http://xoth.net/publishing/xp1/index.htm
Has anyone taken a look at this? I haven't had a chance to inspect them closely, but the previews look very good; excellent layout, good artwork, and the writing is decent, too. The maps range from very good to "eh...."
It's for the Mongoose Conan stuff, but apparently an AD&D/OSRIC version is in the works.
QuoteSunken Temples and Serpent-Haunted Vaults
Enter the City of Stone and slay the high priest of Jul-Juggah! Plunder the ancient gold of Namthu! Seek the fabled jewel of Khadim Bey, but beware the nameless horrors of the Al-Khazi desert! Fight the dread adepts of the ape-god, or succumb to the pleasures of the Moon-Juice of Yaatana! Or perhaps you will perish by the curses of Ur-Kharra, the long-dead sorcerer-king of Elder Kuth?
Savage Swords and Sinister Sorcery
"The Spider-God's Bride and Other Tales" is a collection of ten blood-red sword and sorcery adventures, inspired by the pulp era tales of Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Venture in the footsteps of Conan the Cimmerian, Satampra Zeiros of Uzuldaroum, Imaro of Nyumbani, and other fabled thieves, reavers and slayers!
Based on the standard third edition rules and including new variant rules, the adventures in this book can be used in any sword and sorcery setting and be easily adapted to any fantasy roleplaying game ruleset or edition.
Book features:
- 10 fully detailed, stand-alone adventures for levels 1-10
- More than 40 dungeon and city maps
- Background information on the lands, races and gods of the World of Xoth
- New core classes, feats and spells suited for swords and sorcery gaming
- New monsters and creature templates
- New weapons, armor, and herbal and alchemical items
- Accompanied by a complimentary 66-page Conversion Booklet for the Conan RPG by Mongoose Publishing, including complete statistics for monsters and non-player characters
I'm pretty sure the host of the Xoth website is the same guy who wrote Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia for Necromancer Games. If so, I wouldn't hesitate to buy his adventures. AK:M is one of the best-written and imaginative source books I've read.
I agree, Haffrung. AK:M was great. Vastly underrated (as in, I never hear anyone talk about it, I guess).
I'm confused though. Is this World of Xoth a fan add-on to Hyborea? I'm not really up on my Conan/R.E.H. mythos/geography.
There was a Mesopotamia book?
Holy crap. That's my favorite archaeological/anthropological subject. Must...have...it.
If you're looking for historical accuracy, I wouldn't suggest it.
Dead Cities in the Desert
A city of unspeakable antiquity, buried for centuries beneath the desert sands, has been rediscovered deep in the accursed desert known as the Red Waste. Dare you enter The City That Worshipped a Thousand Gods, seeking the treasures and relics of its Hierophants? Beware the lurking terrors of a bygone age!
Treasures of Darkness
Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia™ is a huge sourcebook with numerous new classes, deities, monsters and magic items, including a series of short adventures. Explore ancient ruins, temples and dungeons of the lost city of Ibnath, and the perilous wilderness areas that surround it. The Ziggurat of the Ghoul-Queen awaits!
New spells, new classes and new environmental challenges! Vast regions to explore and epic quests to complete. Destroy the Cult of the Pit Worm Yhath! The definitive d20 sourcebook for Mesopotamia, the land of the Elamites, Assyrians and Akkadians. Expanded desert rules and source material make this a unique offering for your gaming table. 10 related short adventures make this a single source for adventure in the lands of Babylon and Ur. Dozens of new monsters, spells, magic items and character classes, all found nowhere else.
Hell the cover (http://www.necromancergames.com/previews/meso_coverimg.html) should tell you it's not just about history!
But it's oh so cool.
The Hyborian Age (http://hyboria.xoth.net/index.htm) website (xoth.net) is hosted by the guy who wrote Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=18&products_id=980&it=1), a 3E sourcebook and campaign that was perhaps better suited to the Conan RPG.
Honestly, it's frickin' awesome. 3E crunch aside, it's about 100 pages of pure sword and sorcery RPG setting goodness. Cursed nomads, a sea of bones, a lost city of the vampire queen, a huge sand worm worshipped by a star cult, and a full-detailed lost city filled with jackal demons and undying heirophants.
Thanks for the info, Kaz!
For my games, I look at it this way:
COOL > historical accuracy
So the Mesopotamia book (and this XP1 thingie) is definitely going on the wishlist.
Looks interesting. I really liked the author's Mesopotamia and his Hyboria website (http://hyboria.xoth.net/index.htm). If a version with OSRIC/1e stats is made available, I'll very likely get it. Thanks for the heads-up, KenHR.
Some interesting rules for running Conan/S&S-style games with 1e AD&D here:
http://hyboria.xoth.net/rules/adnd_hyborian_age.pdf
The book is sitting on my dining/gaming table at home, and I have been slowly reading through it. It is perhaps too much of an "adventure path" when taken as a whole, but I think the individual adventures, NPCs and settings are solid. I can recommend buying this one, although I don't think I will ever run it... too many stuff and too little time... :/
Quote from: Melan;278228It is perhaps too much of an "adventure path" when taken as a whole, but I think the individual adventures, NPCs and settings are solid. I can recommend buying this one, although I don't think I will ever run it... too many stuff and too little time... :/
That was my experience with Mesopotamia - lots of interesting bits but I'm not into pedetermined adventure paths.
Quote from: Nicephorus;278261That was my experience with Mesopotamia - lots of interesting bits but I'm not into pedetermined adventure paths.
Hmm. There's nothing in the Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia sourcebook that dictates the sequence of encounters - or even any presumed goals for the PCs. There's no meta-plot, besides a few notes about the various factions looking for tablets, etc. There's are some suggestions about story hooks and possible sequences of encounters, but that's it.
You could walk straight to the Lost City of Ibnath and loot it if you want, no problem. You can ignore the Mines of Sinmesh, or make it a focal location in an ongoing quest to defeat the Hierophant. You can ally with the Sons of Saram or kill them. The Cult of the Worm can be used as a plot hook, as a side-encounter, or ignored.
I'd hardly call it an adventure path.
I seem to remember a solid page or more on how to run the different adventures in various orders depending on how you wanted to play. So, I too am a bit surprised by the experiences expressed here.
Necromancy! Rise from the dead!
I'm feeling tempted to buy XP1: The Spider God's Bride, and XP2: Song of the Beast Gods. Any of you who have run or played it, what are your experiences? Is it easy to convert them to another system*?
*= Concretely I'm planning to use either MRQ2 or Savage Worlds.
Quote from: Claudius;468195Is it easy to convert them to another system*?
*= Concretely I'm planning to use either MRQ2 or Savage Worlds.
I mentioned this on rpg.net, but Mongoose is actually going to be releasing a new version of it for Legend (MRQ2).
It's true, there's going to be an MRQ2 version of The Spider God's Bride, a system more to my liking. Maybe I should wait.
On the other hand, a 25% off on Lulu is tempting, and it wouldn't be the first time I run something with a system I like instead of the system it's designed for.