This week, we’ve played the first session of our Conan 2d20 campaign. For this campaign, I was inspired by my readings about the fall of the Roman Empire, movies like “The Last Legion” and “Centurion”, and the old “Age of Conan” MMO.
For over two decades now, Conan is King of Aquilonia. He has sired an official heir to the throne, a 16 year old lad called Tiberio (one of the player characters), but now, things are looking grim - the kingdoms of Nemedia, Koth and Ophir have amassed huge armies and are successfully conquering Aquilonia and its capital Tarantia (with the support of some corrupt Tarantian nobles)! King Conan sees no choice but to send his son on a diplomatic mission to the icy realm of Asgard to secure the support of the Bandit King Atzel. The Bandit King’s warriors, attacking the Nemedian army from the rear, could turn the tide of the war and save Aquilonia from devastation. Tiberio is aided in his mission by one Titus Varro, member of the elite king’s guard, the Black Dragons (player character) and Teela, a Bossonian scout hired to guide them safely through the wilderness (another player character). Tagging along is Ashtikar, a diplomatic envoy from Vendhya (the final player character). King Conan wants him gone from Tarantia, so he doesn’t get captured or accidentally killed by the Nemedian invaders.
The first session was lots of fun! I’d prepared a simple combat scenario against two squads of Nemedian Legionnaires, each led by a (Toughened) Centurion, and two squads of Shemite archers. The PCs felt appropriately heroic - Tiberio killed three Legionnaires with one strike of his battleaxe, while Teela was decimating the enemy archers with her mighty Bossonian longbow. The Shemite archers were in turn the more dangerous adversaries because Ashtikar had no shield and Tiberio lost his due to a Complication. Both PCs had one Harm each and were nearly out of Vigor at the battle’s conclusion.
I’m already excited for the next session!