stuff :wink:

Yes I am; knowing that ADD had published so many things, good and bad (but masters in cartographics and arts, and with very good settings) I wanted to look at new horizon. I came only back to the D20 system because of Conan (I was creating home rules as I have much non gaming materials on the Hyborian wold) and historical settings. Taking Testament as an example (mythic vistas from Green Ronin) the latter are now in fact much better treated than in any previous RPG on historical subjects. That is why I am interested in those books.

Look around you... new feats and skills and rules and spells is all there is, decent source material is rare, good adventures is even harder to come by... but new Prestige Classes and Feats.... I'm telling you there's a hundred to a dosen in that departement!!!

I agree with you and most RPG are now like that (especially WoDarkness): tons of contents that give practically no place to self-creation.
The d20 rules are too heavy to my tastes to have fun. They cover now every case and possibility, which is good but then we have to remember so much that one looses all pleasure. Moreover, they are so sophisticated that I prefer to play DD3 on video games, where you don't need to remember all the stuff.

But I agree with your point. Let's hope this Conan game is the exception to the rule... though doubtfully so.

I hope so. There are so many possibilities for adventures (because magic can't do the job for the PCs) that I hope that Mongoose will use the Warhammer adventures as a reference. :idea: