| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
REH's Conan RPG is a new (still in Kickstarter if you purchase through PayPal) PnP RPG, that will also be supported on RollD20.
It is developed by Modiphius, but they have been smart enough to cross promote with Funcom. Funcom already has Age of Conan MMO and is developing a new Open World Survival MMO called Conan Exiles.
Funcom is giving kickstarters of Conan RPG a package on in-game gear for AOC. They will probably do the same for Conan Exiles. Modiphius is creating source books for both AoC and CE.
Both companies have independent contracts with the owner of Robert E Howard's Properties, and so they are working together with the blessings of the IP holder.
I am currently playing Age of Conan, will start a group for Conan RPG and in the summer, I will buy into the beta of Conan Exiles. One IP, multi platform and an IP I've been a fan of for over 35 years. Winning!!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I am a fan of many of the Pulp Fiction writers of the 1920s and 30's, and Howard is my favorite of them.
In about two weeks the Pledge Manager will be set up and the PDFs will be available to those of us that participated in the Kickstarter.
I figure a week after that and we should start seeing adventures run on the RollD20 VT servers.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
This was the first kickstarter I supported. I'm really excited to get my hands on this game. I'm glad to hear that some of the pdfs will be available in the not to distant future.
What do we know about mechanics for this game? A quick look at the kickstarter didn't seem to say much.
Is it a d20 thing?
It is actually a 2D20 system, the same that the Mutant Chronicles RPG by Modiphius uses. They have mentioned putting out a conversion for the previous Conan RPG by Mongoose to the 2D20 system as well, but I'm not sure when that PDF will be released.
There is a free Quick Start PDF where you can read and even test out the new system.
Robert E. Howard's Conan RPG Quickstart
You can download for free from this link. I've never played by those rules before myself but at least two systems or mentions I find intriguing.
First is the Doom system. Simply put, it takes the slower pace of the player's decision making process and it adds to the GM's pool of actions to "encourage" the players to move the play along. This is kind of like playing chess with the timer, which revs up the action.
The second, is more of a mention, that there is a system (or potentially one) for PvP. This is known as "Struggles" which is explained on pg. 15. Although not specifically combat based, these could be interwoven within combat (competing in accomplishing various physical feats) that will add to the victor's momentum, which would then be usable in the actual combat contest between two or more characters.
Example: Two characters are running across the room towards a sword in the stone. Both have to roll a Simple action roll, to see who gets there first. Then they can roll a Strength or other appropriate roll to struggle to wrench the sword free. Because the winner of both struggles will have gained 2 x additional Momentum, he then can use those to gain a combat advantage or two in the actual fight.
It is not to say that there was no PVP in other PnP TT RPGs, but it was typically not encouraged. This new RPG is trying to remain as true as possible to Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories and setting. Betrayal by or of party members happened quite frequently, usually by Conan himself (yes, he was the epitome of Chaotic Neutral).
There's a possibility they'll drop a Savage Worlds conversion guide in at some point as well, I know there's one for Mutant Chronicles, not sure about the Infinity RPG (I really hope there is, because the system they're using isn't great for playing without maps, and being able to use Savage Worlds would make it much easier).
The game does use kind of a zone type system to track location and movement, so I think it lends itself fairly well to theater of the mind type combat- at least just as well or better than say 5e D&D. Plus since it's low magic there won't be a lot spells flying around that you need to worry about tracking locations of.
The 2d20 system looks interesting, but I haven't had a chance to actually play it yet. I like that it is not a class/level based game system. I think that a more open skill/talent based character creation system works better for the setting than something like pathfinder. It looks like characters start off fairly competent and improve gradually over time. IMO this fits the Conan setting a lot better than the a game based on D&D (like the Mongoose version) where you go from zero to super hero.
The game does use kind of a zone type system to track location and movement, so I think it lends itself fairly well to theater of the mind type combat- at least just as well or better than say 5e D&D. Plus since it's low magic there won't be a lot spells flying around that you need to worry about tracking locations of.
The 2d20 system looks interesting, but I haven't had a chance to actually play it yet. I like that it is not a class/level based game system. I think that a more open skill/talent based character creation system works better for the setting than something like pathfinder. It looks like characters start off fairly competent and improve gradually over time. IMO this fits the Conan setting a lot better than the a game based on D&D (like the Mongoose version) where you go from zero to super hero.
Personal preferences I guess. I've played with the Mutant Chronicles a little bit, and I find the zone thing makes playing without maps harder, because players want to know exactly which zones they're in, and you have to work out how long it takes them to get from zone to zone. I find you need a much better defined map layout.
Savage Worlds I just say if they're at short, medium or long range, tell them if there's any cover, and for area of effect weapons/powers I roll a die to see how many people they hit depending on if the AoE is small, medium or large. I play fairly free-form so this works far better for my groups.
The game does use kind of a zone type system to track location and movement, so I think it lends itself fairly well to theater of the mind type combat- at least just as well or better than say 5e D&D. Plus since it's low magic there won't be a lot spells flying around that you need to worry about tracking locations of.
The 2d20 system looks interesting, but I haven't had a chance to actually play it yet. I like that it is not a class/level based game system. I think that a more open skill/talent based character creation system works better for the setting than something like pathfinder. It looks like characters start off fairly competent and improve gradually over time. IMO this fits the Conan setting a lot better than the a game based on D&D (like the Mongoose version) where you go from zero to super hero.
Personal preferences I guess. I've played with the Mutant Chronicles a little bit, and I find the zone thing makes playing without maps harder, because players want to know exactly which zones they're in, and you have to work out how long it takes them to get from zone to zone. I find you need a much better defined map layout.
Savage Worlds I just say if they're at short, medium or long range, tell them if there's any cover, and for area of effect weapons/powers I roll a die to see how many people they hit depending on if the AoE is small, medium or large. I play fairly free-form so this works far better for my groups.
Well, most of the Kickstarter pledges included maps (PDFS) and some with the option to get print copies.
Also, the game is being supported by RollD20 Virtual Table Top, and you will be able to download the maps
Availability of maps isn't the issue. Doesn't change the fact that I prefer to run without maps, or that we find the 2d20 system less than ideal for mapless play. It's just what works for us, my original point was just that I hoped they'd do a savage worlds guide like they have for some of their other games.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As with one the above posters, this is also my kickstarter pledge and so I'm excited to get my hands my Core Rulebook when it is released. Conan has such great flavor and I'm curious about trying this 2d20 game system.
The next trick will be getting my wife and friends to give it a go when we start up a new game, as opposed to a new PF or 5e game.
(...been wanting to try out 13th Age too, for that matter...)
As with one the above posters, this is also my kickstarter pledge and so I'm excited to get my hands my Core Rulebook when it is released. Conan has such great flavor and I'm curious about trying this 2d20 game system.
The next trick will be getting my wife and friends to give it a go when we start up a new game, as opposed to a new PF or 5e game.
(...been wanting to try out 13th Age too, for that matter...)
Dito
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I have written my first adventure using the Quickstart Rules v. 3.5 and piecing together several other resources. It is available here, for free, and is formatted for Microsoft Word 2013.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Personal preferences I guess. I've played with the Mutant Chronicles a little bit, and I find the zone thing makes playing without maps harder, because players want to know exactly which zones they're in, and you have to work out how long it takes them to get from zone to zone. I find you need a much better defined map layout.
Savage Worlds I just say if they're at short, medium or long range, tell them if there's any cover, and for area of effect weapons/powers I roll a die to see how many people they hit depending on if the AoE is small, medium or large. I play fairly free-form so this works far better for my groups.
I think even games with really abstract distance and positioning systems still benefit from some degree of visualization, because it's hard for players to keep track of all the narration given to them by the GM without a single visual cue.
I recommend a simple trick from Fate if you don't want to rely on maps: use index cards. The only thing that really matters is the relative position of the zones to each other as well as relative distance (in zones). Index cards provide a pretty simple way to represent all that information. You can laminate them and write on them with markers to add extra details to the terrain as the combat goes on.
We play online mostly. Again, no one's ever had issues with it. I give a description of the area, give some idea of terrain, and players run with it. Like I said personal preference.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I have made a few revisions, but these are the last until the full rule set is available in June / July.
Character Generation chapter released:
So, chapters 1-6 have been released in PDF,, 7-10 are due out in PDF soon.
Chapter 1 - Introduction - Ready in PDF
Chapter 2 - Character Lifepaths - Ready in PDF
Chapter 3 - Skills & Talents - Ready in PDF
Chapter 4 - Core Rules - Ready in PDF
Chapter 5 - Action Scenes - Ready
Chapter 6 - Equipment - Reasy
Chapter 7 - Sorcery - Line Manager Reviewing before edit
Chapter 8 - Signed off by Jeff Shanks given, with Line Manager before Edit
Chapter 9 Gamemastering, Fortune, Doom, Treasure, Renown & Carousing - With Line Manager before Edit
Chapter 10 - Encounters, Mortal Foes, Wild Beasts, Monstrous Foes, Creatures of the Outer Dark, Characters of Renown - In Edit before Layout
I bought the hardcover rules book. It is heavenly.
I've played 2d20 before and really, really like these rules.