D&D General E. Gary Gygax auction Nov 2023

[QuentinGeorge]

I'm pretty sure Conan was created before the regular use of steroids my mesomophs interested in bulking up, so that makes sense. In most depictions of Conan I've seen from prior to 1982 depict him a muscular, yes, but lean and not at all bulky like a bodybuilder. One of the great ironies of modern body builders is when they look their best they're at their weakest. To achieve that look they starve and dehydrate themselves for a few days.

Frazetta did awesome but highly inaccurate art for Conan and as a result everyone's perception of the character became forever skewed. This art is at least an attempt to get it right

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think the 1982 Conan did try to pull stuff directly from the stories, like the Tree of Woe with the vulture, and the giant snake guarding the treasure. Both were right from the stories directly.

Conan the Destroyer, while not an objectively good movie, is still one the best D&D movies ever made IMO.

 

[Mannahnin]

Neither Momoa nor Schwarzenegger are good Conan. Conan is a Cimmerian, which is basically an ancient Celt, who is lean (not massively built) with grey eyes. Aidan Turner is a better choice, to be honest.

Frazetta did awesome but highly inaccurate art for Conan and as a result everyone's perception of the character became forever skewed. This art is at least an attempt to get it right

"Highly inaccurate" is overstating it. Conan is described as lean but also as massive and incredibly physically powerful.

… a tall man, mightily shouldered and deep of chest, with a massive corded neck and heavily muscled limbs. He was clad in silk and velvet, with the royal lions of Aquilonia worked in gold upon his rich jupon, and the crown of Aquilonia shone on his square-cut black mane; but the great sword at his side seemed more natural to him than the regal accouterments. His brow was low and broad, his eyes a volcanic blue that smoldered as if with some inner fire. His dark, scarred, almost sinister face was that of a fighting-man, and his velvet garments could not conceal the hard, dangerous lines of his limbs." [The Hour of the Dragon, pp. 89-90]

He is exceptionally tall and strong. Howard is never explicit in his stories, but in a letter to P. Schuyler Miller he wrote:

At Vanarium he was already a formidable antagonist, though only fifteen. He stood six feet [1.83 m] and weighed 180 pounds [82 kg], though he lacked much of having his full growth.

Conan's height and weight as an adult are subject to speculation - some estimates make him 6' 6" (1.98 m) and up to 250 lb (113 kg) - but extrapolating the growth of the 15-year-old Conan based on modern data would make him at least 6' 2" (1.88 m) and 215 lbs (98 kg) at 18. This tallies with a comment Howard wrote in another letterhow his crusader character, Cormac Fitzgeoffrey, is a double of Conan and that Cormac is 6' 2" and 215 pounds. It is also of note that the blade of Conan's sword is described as being 5 feet long, likely making for a 6 foot sword including the grip, in the earlier story, "The Scarlet Citadel". He uses it with one hand as well as both hands with ease, therefore it is possible that Howard imagined him quite taller at the character's beginning. Or simply he used different swords during his adventures.

In Howard's tales, no human is ever described as stronger than Conan, although several are mentioned as taller (such as the strangler Baal-Pteor) or of larger bulk.

If at fifteen, six feet, 180, he "lacked much of his full growth", IMO we can expect that full grown Conan has to be significantly over six feet and significantly over 200lbs. 6' 2" 215 Cormac is probably the smallest end. You can get quite strong at 215, though I'd probably put him a bit bigger.

Frazetta's depictions certainly capture this size and muscular power. And they do keep him lean. He is not built like a World's Strongest Man winner or powerlifter, most of whom carry considerably more body fat. Obviously Conan is idealized. He's huge and muscular while ALSO graceful and quick like a panther. He's like a Captain America-type as Cap was described in the comics prior to becoming totally superhuman in the movies- basically the pinnacle of human strength, speed, agility and power. And you need size for that kind of strength.

I'm pretty sure Conan was created before the regular use of steroids my mesomophs interested in bulking up, so that makes sense. In most depictions of Conan I've seen from prior to 1982 depict him a muscular, yes, but lean and not at all bulky like a bodybuilder. One of the great ironies of modern body builders is when they look their best they're at their weakest. To achieve that look they starve and dehydrate themselves for a few days.

As far as I'm aware somatypes have been pretty well debunked. I absolutely agree that a "realistic" Conan wouldn't appear as ripped and dehydrated as modern bodybuilders do at showtime, or even as much so as MCU actors do at shooting, though that's probably closer. Pro bodybuilders nowadays get down to absurd figures like 5% or less body fat for shows. Significantly leaner than Schwarzenegger used to compete at.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Conan's height and weight as an adult are subject to speculation - some estimates make him 6' 6" (1.98 m) and up to 250 lb (113 kg) - but extrapolating the growth of the 15-year-old Conan based on modern data would make him at least 6' 2" (1.88 m) and 215 lbs (98 kg) at 18.

What a coincidence. When Trump was booked, he listed himself at 6'2" and 215 lbs. I am 6'3" and 215 lbs. Aaron Rogers is 6'2" and 215 lbs. This is what someone who is 6'2" and 215lbs looks like (Aaron, not Trump, who was clearly lying lol)

So if those numbers are true, Conan is quite lean. I think the 6'6" and 250 is much closer. This is what that looks like:

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Neither Momoa nor Schwarzenegger are good Conan. Conan is a Cimmerian, which is basically an ancient Celt, who is lean (not massively built) with grey eyes. Aidan Turner is a better choice, to be honest.

As @Mannahnin also pointed out, Conan is explicitly described as being great in strength and build. For example, there's this description from The God in the Bowl:

"Arus saw a tall powerfully built youth, naked but for a loincloth, and sandals strapped high about his ankles. His skin was burned brown as by the suns of the wastelands, and Arus glanced nervously at the broad shoulders, massive chest and heavy arms. A single look at the moody, broad-browed features told the watchman that the man was no Nemedian. From under a mop of unruly black hair smoldered a pair of dangerous blue eyes. A long sword hung in a leather scabbard at his girdle."

 

[Mistwell]

I believe this is the correct description, though I may be mistaking him for another popular character:

Interesting face.
Very lithe. Very graceful.
Very lean, but muscular.
Spectacular.
He's sexual, athletic, and without a trace of self-consciousness.
His buttocks are sublime.
His pectorals could use a little work.

 

[Parmandur]

I think the 1982 Conan did try to pull stuff directly from the stories, like the Tree of Woe with the vulture, and the giant snake guarding the treasure. Both were right from the stories directly.

Conan the Destroyer, while not an objectively good movie, is still one the best D&D movies ever made IMO.

Definitely I apired by the original material...but also definitely a unique take.

 

[Parmandur]

What a coincidence. When Trump was booked, he listed himself at 6'2" and 215 lbs. I am 6'3" and 215 lbs. Aaron Rogers is 6'2" and 215 lbs. This is what someone who is 6'2" and 215lbs looks like (Aaron, not Trump, who was clearly lying lol)

View attachment 328477

So if those numbers are true, Conan is quite lean. I think the 6'6" and 250 is much closer. This is what that looks like:
View attachment 328485

In the ancient world, the average man was between 5-2"-5'4" and somewhat less than 214 pounds. Imagine Aaron Rogers or Steph Curry in a world where Claude Raines was considered tall.

 

[Parmandur]

So, out of curiosity, I did a.surveynof old times movie stars height and weight. There are.plenty of guys who were as tall as the reported figure for Conan (Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Gar er, etc) but almost all were much lankier, around 170-190 pounds.

I did find one actor who fit voth the height and weight for Conan the Cimmerian: Gregory Peck.

 

[Parmandur]

A more contemporary height and weight match with Conan: Brandon Routhe.