Conan C&C?

[Joe Mac]

A fellow named David Bell was working on a conversion of the Mongoose D20 Conan RPG to the C&C rules, and doing an excellent job of it. I have a draft that is dated January '06, and I don't recall where I downloaded it from.

David, are you around here? Anyone know if he is still working on this? I'd love to see the finished version, if there is one.

The Mongoose Conan stuff is excellent as far as source material for a Hyborian campaign, but man, those D20 stat blocks give me a headache.

[rabindranath72]

Joe Mac wrote:
A fellow named David Bell was working on a conversion of the Mongoose D20 Conan RPG to the C&C rules, and doing an excellent job of it. I have a draft that is dated January '06, and I don't recall where I downloaded it from.

David, are you around here? Anyone know if he is still working on this? I'd love to see the finished version, if there is one.

The Mongoose Conan stuff is excellent as far as source material for a Hyborian campaign, but man, those D20 stat blocks give me a headache.

Eh, I understand you!

I have the older version of the document, it would have been nice to have a new version.

Anyway, I have been using Conan d20 in a simplified fashion, by removing feats (except those who are necessary for a class, like some Soldier feats), and using a simplified skill system which does not need to track every skill point.

That, and I simplified combat by removing attacks of opportunity and all those meaningless bonuses.

The end result is quite similar to C&C, without requiring a complete rewrite of classes and races.

Cheers,

Antonio

[Omote]

Might seem like an obvious statement, but C&C and a Hyborian campaign setting would be awesome together!

.............................................Omote

FPQ
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

[serleran]

I hosted the original version for a while, through my subsite at CnCPlayer. Since then, I have not seen or heard of any updates, but I've also not looked. See what I can do though...

[Joe Mac]

Thanks -- that must've been where I got it. If there aren't any newer versions than what I have, let me be the first to pester, prod, nag, and cajole Mr. Bell into finishing it! I'll even send him a bottle of his favorite beverage...

[Troll Lord]

Hmmm Maybe I'll both Alex and Mathew over at Mongoose about Conan material. Davis is a huge Robert E. Howard fan . . . might be right up his alley (of course he needs to finish the CKG first! LOL)

Steve
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Castle and Crusade Society
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[Inkpot]

I've drooled over the D20 Conan book for some time now, but always wished for a C&C conversion. If this thing could become a reality, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, by Crom!!

Ink
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Check out Inkpot's C&C Downloads: http://www.cncplayer.net/inkpot/index.htm

C&C: Blissfully devoid of gestalt neko-hin rogue/fighter/mages!!

[Omote]

Hell yeah that would be awesome! The d20 book is amazing. Now imagine that kind of book for a C&C product. Nice. 8)

......................................Omote

FPQ
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

[rabindranath72]

Troll Lord wrote:
Hmmm Maybe I'll both Alex and Mathew over at Mongoose about Conan material. Davis is a huge Robert E. Howard fan . . . might be right up his alley (of course he needs to finish the CKG first! LOL)

Steve

Since it seems they are porting Conan to the new RuneQuest, I do not see why the SIEGE engine should not work. It would be the best version around, I think; with the rules-lite approach of C&C one could REALLY run Conan adventures as they were meant to be run: fast and bloody!

[Omote]

rabindranath72 wrote:
Since it seems they are porting Conan to the new RuneQuest...

Are you serious?! Blech. C&C would feel MUCH more Howardian IMHO.

.............................................Omote

FPQ
_________________
> Omote's Advanced C&C stuff <
Duke Omote Landwehr, Holy Order of the FPQ ~ Prince of the Castles & Crusades Society

[rabindranath72]

Omote wrote:
Are you serious?! Blech. C&C would feel MUCH more Howardian IMHO.

.............................................Omote

FPQ

Eh, there are strong voices over the Mongoose boards. I gave a look at the new RuneQuest SRD and...well, I will pass it.

Thinking about the conversione we were speaking before, Dave Bell did a nice work, but I think that the only elements which would really be worth porting over from Conan d20 are:

1) The scholar class

2) The rules for sorcery

3) The equipment lists

4) The "races"

That's all. Porting to C&C the soldier, the thief, the borderer etc. seems a complete waste of time, since:

Soldier->Fighter

Borderer->Ranger

Nomad->Ranger

Thief->Rogue

Pirate->Rogue or Fighter with Nautical Ability secondary skill

Barbarian->Barbarian

Noble->dealt with by role-playing (or creating a class if one is absolutely in love with the class)

Plus, C&C would have

- the Bard (useful for some Northern cultures, like Nordheimers, Hyperboreans etc.)

- the Knight (Zingaran and Poitainian cavaliers for the "shining armor" model, or changing the "fluff" for other cavalier-types)

By adding the Scholar and related spells, one would ditch illusionists, wizards, clerics and druids.

Hmmm...I may be brainstorming around the Scholar and the spells now...

EDIT:

I forgot to add Assassins and Monks, which would perfectly fit the setting. The formers without much adjustments (and their effectiveness would be greatly improved by all the types of lotus around!).

The latter, could be Vendhyan, Kithan or Himelian.

Nice, nice stuff!

[Joe Mac]

rabindranath72 wrote:
Thinking about the conversione we were speaking before, Dave Bell did a nice work, but I think that the only elements which would really be worth porting over from Conan d20 are:

1) The scholar class

2) The rules for sorcery

3) The equipment lists

4) The "races"

That's all. Porting to C&C the soldier, the thief, the borderer etc. seems a complete waste of time, since:

Soldier->Fighter

Borderer->Ranger

Nomad->Ranger

Thief->Rogue

Pirate->Rogue or Fighter with Nautical Ability secondary skill

Barbarian->Barbarian

Noble->dealt with by role-playing (or creating a class if one is absolutely in love with the class)

Plus, C&C would have

- the Bard (useful for some Northern cultures, like Nordheimers, Hyperboreans etc.)

- the Knight (Zingaran and Poitainian cavaliers for the "shining armor" model, or changing the "fluff" for other cavalier-types)

By adding the Scholar and related spells, one would ditch illusionists, wizards, clerics and druids.

Hmmm...I may be brainstorming around the Scholar and the spells now...

A good, concise analysis, and I agree. Your rules for sorcery in your Hyborian AD&D notes could also be easily applied to C&C.

I just received the new Ruins of Hyboria book today -- great stuff! Stat blocks be damned, this book would be very useful for running a Hyborian game with any system.

By the way, Antonio -- I'm having trouble with my e-mail program, and will reply to your last e-mail (C&C Middle Earth) soon... I think I've got it fixed, but if I don't get some house chores done before my wife gets home, I'm in trouble.

[Tadhg]

Inkpot wrote:
I've drooled over the D20 Conan book for some time now, but always wished for a C&C conversion. If this thing could become a reality, I'd buy it in a heartbeat, by Crom!!

Ink

Ditto!!!
_________________
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"Enjoy a 'world' where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" ~ Gary Gygax

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes:" - Macbeth

[rabindranath72]

Joe Mac wrote:
A good, concise analysis, and I agree. Your rules for sorcery in your Hyborian AD&D notes could also be easily applied to C&C.

I just received the new Ruins of Hyboria book today -- great stuff! Stat blocks be damned, this book would be very useful for running a Hyborian game with any system.

By the way, Antonio -- I'm having trouble with my e-mail program, and will reply to your last e-mail (C&C Middle Earth) soon... I think I've got it fixed, but if I don't get some house chores done before my wife gets home, I'm in trouble.

Thanks!

Well, I also have been thinking about my AD&D rules, and they would work well. But it would mean a rewrite/rethinking of all the Conan d20 sources. A C&C version of sorcery/scholars would be much better...and I could not resist, I am working on it already
Yes, Ruins of Hyboria is an exceptional product! I love the books I bought so far, usually only those which enhance the setting (i.e. no splatbooks).

Thus far, I have:

Ruins of Hyboria, Scrolls of Skelos, The Compendium (for the adventures; the God in the Bowl is excellent!), Tito's Trading outpost and Tower of the Elephant (excellent, too!)

Well, if I finish my C&C adaptation by this weekend, I would like to run some friends visiting me through Tower of the Elephant. It would be also an occasion to playtest the stuff!

Cheers,

Antonio

[rabindranath72]

Ok, as I said I could not resist, and ported the Conan d20 Scholar to C&C. I am quite satisfied of the result, but I would like some feedback.

A thing I am not still sure is how to deal with the Lay Priest background. Perhaps I could design a Priest Secondary Skill. Still thinking about it.

Since the Conan rules are OGL, there should be no problems posting here the text. If I am wrong, moderators, please delete the offensive text.

Cheers,

Antonio

Scholar

Adventures: Scholars in the Hyborian Age must often quest for knowledge, for there are few formal academies or other teaching processes from which to learn and perhaps draw an income. For many scholars, digging around in dusty tombs or leading expeditions deep into the jungles of Khitai is not just a way of life, it is a way to make a living for both ancient artefacts and rare knowledge can be valuable. Those who attach themselves to one or another religion as priests or shamans commonly find themselves expected to work not just at translating old manuscripts or preaching to the faithful, but undergoing hazardous pilgrimages to carry out strange rituals in faraway shrines, getting involved in the power-politics of the royal court, and warring against rival religions either actively or by intrigue. Wandering independents are almost by definition adventurers, while those who have given their mind, body and soul in thrall to some superior, whether earthly or demonic, are at their coven or masters beck and call whenever he needs an obscure material component finding or a sorcery-sapping compound delivered to a rivals accommodations in secret.

Characteristics: The scholar is defined not merely by his broad knowledge, but more importantly by his access to sorcery, if he desires it. To truly master sorcery requires precisely the kind of focused, intense study that only scholars can achieve. As the scholar becomes more experienced, he learns a greater variety of spells, including some of potentially devastating power.

Religion: Many scholars are irreligious, bowing down to neither men nor gods in their supreme arrogance. Even priests are not always religious, having joined the clergy of their religion not due to genuine piety but because of the perceived easy life of a priest and the opportunities for bribery and blackmail, or as a cover for their secret practices of the most evil sorcery. However, some priests are genuinely devout, and may gain a great deal of encouragement and inner strength from their religion. For those scholars who come from a primitive background such as the shamans of the Pictish Wilderness and the witch-men of Kush, their superstitious religion is inextricably intertwined with their sorcerous knowledge. Then there are those who actively align themselves with the demons and dark gods: whether their devotion is truly religious, or merely an indication of their corrupt ambitions, is a moot point.

Background: Scholars can come from any number of backgrounds, but all share a thirst for knowledge and often for power. Most are reliant on a teacher of some kind for their sorcerous knowledge, such as a higher-ranking priest, coven leader, master sorcerer, or even some demonic entity. A few brave or foolhardy souls elect instead to learn their magic by their own efforts entirely. Many scholars are more mundane, never learning sorcery at all, but this type rarely adventures.

Game Rule Information

Prime: Intelligence

Abilities: All scholars concentrate in some way or another on knowledge, so Intelligence is a class Prime. A more sorcerous scholar will certainly need Charisma, to magically attack his enemies, deal with demons and summon servitors; and Wisdom, for sheer magical power. Some of the Eastern scholars, who learn the mystical combat arts, will also benefit from a high Wisdom as well as Dexterity.

Hit Die: as Wizard

BtH: as Wizard

EPP: as Wizard

Weapons: as C&C Cleric. The special weapon of clerics may be considered as any weapon related to a Scholar background or culture.

Armour: none

ABILITIES

Scholar: All scholars acquire the Knowledge Specialist or Esoteric Ability (their choice) Secondary Skill for free.

Background: Every scholar must choose a background for himself at 1st level. The background indicates the manner in which he came by his knowledge.

A scholar may only ever begin the game with one background, but at the CKs discretion he may gain an additional background or backgrounds during play for example, an independent may call up a demon and make a pact with it, then some time later be accepted as an acolyte by a sorcerous society. Likewise, a lay priest or acolyte may elect to conduct a little independent research, just as though he were an independent himself but in most cases his religion or coven will at best frown upon such impertinence, and at worst put him to death if they catch him.

The choice of background should be made in conjunction with the CK, who will inform the player which options are available in his campaign.

Acolyte: Acolytes are members of a coven, sorcerous society, or occasionally apprenticed to a lone sorcerer. They are usually in thrall to their coven leaders, though they can gain a great deal of power this way. The drawback is that they rarely understand said power, without their masters direct assistance.

An acolyte must always select a specific group to join or master to apprentice himself to. An acolyte may only ever learn new sorcery styles or advanced spells (see below) known to his masters. Depending on his superiors and on the nature of the society, he may have a free choice between the various styles and spells they know, or his progress may be highly regimented so that his sorcery styles and spells are always assigned for him rather than chosen by him. Most sorcerous societies require a student to follow a strict curriculum of specific spells for the first ten levels, but after that allow him to learn whatever he wills, so long as they can teach it to him or he can discover it for himself.

Sorcerers from civilised lands often take on apprentices, and it is an accepted method of learning found from Stygia to Khitai, even if one cannot find a larger sorcerous society to join. Some of the more primitive regions such as Kush also have village sorcerers, along with the more shamanic or witch-doctor style priests; these sorcerers, also known as Witchmen or Witch-Finders are employed on a freelance basis to cast spells for clients, and often take on apprentices to pass on their skills to.

Independent: Independents are the most versatile variety of scholar, since they have no particular ties to any authority. However, they also have no-one to teach them, to guide them through their sorcerous paths, and so must work a good deal harder to gain access to any true secrets. Though at best their advancement can be highly flexible, at worst it is simply haphazard, with the independent scholar simply picking up a little knowledge here and there as he goes.

Every time an independent gains the New Sorcery Style or Advanced Spell class features, he must make an Intelligence check. The CL is 0 for New Sorcery Styles or 5 for Advanced Spells. Success indicates that he may choose the style he will learn. If he fails, the CK will select a style for him at random from among those he does not currently know but for which he meets the prerequisites. If his check result was less than 10, he does not gain a sorcery style at all but must select a new Secondary Skill, or increase the level of an existing one, as appropriate (see the New Sorcery Style and Advanced Spell class features).

Pact: A scholar who makes a pact with a demonic entity or other dark force to teach him sorcery is in a very similar state to that of an acolyte to a sorcerers ring or coven, since he is often effectively in thrall to the source of his knowledge. He has a lot more choice as to what he learns, but his master has no human compunctions to prevent him forcing the poor scholar to do the most dire acts. Furthermore, he will begin the game at least somewhat corrupt, for no truly decent sorcerer makes pacts with demons.

A scholar with a pact begins the game with a Corruption of 1 (see p. XX for more information on Corruption). At 1st level, he must choose the New Sorcery Style: Summoning, and the spell demonic pact. On gaining New Sorcery Styles or Advanced Spells, he may choose to either do his own researches in which case he must make a Intelligence saving throw as though he were an independent, or else risk further Corruption by calling up the entity with whom he has the pact once more. If he does the latter, he may freely choose which style or spell he learns, so long as it is one the entity knows, but he must make a Corruption check again for dealing with the demon once more.

The CK is always free to rule that player character scholars may not begin the game with a pact. This is particularly appropriate in short-term or one-off campaigns, where the natural disadvantage of the pact scholar which is the Corruption he gains, and will someday almost certainly doom him, one way or another may have little impact on play. This background is better balanced for long-term campaigns, offering immediate power at the cost of ones soul, or worse.

Lay Priest: Scholars who choose the lay priest background are attached to a temple for purposes of study, but with little or no religious authority. If they wish, they can work their way up to the position of fully ordained priest, which brings with it a number of benefits and responsibilities.

Priests (whether lay priests, or fully ordained priest) do not usually have access to sorcery at all, or if they do it is most commonly some form or other of counter-sorcery with which to combat evil cults. The precise nature of each priest, and which magical abilities (if any) are available to him, will vary depending on both the deity he worships and his own honesty or lack of it. More information on the cults of the various gods can be found in Chapter 9: Religion in the Hyborian Age.

Priests are treated as acolytes in that they must gain sorcery styles known to their religion. They do not usually need to learn their styles in a specific order, but in most cases their religion will offer only a very limited selection of styles in the first place. Most higher-level priests have either conducted independent studies themselves in secret, or even more secretly made a pact with a demon or joined a sorcerous society.

The shamans found in barbaric regions such as the Pictish Wilderness can usually be treated as lay priests, though each tribe or village usually has only two or three shamans at any one time, a shaman who might be a Priest but will not have had any official ordination, and an apprentice or two.

New Sorcery Style: At 1st level, 2nd level, 4th level and every four levels thereafter, the scholar gains a new sorcery style from Table XX, along with the basic spell associated with it. The sorcery styles are more fully explained in Chapter 6: Sorcery.

At any time he is eligible to gain a new sorcery style, the scholar may instead gain a bonus Secondary Skill from the following list: Knowledge Specialist, Esoteric Ability, Detection, Judgment Ability, Suborning Ability. If the sorcerer knows the calm of the adept spell from the Oriental Magic sorcery style, he may also select the Bullying skill.

Note that the scholar may or may not be permitted to choose his new sorcery style himself, depending on his Background class feature.

Base Power Points: A 1st level scholar learns to access his own personal magical energy. This is referred to as Base Power Points (BPP).

A beginning scholar has BPP equal to 4 + Wisdom Modifier (minimum one).

Power points are used when casting spells and creating magical objects, and can be regained by rest or the use of various lotus concoctions (see Drugs and Herbal Preparations, p. XX), or temporarily increased by various means, most commonly by sacrificing one or more humans. For most characters, their power points can rise to a maximum of double their Base Power Points. See Chapter 6: Sorcery for more on power points and their use. This is a supernatural ability.

If for some reason a character already has Base Power Points when he becomes a scholar (e.g. dual classes as scholar), usually through the Dabbler Secondary Skill, he does not gain new Base Power Points as above. Instead, he receives a one-time bonus of +2 to his already acquired Base Power Points.

Knowledge Is Power (Intelligence): This ability works much like the Legend Lore ability of Bards, but is based on intelligence, since the source of knowledge is of a scholarly type.

A scholar may make a scholarly knowledge check to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. This check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function; this sort of knowledge is essentially random. The CK will determine the Difficulty Class of the check by referring to the table below.

CL Type of Knowledge

0 Common, known by at least a substantial minority of the local population.

5 Uncommon but available, known by only a few people in the area.

10 Obscure, known by few, hard to come by.

15 Extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, possibly known only by those who do not understand the significance of the knowledge.

+1 Power Point: At 2nd level and every four levels thereafter, the scholars Base Power Points increase by +1.

Advanced Spell: At 3rd level and every level thereafter, the scholar improves his knowledge of any one of the sorcery styles he already knows by gaining any one of the advanced spells listed under the style. More information about advanced spells can be found in Chapter 6: Sorcery.

Alternatively, any time he is eligible to gain an advanced spell, the scholar can instead increase by a level any of his Secondary Skills.

As with the New Sorcery Style class feature, the scholar may or may not be permitted to choose his advanced spell himself, depending on his Background class feature.

Note that when a sorcerer gains Advanced Spell and New Sorcery Style at the same time on gaining a new level, he may choose to gain the Advanced Spell in the New Sorcery Style.

Bonus Spell: From 3rd level the scholar becomes eligible for a small number of bonus advanced spells, depending on his Intelligence. His maximum possible number of bonus spells is equal to his Intelligence bonus, if any. However, he can gain only one bonus spell at 3rd level and an additional bonus spell every four levels thereafter, whatever his Intelligence.

Iron Will: At 5th level, the scholar gains a +2 bonus to saving throws which involve his will (typically charisma-based).

Increased Maximum Power Points: As scholars become more experienced and knowledgeable, they become able to store far more magical power in their bodies, so long as it is available to them by means of sacrifice or some artefact or other. At 6th level, a scholars maximum Power Points rise to triple his Base Power Points, rather than double as is usual for most characters. At 13th level it rises again to quadruple his Base Power Points, and at 20th level to quintuple his Base Power Points.

Example: Thothmekri is a 1st level scholar with Wisdom 14. His Base PP is 5 (4, +1 Wis), and his Maximum PP is 10 (double his Base PP). By the time he is 6th level, his Base PP is 7 (4, +1 Wis, +2 scholar class feature) and his Maximum PP is 21 (three times his Base PP).

Table: Scholar

{Here goes the table for the scholar, describing the PP per level, number of spells etc.}

New Secondary Skills

Dabbler

(Intelligence - prime/intelligence)

Though you might not be a formally trained sorcerer, you have learned a little magic here and there, enough to perhaps get you out of a tight spot or two if it works.

Choose a sorcery style from among the following: Counterspells, Curses, or Divination. Up to once for every skill level during any given month, you may make a Intelligence check (modified by +2 for every level of the skill) to recall a small amount of sorcerous lore that could prove useful to your current situation. You do not have a true, permanent understanding of the style you access in this way, but are able to remember just enough to have an attempt at using the sorcery in question. The CL of the check is 0 for Basic Spells, or 10 for Advanced Spells. You need not meet any prerequisites for the style, except those that require a certain number of ranks of a particular skill. If you succeed in the check, the CK will select an appropriate sorcerous effect, from among the advanced and basic spells derived from that style, for you to have temporary access to enough to cast once and once only. This will be something useful to the situation, though in most cases it will not be sufficient to completely defeat your opposition on its own.

You expend power points to cast the spell as usual. If you do not already have any Power Points when you select this skill, you immediately acquire a Base PP of 2 + Wisdom modifier.

[Orpheus]

Man Antonio, you have got to be unemployed! Good job. Your stuff always rocks! 8)

[rabindranath72]

Orpheus wrote:
Man Antonio, you have got to be unemployed! Good job. Your stuff always rocks! 8)

LOL
Well, I am not, but I have one of those jobs where I can lay on the bed, close my eyes, and say "I am working"...which means I am a mathematician
Actually, I am running my computer(s) over a series of lengthy numerical simulations, so while I wait for the machine to spew the results, I am effectively "unemployed"...and can use my time in more fruitful endeavors, like C&C
Thanks for the kind words, anyway!

[Joe Mac]

Antonio is a churning cauldron of creativity!

[rabindranath72]

Joe Mac wrote:
Antonio is a churning cauldron of creativity!

Thank you, kind sir, much appreciated

[rabindranath72]

Ok, since no one offered criticism on the Scholar, it is time for self-criticism
On a more careful look, I do not quite like the class as I thought, for some reasons:

1) Too much reliance on Secondary Skills. These should be secondary by definition, and making a class depend on them violates the "autonomy" of the class.

2) The class does not work according to the other C&C classes principles; in particular, I am referring to having some class abilities in place of others (Advanced Spells and New Sorcery styles vs. Secondary Skills). This also violates the "pattern" with which are built the other classes.

Overall, I kept too close to the 3e version of the class, so I think a step back is necessary to put things in the correct perspective.

Regarding 1), actually the largest batch of skill points in the original Scholar is devoted to knowledge skills. But we already have the Knowledge is Power class ability, which coupled with the Intelligence Prime should be enough to model the vast knowledge of the class, into which the effects of the Secondary Skills can be subsumed without actually using them.

The requirement to expend a given number of skill points might be interpreted, in C&C terms, as a further specialisation, which would provide a bonus to a special field of knowledge chosen by the character, above the Knowledge is Power check.

Regarding 2), the original Scholar provides the means of building characters which are knowledgeable without having access to Sorcery. But I think this is a moot point, since in any case a character is not forced to learn sorcery if he does not want to. And the C&C system allows us to freely make intelligence check subject to CK approval without needing a list of skills. So, a Scholar, whether he takes spells or not, would always be capable of using his Knowledge is Power class ability.

Ok, now I will update the class given these ideas, and see how it turns out. At least it should be more similar in style and scope to the other C&C classes.

Cheers,

Antonio

[rabindranath72]

So, here it is the "new" version of the Scholar. As always, comments and criticism are welcome!

Sorry for the formatting of the table, but I could not do better than this.

Regarding the table, please note that it contains the same information in the standard Scholar table, but it is in a more "user friendly" format; each row contains the cumulative information for a Scholar of that level, much like the spells table of C&C Spellcasters.

Note also that NO magic attack roll mechanics is actually needed for C&C, since this can be conveniently subsumed in the saving roll mechanics of C&C.

Cheers,

Antonio

Scholar

Adventures: Scholars in the Hyborian Age must often quest for knowledge, for there are few formal academies or other teaching processes from which to learn and perhaps draw an income. For many scholars, digging around in dusty tombs or leading expeditions deep into the jungles of Khitai is not just a way of life, it is a way to make a living for both ancient artefacts and rare knowledge can be valuable. Those who attach themselves to one or another religion as priests or shamans commonly find themselves expected to work not just at translating old manuscripts or preaching to the faithful, but undergoing hazardous pilgrimages to carry out strange rituals in faraway shrines, getting involved in the power-politics of the royal court, and warring against rival religions either actively or by intrigue. Wandering independents are almost by definition adventurers, while those who have given their mind, body and soul in thrall to some superior, whether earthly or demonic, are at their coven or masters beck and call whenever he needs an obscure material component finding or a sorcery-sapping compound delivered to a rivals accommodations in secret.

Characteristics: The scholar is defined not merely by his broad knowledge, but more importantly by his access to sorcery, if he desires it. To truly master sorcery requires precisely the kind of focused, intense study that only scholars can achieve. As the scholar becomes more experienced, he learns a greater variety of spells, including some of potentially devastating power.

Religion: Many scholars are irreligious, bowing down to neither men nor gods in their supreme arrogance. Even priests are not always religious, having joined the clergy of their religion not due to genuine piety but because of the perceived easy life of a priest and the opportunities for bribery and blackmail, or as a cover for their secret practices of the most evil sorcery. However, some priests are genuinely devout, and may gain a great deal of encouragement and inner strength from their religion. For those scholars who come from a primitive background such as the shamans of the Pictish Wilderness and the witch-men of Kush, their superstitious religion is inextricably intertwined with their sorcerous knowledge. Then there are those who actively align themselves with the demons and dark gods: whether their devotion is truly religious, or merely an indication of their corrupt ambitions, is a moot point.

Background: Scholars can come from any number of backgrounds, but all share a thirst for knowledge and often for power. Most are reliant on a teacher of some kind for their sorcerous knowledge, such as a higher-ranking priest, coven leader, master sorcerer, or even some demonic entity. A few brave or foolhardy souls elect instead to learn their magic by their own efforts entirely. Many scholars are more mundane, never learning sorcery at all, but this type rarely adventures.

Game Rule Information

Prime: Intelligence

Abilities: All scholars concentrate in some way or another on knowledge, so Intelligence is a class Prime. A more sorcerous scholar will certainly need Charisma, to magically attack his enemies, deal with demons and summon servitors; and Wisdom, for sheer magical power. Some of the Eastern scholars, who learn the mystical combat arts, will also benefit from a high Wisdom as well as Dexterity.

Hit Die: as Wizard

BtH: as Wizard

EPP: as Wizard

Weapons: as Cleric. Any weapon related to a Scholar background or culture may be chosen as special.

Armour: none

ABILITIES

Scholar (Intelligence): All scholars must choose a field of knowledge specialization, which grants them extensive knowledge pertaining that field. A new field of knowledge may be added at 4th level, and a further field every 4th level. Typical fields of knowledge include (but are not limited to):

Fauna (including biology)

Flora (including botany)

History (local, regional, world, cultural & social)

History (intelligent races, human & non-human)

Theology/Demonology

Arcana (artifacts, fables, lost lore, mysteries, occult and relics)

Alchemy

Herbalism

Decipher Script: This ability works like for Bards (except regarding spells, which work differently in the Hyborian setting with respect to the standard C&C assumptions).

Background: Every scholar must choose a background for himself at 1st level. The background indicates the manner in which he came by his knowledge.

A scholar may only ever begin the game with one background, but at the CKs discretion he may gain an additional background or backgrounds during play for example, an independent may call up a demon and make a pact with it, then some time later be accepted as an acolyte by a sorcerous society. Likewise, a lay priest or acolyte may elect to conduct a little independent research, just as though he were an independent himself but in most cases his religion or coven will at best frown upon such impertinence, and at worst put him to death if they catch him.

The choice of background should be made in conjunction with the CK, who will inform the player which options are available in his campaign.

Acolyte: Acolytes are members of a coven, sorcerous society, or occasionally apprenticed to a lone sorcerer. They are usually in thrall to their coven leaders, though they can gain a great deal of power this way. The drawback is that they rarely understand said power, without their masters direct assistance.

An acolyte must always select a specific group to join or master to apprentice himself to. An acolyte may only ever learn new sorcery styles or advanced spells (see below) known to his masters. Depending on his superiors and on the nature of the society, he may have a free choice between the various styles and spells they know, or his progress may be highly regimented so that his sorcery styles and spells are always assigned for him rather than chosen by him. Most sorcerous societies require a student to follow a strict curriculum of specific spells for the first ten levels, but after that allow him to learn whatever he wills, so long as they can teach it to him or he can discover it for himself.

Sorcerers from civilised lands often take on apprentices, and it is an accepted method of learning found from Stygia to Khitai, even if one cannot find a larger sorcerous society to join. Some of the more primitive regions such as Kush also have village sorcerers, along with the more shamanic or witch-doctor style priests; these sorcerers, also known as Witchmen or Witch-Finders are employed on a freelance basis to cast spells for clients, and often take on apprentices to pass on their skills to.

Independent: Independents are the most versatile variety of scholar, since they have no particular ties to any authority. However, they also have no-one to teach them, to guide them through their sorcerous paths, and so must work a good deal harder to gain access to any true secrets. Though at best their advancement can be highly flexible, at worst it is simply haphazard, with the independent scholar simply picking up a little knowledge here and there as he goes.

Every time an independent gains the New Sorcery Style or Advanced Spell class features, he must make an Intelligence check. The CL is 0 for New Sorcery Styles or 5 for Advanced Spells. Success indicates that he may choose the style he will learn. If he fails, the CK will select a style for him at random from among those he does not currently know but for which he meets the prerequisites.

Pact: A scholar who makes a pact with a demonic entity or other dark force to teach him sorcery is in a very similar state to that of an acolyte to a sorcerers ring or coven, since he is often effectively in thrall to the source of his knowledge. He has a lot more choice as to what he learns, but his master has no human compunctions to prevent him forcing the poor scholar to do the most dire acts. Furthermore, he will begin the game at least somewhat corrupt, for no truly decent sorcerer makes pacts with demons.

A scholar with a pact begins the game with a Corruption of 1 (see p. XX for more information on Corruption). At 1st level, he must choose the New Sorcery Style: Summoning, and the spell demonic pact. On gaining New Sorcery Styles or Advanced Spells, he may choose to either do his own researches in which case he must make a Intelligence saving throw as though he were an independent, or else risk further Corruption by calling up the entity with whom he has the pact once more. If he does the latter, he may freely choose which style or spell he learns, so long as it is one the entity knows, but he must make a Corruption check again for dealing with the demon once more.

The CK is always free to rule that player character scholars may not begin the game with a pact. This is particularly appropriate in short-term or one-off campaigns, where the natural disadvantage of the pact scholar which is the Corruption he gains, and will someday almost certainly doom him, one way or another may have little impact on play. This background is better balanced for long-term campaigns, offering immediate power at the cost of ones soul, or worse.

Lay Priest: Scholars who choose the lay priest background are attached to a temple for purposes of study, but with little or no religious authority. If they wish, they can work their way up to the position of fully ordained priest (see Chapter 2: Feats of Sword and Sorcery), which brings with it a number of benefits and responsibilities.

Priests (whether lay priests, or fully ordained priest) do not usually have access to sorcery at all, or if they do it is most commonly some form or other of counter-sorcery with which to combat evil cults. The precise nature of each priest, and which magical abilities (if any) are available to him, will vary depending on both the deity he worships and his own honesty or lack of it. More information on the cults of the various gods can be found in Chapter 9: Religion in the Hyborian Age.

Priests are treated as acolytes in that they must gain sorcery styles known to their religion. They do not usually need to learn their styles in a specific order, but in most cases their religion will offer only a very limited selection of styles in the first place. Most higher-level priests have either conducted independent studies themselves in secret, or even more secretly made a pact with a demon or joined a sorcerous society.

The shamans found in barbaric regions such as the Pictish Wilderness can usually be treated as lay priests, though each tribe or village usually has only two or three shamans at any one time, a shaman who is effectively an ordained priest but will not have had any official ordination, and an apprentice or two.

New Sorcery Style: At 1st level, 2nd level, 4th level and every four levels thereafter, the scholar gains a new sorcery style from Table XX, along with the basic spell associated with it. The sorcery styles are more fully explained in Chapter 6: Sorcery.

Note that the scholar may or may not be permitted to choose his new sorcery style himself, depending on his Background class feature.

Base Power Points: A 1st level scholar learns to access his own personal magical energy. This is referred to as Base Power Points (BPP).

A beginning scholar has BPP equal to 4 + Wisdom Modifier (minimum one).

Power points are used when casting spells and creating magical objects, and can be regained by rest or the use of various lotus concoctions (see Drugs and Herbal Preparations, p. XX), or temporarily increased by various means, most commonly by sacrificing one or more humans. For most characters, their power points can rise to a maximum of double their Base Power Points. See Chapter 6: Sorcery for more on power points and their use. This is a supernatural ability.

If for some reason a character already has Base Power Points when he becomes a scholar (e.g. dual classes as scholar), usually through the Dabbler Secondary Skill, he does not gain new Base Power Points as above. Instead, he receives a one-time bonus of +2 to his already acquired Base Power Points.

Knowledge Is Power (Intelligence): This ability works much like the Legend Lore ability of Bards, but is based on intelligence, since the source of knowledge is of a scholarly type.

A scholar may make a Intelligence check to see whether he knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places. This check will not reveal the powers of a magic item but may give a hint as to its general function; this sort of knowledge is essentially random. The CK will determine the Difficulty Class of the check by referring to the table below.

CL Type of Knowledge

0 Common, known by at least a substantial minority of the local population.

5 Uncommon but available, known by only a few people in the area.

10 Obscure, known by few, hard to come by.

15 Extremely obscure, known by very few, possibly forgotten by most who once knew it, possibly known only by those who do not understand the significance of the knowledge.

+1 Power Point: At 2nd level and every four levels thereafter, the scholars Base Power Points increase by +1.

Advanced Spell: At 3rd level and every level thereafter, the scholar improves his knowledge of any one of the sorcery styles he already knows by gaining any one of the advanced spells listed under the style. More information about advanced spells can be found in Chapter 6: Sorcery.

As with the New Sorcery Style class feature, the scholar may or may not be permitted to choose his advanced spell himself, depending on his Background class feature.

Note that when a sorcerer gains Advanced Spell and New Sorcery Style at the same time on gaining a new level, he may choose to gain the Advanced Spell in the New Sorcery Style.

Bonus Spell: From 3rd level the scholar becomes eligible for a small number of bonus advanced spells, depending on his Intelligence. His maximum possible number of bonus spells is equal to his Intelligence bonus, if any. However, he can gain only one bonus spell at 3rd level and an additional bonus spell every four levels thereafter, whatever his Intelligence.

Iron Will: At 5th level, the scholar gains a +2 bonus to saving throws which involve his will (typically charisma-based).

Increased Maximum Power Points: As scholars become more experienced and knowledgeable, they become able to store far more magical power in their bodies, so long as it is available to them by means of sacrifice or some artefact or other. At 6th level, a scholars maximum Power Points rise to triple his Base Power Points, rather than double as is usual for most characters. At 13th level it rises again to quadruple his Base Power Points, and at 20th level to quintuple his Base Power Points.

Example: Thothmekri is a 1st level scholar with Wisdom 14. His Base PP is 5 (4, +1 Wis), and his Maximum PP is 10 (double his Base PP). By the time he is 6th level, his Base PP is 7 (4, +1 Wis, +2 scholar class feature) and his Maximum PP is 21 (three times his Base PP).

[quote]Code:

[RPGmonk]

Cool! I just picked up a DelRay collection of the first 13 Conan stories, so my interest in this setting is not even peaked yet. This would be a great setting for C&C..........too cool.

Peace

[rabindranath72]

Ok, the Scholar completed, I want to create C&C versions of the classes which are not directly mapped to existing C&C classes. Here is the Nomad.

Nothing new, really, just a mix of abilities from other C&C classes, but I think it makes for a flexible and nice class.

Keep in mind that, since I am using the weapons and armours in the Conan book, I use the classifications therein. They have little or no impact on the C&C system.

Nomad

Adventures: Whether feuding with a rival, raiding a neighbouring tribe, or taking service as a mercenary in one of the Hyborian Ages incessant wars, the nomad rarely has a quiet life! Even surviving in his harsh desert or steppe environment can be an adventure itself. By their nature, nomads are travellers, and travellers tend to get involved in various risky ventures as well as whatever local trouble there is going. Furthermore, there are many secrets out in the deep desert, which can impinge on nomads lives whether as the objects of quests or the sources of danger.

Characteristics: Nomads are powerful combatants, excelling particularly in hit-and-run raids, guerrilla tactics, and archery. Their travels also give them quite an edge over other characters when it comes to mounted combat and movement, as well as survival and ambush in the deserts and steppes.

Religion: Most nomads will revere the gods of their region, usually the more eastern deities. These are typically goddesses of love and pleasure, offering an easy afterlife of honey and houris that sharply contrasts with the nomads tough existence in life.

Background: There are two types of nomad; those who are born to it, and those, like Conan, who spend years learning the customs and rise through nomad society. Almost all nomads come from the vast desert of Eastern Shem, the Southern Desert beyond Kush, or the steppes and plains in and around Hyrkania and Turan. Born into families, clans, tribes or hordes, they are steeped in nomad traditions, culture and superstitions all their lives. However, it is also possible to become a nomad later in life, and the nomad group known as the Kozaks is formed entirely from Hyborians and others from the western kingdoms, brought together as slaves by the Turanians and then escaping to band together and wreak vengeance on their former captors. Likewise, the eastern Shemite nomad tribes such as the Zuagirs often choose a foreigner to lead them, and an adventurer who has proved himself tough, capable and honourable may well be permitted to join a nomad group.

Game Rule Information

Abilities: Constitution is paramount for the nomad, because his usual environment is one of the most harsh on the planet. Dexterity comes a close second, as his combat style is usually based on archery and fast, furious melee fighting, though Strength is also useful. Many of the nomads class abilities are based on Wisdom, so the nomad who wishes to emphasise survival and scouting skills should concentrate on this.

Prime: Constitution

Hit Die: d10

BtH: as C&C PHB ranger

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the nomad.

Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A nomad is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, two-weapon combat, light and medium armour, and shields.

Track: as ranger.

Favoured Terrain: Any time a nomad is in one of his favoured terrains (desert or plains, depending on his background) and wearing at most light armour, he gains certain benefits as follows:

he may use the ranger abilities: survival, conceal, move silently. He may also use the fast movement ability of monks.

Born to the Saddle: As knights Horsemanship (can be applied to any mount, usually horses or camels).

Diehard: At 6th level, the nomad gains the primal might ability of barbarians.

Horde: at 12th level the nomad can call upon a great horde of allied tribes, clans or nomad bands to assist him with his dreams of raiding or conquest so long as they are assured there will be plenty of plunder for all involved, and so long as the leadership is strong and successful. This ability works as a knights Call to Arms ability.

[FTracer]

Were you going to go with racial abilities since Hyboria has no demihumans? Looking forward to seeing more of your conversions.

[rabindranath72]

FTracer wrote:
Were you going to go with racial abilities since Hyboria has no demihumans? Looking forward to seeing more of your conversions.

Thanks for the interest!

I nearly completed the "races" of the Hyborian age, and yes, some of them have what we could call racial abilities.

I am also working on the spell lists. Hope to have ready a (usable) draft of the adaptation soon.

[Lurker]

I've never been a huge conan fan ( I know booo hiss) I have liked some of the stories but gust not that avid. That being said, this is great work! The nomad is GREAT! I can't wait to see the racial abilities!
_________________
"And so I am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows!" - Mark Twain

Forgive all spelling errors.

Knight Errant & Humble C&C Society Contributor
C&C Society

[rabindranath72]

Hey thanks!

well, here is a short "preview" of some Hyborian "races". I removed the descriptive text.

ACHERONIANS

RACIAL TRAITS AND ABILITIES

Animosity: -1 penalty to all charisma checks (for social interaction) that target non-Acheronians.

Though Acheronians are powerfully charismatic, there is a sinister and rather antisocial edge to their

personalities that makes other races very wary of them.

Corrupt: -2 penalty to all saving throws against Corruption. Acheronians are probably the most

corrupt human race still in existence, if they can even be said to be truly human. It would not even

occur to a typical Acheronian to resist being corrupted, or even that it was possible to become more

corrupt!

Attribute modifier: +1 Charisma, -1 Strength. Acheronians have very forceful personalities, but are far less forceful in body.

Typical Classes: Scholar

Scholar modifier:

- +2 to knowledge is power, +2 to scholar (alchemy, herbalism, arcane knowledge). Acheronians still remember the old ways, the ways that once allowed their ancestors to rule much of the known world by sheer magical might.

- +1 caster level bonus when using curses (see p. XX). Acheronians are experts in the path of wizardry in general, but are particularly effective and vindictive when blasting their enemies with curses.

Prohibited Classes: Barbarian, Noble, Nomad, Pirate.

CIMMERIANS

RACIAL TRAITS AND ABILITIES

Courage: +1 bonus to all Charisma saving throws. This is a gift of Crom, that of courage even in the face of great adversity.

Climb: Cimmerians are renowned as the finest climbers in the world, and most will have climbed at least one peak that non-Cimmerians would regard as impassable before even leaving their homeland. It works as the rogues climb ability.

Blunt: -2 penalty to all social interaction checks. Cimmerians are famously blunt and direct of speech, a habit that has been known to get them into trouble on any number of occasions.

Gifts of Crom: May not have any other religion than Crom and the remainder of the Cimmerian pantheon, and may never gain any benefit from worshipping that or another pantheon. Crom has no priests and offers no assistance to his worshippers, other than gifting them with mighty thews and courage at birth. He despises weaklings and expects his Cimmerians to stand alone against the world, without need for either gods or demons. If he ever does worship a non-Cimmerian god, he loses the gifts of Crom, that is, his +1 bonus to Strength and +1 bonus to Charisma saves. (Whether Crom or indeed any of the other gods are real is a philosophical point and beyond the scope of these rules; the point is that the Cimmerian believes Crom, at least, to be real.)

Attribute modifier: +1 Strength, -1 Intelligence. Cimmerians are a naturally tall and strong race, made stronger still, so they believe, by the gifts of Crom. Though many have a keen natural cunning, few Cimmerians are capable of a great deal of book-learning, nor indeed do they have much opportunity for such education.

Typical Classes: Barbarian

Borderer modifier: +2 conceal, +2 survival, +2 scale, +2 move silently, +2 track, +2 traps

Thief and Assassin modifier: +2 hide, +2 listen, +2 move silently, +2 climb

Nomad modifier: +2 conceal, +2 survival, +2 move silently, +2 track, +2 traps

Prohibited Classes: Noble, Nomad, Pirate, Scholar.

HIMELIAN TRIBESMAN

RACIAL TRAITS AND ABILITIES

Hide: as Halfling.

Move silently: as Halfling.

Thoughness: +2 bonus to starting hit points. The Himelians are possibly the most dangerous mountain range in the world, since every tribe seems to be at war with every other tribe, as well as the Vendhyans and Turanians.

Superstition: -2 penalty to saves against hypnotism of any kind. This is for cultural reasons the folk of the East have a long tradition of tales and superstitions of the power of hypnotism, which tends to reinforce the power of the hypnotist.

Typical Classes: Barbarian

Borderer and Nomad modifier: +2 conceal, +2 survival, +2 move silently, +2 track, +2 traps

Thief and Assassin modifier: +2 hide, +2 listen, +2 move silently

Prohibited Classes: Noble, Pirate.

WAZULI

Eyes of the cat: The Wazuli have probably the best night vision of any human peoples, and are the only military force to have ever successfully ambushed Conan himself, thanks to their superior knowledge of the terrain and unsurpassed low-light vision. They can use their class abilities involving hiding, spotting etc. even in these conditions without penalty. This works as duskvision.

Nocturnal: -1 penalty to all attack rolls and ability checks made during the hours of daylight. The Wazuli are so close to being nocturnal as to function only poorly during the daytime.

Typical Classes: Barbarian

Borderer and Nomad modifier: +2 conceal, +2 survival, +2 move silently, +2 track, +2 traps

Thief and Assassin modifier: +2 hide, +2 listen, +2 move silently

Prohibited Classes: Noble, Pirate

HYBORIAN (Aquilonian, Brythunina, Corinthian etc.)

Adaptability: A Hyborian may choose any two class abilities for which he gains a +2 bonus to all

checks. Hyborians are one of the most adaptable races, capable of turning their hands to almost any

profession. This is largely a matter of cultural and economic sophistication the highly developed and

wealthy Hyborian nations provide their citizens with excellent opportunities for learning all manner of

skills.

Weapon Familiarity: Hyborians who can use martial weapons can wield greatswords as non-exotic

weapons.

Luck: +1 bonus to Fate Points (see p. XX). As the leading culture in the time of Conan, the Hyborians

are not only adaptable, but lucky too.

Typical Class: All classes.

That's all for now!

Cheers,

Antonio

[Lurker]

Woow again great stuff!

_________________
"And so I am become a knight of the Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows!" - Mark Twain

Forgive all spelling errors.

Knight Errant & Humble C&C Society Contributor
C&C Society

[FTracer]

Looks good!

[Scurvy_Platypus]

In case anyone is curious, the Jan 06 conversion document written by Dave bell is still up on his site. The direct link is: http://www.bellplace.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ConanC&C.pdf