Jkeown Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 ... but darn if Valdorian Age doesn't wanna make me toss all my Steampunkery in Caleon out the window, pick up an axe and carve a new one in my Player's backsides... That book certainly looks fun. I bet the Extra Time (-1/2) on all the spells is a right beeatch, tho... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Obvious Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... I know what you mean. It sucks when you've got something all worked out, and then something else comes along that makes you want to throw it all away. Luckily for me, Valdorian Age sorcery looks like something I can work into my own project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... Don't throw it out the window, just hang onto it until you feel the urge to run Caleon again. Or hold Valdorian Age in reserve for when your current campaign reaches a natural pause. The gamer's mood shifts like the breeze. I agree that VA is great stuff. This should make fantasy gamers (HERO and non) sit up and take notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... My (unasked-for) advice: sit on Valdorian Age until they release the last Conan book (some time this year). Pick them up, along with (possibly) the Bran Mak Morn book. Read them all in one marathon weekend of reading (relatively easy to do with Robert E. Howard's writings; they practically leap off the page and into your brain). Then, with your mind percolating, see if you can come up with enough bloody mayhem to serve a full campaign. And suggest to your players that they read the Conan books too. I think a really good Valdorian Age campaign is only possible if the players and GM really "get it," otherwise they all end up looking like D&D barbarian clones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkeown Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... I think my people would. They all know Conan, they know the source material. The one stumbling block is my son. He's a dyed in the wool High Fantasy/Space Opera Gamer, if its not Tolkien or Lewis or (Occasionally) Roddenberry, he won't play it. I tried like heck to get him to play d20 Conan when it came out. I think he sees no value in a genre that gave us those... movies... I didn't hesistate to mention that, long before he was born, there were 50-million really bad High Fantasy movies. I think the root cause is his first exposure to fantasy was watching us play Caleon when he was a child. As he got older, Caleon was all he knew, until he met JRR Tolkien. He compares Tolkien to me. It should be the other way around. Now he's 17, I don't think I can "fix" him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... Nothing needs to get "fixed" since it's a matter of preferences. However, if he refuses to be exposed to the Conan books, then he's doing himself a real disservice if he considers himself a fantasy fan. Now that I've had a chance to read the unadulterated Conan, I see REH's influence everywhere. It's nothing like the "pap" Conan stories I read that were edited by L. Sprague deCamp. It's really, really easy to see why people tried to copy him. Definitely, he should read at least the first couple of stories in the new Conan books coming out from Del Rey; it's significant that in the first Conan story ever written, he's drawing a map. He's telling his best friend not to get him involved in shenanigans in foreign countries. He's reflecting on how he civilized the brutal former government. Conan as written by Howard is a compelling three-dimensional character. And just about everybody else wrote only their 2D versions of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchellS Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... Nothing needs to get "fixed" since it's a matter of preferences. However, if he refuses to be exposed to the Conan books, then he's doing himself a real disservice if he considers himself a fantasy fan. Now that I've had a chance to read the unadulterated Conan, I see REH's influence everywhere. It's nothing like the "pap" Conan stories I read that were edited by L. Sprague deCamp. It's really, really easy to see why people tried to copy him. Definitely, he should read at least the first couple of stories in the new Conan books coming out from Del Rey; it's significant that in the first Conan story ever written, he's drawing a map. He's telling his best friend not to get him involved in shenanigans in foreign countries. He's reflecting on how he civilized the brutal former government. Conan as written by Howard is a compelling three-dimensional character. And just about everybody else wrote only their 2D versions of him. Man you can say that again. Conan in the original stories is an incredible character, and REH has a dynamic and vivid writing style which brings everything to life. It's some of the best fantasy stuff I have ever read, and some of the most copied. deCamp, subsequent lessor authors, and the movies have really ruined a incredibly interesting character and world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlHazred Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... Vincent Darlage, a Conan fan if ever there was one and as far as I know the instigator behind the d20 Conan game, has this to say about deCamp's editing of REH's work. I like deCamp's writings on other topics, but I agree completely with his points here. (Sorry for the link, but currently it seems the original page is down following a server move. Fortunately, the Internet Archive rocks on toast.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplygnome Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... DARN YOU Jkeown!! Ive seen this post about 6 times now...I KNOW that Ive already read it and I know what it says...but every time I see that post title I shouldn't be saying this... I have to click on it!!! Its like I think theres something naughty or forbiden (or BOTH) on the other side....To tantilizing! Stop it! =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkeown Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Re: I shouldn't be saying this... You can stop clicking on it... I know you can. Concentrate... think about Citrus Fruit or better yet... what limitation value "Only when in Drag" should have for a Wizard in 10th century Rome. Got it? Concentrate... There you go... you are healed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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