Cimmeria contents

[Hervé]

As I won't probably have the time for a complete review this week, here are the detailed contents of the cimmeria book. I hope it will help.

CONAN CIMMERIA SOURCEBOOK
(134 pages, softback)

CONTENTS

CREDITS

THE CIMMERIAN WAY
Devotion To Clan
Conformity To Tradition
Honour And Prowess
Blood Vengeance
A Clean And Honest Death
Cimmerian Society
Clothing
Nobility
Priests
Warriors
Slaves
Serfs
Farmers
Love And Marriage
Property
Laws Regarding Personal Property
Homes And Dwellings
Nomadic Clans
Money
Culture And Art
Metalwork
Songs, Stories And Bards
Prostitution
Food And Drink
Trade
Calendar

THAT SOMBRE LAND
History Of Cimmeria
The Thurian Age
Hyborian Age Cimmeria
General Geography
Travel In Cimmeria
Hazards
Earthquake
Gales And Storms
Rockfalls, Avalanche And Mudslides
Quicksand
Notables Areas, Regions And Landmarks
Battle Lands
Black Mountains
Blood Glens
Breaknecks
Broken Leg Lands
Cells Heel
Crom’s Gorge
Eiglophian Mountains
Conall Valley
Field Of The Dead
Mount Crom-Ben Morgh
Field Of The Chiefs
Great Salt Marsh
Hoath Plateau
Kurnow Forest
Murrogh Forest
Spearpoint
The Curraghn
Venarium
Wounded Lands
Ymir’s Pass

SHADOWS OUT OF MEN
Rapid Clan Generator
Bain
Location
Type
Allies
Enemies
Traditions
Treasures
Chieftain
Personalities
History And Outlook
Note: all clans follow the format above
Bardh
Callaugh
Canach, Conarch Or Snowhawk
Cruiadh
Darkwolf
Galla
Gorram
Grath
Hoath
Ice Leopards
Morgath
Murrogh
Nachta
Nangh-Bronze Skulls
Raeda
Tunog
White Bulls

HUNTS AND WARS LIKE SHADOWS
Cimmerian Combat Strategy And Tactics
The Shield Wall
Taunting
Silent Intensity
Characters Fighting In A Shield Wall
Free Melee
Seeking The Thick Of The Battle
Cimmerian Forces And Strategies
Cavalry
Archers And Missile Troops
Personal Weapons And Armour

GODS OF THE EVERLASTING NIGHT
Religion In Cimmeria
Of Funerary And Mourning
Cimmerian Pantheon
Crom
Badb
Dagda
Dianchecht
Lir
Lugh
Macha
Mannanan Mac Lir
The Morrigan
Nemain
The Bridge Of Swords, The Road Of Bones And The Otherworld
Cimmerian Oracles
Cimmerian Blind Bards
Ancestors
Superstition, Taboo And Geasa
Taboo
Geasa

CIMMERIAN GAZETTEER
Character Digest
Sample Generic Cimmerians
Typical Cimmerian Oracle
Typical Cimmerian Blind Bard
Bestiary
Frost Giants
Giant Mantids
Giant White Ram-Eiglophian Warden Sheep
Giant Kin
Great Bears
Great Boar
Nordwolf
Svartheim
Spined Cat-Eraulach
Kurnow Apparitions

ROLEPLAYING IN CIMMERIA
Developing A Cimmerian Character
The Cimmerian Voice
Cimmerian Development Checklist
Cimmerian Names
Clansmen And Wanderers
Clansmen
Wanderers
Cimmerian Class Options And Notes
Cimmerian Barbarians
Cimmerian Borderers
Cimmerian Nomads
Nobles
Oracle
Soldiers
Cimmerian Pirate
Cimmerian Thief
New Skill
Perform-Taunt
Cimmerian Feats
Combat Riding
Confidence Of The Clans
Silent Intensity
Staltwart

GAMEMASTERING CIMMERIA
Timing Of A Cimmerian Campaign
Atmosphere
The Clans
Clan Enmity
Cimmerian Player Characters
Celtic Myths, Traditions And Legends

INDEX

LICENSE

 

[The King]

Thanks for the exhaustive summary. :wink:

Are there 2 bestiaries in the book? (I mean in the chapter SHADOWS OUT OF MEN where there are ice leopards and the chapter CIMMERIAN GAZETTEER where one find frost giants, etc.)

 

[Loz]

There's only one bestiary. The Ice Leopards are a Cimmerian clan.

 

[Strom]

Thanks Hervé!

 

[windman]

I really want to see the rules for the shield wall. Hope they are good mechanics.

 

[The King]

I also see there is some rules on taunts which means Slaine material can certainly be included (and vice-versa).

For those who are eager to play a campaign there, you can refer to the Slaine forum where you'll find excellent posts about taunting. :twisted:

 

[Sting52jb]

it really looks like this might be a very well put together book. I might just have to fork out the cash to get it.

 

[Supplement Four]

How about a juicy map of Cimmeria, displaying the land on a level of detail we've never seen before?

I'd really like that...if it were so.

Any such thing in the book?

 

[flatscan]

How about a juicy map of Cimmeria, displaying the land on a level of detail we've never seen before?

I'd really like that...if it were so.

Any such thing in the book?

There is a map. I wouldn't call it juicy though. And it has a Mt. Ymir in it. :roll:

 

[Kortoso]

Should be interesting. Geasa is an interesting "tribal" Celtic superstition = gaming possibilities.

The clan seems to be more stratified that I would expect from a truly tribal society.

And arrows? For the women and the infirm perhaps.

 

[Axerules]

And arrows? For the women and the infirm perhaps.

In a pastiche, Turtledove describded Conan as an archer during his Cimmerian youth; it's a direct contradiction to the "canon" since the Cimmerian learned to use a bow in Hyrkania. :roll:
The only "missile weapon" I recall there: REH wrote on Conan "throwing spears" when he was in Cimmeria.

 

[Yogah of Yag]

[delurk]

I'm guessing a great amount of this book is pastiche-based or completely made up by the author. :? I don't recollect "geasa" mentioned in canon Conan. I think somebody was trying too hard to meld Slaine into Conan.

Awaiting a thorough review...

[lurk mode activated]

 

[Loz]

[delurk]

I'm guessing a great amount of this book is pastiche-based or completely made up by the author. :? I don't recollect "geasa" mentioned in canon Conan. I think somebody was trying too hard to meld Slaine into Conan.

Awaiting a thorough review...

[lurk mode activated]

Its far, far more 'made up by the author' than it is pastiche-based. Fact is, it has to be; Howard wrote very, very little about Cimmeria, so if you're going to detail the land, you have a number of options:

1. Take what little is available - scant references, names, etc - and extrapolate.

2. Take the clear Celtic influences/analogue and develop those into something coherent. Yes, Cimmeria is a Celtic culture; so's Slaine, but there was no deliberate attempt to simply meld Slaine onto Howard. Trying too hard? I wasn't trying at all... Geasa, for instance, is a known Celtic cultural motif - as are many, many others found in the Cimmeria book that aren't in the Slaine saga. The aim of this book was to give Cimmeria some depth, and remain true to Howard's vision. If there are any comparisons to be drawn with Slaine, then its only because the two share a Celtic theme; nothing more.

3. Imagination. Despite the dearth of detail on Cimmeria in the Howard stories (Venarium is covered, but I didn't use 'Conan of Venarium' as any kind of deep resource: I don't like the book) there's lots of material on Celts that is interesting, applicable and, with imagination, can be moulded to fit a Cimmerian setting. Plus there's material that was just thought up as a result of the background reading and some guided 'what if?' thinking.

But the core goal is to make Cimmeria a detailed world in its own right where you can adventure, if you choose, and have it feel like an authentic Conan landscape.

 

[Axerules]

Yes, that's exactly why the two latest sourcebooks choices (Khitai and Cimmeria) displeased me. Still no Black Kingdoms (nor Turan), but "largely made-up" or "heavy pastiche-based" books ? Why ? (rhetorical question: the answer being probably "because a sourcebook on Cimmeria will sell").

AND since in REH's texts the references and informations on Cimmeria itself are scarce, why is it SO difficult for pastichers to respect the established facts ? I mean, before filling the blanks and unleashing your creativity ... get the few things we know straight!
What about "arrows" if they don't come from Turtledove's sh***y book?

 

[Loz]

Yes, that's exactly why the two latest sourcebooks choices (Khitai and Cimmeria) displeased me. Still no Black Kingdoms (nor Turan), but "largely made-up" or "heavy pastiche-based" books ? Why ? (rhetorical question: the answer being probably "because a sourcebook on Cimmeria will sell").

I don't choose what books make the schedule. But I'd guess that the overall strategy (aside from producing books that will sell - little point in producing books that won't) is to detail the Hyborian Age as thoroughly as possible. In fact, a similar strategy that exists across all Mongoose's product lines - from Glorantha, through Elric, via Babylon 5, and taking in Traveller.

AND since in REH's texts the references and informations on Cimmeria itself are scarce, why is it SO difficult for pastichers to respect the established facts ? I mean, before filling the blanks and unleashing your creativity ... get the few things we know straight!
What about "arrows" if they don't come from Turtledove's sh***y book?

And, as to the use of arrows/missiles - which has clearly rankled you - here's the text from the book:

Missile units are not a common sight on a Cimmerian battlefield. Standing back and lobbing spears or loosing arrows denies Cimmerians the Crom-given right to see the whites of an enemy’s eyes and feel his lifeblood ooze down the length of a sword blade. If the conditions demand it, some war bands will provide missile cover for advancing shield walls, but the general preference is for hand to hand combat rather than distant skirmishing.

 

[Kortoso]

There are tons of pastiches out there, many of them mutually contradictory. Nothing wrong with using them or Celtic mythology to fill out the world - as long as they don't contradict the canon.

REH's descriptions of Cimmeria are thin enough so that it should be easy enough to keep track of them.

 

[tarkhan bey]

I have been pleasantly surprised by the potential that this book has unlocked for adventuring in Cimmeria. I have always believed that a book on Turan and Hyrkania,the Black Kingdoms or even Nordheim should have come before this but Loz has got some really good ideas in there.
There is some of the stuff that I probably wouldn't use in my campaign. I might rename the Ymir Pass as the Pass of Lugh or something like that and a couple of the clan backgrounds are a bit questionable. The Raeda(especially their chieftains portrait) make them come across as a bit more like Picts than my view of Cimmerians.
They are nearly Cimmeria's answer to the Beane Clan or the mutants from "The Hills have eyes". :twisted:
There is loads of good stuff in there though and more plot hooks than you can shake a dead rat at. Especially useful is the random clan generator and the stuff on the Cimmerian culture.
Have to say though, that according to Prospero in "The Phoenix on the Sword", Cimmerians drink nought but water. There are quite a few references to alcoholic beverages in the book. Still, I suppose that could be in reference to the clans that border on Aquilonian territory.
Finally, I would have preferred if the clans had all been given Celtic style names as well as animalistic ones eg the Canach or Snow Hawks. It might have been useful to come up with a reason why some of the clans use the different naming styles.
All in all though, it was well worth the cash.

 

[Hervé]

All in all though, it was well worth the cash.

The more I get into the book, the more I agree with this.

 

[Axerules]

I don't choose what books make the schedule. But I'd guess that the overall strategy (aside from producing books that will sell - little point in producing books that won't) is to detail the Hyborian Age as thoroughly as possible. In fact, a similar strategy that exists across all Mongoose's product lines - from Glorantha, through Elric, via Babylon 5, and taking in Traveller.

My comments weren't directed against you. I know you're the author, you don't decide what book will be published.

And, as to the use of arrows/missiles - which has clearly rankled you - here's the text from the book:

Missile units are not a common sight on a Cimmerian battlefield. Standing back and lobbing spears or loosing arrows denies Cimmerians the Crom-given right to see the whites of an enemy’s eyes and feel his lifeblood ooze down the length of a sword blade. If the conditions demand it, some war bands will provide missile cover for advancing shield walls, but the general preference is for hand to hand combat rather than distant skirmishing.

Thanks for the clarification. 8)
Since you didn't reply to Kortoso's remark in your previous post, I was about to make a rant about "scant references", the two passages who, IMHO, rule out "archery in Cimmeria". One is in QotBC when Conan states that he learned archery among the Hyrkanians and express his feeling on bows (not "manly" weapons) and another in THotD when he recalls his youth, throwing spears at the mountain beasts.

I'm sorry to have overreacted, please forgive me.

 

[Loz]

No problem, Axel. No offence actually assumed or taken.

Canon's always problematic. What comes easily to the story's author can frequently cause issues when a game writer has to look at the context around a ton of material, cross-reference, and then finds either contradictions, or things that, in the real world wouldn't make much sense, and then try and rationalise it all without either breaking canon, or breaking the inherent rules of logic. I've worked with a great deal of Michael Moorcock's output, so I'm used to this kind of thing happening (and I can be the biggest purist pedant when it comes to the Eternal Champion)