D&D General No One Reads Conan Now -- So What Are They Reading?

[SJB]

Over at Black Gate, Ismail Soldan has just posted an interesting interview with Jim Zub about the current state of Conan.

New Adventures for the World’s Favorite Barbarian – Black Gate

 

[aramis erak]

Your elementary school has REH on the shelves? That's a choice.

No, it didn't. (and this question shows you only skimmed my comment.)

The kids were required to log their reading and write a bit about it every day. So I got VERY tuned in to what they were reading. Most of Howard is out of copyright and this on Project Gutenburg as downloadable epub and/or text.

Those are an odd three to lump together.

Narnia 1950
Dresden Files 2000
Percy Jackson 2005

(Although I believe Dionysus appears in at least two of those).

None of those are in the S&S genre...
To be honest, I had to read Narnia for work... because the unit I was assigned by the Literacy Specialist for my reading group was on one of the Narnia books.
DF and Percy Jackson, I read for fun... in the same 2008 to 2016 timeframe.

I remember when the folks making D&D assumed that the game was basically just for boys. Turns out, they were wrong. And undoubtedly left a whole lot of money on the table before figuring that out.

There's an interesting bit written by Kim Mohan where he discusses hiding the sex of submitters to Dragon from EGG, because EGG would order the girls' stuff trashed. I don't think he's the only editor of Dragon (nor TSR employee) to do an end-run around EGG's notorious sex/gender discrimination and dismissal of females as potential players.

Hell Moldvay's Basic shows us two players in the illos... one male, one female.

So, it looks like TSR figured it out, Even if EGG didn't.

 

[Distracted DM]

Over at Black Gate, Ismail Soldan has just posted an interesting interview with Jim Zub about the current state of Conan.

New Adventures for the World’s Favorite Barbarian – Black Gate

Wow Marvel still makes use of Conan, eh? 2024, 2025. Nice covers!

 

[GothmogIV]

Conan enters the public domain in three years. I suspect there will be a lot of Conan RPG stuff coming out then. I might write some myself! Crom!

 

[Gellert]

though honestly there are much better contemporary writers if that's what you're in the mood for. Joe Abercrombie characters like Logen Nine-Fingers, for example

I guess we will agree to disagree. I don't rate Abercrombie nor Sanderson. As for deep themes there's adventure, discovery of the unknown and the constant feeling of risk. For REH Red Nails, Gods of Bal-Sagoth and Pigeons From Hell are bang on, as are many others. You could write up the ideas from those alone as scenarios for a variety of settings.
However, opinions are individual and those are mine.

 

[GothmogIV]

Howard's ability to evoke a sense of the weird is unparalleled, in my opinion. I have found his writing to be deeply immersive in a way that few others can match. I live in the Conan stories when I read them, which is why I read them again and again.

 

[Mind of tempest]

if you are asking what gen z are reading presently I am reading one of the elric graphic novels as it was on sale and I need something light

 

[TorgoTheWhite]

Look, Conan hasn't been relevant for over a decade at this pont and while certain trapping of Sword-n-sorcery still exists the genre as a whole is far from any influence these days.

So what are the genres and media that do have an influence these days?

Doesn't have to be actual literature ofc but basically what are the cultural touchpoints for what fantasy looks and 'feels' like for modern players in your experience? Bonus if it's from players who started with 5e.

Lord of the Ring is cheating.

Is it Sanderson's works? The romantasy 'Court of X and Y' style? Warcraft? How much anime(-adjacents)ness do you think the average DnD player considers now? Is Genshin impact the way younger player/DMs think of how fantasy 'should' be like even subconsciously? Or is it all a bit incestuous with Frieren, Dungeon Meshi and Critical Role being the touchstone of how things should be like?

Hard for me to say I'm still a R.E.Howard-head. So, I'm still a pretty big Sword & Sorc pulp guy. High adventures out on the Steppes, with very little time to hunker down with long rests... It's been great so far.... but, yeah, I don't think DnD is written often from the less-is-more perspective. Seems very "flashy combat trick" oriented with most of the flash revolving around magic spells, instead of the impressive simplicity of what an athletic warrior can do.

 

[TorgoTheWhite]

I'm not so cynical about it. I think things are getting past the edgelord trope a bit. Many gen-x'ers are just having to retroactively train/untrain the grimdark to find the levity balance. I remember Adventure Time well. In Conan the levity usually came from the hedonistic "great mirth" at the pubs - the wine and women. Or the joy in battle.

I take alot of inspiration from Westerns and Conan - the joy in freedom of the untamed frontier balanced by the lawless nature in all that.... or you know, you could just be a dude with cartoonishly large shoulder pads, who can cast shilleleh for X dmg.... wait that's one thing a character can DO?... not an actual character? ... So, I guess, without articulating well. I think alot of new-norm players think they are character driven but actually are very visual and ability driven

 

[Mark Craddock]

In order to be relevant, people would need to be reading them. Conan is in the public domain, anyone can produce a knock-off. It doesn’t mean anyone is buying them. I’ve never seen them in shops (including online shops), and I’m the only person in my D&D group who has even read the originals.

Conan is relevant to those interested in the history of D&D, but most players just want to play, they don’t care about the history.

Well, I carry them in my 2 comic shops and the graphic novels and new novels are carrying them in local book stores and on Amazon. I've never seen a rhino locally but I know they exist.