Quote from: Spinachcat;981250As of yesterday, I suggest Conan GMs take a look at Exemplars & Eidolons.
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/144651/Exemplars--Eidolons

Why? At a quick glance it's another level based class game derived from D&D. What about it makes it particularly suitable?

E&E is a solid choice for rules light heroic fantasy for people who like OSR systems. It's not-D&D features are the ones I think are particularly interesting for Conan.

But if class + level isn't your jam, then E&E won't work. In that case, I'd recommend Stormbringer 3rd edition by Ken St. Andre - aka, stripped down RuneQuest with demon and elemental magic.

As others have said, the new Conan RPG has great potential to be resource books for other games.

Quote from: Spinachcat;981264E&E is a solid choice for rules light heroic fantasy for people who like OSR systems. It's not-D&D features are the ones I think are particularly interesting for Conan.

But if class + level isn't your jam, then E&E won't work. In that case, I'd recommend Stormbringer 3rd edition by Ken St. Andre - aka, stripped down RuneQuest with demon and elemental magic.

As others have said, the new Conan RPG has great potential to be resource books for other games.

I'm mining it for Mythras but I'm genuinely curious about what's good in E&E. what are the non D&D features that make you go ooo. As conversation on this site goes I'm fan of talking about why your a fan of stuff not shredding your opinion because mine varies.

So whilst I've downloaded E&E for a look any highlights? Lowlights? Etc

Did anyone mention Savage Worlds "Beasts and Barbarians"? Pretty solid Conan-analog.

Quote from: HorusArisen;981275I'm mining it for Mythras but I'm genuinely curious about what's good in E&E. what are the non D&D features that make you go ooo. As conversation on this site goes I'm fan of talking about why your a fan of stuff not shredding your opinion because mine varies.

So whilst I've downloaded E&E for a look any highlights? Lowlights? Etc

Obviously I only speak for myself, but I'd say E&E would work fine for Conan. My first choice would still be Beasts and Barbarians for Savage Worlds, but E&E has some really strong points that B&B lacks.

1. The Fray Die: I've sung its praises in the past, but I think more games where the players portray really powerful heroes should have mechanics like this. It's a damage die that dealt out automatically to lesser foes every round, and it lets a party of heroes wade into a horde of enemies and start ripping them apart even with characters who have just started their adventuring careers.

2. Classes: While I'm not a huge fan of class-based systems, E&E is one of the best in that the classes (warrior, rogue, and sorcerer) are not strict rails and characters can multi-class easily. More than that, they can dip into the Gifts of other classes to pick up some of their abilities. So making all sorts of different character types is easily doable.

3. Gifts: Gifts are the real meat of the game. They're awesome, and they're what make the heroes so much better than typical heroes. If only normal D&D Feats were like this.

4. Wealth: Characters don't bother counting every copper piece; wealth is more abstract and used for big purchases. Characters have plenty of money to get by unless the GM decides otherwise. In a Conan game, this means fortunes could easily be won and lost without a lot of bookkeeping.

5. Influence and Adventuring: E&E is the precursor to Godbound, and as such it has a simplified version of the fleshed-out rules for tackling big projects its big brother uses. Wanna root out a corrupt thieves' guild or topple a hostile kingdom? There's advice on how to handle it, and as with all of Kevin Crawford's stuff the systems work. This is huge, and there are a number of Gifts that tie into this simple Influence system to let heroes complete Big Damn Undertakings, which would work great for something like Conan.

Lowlights for me would be few and far between, but probably the one area where I would knock a point off is in the sorcery section. As a whole, it's great. I love how the spells are organized and the way they are accessed. My problem is with how saving throws work; more precisely, my issue is with how some spells (particularly damage spells) call for them, others don't mention saving throws at all, and some say they hit automatically. On the surface it seems almost arbitrary and makes me a little suspicious of their balance. I've just let them be used as-is and it hasn't been a problem at low levels, though if I ever tried a full campaign with the system I'd likely treat spell saving throws like they were in Godbound so that lesser foes don't roll but important enemies always get a chance to save.

For me, the best Conan RPG is Mythras, hands down.  But...

If you can handle the Doom mechanic of 2d20, it is a pretty fun system, the combat has nice detail without being so crunchy it's unwieldy.

If you wanted Savage Worlds, Beasts and Barbarians using elements from Totems of the Dead, Solomon Kane, Horror Companion, Realms of Cthulhu, etc. would work.

Going even lighter, there's Barbarians of Lemuria.

I've used BRP to great effect.  Mythras is practically ready-made. I prefer BoL to Savage Worlds. I really want to like SW but it is hard to get past the quirky math and gimmicks. Besides BoL is great for hackers.  

I think skill based systems are better suited for Hyborian Age then class/level systems, and I think gritty systems fit the tone better than cinematic over the top ones. That said, I ran mongoose Conan for a year and had a great time (although the game didn't handle the setting well past about 8th level).

So, anybody here try Beasts and Barbarians?  I have the core book, but there is a ton of other stuff out for it.  What is the quality of the other Beasts and Barbarian products/setting/adventures?  I've been on the fence about them for some time about it.

Quote from: CRKrueger;981331For me, the best Conan RPG is Mythras, hands down.  But...

If you can handle the Doom mechanic of 2d20, it is a pretty fun system, the combat has nice detail without being so crunchy it's unwieldy.

If you wanted Savage Worlds, Beasts and Barbarians using elements from Totems of the Dead, Solomon Kane, Horror Companion, Realms of Cthulhu, etc. would work.

Going even lighter, there's Barbarians of Lemuria.

Is the Doom mechanic essential or can it be stripped out?

Unfortunately, no-one ever made anything for Conan for Mythras, although they did have that Legend campaign trilogy that were very similar to Conan. Can't quite remember their names!

For what it's worth, the game that captures the spirit the most, for me, was the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Very old school D&D, but something in the art and the tone just gets it right.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;981420Unfortunately, no-one ever made anything for Conan for Mythras, although they did have that Legend campaign trilogy that were very similar to Conan. Can't quite remember their names!

For what it's worth, the game that captures the spirit the most, for me, was the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea. Very old school D&D, but something in the art and the tone just gets it right.

The Spider Gods Bride, Citadel Beyond the North Wind and Song of the Beast Gods are the ones I think you mean. There's a fourth called The Silver Lotus I think, for pathfinder.

The first three are excellent adventures and source books. The forth is pathfinder.

Quote from: HorusArisen;981427The Spider Gods Bride, Citadel Beyond the North Wind and Song of the Beast Gods are the ones I think you mean. There's a fourth called The Silver Lotus I think, for pathfinder.

The first three are excellent adventures and source books. The forth is pathfinder.

Yep, that was them. Never managed to get time to run them, but they were very clearly written in a Conan style.

Very much so and easily updated to Mythras.

The setting is a nice pastiche of Conan, Kull and various others that you don't need to read a dozen books for to feel your doing it justice.

Quote from: Voros;981419Is the Doom mechanic essential or can it be stripped out?

From the Quickstart it's almost impossible to remove.  The main game might be different, though.

Quote from: Christopher Brady;981438From the Quickstart it's almost impossible to remove.  The main game might be different, though.

Our group had a go with the quickstart too. Without being bogged down with arguments about thematic mechanics, we just honestly found the gameplay mediocre. It was a similar thing when we did the same with the Fantasy Flight version of Star Wars. The mechanics just seem to be there for their own sake. They didn't make us feel immersed in the world.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;981439Our group had a go with the quickstart too. Without being bogged down with arguments about thematic mechanics, we just honestly found the gameplay mediocre. It was a similar thing when we did the same with the Fantasy Flight version of Star Wars. The mechanics just seem to be there for their own sake. They didn't make us feel immersed in the world.

For me, the quick start felt more like FATE from my limited experience, there was a tug of war for resources so we could roll the best amount of dice.  I don't get that with FFG's Star Wars, but your mileage may vary.