Conan... What is best in Life?

[The_Gneech]

1) Hyboria is not magic-poor (sorcerer in EVERY story)

Depends entirely on your definition. Somebody from Faerun who was gated to Hyboria would wonder where all the +3 flaming daggers went, Conan never once quaffs a potion of bull's strength, and there's not a gnome illusionist to be found.

The only character in the whole saga who vaguely resembles, say, a seventh level D&D sorcerer, is Xaltotun, an aeons-old mummy of the ancient race who is wielding the Heart of Ahriman, just about the only artifact-level magic item to be found. If you look at somebody like Zogar Sag or even Yag-Kosha, they seem pretty tepid compared to your average player-character wizard.

Anyway, some very cool stuff there, and I intend to spend quite some time perusing it. Thanks for the post!

-The Gneech

 

[Emirikol]

Yes, magic is everywhere in Hyboria, but I think the feeling is that it's just not harnessed well (until you get past Howard's writings).

Thoth Amon, comes across as the greatest sorcerer of the age and the Book of Skelos tells the secrets, but that's typically all we see with Howard. Conan had a natural aversion to magic, so he avoided it and thus it's less represented.

I'm really looking forward to this product though. Sure, I'll do the magic system the way that is the most fun, but not necessarily the truest to the ancient writings of REH.

Em

 

[Voadam]

Re: ...

Thanks guys for the link and info

Now, i hear that the best books to read for Conan are the REH stuff...

But what about the rest, i havent read too many positive things about them, are they worth getting?




The Fool

The marvel comics Conan, Conan Saga, and Savage Sword of Conan had some great stuff when I was subscribing in the late 80s.

And I think the original movie was pretty cool too.

As for the books, I've read a few of the non REH, and they're OK, just not the same feel as REH, sort of like fan fiction takes but a little more professional.

 

[Emirikol]

>>>
Now, i hear that the best books to read for Conan are the REH stuff...But what about the rest, i havent read too many positive things about them, are they worth getting?
>>>>>

Yes and no. There is some of the later stuff that's BETTER than the REH stuff, however REH set the stage with his stories that appeared in WIERD TALES, etc.

Also, people seem to think that they are reading REH if they get the 10 books edited by Sprague deCamp. Hmmm. Think about it folks. Some of the stories were so completely re-written by de Camp, that you wouldn't recognize them.

So, again, REH set the stage. Anything after that is juicy background material, that SHOULD be included in the d20Conan sourcebook and excluded by DM's that don't want it in their campaigns..not the other way around. I'd rather see a sourcebook where there's stuff that I can take out, rather than not having enough to work with (which is what you'll get if you only use the REH stuff).

BTW, we have an ENTIRE DISCUSSION GROUP for d20Conan in my sig.

Cheers to Conan!

Jay

 

[Emirikol]

Here is my list of favorite books that REH didn't write:

Conan and the Grim Grey God
Conan and the Shaman's Curse
Conan the Magnificent
Conan and the sword of Skelos

Here's what I wouldn't recommend (excpet for REH-style background material): Anything by Len Carpenter.

Do you know how to define a good Conan Novel? It's the one with lots of world background, quotable sayings, nasty combat, descriptive details, conan get's laid, multiple character actions, and one with a good plot.

So many stories miss the mark on all of these issues..and also, go to soft on the gruesome details of violence, sex, and the way things are in a barbaric world such as Hyboria.

Jay

 

[S'mon]

Here is my list of favorite books that REH didn't write:

Conan and the Grim Grey God
Conan and the Shaman's Curse
Conan the Magnificent
Conan and the sword of Skelos

I found Conan and the sword of Skelos to be literally unreadable - after a few attempts it sat on my bookshelf until it went to the charity shop. It was just terrible. Oh well, glad somebody liked it.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Yes and no. There is some of the later stuff that's BETTER than the REH stuff, however REH set the stage with his stories that appeared in WIERD TALES, etc.

I disagree very strongly. After reading the original, unedited Conan stories written by Howard, I tried reading some of the stories by L. Sprague De Camp, Robert Jordan, Lin Carter, etc. and they weren't even close to being as good as the stories written by REH.

One major problem that a lot of the later Conan authors have is that they make Conan too civilized, which goes completely against the character as created by Robert E Howard. Keep in mind that as REH created him, Conan is a barbarian in the truest sense of the word. He's violent, short-tempered, and vicious as a wounded tiger, although he still has a barbaric sense of honor. Conan is someone who would be great to have as a friend, but terrifying to have as an enemy.

No other author since then has really managed to capture Conan as he was created. In the later stories written by other authors, he is noticably more polite and civilized than the savage warrior created by REH.

I consider the writings of REH to be the only true Conan canon. Anything after that is just fan fiction.

Yes, magic is everywhere in Hyboria, but I think the feeling is that it's just not harnessed well (until you get past Howard's writings).

Get past Howard's writings? That's like saying that Middle Earth gets better after you get past Tolkien's books and start searching for LOTR-based fanfic on the internet.

I would definately consider the Hyborean Age a low-magic setting. In all of REH's Conan stories (Non-REH stories don't count), I believe that Conan only uses a magic weapon once (in The Devil in Iron). Wizards show up in a few stories, but they are almost always evil, and it's very obvious from the stories that wizards are not something you can bump into on every street corner.

 

[mylvin123]

The Real Combat engine also allow players to team up in battle formations and command both NPC's and other players in epic multiplayer battles, as well as giving you the chance to participate in massive sieges.

conan tower of the elephant

 

[GreyLord]

The Real Combat engine also allow players to team up in battle formations and command both NPC's and other players in epic multiplayer battles, as well as giving you the chance to participate in massive sieges.

conan tower of the elephant

As long as it's already been done...talk about a necro rising from the dead! I suppose in a way fitting talking about the tower of the elephant.

 

[Filcher]

As his first post? Looks like a lame way to advertise the app.