The New Conan 2d20 Core

[Valatar]

It's their first ruleset, give them some time (and constructive feedback) so they can get it polished up. I don't know enough about 2d20 to be able to identify spots where the ruleset could be better automated, hopefully people more familiar with the system will be able to provide examples that help the NerdEye team improve the ruleset. And as a free bonus, any enhancements for this will also help future Modiphius games, so it's a win for everyone.

[ShotGun Jolly]

It's their first ruleset, give them some time (and constructive feedback) so they can get it polished up. I don't know enough about 2d20 to be able to identify spots where the ruleset could be better automated, hopefully people more familiar with the system will be able to provide examples that help the NerdEye team improve the ruleset. And as a free bonus, any enhancements for this will also help future Modiphius games, so it's a win for everyone.

Correct, this can open things up like John Carter, Mutant Chronicles.

I am more concerned with it being a functional ruleset. I love my own conan extension, using morecore. But that is full of bolt on, stuff stolen from other rulesets and doesn't have the fluidity that I would want, if I had the skills to make my own ruleset.

But what Nerd Eye Games got made is a great spot to start. My biggest hope is that it gets optimized for FGU.

I remember a time when the savage worlds ruleset left a lot to be desired. That has come a long way too. I think this was released to help satisfy some of the kickstarter promises, with all the delays they been having, to show they are still working forwards to completion.

Other then the few issues, I already posted elsewhere. I am happy enough with it. And its only gonna get better.

For additional features, I would like to see additional personal momentum counters added to the character sheets.

[Valyar]

I was really excited when I heard that a ruleset is in the works. Funny enough, I still am.

Unfortunately, my position here will be on the negative side. I don't think it is good start. You cannot ask price that is more than the core rulebook in print without the full content (i.e. the missing adventure), no visuals and tokens and combat automation. If the price was half, then I can let go and give it a slack, but for this price... hardly. I believe the developers should have done better preparation and be more verbose with their roadmap and implementation plans now, as the ball is dropped.

I have already converted half of the books into the community one, so the incentive to buy this are close to none, but I will do it anyway if the improvements are significant.

[lostsanityreturned]

I was really excited when I heard that a ruleset is in the works. Funny enough, I still am.

Unfortunately, my position here will be on the negative side. I don't think it is good start. You cannot ask price that is more than the core rulebook in print without the full content (i.e. the missing adventure), no visuals and tokens and combat automation. If the price was half, then I can let go and give it a slack, but for this price... hardly. I believe the developers should have done better preparation and be more verbose with their roadmap and implementation plans now, as the ball is dropped.

I have already converted half of the books into the community one, so the incentive to buy this are close to none, but I will do it anyway if the improvements are significant.

Same boat, also while I sympathise it was also a choice somewhere to release it unfinished.

Just like I said about FGU, I think releasing something in an unfinished state is dangerous (obviously more for FGU as it is a platform) but same goes for rulesets. Even if 50% of what is missing comes in next week, people looking might end up comparing it to what is missing now when looking at forum posts and the like or end up cautious because of it.

We shall see, if it is good I will get it eventually, if not I will keep using my own FGU next to no automation hack.

[ProfDogg]

It's a good working product. I built Vultures of Shem within 2 hours after getting it. That will actually be added in on the next update scheduled for Tuesday. The remaining content will be added in shortly. I was one of those people PUSHING to get the ruleset because I don't need art or adventures. I needed a functional VTT table. The rest is being added eventually. Buy it whenever you think you want to run the game and you won't be disappointed because whether now or later eventually all the sourcebooks will be there and if not already then it it easy to add those resources in manually if you have the pdfs. I'll add the caveat that if you don't have the pdf's or the books then you would be disappointed but otherwise you ought to be good. I attached a screenshot of a collage of some of the material for my game. The decal is from another FG source but it was a great scene for the setting.Screenshot.png

[ProfDogg]

Here's another: Screenshot2.png

[Jonin]

I like those screenshots.

[vegaserik]

It's a very functional rule set. It's pretty easy to import art, create tokens, use other token packs - I have both D&D plus the Balder's Gate packs - they all open and look great for Conan. I put in the quickstart adventure "Pit of Kutallu" in about an hour. They've already said the core book adventure is coming this Tuesday in the update. I'm not sure what else some people want for this?

[Trenloe]

The ruleset is totally functional.

Yes, there are a few things not quite there yet, and I know that some of those are being worked on. Like some, I don’t particularly understand why extra content (which some see as “missing”) is coming a week after initial release. I’m not privy to everything that was going on behind the scenes for the last few months, so maybe there was some overriding reason why this happened. The upshot is that some people who’ve purchased the product have requested refunds. Will they come back in the future, I hope so... Whereas a lot of us are happy and excited to see major updates so soon.

As some background for those who aren’t familiar with the development model for Fantasy Grounds products. I work hundreds of hours to produce official products for Fantasy Grounds, and the level that’s expected for those official products is very high - sometimes I don’t reach the level expected (for numerous reasons) and sometimes I have to cut corners to get a product out ASAP, releasing updates at a later date. This is not my day job, it’s a labour of love and the small amount of commission I gain helps to fund my gaming hobby - this is the same for all FG DLC developers. If I was spending those hundreds of hours purely as a means to gain money; I’d get much, much more working in the fast food industry at the lowest wage level. FG developers don’t do this for money, we do it for the love of our hobby, for the love of a specific game and allowing people to play that game online with our favourite VTT. A lot of people on these forums and elsewhere do all of this for free - contributing to the community with their own hard work in their free time, and I sometimes shake my head at the expectation and pressure from a very small percentage of users, but that’s the same everywhere.

But... there is a big difference between a good community project and a commercial product which people pay money for. Everyone who spends their hard earned cash on a product has the right to an opinion. I don’t subscribe to the old adage of “the customer is always right” (a lot of times they aren’t), but if feedback is constructive and realistic (and the available supporting documents/web pages have been read) then those people all have a right to give feedback - and it should be good for the future of the product. I know as a developer there’s nothing worse than to to pull out all the stops and deliver a product and the first few comments after release are derogatory - it’s soul destroying and can make me a little angry. But, like I say, people who pay for a commercial product have the right to give feedback, hopefully giving good ideas to potentially make the product better in the future.

So... why am I saying all of this... Again, to reiterate, the product is totally usable as is. But...
- Yes, it would be nice if there could be more artwork. I assume that the developers have access to the original art files. Allowing them to resize at a good level of quality to have them available in FG. Having good artwork in an FG product adds so much to it - the GM can share with players as flavour images, and it can help the GM get into the mood when reading through the reference manual, etc..
- As a developer I don’t assume that the user owns the rulebook already - for many this could be their only purchase of the whole product (not just the ruleset). If the rulebook data is being provided in any form within the product, then it’s nice to have it in as good a form as possible. The FG reference manual makes it possible to present the data in a similar format to the original product. Having artwork from the original product makes this experience so much better for all users.
- If the devs have access to the original artwork then it’s a major bonus for that artwork to be used to make FG portraits (player relevant artwork) and tokens. Many of us have a lot of portraits and tokens already, but there could be many new users coming to FG for the first time because of the new FG product and they won’t have relevant portraits or tokens to use. Providing tokens and portraits from the artwork is, yes, a nice-to-have - but it makes for such a much, much better experience.

None of the above are deal breakers for me. But, personally, I was a little disappointed that the first release of the FG product didn’t have some of the evocative artwork from The original Modiphius rulebook. And I was also surprised that the first release didn’t have the adventure from the rulebook included to allow me to invite my friends for a game immediately - but, as we know, this is being rectified in short order.

A lot of us have been spoiled with the high level of FG products available to rulesets that have been around for many years, with established developers and processes. And this can lead to a very high level of expectation when any new FG product is released, let alone an amazing new ruleset and the initial library data to go with it.

In the end, this is the first commercial FG product (at least to my knowledge) that this promising gaming collective has produced. This is not their usual job, as I say it’s a labour of love, and they’ll never make more than hobby and snack money from it. As such, they’re going to be learning as they go along, working to get the process between them, SmiteWorks and Modiphius operating smoothly and engage the community for support and feedback. It’s great that they have future products planned and that we’re going to get an update to the base product so quickly. Hopefully they’ll continue that and take onboard feedback to help to improve this product line and make it a great gaming product that allows many people to play this (and other Modiphius games) online with their friends and becomes a flagship line that promotes Nerd Eye Games, Fantasy Grounds and Modiphius within and outside of this space.

Thanks Nerd Eye Games for bringing Conan to our favourite VTT! Please take constructive criticism as the community wanting this product to be the best it is, for us and for people experiencing Conan and Fantasy Grounds for the first time. I know the product is in good hands - I look forward to seeing what you will bring to us in future and good luck with all that you do.

[goodmanje]

I bought the ruleset. It's been so long since I read the rules that I have to start over to learn how to play. Looking forward to playing on FG so I'm excited we now have an official ruleset.