Today is the day, finally I'm going to play Conan!

[Vincent791]

Well, in a few hours I'm going to have some friends at home interested in playing Conan. I've almost everything ready, the books, the character sheets, well, as I said almost everything...

After creating the characters I need some help to give them a short adventure, I want them to feel the world of Hyboria and that we all try the combat system. So I made this post to ask for some help, I don't want to just put the players in a tavern and start a brawl (don't get me wrong, I know that a tavern is a good place to start, but I need something more complex), I want something that I could use to introduce the players to the world and start my major campaign.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Strom]

Game on! 8)


Have fun and let us know how it went. I remember my first time in '04... :lol:

 

[Trodax]

I ran an adventure written by GhostWolf69 of these forums as a short introduction for my Conan game: Grains of Sand
It was an excellent short scenario, very Howardesque.

Oh, here's the link to the direct download: Grains of Sand

Good luck with your game!

 

[urdinaran]

That is what I did for my first session. I had the player start off on a hilltop, miles away from the town they got ran out of a few nights before. They come across 4 soldiers from the town, who are repairing their broken wagon; they attacked the soldiers of course.

Another idea might be to have them walking back from their favorite watering hole one night and come across someone being mugged, possibly a noble or merchant.

 

[argo]

JAILBREAK! :twisted: A jailbreak is always a good short adventure. Just start the session already behind barrs, pick a few locks, fight a few guards, flee the city. Good times.

Variant on the jailbreak ... the characters wake up behind bars in the wagon of a slaver caravan. Pick a few locks, fight a few slavers, flee into the wilderness. More good times.

Other good short adventures: the PC's are survivors of a failed military expedition, they fled the fatal battle and are now lost in the wilderness with savage animals and more savage barbarians. The PC's are pressed into service as galley slaves on a ship which is itself promptly attacked by pirates. The PC's are hired to raid the wizard's tower. The PC's are hired to raid the ancient tomb. The PC's are hired to raid the remote noble's estate which holds more supprises than expected....

Hope that helps.

 

[Vincent791]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try to get the players into the adventure, but it's gonna be difficult cause they don't know anything about the Hyborian world, so I'll have to introduce the races, classes, etc. Anyway, I'll let you know later!

 

[Auggie]

Best of luck with you game, my friend. LEt us know how it turns out

 

[High Lord Dee]

By now, you probably are well on your way. I am struggling a bit with this as well. Zamora and Shadizar is definitely the locale. I am planning on having the charcters travelling to Shadizar via caravan for a variety of different reasons. During the travel, they will be ambushed and forced to defend the caravan. Hopefully, they will have met several NPC's during the trip and have created some camaraderie.

Once in town, they will probably fall victim to a false accusation, bar brawl, etc... but somehow I will be tying the characters into the boxed set of Shadizar, City of the Wicked followed up by a few one offs. Then it will be on to Messantia....

Let us know how it went.

HLD

 

[Vincent791]

It didn't went as good as I wanted, I had a lot of troubles, my friends thought that in the classes there was only warriors, they wanted clerics, wizards, etc, so I explain the world of Hyboria to the players, the kind of adventures that they're going to live and I explain the differences between Conan and D&D.

After this they understood the thing with the classes, but they still have doubts about the game.

They liked the world, very. They learned a lot of things about Aquilonia, Nemedia, Zamora, Stygia, Shem and Kithai. They give me a lot of troubles, one of the players want to make a character from Lemura, I was like "OK, wait, let me check the book" and big surprise, I don't know anything about Lemura. So I explain him about Kithai and its culture, but anyway they give me some homework to do.

Finally they create characters, one of them is a nomad, Himelian tribesman, his tribe was anhiquilated (sp?) and he is the only survivor, so now he travel using the mountains. Another player creates a female ex-noble from Kithai (yes, the same that want to know about Lemura), I guess it's going to be a challenge for me this female character. And another couple of players are still thinking about it. So it seems that I'm going to have a very colorful party.

Sadly we couldn't play anything, not even a single test of the world or the combat system, we cover a lot of things from the world, so next session they're going to fill their stats in their sheets and hopefuly we're going to be able to play.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[High Lord Dee]

It didn't went as good as I wanted, I had a lot of troubles, my friends thought that in the classes there was only warriors, they wanted clerics, wizards, etc, so I explain the world of Hyboria to the players, the kind of adventures that they're going to live and I explain the differences between Conan and D&D.

I always try to encourage my players to pick up the core rule book and read it prior to the first session. Not always an easy task since many of them want to try the game first before they invest. Great idea by Mongoose to offer the discounted rule book BTW. For $15, you have a set of rules to read and play. Not a bad investment if you look at the cost per hour!

Anyways, you are describing a common scenario. I will probably do the same with my group soon and spend an evening on character creation and storylines. Good fun in itself. A small combat encounter would be a plus just to get some of the mechanics down.

Sounds like you are still off to a pretty good start...Have fun!

HLD

 

[urdinaran]

You may wish to restrict anyone playing a Scholar, as it may be a bit of a letdown as compared to the D&D equivalents. Scholars do not have "magic missiles" or "fireballs", much less any of the ulitarian spells many players may be accustomed to.

Another bit of advice would be to create well-rounded characters. If they are the kind of players that plan out their Feats and Classes for 20 levels, they might in for a surprise. The key to survival in Conan, IMO, is to be well-versed in many aspects of combat.

Some sample combats would probably help them out. Have 1 or 2 of them jump an unsuspecting temple guard in a pillared chamber or something. This will help all of you get used to the differences in the system (Parry/Dodge defense, AP, DR, etc.).

 

[Vincent791]

Yeah, I guess that's the idea, we'll have to take some time in the next session to well-round the characters, I'll help the players with their stats while they work on their background and story, as I said one of the players create a female character, an ex-noble from Kithai, so I'll give him some tips or possibilities for his character, it's gonna be a challenge, you know, due to the racism and sexism, and being an ex-noble...damn! But I could use that to give them some interesting hooks for the adventure.

 

[Maximo]

Vincent791 wrote:

But I could use that to give them some interesting hooks for the adventure.

Indeed.
Having a colorful, original character is usually more fun to good roleplayers than getting the powergaming machine of the month (though for powergamers it is another matter).

Incidentally, I think there's a section on Khitai's nobility in Hyboria's Finest, which perhaps could be useful for your campaign, that is, if you don't make it up yourself.

 

[Vincent791]

Damn! I've not consider those books for my collection, but now you got me thinking about it.

BTW, please tell me what are the books that contain more info about Hyboria, not rules related but about the gazeteer and that kind of stuff. I just have the core book, Aquilonia FotW and Shadizar box set. Thanks!

 

[Walkurë]

Damn! I've not consider those books for my collection, but now you got me thinking about it.

BTW, please tell me what are the books that contain more info about Hyboria, not rules related but about the gazeteer and that kind of stuff. I just have the core book, Aquilonia FotW and Shadizar box set. Thanks!

ROAD OF KINGS

 

[Bregales]

Damn! I've not consider those books for my collection, but now you got me thinking about it.

BTW, please tell me what are the books that contain more info about Hyboria, not rules related but about the gazeteer and that kind of stuff. I just have the core book, Aquilonia FotW and Shadizar box set. Thanks!

ROAD OF KINGS

Here's Mongoose's product description for this book:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpg/detail.php?qsID=388&qsSeries=7

 

[VincentDarlage]

Damn! I've not consider those books for my collection, but now you got me thinking about it.

BTW, please tell me what are the books that contain more info about Hyboria, not rules related but about the gazeteer and that kind of stuff. I just have the core book, Aquilonia FotW and Shadizar box set. Thanks!

All the books, pretty much. Road of Kings is a gazeteer. Hyboria's Fiercest, Hyboria's Finest and Hyboria's Fallen all have gazeteer information and are not all rules related. I get bored with crunch, so the books I write tend to be more on the fluffy side. (This is also why I don't participate in many of the rules discussions. They bore me for the most part.)

 

[Yogah of Yag]

Damn! I've not consider those books for my collection, but now you got me thinking about it.

BTW, please tell me what are the books that contain more info about Hyboria, not rules related but about the gazeteer and that kind of stuff. I just have the core book, Aquilonia FotW and Shadizar box set. Thanks!

All the books, pretty much. Road of Kings is a gazeteer. Hyboria's Fiercest, Hyboria's Finest and Hyboria's Fallen all have gazeteer information and are not all rules related. I get bored with crunch, so the books I write tend to be more on the fluffy side.

Mr. Darlage: Were you approached by Mongoose to write for them, or did you seek them out?

 

[VincentDarlage]

Mr. Darlage: Were you approached by Mongoose to write for them, or did you seek them out?

Sort of both, I guess. I answered a call to playtest the Conan game. Towards the end of the playtest, Mongoose asked if I wanted to write a campaign for them. I said yes. Then they changed their mind about the campaign and asked me to write a gazetteer instead. So I sat down and wrote them a gazetteer.

So, I approached them to playtest and they, in turn, approached me about writing. It turned out to be a fun experience for me and, luckily, they keep assigning me projects, so I presume it has been good for them as well.

 

[Bregales]

They liked the world, very. They learned a lot of things about Aquilonia, Nemedia, Zamora, Stygia, Shem and Kithai. They give me a lot of troubles, one of the players want to make a character from Lemura, I was like "OK, wait, let me check the book" and big surprise, I don't know anything about Lemura. So I explain him about Kithai and its culture, but anyway they give me some homework to do.

Hey Vincent, I think you're looking for Lemurians. In the original printing of the Conan rpg core book (not the AE), on page 238 the second paragraph mentions in The Hyborian Age by Robert E. Howard that "The barbarians of that age were the...Lemurians, who inhabited a chain of large islands in the eastern hemisphere. In the second column it says that Lemuria sank during the Catyclism (which ended the eras of Kull's descendants and drove the continent into chaos). The third paragraph on the 2nd column of page 239 says how the Lemurians changed and overthrew the race that enslaved them (who traveled southwest and became Stygians). And finally, on the 3rd paragraph of page 241, it says that the Lemurians evolved into the Hyrkanians.
--Hope that helps! 8)

Finally they create characters, one of them is a nomad, Himelian tribesman, his tribe was anhiquilated (sp?)-[edit Bregales: word is annihilated] and he is the only survivor, so now he travel using the mountains. Another player creates a female ex-noble from Kithai (yes, the same that want to know about Lemura), I guess it's going to be a challenge for me this female character. And another couple of players are still thinking about it. So it seems that I'm going to have a very colorful party.

. It sounds good to me. See my response above about Lemurians - they're the ancestors of the Hyrkanians/Turanians! Their ideas sound good to me, provided they like to role-play their character ideas. I've actually just decided to make a female cleric in a DnD game we're playing, after my long-prepared first character got smeared in the game's very first encounter! So in my case it was a decision based on the erratic behaviors of the other PCs, and gave me something else to think about (I'm not in the habit of playing against my gender).

Anyway, hope your game does well! Don't get discouraged. Try to be helpful, guiding them along. I'd agree with another poster, that you shouldn't allow a player to make a Sorcerer character, it's too burdensome on new GMs (and me, who's been GMing off and on for decades!). Good luck.