Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

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dcfitch
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Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by dcfitch »

Has anyone used the Palladium Fantasy world setting for C&C? I was wondering what stats were used for the Wolfen. The Wolfen Empire is a huge reason why this setting appeals to me, but the Palladium game system drives me nuts...and I much prefer my beloved C&C...

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Treebore »

No, but I've looked into that and since Paladium Fantasy is D20 based, I think it would be as easy to convert to C&C as any edition of D&D is. Since I have yet to actually do any such conversions I can't say for sure. Even if it isn't just as easy, it certainly won't be much more of a job.
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
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Jason Vey
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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jason Vey »

Many years ago I ran a long-term D&D 3.5 campaign using Palladium Fantasy's setting, which is one of my all-time favorite settings. I think it'd translate pretty well to C&C. You'd need to so some work to adapt the various races--look at Gnolls for Wolfen, as a hint--and balance them as PC classes, but there are guidelines in the Amazing Adventures Manual of Monsters for playing monsters as PC races to help you out with that. The Rune Mark as presented in Rune Lore is an ideal substitute for the Diabolist. The warlock could be mimicked by using the Illusionist as a template, adding an elemental-based special ability or two (elemental resistance, for example), and altering the spell list to make use of the Elemental Spells found, well, in the Elemental Spells C&C Supplement book that Jim Ward and I did. Between the Castles & Crusades PHB, Rune Lore, Amazing Adventures, and the Amazing Adventures Companion plus the various monster manuals, you'd have everything you needed to run in the Palladium Fantasy world. Good luck!

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Lurker »

I will say that Palladium was my 2nd preferred game/setting back in the day, and my home brew drew a lot from it.

However, that was back in the 1e early 2e time frame. So, I've never converted any of it into C&C

If I ever dust off my home brew, one thing is for sure, I would have Wolfen in it as a player racial class.
Jason Vey wrote:
... You'd need to so some work to adapt the various races--look at Gnolls for Wolfen, as a hint--and balance them as PC classes, but there are guidelines in the Amazing Adventures Manual of Monsters for playing monsters as PC races to help you out with that. ...
Really, I must have missed it. I will have to give it a look.

With Wolfen / Gnolls, I had Wolfen HATE them (along with werewolves) in my home brew.
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Jason Vey
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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jason Vey »

Lurker wrote:Really, I must have missed it. I will have to give it a look.
Page 95, Appendix 2. ;).
With Wolfen / Gnolls, I had Wolfen HATE them (along with werewolves) in my home brew.
Sure, sure. I just meant that Gnolls give you a good jumping-off point to determine the racial abilities you'll need to adapt for Wolfen. You could also use werewolves in their wolf form, minus the lycanthropy, I suppose.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by T1Hound »

I enjoyed some of the materials but was not interested in the system. I just found (now LOST again) a Palladium book with fortresses in the back of it that I was going to use (I bought it long ago and never used it and recently found it).

What are the 'core' campaign books of Palladium?

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Lurker »

Jason Vey wrote:
With Wolfen / Gnolls, I had Wolfen HATE them (along with werewolves) in my home brew.
Sure, sure. I just meant that Gnolls give you a good jumping-off point to determine the racial abilities you'll need to adapt for Wolfen. You could also use werewolves in their wolf form, minus the lycanthropy, I suppose.
Miss communication on there, sorry, I should have been more clear. I wasn't going against your using them as starting off point. I was gust dropping a bit of flavor I had in the setting. A kind of 2 species with similar abilities competing for resources in the same niche, so extremely deep bread in rivalry. Plus, with the wolfen being (slightly) more civilized and (to a limited point) good, vs the gnolls hyena like brutality - and the wolfen being blamed for or lumped in with the gnolls actions, the rivalry is turned to hatred.
T1Hound wrote:I enjoyed some of the materials but was not interested in the system. I just found (now LOST again) a Palladium book with fortresses in the back of it that I was going to use (I bought it long ago and never used it and recently found it).

What are the 'core' campaign books of Palladium?
Rgr, back in the day I didn't mind the game system mechanics. But not that I am used to C&C and siege engine mechanics, I feels a bitt to clunky for me.

As for core books, I'm not sure what is 'current' but back in the day a relied heavily on 'Adventures on the high seas' , Adventures in the Northern Wilderness, and Western Empire. I can't remember if there is a 'setting overview' in the main rule book of either of the gods or animals books.
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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Omote »

I run Palladium off and on at conventions, but have never converted the setting over to C&C. For some reason I find their setting intrinsically part of the game mechanics even if it doesn't necessarily feel that way. I don't know, I feel Palladium would come off as pretty generic using C&C rules. Strike, Parry, Dodge!

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jyrdan Fairblade »

The same could be said for any number of RPG systems back then, really. It’s amazing what we dealt with back then.

Not that this is a defense of Palladium – they stuck to their universal system unchanged for so long. I’m no fan of the edition treadmill, but their system could’ve done with a serious revamp.
Lurker wrote: Rgr, back in the day I didn't mind the game system mechanics. But not that I am used to C&C and siege engine mechanics, I feels a bitt to clunky for me.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by dcfitch »

Not interested in converting classes, just the races (some of which were their own class (RCC). C&C is THE system for me these days. Played many fantasy systems over the last 35 years, including Palladium. No system beats C&C for ease of use and old school feel...so if the setting won't work, the setting must go! Working on my own fantasy "real world" campaign now, so maybe I will hold off on Palladium World.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jason Vey »

Jyrdan Fairblade wrote:The same could be said for any number of RPG systems back then, really. It’s amazing what we dealt with back then.

Not that this is a defense of Palladium – they stuck to their universal system unchanged for so long. I’m no fan of the edition treadmill, but their system could’ve done with a serious revamp.
Well the sad thing is, they did revamp it after Rifts came out, and the revamp made it worse. Before Rifts, it was a very playable D&D derivative system with BRP-inspired skills. After Rifts, with the introduction of PPE-based magic and the skill-based hand-to-hand progressions, there came a point where there was literally no reason why you would ever play a fighter. After all, why just be a fighter when you could be a Warlock who could fight just as well as a fighter, with all the same weapons, and also summon rivers of lava at will by 5th level?

That's why I converted it to d20 back in the day. We used the Sovereign Stone magic for Warlocks, there was a rune mage class in one of the Monte Cook games products for diabolists, 7th Sea gave us pirates and sailors, etc. Hell, importing everything to C&C would be even easier because you don't have to pull in variant games to mimic the classes. There are C&C or Amazing Adventures books to handle just about all of it, though you might have to fashion one or two specific magic user classes by modifying the Illusionist as I mentioned earlier. Still, it'd be easy as pie to do.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jason Vey »

dcfitch wrote:Not interested in converting classes, just the races (some of which were their own class (RCC). C&C is THE system for me these days. Played many fantasy systems over the last 35 years, including Palladium. No system beats C&C for ease of use and old school feel...so if the setting won't work, the setting must go! Working on my own fantasy "real world" campaign now, so maybe I will hold off on Palladium World.
I think Palladium would be a snap to convert to C&C.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Omote »

Jason Vey wrote:
dcfitch wrote:Not interested in converting classes, just the races (some of which were their own class (RCC). C&C is THE system for me these days. Played many fantasy systems over the last 35 years, including Palladium. No system beats C&C for ease of use and old school feel...so if the setting won't work, the setting must go! Working on my own fantasy "real world" campaign now, so maybe I will hold off on Palladium World.
I think Palladium would be a snap to convert to C&C.
I agree with this statement dcfitch! Don't let the general negativity versus the Palladium system sway you from converting Palladium Fantasy stuff over to C&C. For one, I am a fan of Palladium Fantasy (and RIFTS!) and have been running that system since the early 90s. I personally feel that the Palladium Fantasy setting is tied to the mechanics, but there is no codified reason why, it's just how I feel since I've been running it for so long.

Converting any of the races of the Palladium Fantasy setting would be a snap. In the back of the Palladium Fantasy RPG 2nd edition each race has a very detailed and distinctive write up. Most of that info is literally cut and paste over to C&C. Now, you just need to convert the attributes over to C&C. Wolfen have an average IQ (3d6), and ME (3d6). For C&C this would be a +0 INT, and possibly a straight up +0 to WIS. Their MA is only 2d6 which is probably a -1 penalty to CHA. Wolfen are strong with a PS of 4d6+1 so that would definitely translate over to a +1 STR (maybe even a +2!). PP and PE are average at 3.6, so no changes to DEX or CON. Wolfen are average beauty at 3d6, so no additonal bonus to CHA. Wolfen are fast with a 4d6 Spd. I would translate that closely to a +1 DEX.

Using this way of thinking, I come up with:
STR +1
DEX +1
CON +0
INT +0
WIS +0
CHA -1

This makes the Wolfen stat-line much better than your average C&C PC character, so maybe you want to balance them out with another -1 to CHA or possibly to WIS.

Darkvision (equivalent) 40 feet.

Wolfen also have the ability to track by the scent of blood and have keep hearing. Perhaps use the Scent ability from the M&T, and give an ability to surprise checks or the like by having good hearing within 500 feet.

I think that is all you have to do to come up with a Wolfen for your C&C games. Dig into the details to make other minor adjustments, like perhaps a +1 to initiative because the wolfen are naturally quick and can track with and notice things due to their hearing and scent ability.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Treebore »

Wolfen? What? No love for the Coyle? Changelings? Pixies? :lol:
Since its 20,000 I suggest "Captain Nemo" as his title. Beyond the obvious connection, he is one who sails on his own terms and ignores those he doesn't agree with...confident in his journey and goals.
Sounds obvious to me! -Gm Michael

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Jason Vey
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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Jason Vey »

Treebore wrote:Wolfen? What? No love for the Coyle? Changelings? Pixies? :lol:
I used to dig the Coyle. And changelings.

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Re: Palladium Fantasy Setting for C&C

Post by Kayolan »

Wolfen and Coyle are cool, but let us not overlook the Kankoran. 8-)

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