Khitai: WHY?

[LucaCherstich]

I've just noticed that in October 2008 a sourcebok on Khitai will be released just after the other one on Cimmeria.
Why did you choose Khitai?
I think that, together with Cimmeria, Khitai is one of those countries most ignored by Howard (if one does not mention the assassins in the Hour of the Dragon).
The author(s) of Khitai (and of Cimmeria) will have to rely a bit TOO much on non-canon materials and their personal creations.
Why you did not pick up something which is not more described but (at least) more mentioned by Howard?
(e.g. the Vilayet Sea/Turan or Ghulistan or the Black Kingdoms).
And, regarding personal creations (which should be frequent in a book regarding Khitai or Cimmeria) who is writing Khitai?
Is him somebody as good as Vincent Darlage?
What other books did he wrote?

 

[Verderer]

Yeah, Khitai does seem to be somewhat obscure and far away for a source book. I would have hoped for something a little closer to home, namely Nemedia which is pretty prominent in many Conan stories.

 

[Hervé]

I will repeat it ad lib...
I WANT TURAN!!
Who cares about Kithai, anyways? Even REH himself didn't care about it...

 

[The King]

I also said years ago that even if I have my preferences I don't care which regional books come next as long as all et every countries are covered and Khitai and Cimmeria is as good as any.

 

[DaveNC]

I would have preferred Turan or Nemedia also.

 

[Majestic7]

I was more surprised about Cimmeria. What does it have to offer? Pictland and the Black Kingdoms are much more interesting in regards to barbarism vs civilization. There is practically nothing about Cimmeria in REH's work and it has really no potential at all for anything interesting without heavily breaking the canon. Khitai at least is a major empire and thus defends its place as a realm worth detailing. Cimmeria does not have that execuse.

Well, at least REH has one cool description about Cimmeria - I've always thought this to be a song or a poem made by Conan after he has become the king of Aquilonia, telling his friends and family about the land he is from...

Cimmeria

I remember
The dark woods, masking slopes of sombre hills;
The grey clouds' leaden everlasting arch;
The dusky streams that flowed without a sound,
And the lone winds that whispered down the passes.

Vista upon vista marching, hills on hills,
Slope beyond slope, each dark with sullen trees,
Our gaunt land lay. So when a man climbed up
A rugged peak and gazed, his shaded eye
Saw but the endless vista--hill on hill,
Slope beyond slope, each hooded like its brothers.

It was gloomy land that seemed to hold
All winds and clouds and dreams that shun the sun,
With bare boughs rattling in the lonesome winds,
And the dark woodlands brooding over all,
Not even lightened by the rare dim sun
Which made squat shadows out of men; they called it
Cimmeria, land of Darkness and deep Night.

It was so long ago and far away
I have forgotten the very name men called me.
The axe and flint-tipped spear are like a dream,
And hunts and wars are like shadows. I recall
Only the stillness of that sombre land;
The clouds that piled forever on the hills,
The dimness of the everlasting woods.
Cimmeria, land of Darkness and the Night.

 

[Thorvang]

IMHO, I think we should all be very happy to be involved in a game that is popular enough to be able to put out all of this material, whether or not some of us deem it 'necessary.' The way things are going, I'm sure most if not all of the regions of Hyboria will be covered sooner or later, so be patient and secure in the fact that Mongoose will be putting out sourcebooks for Conan for many moons to come!
And if ya don't want/like the books, then don't frikkin' buy 'em!!
'Nuff said. :wink:

 

[Style]

IMHO, I think we should all be very happy to be involved in a game that is popular enough to be able to put out all of this material, whether or not some of us deem it 'necessary.' The way things are going, I'm sure most if not all of the regions of Hyboria will be covered sooner or later, so be patient and secure in the fact that Mongoose will be putting out sourcebooks for Conan for many moons to come!
And if ya don't want/like the books, then don't frikkin' buy 'em!!
'Nuff said. :wink:

Yeah really.

(However, another vote to elevate Turan on the priority list. Thanks!)

 

[Hervé]

The way things are going, I'm sure most if not all of the regions of Hyboria will be covered sooner or later

I won't stake my life on this, as the last regional book (Shem) is nearly two years away. With a schedule like this, you can expect Brythunia around 2030...

Anyways, I really think the "Core" nations should be covered first, and that Turan is definitively among them.

 

[The King]

Yes of course, the 2nd edition reprints delay the regional sourcebook, but I am sure Mongoose can release 4-5 such books a year with some covering 2 or more kingdoms (e.g. Nordheim)

 

[Old Bear]

Turan and Hyrkania were always the ones I wanted to see published, along with Nemedia so that players could game during Hour of the Dragon in detail.

 

[Solmyr]

I would like to vote for Turan as well. Being possibly the most powerful empire in Hyboria it's amazing that it hasn't got a sourcebook yet.

Even Vendhya/Ghulistan would be good. At least it's plausible that your characters may go there, whereas they are unlikely to ever visit Khitai unless your campaign is already set there...

 

[LucaCherstich]

We all want Turan!
I would add Black Kingdoms, Ghulistan or the "minor" Hyborian states, especially KOTH!!
Nevertheless we will get these two nobody-cares-about books on Cimmeria and Khitai....so, if we must accept these strange choices, can I ask whether the author is a good one?
From Amazon I've noticed that such books will be by Lawrence Whitaker, who wrote mainly Runequest books.
I must admit I do not know anything about him since I did not care about Runequest (after all these 20 years of rpg-playing I come to the conclusion that I do not want to waste my time with other D&D-like systems which are better than D&D for some sides but worse in others...and I was MORE THAN HAPPY when I noticed that the Conan Rpg was just a modified d20).
Therefore I do not know anything about Lawrence Whitaker.
Is he as good as Vincent Darlage?
AND MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, WHAT HAPPENED TO VINCENT DARLAGE?
After Players Guide he did not seem to have written anthing else, after so many good products!
I always thought that Vincent Darlage was the only right man for regional Conan products...not somebody re-cycled from Runequest!
Especially on boring, non-Canon stuff like Cimmeria and Khitai where we definively NEED the creative skills of somebody like Vincent and MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE his knowledge of what should be more in line with REH and the Sword & Sorcery style!!.
In products like Across the Thunder River & Stygia Vincent clearly showed how much he was able to fill the (enormous!) gaps in the "canon-material" not only with adapted non-canon stuff but with believable REH-like elements created by him, so he was definitely the one to call to write sourcebooks on completely REH-ignored kingdoms like Khitai.
NEVERTHELESS, can anybody assure me that Lawrence Whitaker is a good substitute for Vincent Darlage?
I admit, again, my ignorance of anything he ever wrote.

 

[Old Bear]

I know Lawrence well from a professional viewpoint and I've also spent time with him in person. Firstly, he's the cleverest person I have met for some time. Second, he's a grown man with a mature attitude, which means he isn't going to be hung up on his own ego like many younger writers can.

I for one think if anybody was going to stand in for the outstanding Vincent it would be either Gareth (Hanrahan) or Lawrence. My concern is not with Lawrence, but rather with the dearth of good info on Khitai. I fear the brief may be too much along the lines of a simplistic fantasy China, which may well have been Howard's intent, however we will never really know that.

Of course from a speed point of view, this is a good thing. Far less to have to refernce in the first place...

 

[maladaar]

Would like to see Corinthia, Nemedia and Hyrkania. Not necessarily in that order.

 

[Thorvang]

I won't stake my life on this, as the last regional book (Shem) is nearly two years away. With a schedule like this, you can expect Brythunia around 2030...

:lol:
Hee-heeee!

 

[Solmyr]

Anyhow, my wishlist (in roughly the order of preference) would be something like...

Turan (including Kozaki steppe and Zamboula/Eastern Desert with environs)
Nemedia/Border Kingdom
Zamora (I know we have the Shadizar box but it's not very detailed on the rest)
Vendhya (including Ghulistan and possibly Kosala)
Black Kingdoms
Koth & Ophir
Corinthia
Iranistan & Golden Kingdoms
Hyperborea
Hyrkania
Brythunia (yeah, I don't like Brythunia :roll: )

 

[Thorvang]

Brythunia (yeah, I don't like Brythunia :roll: )

And other than those who deal in there comely wenches, who does?! :twisted:

 

[quigs]

I'd push Khitai down towards the bottom of my list too. Cimmeria would be cool though, as it was the birthplace of Conan, and is based loosely on Celtic culture, which I love.

The Kern books, which were not the greatest I know, had some really good descriptions of the landscape up there and the tribal nature of the Cimmerians. And now that I'm finally getting back into Conan, I am looking foward to this for sure.

 

[serene_muse]

My guess would be they had a writer with a good draft handy.

Also right now faux China is likely more popular than faux horse nomads etc. (much as I would also like a Turan book).

This could be a fun book. Chinese RPG books tend to be a bit dry and historical or over the top wuxia. I'd like a more pulpy fantasy version that's not Kara-Tur (AD&D Oriental Adventures later shoehorned into the Forgotten Realms) and ties directly into Conan for a bonus.

It could also lead into a Turan etc. sourcebook, being a power that spurs westward movement of tribes and cultures.