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Post by wulfgar on May 8, 2008 8:43:47 GMT -5
Hi all,
I'm new to the Conan RPG and ZeFRS, but of what I've read of the rules so far the system looks very interesting. I'm thinking of doing a S&S one-shot (which could turn into a longer campaign) for my gaming group. Right now I'm considering using ZeFRS, Barbarians of Lemuria, or some homebrew hybrid of the two.
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finarvyn
New Member
Dungeon Master
Posts: 2
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Post by finarvyn on Jul 20, 2008 15:54:57 GMT -5
I'm new here as well. Looks like nobody wants to give advice on this, or perhaps it's just assumed that anyone on these boards would automatically pick ZeFRS.
I've owned the TSR Conan RPG for quite a while, but confess that I never really gave it much of a playtest. The ZeFRS rules did catch my attention, however, and I'm reading through it.
I've heard good things about Barbarians of Lemuria and Broadsword looks interesting as well, but I've never actually played either one.
I'd like to find a fast-play pulp-style Swords & Sorcery game, however and keep looking around.
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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 31, 2008 7:25:52 GMT -5
Nah, it's not that nobody wants to give advice. It's just that, sadly, since we finished the project the forums just aren't that busy. I wish it weren't the case, but alas...
Perhaps if we could get some actual play experiences and generate some real interest that way, it'd change.
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Post by thegreyelf on Jul 31, 2008 7:37:56 GMT -5
I guess, also, that I should actually give some advice since I posted. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with ZeFRS. It was light years ahead of its time in game design, and holds up very well as a fast, rules-lite, fun system. I'm speaking as someone who normally abhors percentile systems, but ZeFRS fixes every problem I've ever had with them. I've toyed strongly with the idea of putting it up on Lulu or cafepress as a hardcopy (at their base prices; making no profit, of course) because it might find better acceptance in that format, but I'd want to do some redesign on the layout, and I haven't gotten the time to dive into that (it'd require me almost starting from scratch).
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Post by oltekos on Aug 2, 2008 6:19:32 GMT -5
I'm also new here, & to ZeFRS as well. I never heard of the TSR Conan RPG until recently, so I decided to download ZeFRS & take a look at it. So far, I really like what I see; very rules-lite & quick to play. Great Work!
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Post by markkrawec on Aug 2, 2008 20:01:17 GMT -5
I've toyed strongly with the idea of putting it up on Lulu or cafepress as a hardcopy (at their base prices; making no profit, of course) because it might find better acceptance in that format, but I'd want to do some redesign on the layout, and I haven't gotten the time to dive into that (it'd require me almost starting from scratch). Could we really do that? Someone asked about a POD hardcopy in the past & I said I thought we couldn't even do a "pay what it costs to get it printed & we get none of the money" deal because we don't actually own anything. Or would that fall under the same "can't own an algorithm" deal that enabled LL & Mutant Future? If so, I could at least help out by providing a rolled-up version that combines the original material plus the companion rules that you could beat into presentable shape. Oh, & welcome to all the new people! Glad you're enjoying it.
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Post by thegreyelf on Aug 25, 2008 9:12:54 GMT -5
As long as we're not making profit I think we're in the clear. After all, offering a PDF is no different than offering a no-profit bound version.
I haven't explored how much you rewrote to be certain of the "can't copyright a rule, only the expression" caveat.
How much of it is verbatim and how much is re-worded?
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Post by markkrawec on Aug 25, 2008 20:47:18 GMT -5
How much of it is verbatim and how much is re-worded? The whole chargen section is verbatim, plus a couple of paragraphs of the combat section & I think the Necromancy talent. Wouldn't take me long to redo those bits, though.
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Post by thegreyelf on Sept 30, 2008 8:47:13 GMT -5
Well, the stuff that's verbatim would have to be re-worded, and to be completely in the clear we'd have to think of another way to express the resolution system. My thought off the top of my head is that rather than a chart we'd just offer a table listing percentile values for each level of success based on your Trait. It could be done, with a bit of work, but as it stands it's just a reproduction of the same expression...which is technically a no-no.
If we still used the chart but altered the colors, that might technically be enough to get us by.
If we used the chart but altered the colors and changed the required percentage scores--even by a mere 1 or 2% up or down--that would definitely be enough to get us by, and wouldn't change the functionality of the game at all.
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Post by markkrawec on Sept 30, 2008 20:32:14 GMT -5
Funny you should mention. I've been working on a rolled-up version that includes the stuff from the companion in a single volume with new text to replace the verbatim parts. The chart was giving me pause. There are a couple of things that I've been considering:
1) adopt Max's alternative color system (white, green, yellow, red, black)
2) take the beginning, end & rating 0 points of the scale for each degree of success, then plot a more regular curve from one to the other
Maybe both?
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Post by thegreyelf on Oct 1, 2008 8:27:35 GMT -5
Either or both of those could work. Or, as I said, we could (in addition to adopting the alternative color system) simply change the target numbers for each level by 1. That's really all you need do. The chart has to look different and produce slightly different results...unless we can reprint the algorithm used to produce the results in the first place. In that case, all we need do is change the colors.
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Post by markkrawec on Oct 1, 2008 10:16:26 GMT -5
I puzzled over the formula behind the scores for some time, but never could come up with anything that matched the results on either side of -10 & +10. The best I got was what the "not using the chart" table is based on. I wonder whether there's a formula behind it at all, or whether the tails were more or less hand-drawn.
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