tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post6116749473807326820..comments2022-08-02T06:25:31.076-07:00Comments on Starships & Steel: Conan 2d20 review. How clunky is it? A comparison with Pathfinder.Keith Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07573026978256381743noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-84038033928046412732019-03-29T19:59:59.406-07:002019-03-29T19:59:59.406-07:00My feelings exactly. The books look awesome, but ...My feelings exactly. The books look awesome, but it seems like a lot of moving parts. Not sure I could convince a bunch of people to play. I find that a lot of these newer games feel compelled to use special dice and overwhelm you with options, but sometimes less is more. They have a great setting; just make it easy to play in.Persimmonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02966572602767972805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-32295535869307101832018-06-13T15:29:57.961-07:002018-06-13T15:29:57.961-07:00Thanks for the write-up!
I've been running Co...Thanks for the write-up!<br /><br />I've been running Conan for two months now and we still have a lot to learn about the rules and keeping track about what is done how and what options you have and what not. The game doesn't lend itself well to memorizing and the GM screen is plain useless as it for example fails to name the skills and difficulties one has to roll for combat actions that are described.<br /><br />The rules text is also hopelessly disorganized. You learn that with a shield you can use the Parry skill to defend against ranged attacks. In another chapter you learn that you can use Acrobatics to dodge ranged attacks. This is typical of the whole book - they give the player the option that with certain equipment they can substitute other skills to achieve the same but on first reading, especially before playing the system, you can leave the text with an entirely different impression - like I thought you needed a shield to be allowed to use a Defend Reaction against ranged attacks.<br /><br />The rules are not wrong. But they are spread around a lot and badly organized, making the game harder to learn.<br /><br />In practice it's also harder to assess what is dangerous and what a cakewalk and the book gives very little guidance on building challenges. I found that a demon is dangerous not because of its ability to withstand damage, but because of being nigh-impossible to hit which also tends to generate lots of doom, making it an actually very dangerous monster whereas most "strong" monsters end up being minced in 3 turns or less, nemesis or not.<br /><br />The sorcery system is badly written - mostly through omitting examples etc, leading to lots of questions about it online. After seeing it in play I might run it wrong, but casting does not seem dangerous by itself very much. <br /><br />The books repeat a lot of the text and info, spreading the same material into more volumes, then cross-referencing one of the many for details. Instead of getting a bestiary you get half a dozen books each with a few monsters, so I keep combing the books for thematic monsters.<br /><br />Still, we had fun. Players can become paralyzed with decisions or forget half of their options all the time. Fights needs visual props, at least a minimal zone map, to not become all samey-samey and to convey what's going on. <br /><br />(And if anyone can convince me the "Immense" monster quality makes actual sense, I would be glad. I tried to see how I could run a Kraken as a final campaign challenge but it seems... very broken. Maybe my bad, maybe not.)DerKastellanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17108771318010984386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-67906174965333010512018-03-19T22:57:02.974-07:002018-03-19T22:57:02.974-07:00Haven't played Conan yet, but it does seem pre...Haven't played Conan yet, but it does seem pretty clunky from this example. Too many things to keep track of. That being said, I don't like Pathfinder either. House ruled 1st edition or Castles & Crusades play much faster than the latter. Still trying to decide if I'll shell out cash for Conan. The books look great, but the system seems like a pain. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-32583858913762989042018-02-27T12:43:56.306-08:002018-02-27T12:43:56.306-08:00This is just my 2 cents but I have been running th...This is just my 2 cents but I have been running the Conan game for about 2 months now and love the system. It was a little slow to start with my players (Pathfinder players) but now we breeze through encounters and this game has a lot of one shot kills. At least for the PC's. As a GM, I love the game's more open (subject to common sense and gm discretion) than Pathfinder's mechanical system. I cannot count how many times a Pathfinder game has slowed down because either players or gm must consult the mechanics and or discussions on the Forum for clarification. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347756105723379274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-8717105215322819472018-01-26T13:26:36.405-08:002018-01-26T13:26:36.405-08:00Further: I find the HEAVILY combat centric charact...Further: I find the HEAVILY combat centric characters have the ability to take a lot of time in combat rolling, re-rolling, swift auctioning and riposting. I think it makes balancing the encounter a little trickier sometimes.Keith Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07573026978256381743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-28581926633278768972018-01-26T13:22:35.311-08:002018-01-26T13:22:35.311-08:00Good catch! I did the Conan section mostly from m...Good catch! I did the Conan section mostly from memory!Keith Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07573026978256381743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-28447397865238663792018-01-26T13:11:03.600-08:002018-01-26T13:11:03.600-08:00"and spends one point of doom to gain 2 point..."and spends one point of doom to gain 2 points of soak being ignored"<br /><br />Just FYI, you can't do that - you can only give the GM doom for immediate momentum spends (e.g. adding extra dice to your pool), and not for combat results.<br /><br />But minor point - good comparison overall - still trying to decide how I feel about the pace of combat in Conan; it felt rather slow as my players and I slowly got used to the rules and options (and made mistakes such as the one above !)Ben Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01889838040524599770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2205194440891766875.post-41365928736043646922018-01-26T11:16:40.106-08:002018-01-26T11:16:40.106-08:00One problem with games that have lots of options i...One problem with games that have lots of options in combat (e.g. new Runequest/Legend) is "player paralysis". During their turn, players have to 'think' about which options they want to use, which can greatly slow down turns. Banesfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06938723674120202818noreply@blogger.com