I am a fan of Conan, obviously. It was what introduced me to S&S and REH’s works was what inspired me to try both the genre and short fiction as well.

It isn’t just the stories I like, but also other forms of Conan; comics, movies, games. I kickstarted the Modiphius’ Conan TTRPG and also Monolith’s Conan board game (both of which I want to talk about at some point). I had always thought that the board game had the basis of a decent RPG hidden in it, so as exited to hear that Monolith was also doing a Conan TTRPG.

And now the quickstart guide is out, giving a glimpse at the game to come. While it isn’t a RPG version of the board game, there is a little bit of DNA from it in there. This isn’t going to be a review of it, just some initial thoughts – a proper review will come out when I get the full game.

For a S&S game to feel like one, it should endeavour to be about action and adventure, risk and reward and hopefully be fast paced. You wouldn’t want a system that was heavy on the book keeping – there are places for that style of game but I would argue that it isn’t really for S&S.

The good news is that is what the game aims for and delivers on from what is presented in the quickstart guide. There are more rules as yet to be seen in the full version, but I can’t see them bogging the game down.

The game has just the 4 stats – Might, Edge, Grit and Wits. Very appropriate for a S&S setting.

Might is of course for the physical strength of the character. Climbing, hitting things, lifting.

Edge is an interesting one, and covers both the physical and mental agility or sharpness of the character. If you are sneaking about, thieving, searching, noticing things, Edge is what you use.

Grit is your toughness and will to survive. When you are pressed to your limit, tired, hungry, thirsty, then Grit is what sees you through.

And Wits is about knowledge and interacting with people. And sorcery.

For a S&S system, that is really all you need.

There are no actual skills to be had; you don’t have to worry about having cooking (soup) or basketweaving to attempt anything; you just try it and use the appropriate stat. Makes it quick and fast and very much in the spirit of S&S.

On face value, Edge has the edge for usefulness. The skill checks it covers will see a lot of use, and throw in it also being used for initiative and avoiding being hit, as well as ranged attacks, and it is something you’d want as much of as you can get. On the other end of he scale, Grit appears as if you would get less use out of it, unless the GM is really using a lot of poisons, fear or playing up the survival aspect. But it also provides your Life points and Stamina points, and those you generally want.

In fact, there isn’t really a dump stat, unlike in other systems. A big, beefy brawler may want to drop Wits and a spell caster may feel they can dump Might but all stats are useful to everyone. Which I like. It will be fun to play around with character creation when it comes out – a warrior who emphasises his Wits over Might would be fun to play.

On the combat side, not having to wade through 50 pages of spells or work through a dozen different modifiers will make it fast, but Flex dice and Stamina pools give options for the unexpected and to do more than just swing a weapon.

The addition of minions I also like; it allows the characters to wade through groups of chaff without bogging the game down, but also still provides a threat for those who underestimate them.

Armour & shields function how they should – shields help prevent you being hit while armour reduces damage taken if you are hit. A dagger will struggle against heavier armour, while a heavy axe will get through a lot easier, which is logical.

Character creation isn’t shown yet, but from the pregen characters provided, in keeping with the rest of the system, it looks quick and easy, yet still provides varied characters. Choose an origin, assigned the four stats, pick a couple of skills, choose gear and you are ready to go.

The five pregen characters each use a different origin, and there are others yet to be seen, but each plays different just from those few choices.

Hanzi (From the Streets) is a swift moving, stealthy dagger user who is hard to hit and accurate with his daggers, but low damage.

Aengus (From the Hills) is there to hit things very hard with a big sword but don’t expect much from him on the thinking side.

Mhambi (From the Wilds) is an allrounder and the main ranged character. Decent melee fighter, decent stealth, decent range.

Davor (From the Blood of Jhebbal Sag) is a spell caster – not much good in a fight but can provide healing and, at the cost of his own life blood (which is very S&S), summon wolves to fight for him.

Gudrun (from the North) is the party tank. Decent melee damage, but high defences, armour to soak damage and good health mean they can hold the line.

So, yeah, when the character creation rules are available, I am going to have fun times experimenting with them.

That is just some quick initial thoughts – I may deep dive into the quickstart further in the future, and will certainly look at it in more detail when the game comes out. There are more rules to come, and, as ever, house rules to be made,

One house rule I will probably adopt is one I used in a S&S style modification of the old Cyberpunk rules. (Yes, it sounds odd, but it worked.) In it, any treasure the characters found could be used to buy things of use – or it could be blown on wine, women and song, and that was how they earned experience to gain skills. Very in keeping with S&S, and also meant they got blind drunk and then woke up somewhere new and unexpected with a new adventure looming.

In the meantime, keep your axes sharp and go cleave some skulls.