Why use pornography?

[Anonymous]

Your Kids should be playing Forgotten Realms with you, not Conan.

I'm not quite sure why seeing an illustration of a bare-breast would be damaging to your kid, but having them merrily pretend running around and MURDERING sentient creatures with swords and bows is good wholesome family fun.

Personally I don't see a problem with my child seeing a photo of a bare-breast or playing Conan d20 with me, if he were 12 years old or so.
But he's only 6, so you know what I do?

I keep the book to myself.
That's right.
I'm an ADULT.
This book is for me.
It's part of my ADULT Hobby.
Therefore I do not bitch to Mongoose to nerf-down their content for my six year old, when their product is NOT DESIGNED for my six year old.

The same way I dont bitch at the Playboy channel for sending me pornography over cable when GASP, SHOCK! I might not be home! What if MY KID saw it!

BE a goddamn parent.
Take some responsibility for what your kids see and excercise some adult discipline and control.
Please stop ruining the adult things we are allowed to enjoy out of 'kiddieland' by Nerfing the entire world.

Just because I have kids doesn't mean I suddenly don't like a cigarette, a naked booby and violent video-games.
What this does mean is that I have a responsibility to monitor my child's consumption of content, and to segregate those things that are FOR ME, out of his life.

And if he did see my Conan book, I'd just talk to him about it.

WTF is wrong with you people.

As a father myself lemme just say Amen, brother. Amen.

You're kids and my kids are the sane future of the world...

 

[Anonymous]

It is odd that slavery, human sacrafice, and much worse are discussed in the book and folks are complaining about nudity.

Perhaps he should forbid his children from learning to read. The text wouldn't be a problem then only the dirty unwholesome, ungodly, vile pictures.
Not the demonic vampire things at the bottoms of the right pages but the bare breast on the bottom of the left pages. The drawings of demons and vampires won't bother my kids but a bare breast? They all grow up to be perverts and criminals if they see one I just know it!

 

[UncleBear]

Is it really necessary to have a bare breasted woman on every even page?

This must be a pastiche, because I don't remember seeing TROLLS in REH's Conan. :twisted:

 

[sanseveria]

Personally, I would have prefered 2 breasts on every page. But that's just me... :lol:

SS

 

[dinska]

Well, this is sort of an odd thread, though I suppose it should be expected given the recent superbowl debate. And it seems all of those watercooler issues were discussed here in an RPG context. Well all of them except for the 'wardrobe malfunction' comment. :wink:

But in any case, the picture is more like an outtake from life drawing class than anything else.

Conan is very close to a Bronze Age RPG. Look at a Minoan vase and you'll see more than this. If you don't like the nudity play an age of chivalry RPG or a Victorian Age RPG. They're out there.

As a graphic art move? Ehhh, heavy handed and deserves a big ole' :roll: but it's just a pin-up.

 

[RayRangel]

The only issue that I have is that I like to occationally read RPG books during lunch at work. Since I work for the federal government, I have to be very PC inorder to aviod "offending" anyone around me. Needless to say, rather than risk reprimand I leave Conan at home. So, you see, my issue has nothing, whatever, to do with what I think. Rather it has to do with what others think.

I bought it, I read it, I enjoyed it. In fact I've already got my D&D group asking me when I'm going to run it.

I just can't bring to work with me.

 

[Elfman]

Actually I'm in a similar situation to Ray.

I don't mind the nudity, but I can't read it at work or at lunchtime unless I keep my left hand on the bottom left corner just so....

 

[Geezer]

Hi there,
On another point: I would like a better Illustration for the portrait. Without judge the technique of the artist I can honestly say it has not the spirit of Conan's world. I would like to see something with the strength of Frazetta or Bisley.
Regards,
Lobogris

I disagree. I find the cover to be great. I'm not at all conservative about who or how Conan should look like. The second book also has a great cover.

 

[Geezer]

Yeah, but how many pictures of that are there in the book? Not enough, I say!

That was also a minor dissapointment for me. As expensive as the book was, and also in full color, I would have liked more illustrations. I know the book had become bigger, but in my mind it would have been worth it.

I also think they should use different types of border (or is it called frame?) illustration for the different sections in the book. Not only would it have looked great, it would also have been easier to recognize the chapters by visual aid (even from quickly leafing through the pages).

(Sidenote: Here in Sweden I payed 498 SEK for the game, which is $68 in current exchange)

 

[Zethnar]

Heres a solution. Get a pen and go through the book drawing a bikini on top of all the nude pictures .

 

[papaiggy]

Your Kids should be playing Forgotten Realms with you, not Conan.

I'm not quite sure why seeing an illustration of a bare-breast would be damaging to your kid, but having them merrily pretend running around and MURDERING sentient creatures with swords and bows is good wholesome family fun.

Personally I don't see a problem with my child seeing a photo of a bare-breast or playing Conan d20 with me, if he were 12 years old or so.
But he's only 6, so you know what I do?

I keep the book to myself.
That's right.
I'm an ADULT.
This book is for me.
It's part of my ADULT Hobby.
Therefore I do not bitch to Mongoose to nerf-down their content for my six year old, when their product is NOT DESIGNED for my six year old.

The same way I dont bitch at the Playboy channel for sending me pornography over cable when GASP, SHOCK! I might not be home! What if MY KID saw it!

BE a goddamn parent.
Take some responsibility for what your kids see and excercise some adult discipline and control.
Please stop ruining the adult things we are allowed to enjoy out of 'kiddieland' by Nerfing the entire world.

Just because I have kids doesn't mean I suddenly don't like a cigarette, a naked booby and violent video-games.
What this does mean is that I have a responsibility to monitor my child's consumption of content, and to segregate those things that are FOR ME, out of his life.

And if he did see my Conan book, I'd just talk to him about it.

WTF is wrong with you people.

As a father myself lemme just say Amen, brother. Amen.

What are you some kind of Alien? I haven't heard people talk about real parenting in years. I have to agree preach on my friend.

 

[Anonymous]

To avoid the breasts would be more conspicuous than leaving them in.

If you leave them in there, you are being true to Howard's vision of what Conan was all about. If you remove them, you're taking liberties with his work simply because it isn't considered good form 70 years later...

In this day of blatantly bastardizing literary works to fit them into a modern worldview, it's really a breath of fresh air. Look at what the movies did to Tolkien. Mongoose could have done that to maximize their audience, but nay, they made a game that is very, very true to the original Howard, for good or for ill.

Honestly, I too would rather NOT have boobs popping out all over the place. That's the one thing that bugs me a about Conan tales really. They seem so immature. The richness of the world is the hook for me, no doubt. Still, I've got to defend the publishers on their decision to keep it authentically Conan. Anything less would have been too easy and a damned shame.

 

[S'mon]

Gee whiz. If people don't make a big deal of it, neither will the children. My son asked, 'why is she naked?'. I told him she was warm; he said, 'oh,' and went on and ignored the picture and ask questions about other pictures and about the rules.

I showed the book to my mom and dad and neither had an issue with it either. Seriously, people think children will be traumatised by breasts. Better not breast feed the kids either... they might see one!

If people would stop hiding nudity, then people would not get so offended by it nor find it all that big of a deal.

Yes, but American culture's subliminating its citizens' sexual urges into violence has made them the world-conquering race they are today... :twisted:

Seriously - look at the cultures that are 'ok' with nudity like the Dutch or the French, and then compare their warrior ethoi to those of the more sexually repressed ones like the US (or the UK, to a lesser extent). No contest.

 

[VincentDarlage]

Interesting point, although I am sure there is more to it than that or many of Howard's kingdoms wouldn't be so warrior-like. Then again, maybe the lack of nudity brings about Aquilonia's conquests, as well as Turan's.

 

[S'mon]

Interesting point, although I am sure there is more to it than that or many of Howard's kingdoms wouldn't be so warrior-like. Then again, maybe the lack of nudity brings about Aquilonia's conquests, as well as Turan's.

Howard's Hyboreans seem to be his equivalent of Americans, and he has them eventually conquered by the barbarian 'Red Indian' picts - as indeed did tend to eventually happen to all civilised cultures, up until the widespread adoption of gunpowder in the 15th-16th century.

I think that while nudity is not necessarily sexual - skimpy Baywatch bikinis seem much more 'sexy' than elderly German nudists, say - the nudity in Howard's work clearly was intended to be titillating and to steer just the acceptable side of pornographic to the audience of the day, so i don't think 'nudity is natural' arguments are partiularly applicable here.

I tend to agree with the 'spirit of the work' and 'target audience' arguments - Conan both as literatire, film and this RPG is clearly aimed at a teenage and older audience, I'm quite happy to accept that the sex and gore are not particularly appropriate for 6-year-olds. I don't think looking at the RPG book would do anyone any harm at any age, but if I was running a Conan game for young children (or some adults) I'd definitely need to modify the 'feel' of the setting I think. I do think Mongoose was right not to aim the RPG at a pre-teen audience.

 

[S'mon]

I don't think looking at the RPG book would do anyone any harm at any age, but if I was running a Conan game for young children (or some adults) I'd definitely need to modify the 'feel' of the setting I think. I do think Mongoose was right not to aim the RPG at a pre-teen audience.

I think my biggest concern with running this game for young children would be Conan's very strong "violence solves everything" power-fantasy message - in the stories Conan happily slaughters city guards (police), judges, entire villages (at least on the Black Coast, which doesn't really make it ok to my mind!) etc, often seemingly on a whim. I think once people have some kind of moral grounding ("killing people for fun is wrong") this is harmless, but as with computer games where you go around killing cops and such I tend to think young children should have a chance to get morally 'grounded' before they experience such stuff.

 

[dinska]

I bought it, I read it, I enjoyed it. In fact I've already got my D&D group asking me when I'm going to run it.

I just can't bring to work with me.

This is actually the most relevant point in the whole thread, unfortunately.

 

[Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

I bought it, I read it, I enjoyed it. In fact I've already got my D&D group asking me when I'm going to run it.

I just can't bring to work with me.

This is actually the most relevant point in the whole thread, unfortunately.

Hey! Maybe you can put a pastie over it on each page! :lol:

But really, I know what you mean.

 

[GRIM]

Hooray for boobies!

 

[Eldren]

A breast is only the thing we ( the women) use to feed babies. Don't tell nonsenses. A bare breast is not pornography!!! If you consider that offensive don't go to the beach this summer....As you will see a lot of topless women.
I thing the book is very good (except for the erratas) and i hoppe in the revised edition there will be the bare breast!!!