Unisystem

Hudson

Mongoose
I have been DM-ing Conan for a while now and the only problem I have is that I find the rules far to unwieldly to use. The books are the best I have seen and the information is fantastic. My math skills are low to nil and I have very little time for prep work due to the fact that I take care of my two boys aged three and under. I also am a writer and Comedian and find little time for my professional writing, let alone gaming work.

Can anyone help me with a simpler version of Conan. I have played unisystem and find it fast and simple to use. I also am a fan of Chaosium's rules.
 
Conan is infinitely more simple as compared to Chaosium stuff.

What specifically is giving you such headaches? There's really not that much math on the fly necessary, so perhaps you're looking at it in slightly the wrong way and it just seems complicated.
 
Hudson said:
I have been DM-ing Conan for a while now and the only problem I have is that I find the rules far to unwieldly to use. The books are the best I have seen and the information is fantastic. My math skills are low to nil and I have very little time for prep work due to the fact that I take care of my two boys aged three and under. I also am a writer and Comedian and find little time for my professional writing, let alone gaming work.

Can anyone help me with a simpler version of Conan. I have played unisystem and find it fast and simple to use. I also am a fan of Chaosium's rules.

Well maybe you have to wait till next year. There is the rumor that 2nd edition conan will appear as MRQ (Mongoose RuneQuest). You can read some opinions and info about this topic in one of the threads in the conan forum. If you are used to the Chaosium rules, then you will be familiar with MRQ in very short time because both systems are based on Basic Roleplaying. (BRP)

If you want to play sooner then I recommend to convert the current d20 system to BRP and play with the CoC or Stormbringer rules. There is also a "dark ages" CoC setting out there with medieval skills and combat. I could be helpful. Of course the best choice would be to use the new Mongoose RQ rules which appear next month. Here ist the link

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=39
 
I wouldn't bother converting to BRP...

If anything Unisystem would eb the better choice. I hear good things about Dungeons and Zombies which should have a good bit for fantasy. Or you could just make your own Qualities and what not. Of course it would be rather deadly with it's slash/stab rules but if your using cinematic unisystem teh drama points should take care of that.
 
The drama points are a good idea. I will use them if I do use unisystem.

Whenever I am running Conan I find that I can't get the speed of the game up in combat. Factoring all of the feats of the NPC's slows things down in my game. Character creation and NPC creation takes me too long.

I do think that COC rules are simpler as I can make a character without the rulebook. I don't think the rules would work for Conan however. I just like how fast it is. Maybe being based on 10 helps me out.

Sutek, you might be right. I may just be looking at it in the wrong way. Does anyone have a Gm's quick reference sheet or something like that for dummies like me? Keep in mind I tell fart jokes for a living.
 
Sutek said:
Conan is infinitely more simple as compared to Chaosium stuff.

Chaosiom's BRP system is much simpler than D20 Conan, I don't think anyone could really argue otherwise.

Chaosium still sell Stormbringer which is a fantasy RPG close in mood to Conan, it's got more crunch and detail that CoC but is still a lot simpler than D20 Conan.

Please note this isn't an attack on D20, personally I like the system and despite having Stormbringer prefer to use D20 for my Conan gaming. However I can't begin to claim that I make that choice because it's simpler. I just really like what Mongoose have done with Conan.
 
Hudson:

A simple thing to do then is to completely ignore all the NPC feats. WHo cares? more action is more fun than remembering the point blank shot will give a +1.
In the grand scheme of things that +1 will not matter, even if it is the difference between hitting and missing for a character. One session down the line people are going to have fonder memories of that fast paced fight than the one where a +2 circumstance modifier due to being on higher ground gave the NPC a hit instead of a miss.
Compensate with a couple extra mooks.

Never let the NPCs and their rules get in the way of action.

Now somoene with a name you might care about. He might actually use power attack, or combat expertise, but your horde of 20 pict barbarians, I find it best to just ignore anything that takes more than 2 seconds to implement.

PCs on the other hand should get the flavour of earning modifiers, it will make them more interested in manouvering in the fight as well.
 
If you want simpler rules, my recommendation would be to go with True20. True20 will free you from the fallacious idea that D20 has to be complicated.

The main advantage of True20 over other simple game systems is that since it is D20, conversion is quite simple.

I have toyed around with the idea of running a True20 Swords and Sorcery style game myself using a lot of the ideas from Conan. If you want to see how it works, check out:

http://valhalla.apt.columbia.edu/PaxThumanus
 
Taharqa,

One of my group recommened that I use True20 when I told him that I want to streamline the rules for our Conan game. I will be taking a look at the True20 stuff that he has. Thanks for the link, lots of cool stuff on your site. Looks like a cool game you are running.

Blacksagelobo,

Cini uni. Please explain.
 
Cinematic Unisystem - the rules for Buffy, Angel, or Army of Darkness vs Standard Unisystem - Witchcraft, All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Armageddon.
 
Hudson said:
Cini uni. Please explain.
That's "Cinematic Unisystem" (as in Buffy, Angel, Army of Darkness) as opposed to "Classic" or "Full Unisystem" (as in Witchcraft, Terra Primate or AFMB).

1. If you like Unisystem, you should pick up the "Dungeons & Zombies" supplement. It's written for AFMB, so it's zombie-heavy, but it also works as a Unisystem sword&sorcery handbook. As a core book, I'd use either Buffy (possibly with the Magic box) or Army of Darkness (which has Mass Combat rules, AFAIK).

2. If you prefer BRP, try to get a copy of Elric! or Stormbringer (5th edition) and ignore all the setting info. Old RuneQuest (or the current BRP monographs) works just as well if you remember to make magic more scarce.

In both cases, no conversion is necessary. You'll be using the Conan stuff just for background info.

3. If you want to stay fairly close to the Conan RPG, then I'd really recommend True20. That way you could occasionally borrow feats or convert creatures from the Conan game.

Just my 2 coppers, hope this helps...
 
Turloigh said:
That's "Cinematic Unisystem" (as in Buffy, Angel, Army of Darkness) as opposed to "Classic" or "Full Unisystem" (as in Witchcraft, Terra Primate or AFMB).

I've got experience as a GM for All Flesh and a player in Buffy. I think Unisystem's a great system.

All Flesh has a very gritty feeling with combat being quite dangerous.

However both cinematic and classic do seem to have a bit of a problem with high powered characters, the glass ninja effect. Basically to hit a high power character you have to beat their defence, which will be high. Thus any blows that get through will be the result of a high attack roll. Damage is affected by how high the attack roll is above 10 (it's not relative to the defence roll). So that high attack roll will produce a hefty bonus to damage, possibly making it a killing blow. Thus you get glass ninjas, incredibly hard to hit but once struck they'll shatter from that single blow. Consider also that high level characters do not get bonus hit points.

For All Flesh that really isn't a problem, it works well with the gritty feeling and most characters are relatively "normal". For Buffy it has been a bit of an issue, the big guys do tend to get dropped once a hit gets through.

I can imagine that it might be a bit of a problem for high powered heroic Conan type characters. Worth thinking about anyway, it might be a feeling that you'd like for your game, two warriors dancing around each other each desperate to land that first killing blow.
 
Oly said:
... However both cinematic and classic do seem to have a bit of a problem with high powered characters, the glass ninja effect. ...
But that's exactly where Cinematic is different from Classic Unisystem. Characters have Drama Points that serve to bump their die rolls or to escape injury and death. And on top of that, they can buy more Life Points, too.
 
Turloigh said:
But that's exactly where Cinematic is different from Classic Unisystem. Characters have Drama Points that serve to bump their die rolls or to escape injury and death. And on top of that, they can buy more Life Points, too.

Yes the Drama Point system does help things out but it doesn't change the core issue that a good defender will typically be floored, or be brought close to it, by a single blow that is good enough to get past their defences.

Drama Points can even add to the situation by boosting the defence roll even higher meaning that any blow that does get past that will be even deadlier.

My PC was the slayer in the Buffy game I was playing in and I would frequently spend DPs to take down the big(ish) bads or recovering from some of the damage inflicted by the blows that would get past my very high defensive abilities, I know the system reasonably well.
 
Thanks all. I realize now that have played 'cini uni and not plain old unisystem. I am a player in an Angel campaign and enjoy the rules and the pace of the game. I am a big fan of the drama points and think it would work well with Conan.

As usual, this forum is full of helpful folks. You guys are the best. May Crom turn his good eye away from you.
 
We're all here to help.

I'm here to help you stick with Conan D20. (lol)

I'm still not getting where you're getting hung up, but I assume it's just being new to the D20 gaming venue. It's a simple system, but there's a lot of fluff.

I'd say tthat ignoring Feats is the first step. Look at the game functionality without considering feats. When you do that, the system boils down to skill checks, across the board. Even combat starts to look like skill checks because they operate the same way. After that, take a look at feats and how they augment this base. Combat manuvers are really just feats that have a progression and are open to all classes and races equally.

1) A d20 is rolled and modifiers are added and compared to a target number. In a skill check/test this target is called a Difficulty Class (DC), while in combat it's the opponent's Defense Value (DV).

2) Have your players do most of the work. Make them write down what feats, class and racial abilities and all that do to make thier characters unique. Make them do it for themselves (on thier character sheets) and make them do it for you (on simple index cards) and, if necessary, go back over those index cards and put page number references. Then just let them do the talking. They'll remind you of something that they have and you can make snap judgements as to how you want to handle it, depending on the drama. I always choose rule debates (A) only slightly in favor of the player doing the debating and (B) try to avoid looking anything up at the time; I do it later.

3) Don't worry about magic just yet and disuade your players from mucking with it unless they want to "learn it for you". It's a simple enough system, but it's not necessary for running a game. You can get by with bandits and wolves and Grey Apes (oh my!) for a good while before they group has to face a sorcerer. Cut your teeth on managing the stats and general system first before getting into esoterica.

4) Don't give your players anything. Make them work for it. They'll come to value their crocodile tooth necklace way more than a bunch of alchemical powders and well honed weapons anyway because they had to work for it.

5) Read over the combat section 19 times. (lol) Seriously, just get to know that section and all of the options. Read over it and discuss it openly with your group, too. If you all learn ho wand when to grapple, shield bash or aid another all as a group, you'll remember it as a group. But, also remember, that if you learn it wrong, you'll all be making the same mistakes over and over. Read it from start to finish, make notes if that helps you, and ask questions here.


That's my basic approach. Now, are there specifc rule points that are giving you trouble? I know Damage Reduction and Armor Penetration were a little odd for people at first, and some of the nuances of combat are a little overwhelming.
 
I base damage off the defense roll in my cini uni game.

BTW, I do like the d20 rules (I was a playtester), I just find unisystem plays faster and is much quicker to prep for as a gamemaster.

I still but all the Mongoose Conan material, its good stuff.
 
ricardo440 said:
Hudson:

A simple thing to do then is to completely ignore all the NPC feats. WHo cares? more action is more fun than remembering the point blank shot will give a +1.
In the grand scheme of things that +1 will not matter, even if it is the difference between hitting and missing for a character. One session down the line people are going to have fonder memories of that fast paced fight than the one where a +2 circumstance modifier due to being on higher ground gave the NPC a hit instead of a miss.
Compensate with a couple extra mooks.

Never let the NPCs and their rules get in the way of action.

Now somoene with a name you might care about. He might actually use power attack, or combat expertise, but your horde of 20 pict barbarians, I find it best to just ignore anything that takes more than 2 seconds to implement.


EXACTLY !!!! i'm glad there is another one with that oppinion !!!!
hope some of our "math fetish guys" read this thread...it's amazing how long their threads about numbers, tables and possibilities can be :wink:
 
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