Questions on some books.

[cbrunish]

Hey out there! I'm looking at purchasing some new Conan materials but I was wondering if they are any good. I would appreciate any feedback.

1. Faith and Fevour-is it worth buying?
2. Cities of Hyboria-is Zamboula included in this supplement?
3. Return to the Road of Kings-I currently have The Road of Kings. Is purchasing the updated version a good investment?
4. Bestiary of the Hyborian Age-again is this worth buying?

Again any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bradius]

1. Yes.
2. Maybe
3. Yes
4. Yes.

 

[Hervé]

1. Faith & Fervour is okay, but if if you own all the regional sourcebooks already, you'll find some reprinted material. Some of the religions are given a greater coverage in their own regional books, while some others have more informations in F&F.
2. No. Zamboula isn't included in Cities of Hyboria. The cities described in the book are: Hadraput (Turan), Seven Stones (Cimmeria), Yezud (Zamora), Khorshemish (Koth), Eruk (Shem), Yanyoga (Black Kingdoms), Onagrul (Vilayet). There are no maps, which is really too bad for a citybook...
3. The old RoK had 192 pages when the new edition has 272. That makes 80 pages of new material. The Black Kingdoms are given a better coverage. All the added material makes the book worth buying. The main flaw is that there are even less maps than in the original book. A shame for an atlas...
4. The Bestiary is worth buying if you think a Monster Manual can be useful in Conan. The book is well done, but be aware that there is a lot of reprint from old critters scattered in the 1st Ed supplements. Having them all at hand may prove handy, though. I noticed some inconsistencies, like the Brylukas, which are not the swarming monsters drawn from the Road of Eagles novel, but an uber god demon from the Lovecraftian mythos.

 

[VincentDarlage]

1. I think this is a good supplement. Although the Stygian religion is covered in more detail in the Stygia sourcebook, the other religions are enhanced, such as Mitra, Asura, and so on.

2. No, this supplement does not include Zamboula, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have value.

3. Other than the map issue, I think Return to the Road of Kings is an improvement on the original, covering realms in greater detail and covering realms not included in the original (such as entries for Amazon, Atlaia, and so on).

4. Yes, this can be useful. As mentioned before, the Brylukas are not what they appear in one of the Conan stories, but (to be fair) I am pretty sure the Brylukas were an L. Sprague de Camp creation, not an REH creation. I don't have REH's final draft of "the Road of Eagles" (published in Lord of Samarkan, by Bison Books), but I do have the published early draft (In The Road of Azrael, retitled as "The Way of the Swords") and the Brylukas do not appear in that tale. Unless someone has the final draft and can contradict me, the Brylukas in the Conan story are pastiche anyway, and are not canon, so the the author of the Bestiary was free to create his own, as he was not contradicting Howard.

 

[Hervé]

Vincent wrote:

I am pretty sure the Brylukas were an L. Sprague de Camp creation, not an REH creation.

That's what I think too. But there's a lot of printed material that comes from pastiches already. It just seemed strange to me that Bryan Steele chose an name existing in the saga for another critter.

From what he told on this forum, the monster is coming from the Cthulhu Mythos, though I never heard of it before. Here's the original thread:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=36012

 

[warzen]

What is nice is that with some many missing maps, MGP will be able to add a pure map book in the Conan product line !
:lol:

And we want it soon !!


W.

 

[cbrunish]

Thanks alot. This was really constructive. But I wish Mongoose would do a Zamboula supplement (with a map)!!!!! Well I guess I will be giving the "goose" some of my hard earned money.

Again thanks for the positive comments.

 

[Hervé]

What is nice is that with some many missing maps, MGP will be able to add a pure map book in the Conan product line !

Now that's an idea! :idea:

But I wish Mongoose would do a Zamboula supplement (with a map)!!!!!

Me too, man, me too...

Maybe we'll get someday a Turan sourcebook and a Zamboula sourcebook at the same time, rather than a Kithai sourcebook supported by a Nordheim campaign :wink: ...

 

[decker423]

1. Maybe.
2. Yes.
3. Don't know. I only have the original and that IS worth buying. I would say that if you don't have the original then get this one.
4. Yes.

 

[cbrunish]

Well, did purchase Return to the Road of Kings. And let me say, an excellent product. Slightly disappointed that there were no npc's. But I would give it 4 1/2 stars out of 5! 8)

Also purchased Adventures in Hyboria, which I recieved today!!! How nice, now I have something to go over tonight!!

 

[flatscan]

Also purchased Adventures in Hyboria, which I recieved today!!! How nice, now I have something to go over tonight!!

That book's out already??? Fuggin' Amazon. :evil: