It's a good, seriously tweaked, retroclone of original Basic, 1e, & 2e combined. I really like how they do subclasses, it's really ingenious. Like you, I hate glossy paper. I like to take notes in my books and shiny issuer makes that impossible.
I remember back in middle school, TSR did a print run of their light green character sheets on glossy paper. I accidentally bought a pack not knowing, and you couldn't erase _anything_ off those character sheets.
$50 each for such a high quality premium hardcover is on par with the current industry standard, the books are also better quality than what WotC is producing. In a time when a Sony Playstation 5 AAA game now costs 69.99, my morning coffee and pastry costs me nearly $10 in NYC, $100 is not nothing but it's not a lot to ask for the package imop considering the cost of living right now.. I don't get the 19 on value.. this games a 20 crit on every level. I bought the limited edition leatherette version and have no complaints about the cost. My only issue is I wish the limited edition cover was black and even more metal lol.
Good job Cap! Just got my Leatherette set yesterday and this helped remind me what was changed. I'm already thinking of "Hyperborea-izing" my regular D&D campaigns, I love this ruleset so much. Thanks for this, review soon.
I look very forward to my physical copies. My group has been playing Hyperborea since Garycon, where Capt Corajus ran us through the "Rats in the wall" adventure. Great fun! And since then has been my favorite contemporary fantasy system at the table.
Thanks for this. Our group is more likely to play Conan 2d20 as we are accustomed to the Achtung! Cthulu and other games by Modiphius. That said, fun to hear about this.
A little late to comment, but a great stumble upon review. Subscribed! I was debating pulling the trigger on Hyperborea RPG, and this convinced me. Thank you! One comment though - don't know who the third guy is in the photographs with HPL and REH, but it certainly isn't Clark Ashton Smith...
This is a 20 in my book. The only fault I have with the entire game is that levels stop at 12, but I can just use my BECMI and AD&D 1E stuff to create anything over that
I honestly don't have an issue with it at all. In the 40 years I've been playing, that's at about the point the characters are really just super heroes. At that point, they are most likely highly involved in the politics of the setting, and Hyperborea has pretty well defined rules on strongholds and the like... which is from the very beginnings of the game. At that point, there's a 'final' adventure with those characters and then, they become the 'NPCs' for the new characters, and the campaign starts anew. My campaigns generally run about three years or so, and then its time for a new batch of novice adventurers, so this suits my personal style of play perfectly. :)
@@captcorajus I just ended my longest game, 2 years in a 5E game. My players love getting to high levels and helping to shape the world around them. The only problem I have with 5E is that it feels like you start out a hero at level 1 and become a superhero very quickly. Going through Hyperborea, BECMI, OSE, and AD&D I don't feel the superhero vibe at all. Been playing 5E since it came out due to a former player wanting to play it, and its been a battle to get my group to try anything else. Luckely one of my players has decided to DM our next game (still sadly 5E) but all have agreed that the game after will be Hyperborea. So I've got roughly between 6 months and a year to get everything ready.
@@thegingergod3122 I think you'll find, that when you get to around level 12ish, the PCs power, along with their magic items are pretty formidable. You're right about 5E. I also find the powerlevels so high, and everything has so many hit points, the combats take FOREVER. lol.. which I don't really care for.
@@captcorajus true, I may go Robert Wardhaugh's method and just run 1 consecutive game forever and let the players drop and bring in characters as they retire or die. If you don't know who he is, he's the guy with a consecutive 40 year long game. Quite an interesting story and probably every DM's dream.
@@thegingergod3122 YES, I know exactly who he is, and yeah, That's been my dream all my life, but now I'm too old. I intend to run Hyperborea for a long while though, so who knows. lol
If you were a fan of 1E and 2E, this is top shelf. I've introduced some of the younger generation to Hyperborea 3E and they gave it top shelf ratings as well!
I cannot wait for my leather bound copies that I'm waiting on ! Just got my copy of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg ❤️❤️❤️ It, my copy of Hot Springs Island, and Maze of the Blue Medusa are all waiting to get ran in Hyperborea when they finally arrive 🙏🥰
Great review! I am still waiting for my copy of the leatherette books, and haven't opened my PDFs yet. I'm super excited and can't wait till they arrive.
I looked at the system just recently. What are your thoughts on speed of play per round? I have been running something akin to Mork Borg and Rangers of Shadowdeep.
I didn't like how many rolls it took to get damage and attacks resolved. Symbaroum had a better resolution mechanic. Similar truths strike with Forbidden Lands.
@@occupationallystrong1606 it's a different system that people coming from d&d have to get used to. And it "reads" slow in the book, but after session 1 it's really quick. I especially like how different weapons have different advantages. The doom mechanic is pretty cool, my players like gaining and spending momentum to do cool things in play.
The 2D20 system is absolutely fantastic. Of the decades I've been playing and hundreds of games I own it sits really close to the top (for perspective I consider DnD 4e & 5e bottom of the barrel so ymmv, ha!). However I do think Conan needs a revised, streamlined 2nd edition that adds in some of the updates/improvements from newer 2d20 games as well as some rebalancing to address overpowered PCs better. The mechanics are fantastic, but the layout and wording of the book can make the rules hard to digest and seem trickier than they actually are.
I have been checking everyday to see if you have gotten your copies yet. Glad you finally have them! I am still waiting for the leatherette. I think it's kind of odd they don't have an encumbrance chart in this edition.
On page 135 on the armor chart, the effect of armor on movement is provided. On page 256, the effects of encumbrance are provided. Accounting for every coin and bit of gear is not really in theme with the game. When the DM informs the character they are encumbered the are. Its a quick system, but IMHO much better and fun than trying to keep track of every little bit of equipment. :)
I have seen your review again, and I'm super interested to read this one. I will had that to my collection of osr game book and maybe one day find a group to play. I decided not long ago to play solo so I can learn the game mechanics, level up a few levels and play test in combat. Hyperborea looks like my style of play, enough crunch and player options, and not every characters cast spells...
It's okay. I find the art a bit more uneven than in the last edition and I don't really like having two books instead of one. I did like having the gazetteer in its own book. The game itself is fine; we just bolt it onto whatever else we're playing. I like the sub-classes a lot and there are some very cool new spells.
Art contributes a lot to my ongoing enjoyment of an RPG book and the majority of the art is top notch and well placed. I find the full page class specific pieces in the player manual not to my liking and feel they don't really compliment the quality in the rest of the book.
Always intrigued me but honestly it's huge!!!! Love that Atlas though!!! Crypts & Things is short n sweet Would love to know your thoughts on that one. What I do like about this is the setting aspects. For rules Crypts & Things is spot on. It doesn't weigh a ton.
Oh good, maybe the FLGS will finally get this in stock now, assuming their lousy distributors bother to carry it. The nonsense I have to go through to support local businesses just doesn't seem worth it sometimes.
The game is solid & printed on the best non-gloss paper! The thorny logo is not great. Who can read that thing? I did not go with the leather books because of the hard-to-read logo. The artwork on the others is great, so it's fine. I love the rule set. & the the changes from 2nd were well thought out. They're not huge but they are convenient.
I'm really interested in this game. I would even buy it for $100. Alas it's over $200 Canadian to get it here so I won't be ordering it. I'll see what I can do with the PDF.
100 dollars is a lot of money. For example you could get into Basic Fantasy for 5 dollars. Full game, done. The quality is there... I rated it amazing... but there's not denying that there will be people who won't be able to buy the game due to price.
@@captcorajus I totally understand the point. However, you get 3 books plus PDFs of everything. Compare to what it costs for 5e retail for just the basic 3 books - $150. While I appreciate BFRPG, and I have it and have run it, it’s apples and oranges, don’t you think? Respect for your great videos, also I realize I’m arguing over a 19 vs. a 20.
That is a fun idea. The way the system has been tweaked really integrates it into the setting. I can't stress that enough. The spells are WILD! You have your typical spells of course, but the necromancy spells are off the hook, and there are 26 different classes that are meant to go with the setting as well as the various cultures... the Amazons, the vikings, and so on. Its pretty cool!
@@captcorajus I may eventually grab the players book, but Vancian magic isn't my thing for S&S games. I do really like the setting, the monsters I can use with no real work, I use Old School Essentials monsters all the time.
@@occupationallystrong1606 I use DCC as a system. It's really great for S&S games. Mighty Deeds of Arms are awesome, they cover a kinds of combat maneuvers, and the magic system has absolutely spoiled me. I love it.
Traditionally, I enjoy an agnostic system that lets me develop my own setting. However, Hyperborea is the setting that I would develop... but moreso as Jeff Talanian is amazingly imaginative and certainly exceeds anything I could come up with, so it works out! 😀
Currently torn on this exact internal debate. I really dig the standard edition cover art. However, esp. w/ the OGL fiasco on-going, I'm a sucker for deluxe/limited edition stuff...
Well, no, that wouldn't be honest of me. Its a phenomenal game, and looks amazing, but it does have a steep entry level price. But if you only get the PDFs its not that bad, so I only dinged 'em 1 point!
I would counter point that you are paying fir quality. The PDF is the entry point. They could offer it at the cheaper price point but where would you want them to cut the corners at? In addition they could print friendly "starter rules" like wizards, but then that would pull away funds from this piece of work. I wouldn't myself give it a hit on the price, but then again it's your opinion.
It's a good, seriously tweaked, retroclone of original Basic, 1e, & 2e combined. I really like how they do subclasses, it's really ingenious. Like you, I hate glossy paper. I like to take notes in my books and shiny issuer makes that impossible.
I remember back in middle school, TSR did a print run of their light green character sheets on glossy paper. I accidentally bought a pack not knowing, and you couldn't erase _anything_ off those character sheets.
$50 each for such a high quality premium hardcover is on par with the current industry standard, the books are also better quality than what WotC is producing. In a time when a Sony Playstation 5 AAA game now costs 69.99, my morning coffee and pastry costs me nearly $10 in NYC, $100 is not nothing but it's not a lot to ask for the package imop considering the cost of living right now.. I don't get the 19 on value.. this games a 20 crit on every level. I bought the limited edition leatherette version and have no complaints about the cost. My only issue is I wish the limited edition cover was black and even more metal lol.
Hands down my favorite OSR out there. The setting is so engrossing! I'm thinking about using H3E rules for my upcoming Mystara mini campaign.
Good job Cap! Just got my Leatherette set yesterday and this helped remind me what was changed. I'm already thinking of "Hyperborea-izing" my regular D&D campaigns, I love this ruleset so much. Thanks for this, review soon.
Glad you liked it Glen. Yeah, man, I'm in love with the system and the setting myself. We're all having a blast with it.
I look very forward to my physical copies. My group has been playing Hyperborea since Garycon, where Capt Corajus ran us through the "Rats in the wall" adventure. Great fun! And since then has been my favorite contemporary fantasy system at the table.
So glad you enjoyed the game Eddy. I definitely would love to change my chair from the forever DM seat to player sometime! :)
Thanks.
Thanks for this. Our group is more likely to play Conan 2d20 as we are accustomed to the Achtung! Cthulu and other games by Modiphius. That said, fun to hear about this.
A little late to comment, but a great stumble upon review. Subscribed! I was debating pulling the trigger on Hyperborea RPG, and this convinced me. Thank you! One comment though - don't know who the third guy is in the photographs with HPL and REH, but it certainly isn't Clark Ashton Smith...
This is a 20 in my book. The only fault I have with the entire game is that levels stop at 12, but I can just use my BECMI and AD&D 1E stuff to create anything over that
I honestly don't have an issue with it at all. In the 40 years I've been playing, that's at about the point the characters are really just super heroes. At that point, they are most likely highly involved in the politics of the setting, and Hyperborea has pretty well defined rules on strongholds and the like... which is from the very beginnings of the game. At that point, there's a 'final' adventure with those characters and then, they become the 'NPCs' for the new characters, and the campaign starts anew.
My campaigns generally run about three years or so, and then its time for a new batch of novice adventurers, so this suits my personal style of play perfectly. :)
@@captcorajus I just ended my longest game, 2 years in a 5E game. My players love getting to high levels and helping to shape the world around them. The only problem I have with 5E is that it feels like you start out a hero at level 1 and become a superhero very quickly. Going through Hyperborea, BECMI, OSE, and AD&D I don't feel the superhero vibe at all.
Been playing 5E since it came out due to a former player wanting to play it, and its been a battle to get my group to try anything else. Luckely one of my players has decided to DM our next game (still sadly 5E) but all have agreed that the game after will be Hyperborea. So I've got roughly between 6 months and a year to get everything ready.
@@thegingergod3122 I think you'll find, that when you get to around level 12ish, the PCs power, along with their magic items are pretty formidable.
You're right about 5E. I also find the powerlevels so high, and everything has so many hit points, the combats take FOREVER. lol.. which I don't really care for.
@@captcorajus true, I may go Robert Wardhaugh's method and just run 1 consecutive game forever and let the players drop and bring in characters as they retire or die. If you don't know who he is, he's the guy with a consecutive 40 year long game. Quite an interesting story and probably every DM's dream.
@@thegingergod3122 YES, I know exactly who he is, and yeah, That's been my dream all my life, but now I'm too old. I intend to run Hyperborea for a long while though, so who knows. lol
If you were a fan of 1E and 2E, this is top shelf. I've introduced some of the younger generation to Hyperborea 3E and they gave it top shelf ratings as well!
Yes! I love Hyperborea.
I cannot wait for my leather bound copies that I'm waiting on !
Just got my copy of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg ❤️❤️❤️
It, my copy of Hot Springs Island, and Maze of the Blue Medusa are all waiting to get ran in Hyperborea when they finally arrive 🙏🥰
I’m so stoked for the print books. This will be the next system I run.
Thanks for the review. It was fun to work on and I can't wait to get my copies down here in New Zealand!
Great review! I am still waiting for my copy of the leatherette books, and haven't opened my PDFs yet. I'm super excited and can't wait till they arrive.
I gave my Conan 2d20 for sword and sorcery/sandals. It does a very good job at mimicking the style of narrative found in Conan stories.
I looked at the system just recently. What are your thoughts on speed of play per round? I have been running something akin to Mork Borg and Rangers of Shadowdeep.
I didn't like how many rolls it took to get damage and attacks resolved. Symbaroum had a better resolution mechanic. Similar truths strike with Forbidden Lands.
@@occupationallystrong1606 it's a different system that people coming from d&d have to get used to. And it "reads" slow in the book, but after session 1 it's really quick. I especially like how different weapons have different advantages. The doom mechanic is pretty cool, my players like gaining and spending momentum to do cool things in play.
@@occupationallystrong1606 I haven't tried Symbaroum, though I know it's popular. Thanks
The 2D20 system is absolutely fantastic. Of the decades I've been playing and hundreds of games I own it sits really close to the top (for perspective I consider DnD 4e & 5e bottom of the barrel so ymmv, ha!). However I do think Conan needs a revised, streamlined 2nd edition that adds in some of the updates/improvements from newer 2d20 games as well as some rebalancing to address overpowered PCs better.
The mechanics are fantastic, but the layout and wording of the book can make the rules hard to digest and seem trickier than they actually are.
Love how this setting has taken off. It's deserving of praise and the lamentations of the women.
Nice review. Got my order last week. I wasn't disappointed.
I have been checking everyday to see if you have gotten your copies yet. Glad you finally have them!
I am still waiting for the leatherette. I think it's kind of odd they don't have an encumbrance chart in this edition.
On page 135 on the armor chart, the effect of armor on movement is provided. On page 256, the effects of encumbrance are provided. Accounting for every coin and bit of gear is not really in theme with the game. When the DM informs the character they are encumbered the are. Its a quick system, but IMHO much better and fun than trying to keep track of every little bit of equipment. :)
My copy will be here Wednesday I’m so pumped for it
I have seen your review again, and I'm super interested to read this one. I will had that to my collection of osr game book and maybe one day find a group to play. I decided not long ago to play solo so I can learn the game mechanics, level up a few levels and play test in combat. Hyperborea looks like my style of play, enough crunch and player options, and not every characters cast spells...
It's okay. I find the art a bit more uneven than in the last edition and I don't really like having two books instead of one. I did like having the gazetteer in its own book. The game itself is fine; we just bolt it onto whatever else we're playing. I like the sub-classes a lot and there are some very cool new spells.
Art contributes a lot to my ongoing enjoyment of an RPG book and the majority of the art is top notch and well placed. I find the full page class specific pieces in the player manual not to my liking and feel they don't really compliment the quality in the rest of the book.
I appreciate the EverQuest intro music. Greatest soundtrack of all time.
Thanks! But its definitely not from Everquest. :)
@@captcorajus snap what’s it from?
@@RiddledinRizz Ancient Elven Secret. 🤣
Always intrigued me but honestly it's huge!!!!
Love that Atlas though!!!
Crypts & Things is short n sweet
Would love to know your thoughts on that one.
What I do like about this is the setting aspects.
For rules Crypts & Things is spot on.
It doesn't weigh a ton.
Can’t wait to watch this!!! Thanks for the review!
Oh good, maybe the FLGS will finally get this in stock now, assuming their lousy distributors bother to carry it. The nonsense I have to go through to support local businesses just doesn't seem worth it sometimes.
The metal Gods have blessed this script
The game is solid & printed on the best non-gloss paper! The thorny logo is not great. Who can read that thing? I did not go with the leather books because of the hard-to-read logo. The artwork on the others is great, so it's fine. I love the rule set. & the the changes from 2nd were well thought out. They're not huge but they are convenient.
Agreed! Not a fan of the thorny logo at all, but some people like it.
I'm really interested in this game. I would even buy it for $100. Alas it's over $200 Canadian to get it here so I won't be ordering it. I'll see what I can do with the PDF.
Still waiting for mine. Also, $100 for what you get here, is a 20 I think.
100 dollars is a lot of money. For example you could get into Basic Fantasy for 5 dollars. Full game, done. The quality is there... I rated it amazing... but there's not denying that there will be people who won't be able to buy the game due to price.
@@captcorajus I totally understand the point. However, you get 3 books plus PDFs of everything. Compare to what it costs for 5e retail for just the basic 3 books - $150. While I appreciate BFRPG, and I have it and have run it, it’s apples and oranges, don’t you think? Respect for your great videos, also I realize I’m arguing over a 19 vs. a 20.
Still waiting for mine. Actually, it's time to go check the mailbox. 500xp
I'm actually interested in grabbing the Referee's book for this. I'm not really interested in the system, but I really like the setting
That is a fun idea. The way the system has been tweaked really integrates it into the setting. I can't stress that enough. The spells are WILD! You have your typical spells of course, but the necromancy spells are off the hook, and there are 26 different classes that are meant to go with the setting as well as the various cultures... the Amazons, the vikings, and so on. Its pretty cool!
@@captcorajus I may eventually grab the players book, but Vancian magic isn't my thing for S&S games. I do really like the setting, the monsters I can use with no real work, I use Old School Essentials monsters all the time.
@@midnightgreen8319 do you hit DCC magic as a substitute?
@@occupationallystrong1606 I use DCC as a system. It's really great for S&S games. Mighty Deeds of Arms are awesome, they cover a kinds of combat maneuvers, and the magic system has absolutely spoiled me. I love it.
@@midnightgreen8319 ever play the setting hubris? If not whole cloth, it is a great resource.
I've always thought the best systems reflect their setting. Generic systems always seem bland to me.
Traditionally, I enjoy an agnostic system that lets me develop my own setting. However, Hyperborea is the setting that I would develop... but moreso as Jeff Talanian is amazingly imaginative and certainly exceeds anything I could come up with, so it works out! 😀
Would you say it’s faithful to the sword and sorcery genre?
It absolutely does. That's the entire focus of the rules and the setting.
Any more my TTRPG love goes to MK's D100 DUNGEON MAPPING GAME!
+1 artwork covers >> leatherette!-)
Currently torn on this exact internal debate. I really dig the standard edition cover art. However, esp. w/ the OGL fiasco on-going, I'm a sucker for deluxe/limited edition stuff...
Love my books!
Were-shark. Sounds believable.
Just couldn't give it a perfect could you.
Well, no, that wouldn't be honest of me. Its a phenomenal game, and looks amazing, but it does have a steep entry level price. But if you only get the PDFs its not that bad, so I only dinged 'em 1 point!
I would counter point that you are paying fir quality. The PDF is the entry point. They could offer it at the cheaper price point but where would you want them to cut the corners at?
In addition they could print friendly "starter rules" like wizards, but then that would pull away funds from this piece of work.
I wouldn't myself give it a hit on the price, but then again it's your opinion.