Cimmeria

[Supplement Four]

What's the general opinion on this Mongoose book? I've got it and just started flipping through it. But, already, a few things raise my eyebrow and make me wonder about the quality of the book.

I need to read it much closer than I have before I make an opinion, but, right here, on page 12, Cimmerian marriages. Marriage is almost always a political union, designed to forge new alliances, bring to an end old enmities, or advance the standing of the families involved.

I know Howard wrote next to nothing about Cimmerian marriage in his works, and I don't think there's much on it in the patstiches either. But, does this strike you as how the Cimmerians would look at marriage?

It seems a bit "off the mark" to me.

A paragraph or so about marriage in the book is fine, but then the author goes on for the next two and a half pages detailing a Cimmerian marriage ceremony? This is how the author decides to spend his pages?

I mean, how many of you will ever use this in a game? How important would a marriage in your Cimmerian game be? Would it ever pop up?

Again, this bodes bad for me and the rest of the book.

Thoughts?

 

[Supplement Four]

As I keep skimming, I see that a typical Cimmerian has a bow and arrows among his other war gear. Really? I thought Cimmerians shunned distance weapons like that because they weren't weapons a "man" would use.

And, there is a paragraph on Nomadic Cimmerian Clans. Really? Doesn't this contradict Hyboria's Fiercest where it says (pg. 12), There is no nomadic culture in Cimmeria.

Did Lawrence Whitaker do his homework when he wrote this thing?

I hope it gets better.

 

[Spongly]

The main problem I have with all the setting books for Conan is that they contain too much extraneous information like details of marriage ceremonies or how many shoe makers shops there are in Tarantia, and not enough actual ideas for adventures.

 

[Supplement Four]

To be fair about the book, as my comments above are negative, I did finish giving the book a good look-see, and the book does redeem itself a bit in the later pages. It even "corrects" (or contradicts) the stuff about Cimmerians having bows (Later in the book, it says that Cimmerians using bows on the battlefield is extremely rare....so, why, in the beginning of the book, make bows part of the usual equipment a Cimmerian carries??? I'll scratch my head.)

There is some good info in the book. The largest part of the book is dedicated to the Cimmerian clans. At first, I wondered, "Why so many pages devoted to this?" But, then, I realized how valuable this would be in a game. The Clannish culture of Cimmeria is a big part of life there, so a game set in Cimmeria would be greatly concerned with the Clans. This section gives the GM a load of ready-made material about the various Cimmerian Clans for all sorts of game purposes, not the least of which is role playing. There are several individuals detailed too.

The book starts off poorly but then delivers on one level. I'd call it a decent purchase. It's not a home run by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd say it's worth the coin if you're looking at running something in Cimmeria.

 

[MongooseMatt]

so, why, in the beginning of the book, make bows part of the usual equipment a Cimmerian carries??? I'll scratch my head.)

Bows are not just used for battle. . .

 

[skelos]

Cimmerians are using extensivly hunting bows which ones are mostly for hunting animals. Cimmerians are great hunters and survival beings so yeah they use bows but not Hyrkanian or Bossonian ofc.

I mostly love books that are very detailed even for things that would never (or almost never) be used in campaigns. The reason a book is very detailed on lifestyle of areas and cultures is simple : Give a complete and detailed view of this area so that the reader and the players are able to perfectly imagine and understand the culture. I might never have a Cimmerian barbarian player willing to marry, but I could easily make an adventure where players are present in a Cimmerian Village and the day of marriage celebration of the warchief's daughter Nordheimers or warriors from another clan of Cimmeria raid the village and take prisoners.

 

[Supplement Four]

I mostly love books that are very detailed even for things that would never (or almost never) be used in campaigns.

Sure. I get that.

The reason a book is very detailed on lifestyle of areas and cultures is simple : Give a complete and detailed view of this area so that the reader and the players are able to perfectly imagine and understand the culture. I might never have a Cimmerian barbarian player willing to marry, but I could easily make an adventure where players are present in a Cimmerian Village and the day of marriage celebration of the warchief's daughter Nordheimers or warriors from another clan of Cimmeria raid the village and take prisoners.

I don't have a problem with the idea of Cimmerian marriages being mentioned. It's the 2-3 pages devoted to it that gets me. Do a quick paragraph on something like that and move on. Use the space wisely with stuff that players and GMs will eat up.

 

[Phobos]

I suppose that since the cimmerians have a "celtic" or "irish" flavor, the author take a look in those cultures for improve the book with interesting details.