Quote from: Skarg;921865You could always run it in GURPS Conan, or your favorite Conan (or not) game system, no?

Totally. However, from the more I read of 2d20 Conan the more I willing to give it a try first. Not all doubts bear out in play at the table, and some are easily avoided. The Doom Pool is looking like only a small piece of the puzzle.

And if it doesn't work, I can always go back to Atlantis, as you say.

Quote from: Jason D;921830That's our goal.

Great. As said, I really enjoyed the Gazetteer chapter and its mix of information and inspiration. I am in for the full line now, so I am interested to see how it goes.

Quote from: Jason D;921830That's our goal.

Great. As said, I really enjoyed the Gazetteer chapter and its mix of information and inspiration. I am in for the full line now, so I am interested to see how it goes.

Quote from: Skarg;921865You could always run it in GURPS Conan, or your favorite Conan (or not) game system, no?

I've not been a fan of what I've seen of the 2d20 system, so I'll probably see how well the books work as setting information and then tweak Beasts and Barbarians a little to make it fit. B&B already does Conanesque swords and sorcery extremely well so it likely won't take much work.

Quote from: CRKrueger;921852Here's exactly what I'm talking about Jason.  Please tell me you are not seriously suggesting that this type of detail is the same level of detail as breaking Aquilonia down into something as simplistic as Northumberland, Wessex, Mercia, etc...

I don't know what else to tell you.

We said we're going to be producing new background material based on REH's work, extrapolating from the stories (including non-Conan stories), inspired by history and REH's own inspirations.

We have released material in the form of the gazetteer that is clearly original material. You mention the stuff REH wrote about the how-tos of Conan's pirate and bandit careers, and the Gazetteer (and so-to-be-released Gamemaster chapter) describe at a high level how those function in a game setting. Additionally, we're doing entire sourcebooks devoted to a few regions and the mode of play that those regions are best suited for.

I have posted above that the REH canon-checkers are constantly pinging me asking if we're inadvertently using pastiche in our content.

Did you imagine that the gazetteer section of 112-page Conan the Barbarian book I'm writing will only be describing the field of Wolraven?

GM Chapter is up and it seems useful for a GM of a Conan RPG. I thought the advice on running and creating adventures was top-notch.

The Carousing Phase is interesting, and is similar to the Fellowship Phase in TOR. I expect it will be a very useful tool given the episodic nature of Conan stories. I expect it will raise also the hackles here, with its suggestion of players led narrative

I think I can pretty clearly remove Complications, Reinforcements and Environmental Effects from Doom Pool expenditure to solve my main issues with the mechanic. The later two IMO fall clearly within the GM purview and shouldn't be limited by resource expenditure. Oddly, the one thing I would like to see added to the Doom Pool wasn't there, that of allowing antagonists to run away. Then again, its always very hard to pitch that right.

Do you need to be a backer to see the preview material?

Quote from: Warboss Squee;922365Do you need to be a backer to see the preview material?

Yes. Or a person who has ordered via Modiphius's webstore.

Quote from: Skywalker;922368Yes. Or a person who has ordered via Modiphius's webstore.

Well bugger.  Hate buying books sight unseen, but I suppose that's a sign of the times, since none of the book stores in my town carry any.

Quote from: Warboss Squee;922371Well bugger.  Hate buying books sight unseen, but I suppose that's a sign of the times, since none of the book stores in my town carry any.

There is a free quickstart that is pretty chunky: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/174829/Robert-E-Howards-CONAN-Roleplaying-Game-Quickstart

Quote from: Skywalker;921336I kind of stopped paying attention to Modiphius' Conan after the KS. However, all but one of the chapters of the rulebook has now been released to the KS Backers. The last chapter released was the Gazetteer and it clocks in at 66 pages and gives a good indication of what to expect from the upcoming Conan the XX books.

I guess given the Conan scholars involved its not surprising that the setting lore would be good, but I also found the presentation to be great. I have really struggled with Conan RPGs in the past as they tend to present the setting in a dry way and lacking real detail. Other than the lore itself, the Modiphius Gazetteer adds some interesting elements, sich as:

- Prof John Kirowan, a modern scholar (and easter egg), looking back at the Hyborian Age as an antediluvian prehistory. This is a light touch but real adds a level of realism that is integral to Conan.
- Quotes, letters, and other IC materials from characters in the setting (who appear in the Conan stories). These is also used to give the Gazetteer an almost Howard like voice in its description at the start of each region.
- Information on campaign type that coincides with the region. The Argos and Zingara chapter has details of piracy, ship crews, sea trading etc. I also liked how each region started with a focus area, like Zamora in the "Thief" region of Zamora, Corinthia and Brythunia. The whole region is covered but the information seems presented in a way to support actual play.
- The material presented focusses on the REH stories, though there is afair amount of material added to connect and embellish that material beyond the single lense of Conan and his adventures.

It will be interested to see if they keep this up with the forthcoming books. My initial strong negative reaction to the Doom Pool has been somewhat tempered by a postive reaction to the mechanics for culture, sorcery and the bestiary, as well as the way talents were bundled up by Skill. But the Gazetteer may actually see this as doing for Conan, what TOR does for Lord of the Rings.

Modiphius generally tends to do good work in this sort of thing.

Quote from: Jason D;921999We said we're going to be producing new background material based on REH's work, extrapolating from the stories (including non-Conan stories), inspired by history and REH's own inspirations.

Well, I admit when I'm wrong (or at least when I think I'm wrong), so let me say it, I was wrong.

Delving into the Gazetteer chapter (I had to dig up the link in my email archive), I was impressed.  Some entries, sure, aren't all that more detailed than things that have come before, but I note a distinct lack of pastiche.  So in other words, they take no one else's word but Howard, and then based on what additional information they can dig up from letters, personal knowledge of Howard's library and reading habits, etc, they come up with a new interpretation, hopefully a little more like what Howard might have done than a lot of the pastiche writers.  I do see obvious brand new content, that will presumably get expounded upon in the various regional books.

I also think it's clever to give the Gazetteer entries a framing device of entries from The Nemedian Chronicles, as they are referenced in a Mythos book, Unaussprechlichen Kulten, which was itself a Howard invention.

So, with a Gazetteer this detailed, there's really no way to focus on specific country entries in other books without delving into new detail.  In some cases everything Howard wrote about an area is already here.

The system, well it is what it is, and does what it does, you either use it or don't.  But as far as the Gazetteer goes, so far you guys are doing good work.  So, I was full of shit up to my eyebrows and I offer Jason an apology.  It's good stuff.

Quote from: CRKrueger;926730Delving into the Gazetteer chapter (I had to dig up the link in my email archive), I was impressed.  Some entries, sure, aren't all that more detailed than things that have come before, but I note a distinct lack of pastiche.  So in other words, they take no one else's word but Howard, and then based on what additional information they can dig up from letters, personal knowledge of Howard's library and reading habits, etc, they come up with a new interpretation, hopefully a little more like what Howard might have done than a lot of the pastiche writers.  I do see obvious brand new content, that will presumably get expounded upon in the various regional books.

Is the game worth picking up for the gazetteer alone?

Quote from: The Butcher;926745Is the game worth picking up for the gazetteer alone?

Hmm.  It's currently 66 pages of setting material based only on original works, fragments and synopses, not counting stuff in other chapters like Character Creation and Magic.  If you were going to run a Conan campaign, I'd say it wouldn't be a bad purchase as a research pdf even if you knew you were never using the system.

When I see this thread title I picture a gamer lying back on a couch, lava lamp in the background, piles of books and cheetos around, with half-closed eyelids, proclaiming "dude. that's some GOOD LORE".

Quote from: Jason D;921830Believe me, there are days when I wish we were doing it more sequential than in a big burst. It is like a cook trying to deal with a stove-top with four burners going, while you're also trying to handle prep and plating for other meals.

Then why do things like that?

Seriously, I've seen a number of Kickstarters now with strech goals which should really be Kickstarter projects in themselves, and I don't think these massive campaigns are good for anyone.

Quote from: CRKrueger;926730So, with a Gazetteer this detailed, there's really no way to focus on specific country entries in other books without delving into new detail.  In some cases everything Howard wrote about an area is already here.

Which is what concerned me about the latter books and ultimately led to me cancelling my pledge. Because it's somewhat dishonest to claim stripping out 'pastiche' make things more authentic to R.E.H.'s vision when you're engaged in creating your own.