Review - Conan Video Game

Conan is an action-adventure video game for the PS3 and Xbox 360.  This single-player game puts the user in the role of Robert E. Howard's famous barbarian. After loosing his magic armor in an otherwise cool tomb battle, Conan spends the rest of the adventure looking for them, killing things, casting spells?!!!???, and hunting down a rather inarticulate wizard.  

Old School Credentials:  It is hard to call any video game "old school" in the same way that "old school" refers to table top RPGs; they are very different animals. However, the character "conan" is as old school as it gets. Conan is listed in appendix N of the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide, had two AD&D modules (CB1 and CB2), a 1985 TSR game, as well as appearances by Conan and other Robert E. Howard characters in the old "Giants in the Earth" column in Dragon Magazine. 

The Good: Although the graphics are not always quite up to the sharpness one would expect from a PS3 game, they are really quite impressive at times. The tomb at the beginning of the game is quite well done and the wraiths there are probably the best "minion" type foe for Conan.

Fighting is fun for awhile, though it becomes very repetitive (The first time you cut of a pirate's arms with is a two-blade move is cool, the tenth time, not so much).

Lastly, despite some critic's dislike of Ron Perlman's voice acting, I thought he was quite good as Conan. His voice seemed a good match for the character as written by Howard, not as portrayed by by Schwarzenegger and Momoa. And Claudia Black, who played the Bêlit-like character A'kanna, can do no wrong.

The Bad: In many ways, Conan is a good example of the limitations of video games. It channels the character in ways that would be impossible in a pen and paper RPG, unless you had the world's worst DM/GM. For example, in one area of the game, Conan must make a series of superhuman leaps to survive (perfectly reasonable since it is Conan) but in other areas he is stymied by physical obstacles that would barely challenge Tyrion Lannister.

Occasionally there are instances of "video game logic" where neither skill nor logic will help and one must find the correct sequence of moves by trial and error. When Conan fights the dragon in the last stage, it is fairly easy to defeat it, but it keeps getting up no matter how many times you stun it. In a sensible game, you could administer a coup de gras on the helpless dragon, with Conan slitting its throat or stabbing it in an eye. Nope. Not even possible. Instead Conan must turn his back on a living dragon and perform a couple more utterly irrational acts to defeat it.

Although the game often does a decent job of conveying the flavor of the Hyborian Age, occasionally it goes horribly wrong. Conan, for example, spends much of the game desperately looking his magic armor that gets stolen early on. Elsewhere he has to sink a pirate ship using a ballista and as mentioned above, fights a dragon.


For the Larcenous GM: Some video games can provide good ideas for GM's, but unfortunately, this isn't one of them.  As the story is very thin, there are no plot hooks worth using. The Hyborian setting is already available for use in RPGs as is Conan himself. The Tomb might possibly provide some inspiration, but not much.

Value: At the original price of $60 this game was horribly overpriced. Even if you love the game, despite its flaws, $60 is far too expensive for a game that is supposed to last about six hours (I got tired of if much earlier). However, the price for a used copy is now around $4 to $8 used, which makes it a decent value.

Overall: Not good. While the game started out rather enjoyably, it soon became more tedious than fun. It does have some good points but these are marred by the game's flaws, especially the use of video game logic. I hesitate to give this one a grade because so much of my dislike of this one stems from my hatred of mandatory illogical actions. If you have a great deal of patience for that then at its current low price, this is a tolerable God of War wanna be and deserves a C+, if not then it is a D. 

Upcoming Reviews:  Game Products: Role Aids - Monsters of Myth & Legend, Throne of Evil, and Wizards. Books: Return to Quag Keep by Andre Norton and Jean Rabe and Man of Gold by M.A.R. Barker. Television: Marco Polo.

I'll be back more frequently.

Morale for the Treatise of Twisted Terrors

The Treatise of Twisted Terrors is an OSR compatible collection of monsters designed with the advanced version of the game in mind but with minimal changes can be used with original or classic rules or their clones. However, some editions and clones use morale for the monsters and therefore it is only fitting that this stat be available somewhere. Below are the suggested morale ratings for all the monsters in the book.








Abaia 13 - Adze 15 - Aguane 13 - Ahuizotl 9 - Akhlut 16 - Ankou NM - Aswang 12 Aufhocker 11 - Bannik 11 - Basajaun 9 - Baykok NM - Bean Nighe 13 - Beast of Gévaudan 11 - Black Shuck 12 - Blemmye 12 - Bloody Bones 15 - Bulls, Aethiopian 14 - Chamrosh 6 - Gnome, Barbegazi 12 - Chupacabra 11 - Clurichaun 12 - Cuélebre 14 - Cynocephaly 12 - Demon, Abbey Lubber 6 - Demon, Al 12 Demon, Ala 16 - Demon, Amanojaku 10 - Djieien 17 - Domovoi 8- Draugr NM - Dullahan 13 - Duwende 7 - Dziwozona 12 - Each-uisge 14 - Encantado 10 - Far Darrig 12 - Fenodyree 14 - Gancanagh 10 - Gashadokuro NM - Glaistig 12 - Grootslang 14 - Gulon 10 - Hag, Mountain (Yama-uba) 15 - Huldra 11 - Ijiraq 12 - Ilomba NM - Inugami 14 - Jackalope 8 - Jikininki 9 - Jorōgumo 14 - Kapre 12 - Kikimora 8 - Kikiyaon 12 - Kuchisake-onna 14 - Lambton Worm 18 - Lamminkin 10 - Lavellan 6 - Leshy 14 - Lightning Bird (Impundulu) 15 - Mokele-Mbembe 11 - Mongolian Death Worm 14 - Morgen 12 - Night Fairy (Negret) 3 - Piasa Bird 14 - Rusalka 13 - Vampire, Manananggal 10 - Wild Haggis 4 - Xana 12 - Yale 6 - Zombie, Infectious NM.

*NM means that the creature does not ever need to make a morale check.

Status Update

It has been a rough few months here at QDG, but things are finally back to normal (I hope.). The fifth QDG product, PO-2, is about halfway finished and allowing for play-testing, should be available sometime in February.  The module that was to be FM-3 was a seasonal adventure and has been delayed indefinitely. However, there will be more FM series adventures before then. As for the blog here, posts are resuming, but it has a been a bit too long of a delay to continue the section by section review of 5E D&D.

As of now, there are four QD products available, three of which are pay what you want. Two these have been reviewed elsewhere and links are provided to the full reviews.   

Treatise of Twisted Terrors
The first QuasarDragon Games product is collection of 70 new and re-imagined monsters for your OSR games. Currently only $2.

"At $2, this is really a steal. A" - OSR News and Reviews.

PO-1 The Stolen Child

The pleasant town of Sligo has its tranquility shattered when a young boy vanishes in the middle of the night. Investigating the disappearance, the characters discover lost ruins and an ancient plot for revenge and a long forgotten enemy of humanity. Will the characters be able to rescue the stolen child or will a cruel, wronged race be able to wreak vengeance on all humanity? An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 7-9. Pay what you want (suggested price $2)

FM-1 Baba Smerta
As night falls on the marsh and the fog blankets the land, the people of the surrounding villages lock their doors and pray that they will be overlooked by the minions of Baba Smerta. For nearly three generations they have suffered her tortures and humiliations. When one of her raiding parties takes on the PCs, though, have they bitten off more than they can chew? Will this long reign of terror finally come to an end? Suggested for levels 5-6. Pay what you want (suggested price $0.50)

"like something the should have appeared in an early issue of Dragon magazine, a ten page concise adventure module that centers itself on the challenges that surround and center on Baba Smerta & her domains [...]  makes excellent uses of its elements, themes, and more to really give a unique and some what unsettling old school adventure" - Swords & Stitchery.

FM-2 The Tomb (or Temple) of Asibare.
Lying undisturbed for ages, this accursed tomb is discovered by the characters and a great evil is encountered. Will they survive this brush with darkness or will they become its latest victims. An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, The Temple/Tomb of Asibare is designed for character levels 2-4 or an especially harrowing first level. Pay what you want (suggested price $1.95)

And finally, there is some very minor errata.
Errata:  Treatise of Twisted Terrors, The Stolen Child, and Baba Smerta all should read "advanced version of the game" instead of "classic version of the game" in the boxed text of their title pages.

Looking at the 5E Player's Handbook - part 1

There's finally been enough time to get started reading the new edition.

Cover - I'm still undecided about the cover. It is quiet good fantasy art, but is it D&D? The fire giant on the cover is far too large unless they are going to radically increase the the size of giants in the new monstr manual. Fire giants have always been about 12' tall and this one is at least 30' tall. I know I'm nitpicking, but having seen far too many manga-esque drawings in which ordinary humans are shown using giant swords that would weigh more than they do, any exaggeration of size seems silly.

The text on the back cover is simple and enticing - no problems there. And the odd smooth to rough transition on the back cover is noticeable, but really unimportant.

Cost - $49.95 for 328 pages (counting covers and blank pages). Ouch! If anyone wonders why it's so difficult to recruit new players, the rather steep entry fee might be a factor.  

Binding - Having had more than one game book fall apart after heavy reading, I've started to appreciate quality binding. Although only time will determine how well it lasts, this seems to be exceptionally well bound and unlikely to fall apart.

Preface - There's not too much to say about a preface, but with quotes like "collaborative creation," "create epic stories," and "strengthen friendships" in the text, it's clear the game is again on the right track. D&D isn't a video game; it's better than that, and should emphasize it.

Introduction -  It's difficult to remember not knowing what a role-playing game is, so it's really impossible for me to judge how effective the introduction is at explaining this. It seems to good with one exception. The overused, and frankly insulting, comparison to "childhood games of make-believe" serves no positive purpose and gives outsiders a completely wrong idea of what gaming is. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson weren't outside playing a fantasy equivalent to "Cowboys and Indians" and decided to make some rules to see who fireballed who first. absurd. It is wargaming with elements of theatrical method acting and collaborative storytelling mixed in, the proportion of each of these varying from group to group. Still, despite that pet-peeve, the introduction seems pretty good overall.

Step-by-step characters - As the title notes, this small section gives an overview of the steps in creating a character. There's nothing unusual here and each step is covered in more detail later in the book.

Races - Here we start getting to the meat of the book. All the old races from 1e are here, although gnomes half-elves, and half-orcs are considered "uncommon." There are only two "new" races, and both have appeared before. Tieflings have been around so long that they are almost "old school." I don't really care much one way or another about them, though it is interesting that they made it into the core and aasimar didn't. And unfortunately, dragonborn did make it  into the latest edition. This race has always seemed to be little more than munchkin bait for those who want a character who has a breath weapon. Although an exceptional role-player could turn one into an interesting character, far more if these will be played walking flame (or acid, lightning, ect.) throwers.

One thing I really like about the races is that there was clearly an effort made to make each race feel different through descriptions and rules. With different traits, as well as stat bonuses, each race is subtly different and has its own flavor.

While I do gave a few curmudgeonly complaints, so far this new edition is quite impressive and a vast improvement over the fourth edition.

Next time - Classes,

Baba Smerta

Now available at DriveThruRPG, "FM-1: Baba Smerta" This mini-adventure is a "pay what you want" product with a suggested price of only 50¢ but 0¢ is fine. It is also available at RPGNow.

"As night falls on the marsh and the fog blankets the land, the people of the surrounding villages lock their doors and pray that they will be overlooked by the minions of Baba Smerta. For nearly three generations they have suffered her tortures and humiliations. When one of her raiding parties takes on the PCs, though, have they bitten off more than they can chew? Will this long reign of terror finally come to an end? 

An OSR-compatible mini-module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 5-6, "Baba Smerta" is easily adaptable to other levels"

The informal review of the 5e Player's Handbook has been delayed slightly, but will start soon - I hope.

Misc

With all that's been going on, I've neglected to mention QuasarDragon Games' sister site QuasarDragon.  QD is an on-again, off-again website that has been linking to free, legal fantasy, science fiction, and horror since 2007. It's from there that QuasarDragon Games gets its name, not the "Shooting Quasar Dragon" card from Yu-Gi-Oh!, which came later. If you like those genres (are there any gamers who don't like at least one of them?) feel free to check it out.

QuasarDragon Games third product should be out in the next week or so. This, as of yet unnamed OSR mini-module will be very inexpensive. And starting this weekend, I'll be posting an informal multi-part look at the Fifth Edition D&D Player's Handbook.

And QuasarDragon Games' first product, The Treatise of Twisted Terrors, has just been reviewed at OSR News and Reviews and I'm dancing such a happy jig that you'd have to save vs insanity if you could see me.

The Stolen Child

Technical difficulties and personal loss have slowed posts, but PO-1: The Stolen Child is now available as a Pay What You Want download at DriveThruRPG

The pleasant town of Sligo has its tranquility shattered when a young boy vanishes in the middle of the night. Investigating the disappearance, the characters discover lost ruins and an ancient plot for revenge and a long forgotten enemy of humanity. Will the characters be able to rescue the stolen child or will a cruel, wronged race be able to wreak vengeance on all humanity? An OSR compatible module for any old school RPG or modern clone, designed for character levels 7-9, The Stolen Child is easily adaptable to other levels.