Conan RPG: Conan - The Roleplaying Game
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The Hyborian Age is named for the Hyborian kingdoms¸ the pre-eminent powers of the age¸ which are the most culturally and technologically advanced lands on Earth¸ their kings' thrones maintained through longbows¸ plate armour¸ and feudalism. These kingdoms make war against one another more often than against the real threats all around them¸ the wild Picts¸ raiding northmen¸ and avaricious Hyrkanian nomads¸ as well as the dread sorceries of Stygia to the south. Beyond Stygia and the plains of Shem lies the continent of Kush¸ black and unknown¸ a land of jungles and deserts; far to the east are more kingdoms¸ perhaps almost as a advanced as the Hyborian lands¸ but little more than legend: Vendhya and Khitai are the most prominent.
The Conan RPG allows players to take the on the roles of characters from this rich and vivid world¸ whether Hyborians or any of the other myriad races who people the tales of Conan. As Howard's hero did¸ they can learn the skills of the thief¸ the mercenary soldier¸ the desert nomad and other roles on their way to greatness.
By playing the Conan role-playing game¸ you can create a character who lives both in the mythical land of the Hyborian Age and in your own imagination and that of your friends. One player will take the role of the Games Master¸ controlling the people and creatures who dwell within the land¸ whilst the other players will be valiant heroes¸ outright rogues¸ or corrupt demon-worshippers according to their tastes! The Games Master sets the Hyborian Age before the other players¸ allowing them to explore everywhere from the unknown islands west of Zingara to the semi-legendary kingdoms beyond the deserts and steppes of eastern Shem¸ from the frozen lands of the Aesir and Vanir to the lush jungles of Kush.
Know¸ oh prince¸ that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities¸ and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas¸ there was an Age undreamed of¸ when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars Nemedia¸ Ophir¸ Brythunia¸ Hyberborea¸ Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery¸ Zingara with its chivalry¸ Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem¸ Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs¸ Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia¸ reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan¸ the Cimmerian¸ black-haired¸ sullen-eyed¸ sword in hand¸ a thief¸ a reaver¸ a slayer¸ with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth¸ to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.
"Torn from the pages of Howard's original vision¸ Conan the Roleplaying Game is a faithful realisation of the vivid world of the Cimmerian barbarian that allows you to follow in his footsteps and create adventurers¸ scoundrels and fell sorcerers in the Hyborian age.
"Conan the Roleplaying Game features everything you need to explore the lands of Hyboria¸ including a complete system of character creation and advancement¸ combat and sorcery. This epic tome fully details the world of Howard's mighty Cimmerian¸ from the mysterious islands hovering off the coast of Zingara in the west¸ to the legendary kingdoms beyond the steppes and deserts of Hyrkania to the east; from the frozen lands of Nordheim to the verdant jungles of the Black Kingdoms¸ the world of Conan stands before you.