Real RPGs, none of that new fangled computer bullshit

[Ed Anger]

The Hand of  Vecna and helm of disintegration is adequate compensation for being wounded by a slight breeze.

[CountDeMoney]

CON is my dump stat

That explains all your dumps during your morning constitutionals.

[CountDeMoney]

Nerds

You be slurping it all up if it were Advanced Dungeons & Kursk.

[Tamas]

 

[Delirium]

 

[Delirium]

On a whim I picked up a well-preserved copy of Twilight 2000 AD (first edition). I will never get around to playing it, but I am interested in how they pictured the setting back in 1984. Plus I am reading about the wars in Poland around 1657 so was already there mentally.

[The Brain]

I just got delivery of a fuckton of books for the new Conan RPG. Got some reading to do...

Well?

Well I've glanced at them all and started reading the main rulebook. I like it so far, it does appear to be the ultimate in Conan RPGing. I also like the fact that they're basing it on Howard's stories and don't include stuff from later authors.

Finished the main rulebook. I don't really have an opinion on the rule system, but one thing that I don't really care for is the Doom mechanic. Adjusting events to keep things interesting is part of normal GM duties, I don't understand why you'd need a points system. It also introduces an element of "GM vs players", which I don't care for (they themselves point out correctly in the introdution to RPGs that that's not what RPGs are about). Another design decision I found weird was to make gear and treasure bland and abstract. I get what they're going for but it's hard to get players' hearts racing with bland and abstract rewards. Coupled with the designers' idea that sudden reversals of fortune (riches to rags) shouldn't be unusual makes it harder to get players excited about finding the treasure of the lost temple. If your rewards are bland and can easily be taken away from you why bother risking your life? In this I think they went too far to try to follow the Conan stories, Conan often finds himself back to square one, but that's to get him into the next thrilling tale of violence and naked ladies with no baggage. What works in stories doesn't necessarily work well in an RPG, and I think they could have done this better without losing any essential Conan feeling.

World description etc is good. Illustrations are good. The text is well written.

Addendum: it's a bit interesting how they deal with the... less contemporary ideas in the Conan stories. They do write a bit on women in the Conan stories and how there are several examples of women of action and how they're not all damsels in distress, which is fine and reasonable. But they are totally silent on Conan's pretty intense racism in Howard's tales. I guess they decided that ducking completely was the safest bet, and they may have been right, but it does seem a wee bit weird to just pretend that it doesn't exist (especially since the whole game is about creating Howardian adventures and not the comics or movies or what have you).

[Solmyr]

Well, I don't think racism is that integral to the Conan stories. And even Howard himself was not entirely comfortable with it and backtracked a bit on several occasions. If anything, he portrayed the barbaric, savage peoples as the ones coming out on top in the end.

[katmai]

On a whim I picked up a well-preserved copy of Twilight 2000 AD (first edition). I will never get around to playing it, but I am interested in how they pictured the setting back in 1984. Plus I am reading about the wars in Poland around 1657 so was already there mentally.

still have my copy. That and 2300AD too.

[The Brain]

Well, I don't think racism is that integral to the Conan stories. And even Howard himself was not entirely comfortable with it and backtracked a bit on several occasions. If anything, he portrayed the barbaric, savage peoples as the ones coming out on top in the end.

Howard may or may not have been racist, but Conan certainly is.

[Solmyr]

Well, I don't think racism is that integral to the Conan stories. And even Howard himself was not entirely comfortable with it and backtracked a bit on several occasions. If anything, he portrayed the barbaric, savage peoples as the ones coming out on top in the end.

Howard may or may not have been racist, but Conan certainly is.

Care to give examples? Conan works with quite a variety of people of all ethnicities during his adventures. Usually when he dislikes someone, it's because they wronged him in some way. I fail to see how racism is a defining trait of Conan.

[grumbler]

Howard may or may not have been racist, but Conan certainly is.

Care to give examples? Conan works with quite a variety of people of all ethnicities during his adventures. Usually when he dislikes someone, it's because they wronged him in some way. I fail to see how racism is a defining trait of Conan.

Conan is obviously faking his "welcome" to black people on his show.  He seems really uncomfortable around them.

[The Brain]

Well, I don't think racism is that integral to the Conan stories. And even Howard himself was not entirely comfortable with it and backtracked a bit on several occasions. If anything, he portrayed the barbaric, savage peoples as the ones coming out on top in the end.

Howard may or may not have been racist, but Conan certainly is.

Care to give examples? Conan works with quite a variety of people of all ethnicities during his adventures. Usually when he dislikes someone, it's because they wronged him in some way. I fail to see how racism is a defining trait of Conan.

Beyond the Black River: "I never liked the fat fool, but we can't have Pictish devils making so cursed free with white men's heads."

The Black Stranger: "But I'm not going to do that! Not because I have any love for you dogs, but because a white man doesn't leave white men, even his enemies, to be butchered by Picts."

To Conan being white is very important. He's certainly not as bad as the CSA, but the distinction between white and non-white runs deep.

[Solmyr]

Okay, those are Picts (who are pretty much portrayed as evil savages and hostile to everyone around them). Yet in other stories Conan works together with Blacks, Zuagirs (Middle Eastern types), or Wazulis (Afghan types), usually as leader. The woman who could be considered the love of his life, Bêlit, is a Shemite. There's a certain amount of white man's burden in those stories, but I still don't think racism is somehow a universally defining trait of Conan (or one that needs to be present in modern games based on the stories). He's more pro-primal barbarism and anti-decadent civilization (whether white or non-white).

[The Brain]

Okay, those are Picts (who are pretty much portrayed as evil savages and hostile to everyone around them). Yet in other stories Conan works together with Blacks, Zuagirs (Middle Eastern types), or Wazulis (Afghan types), usually as leader. The woman who could be considered the love of his life, Bêlit, is a Shemite. There's a certain amount of white man's burden in those stories, but I still don't think racism is somehow a universally defining trait of Conan (or one that needs to be present in modern games based on the stories). He's more pro-primal barbarism and anti-decadent civilization (whether white or non-white).

I never claimed that it was his most important trait, just that he has it. Yes he happily leads black people and has hanky-panky with dusky women, but he'd leave a non-white enemy to the Picts where he would save a white enemy.