Why does everyone keep asking how to convert conan to D&

[Anonymous]

As you can see by my handle I enjoy DND, but I picked up Conan because of the fact it was different than DND. I wouldn't think to combine the two, as they are as different as night and day. So why are there laminations concerning "how to do this..." and "how to make that work?"

 

[Yuan-Ti]

As you can see by my handle I enjoy DND, but I picked up Conan because of the fact it was different than DND. I wouldn't think to combine the two, as they are as different as night and day. So why are there laminations concerning "how to do this..." and "how to make that work?"

Lots of gamers are converters by nature. They love to tinker with rules, settings, classes, races, etc. When they see something great, they try to figure out how to put it together with other things they like. Like peanut butter and chocolate = Peanut Butter Cup.

 

[Iron_Chef]

Lots of gamers are converters by nature. They love to tinker with rules, settings, classes, races, etc. When they see something great, they try to figure out how to put it together with other things they like. Like peanut butter and chocolate = Peanut Butter Cup.

Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!

 

[Anonymous]

As you can see by my handle I enjoy DND, but I picked up Conan because of the fact it was different than DND. I wouldn't think to combine the two, as they are as different as night and day. So why are there laminations concerning "how to do this..." and "how to make that work?"

Reasons for "converting" (although I'd say using in combo with) Conan to D&D:

1. I have over $250 worth of D&D sourcebooks
2. I have spent the last 3 months prior to the release of Conan prepping for my Kalamar campaign.
3. Conan is a d20 game and therefore largely compatible.
4. My players like playing "traditional" fantasy - low learning curve with gaming time at a premium (due to kids, work, spouses, etc.)
5. My players exposure to Conan is limited to Arnie's movie (hoping to change that and make them more receptive to a pure Conan campaign for sometime in the future)
6. My Book of the Righteous is too good to sit on my shelf unused - not a good fit with Howard's world as written. If I blend it in, I'm playing a Conan/D&D combo anyway.

I've always like Conan and after reading the RPG have a greater appreciation for the character and the world. (Haven't had the opportunity to read Howard's works yet - exposure limited to the pastiches.) I was tempted to run a straight Conan game but finally decided I couldn't with reasons 1&2 above being the primary factors.

Azgulor

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Kalamar + Conan = Mmmm-mmmmm!

 

[ahzad]

Lots of gamers are converters by nature. They love to tinker with rules, settings, classes, races, etc. When they see something great, they try to figure out how to put it together with other things they like. Like peanut butter and chocolate = Peanut Butter Cup.

Hey, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!

No you've got your peanut butter in my chocolate!!


But seriously, Iron Chef is right. I would be content to play Conan exclusively now that I finally got the book, but my players wouldn't. They want their mages to cast fireballs, to be able to raise folks from the dead, ect.. So for me to be able to play Conan all the time I need to to tinker and fiddle until I can find a happy compromise between the two so we both will be happy.

Terry

 

[Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

Kalamar + Conan = Mmmm-mmmmm!

no no, that would be Kalanan or Conamar.

 

[Infidel-X]

As you can see by my handle I enjoy DND, but I picked up Conan because of the fact it was different than DND. I wouldn't think to combine the two, as they are as different as night and day. So why are there laminations concerning "how to do this..." and "how to make that work?"

I for one believe there are some concepts from other games that would work very well in Conan d20 take for example the Brigand and Gladiator base classes and the Slaver and Warlord prestige classs from Kalamar. And lets not forget the wealth of goodies in Cthulu that would be perfect for Conan!

Staying true to Howards spirit and reflecting that as a GM is more important to me even when my players encounter a floating spherical muti-eyed horror while exporing lost ruins from some lost and long forgotten civilization :twisted:

 

[RayRangel]

Three points:

First:
Conan isn't d20, its OGL. This means that Conan uses the basic game mechanics defined in the SRD, but it is not constrained to using the fluff, classes, races, etc. A quick read of the Conan game aptly demonstrates the difference between Conan, OGL, and d20.

Second:
If the D&Ders want to cast fireballs and play magic missile machine gunners, then they should play D&D...if they want a Conan-like game then lift the names, races, and gazateer out of Conan the Roleplaying game and use them as a Campaign Setting for D&D. It would be much easier on the DM and the PCs will be much happier not having to un-learn and re-learn rules.

Third:
I agree that there are a lot of rules tinkerers in the audience. But as in any game, house rules are effective when they enhance the character of a game rather than change its nature. I have seen, in many instances, when rules are ported from one game to the other. In time the original game loses its character. With realizing what's happening, the first game simply becomes the second...how much time and effort would be saved by simply switching to the second...

IMHO

 

[Mayhem]

You know what would be really cool - a chapter-by=chapter break down in the way Conan Rules differ from D&D rules.

Sort of like what steven cooper did with 3.0 - 3.5.

Mind you, that would be a lot of work. And I'm a lazy bugger

 

[slaughterj]

You know what would be really cool - a chapter-by=chapter break down in the way Conan Rules differ from D&D rules.

Sort of like what steven cooper did with 3.0 - 3.5.

Mind you, that would be a lot of work. And I'm a lazy bugger

More useful would be a quick and dirty list - I've got a rough one of about 12 things, might actually type them up here and have people critique so we can get a rough and ready list for people's reference.

 

[Mark Dunder]

I haven't bought the game (most likely won't), but I did look at the character sheet. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. So it is D&D, only with a few modifications to give it a "Conan" flavor.

Did any of you know that Cook's Conan RPG published in 1985, does not have characteristics, classes, races, levels, and only uses one Resolution Table for everything. It was a breath of fresh air for me (I've played RPGs since 1978), and I won't play them D20 (read D&D), anymore. Not only are they incredibly complicated, and thus slows down game play, they make it hard for you to play a unique character (I'm a Barbarian! Well, good for you! So am I!). Just for the fun of it, I created 77 classes for my game (yes I know, you don't have to in my game). It was my way of thumbing my nose at the cumbersome D&D (D20) system.

 

[Faraer]

But seriously, Iron Chef is right. I would be content to play Conan exclusively now that I finally got the book, but my players wouldn't. They want their mages to cast fireballs, to be able to raise folks from the dead, ect.. So for me to be able to play Conan all the time I need to to tinker and fiddle until I can find a happy compromise between the two so we both will be happy.

I think a better plan would be to do a D&D campaign, then read some Conan stories, then do a Conan campaign when you're better prepared and your players have got some D&D out of their system.

Not only are they incredibly complicated, and thus slows down game play, they make it hard for you to play a unique character (I'm a Barbarian! Well, good for you! So am I!).

I've bought the game, and a lot of the supplements, knowing full well I'm not going to run a spuriously complicated d20 game with 30 pages of combat rules.

To play a unique character, just play it uniquely. Characters are not their rules representations; endless skills, feats, rules exceptions and general 'options' just give you rules to play with, and are sold by RPG companies partly on the con that players need them to make characters interesting.

 

[Mark Dunder]

How right you are. Sometimes rules get in the way of a good game. If you can create a good character or better yet, your players can create an interesting character, then everyone has fun. Rules are there to help ensure fairness as much as possible, and also if you are not sure of what to do next. Like the pirates code, "there more of a guideline than a rule."
I am not a narratist, I like having resolution checks and such. But some RPGs start acting like miniature warfare, and building a fun character kind of falls by the wayside.

 

[thulsa]

Conan isn't d20, its OGL. This means that Conan uses the basic game mechanics defined in the SRD, but it is not constrained to using the fluff, classes, races, etc.

Just a clarification of d20 vs OGL (based on my understanding of it):

1. You can publish your stuff as either compliant with the OGL or the d20 license.

2. You can use the material in the SRD for both types of publication (d20, OGL).

3. If you publish under the d20 license:
a) You may use the d20 system logo, which is good for marketing since gamers recognize this as compatible with their favorite RPG (D&D).
b) You must include a text saying "Requires the Players Handbook from Wizards of the Coast" (or a variant of this text) on the cover.
c) You cannot include rules for gaining XP and levels (this is, at least in theory, why the PHB is "required").
d) Your product must comply with certain "decency standards" as set by Wizards of the Coast (ie. no bare nipples, no condonement of drug use, racism, slavery, etc.)

4. If you publish under the OGL:
a) You can create a stand-alone game that includes the complete mechanics, including XP and level gain.
b) You cannot use the d20 system logo, which might be bad for marketing since potential buyers won't necessarily recognize this as a product compatible with D&D and d20 (although, since you are free to modify or make up new game mechanics, your game isn't necessarily compatible with D&D or d20 anyway -- but note that you are free to modify the rules when using the d20 license as well).
c) Your product does not, as far as I know, need to comply with the "decency standards" mentioned above. That's why the Conan RPG can have a bare nipple on every even-numbered page

A quick read of the Conan game aptly demonstrates the difference between Conan, OGL, and d20.

Since the Conan RPG by Mongoose is published under the OGL, there is no "difference" between Conan and the OGL. Perhaps a better way to say it would be: "A quick read of the Conan game aptly demonstrates the difference between the Conan RPG (which is OGL) and d20."

- thulsa

 

[Buxom Sorceress]

..Did any of you know that Cook's Conan RPG published in 1985, does not have characteristics, classes, races, levels, and only uses one Resolution Table for everything. It was a breath of fresh air for me (I've played RPGs since 1978), and I won't play them D20 (read D&D), anymore. Not only are they incredibly complicated, and thus slows down game play, they make it hard for you to play a unique character (I'm a Barbarian! Well, good for you! So am I!). Just for the fun of it, I created 77 classes for my game (yes I know, you don't have to in my game). It was my way of thumbing my nose at the cumbersome D&D (D20) system.

thanks for your refreshing comments. 8)
i am always interested in simpler + more easily playable rpg systems.

i would like to read some details of the system u use, please?
is there any link to it on the net?

or if u get time, could u PM me with some examples please?
[ not sure if they will allow such different rules to be posted in this forum?]

best wishes from a very buxom tinkerer ***

 

[argo]

3. If you publish under the d20 license:
a) You may use the d20 system logo, which is good for marketing since gamers recognize this as compatible with their favorite RPG (D&D).
b) You must include a text saying "Requires the Players Handbook from Wizards of the Coast" (or a variant of this text) on the cover.
c) You cannot include rules for gaining XP and levels (this is, at least in theory, why the PHB is "required").
d) Your product must comply with certain "decency standards" as set by Wizards of the Coast (ie. no bare nipples, no condonement of drug use, racism, slavery, etc.)

e) You cannot include rules of initial character creation such as methods for generating and assigning ability scores, picking a race/class assigning skill points, etc (like point C this is why the PHB is required)

Later.

 

[Evil_Trevor]

thanks for your refreshing comments. 8)
i am always interested in simpler + more easily playable rpg systems.

best wishes from a very buxom tinkerer ***

There is a Free (to download) system called Fudge that is published under a simillar idea (quote this text and you can use it/publish material for it) at http://www.fudgerpg.com/ Unlike other roleplaying games it works on adjectives so instead of having say Strength 12 you have Great Strength, no 'Hit Points' you get 'scratch, hurt, very hurt' combat results. A simple dice mechanic based on 3 or 4 d6.

 

[Buxom Sorceress]

thanks for your refreshing comments. 8)
i am always interested in simpler + more easily playable rpg systems.
best wishes from a very buxom tinkerer ***

There is a Free (to download) system called Fudge that is published under a simillar idea (quote this text and you can use it/publish material for it) at http://www.fudgerpg.com/ Unlike other roleplaying games it works on adjectives so instead of having say Strength 12 you have Great Strength, no 'Hit Points' you get 'scratch, hurt, very hurt' combat results. A simple dice mechanic based on 3 or 4 d6.

thanks for your great help.

i'll chew on that fudge sometime. :lol:

 

[Tim]

The most dangerous thing about converting Conan to a D&D game is the power levels.

In the campaign I'm running the heroes, thanks to the clases and the feats, are some serious bad As----s. D&D you become powerful less by your own skills but by collecting magic Items. combine the two and you have a serious game-balance disaster waiting for you.

Just Image your characters with a load of magic items, it would break the system and make for a pretty dull game.