Time for measuring 2nd edition

In general, what do you think about the quality of Conan 2nd Edition

  • Excellent

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Good

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Average

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mediocre

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Awful

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
As a fan from the start with the pre-Atlantean edition - I found 2nd Edition a definite second place - silver medalist - book. The presentation was on par with indie rpgs - and after the 1st edition looked like a step down. I understand the economical bonus of 2nd edition - it's certainly worthy of the cover price. I'm currently watching a championship boxing match and have this boxing analogy - 2nd edition is a efficient and productive jab but 1st edition was a hungry, deadly, crowd pleasing uppercut knockout! You remembered where you were when you first saw Conan 1st edition on the shelf.

As a whole the second edition has continued the support for the Conan line very admirably, IMO. The diverse amount of material - from regional supplements to the bestiary to a lot of adventures - will garner just as diverse opinions on quality, playability and usability. I think what is important is that the line is continuing to be supported - with some supposedly great products still to come. That means a lot to me. I loved Vincent's work as well but the quality hasn't dropped off that significantly - in some cases (adventures) it could be argued has improved.

I voted good. I think that covers it. 8)
 
Yeah, but the second edition was a gift and I have no desire to spend more money on the same system so I will probably pass and keep using my Atlantean edition.
 
I voted excellent.

I don't care in the slightest about colour vs B&W: I didn't buy it as a picture book! I like the improvements to the rules, and the adventures are excellent.

As for the "Conan Feel": I think you have to be very careful about that. People get different things from Conan, and they have introduced enough options that you can get whichever feel you like. I think some people are trying to ram everyone int o their version of the Conan Feel, and they won't like the flexibility of course!
 
kintire said:
I voted excellent.

I don't care in the slightest about colour vs B&W: I didn't buy it as a picture book! I like the improvements to the rules, and the adventures are excellent.

As for the "Conan Feel": I think you have to be very careful about that. People get different things from Conan, and they have introduced enough options that you can get whichever feel you like. I think some people are trying to ram everyone int o their version of the Conan Feel, and they won't like the flexibility of course!
Click to expand...

This does raise a question, Conan is different from all other settings due to Howard's writings. If a lot of stuff is added to the setting that isn't in the spirit of the writings, then what makes Conan stand out from any other RPG?

Most of us bought the 1st edition because we expected Conan RPG to have the Howard spirit in it, which it had. I find that lately the game has become much more derivative. If it becomes another generic low-fantasy RPG, then why call it Conan then?

If you call a RPG Conan, you better follow the spirit of its inventor, otherwise call it a generic S&S RPG. It's not a question of flexibility, see Vincent's sourcebooks for instance, lots of flexibility there. It's just... I don't know, that brutal, raw feeling that one gets from reading Howard's Conan that I find missing in most of the 2nd edition.
 
MGBM said:
Most of us bought the 1st edition because we expected Conan RPG to have the Howard spirit in it, which it had. I find that lately the game has become much more derivative. If it becomes another generic low-fantasy RPG, then why call it Conan then?
Click to expand...

I was annoyed with the Khitai and Cimmeria books because of the amount of material that had to be created or taken from pastiches to fill the pages. But, what else are they going to do? Not sell a Cimmeria book? It boils down to marketing reasons really. There are a lot of Conan fans out there that will buy a book simply because it has Conan's name on it. It's a brand that has survived for decades. Mongoose has made some missteps with the brand in 2nd edition to be sure, but it could be worse. They could pull a Dark Horse and hire a writer who mispells, misrepresents, and outright changes REH's Hyborian Age issue after issue (saying Shem is east of the Vilayet Sea for example).

MGBM said:
If you call a RPG Conan, you better follow the spirit of its inventor, otherwise call it a generic S&S RPG. It's not a question of flexibility, see Vincent's sourcebooks for instance, lots of flexibility there. It's just... I don't know, that brutal, raw feeling that one gets from reading Howard's Conan that I find missing in most of the 2nd edition.
Click to expand...

Vincent did make up a lot of stuff for the books he wrote too. But the Stygia sourcebook sure feels a hell of a lot more like REH's Hyborian Age then the Khitai sourcebook does.
 
flatscan said:
MGBM said:
If you call a RPG Conan, you better follow the spirit of its inventor, otherwise call it a generic S&S RPG. It's not a question of flexibility, see Vincent's sourcebooks for instance, lots of flexibility there. It's just... I don't know, that brutal, raw feeling that one gets from reading Howard's Conan that I find missing in most of the 2nd edition.
Click to expand...

Vincent did make up a lot of stuff for the books he wrote too. But the Stygia sourcebook sure feels a hell of a lot more like REH's Hyborian Age then the Khitai sourcebook does.
Click to expand...

And that's my point exactly. As you've said, it could have been worse. But it could have been much better too, if only they had kept Vincent on board, for instance.
 
MGBM said:
And that's my point exactly. As you've said, it could have been worse. But it could have been much better too, if only they had kept Vincent on board, for instance.
Click to expand...

Did Mongoose drop Vincent? I know he hasn't been on any of the books lately but I thought he was finishing a degree or something.
 
flatscan said:
MGBM said:
And that's my point exactly. As you've said, it could have been worse. But it could have been much better too, if only they had kept Vincent on board, for instance.
Click to expand...

Did Mongoose drop Vincent? I know he hasn't been on any of the books lately but I thought he was finishing a degree or something.
Click to expand...

Well, I haven't seen Vincent here in the boards for a long time, some of his messages hinted at a kind of spacing away between him and Mongoose, like the story with the Bestiary where he was supposed to do it (he mentioned that here in the forums) and some of the sourcebooks, like Cimmeria and Cities of Hyboria would be a perfect fit for Vincent's job but weren't handled by him.

It all appears to indicate Vincent is no longer part of Mongoose's plans. :(
 
I voted good. What I like is the new take on adventures and campaigns - I want to game not read descriptions of countries and cultures.

I love what they did to the Defensive Blast and the extra options for soldiers. I don't see any point in the slightly decreased weapon damage with some two-handend hitters (and don't use them) and don't care too much about the Temptress. I still think the Nomad should have something to do with Born to the Saddle - that is a running joke with the nomad in our group ("Uh, you were Born to the Saddle - wow! So, how much hit points does my mare have?").

But: 1st edition was so much nicer to look at - plainly better craftsmanship. B&W is okay, but if you know those drwaings were meant to be in full colour and you can see it - MEH!

And I agree with what someone else said: This is not really a "Second Edition" - it is a Revised Edition. Small changes - basically everything is the same.

And I am a little tired of the Country Books - the last ones (Khitai and Cimmeria) I did not buy and honestly speaking did not use the rest that I own much at all (except Across Thunder River - SUPER!).

So - Conan is still at least one of my favourite games, but it could be much more in style (take a look at the Savage Worlds stuff or Green Ronin!).
 
My earlier, average vote was the the 2nd Ed rulebook only. I'll go up to good for the whole 2nd Ed range.

Rulebook: Average. As I said, I don't really call this a second edition. The old fans have now 3 rulebooks on their shelves (not counting the Pocket Edition), each only having minor changes with the other.

Return to the Road of Kings: Good. Even if the book is mostly a reprint, the added material makes it worth the buy. One edition or the other, this is a must have anyway.

Player's Guide: Poor/Average. The presented material is not so useful. With some added content, it could have been good, but ends up a bit hollow in its current state.

Secrets of Skelos: Good. Same as RttRoK here.

Bestiary:Average. There are a lot of reprints here, although it might be handy to have them all at hand, compiled in one book.

Trial of Blood: Average/Good. I like campaigns and there some good stuff in this one. But it's pretty railroading (format oblige) and I don't really fall for the "Save the World" plot.

Cimmeria: Good. I wasn't waiting much of this one but the book came up as a rather good surprise. Problem is you won't probably see much cimmeria based games. On the other hand, there's often a cimmerian barbarian hanging in most parties (wonder why?...). The book will help them to get rid of the Conan cliché.

Kithai: Average/Good. I will probably never send my players to Kithai, but the book is well done. Kithai seems still a very strange choice for a regional sourcebook. We're a bit out of "hyborian gaming" here.

Betrayer of Asgard:Excellent. I loved it, even if some parts were a bit too much "supernatural heavy" to my taste.

Hyborian Age Adventures: Excellent. I love adventures. All of them probably need some adaptation, two of them were already available before but all of them are pretty much "in the mood".

Warrior's Companion:Average. I'm not specially fond of crunchy supplements, and this one makes no exceptions. I feel there are already enough options for fighters without the need to add some more. Some optional rules for combat are worth the look, though...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Runequest 1ts edition WIS Attribute
Replies
0
Views
416
Diamondshark
D
M
Referee Tools
Replies
6
Views
668
MJMcMahon
M
F
Which books are primarily atlases?
Replies
6
Views
476
Vormaerin
V
M
Mercenary tickets
Replies
0
Views
209
metlk
M
MongooseMatt
Traveller 3rd Party Licensing
2 3
Replies
53
Views
2K
apastuszak
apastuszak
Back
Top