Sourcebook for Northern Hyboria?????????

[Galt Hagar's Son]

Hey Gang,
How many of you are interested in running campaigns in places like the Border Kingdoms, Cimmeria, Nordheim, Hyperborea, etc...

I always thought that area was under-represented in terms of material even though it has such a rich and colorful culture from everything such as the Viking cultures, the proto-Celtic Cimmerian culture, the proto Finnish Culture of Hyperborea, and the pseudo-Germanic culture of the Border Kingdoms.

THe possibillities are really wide open, from everything like a viking inspired slave raid/ pirate looting expedition, to a good old fashioned Cimmerian inter-Clan cattle raid, to an evil Hyperborean scholar causing great undead armys to surge forth past the Skull gate.

I love the civilized kingdoms and all, but sometimes it is fun to go out in the woods.

I thought "Across Thunder River" was a great start.
It would be neat to have Vincent Darlaage to be chained at his desk for the near future (not that he pobably isn't already?).

 

[Padre]

It's a good idea, but I would prefer Hyrkania/Turan and Vendhya first. Besides, it wouldn't be published until mid-2007 (my guess based on the current schedule), so there's plenty of time.

 

[Yogah of Yag]

In a previous post, I voiced approval for a sourcebook on Cimmeria.
Obviously a grand idea, but frowned down upon by Mr. Vincent Darlage, who disapproved of dwelling on such a gloomy, forbidding place as Cimmeria. As for myself, I have gone against the current by concocting "new" Cimmerian tribes/clans, each with their own special bonuses/penalties, competencies, etc. to add more flavour and political excitement to Cimmeria. Mr. Darlage argued that Conan's homeland must have been pretty terrible to drive him out to wander Hyboria.
You are right. A couple of sourcebooks on northern Hyboria would be fantastic, although I personally would not look forward to the daunting task of preliminary research outside of the Canon (since I am not interested in pastiche, comics, etc.) Start writing, old man! 8)

 

[Bregales]

It all depends on what's in such a book. The Cimmerians were bumpkin barbarians struggling so hard just to stay alive that they had no aspirations. Howard and even moreso deCamp gave the impression that Conan was bored with his native people so he never really went back (or with deCamp, he did but only long enough to realize he hated it there and left for civilised lands again).

The Aesir and Vanir, well they fight...each other. And the Cimmerians. The Hyperboreans: I always HATED that whole ancient sorcerous coven of mummified mystics who create giant monster slaves. I totally ignore that pastiche crap, I've never liked it. I always considered the Hyperboreans more like early celtic tribes before they migrated west across northern Europe, mixed with Germanic and Slavic influences for a people. I've thought the Vanir had a Viking tendency to make raider ships like Viking dragon longships, but not like the middle ages Vikings who had a huge impact. They haven't gotten that good, in the Hyborian Age, but are like early versions of the Vikings. (There's nothing nearby worth building ships for - look how far they'd have to sail to reach mercantile agrarian societies to raid). And since their geography is different from our own world's, they're often fighting their landlocked neighbors to the east, south and southeast.

 

[The King]

I hope all regions will be covered eventually but I would appreciate if the release schedules on such books would rise somewhat to, say 6 a year, because there are approximately 30 full kingdoms there.
So when you count what is already done (Pict Wilderness + Aquilonia) and the 3 regional books scheduled for 2006, we still have to wait until 2012.

 

[René]

The Hyperboreans: I always HATED that whole ancient sorcerous coven of mummified mystics who create giant monster slaves. I totally ignore that pastiche crap, I've never liked it. I always considered the Hyperboreans more like early celtic tribes before they migrated west across northern Europe, mixed with Germanic and Slavic influences for a people.

I agree, the new Darkhorse CONAN comic is silly & D&Dish in its portraying the Hyperboreans. And further, it isn't in accordance with REH's own statements about the Hyperboreans (look at AE p.61 for a quotation). Therefore I'd prefer it if Mongoose would treat this part of the Darkhorse comic as non-existent in further products. Hyboria's Finest did unfortunately include it. :?

 

[High Lord Dee]

Would love a Northern source book. Whole different world up there. However, I am most interested in expanding the Border Kingdoms. The variant races could lead to some pretty interesting Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Devil's Rejects type scenerios ala Conan style.

 

[Bregales]

Would love a Northern source book. Whole different world up there. However, I am most interested in expanding the Border Kingdoms. The variant races could lead to some pretty interesting Texas Chainsaw Massacre/The Devil's Rejects type scenerios ala Conan style.

Throw in a little "Army of Darkness" and you'd have one interesting place. :lol: It would be interesting to see what they come up with for the Border Kingdom.

 

[Bjorn the Barbarian]

I as well would love to see a source book on the northern countries.
Cimmeria, Nordheim, and especially Hyperborea (Witchmen NPCs).

The savage north is a great area for adventures. I look forward to seeing a sourcebook based on them.

Anyone care to comment on a possible release date?

 

[High Lord Dee]

Another request would be to have the elements(hypothermia, wind, etc.) of the Frozen North be a factor so some guidelines on how to run that in Conan would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mek-Ra-Amon]

I agree totally with detailed coverage of the frozen north along with all the "cold" factors. I also hope to see more boxed sets of some of the major cities with maps and detailed descriptions of the people, government, trades, religions, etc...

 

[Netherek]

I would appreciate a single tome that covers Cimmeria, Hyperboria, and the lands further north.

 

[MadDog]

Another request would be to have the elements(hypothermia, wind, etc.) of the Frozen North be a factor so some guidelines on how to run that in Conan would be greatly appreciated.

The SRD covers this:

http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/wildernessWeatherEnvironment.htm

Mad Dog

 

[Bregales]

I as well would love to see a source book on the northern countries.
Cimmeria, Nordheim, and especially Hyperborea (Witchmen NPCs).

The savage north is a great area for adventures. I look forward to seeing a sourcebook based on them.

Anyone care to comment on a possible release date?

I only hope if someone's planning on re-writing those stupid witchmen that we know about it ahead of time so I don't waste money on that putrid crap!

 

[MadDog]

I only hope if someone's planning on re-writing those stupid witchmen that we know about it ahead of time so I don't waste money on that putrid crap!

I really thought the Witchmen as presented in the S&P article was badly done. I can just imagine the scene at Witchmen Headquarters:

new recruit: "Hi, I want to sign up"
Witchmen recruiter: "Welcome to the Witchmen. Here is your scary mask and your 20,000 silver piece magic item. Dont forget to pay your Witchmen Union dues".

THe north could be a very interesting venue considering there is a lot of blank slate available. You can even have a very high level adventure involving frost giants (kind of like the old 1st edition G1-G3 modules for DnD).

Mad Dog

 

[Bregales]

I only hope if someone's planning on re-writing those stupid witchmen that we know about it ahead of time so I don't waste money on that putrid crap!

I really thought the Witchmen as presented in the S&P article was badly done. I can just imagine the scene at Witchmen Headquarters:

new recruit: "Hi, I want to sign up"
Witchmen recruiter: "Welcome to the Witchmen. Here is your scary mask and your 20,000 silver piece magic item. Dont forget to pay your Witchmen Union dues".

THe north could be a very interesting venue considering there is a lot of blank slate available. You can even have a very high level adventure involving frost giants (kind of like the old 1st edition G1-G3 modules for DnD).

Mad Dog

LMAO, I'm sorry MadDog, I wasn't slamming Vincent for his writeup of the witchmen, I never liked the sorcerous society or giant slaves that seemed more like Return to Castle Falkenstein 1st person shooter game than Hyberborean transmuted warriors. I never liked the whole society of no-nose, mummified ancients who sit around contemplating thier suicides. I had considered the comics & pastiches to be bad misinterpretations of something Howard wrote out of story, in talking about how Conan came into the civilized lands and the stories we read about him. I never bought it, found it D&D ridicuous and never planned on using any of that in my own game.

Mind you, ALL the Hyborian peoples originated from the northern wastes when they spurred south and overthrew ancient Acheron and Stygia. Were they driven out of their lands by these Witchmen? I find it ridiculously implausible given what stories we were given of the lands of Conan's time and the 3 eaons before. Wouldn't you think it would have merited some more writing than a passing reference that Conan developed a lifelong hatred of the Hyperboreans? Wouldn't he have said, "...of that mystic race from a forgotten time who destroyed civilizations as they sat with their no-noses wondering whether they should kill themselves today...." Come on, give me a major freakin' break!!! :lol:

 

[VincentDarlage]

The Hyperboreans: I always HATED that whole ancient sorcerous coven of mummified mystics who create giant monster slaves. I totally ignore that pastiche crap, I've never liked it.

I didn't like that story-arc either (I thought it was dull), but I understand where it came from. Pliny and Herodotus, as well as Virgil and Cicero, reported that people from Hyperborea lived to the age of one thousand and enjoyed lives of complete happiness, so it is from Greek legends of Hyperborea. It would not have been unlike Howard at all to have drawn from such legends if he had written a tale set in Hyperborea.

The Witchmen was an attempt by L. Sprague de Camp to show the beginnings of Finnish mythology - as sorcerers sprung up in Hyperborea, a few of them insisted on being worshipped as gods for their powers - and then later were incorporated into Finnish Myth, their true origins forgotten. Louhi of Pohjohla was a Finnish goddess of the underworld (she appeared in DnD as Loviatar).

 

[urdinaran]

I too did not particularly like that portion of the comic either. I think the no-noses and their mutant warrior were a bit too much. How do I explain that to my players, given that there is actually very little written about Hyperborea? Yea, your grandaddy doesn't have a nose...

 

[The King]

These corpses aren't mummified in the same way Egyptians prepared them but often dried up in airless caverns.

 

[Bregales]

Yes, but the sorcerers depicted in the pastiches are not corpses, they're just long lived sorcerers of an ancient, unknown race who enslave all that they encounter and have the slaves serve them while they sit around wondering what it's like to to die. That was the "authors'" intent to create a creepy visual image. Instead it's just dumb no-noses.