Why should I?
- Thread starter Roger
- Start date
B_Steele
Mongoose
Well, Mongoose home base is in Swindon, UK. But I am one of the writers, and I live in the States. Vincent (our leadmost freelancer on the Conan line) lives here in the States, too. As does another Conan freelancer Erik Rodrieguez (I may have just spelled his name wrong, however).
So, although we are based in the UK, many of the minds that are making it as adult and professional as we can (hopefully to Howard's liking, wherever in the Multiverse he is now) are indeed Americans.
Thanks for looking into Conan,
Bry
Aholibamah
Mongoose
Conan manages to combine a sense of gritty realism and wonderful fantasy. The magic is exotic and at times sinister; the action is vivid and the system fairly simple and easy to use once you get the hang of it. It uses a few character templates but you also pick up more with different game supplements. Some of the settings are really cool and well developed.
It is 'mature' but not rated R unless you want it to be. Basically the setting assumes that things like slavery exist, that successful heroes will go to bawdy houses or get drunk, that assassins and cults lurk in the shadows. It is a very humanocentric world, with no pc classes that are nonhuman. Monsters are rare and regarded as monstrous.
Furthermore Signs and Portents magazine, which is available online for free, gives you access to a number of extra adventures and settings.
Finally it has a ready made source for inspiration in the books, which just about any used or new bookstore has available. I recommend the collections of Robert E. Howard stories in particular--the pastiches and other books related are okay but don't really measure up.
It is 'mature' but not rated R unless you want it to be. Basically the setting assumes that things like slavery exist, that successful heroes will go to bawdy houses or get drunk, that assassins and cults lurk in the shadows. It is a very humanocentric world, with no pc classes that are nonhuman. Monsters are rare and regarded as monstrous.
Furthermore Signs and Portents magazine, which is available online for free, gives you access to a number of extra adventures and settings.
Finally it has a ready made source for inspiration in the books, which just about any used or new bookstore has available. I recommend the collections of Robert E. Howard stories in particular--the pastiches and other books related are okay but don't really measure up.
Yogah of Yag
Mongoose
Welcome to the boards!
The game is adult in the sense that it addresses concepts and themes that are not necessarily politically-correct, in today's overly sensitive terms. That's because REH's works also contain such ideas. Hyboria was full of sleaze, corruption, decadence, slavery, debauchery, and other interesting diversions. 8) It may not be as puerile in treatment as First Edition AD&D, perhaps. I would introduce kids to D&D, but hold off getting them into Conan until they were in their late-teens, but no earlier. As always, YMMV.
~~~Yogah.
The game is adult in the sense that it addresses concepts and themes that are not necessarily politically-correct, in today's overly sensitive terms. That's because REH's works also contain such ideas. Hyboria was full of sleaze, corruption, decadence, slavery, debauchery, and other interesting diversions. 8) It may not be as puerile in treatment as First Edition AD&D, perhaps. I would introduce kids to D&D, but hold off getting them into Conan until they were in their late-teens, but no earlier. As always, YMMV.
~~~Yogah.
Ahhh, Logic. Robert E Howard was American. He's been dead for 70-odd years, and is still nowhere near Swindon. But I have no intention of "provoking" another invasion. What I meant was that the Conan artwork had female nipples in it, and the fact that somehow it just doesn't feel the same as the standard d20/D&D fare.
Speaking of which...will the 2e require the d20 3.5 books?
I know the recently mooted movie was shelved because of Arnie has another job now, but I'm sure Ron Jeremy would have done it.[/quote]
Speaking of which...will the 2e require the d20 3.5 books?
I know the recently mooted movie was shelved because of Arnie has another job now, but I'm sure Ron Jeremy would have done it.[/quote]
Roger said:
If you haven't read the stories by REH that is a good place to start. You will not need your 3.5 books for 2e. You could download the SRd20 pdf if you need to. Your a little behind on the movie news - might want to check out Conan.com to keep up to date. Once an American always an American, btw. Especially if your a Texan like Bob Howard.
sidkfjjteidlkkf
Mongoose
Pro's WHere do I begin?
Still D20
No Armor Class (Defense Values)
Armor takes damage
Weapons take damage
You can parry or Dodge
True Swords and Sorcery. NOt a wizard with a gazillion spells in his spell book...
Repuation
Fate Points
Unique sorcery system
Magic items are rare.
Combat is deadly
Combat Manuevers
Classes are not over powering
Few Prestige classes
Tons of supplements coinciding with the rules and settings
I can go on, but that is enough...
Like some one else said "Its the bestest game evar".
Still D20
No Armor Class (Defense Values)
Armor takes damage
Weapons take damage
You can parry or Dodge
True Swords and Sorcery. NOt a wizard with a gazillion spells in his spell book...
Repuation
Fate Points
Unique sorcery system
Magic items are rare.
Combat is deadly
Combat Manuevers
Classes are not over powering
Few Prestige classes
Tons of supplements coinciding with the rules and settings
I can go on, but that is enough...
Like some one else said "Its the bestest game evar".
Still D20 *ok
No Armor Class (Defense Values) *Good
Armor takes damage *Agh! What a horrible complication!
Weapons take damage *See armor
You can parry or Dodge *Good
True Swords and Sorcery. NOt a wizard with a gazillion spells in his spell book... *Excellent
Repuation *Good
Fate Points *meh
Unique sorcery system *?
Magic items are rare. *Great
Combat is deadly *Excellent
Combat Manuevers *Not sure about this
Classes are not over powering *Good
Few Prestige classes *I'd be happier if there were NO prestige classes, but this is good.
I just might break down and buy this. I own Road of Kings, because I love Conan. But I had been really hoping for Runequest Conan.
No Armor Class (Defense Values) *Good
Armor takes damage *Agh! What a horrible complication!
Weapons take damage *See armor
You can parry or Dodge *Good
True Swords and Sorcery. NOt a wizard with a gazillion spells in his spell book... *Excellent
Repuation *Good
Fate Points *meh
Unique sorcery system *?
Magic items are rare. *Great
Combat is deadly *Excellent
Combat Manuevers *Not sure about this
Classes are not over powering *Good
Few Prestige classes *I'd be happier if there were NO prestige classes, but this is good.
I just might break down and buy this. I own Road of Kings, because I love Conan. But I had been really hoping for Runequest Conan.
sidkfjjteidlkkf
Mongoose
"Armor takes damage *Agh! What a horrible complication!
Weapons take damage *See armor"
Works VERY well if you want the realism you will NEVER find in D&D
"Fate Points *meh"
The fate points save your butt in the this violent and deadly world.
"Unique sorcery system *?"
Corruption makes it unique, also the rules of magic, as well as the limit of spells in the game. Not to mention that you have spells that can take out entire armies. Also the way they are arranged is REAL NICE (Necromancy, Summoning et...). You Find will no Priest or Druid spells here.
Magic items are rare. *Great
"Combat Manuevers *Not sure about this"
Combat Manuevers are more or less Feats that ANYONE can use, given they meet the requirements to use them.
"Few Prestige classes *I'd be happier if there were NO prestige classes, but this is good."
Very few, but only ones that are REALLY Necessary are those related to Sorcerers.
If you want more realism in a game and a well done world, GET THE GAME...
Weapons take damage *See armor"
Works VERY well if you want the realism you will NEVER find in D&D
"Fate Points *meh"
The fate points save your butt in the this violent and deadly world.
"Unique sorcery system *?"
Corruption makes it unique, also the rules of magic, as well as the limit of spells in the game. Not to mention that you have spells that can take out entire armies. Also the way they are arranged is REAL NICE (Necromancy, Summoning et...). You Find will no Priest or Druid spells here.
Magic items are rare. *Great
"Combat Manuevers *Not sure about this"
Combat Manuevers are more or less Feats that ANYONE can use, given they meet the requirements to use them.
"Few Prestige classes *I'd be happier if there were NO prestige classes, but this is good."
Very few, but only ones that are REALLY Necessary are those related to Sorcerers.
If you want more realism in a game and a well done world, GET THE GAME...
sidkfjjteidlkkf
Mongoose
Just as Microsoft Says with Flight Sim (Which I love) "as real as it gets"
Yes, NO F***ing alignments, and they also have codes of honor to sort of replace it....
Those are all my humble oppinions, but also the reason I (and others) LOVE IT!!
ALSO, NO SET EXPERIENCE SYSTEM, GM Determines that. So, you do not get levels just for killing. I have my own I made up for it...
Yes, NO F***ing alignments, and they also have codes of honor to sort of replace it....
Those are all my humble oppinions, but also the reason I (and others) LOVE IT!!
ALSO, NO SET EXPERIENCE SYSTEM, GM Determines that. So, you do not get levels just for killing. I have my own I made up for it...
sidkfjjteidlkkf
Mongoose
CONAN IS STAND ALONE, you do not NEED ANY D&D Books...
Tim
Mongoose
The conan books are excellent, I have all of them and ran a campaign that lasted almost 2 years. I plan on purchasing all the 2nd edition products and start a new campaign in the near future.
It has the potential of being a mature themed game, however that is driven by the game master and players. Never confuse play style with game content. At its peak the Storyteller Games by white wolf (i.e. Vampire had a lot of potential, but most of the games I saw being run (and tried to join) were just D&D with fangs.
D&D can be an excellent game with the right GM and players. It really comes down to the story thats being told and the maturity of the players and GM that makes or breaks it.
As a world, Conan is amazing full of limitless potential, as a game Conan is very good, though it does have some of the D20 problems but they don't get to much in the way.
Should you buy it, YES.
P.S. my campaig was run as a series of short stories (4 in total) which followed the exploits of the PCs in the Black river, Zingara, Stygia, and the Black Kingdoms. My next will focus on the Valayet sea.
It has the potential of being a mature themed game, however that is driven by the game master and players. Never confuse play style with game content. At its peak the Storyteller Games by white wolf (i.e. Vampire had a lot of potential, but most of the games I saw being run (and tried to join) were just D&D with fangs.
D&D can be an excellent game with the right GM and players. It really comes down to the story thats being told and the maturity of the players and GM that makes or breaks it.
As a world, Conan is amazing full of limitless potential, as a game Conan is very good, though it does have some of the D20 problems but they don't get to much in the way.
Should you buy it, YES.
P.S. my campaig was run as a series of short stories (4 in total) which followed the exploits of the PCs in the Black river, Zingara, Stygia, and the Black Kingdoms. My next will focus on the Valayet sea.
One thing to be aware of is that Conan is still very much D20. People might talk about the differences between it and D&D, and there are many, but there are many more similarities.
Conan D20 is a relatively complicated and crunchy system.
If players really do dislike the D20 system rather than just having a dislike for the D&D "setting" and "feel" then they're not going to like Conan.
As for my opinion, well I love it. It does help capture for me what is the feel of the Conan stories far better than any other system I own.
In particular the published supplements that I own are excellent. I've avoided the rules/class heavy books and stuck to the background books such as Road of Kings and Ruins of Hyboria. They're all well researched and demonstrate a love for the subject matter.
Also I feel that the books have got better as time has passed, so I'm hoping that what is to come will be better than what we've had before.
Those are my thoughts anyway....
Conan D20 is a relatively complicated and crunchy system.
If players really do dislike the D20 system rather than just having a dislike for the D&D "setting" and "feel" then they're not going to like Conan.
As for my opinion, well I love it. It does help capture for me what is the feel of the Conan stories far better than any other system I own.
In particular the published supplements that I own are excellent. I've avoided the rules/class heavy books and stuck to the background books such as Road of Kings and Ruins of Hyboria. They're all well researched and demonstrate a love for the subject matter.
Also I feel that the books have got better as time has passed, so I'm hoping that what is to come will be better than what we've had before.
Those are my thoughts anyway....
I played in a very good Conan game, and i Think it works as a system much better than bog-standard D&D.
But the game still ended up breaking down when we hit high levels, (In the same way our D&D games always do.) Basically like D&D I think its good for short and mid length campaigns, but not really for long ones. (I.e more than a couple of years of roleplay.)
But the game still ended up breaking down when we hit high levels, (In the same way our D&D games always do.) Basically like D&D I think its good for short and mid length campaigns, but not really for long ones. (I.e more than a couple of years of roleplay.)
