Conan: Aquilonia: Flower of the West

[Raven Blackwell]

I hope you like Across the Thunder River and Aquilonia-Flower of the West better than you liked Shadizar.

I'm not complaining about Shadizar's technical merits, Vincent. You presented the information in a organized fashion- something I am not that good at myself. It's the content, which I object to in a professional and personal manner.

Professionally, there was just practically nothing I could use. While you did a good job in recapping the manner in which real life criminals operate [more on that later] rules on the nature of prostitution, running a brothel, temple prostitutes, alternate version of demonic pacts, the daily life of the king of Zamora's sergilio(sp?) isn't even material that players will notice in the background. Conan's strength is its sword and sorcery flavour, not its forays in the morass of the criminal nature of man. Even Robert Jordan, who's pastiches are the most pornographic IMHO, keeps a lot of the filth off screen.

Personally, that a little different. [Warning- I am likely going to insult some people here] In my observation, most gamers are those with sedate lives, who choose to 'desend' into the less than clean aspects of life in some vitual manner and then return to a relatively safe life again. Thus crime and criminals can seems attractive to those who feel confined by society's laws.

I, however, come from the other end of the spectrum. I could just toss off a one line responce and say, 'hey, I don't need a Shadizar sourcebook, I've seen Singapore', but it's more than that. I have never had a safe life, starting my foray into this world by living in a household where physical, mental, verbal and sexual abuse were commonplace. And outside of that household? Sexual predators can smell weakness and I learned to fight at a very, very young age- even badly injuring my stepfather to convince him to find another way to passing the night than in my room. After graduating, I entered the military where I discovered that people like my stepfather are worldwide, beating the hell out of losers who think that I want to party with them and can't take 'no' for an answer on three occasions. And though I even managed to secure a college education, I have always lived below the poverty line, putting me in almost constant contact with individuals that would fit well in Shadizar. There is nothing romantic, exciting, enviable or even tolerable about these pieces of human filth that pollute the world. Idealizing them or even presenting them in a neutral manner as today's media does so well is frankly encouraging the idea that this sort of thing is okay. It's not. Frankly, if I could get away with it, I'd cheerfully kill every rapist, pimp and drug dealer in the world, legal ones included, but alas I dislike prisons.

Literature where I used to go for some escape for it all, for characters that at least had some standards. Lately though, this refuge is rotting in pornography and degenerate behavior as well. I guess Howard is right. Mankind can't keep it's head out of the toilet for very long.

Raven

 

[Bushido]

Does the book gives you ALOT of info about different Aqilonian regions and "culture"?

 

[Padre]

It depends on your definition of 'ALOT' All I can say is: it's more than enough to set your game in Aquilonia.

 

[Raven Blackwell]

A lot of its information about the cities and towns of Aquilonia is set in a technical sense like a travel guide- it breaks down the town's population, main industries, local goverment etc. It does however lack any maps of cities and there isn't a lot of 'flavour' that seperates one town from another. The information on the religion of Mitra, Aquilonia's military and government and the rather messed up chronology of the Conan royal family is quite good. I would have like to see a little more info on the royals prior to Conan's rise to fame to help set a campaign prior to the 'Conan the King' era. The noted NPCs of Aquilonia are well detailed, though it's scarce on monsters and sorcery flavoured info. Frankly there aren't a lot of them in Aquilonia appearantly. That sort of stuff just isn't tolerated by the crown and the church.

 

[Bushido]

A lot of it's information about the cities and towns of Aquilonia is set in a technical sense like a travel guide- it breaks down the town's population, main industries, local goverment etc. It does however lack any maps of cities and there isn't a lot of 'flavour' that seperates one town from another. The information on the religion of Mitra, Aquilonia's military and government and the rather messed up chronology of the Conan royal family is quite good. I would have like to see a little more info on the royals prior to Conan's rise to fame to help set a campaign prior to the 'Conan the King' era. The noted NPCs of Aquilonia are well detailed, though it's soarce on monsters and sorcery flaboured info. Franklu there aren't a lot of them in Aquilonia appearantly. That sort of stuff just isn't tolerated by the crown and the church.

Thanks, for the good info!

 

[Bregales]

Hope it won't involve Dark Horse comic book vision. You know - with uber-powerful immortal wizards, taking souls, breeding giants and generally making sword & sorcery look like those Realms that people usually Forget.

I for one heartily second this. I stopped getting the comics because of this thread for a while (was eventually talked back into it). And I've found the writer to be well-informed and stable in writing about the stories (in emails and articles, not referring to the comics themselves), it's just the way the non-Howard stories come off; it's as if it's a whole different character compared to the young and somewhat green-to-civilization Conan.

 

[Raven Blackwell]

They've started the Tower of the Elephant adaptation and IMHO, everyone here should start collecting- if only for this run. It's damn good. The timing of it coming out at roughly the same time the adventure is being released is just of those things that suggests someOne upstairs- or maybe downstairs is a Conan fan.....8)