Which authors will you use

[Mythos]

What I was talking about was a options book mostly with all of the stuff done by non-Howard writers,Plus some d20 stuff options,and Cthulhu stuff which Howard himself approved of.Do you need a new meat cleaver? elforcelf.

I do not see were a options book would really be needed. As someone who has added Call of Cthulhu D20 material to my Slaine RPG, I've found that a little imagination and conscious attempts to keep thing balanced usually work as well, if not better, then any "offical" rules.

Now, I have to admit that some of Lovecraft's concepts do creep into Howard's works. The two wrote to each other on an constant bases and cross over of ideas was bound to happen. Because of that I do plan on introducing elements from CoC into my Conan game. However, I do not want into becone a Hyborian Age Cthulhu.

Finally, REH created a world that for the most part is complete. I can see adding some of the more bizzare "natural" creatures from the D&D universe, but if you want to add magical creatures just to add an element of D&D into your world, well I that is something that I feel goes against what Howard was trying to do with his stories. :?

 

[Old Bear]

What I was talking about was a options book mostly with all of the stuff done by non-Howard writers,Plus some d20 stuff options,and Cthulhu stuff which Howard himself approved of.Do you need a new meat cleaver? elforcelf.

As one of the development team for Conan (well, they ask me stuff occasionally) I can tell you that I have pushed hard for Sprague de Camp and Carter to be recognised as canon for the game. I know this is controversial with some Howard purists, but as one of those myself, I've never found anything singularly upsetting about their contributions to Howard's work. At this stage the main rulebook will probably be Howard only, but I'm sure that these two authors in particular will be looked at in the future.

 

[elforcelf]

No,I was not going to flood it with d&d monsters.Iwas going to use some of the races as old races before man;a litle bit here a litle bit there.And in a lots of stories there are ruins that not one returns from and I was going to beef some d&d monsters as in that ruins only.And some wizard's will use some orcs and kolbods and such.No, I do not want to d&d it just use some races and monsters.Sorry if I upset you,Mr Chang.elforcelf.

 

[Old Bear]

No,I was not going to flood it with d&d monsters.Iwas going to use some of the races as old races before man;a litle bit here a litle bit there.And in a lots of stories there are ruins that not one returns from and I was going to beef some d&d monsters as in that ruins only.And some wizard's will use some orcs and kolbods and such.No, I do not want to d&d it just use some races and monsters.Sorry if I upset you,Mr Chang.elforcelf.

Ted's not in today (he's been called back to a north sea rig - he's still kept on as a safety consultant) so I'm replying for him. Firstly, don't worry, you didn't upset Ted. He's naturally a bit sparky like that. It's the Gurkha in him. As for your question, obviously you are free to add what you want to the Hyborian setting. However at this stage we have no plans to infest Aquilonia with kobolds.

 

[elforcelf]

Thank you,I do not want to upset any one.What about Jodan and the other writers besides the Big Three?What about the comics?elforcelf.

 

[Old Bear]

Thank you,I do not want to upset any one.What about Jodan and the other writers besides the Big Three?What about the comics?elforcelf.

Don't sweat it. We're a gentle bunch really. On a pesronal level I feel that much of the subsequent Conan stories are only good for shredding, but rest assured we will look at everything closely.

 

[elforcelf]

That is cool.Thank you very much.elforcelf.

 

[toothill man]

picking up elfforces point as howard was one of the inner circle around lovecraft they all shared monsters and plots so to leave out the lovecraft feel of doom is too lessen conan and the setting

 

[Old Bear]

picking up elfforces point as howard was one of the inner circle around lovecraft they all shared monsters and plots so to leave out the lovecraft feel of doom is too lessen conan and the setting

Which particular monsters did they share?

 

[Ian Sturrock]

Which particular monsters did they share?

Well, Howard often mentions 'night-fiends' or 'night-weirds' who are gaunt, black, winged demons bearing an uncanny resemblance to night-gaunts.

They're probably the closest ones.

Other than that it's mostly names for gods, but I'd argue that identity of names doesn't necessarily mean identity of gods -- Lovecraft's Dagon, for example, is very different to Howard's.

They did certainly correspond, but one shouldn't forget that most of their correspondence seems to consist of argument! I think people tend to overstate the connection somewhat. Before Derleth systematised the Cthulhu mythos and de Camp the Hyborian mythos, there was little more connection between the two than a couple of writers exchanging ideas and coming from the same literary scene. I don't see Conan as any more closely connected to Cthulhu than, say, Aslan is to Gandalf.

That said, I suspect that the Conan RPG will be sufficiently grim for anyone's tastes, and it should certainly be easy enough to convert one's favourite Cthulhu d20 beasties if one so wishes.

 

[Old Bear]

Which particular monsters did they share?

Well, Howard often mentions 'night-fiends' or 'night-weirds' who are gaunt, black, winged demons bearing an uncanny resemblance to night-gaunts.

They're probably the closest ones.

Other than that it's mostly names for gods, but I'd argue that identity of names doesn't necessarily mean identity of gods -- Lovecraft's Dagon, for example, is very different to Howard's.

They did certainly correspond, but one shouldn't forget that most of their correspondence seems to consist of argument! I think people tend to overstate the connection somewhat. Before Derleth systematised the Cthulhu mythos and de Camp the Hyborian mythos, there was little more connection between the two than a couple of writers exchanging ideas and coming from the same literary scene. I don't see Conan as any more closely connected to Cthulhu than, say, Aslan is to Gandalf.

That said, I suspect that the Conan RPG will be sufficiently grim for anyone's tastes, and it should certainly be easy enough to convert one's favourite Cthulhu d20 beasties if one so wishes.

I'm with you on that.

 

[Mythos]

picking up elfforces point as howard was one of the inner circle around lovecraft they all shared monsters and plots so to leave out the lovecraft feel of doom is too lessen conan and the setting

Which particular monsters did they share?

In the novel, Hour of the Dragon, Conan runs into some ghouls that could have come from Lovecraft's, "Pickman's Model".
Tower of the Elephant has a supernatural creature that turns out to be an alien. A Lovecraft concept if ever there was one.

 

[Anonymous]

Ghouls aren't, however, a peculiarity to Lovecraft, such as with the Deep Ones from Innsmouth. Moreover, Howard's ghouls feel more like the archtypal Ghoul or Ghul of mythology than Lovecraft's corrupted humans or ancient and decayed race of savages and sorcerers (depending on the slant you want to take on them).

 

[GrayPumpkin]

As a Howard fan and purist I for one am elated that you’ve taken the pure Howard stance. With that act alone you’ve gotten my patronage.
De Camp and Carter kept Conan alive and introduced him to a new generation. For that they are owed a debt of thanks. But their revisions and edits were both unnecessary (In all cases the stories were much better with out them) and arrogant.
As far as I’m concerned you can keep it pure Howard. No one else did Conan like Howard. The only writer that even came close was Karl Edward Wagner, a man who owe another debt of thanks to, for he did much to get us reading pure Howard once again, something De Camp tried very hard to avoid.

 

[Ian Sturrock]

As far as I’m concerned you can keep it pure Howard. No one else did Conan like Howard. The only writer that even came close was Karl Edward Wagner, a man who owe another debt of thanks to, for he did much to get us reading pure Howard once again, something De Camp tried very hard to avoid.

Yeah, Wagner really kickstarted the modern Howard revival -- as opposed to the Conan revival.

I am presently ploughing through the de Camp and Carter material, just to expand a little on what Howard wrote. As I've said the main rulebook is at least 99% pure Howard. I'm currently putting the finishing touches to the first supplement, and this is maybe 95% pure Howard. . . pretty close. Basically I have only included pastiche material that I felt fitted with the world and characters created by Howard.

I find that de Camp and Carter's portrayal of magic and religion tends to be far more high-powered/high fantasy than Howard's, and so I have really been picking and choosing which bits of their ideas to include. They're not too bad at filling in geographical detail here and there, though even then that can be of dubious value as Howard's intent with the lands south of Kush and east of Turan was that these places not be fully detailed, so that folk of the western kingdoms who wandered there would not have much idea of what they would find.

I have managed to find the occasional gem in de Camp/Carter's work though that just expands on Howard's vision rather than diluting it or just plain altering it. Obviously this is to some extent a personal choice, since each GM will probably have a different stance ranging from Howard purist to can't-get-enough-of-Conan-no-matter-who-wrote-it. Though my stance is closer to the former I do have sympathy with the latter, too, and so I hope to present a vision of Conan that combines fidelity to the Howard canon with a willingness to incorporate other appropriate material where available. With luck, this should keep Howard fans, Conan fans, and the current licence-holders happy (the latter definitely seem to be moving more towards Howard purism than previous holders of the Conan licence, as can be seen by their Howard reprint release schedule).

 

[Anonymous]

dear ian sturrock + mongoose.
i luv the classic conan by reh, de camp + carter.
but i also adore many of the great books by later authors -
+ they are teeming with great ideas, wizards, magic + monsters which i want to see included in your rpg + supplements - PLEASE ?
-
some examples of what u are missing -
conan + the sword of skelos - epic magic dancing sword !
-
conan the valourous by j m roberts - great details of all clans + sacred mount of crom in cimmeria !
-
conan + the emerald lotus by j hocking - fantastic powerful new lotus potion, magic + monsters ! brilliant !
-
howard would approve such excellence .
check em out + do your profits a big favour ! ?

 

[Rhianni]

I like the new conan authors as seperate fantasy but IMO they are not conan. They are getting too much into the traditional D&D fantasy novel genre. Too much magic and too much fantasy monsters. This and howard's conan seems to be exclusive of each other.

 

[Finarvyn]

As a Howard fan and purist I for one am elated that you’ve taken the pure Howard stance. With that act alone you’ve gotten my patronage.

As far as I’m concerned you can keep it pure Howard. No one else did Conan like Howard. The only writer that even came close was Karl Edward Wagner, a man who owe another debt of thanks to, for he did much to get us reading pure Howard once again, something De Camp tried very hard to avoid.

My feelings exactly! As a kid I read the Ace paperbacks and loved them, but as I became more selective as a reader I realize that Howard's Conans are just not the same as anyone elses. I'm trying to track down as many of the 19 Weird Tales originals as I can (which is a chore) and I consider REH Conan to be the only true Conan these days. Your decision to make the core rules pure Howard has earned my sale. (And later sourcebooks that include other material from non-Howard sources I will at least look at and decide.)

 

[Mythos]

I'm trying to track down as many of the 19 Wierd Tales originals as I can (which is a chore) and I consider REH Conan to be the only true Conan these days. .

Here in the US, Del Rey has just released "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian". This is to be the first of a three volume set that will print all the original completed Conan stories in the order that they were written.
When possible, they have gone back to Howard's manuscripts and where not, they are using the published version first seen in Weird Tales.

In addition, the book includes some additional material that has never been published. These include; The first draft of "Phoenix on the Sword", outlines for several of the included stories, Howard's own map of the Hyborian world, uncompleted story fragments, and Howard's own outline of the Cimmerian people.
All this and illustrated too. For those of you in England, and could not afford the Wandering Star printings, this book is currently availible through amazon.com.uk

The second volume is currently planned for a release in Dec. 2004.

 

[Mythos]

Thought I would throw out a few titles that I felt were some of the better pastiches added to the Conan mythology. In addition I've include a few breif thoughts on what they might be aable to add to your game.

Conan The Rebel, by Poul Anderson.
An extension of the adventures of Conan and Belit. This provides some background on Belit's life and add a good bit of information on life in Stygia. I'll be using it for the details on the city of Luxor.

Conan The Swordsman, by de Camp, Carter and Nyberg.
A collection of short stories, none adds any great detail to the overall vision of the Hyborian World. However, as these are hard to find stories and each is a filler between the material of the Ace/Lancer editions, they provide good concepts that can be developed into one off adventures.

Conan The Liberator, by de Camp.
This pastiche details the rise of Conan to the position of king. Good material for running members of an army, it can also provide information on how to handle overthrowing a kingdom. Also, the secondary story provides good ideas on how to have a evil magic user corrupt a king.

Conan and The Spider God, by de Camp.
Need some information on the politics of small cults and how they can influence a town? Want to know how to base a belief around a monster? Need to throw a wammy at your players? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book is for you. It can provide a good background for any cult or belief that you want to create for your game.

Conan The Road of Kings, by Wagner
While CTL is good for using armies to overthrow a kingdom, this book is good for showing how a small group can sow confusion in a capital and then use the cover to assinate a king. In addition this has some of the better betrayels that I've read. Also, it does provide some good details on life in Zingaraand how to set up a rather gruesome form of execution.

Conan The Manhunters, by John Roberts.
If you want to give your players a chance to pull off the greatest robbery in history, read this book. The detail on combining magic and stealth is wonderful. Need to create a NPC group to give your players a run for their money? They are in here too.

All of these books can currently be found on amazon.com and amazon.com.uk. Good luck and remember, the job of a good GM is not to kill off characters. It's making their lives a living hell.