Howards stories as adventures

[Trodax]

With The Tower of the Elephant coming out, I've started to think about what other Howard stories would make cool roleplaying adventures.

Personally, I think Red Nails would rock. Cool setting, grim danger and different political factions that the PCs can choose to fight or ally themselves to. That sucker has it all!

Also, Queen of the Black Coast has got an extremely evocative setting.

So, which Howard stories would you like to see as published adventures?

 

[The King]

I would love an adaptation of the novel "The hour of the Dragon". And I still can't understand why it hasn't been developped into a movie.

 

[Korppis]

Personally, my group is adventuring in Conajahora and the setting has lots of similarities with REH's "Beyond the Black River"... The campaign started when my main villain (a pictish shaman) escaped from prison during an attack against a border fort. During their adventures players have found out that some of the persons responsiple of his capture have been found dead.

 

[Bregales]

With The Tower of the Elephant coming out, I've started to think about what other Howard stories would make cool roleplaying adventures.

Personally, I think Red Nails would rock. Cool setting, grim danger and different political factions that the PCs can choose to fight or ally themselves to. That sucker has it all!

Also, Queen of the Black Coast has got an extremely evocative setting.

So, which Howard stories would you like to see as published adventures?

Hey, I had posted in an earlier thread, Red Nails to become an animated film?!, that Red Nails was in production (animated movie), and for the new live action movie at this time being titled King Conan: Crown of Iron. Just as an fyi.

Now then, I've posted on several threads how I've adapted Shadows in Zamboula and The Trail of the Bloodstained God which worked remarkably well, and I've seen several other posters do likewise (like Red Turban). How about Shadows in the Moonlight? I agree that Red Nails would be great, but I've heard so much Tlazlitlan this and Tlazlitlan that, that I'd rather not hear about them being player options and stuff. So am looking forward to the movie or such an adventure where the rest of that degenerate mob are killed off like in the story.

The basic problem with Mongoose publishing adventures based on stories like The Phoenix on the Sword or The Hour of the Dragon is that the game is built up after Conan has seized the throne of Aquilonia (RoK, Aquilonia), so I wouldn't expect to see such adventures compared to earlier stories.

Actually, aside from the 2 I mentioned adapting above, I'm pretty much working my own stories at this point.

 

[Trodax]

I would love an adaptation of the novel "The hour of the Dragon".

Yeah, it could nicely be made into a longer campaign. As Bregales points out though, I don't think that one is as likely to come out of the Mongoose printers as the shorter "stand-alone" stories.

Hey, I had posted in an earlier thread, Red Nails to become an animated film?!, that Red Nails was in production (animated movie), and for the new live action movie at this time being titled King Conan: Crown of Iron. Just as an fyi.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that! This could be very cool, Red Nails is one of my favorite stories.

Now then, I've posted on several threads how I've adapted Shadows in Zamboula and The Trail of the Bloodstained God which worked remarkably well, and I've seen several other posters do likewise (like Red Turban).

I can't seem to remember The Trail of the Bloodstained God. Is it a Howard story?
I agree that the setting for Shadows in Zamboula is also damn spiffy. Damnit, they're all cool!

I agree that Red Nails would be great, but I've heard so much Tlazlitlan this and Tlazlitlan that, that I'd rather not hear about them being player options and stuff. So am looking forward to the movie or such an adventure where the rest of that degenerate mob are killed off like in the story.

:lol: Agreed. Those crazy freaks must meet an evil end.

 

[Bregales]

Now then, I've posted on several threads how I've adapted Shadows in Zamboula and The Trail of the Bloodstained God which worked remarkably well, and I've seen several other posters do likewise (like Red Turban).

I can't seem to remember The Trail of the Bloodstained God. Is it a Howard story?

Yes, but not a Conan story, it's a modern day story rewritten by L Sprague de Camp from Howard’s modern day Afghanistan story as The Bloodstained God, but the original's a wierd story and rather crafty. :twisted:

I agree that Red Nails would be great, but I've heard so much Tlazlitlan this and Tlazlitlan that, that I'd rather not hear about them being player options and stuff. So am looking forward to the movie or such an adventure where the rest of that degenerate mob are killed off like in the story.

:lol: Agreed. Those crazy freaks must meet an evil end.

Yeah :twisted:

 

[Brajah]

I've always thought that many of the Solomon Kane stories would make great adventures, especially Wings in the Night, The Hills of the Dead, The Children of Asshur, and The Moon of Skulls.

Negari, the city in The Moon of Skulls, is the last surviving colony of Atlantis and thus should have existed during the Hyborian Age.

Black Vulmea's Vengence, The Isle of Pirate's Doom, She Devil and Ship in Mutiny all have good plots and settings for pirate adventures.

Finally, The Valley of the Lost, The Horror from the Mound, Moon of Zembebwei, and one of my all-time favorites Black Canaan would also make great adventures.

 

[Trodax]

I can't seem to remember The Trail of the Bloodstained God. Is it a Howard story?

Yes, but not a Conan story, it's a modern day story rewritten by L Sprague de Camp from Howard’s modern day Afghanistan story as The Bloodstained God, but the original's a wierd story and rather crafty. :twisted:

OK, gottcha.

I've always thought that many of the Solomon Kane stories would make great adventures, especially Wings in the Night, The Hills of the Dead, The Children of Asshur, and The Moon of Skulls.

Negari, the city in The Moon of Skulls, is the last surviving colony of Atlantis and thus should have existed during the Hyborian Age.

Black Vulmea's Vengence, The Isle of Pirate's Doom, She Devil and Ship in Mutiny all have good plots and settings for pirate adventures.

Finally, The Valley of the Lost, The Horror from the Mound, Moon of Zembebwei, and one of my all-time favorites Black Canaan would also make great adventures.

Cool. I haven't read any of the Solomon Kane stuff; maybe I should.

 

[Mythos]

Cool. I haven't read any of the Solomon Kane stuff; maybe I should.

Yes you should.
A lot of the stories from Howard's other characters would make excellent adventures.
My current GM is trying to convert Bran Mac Morn's Worms in the Earth into a Conan adventure.

 

[The King]

The map of the Red Nails location would be a nightmare to design but it could be something like the temple of elemental evil, a crossbreed between dungeon crawl and diplomatic skills between factions and then an unknown underground threat.

The Hour of the Dragon need not be the same and the like but an adaptation of this as a campaign game where the PC's have reached a cetain level of power where they have to defend what they conquered (in this case a kingdom).

The next Conan movie could be interesting but I doubt they will follow the Howard storyline as they already designed free scenarios in the first 2 movies.

 

[Trodax]

A lot of the stories from Howard's other characters would make excellent adventures.
My current GM is trying to convert Bran Mac Morn's Worms in the Earth into a Conan adventure.

That one I have read. It seems to me a large chunk of inspiration from that story was used in the Across the Thunder River campaign.

I also just remembered another of Howards stories that has been turned into an RPG adventure; the Cthulhuesque story "The Black Stone" was published as a Call of Cthulhu scenario in an appendix to the campaign "The Shadows of Yog-Sothoth" (under the name "People of the Monolith"). It was a very short scenario (only 4 pages), and I wasn't all that impressed. But still, its Howard...

 

[Raphael]

The Hour of the Dragon need not be the same and the like but an adaptation of this as a campaign game where the PC's have reached a cetain level of power where they have to defend what they conquered (in this case a kingdom).

[deja vu] I seen this before...[/deja vu]
Oh yeah. Vincent's section on GMing Hyboria in RoK has an extaended list of stories boiled down to adventure seeds.

Raphael

 

[VincentDarlage]

That one I have read. It seems to me a large chunk of inspiration from that story was used in the Across the Thunder River campaign.

Absolutely it was. Worms of the Earth is one of my favourite REH stories, and it did inspire the scenerio in Across the Thunder River.

 

[Fernando]

I've always thought that many of the Solomon Kane stories would make great adventures, especially Wings in the Night, The Hills of the Dead, The Children of Asshur, and The Moon of Skulls.

Negari, the city in The Moon of Skulls, is the last surviving colony of Atlantis and thus should have existed during the Hyborian Age.

Black Vulmea's Vengence, The Isle of Pirate's Doom, She Devil and Ship in Mutiny all have good plots and settings for pirate adventures.

Finally, The Valley of the Lost, The Horror from the Mound, Moon of Zembebwei, and one of my all-time favorites Black Canaan would also make great adventures.

I agree with you about Negari in the Hyborian Age. I and a friend of mine recently wrote and published a Conan's tale called "Negari - A Ilha da Morte" (Negari - The Isle of the Death), and you can find it at http://cronicasdacimeria.blogspot.com/2007/01/negari-ilha-da-morte.html

 

[slaughterj]

I've run a variant of Shadows in Zamboula in a campaign before, good stuff! Plus, even more fun in a later campaign that included a player from the previous one went to the same inn at the start and stayed there again

 

[Evil_Trevor]

I personaly am going to run Jewels of Gwhallar (However it is spelt) with Conan as one of many adversaries for the group, there's enough background to fill an entire campaign in that story.....

 

[Doc Martin]

Although I don't run Conan stories as straight adventures I often use them for inspiration. Not simply for background or plot hooks (although I do that as well) but for ideas as to 'what happens next'. My campaigns can be somewhat freeform - damn players always career off the railroad - so that can be where the Conan stories come in for ideas. For example, my players got to an isolated desert town where there were various things that they could do and they managed to get themselves run out of town. What would happen to Conan if he found himself isolated in the desert and out of favour with the nearest 'civilised' place - he'd take over a small nomad clan of course and weld it into an army with which to take revenge! Whenever I'm wondering what might happen I always glance through Howard's writings for a similar situation and take it from there - keeps the flavour of the campaign 'authentic'.

 

[Axerules]

Although I don't run Conan stories as straight adventures I often use them for inspiration. (...) Whenever I'm wondering what might happen I always glance through Howard's writings for a similar situation and take it from there - keeps the flavour of the campaign 'authentic'.

I feel the same. I bought most of the mongoose stuff about Conan but not Tower of the Elephant because I don't want to run Howard Conan stories. I feel that they belong to Conan. I read again Howard stories set were the adventure takes place prior to GM a scenario. On the other side I use more freely elements coming from pastiches.