What is Best in Life? A New ‘Conan’ RPG You Can Try Today for Free
A new Conan RPG is in the works, and you can take it for a test “crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.”
Between the time when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise ofthe sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of. Well, actually it was quite dreamed of. Because Conan and his adventures are sort of an ur-template for games like D&D. And indeed, he has been featured in early D&D products, and has had several RPGs of his own. Most recently you might have played the 2d20 Conan RPG, but that’s fallen by the wayside.
Now we know why. A new Conan RPG is in the works from Monolith. It’s coming to Kickstarter later this year, because that’s just the RPG production pipeline these days, but you can actually take it for a spin right now. The Quickstart Rules are available and illustrate the new, streamlined sword and sorcery system.
Conan: The Hyborian Age
Conan: The Hyborian Age is a tabletop roleplaying game of swords and sorcery, set against a backdrop of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories. With King Conan perched upon the throne of Aquilonia, it is time for other brave warriors to take up the mantle of adventurer, to craft their own stories, and to face unknown horrors in the darkest corners of the world. In temple and tomb, through desert and forest, threats lurk unseen, ready to slay and devour. Will you be steady of sword and steadfast of mind? Will you survive an age undreamed of? It is time to carve your own legend.
This Quick Start booklet contains everything a Game Master and up to five players need to explore adventures in Conan’s world, providing a “lite” overview to the setting, all the required core rules, five pregenerated characters, and a ready-to-play Tale: “The Seal of Acheron.”
In the rules you’ll see how to get up to sword and sorcery adventures. You have four stats, Might, Edge, Grit, and Wits. Each of these gets a rating from 1 to 6. Possibly 8. Each stat gets a die, a d6, d8 or d10, which you’ll roll and add your stat total to. There’s a few other wrinkles, like a Flex Die which can trigger special effects. But by and large, it’s pretty straightforward, which is what you want out of a Conan game.
The game boasts a “Game Master-friendly approach” meaning minimal preparation is needed for each adventure. The combat mechanics feel like they could be particularly exciting. But really, the main draw is the setting. Conan the Cimmerian, destined to sit atop the jeweled throne of Aquilonia laid the foundations for fantasy stories, and it can be real fun to play in the original sandbox.
See for yourself, learn more about the game and download a preview below!
