Customer Reviews

Conan: The Pirate Isles (Conan (Mongoose Publishing))

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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This is a sourcebook for Mongoose Publishing's Conan: Role Playing Game. It is written to give source material, game rules and character options for enriching the pirates who plague the seas of the Hyborian world. There are distinct (and usually competitive) groups of pirates, as well as lone ships, and each of the possibilities are delved into in this book.

Mr. Darlage has drawn inspiration from the source material of Howard's stories and I assume those of the later pastiche writers. There are more options for feats available; wierd & fell beasts of the seas which could plague a ship; an innovative system to simply yet thoroughly create ports or towns for pirates to frequent, raid or spy on; plenty of ideas to make adventures from, and even new spells and magical items which sorcerers plying the seas could employ. The overall system is made to be quick rather than tedious, as Darlage notes the stories never dwell on calms when ships are stranded without winds to stir the sails. Rather, the stories skip the down time, and concentrate on combat and plot twists which are common, and the book suggests how to employ both. Depending on which type of pirate group you're considering, different types of ships are listed (though without detailed deckplans, the book has isometric sketches to show what they'd look like) and game stats for such vessels; as well as types of captains, officers, or crews (descriptions and NPC templates). If you want, weather systems (tables) are offered, as well as chases & combat sequences, since naval warfare is rather different from on land, this is a great part of the book.

A good purchase if you're even considering adding these scurvy dogs to your game, aaargh. :)

Hope this review helps.

I must state that this review deals with the First Edition of Pirates, not what looks to be a Second Edition. The cover is currently different from the module I own and so is the page count. In my booklet it was 127 pages while the new one has 200 pages; thus I must assume there is added information in the Second Edition which I know nothing about. My review is relevant only for the book I read, which I believe to be a First Edition printing of Conan: Pirate Isles.

Simply put, this supplement is one of the best I've ever read for any fantasy-themed role playing game. The booklet details characters from the Conan mythos and also goes into great detail when it comes to the ships, their deckplans and the dangers their crews will face on the Western Ocean. Add to that the new spells and the fleshing out of rules regarding pirates, their nationalities and the lives they lead, and this is more than a Five-Star book!

The artwork is great as are the sample adventures detailed at the end of the booklet. It gives a Gamemaster great ideas to expound upon and flesh out for later campaigns. I'm glad that Mongoose published other similar supplements for the Conan adventure game, for they will all blend in well together when collated by an experienced Gamemaster.

My one quibble is I noticed some bad spelling and syntax within the booklet that would lead to poor word placement ("Character" For "Charter"). But these dozen mistakes in no way hampered my enjoyment of the booklet. I highly reccomend this supplement to anyone interested in conducting a pirate campaign in Conan or D&D settings. One more thing, if you want to read about real life pirates, check out David Cordingly's Under The Black Flag. You won't be disappointed in that book either.

A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.