Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Barbarians of Lemuria Preferences

I'm curious, which version of BoL do you prefer?  The Legendary Edition, the Revised Edition, Legends of Steel version or even the free version?  And why?

I actually prefer a mixture of the versions.  I like the Lemuria setting that Mr. Washbourne presents but prefer the somewhat less exotic Legends of Steel setting.  Despite reading some of the original Thongor stories, I still have trouble imagining the heroes of the story riding lizards or birds.  My mind still steers me in the direction of the hero riding a snorting, rearing horse.  It might be fun to have an isolated culture be bird riders but not everyone!

I prefer the static armor values from the Revised Edition.  Although the variable armor values from the Legendary Edition may be more "realistic" I think the extra roll slows down the game just a bit.

On the other hand, I prefer the priest rules from the Legendary Edition.  In my mind, the mystical powers that the evil priests weilded in the stories were from studying sorcery or from pacts with the terrible creatures from the beyond.  So the evil priests need levels in the Sorcerer career to perform such magics.

How about you?

3 comments:

  1. I'm pretty much a Legendary Edition guy. I like variable armor because I got used to rolling it playing Stormbringer. It does take time, but adds a little suspense--is my helm going to protect me or not?

    Ditto on the priest rules. In Howard's Conan, it was made clear priests got their supernatural powers from studying sorcery. The Fate Point system is far more subtle and appropriate.

    Every now and then I'll crib a couple rules from Dogs of War--like adding ranks for Soldier or other martial careers to initative. DoW came out after Legendary Edition, and seems to add some refinements to the rules.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe Simon is seriously considering creating a new version of the game as well that would include various refinements suggested by people on the Lords of Lemuria forum and in other places.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If Mr. Washbourne does produce a new version, I will buy it. Just like I have every other version. I have Dogs of War, Barbarians of the Aftermath, Legends of Steel, Honor + Intrigue, both Dicey Tales, Legendary Edition, Revised Edition, and the free version. (Did I miss anything?) So, one more edition? The more the merrier!

    ReplyDelete