Concerning Conan

[David St-Michel]

As GMers, do you put him in your games?

As players, would you -want- him in your game?

I personally started my campaign early in Conan's kingship. By the time the PCs were in Tarantia, they were caught smack dab in the middle of "The Phoenix on the Sword", with a few adjustments (instead of a dozen rogues, nearly a hundred. Instead of a quick and quiet assassination attempt, a full-blown invasion of the castle).

They interacted with Conan slightly, but I did not want to press the fact that "Hey, this is him. THIS is the dude that pretty much did it all."

Also, is there information somewhere on how Conan was upgraded, character sheet-wise, from 1st level to 20th level? I'd find it interesting to see just how he was built up.

Thanks.

 

[tneva82]

As GMers, do you put him in your games?

Maybe. Depends a lot on campaign. Most of the time no but once in a blue moon why not?

As players, would you -want- him in your game?

Naah. Not opposed but I can live without him appearing. Might be fun once in a while but if he has any notable role he might end up shadowing players which isn't fun. Players are supposed to be stars of the show ;-)

Of course if his role is more limited like king ordering his vassals or more akin to background information that's less of an issue. But heaven forbid if players and Conan end up fighting in same fight. Players probably will be shadowed by the mighty barbarian big time(and rightly so).

 

[flatscan]

In my game I've got Conan as King, later in his career. Ran the PCs through Heretics of Tarantia recently though they didn't meet Conan.

That info is spread among several books. King Conan is here. Amra the Lion/Conan the Reaver is in the Pirate Isles book. Conan the Throat Slitter and Captain Conan of Turan are both in the Free Companies book. Conan the Thief is in The Conan Compendium.

 

[Hervé]

In my campaign, Vilerus still rules Aquilonia, Yildiz is living his last years as king of Turan and Conan is wandering in the Hyborian lands. Our barbarian has absolutely no incidence on my game world...

 

[Spongly]

Our campaign is set before Conan is king. We've never directly encountered him, but our characters have heard of him, and we've wandered into a few places just after he's left - we were in a bar in the Maul where there was uproar because some Cimmerian savage had just stabbed one of the locals, and we've come into a city he's just fled from before as well.

It works nicely, because it's a nod to Howard, but Conan doesn't get in the way of our adventures.

 

[David St-Michel]

In my campaign, the PCs just left Tarantia after having lived The Phoenix on the Sword. They had to take on Gromel, the giant Bossionian leader of the Black Legion. He died when they threw a barrel of lamp oil on him and set him on fire.

Fun times.

I intended to keep Conan's presence in the game to a minimum, simply because it would be "Conan and friends" instead of my PCs being the main characters.

I like the idea of keeping him just a step ahead. Following his footsteps.

 

[decker423]

My campaign is set 50 years before Conan is born so they have plenty of time to explore the world before he enters it and changes it.

 

[cbrunish]

It's easy to just keep the setting as Mongoose published it. The only problem is that Conan has done sooooo much it does not leave alot of things for the players to do.

Setting it before Conan would be nice really interesting because the GM can do anything he/she wants without regard to past events of Conan's life. It would just take some imagination and time.

Unfortunatly I don't have much time (having a job is just so inconvient :lol: ). But I don't have Conan interacting with the characters because that would cheapen their experience for the game. JMO.

 

[David St-Michel]

I disagree with that cbrunish.

Most of Conan's greatest adventures involved him leaving the scene/area because it was just too dangerous or suicidal for his own good.

A lot of his adventures end in "stalemates", or even certain types of defeat (as Beyond Thunder River, for example).

My PCs have TONS of things to do that don't even directly relate to Conan.

 

[cbrunish]

True, I was thinking of Red Nails and Hall of the Dead.

 

[David St-Michel]

That IS true, though...

I mean, once both tribes are dead, the local "dragon-god" is slain...

Besides going into those murky old tombs to pick out magical stuff, there isn't much to do.

 

[Supplement Four]

Plus, I like the notion--especially among conflicting tales--that these are legends we are reading. Legends of a man who became a King and lived long ago. Like real legends, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

So...maybe Conan didn't really quite as much as the legends say he did....?

Enter the PCs.

 

[David St-Michel]

haha.

Conan's a big liar with tons of people working for him to make him look good.

 

[Supplement Four]

haha.

Conan's a big liar with tons of people working for him to make him look good.

You've never heard that before?

I think L. Sprague de Camp was the first to use such a description of Conan's tales, especially referring to the stories that conflict chronologically...or in some other way.

 

[flatscan]

I think L. Sprague de Camp was the first to use such a description of Conan's tales, especially referring to the stories that conflict chronologically...or in some other way.

So L. Sprague de Chump did it to cover his own ass in other words. :roll:

 

[Strom]

haha.

Conan's a big liar with tons of people working for him to make him look good.

You've never heard that before?

I think L. Sprague de Camp was the first to use such a description of Conan's tales, especially referring to the stories that conflict chronologically...or in some other way.

Ridiculous. Decamp tried to create a chronological timeline - not justify one by saying Conan was a fraud. Maybe you were joking.

 

[Supplement Four]

No, I wasn't joking. There are several pastiches out there, as you know. Some of them conflict. The notion, and I think it's a good one, is that these are legends of the man, Conan, and not everything we read about him is the complete truth--especially where the pastiches are concerned.

Not ridiculous, but cool.

The excellent Ultimate Guide by Roy Thomas (noted Conan expert) mentiones the exact same idea.

 

[kintire]

Ridiculous. Decamp tried to create a chronological timeline - not justify one by saying Conan was a fraud. Maybe you were joking.

Its not ridiculous. When de Camp was doing his timeline he tried to lever in all of the pastiches that then existed. He hit two serious problems:

1) The Film. He consulted on it, and wrote the novelisation, but its account of Conan's early life is irreconcilable with Howard's version.

2) Road of Kings. This pastiche ends with Conan successfully leading a revolt against a tyrant (I forget where... one of the Hyborian kingdoms I think) and then modestly declining the throne and leaving. de Camp's tolerance for odd characterisations of Conan was considerable, but that was a step too far even for him!

He resolved both off these by the "conflicting legends" excuse.

 

[Strom]

No, I wasn't joking. There are several pastiches out there, as you know. Some of them conflict. The notion, and I think it's a good one, is that these are legends of the man, Conan, and not everything we read about him is the complete truth--especially where the pastiches are concerned.

Not ridiculous, but cool.

The excellent Ultimate Guide by Roy Thomas (noted Conan expert) mentiones the exact same idea.

Ridiculous - this is Conan!

Roy's quote:

Whatever the truth behind qny of these exploits it is not difficult to imagine Conan performing them all, and numerous others besides.

That is the complete opposite of what you are suggesting - that Conan was a man of myth & legend that suggests he never accomplished the deeds he did. We are not talking about an alternate timeline - you and kintire are suggesting the Conan mythos - pastiche or canon - are figments of exaggeration. I stand by Roy (expert)- Whatever the truth behind any of these exploits it is not difficult to imagine Conan performing them all, and numerous others besides.

Whatever the tale - it is not hard to imagine Conan accomplished it.

 

[tneva82]

Whatever the tale - it is not hard to imagine Conan accomplished it.

Like doing his youth in two completely different ways at the same time? Interesting. How you think that could work