I wrote a dark fantasy RPG a decade ago (Days of the Damned), but I have not published it, mostly because I thought I could do better (and I think I did - the games I published are significantly more polished).
Still, it had some fun ideas - many inspired by other RPGs - that I should consider using in my games (I might even give it a re-write and publish it one day).
One important aspect of DotD was synergy. It boils down to "if you succeed, add half your margin of success to the next roll (as long as the next roll is related)".
This bears some resemblance to 3e's "skill synergy" and, AFAICT, to (Modiphius 2d20) Conan's "momentum".
My method has some obvious use in combat - add half your margin to damage, which seems to work even better than this - but has many other uses as well.
For example, a thief could add synergy from sneaking to attacking, while a ranger could get a bonus to initiative or perception because he rolled so well in his nature check. A jousting tournament begins with a horse-riding check, which adds to your attack, etc.
Want to study a foe before attacking him? Same solution. Maybe fast-talk someone so they can lower their guard, or distract him to pick his pocket? Same.
Anyway, this is just a small idea that I remembered today because I read something about Modiphius' Conan and it sounds like they did something cool with a (vaguely) similar idea.
I considered getting their PDFs - I'm a sucker for S&S games, as you might have noticed - but then I remembered there is no longer a legal way to get the PDFs as "their license expired".
(I should have bought it at the time... sighs).
The thing is, Robert E. Howard died in 1936, and most his work (apparently, everything he published while living) SHOULD be in the public domain.... however, depending when where you live, they are NOT.
This is probably why you might have a hard time finding awesome Glenát comics (just google "Glenat Conan").
I think ANYONE should be able to publish a Conan game, but that's just wishful thinking.
This is not Modiphius' fault, of course. I'm sure they have their reasons - and better lawyers than I.
AFAICT, everyone could publish Conan stuff in the US by 2028... And even then someone might claim "trademark" to avoid this (although IMHO a common name shouldn't be subject to that either).
It just sucks that we lose access to lots of works written (or that could have been written) with inspiration by Howard, Lovecraft, or Burroughs because some company somewhere is trying to enforce copyright laws that are even more draconian than the minimum "50 years after the author's death".
Maybe Modiphius can publish all their material again under a different name ("Sword of the Barbarian", I dunno) so I can one day read it.
Or maybe I should check their John Carter book... let me know if it is any good!
BTW, if you ever want to read one of my books and cannot find or afford it, I encourage you to ask me for a discount, and I wouldn't mind if you get my books in other ways you can... That's all I'll say on the matter for now.
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