7. World
Hyboria
Introduction
The time is the distant past. Then, between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the start of recorded history, there was an age undreamed of - The Hyborian Age. It was a time of great heroes, of warring nations and hideous monsters.
Greatest of all these heroes was the barbarian Conan, who rose from lowly thief to be king of a mighty land, facing many dangers along the way. But Conan was not the only hero of this time. Others followed in his footsteps, facing their own dangers. You are some of those heroes. Welcome to the time of high adventure !!!!
Inspirations : The adventures of Conan of Cimmeria by Robert E Howard (Comics, Books, Movies), also REH tales of Kull, Bran Mac Morn, Cormac Mac Art and Solomon Kane (Comics, Books, Movies), The Beastmaster (Movie), 13th Warrior (Movie), Highlander (movie), Scorpion King (Movie), Pirates of the Caribean (movie), The Mask of Zorro (Movie), Cthulhu Mythos Tales by HP Lovecraft (Books), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (Movie), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (Movie), The Thongor series by Lin Carter (Books).
Spirit: Bold Action and Exploration
Genre: Sword and Sorcery
Era: Generally Feudal (Hyborian Kingdoms), with lots of Ancient cultures (Stygia, Shem, Khitai) , some Primitive (Picts) or almost Renaissance cultures (Corinthia).
New Alignments:
Katar
Goddess of Death, worshipped by the assasins of Vendhya
Paths: Death, Destruction, Evil
Alignment Skills:
Opposed Alignment:
Avatar:
Code of Chivalry
This code is followed by the Knights of Zingara and Poitain
Paths: Order, Strength, War
Spellcasting
PCs and NPCs can cast spells. Spellcasting is a hard discipline known to only a few. Magic can corrupt. Generally, there is a fear of magic. Sorcerers cast spells for their own purposes. Some Governments (eg Turan) use spellcasters if they cannot conquer by material means. Some Sovereigns will use divine or arcane spellcasters to protect themselves (eg Bhunda Chand of Vendhya and King Numedides of Aquilonia).
Heroic Species: Humans only. Individual Languages.
Nations and Organisations: The Hyborian World is divided into many lands. Below is a list of them and the approximate real-world Historical country they were based on:
Aquilonia (Medieval France), Argos (Ancient Greece), Corinthia (Renaisance Italy), Khitai (Ancient China), Koth (Byzantine Empire), Nemedia (Medieval Germany)
Many Nations such as Corinthia and Zingara employ Mercenaries to boost their armies.
Campaign Qualities: Miracles, Code of Honour, Sorcery
(other possibles - Dominant Heroes, Hearty Heroes, Larger-than-life Heroes, Rare Magic Items, Sorcery (Corrupting Magic and Forgotten Magic ... I don't know for which disciplines yet) ... and two new ones: Hyborian Attributes (same progression as in Conan), and Horrifying Monsters (characters become shaken if the fail a DD 10 + 1/2 TL Will save when they first encounter a new monster).
Running Adventures
Heres some suggestion on writing an adventure (with examples from the Conan the Barbarian movie.)
Start with backstory (bad guy killed my family/village).
Don't reveal the bad guy up front. Leave some mystery. (Conan doesn't know who it was but has a clue - serpent and sun/moon emblem).
Have hooks to bring characters into the adventure. Get the party together. (In CTB, Conan encounters a witch who has a future party member as prisoner. Then he runs into another party member during his first adventure)
Have a patron NPC push the plot along. (eg King Osric offers treasures beyond imagination to bring back his daughter)
Advance the plot even when characters fail. (i.e. Conan's capture and crucifixion on the Tree of Woe.)
Use exciting terrains for combats. (i.e. The Orgy Room (humongous vat of green, part-human stew to dump down stairs on a bunch of mooks, how awesome is that?) and Battle on the Mounds.)
Climax that affects the world - the party's actions matter.
Finally, music, and how much it enhances and dictates mood. (Basil Poledouris was a master we can learn a lot from).
Locations:
1) The Border Kingdoms/The Great Salt Marsh/The City in the Swamp
Deep in the Great Salt Marsh, legends tell of an ancient city. The city, it was said, was built by an ancient race on an island in a spur of the Western Ocean. A dread curse fell upon the city and during the time of King Kull, the island was shunned as a place of evil.
Then, following the Great Cataclysm, the spur became an inland sea and then a Great Marshland. In Conans time, it is a dangerous swamp, inhabited by savage beastmen and animals but the legends of a city and its ancient treasures still persist……………….
The Marsh is also the lair of deadly snakes, spiders and quicksand bogs.
Descriptive Action
Action (esp Combat) in FC:Conan should be handled in a highly narrative way with the results of dice rolls being portrayed in an exciting manner. See "Describing Action" in FC-2nd Printing Pg. 362. Right side.
If you want examples of the best action and combat descriptions, read Robert E. Howards original Conan stories.
Improvised Weapons
Combat in Hyboria makes regular use of Improvised Weapons eg Tables used as battering rams, Foot Stools kicked at opponents. See FC-2nd Printing Pg. 362. Right side.
Subplots
Common Subplots: Revenge