Sorcery and Conan

[nsruf]

I just picked up Mongoose's Conan RPG, but intend to use it only as background material for a TROS game. The feel and mechanics of TROS, especially the combat system, just seem like a perfect fit. With the possible exception of sorcery, that is. The power and available effects fit quite well, but aging as a penalty is somewhat off. Hyborian sorcery corrupts, but it does not cost the caster his youth - health and sanity being another matter entirely.

Some discussion about Hyborian magic went on here already

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=9792

but I'd like to reopen it with a slightly different take. The basic idea is that instead of aging the caster, sorcery corrupts his body and mind. Corruption is measured like aging, i.e. each month aged under the standard rules becomes one "point" of corruption. What I am trying to do now is set appropriate penalties. I was thinking along the lines of

a) Each X points of corruption cost the caster one point from a random temporal or mental attribute (not SA)

b) Each Y points of corruption result in an appropriate flaw chosen by the GM

Fitting flaws for b) would be ugly, bad luck, tormented, haunted, etc. Unlike the poster in the linked thread, I would like to leave changes in SAs up to the player.

The problem is now to set reasonable levels X and Y for the penalties. X = 10 and Y = 30 or 50 look like they would work, but I really have too little experience with the magic system to decide that. I asked about the frequency of aging in TROS here

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=10122

and learned that it can be mostly avoided by a careful sorcerer. So maybe X and Y should be even smaller? What do you all think? Does anybody have experience with a similar rules tweak?

[Edge]

i was looking at doing something similar.  My players have opted to play in Weyrth instead so i sort of shelved my ideas.
But i'll hunt for my notes and post what i can find later on in the week for ya

[buddha]

I was working on an idea, well, pretty much exactly like that!  Argh, I left my notes at home, but I thought the aging system works just fine for that, each point of "taint" equaling one month of aging, and each twelve points of taint equals a full "corruption" point, which equals one year of age, and costs you a random attribute point, or whatever it is that the Aging chart says...

However, spellcasters could trade in points of taint for flaws, with a minor flaw getting rid of 1 point, and a major one getting rid of 2, however, the flaws have to be approved by the GM.  Points of corruption were permanent.

I think that was the gist of it...

I'll look for those notes when I get a chance.

Buddha

[nsruf]

I was working on an idea, well, pretty much exactly like that!  Argh, I left my notes at home, but I thought the aging system works just fine for that, each point of "taint" equaling one month of aging, and each twelve points of taint equals a full "corruption" point, which equals one year of age, and costs you a random attribute point, or whatever it is that the Aging chart says...

The aging chart says you don't lose anything until you reach the age of 40. That's why I am a little worried about setting the rate of attribute loss - I really have no idea how prevalent aging/corruption is going to be.

However, spellcasters could trade in points of taint for flaws, with a minor flaw getting rid of 1 point, and a major one getting rid of 2, however, the flaws have to be approved by the GM.  Points of corruption were permanent.

Trading for flaws is an interesting idea. I'll have to think about this some more.

Thanks!

[buddha]

Ah, that's right, I do remember something about the ageing chart!  I think what I did was say that each Vagary you took automatically gave you a certain number of Corruption points.  I think I was working off the Quickstart, because I remember it being 10 points per vagary, but the Quickstart only had three vagaries.  So, say for the main rules... 3 per Vagary?  So if you learn them all, you start out at 27 Corruption points, which means you can safely handle another 13 before even needing to worry about the nasty effects of corruption on your body and soul...

And, if you learn less magic, you are less corrupted, and while less powerful, you also have more leeway before you start having to worry....  Hmmm, this may lead to more mage-warrior types than you might want, depending on how people place prorities, and what kinda game you want.  Anyway, hope this stuff is of some help to you!

Buddha

[Alan]

What if increased Corruption allowed them extra SAs over and above the limiti of 5, but only SAs with some evil aspect?  At the same time, the cieling for Conscience and Luck would be lowered.

AND/OR:

When increasing Vagaries, the Corruption rating dictates the ratio of ordinary SA points to "evil" SA points that have to be spent.

[Brian Leybourne]

Hmm, nifty idea.

Been meaning to pick up that Conan book. Worthwhile, you reckon?

Brian.

[nsruf]

Been meaning to pick up that Conan book. Worthwhile, you reckon?

I can't give you an in-depth review yet, so I have to say "it depends". If you are mainly interested in having a lot of background material on the Hyborian age in one book, the cheaper alternative would be to get a copy of GURPS Conan (2nd hand, since it is sadly out of print). But the Conan RPG contains a similar amount of background information, so it wouldn't be a bad choice either. I think there is enough material to run a Hyborian campaign in whatever system you prefer.

If you are also interested in how the d20 mechanics can be tweaked to work in a traditional sword & sorcery setting, Conan RPG has its merits. The designer tried to stay true to the original stories in feel, e.g. magic is a corrupting force and the only gods whose existence is non-debatable are of the demonic kind. Whether the changes to the combat mechanics are good or bad, I can't say... and I intend to use TROS, anyway;)

As for the quality of the book itself, it is a nice big hardcover with mostly good art (IMO) and terrible editing. But you'll probably know about the editing if you have looked at any discussions or reviews of the game yet. My personal "favorite" is the search-and-replace of "lb" by "lb." throughout the book. Not only for the weights in the equipment tables, but everywhere, e.g. one section is even labelled "Spellb.ooks"...