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Conan RPG

Acheronian Edition Houserules


Taken From https://conan-ae.obsidianportal.com/wikis/acheronian-edition-rules, February 2015

This is a set of house rules aimed to repair certain Code of Honor grants +2 to Will, +4 vs Corruption. Faith
mechanical imbalances in Mongoose Conan d20. High gives +1 to Will.
level play (10+) has sorely needed several fixes. The
Second Edition of the Mongoose Conan RPG failed to Class Fort Ref Will Notes
Bandit +1 +1 - +1 dodge
address any of these things. Thus behold this Acheronian
Barbarian +1 +1 - +1 dodge
aberration that slithers forth to blast your sanity with its
Borderer +1 +1 +1
unholy rules…. It is based on Conan d20 Atlantean Edition. Martial
If not mentioned otherwise, the game still follows those +1 +1 +1
Disciple
rules. Noble +1 - +1
Nomad +1 +1 -
Hit Points Seamanship bonus
Characters receive HPs worth full class HD + Constitution Pirate +1 +1 - adds to both attacks
score from the first level. This means that a Soldier with and dodge
Scholar - - +2 +1 Magic Attack
Con 18 will get 28 HP at the first level. Further levels grant
+1 to attacks, +1
1/2 HD + Con modifier up to level 10 (9 HP per level for a Soldier +2 - -
parry
Soldier with Con 18). Levels after 10 grant +1,+2,+3 to hit Temptress - +1 +1
points according to the Atlantean Edition rules. This rule Thief - +2 -
applies only to humanoids and common animals.
Monsters are not limited by 10 HD rule! Skills
Certain skills have decided to marry and form a happy
Attack and Defences union. Balance + Escape Artist + Tumble = Acrobatics.
Attack and defence progression has been radically Climb + Jump = Athletics. Disable Device + Open Locks =
changed. Now it follows 4E/Star Wars Saga guidelines. Mechanics. Hide + Move Silently = Stealth. Listen + Spot =
Every character receives +1 to Attack, Parry, Dodge, Magic Perception. Bluff has brutally murdered, cooked and
Attack, Fort, Ref and Will every even level. (+1 at devoured Disguise. Forgery is now a Craft skill. Someone
2,4,6,8,10 etc) The first character level gives certain basic hanged Use Rope. Acrobatics can’t be used for escaping
bonuses. You can only receive a basic bonus once – so Grapple, but one can use Dex as a base for an escape
multiclassing does not grant basic bonuses from the other check instead of Str. (It would be too easy to get
classes. Prestige classes give no additional benefits to extremely high Grapple escape check.)
defenses and attacks.
New skill: Knowledge (Demonology)
Monsters and animals count their HD as levels for defence This is knowledge for fell sorcerers and madmen about
and attack progression. Most animals should get +1 Fort & things from Beyond. It can be used to identify demons,
Ref, while small creatures may get +2 Ref and big know stuff about Mythos and so forth. It gives far more
monsters +2 Fort. Outsiders and undead have +1 to all accurate and detailed information than Knowledge
saves. Every character gets an extra attack every fifth (Arcana). However, the more you know, the more
level, starting from 5. These attacks have the usual attack susceptible you become to the Corrupting effect of those
penalties of extra attacks in d20 (i.e. a level 5 character same forces. Every three ranks in this knowledge grants -1
has one attack with his normal bonus and another at -5). penalty to Corruption and insanity saves.
Thieves have their skill point gain reduced to six per level, additional Sorcery Style, immediately granting the basic
since many of their class skills have been merget. They still spell. This feat can be taken multiple times to gain access
profit from the change, perhaps encouraging some cross- in several extra styles.
class skill picks.
Master Alchemist
Healing wounds works a bit differently. Heal check to This feat is based on the Savant variant of the Scholar
treat a wound so it doesn’t get infected is DC 15. In class. Scholar may take either Knowledge is Power or
addition, first aid heals the character as the skill check -15. Master Alchemist on the first level. MA allows the
So a Heal result of 30 will recover 15 hit points. A second character to choose 1 + Int modifier alchemical recipes.
check can be made as long-term treatment. He may then produce them at half the usual cost. A
Scholar that has chosen KiP may take MA with a feat or
No synergies, they are too messy.
the other way around.
Feats & Sorcery Power Attack & Magic Power Attack
MAB requirements for feats, spells and prestige classes
The limit for both is character level / 2. (Max -5 to hit with
are now requirement x 2 = level. In other words, Dread
PA on level 10 and so forth.)
Serpent (Prerequisite: MAB +4) now requires eight
character class levels or monster HD. Any class will do, so Feint
Scholar 2/Barbarian 4 may gain access to spells that Bluff check is taken as an opposed roll versus level / 2 +
require MAB +3 or six levels in Acheronian Edition. Sense Motive. So if a thief tries to feint a second level
Soldier, he rolls against the bluff check result with 2 + Wis
All classes except Scholar count as a half caster level – + Sense Motive ranks.
Scholar 2/Barbarian 4 has four caster levels in regards to
spell effects.(Scholar levels provide full caster level.) Ranged Finesse
All ranged attack automatically use Finesse as per melee
BAB requirements are replaced with an equal level rules with no feat required. Ranged Finesse only works in
requirement. For example, Improved Critical requires BAB point-blank range (30 feet). If the target is concealed from
+8. In the Acheronian Edition this converts to eight the attacker, Ranged finesse can not be used.
character levels regardless of a class.
Greater Mobility
Dabblers may select any Sorcery Style that does not A character with Greater Mobility may move up to his
normal speed as part of a full attack action rather than
require other Sorcery Styles as a requirement. Thus
merely taking a five-foot step. He may move and attack in
Immortality and Cosmic Sorcery, for example, are not
any order, so he might for example move five feet, attack
available for a Dabbler, but Summonings and Necromancy once, move ten feet, attack twice more and then move
are. Sorcery is available once per week, not once per again for the remaining fifteen feet of his movement.
month. Greater Mobility does not apply if the character is using
any armor at all.
New feat: Student of Sorcery
Requires: Dabbler or one or more Sorcery Styles Improved Mobility
If a Dabbler takes Student of Sorcery, he gains a basic spell A character with Improved Mobility never provokes
attacks of opportunity so long as he moves at least 10 feet
in the type of sorcery he dabbles in. Effectively, he has
during that combat round. Note that improved mobility
gained access to the Sorcery Style and may learn further does not apply if the character is using heavier than light
spells from it through other means. (Sorcerous tomes, armor.
demonic instruction, feats and Scholar levels.) If a proper
sorcerer takes this feat, he gains one Advanced Spell. Intricate Swordplay
Parry bonus gained from Intricate Swordplay does not
New feat: Sorcerous Training stack with shields. Shields still grant dodge bonus against
Requires: Student of Sorcery missiles, if a character with the feat chooses to carry one.
Taking this feat grants the character access to an
Critical Hits & Massive Damage Followers gained through Leadership can be “spent” to
We use Paizo critical hit card deck. Critical hits are gain followers of higher level in 3-to-1 conversion. For
handled as per the deck. example, three first level followers can be “converted” to
Failed Fort save after Massive Damage results in a critical a one second level follower. Converting first level
hit as per a critical with the attack that caused MD. followers in to level four followers would thus cost a lot as
Results of this critical card may not cause a new MD, no the multipliers stack. It should still be possible if the player
matter how much damage it inflicts. If a normal critical hit
wants a small elite group of henchmen rather than a
causes a Massive Damage and the save is failed, the victim
suffers additional hurt worth the attacks maximum horde of peasants as his entourage.
damage. (20 + modifiers for a greatsword etc.) This
Thief gains Sneak Attack dice every third level, starting
additional damage may not cause a new MD. Touch spells
and alchemical bombs may score magical criticals from from first. (1 – 3 – 6 – 9 etc.)
the critical deck.
The following spells have been altered:
Hero Points & Fate Points
Astrological Prediction can give an insight bonus of
Four classic uses for Fate Points – Left for Dead, Destiny,
between +1 and +5, with the bonus increasing by one for
Might Blow and curing Corruption. These work according
every five points exceeded on the Knowledge (Arcana)
to Atlantean Edition. Fate Points are received only for
roll, past 15.
great heroics, reaching major goals and surviving against
incredible odds. Darting Serpent can be cast at one power point per caster
level, otherwise unchanged.
In addition, every character has one Hero Point per game
session or scene or one week of downtime. Thus if two Horoscope has been made more compatible with the fate
thieves go to rob tombs at two nights in a row, they have point rules in Acheronian Edition. Rather than gaining one
one Hero Point during each robbery. If an alchemist fate point every time a prediction is met, the target gains
spends four weeks in a laboratory, he has one Hero Point one “virtual” fate point when the spell is triggered: That
per week. GM may allow players recover used Hero Points is, when the preconditions laid out at the casting of the
at whim when they seem to need an edge and deserve it. spell are met.
Hero Points can be used for following purposes:
Make Gate requires a roll of Knowledge: Arcana and a
• Gain immediately +5 to Dodge and Parry for one Knowledge: Geography roll (substituting Astrology for
round Geography when travelling beyond Earth); The Arcana DC
• Reroll one d20 roll, such as an attack roll, is 10 plus five for every step on the pp cost table in the
initiative, skill check or save spell description, the other DC is 5 plus five for every step
• Immediately recover hit points equal to on the table. Also, each activation of the gate counts as a
Constitution score mighty spell.
• Ignore Terror of the Unknown
Shapeshifter no longer gives the character either the
• “Reset” Dabbler, allowing another use of sorcery
physical statistics or the HD of the creature transformed
• “Reset” demonic pact or other once per day/week
into. Rather, it modifies the character’s own physical
power, allowing another use
ability scores by the animal’s size modifier, plus small
Minor Tweaks static modifiers based on the animal type. Furthermore,
the caster must be intimately familiar with the type of
Crossbows have AP 6 and do 2d8 damage. Arbalests have
animal changed into, ritually sacrificing one example
AP 10 and do 2d10 damage. Both are simple weapons.
should suffice for this. The caster gains the movement
No arcane spell failure for wearing armor. type and speed of the animal transformed into, and gains
its natural weapons and senses (such as scent), but does
No High Living rule enforced. not gain any special attacks (such as pounce, rend or the
like)
Warrior’s Trance gives its attack bonuses to all melee
weapons wielded by the sorcerer

Purpose of the Acheronian Edition


Repairing attack and defence progression is the single
most important tweak. It accomplishes two things – first,
characters who are at the same level can no longer hit
each other trivially with every attack. Second, Power
Attack is no longer the guaranteed way to defeat every
opponent. Third, everyone has a chance to succeed in
almost every save even without a natural 20. Together
with hit point progression, massed amount of lower level
NPCs are now a much greater threat. They endure more
punishment and multiple attacker rule gives them
significant bonuses to hit. Combat and adventure in
general are more exciting at all levels.

Sorcery tweaks make it more possible for every character


to learn a little sorcery if desirable. This makes it easier to
build characters (NPCs and PCs) that can, for example, be
pure Nobles but still have a Demonic Pact without a need
for a third party sorcerer. Attack progression gives
Dabblers a chance to succeed in, say, a random
Counterspell against a real sorcerer. Pure Scholars will still
always be better in sorcery than feat-based tricksters and
multiclassed Scholars. Only Scholar levels provide more
Power Points, multipliers for extra PPs, “free” spells and
1-to-1 caster levels.

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