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Mongoose
Categories: Background, by Gareth HANRAHAN
Conan 2E: Sample Characters
The first edition of Conan had a few human adversaries statted up in the Bestiary chapter (Belit's Black Corsairs), Picts on the Warpath, and Turanian Light Cavalry). I'm a fan of stock characters, so one of the final tweaks to this project is adding another few pages of such adversaries.

Currently, the list of additions includes:
* Thieves in the House
* Dancing Girl
* Savage Cannibals
* Canny Merchant
* Sorcerer (in three different flavours - Sagely Priest, Evil Demonologist, and Adventuring Conjurer)
* Sellsword
* Bandit
* City Guard
* Common Thug

If anyone can think of any other appropriate low-level NPCs that keep cropping up in their games, post away...


And msprange had this to say:

Gareth is hard at work on Conan 2e, which promises to be the best depiction of adventuring within the Hyborian Kingdoms - added to this, we are also preparing some stunning limited edition prints based on Chris Quilliams' brilliant artwork for the game.
 
  • Human foes are useful in this setting, but what do you consider low-level : 1-3 ? 1-5 ? :?:
  • Here are some other human opponents that show up often in my games: guards of nobles (I would not stat them 1-2, so would they qualify as "low-level" ?) and Free Companies mercenaries (3rd ?). You could also stat mid-level foes like palace guards : I think that guards for a king in a major country should be at least something like 6th level.
  • Another question: what about their races ? :?: Will it be something like "Zamorian thief in the house" or generic stats were the racial template is not defined ? A chosen race makes this kind of templates specific to some countries while a generic approach implies more work for the GM, so both solutions have advantages...and drawbacks.
 
the list is pretty decent and broad and only requires a name/gear change to make them something a bit more suitable to the game situation but like axerules said what lvl are they being presented as?

personally what i'd like to see when they present human npcs foes like this is an example 1st, 3rd and 5th lvl version with maybe a 7th lvl 'leader' example of the same type.

i'd also prefer them to be left with no race additions so i can tailor them to whatever i need them for.
 
The only ones that come to mind are "Turanian Patrol" and "Zuagir/Kozaki Tribesman" for those eastern caravan routes
 
A few ideas :

* Hyborian Sailor/Pirate
* Tough Bodyguard/Henchman
* Hardened Mercenary
* Assassin
* Military Officer
 
Some kind of oriental sorcerer-martial artist - like Khemsa from People of the Black Circle or the four men of Khitai in "The Hour of the Dragon".

Barbarian warrior from Cimmeria/Nordheim

Hunter/Borderer/Forester/Poacher etc

Bossonian (or some other) Archer

Royal knight (ie professional heavy cavalry warrior employed by a king)

Merchant's bodyguard

Peasant with pitchfork, woodcutter with an axe etc - for when PCs are demolishing a village (should be deadly when there is a mob of them)

Slumming noble, usually young, with a rapier,

The same, drunk

A steppe/desert nomad

professional duellist (in fact, legal murderer for pay)
 
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