Setting or Motion

[DrSkull]

I've done my first adventure in the Eastern Desert. I have another coming up on Sunday. I need to decide where to set it. My instinct for running a campaign is to stake out an area of about 100 miles by 100 miles and have most of the adventures take place therein. That way the players get a real feel for "place" and get to know certain NPC's on an ongoing basis.

But, I just don't feel that's right for Conan and am afraid that if I do that (maybe in Brythonia, Border Kingdom or Hyperborea) it will end up just like my D&D campaigns (not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe not the best for Conan).

So, part of me wants to "stake out a patch", part of me wants to take up where we left off and start to develop grudge matches with the locals, and a third part wants me to start months and thousands of miles away.

What are other folks doing, and how's it working?

 

[S'mon]

I've been doing adventures months or years apart and hundreds or thousands of miles away. My D&D campaign is of the 'stake out a patch' kind, IMO the Conan feel needs something different.

 

[Yokiboy]

I've been doing adventures months or years apart and hundreds or thousands of miles away. My D&D campaign is of the 'stake out a patch' kind, IMO the Conan feel needs something different.

This is the path I'm taking as well. My usual fantasy campaigns are always of the "stake out a patch" variety. This will be a highly noticeable change, and I think the players will enjoy. [Read that as: they better damn well enjoy it or I'll frickin' butcher their characters!]

TTFN,

Yokiboy

 

[GhostWolf69]

I have the same thoughts as the rest of you here.

The Conan "format" of adventure is more "free", when it comes to equipement, contacts, and circumstances in the story setup.

I intend to make full use of this.
I'm not going to let the players buy start equipment, cuase honestly what is the use?
I won't let them hoard gold the normal way cause they will spend or loose it in between adventures anyway and just get mad if I tell them to erase the treasure from their character sheet.
Solution? Don't let them type the treasure down in the first place. 8)

/wolf

 

[PlayWithBob]

My game will be a bit of both. 4 to 5 sessions in one place then a big jump in location.

Call it a series of mini campaigns.

Thrack

 

[wyerdo]

As one of Dr. Skull's players, I must speak up. It will be my neck, after all.

I believe that we should jump around pretty regularly in our Conan game. Not just because it is different from the typical DND game, or even that it more closely resembles the epic stories we wish to tell, but it also adds to the ability to explain to the players (i.e. me) where all our hard-gained loot and equipment has gone. Perhaps we might even write little out of game stories to explain these escapades and misadventures.

As for human resources, I believe that they should be conserved. For example, should we ever find ourselves in the deserts of Shem again, we might again meet Drusilla -- the slave girl we rescued before we ventured into the Oasis of the Damned. Perhaps this time she might be able to provide us with some material or information that we might need in a future mission. I believe that should be how we keep the "campaign" feel that you are missing.

Even though we had a great time playing DND ("Eat the gnomes!" is a great inside joke example) you know that *this* is the game we were always meant to play. We barely kept track of treasure as it was. I think that some of us did our best to drink and whore our money away anyway.

What we will miss from the campaign will be the personalities. I'll always remember allies like Granny Holdbean or Rathgar Bloodheels, while we still curse the names of villians like Jarl Sigvhat or Baron Richard Goldhaft.

 

[slaughterj]

I'm going for the "jumping around" a bit plan myself, semi-episodic if you will. I plan to go straight from my mod of your adventure DrSkull, to a mod of Iron Chef's Shadows over Zamboula adventure (planning to keep plenty of Yoggites in Zamboula though, so the PCs get the REH story feel ). To the extent that they meet NPCs who don't die, they might turn up in the future.

 

[BhilJhoanz]

Even though we had a great time playing DND ... you know that *this* is the game we were always meant to play. We barely kept track of treasure as it was. I think that some of us did our best to drink and whore our money away anyway.

WOW! That's the exact same way we've been feeling and playing. We found an enormous Pirate treasure last session and stuffed our pockets with gold and jewels -- that plus the ransom for a nobleman's daughter I'd kidnapped (not entirely unwillingly) would have kept a prudent man set for life! Next adventure starts -- BROKE AGAIN except for a gold anklet -- which I'd never sell: it's part of my character now!

I haven't had this much fun in a long time.

 

[KiltieMacBagpipes]

I'm running with a lot of newbies, fresh from 3rd ed DnD, and still trying to horde money and get stuff. I have to move them aroun alot or I think they might try to buy property! Some of them are already buying frickin' livestock! One of them has decided to invest in an ivory shipment going to Khitai. I don't underdstand, they started a war, and then go to play merchant! I am seriously thinking that that caravan is going to meet some very badass nomads, who capture the players and sell them to Turanian slavers (sans equipment, of course). I think that should break them of their attachment to stuff. :twisted:

 

[Johannixx]

I made the mistake of giving my PC's too much treasure, and they saved a kingdom twice (!), so now they're fairly well set. They each have around 15,000 silvers, the nomad has a Balkhana stallion, the thief has an elaborate jewelled set of breast-cups (taken from an evil witch), and the borderer has a set of masterwork plate armor that he plans to sell. They all have Akbitanan weapons (some have multiple Akbitanan weapons), townhouses in Shadizar, and positions at the Zamorian court. I need to divest them of this without seeming like a bastard. I don't necessarily want to take their weapons and armor away, but I would like to get them out of the city in a manner that doesn't seem contrived.

Oh, they also are in command of a small tribe of Zuagir raiders.

 

[slaughterj]

I made the mistake of giving my PC's too much treasure, and they saved a kingdom twice (!), so now they're fairly well set. They each have around 15,000 silvers, the nomad has a Balkhana stallion, the thief has an elaborate jewelled set of breast-cups (taken from an evil witch), and the borderer has a set of masterwork plate armor that he plans to sell. They all have Akbitanan weapons (some have multiple Akbitanan weapons), townhouses in Shadizar, and positions at the Zamorian court. I need to divest them of this without seeming like a bastard. I don't necessarily want to take their weapons and armor away, but I would like to get them out of the city in a manner that doesn't seem contrived.

Oh, they also are in command of a small tribe of Zuagir raiders.

Uhh...okay... my PCs looted a few kills for ~20 silvers...oh and they got a couple of camels (though one was one of the PCs to start with).

 

[Yokiboy]

I need to divest them of this without seeming like a bastard. I don't necessarily want to take their weapons and armor away, but I would like to get them out of the city in a manner that doesn't seem contrived.

Wow! That's more treasure than my 9th level Kingdoms of Kalamar D&D campaign.

I'd say a simple way to get rid of it is forcing some Fate Points being spent on Left for Dead. While out, they've of course been stripped of everything they had and must try to reclaim it.

TTFN,

Yokiboy

 

[Plane Sailing]

I made the mistake of giving my PC's too much treasure, and they saved a kingdom twice (!), so now they're fairly well set. They each have around 15,000 silvers,

So you don't plan on using the rule that says "Ok, after the first week you've spent 7,500 silvers on high living. Next week you spend 3750 silvers on high living. Next week you spend 1750 silvers on high living, then 1000, then 500, then 250...

 

[S'mon]

I made the mistake of giving my PC's too much treasure, and they saved a kingdom twice (!), so now they're fairly well set. They each have around 15,000 silvers, the nomad has a Balkhana stallion, the thief has an elaborate jewelled set of breast-cups (taken from an evil witch), and the borderer has a set of masterwork plate armor that he plans to sell. They all have Akbitanan weapons (some have multiple Akbitanan weapons), townhouses in Shadizar, and positions at the Zamorian court. I need to divest them of this without seeming like a bastard. I don't necessarily want to take their weapons and armor away, but I would like to get them out of the city in a manner that doesn't seem contrived.

Oh, they also are in command of a small tribe of Zuagir raiders.

The RPG's High Living rule is good - but a little Zamorian civil war or political intrigue would be better. Starting the next scenario with:

"Having fought your way out of the city when the forces of Osric the Usurper seized the Zamorian throne and proscribed all members of the old regime, you escape into the wastelands with little more than the clothes on your backs. Now, three months later, hungry and penniless..."

I recommend giving them all a free Fate Point when you do this, BTW. :twisted:

Oh, & technically according to REH's Tower of the Elephant, the capital of Zamora appears to be Arenjun, even though Shadizar seems larger.

 

[S'mon]

As for human resources, I believe that they should be conserved. For example, should we ever find ourselves in the deserts of Shem again, we might again meet Drusilla -- the slave girl we rescued before we ventured into the Oasis of the Damned. Perhaps this time she might be able to provide us with some material or information that we might need in a future mission. I believe that should be how we keep the "campaign" feel that you are missing.

Yes, NPC contacts and a man or woman's Reputation are much less ephemeral in Conan than are mere gold, gems & Akbitanan greatswords.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The RPG's High Living rule is good - but a little Zamorian civil war or political intrigue would be better. Starting the next scenario with:

"Having fought your way out of the city when the forces of Osric the Usurper seized the Zamorian throne and proscribed all members of the old regime, you escape into the wastelands with little more than the clothes on your backs. Now, three months later, hungry and penniless..."

I recommend giving them all a free Fate Point when you do this, BTW.

S'mon, you are tres cool 8) I'm preparing to DM my first Conan game and I'm still trying to get into the proper mindset, your posts have been *really* helpful in this respect, thanks!

 

[S'mon]

The RPG's High Living rule is good - but a little Zamorian civil war or political intrigue would be better. Starting the next scenario with:

"Having fought your way out of the city when the forces of Osric the Usurper seized the Zamorian throne and proscribed all members of the old regime, you escape into the wastelands with little more than the clothes on your backs. Now, three months later, hungry and penniless..."

I recommend giving them all a free Fate Point when you do this, BTW.

S'mon, you are tres cool 8) I'm preparing to DM my first Conan game and I'm still trying to get into the proper mindset, your posts have been *really* helpful in this respect, thanks!

I _definitely_ recommend buying Sorcerer & Sword as an adjunct to running the Conan RPG, it expands on a lot of the ideas you'll find in the Conan game's (excellent) GMing advice and has really helped me do Conan 'right', I feel, making it very different from my regular D&D campaign - which is a great game, but not every trope of D&D works well in Conan. Before I bought the Conan RPG I'd often wanted to run Hyborean-set games, but nothing I came up with ever seemed right. S&S & the Conan RPG showed me why, and how it could be done.

 

[Johannixx]

Well, I think I've found an answer: The Carter and DeCamp pastiche "Black Tears", where a vengeful former lieutenant of Olgerd Vladislav sets Conan up for a Turanian ambush, and Conan's own pride turns his Zuagirs against him.

This would divest the PC's of their Zuagir tribe, and while they're dealing with Vardanes, Shadizar could have a little coup d'etat :twisted: