(Inspired by the recent Conan (https://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?40942-Conan-vs-Conan-Vs-Conan-vs-Conan-vs-how-many-of-these-things-are-there) thread.)
It's been a while since I read the Lankhmar books, but I'd like to reread them and possibly run a campaign. Here are the Lankhmar RPGs I found after a quick search, arranged reverse chronologically, with a few notes attached:
Dungeon Crawl Classics (2019)
Lankhmar Boxed Set. Officially licensed from the estate of Fritz Leiber! Several supplements and adventures.
Savage Worlds (2015)
Lankhmar: City of Thieves. There's a boxed set, and a PDF. Tons of supplements and adventures.
Mongoose RuneQuest (2007)
Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar.
AD&D 2E (1993)
Lankhmar City of Adventure. Other supplements and adventures.
AD&D (1985)
Lankhmar: City of Adventure. Was this a boxed set? I think I used to own it.
Let me know which one is your favorite, or if I have missed any. And if you prefer to use another system to run Lankhmar adventures, feel free to make a case for it! I'm torn between DCC and SW.
If anyone has the DCC Lankhmar, I'd love to hear about it. Especially any actual play XP.
I love Mythras, so Mongoose's Lankhmar works really well for me, and it is a pity that only one book came out.
I think that DCC Lankhmar looks like it will have the best flavour however, it seems like a perfect fit, and it's on my list to get the pdf at some stage.
There is also the AD&D Deities & Demigods section on Lankhmar.
And a board game from 76 by TSR. Lankhmar. Based on a wargame Leiber and a friend created back in the late 30s.
(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/imagepage/img/NO85ycLoF7VyJmxqWTJ-nKdmLsc=/fit-in/900x600/filters:no_upscale()/pic1146886.jpg)
Oh I'm a big fan of the Savage Worlds version. I really like the way they handled magic.
Magic in Savage Worlds is normally very tactical, but they made a much more methodical version.
I still have a copy of the 1985 City of Adventure supplement in good condition. With the exception of the silliness with the map (which I complained about recently in another thread) it still holds up as one of the better city supplements I've seen.
I'd never heard of the DCC version. It sounds interesting. DCC and Lankhmar seem like an ideal match.
I actually liked the silliness with the map. Only the outer building of each city block is on the map, with a random city geomorph facing a random direction used for the interior of each city block. I considered rolling for a different geomorph every time the player characters entered a particular block. I didn't do it.
This was the map I used for Greyhawk City in my campaign in the late '80s.
The 1e AD&D City of Adventure book (it wasn't a boxed set) was a surprisingly good treatment of the setting if you used the variant AD&D rules it included.
Quote from: Mankcam;1099987I love Mythras, so Mongoose's Lankhmar works really well for me, and it is a pity that only one book came out.
I think that DCC Lankhmar looks like it will have the best flavour however, it seems like a perfect fit, and it's on my list to get the pdf at some stage.
Mythras Lankhmar... sign me the hell up for that!
Quote from: Spinachcat;1099985If anyone has the DCC Lankhmar, I'd love to hear about it. Especially any actual play XP.
I picked it up this weekend at Dragonflight. It's packed with STUFF! A map of the city, a map of the region, a DCC guide, a player's guide and GM's guide, a newspaper with tons of behinds the scenes stuff.
I haven't played DCC yet, but I plan on putting into rotation at my local game club where I'm presenting Seattle RPG Carousel, a regularly rotating GM/Game platform for the system-curious. :-D
Quote from: Brendan;1100045Mythras Lankhmar... sign me the hell up for that!
Technically it is for Mongoose RQ/MRQ, but considering Mythras is a close BRP descendant of that system, then it might as well be Mythras Lankhmar. It tweaks the char gen and has Corruption rules for sorcery and such, but otherwise the stat block would be 90% (or more) compatible with Mythras.
If you are a Mythras GM, then Mongoose RQ2 Lankhmar is certainly worth hunting down for the collection
I actually don't own Mythras, but BRP/RQ2&3/Stormbringer/MagicWorld, so I'm good with that.
Although, on further reflection, it wouldn't be hard to just convert the material from the old AD&D book.
I only have the 1e version - good stuff, ran a fun high school campaign with it in the late '80s.
Quote from: trechriron;1100092I picked it up this weekend at Dragonflight. It's packed with STUFF! A map of the city, a map of the region, a DCC guide, a player's guide and GM's guide, a newspaper with tons of behinds the scenes stuff.
When you have the chance to read the book, please post a review. I'm particularly interested how it changes DCC to make it Lankhmar, or whether they changed Lankhmar to make it DCC instead.
Quote from: Brendan;1100115I actually don't own Mythras, but BRP/RQ2&3/Stormbringer/MagicWorld, so I'm good with that.
Although, on further reflection, it wouldn't be hard to just convert the material from the old AD&D book.
Well crossing from MRQ2/Mythras to Classic BRP isn't much of a big deal either, the stat blocks would be different, but its still BRP and about 70% compatibility between those streams.
The Magic (including Corruption mechanics) could be ported straight into BRP without any dramas
But if BRP is your gaming preference, then you'll be aware how easy it is to handwave stuff and convert on the fly.
Given that, then any rpg system is useful if you are after the Lankhmar content, so yeah porting AD&D Lankhmar would not be arduous.
Speaking of Lankhmar and Fritz. His father appears briefly in the old crime drama The Web with Vincent Price, and the Sea Hawk with Eroll Flynn. (Which did not know till recently). And Fritz himself appears as the professor in the movie Equinox. The original version has more of him in it and speaking. But is damn hard to find.
Quote from: Mankcam;1100197Given that, then any rpg system is useful if you are after the Lankhmar content, so yeah porting AD&D Lankhmar would not be arduous.
That raises an interesting question. If we assume "system matters" (and by that, I mean the rules of the system reinforce the genre of the game) then do we need a particular system to do Lanhkmar, or just a sourcebook containg people and places?
Is the action in Lanhkmar fast, furious, and fun, and would benefit from the Savage Worlds system?
Is it gritty and lethal, which would lead one to Gurps or RQ? (Btw, is RQ still lethal?)
How does magic work? Does OS Vancian casting make sense? What about 5e's endless cantrip bolts?
I recall there were many deities, but can't remember if Resurrection was a thing, or if clerics even had powers.
There was a standalone AD&D 2E-based boxed set in 1996: Lankhmar: The New Adventures of Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. Design by Shane Hensley.
Quote from: Aglondir;1100454That raises an interesting question. If we assume "system matters" (and by that, I mean the rules of the system reinforce the genre of the game) then do we need a particular system to do Lanhkmar, or just a sourcebook containg people and places?
Is the action in Lanhkmar fast, furious, and fun, and would benefit from the Savage Worlds system?
Is it gritty and lethal, which would lead one to Gurps or RQ? (Btw, is RQ still lethal?)
How does magic work? Does OS Vancian casting make sense? What about 5e's endless cantrip bolts?
I recall there were many deities, but can't remember if Resurrection was a thing, or if clerics even had powers.
In the stories the combat is definitely not 'gritty'; I'd say it fits best to Savage Worlds, with D&D a reasonable fit. d6 system might fit even better.
There are pew-pew casters flinging magic missiles and low power lightning bolts, as in the big fight when Mouser & Fafhrd return to Lankhmar. But magic seems generally looser and less formalised than in D&D. There are also big at-range summonings. Magic level is fairly high, much higher than in book-Conan.
Although I dig BRP, it is a bit too crunchy for the loose pace of Lankhmar.
So something pulpy would work well for Lankhmar.
At a stretch I think Savage Worlds could be okay, although peronally I'ld prefer to go for systems like OpenD6, Fate, Blades In The Dark, or BoL.
A very simple version of D&D would work well if the Magic is okay, so perhaps the Crypts & Things variant of S&W.
In many ways DCC is an excellent fit in terms of loose mechanics and pulpy sword n sorcery.
Lankhmar & DCC sounds like a perfect combo actually :)
Quote from: Mankcam;1100528Although I dig BRP, it is a bit too crunchy for the loose pace of Lankhmar.
There are different flavors of BRP though... Magic World/Stormbringer... or Openquest aren't very 'crunchy' at all.
I signed on for the DCC version though, as it does seem like a really good fit.
Yeah, come to think of it, I probably had my RQ Goggles on when I typed that.
Both Magic World and OpenQuest could work okay for Lankhmar.
I would probably go with Magic World, it seems to capture that classic rolling sword & sorcery vibe quite well.
Quote from: Philotomy Jurament;1100043The 1e AD&D City of Adventure book (it wasn't a boxed set) was a surprisingly good treatment of the setting if you used the variant AD&D rules it included.
Those rules are solid for using AD&D for any swords-and-sorcery flavoured campaign.
It's been a few years since I looked at them, but I suspect that you could rework the Conan AD&D modules into Nehwon for a pretty decent S&S campaign (or, alternatively, reskin Lankhmar into a decadent Hyborian city).
Quote from: Akrasia;1101015Those rules are solid for using AD&D for any swords-and-sorcery flavoured campaign.
Damn right. I loved those rules. It was really my first glimpse at how you can modify D&D to run a specific setting.
The AD&D version has the distinction of being the most-read city accessory in my ridiculously and unnecessary large RPG library.