When you have no one to game with...

[J-Star]

how do you get your "Conan fix"?

Ever since I was a teenager I've loved the Conan saga. From Robert E. Howard's original stories, to the comics, to the Arnold movies, to pastiches by de Camp, Robert Jordan, and others, and finally the RPG... if it's currently in print, there's a good chance it's on my bookshelf.

When I used to play AD&D in high school and college, I was almost always the northern barbarian archtype - a "Clone-an!" I knew there were some old Conan AD&D modules out there but they were out of print and couldn't get my hands on them.

So when Mongoose came out with the Conan RPG, I was like a kid in a candy store. Unfortunately I haven't been around other gamers since college - there are no gaming/hobby stores to hang out in where live, or any other spots for getting a gaming group together. Twice I tried playing the game online... the first time was with just the GM and one other player and lasted only one session due to health issues in the GM's family and the second was with a group where I spent more time staring at my screen waiting for people to make their actions than actually playing! It got so bad that I had to drop out.

Having played a few d20-based RPG's (all online) I think Conan is a pretty well-designed game, and more importantly, the work of writers such as Vincent Darlage and others have really brought the Hyborian Age to life... and for that reason I have collected nearly every product in the line. Cimmeria and Cities of Hyboria just arrived from Amazon yesterday.

Now if I could just figure out what to do with them...

 

[aethelwulf22]

It's not always easy but unless you live in a really small town there are bound to be gamers somewhere...it's just finding them.

Being more specific with your location in your profile will help as anyone near you reading this would then point you in the right direction if not invite you to join them.

I assume you've checked out the US/Canada club locator in the general discussion forum here on the Mongoose boards.

Also posting on other gaming websites like RPG.Net, ENWorld, even WotC... saying you're looking for a group to join. You might not find a Conan game but any RPGing is better than none!

Not much use to you but here in the UK we have a UK Roleplayers site which helps get gamers together and a different UK Roleplayers site on Facebook for the same thing...so I would guess that in the US you would have something like them...

 

[DimitriX]

I'm in a similar situation. My problem is that, though I live in a rather large town, there is only one Conan game running and it is full. No one else seems to be running a game. I would be tempted to run one myself, but I don't really have the time to put into creating a game and running it. Also, I haven't really found a group of players that want to play Conan or that I would want to be in a game with.

I'm tempted to simply run a small game online using Fantasy Grounds or something along those lines. I've actually played in a solo game where the DM and I just chatted over yahoo IM. So, I guess, if you tell me more about the kind of game you would like to play in, then I could may decide if I want to give it a try. I'd just hate to get a game going and then get too busy with work and school to do it right.

 

[J-Star]

I've actually played in a solo game where the DM and I just chatted over yahoo IM.

How did that work out? Conan is probably the best RPG for solo or 1-on-1 play, considering the source material. AD&D 2nd Ed had a few class-based 1-on-1 modules; it's not a common style of play, but one I could probably get into.

So, I guess, if you tell me more about the kind of game you would like to play in, then I could may decide if I want to give it a try. I'd just hate to get a game going and then get too busy with work and school to do it right.

I could probably get into just about any type of campaign, except for a purely military game where the PC's are stuck in a fort in the Westermarck and every session is either a raid or a defense against the Picts. I prefer Robert E. Howard's style of episodic stories centered around the wandering northern barbarian 8)

 

[J-Star]

You might not find a Conan game but any RPGing is better than none!

I can't say I agree... I was recently in a Castles & Crusades game via OpenRPG and I was actually glad when the GM pulled the plug. For starters it wasn't a great group or campaign, and I'm a little sick of the magic-saturated D&D brand of fantasy, where fighters are meat shields, wizards are artillery, etc. I much prefer the sword-and-sorcery of Robert E. Howard and the Hyborian Age.

 

[Clovenhoof]

Indeed: Bad gaming is worse than no gaming.

Best of luck with your group-finding endeavours, J-Star. =)

As for playing online: go get a mike and Skype or something.

 

[aethelwulf22]

You might not find a Conan game but any RPGing is better than none!

I can't say I agree... I was recently in a Castles & Crusades game via OpenRPG and I was actually glad when the GM pulled the plug. For starters it wasn't a great group or campaign, and I'm a little sick of the magic-saturated D&D brand of fantasy, where fighters are meat shields, wizards are artillery, etc. I much prefer the sword-and-sorcery of Robert E. Howard and the Hyborian Age.

I hear you...but I thought you were having difficulty finding a gaming group. Once you find one then you can bewitch them with tales of the adventures they could be having across the Thunder River!

As for bad role-playing...well, that's down to the group. In my experience a good gaming group can have great roleplaying fun with many systems and settings whereas a bad one will make even the best games suck! I've also never come across a gaming group that sticks to only one system. So which rpg you play depends on the personal tastes of the individuals in each group but, inevitably, you have to find a gaming group first.

 

[Style]

I've actually played in a solo game where the DM and I just chatted over yahoo IM.

How did that work out? Conan is probably the best RPG for solo or 1-on-1 play, considering the source material. AD&D 2nd Ed had a few class-based 1-on-1 modules; it's not a common style of play, but one I could probably get into.

...

I prefer Robert E. Howard's style of episodic stories centered around the wandering northern barbarian

A 1 on 1 adventure, featuring a barbarian of the frozen wastes:
http://www.thecompleatstrategist.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5962



You'll have to post a campaign report when you're done. :shock:

 

[J-Star]

A 1 on 1 adventure, featuring a barbarian of the frozen wastes:
http://www.thecompleatstrategist.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=5962



You'll have to post a campaign report when you're done. :shock:

Oh yes, I've seen that one before, haha. I suppose with some work it could be converted to Conan and set in Shadizar.

But since I don't have a GM to work with, it's a moot point.

If only Mongoose could roll out some true solo adventures like these...

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ConanQueenBlackCoast/

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ConanBeyondThunderRiver/

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ConanMoonBlood/

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/books/ConanWyrmslayer/

 

[DimitriX]

If I did a solo adventure, then it would be set in Shadizar. I've been wanting to run an urban campaign for a while. And I think there are plenty of things going on in Shadizar that many adventures could be set up without having to leave the city walls. But, the game I have in mind would focus more on roleplay and social skills. So, a wandering barbarian probably wouldn't fit as well.

I would like to run an urban campaign that follows the 'other side', which means following those that actually have money (a little anyways) and access to the social ladder. So, a temptress that is trying to make her way in Shadizar, a scholar that is trying to gain favor with his secret society, a noble that is trying to become regent of his house, or even a swindling thief that is conning his way to top would be more like what I would be interested in running. Also, this means that the game would be more PC directed. I would create the world and have some plots moving in the background. But, the day to day activities would be left to the player.

 

[J-Star]

That's definitely a new and interesting approach, at least in my book. Alas, I'm not sure that's a good fit for my playing style I could do a barbarian in Shadizar, along the lines of what could've happened if young Conan had stayed put, but I don't know how well I could play the "other side" of Shadizar. I'm always a warrior and adventurer in RPG's, and I don't know how much fun playing a Zamoran Soldier would be.