Raven Blackwell
Mongoose
The King said:
Simple- they encountered Conan. 8)
Where´s Hyboria´s Bestiary?
- Thread starter MGBM
- Start date
Simple- they encountered Conan. 8)
Climate and terrain. is the main factor in the extinction of the "dire" animals.
The Dire Elk died out due to the growth of forests after the Ice Age, as their 20ft antler spread prevented movement through the wood.
The mammoth/Mastadons fade away as the climate grew Arid.
Sabertooth are unique in that they have gone extinct at the end of each Iceage and reappearing during the next iceage, for a total of 5 times. They went extinct as the arid climate made ambush hunting very difficult.
I just wish I could find a good encyclopedia of post jurassic/Ice age species.
The Dire Elk died out due to the growth of forests after the Ice Age, as their 20ft antler spread prevented movement through the wood.
The mammoth/Mastadons fade away as the climate grew Arid.
Sabertooth are unique in that they have gone extinct at the end of each Iceage and reappearing during the next iceage, for a total of 5 times. They went extinct as the arid climate made ambush hunting very difficult.
I just wish I could find a good encyclopedia of post jurassic/Ice age species.
Odovacar's Ghost
Mongoose
We need a Bestiary as much as we need an Equipment guide. Both are useless in this game. Everything is provided for in the main book.
IMHO.
IMHO.
I'm assuming you mean they have gone near extinct five times?Netherek said:
While I wouldn't say useless, I can agree with you that there are other things that would be more useful. They'd end up pretty low on my to-buy list as well (although I would probably get them in the end, being the fanboy that I am :wink: ).Odovacar's Ghost said:
slaughterj
Mongoose
Trodax said:
Perhaps they have gone extinct each time, but in the intervening time other tigers have developed larger, effectively recreating the Sabertooths?
Sabertooths cats are not true felines. They are neofelides belonging to the tribe smilodontni. Which started with megatereon about three million years ago and ended with smilodon fatalis and smilodon populator with is ever larger than S.fatalis. Also during the last ice age there was a third sabertooth cat called homotherium in north america. The linage of the neofelids started about 30 million years ago until 9000 years ago. They say the most likely cause of their extintion was man,decline of large prey and rapid climate change.
Ant
Mongoose
Mmm... What are the niceties of converting D&D monsters? Or, put another way, what problems would you have if you took creatures out of the Monster Manual, the Fiend Folio, the S&S Creature Collection, etc., etc. and plonked them as is in your Hyborian campaign?Strom said:
Gr.,
Ant
Odovacar's Ghost
Mongoose
Ant said:
While you are at all those conversions, why don't we add orcs and beholders! Bah!
Besides aligators and crocodiles, the picts are quite fearsome.
Ant said:
Not every creature would fit in a Hyborian adventure but some of them might and part of the appeal of D20 is utilizing different supplements for different adventures and there is no reason an authentic Hyborian adventure could not benefit from some of the wonderful creations already stated out in some of the D20 monster manuals. This would be a choice available to the GM of course. Looking at the Shadizar boxed set and some of the unique creatures listed like the Pili, who are not a far cry from the Sahuagin and the Jatte are very similar to the Hill Giant.
Having all these great creatures - big and small - would be great in one hardcover book. It is a staple for any RPG worth it's weight in adventure! 8)
Ant
Mongoose
I still don't see the attraction of a bestiary if it's only a compilation of the creature stats and descriptions from the other books. But...Strom said:
Has anyone seen Green Ronin's Creatures of Freeport by Graeme Davis* and Keith Baker?
This extends the usual "Monster Manual" format: "Each entry also includes Knowledge (what a character knows about a creature from Knowledge skills, Bardic Lore and other sources of information), Uses (details on parts that can be harvested and used by alchemists, spellcasters and others), and Adventure Hooks, many of which come with fully statted NPCs to make the GMs job even easier."
A similar format is, I think, used in the WFRP** Old World Bestiary by T.S. Luikart and Ian Sturrock. (Mmm... Ian's name seems familiar for some reason.) That has: "Monster entries with three points of view: the Common View, the Scholar's View, and Our Own Words."
This kind of format - for creatures other than simple animals - would make a Conan RPG bestiary - Hyboria's Fiends? - much more valuable...
Oh, another thing it should include are clear references to the Conan stories that the creatures appeared in - not just quotations!
Ciao,
Ant
* Btw, Graeme was one of the people who introduced me to AD&D while we were at university together in the early eighties. He has a lot to answer for.
** Graeme was a major contributor to the first edition of WFRP.
*** I'm suprised Graeme hasn't written anything for the Conan RPG. I'd recommend him very stongly for sourcebooks on Cimmeria, Asgard/Vanaheim, and Stygia.
Ant
Mongoose
Not so many, eh?The King said:
125 sounds like "many" to me... and more to come, I'm sure.Strom said:
But I agree, they have already been introduced... which is exactly why I like the idea of Freeport/WFRP-style expansions of the creature entries.
Oh, and even some "simple" animals might be covered in this style, esp. under Uses; for example, elephants for their ivory. (I'm sorry: that doesn't fit well with modern conservationist sensibilities, but I'm sure there was a trade in ivory in Hyboria.)
Cordialement,
Ant
Ant said:
Exactly! That's the point I was making a few posts ago - they need to be creative with the info and create a Hyborian style Bestiary a la WFRP. My other point (and I have been gaming for 20+ years) what other RPG of the quality of the Conan RPG does not have a Monster manual/bestiary? Even the new Iron Heroes game is coming out with a Bestiary. I just think a bestiary/monster manual is necessary for a RPG, even a low magic setting like Conan or Iron Heroes. It's a tome the GM can grab in a hurry for unexpected events and/or when creating a adventure. We have the Core book (GM Manual) and the Players Books (Fiercest, Finest, and Fallen) but we are missing the Monster manual...why mess with a formula that works? Three core books. 8)
Ant said:You can't count!Strom said:
Cordialement,
Ant
:lol: - technically you are right, but the gist of my comment harkens to days of old before companies realized the financial benefits of multiple supplements expanding on the 3 core books concept. The Conan RPG has BOOKS that cover the GM and Players concepts but no Monster manual - Bestiary if you like - and if done creatively I for one would like to see it.
Ant
Mongoose
I guess Mongoose could have had a bestiary much earlier, but chose to put a (slim) bestiary in the core rulebook... and material that could have been the basis of a "players' handbook". You have everything you need to play in just one volume.Strom said:
A slim bestiary was probably enough... and with the standard entry format would have been pretty meagre. To The King's point, the Conan stories - REH's at least - were seldom "monster driven"*, so the D&D type menageries aren't really appropriate to the Conan RPG. And that's really the position I was taking earlier.
Until my epiphany.
Gr.,
Ant
* Which begs the question, which stories provided which creatures? That information should be explicit.
Ant said:I guess Mongoose could have had a bestiary much earlier, but chose to put a (slim) bestiary in the core rulebook... and material that could have been the basis of a "players' handbook". You have everything you need to play in just one volume.Strom said:
A slim bestiary was probably enough... and with the standard entry format would have been pretty meagre. To The King's point, the Conan stories - REH's at least - were seldom "monster driven"*, so the D&D type menageries aren't really appropriate to the Conan RPG. And that's really the position I was taking earlier.
Until my epiphany.
Gr.,
Ant
* Which begs the question, which stories provided which creatures? That information should be explicit.
Man, your acting like I'm asking for your money or something. I just feel a Bestiary would be cool and useful for a GM. You feel it wouldn't. That's cool. They covered a a lot of the Road of Kings material in the Core book as well but still came out with a expansion on the core material presented. The same could be said for a Bestiary. I would think 2 years into a RPG would be a good time to consolidate material and present it in a unique and intriguing format. But, since the schedule is out maybe next year. I hope they do it. As for the breakdown of creatures checkout my thread "GM Only - Bestiary Reference List". Your D & D reference makes no sense in light of that list. The fact that the Conan RPG has so many available and stated out animals/monsters/demons/templates demonstrates the appropriateness of a bestiary for the game.
High Lord Dee
Mongoose
I have avoided this topic for awhile because I was not sure how a Bestiary/MM would work for Conan. After futher review, I think it would work just fine. Although most of the entries would be wild animials, giant insects, and "other" corruption creating things.
As a DM, all is welcome. You can use as much or as little as you would like. So, the whole concern about maintaining a Howard like setting is up to you.
I am wondering why Mongoose has not published it. Perhaps it is coming after all the major regions or covered? That would certainly be less work for them. Hopefully not. Looking forward to it whenever it is ready for publication.
HLD
As a DM, all is welcome. You can use as much or as little as you would like. So, the whole concern about maintaining a Howard like setting is up to you.
I am wondering why Mongoose has not published it. Perhaps it is coming after all the major regions or covered? That would certainly be less work for them. Hopefully not. Looking forward to it whenever it is ready for publication.
HLD
