Savage Conan

Fan Supplement for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition

0.3

GAME MASTERS GUIDE

-War of nobles in Koth, probably for the
BEFORE THE FIRST throne. Maybe between the king and his re-
belling son. Just like the previous generation.
SESSION The king rules the eastern territories. Otherwise
two sons of the deceased king divided the
Decide if you want changes in the setting, in country.
the political map, especially in relation to coun- -Aquilonia is divided (with or without the con-
tries. These possible modifications might influ- quered Zingara), a pretender with significant
ence the player’s decisions about the story of support including a powerful wizard wages war
their heroes. against the young king Conn.
Decide in which country the first adventure -Khauran is now part of Koth.
will take place. Choose one which looks good -Zingara was conquered by king Conan and
for your story. it’s still part of Aquilonia. Nobles are plotting to
If a hero wants contact with a god, probably regain independence. This might be a good
for magic, you need to decide which magic theme for a campaign.
source that particular god is willing to provide: -After the battle at Ilbars the remains of the
black gulf for black magi and the sea of light for Kozaks were destroyed as well or conquered by
white magi. There is a chapter about this sub- Turan.
ject below. You don’t need to bother with all the -Turan extends its borders a bit towards
gods at this point. Zamora. Howard indicated this on his map but
without timing.

CHANGES IN THE
SETTING STORY
Some changes might be used to represent
SUGGESTIONS
changes compared to the era of Conan. Use Avoid powerful wizard allies in your sto-
one or more of these, especially if your game ries. Freed magi are possibly grateful but have
takes place around these countries. their own interests. Remember, even the resur-
-The Border Kingdom is no more! Its neigh- rected evil Xaltotun fulfilled Orastes’s requests
bors, Nemedia and Brythunia divided the land. but later he pursued his own goals.
The country with such a stupid name deserves Big winnings, big losses. Conan in the sto-
to disappear. ries loses his every possession many times but
-Zingara is united under the strongest prince he gains hoards of treasures as well! Especially
or a charismatic leader of the uprising against young players might consider the loss of their
Aquilonia. equipment as a kind of cheating so be wary.
That’s why the restart rules got formalized in

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the book. Heroes are expected to solve prob- party to rob it. So it’s better to start with a thief
lems and players rarely consider surrendering or fence contact who already provides a few
as an option. Conan never surrenders either! key info. This way you encourage the party by
So instead of forcing them into this situation letting them know this is the target of the next
during the play, you should insert the big loss in adventure.
the prolog where you describe treachery, hostile Turning points. These are very typical ele-
intrigue, overpower, or simply bad luck. The ments of the Conan stories. Suddenly some-
game should start with the new situation where thing else happens than expected. New ene-
heroes work to overcome the current obstacles. mies or a monster appears, unknown people
The restart rules are senseless only after the appear, suddenly there is a way to defeat the
heroes become nobles. Still some stories like overpowered enemy, the enemy becomes an
the Hour of the Dragon and Phoenix on the ally against a common, even bigger enemy,
Sword start with an event when Conan loses friends turncoat, a henchman of the enemy
his position, so such situations can be possible turncoat. My biggest surprise ever was finding a
during the game, too. The adventures are like person in a treasure chest. You must use turn-
novels and a campaign is like a novel. After ing points if you want to create the feel of a cool
starting a campaign it’s probably better to retire Conan story, sometimes as cliffhangers.
the restart rules. Action and dynamic storytelling are the
Saving the party should work a bit differ- bread and butter of sword and sorcery. Explo-
ently. You aren’t required to save them but ration, fight, survival, escape, looting, chase is
sometimes you might have given them too perfect for it. Situations should be easily re-
strong opponents for example so their loss is solved. Detailed investigations, diplomacy, con-
your fault. Players can be overwhelmed and spiracy and moralizing aren’t expected. If play-
sold as slaves or held in captivity until they find ers want to think a lot and discuss issues, you
a chance to break free. The very concept of the did something wrong. Simple decisions are per-
high-level wizard who saves the party would fectly fine like which NPC should the heroes
break the style so never ever use it. Howard support? Princess Yolanta or satrap Faneres?
himself used highly unbelievable saves for ex- None of these choices should be fatal for the
ample when Zenobia saves Conan in the Hour heroes but rather different styles.
of the Dragon. Standards are higher today. Supernatural elements should appear in ev-
Create your own monsters and demons. ery single adventure (not session). These might
Players cannot read about them if they aren’t in be wizards, monsters, cursed or otherwise en-
the rulebook or in the stories. And the uncer- chanted places or magical items including lotus
tainty of the unknown is exciting. Such a mon- blossoms. Mystic details are like spices in the
ster can be the main enemy or the servant of meal. You absolutely need them. Stories with
the villain. Don’t introduce alien invasions or the least magic are God in the Sarcophagus,
such. In the case of a campaign, the main op- Shadows in the Moonlight and The Black
ponent might be a child of a god if you wish. Stranger. The first one contains only a monster,
Jhebbal Sag is known to have children but it the others depict a cursed place and a monster.
might happen with other gods or goddesses. In a good campaign the heroes live in many
Tsotha-Lanti is said to be the spawn of the mat- countries, wander in woods, steppes, deserts
ing between a demon and a dancing-girl of and on the sea, defeat at least one ancient or
Zamora. The supernatural heritage might have demonic mage, kill all the monster types,
visible signs if you want so, which can be obvi- demons and demigods, help to change the ruler
ous or covered by clothes. However, being the in countries or deal with rebels, find ancient
descendant of a demon might be simply gossip. treasures and end up as aristocrats, maybe one
An rpg party differs a lot from heroes of of them as a king or queen. Just like Conan did.
books. What works in a written story doesn’t
necessarily work in tabletop gaming. So don’t
copy a complete storyline from novels but
rather locations, characters (on a different
KEY MOTIFS
name of course) or basic situations and motiva- -Conan’s world is human-centered, enemies
tions. For example, you tell the party about a and allies are mostly humans. Monsters are
tower nobody was able to loot (The Tower of rare. But on the other hand, the heroes should
the Elephant). The party won’t know you men- meet them. As a rule of thumb, they might ap-
tion it just as a curiosity or you allow or want the pear every third adventure or so.

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 -A sharp sword, courage and a little luck
must be enough to succeed. WIZARD HERO
-Priests or wizards who can change in the
form of poisonous constrictors. Use simply the Learning about the other source of magic
Shape Change Power. shouldn’t be a big deal. In civilized lands, he-
-Unique demons or gods. Create your own! roes may find a manuscript in the subject or
-Always mention races when you describe may be tempted by wizards of the other side.
someone. Drebano a Kothic merchant or Give magic manuscripts with Powers only in
Hrafna the Vanir shieldmaiden. Or use hints like very special cases. For example, priests of Mi-
she looks as a Zingaran or Argossean. The sto- tra might give access to some of them if the
ries always mention the race of characters even hero is obviously very devoted and actively
when we don’t know their names. fights Mitra’s enemies. Even this option should
-Book of Skelos is a mystical magic book be limited to a certain temple where the hero is
about necromancy and various subjects. You well known. Black magi only provide such as-
may tempt your players by giving them parts of sistance in cases when they totally control their
this book, copied, translated and commented by apprentices like the Black Seers of Mount
long-dead wizards. You may give them notes on Yimsha. So this isn’t an option for heroes.
magic tempting the wizard to try to invent cer- When should the hero meet his personality
tain Powers by providing a bonus to inventing. shift? In the Black magic and white magic chap-
Also, these notes might mention treasures ter of the players’ part black magi are warned of
guarded by strange monsters, alternative trap- that change. I think the timing should depend
pings to certain Powers, names of spirits one on the type of actions of the player. I would es-
can summon and similar things. The book was pecially judge harder human sacrifices and less
written many thousand years ago when differ- hard killing with magic. I think the rest is negligi-
ent nations walked the Earth. ble in this regard. I wouldn’t introduce one be-
-Ancient ruins with magic. fore Veteran Rank. Learning new Powers at the
-Heroes must be able to defeat monsters cost of human lives is a kind of cheating, so
and other enemies. there is no need to balance the point value of
-Isolated cultures in surprising places. De- the hindrances taken and received. He might
scendants of ancient cultures, refugees, ship- get hindrances even without losing one.
wrecked people in unusual places, which are Forbidding a black magus to reach white
probably hard to approach. powers. You need to warn the player before
-Priests who deceive people by speaking white powers became unavailable for him. It
through statues and produce “miracles”. Not ev- should depend on the deeds of the hero and I
erybody is able to cast real spells or have a wouldn’t even think on this ban before the leg-
wide range of Powers. endary rank. It’s not a big deal anyway, players
-White magi also should have some kind of choose the black way long ago.
method to lengthen their lifetime, for example Is it possible to cleanse the soul of imprints
they can slow their aging. I think 120-150 years of black magic? Maybe. But giving money to the
seems long enough for them. The game doesn’t poor won’t do anything in this regard that’s for
need the details of this method. sure.
-Summoning animals and demons. In some
cases enemies summoned such beasts, for ex-
ample a saber-tooth tiger. But the details differ GODS
a lot from the Summon Ally Power, especially
the duration. You might add summoning spells if Consider everything below as an idea and
you want but the duration should be at least an use what you like.
hour or rather permanent. This would fit better Gods might give omens and dreams for their
to the feeling. And using dramatic task would be followers (including heroes), sometimes with
better in this case if a hero wants to summon a useful messages, other times just flavoring the
beast. Summons of NPCs don’t need to be ex- game.
plained. In some cases the life of the summoner Most gods seem to have only male priests in
is linked to his beast and when the beast dies the stories, for example, Mitra. I think you
so dies the shaman. shouldn’t bother with such limitations.
-Politics. High-level play must include nobles I think gods should give actual help only at
and their conflicts, wars, kings and pretenders. their altars.

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 Derketo/Atargatis followers had a bizarre To justify Mitra’s popularity, the church may
custom in real history, her devoted male follow- give some free spells for a Mitra priest or the
ers castrated themselves. Devoted means here god might require lesser sacrifices. The church
probably the priests and a few of the most reli- would be able to make sacrifices and gather all
gious believers, not the common people. It’s up the Powers easily and distribute them between
to you if you use this idea in the game as this their priests but probably it would be against the
didn’t appear in the Conan stories but if you do, will of Mitra so they offer only a few.
their male followers must be warned before- Tarim, the blacksmith god might be a source
hand. This is a nice example of why I think it’s of unearthly iron if you allow it. His description
far better to convert real gods to the game in- is not for Howard so you may change it if you
stead of relying on fantasy literature. wish. The same is true for every detail of Erlik,
Asura. Common people believe he/she is a but the latter god appears in real mythology at
snake-god but he/she is actually a dragon. least.
Howard in The Hour of the Dragon states accu- New gods can be created for places with
sations against Asura followers are false. You somehow lacking religion like the black king-
still should use these gossips in your stories re- doms, Zamora, Afghulistan, Iranistan, Khitai,
gardless. Vendhya and maybe small gods for the Shemite
Gods who provide only white magic/powers pantheon. All your new gods should be re-
are Asura, Mitra and Ibis. In theory, there could gional, typically for a single city and of the sinis-
be gods in the gray area but there are only two ter type. Generally, it’s better to rely on real
sources of sorcery, one for black and another mythology as a source than copying from fan-
for white magic. ‘Gray magic’ as a concept tasy worlds.
doesn’t appear in Howard’s works. So these
gods might teach both types of powers and
both methods to reach a source of magic. I
think these gods may provide both black and
MAGICAL HEALING
white powers: Adonis, Anu, Ashtoreth, Atali, Healing potions with instant heal would
Dagon, Tarim and maybe Ishtar. This collection break the mood but quick healing is required
is based on the general view on black and white sometimes for gameplay reasons. A compro-
magic. However, your interpretation might vary. mise would be using magic ointments which
Powers from gods don’t mean they teach can heal one level of injury in an hour. And be-
the player personally. They might send a super- cause of the many lethal poisons in the setting,
natural servant to teach the hero or maybe a the ointment can prevent the consequences of
priest. I think it’s better than giving magic text to a failed vigor roll when used quickly. 200 silver
learn from because it’s more personal and the coins seems a good price for a dose.
player won’t have a long list of unnecessary
books on his sheet this way.
If heroes make far more sacrifices for gods
than required, you might take notes about the LIVING MAGI AFTER
surplus. The god may repay extra sacrifices
with additional gifts when it would be useful. For CONAN
example, you know a flying potion would make
Black Ring: Set worshiping evil wizards of
good use in the next adventure and the hero
Stygia.
made surplus sacrifices in sufficient value, so
Black Seers of Mount Yimsha (Hymelian
you give him one when he prays at the altar.
Mountains): this resembles more of a classic
You should give material gifts only at altars.
wizard school or order but the green-robed
Some gods don’t answer prayers. Maybe
acolytes have to devote their entire life to the
they exist only in the tales. These are obviously
order and may cast magic only when ordered
the Cimmerian gods and Bori who was just an
by their superiors, the Black Circle. These
ancient deified great chief.
black-robed wizard lords obey only the Master
Gods may ask fever sacrifice for spells that
of the Black Circle. After Conan killed all four
suits their aspects. And may ask more for high-
lords, they might need time to rebuild but their
ranked spells and powers. The trapping of the
master survived. They had many acolytes in Tu-
spell given by gods must suit the style of the
rania to support king Yezdigerd but they may
particular god as much as possible.
have a different agenda after Conan’s time.

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 Pelias, an Ishtar worshiper, wine-loving wiz- death. (Source: Xuthal of the Dusk) Some might
ard, who practices black arts. Now he owns prefer lifelike dreams instead of real life. Their
Tsotha-lanti’s castle in Khorshemish. He had intensity easily attracts the mind of people even
apprentices (!) but they were killed by Tsotha- without physical addiction. Basically, it’s the
lanti. same as yellow lotus. It appears only in a single
Thoth-Amon, master of all priests of Set, story and the name would be confusing so it’s
who dwells in Luxur and calls himself prince of better to skip this version.
all wizards. There is a chance he isn’t even able Purple Lotus: paralyzing poison, even it’s
to use magic, he just has the Ring of Set and touch starts the effect. Under the effects of the
he can summon a baboon-like demon with it to purple lotus, the mind can sense everything but
kill his enemies. Your choice. In addition, Conan has no control at all over the body. It grows in
killed his demon and nothing guarantees he the ghost haunted swamps of southern Stygia.
can summon another one, so he might be a no- Roll Vigor to avoid the effect. Failing the roll the
body. hero is paralyzed. With a success, the hero
Tsotha-lanti, a Kothian wizard, an enemy of loses 2 levels of fatigue, with a raise he loses
Pelias, said to be a half-demon. Pelias has only a single level. Roll every round in case of
taken his head away but the body might find it if constant exposure. A dose costs about silver
you would like to use him. Tsotha-lanti is like a gold coins.
lean vulture, clad in silken robe, and his great Yellow Lotus: it causes fantastic visions.
black eyes glittering from a face like that of a The lotus itself is seen sometimes in these ver-
bird of prey. His appearance is human at the sions. The flower blooms in Khitai, on the
first sight but decapitated humans aren’t able to Southern parts of Kush and Darfar and the
survive. So there must be a reason for his su- neighboring area of the Black Kingdoms. With a
pernatural survivability. successful Vigor roll, the smoke of the flower
Zelata, an old witch and oracle in Aquilonia causes only the loss of a fatigue level and noth-
who summons and commands animals. ing with a raise. Snake eyes cause addiction. It
means the hero becomes lazy and peaceful
and permanently gets the first fatigue level. You
LOTUS BLOSSOMS should strongly advise players to remove ag-
gressive or active hindrances like Bloodthirsty,
Black Lotus: deadly poison, creates mystic Ruthless or even Heroic for peaceful ones like
visions and restores magical energies. It can be Peaceful, Clueless or Hesitant. Without having
used as dust or incense. When under the effect an active hindrance, the hero still gets a pas-
roll Vigor. Failing the roll the hero dies. With a sive hindrance, especially Hesitant. This
success, the hero falls unconscious but still change is permanent. Curing the addiction
lives. With a raise, he loses 2 levels of fatigue, might cause switching back to the former hin-
with 2 raises he loses only a single level. Inhal- drances, do what you think is the best for the
ing the smoke of the incense is less fatal, add story. Involve the player in these decisions. It
+4 to the roll. If the hero has Arcane Back- also heals the permanent fatigue level loss.
ground he may regenerate all his Power Points, One portion costs 5 silver coins.
all from the black gulf(!). Sleeping in a chamber Gray Lotus: the drug in liquid form causes
with black lotus smoke the hero may dream madness. It can be found in the Gray Lotus
about distant lands, exotic pleasures, may see Swamp east of Khitai. The madness causes the
the history of the place, experience religious di- imbiber to become raving berserk who attacks
mensions or suffer scarlet nightmares. Expo- everything in sight with unnatural strength. The
sure to smaller doses may add to the Vigor roll victim has no control of himself and will kill and
and may reduce the benefits while a bigger destroy until the effect wears off in a few min-
dose may subtract from the roll, and increase utes. The hero gets the Berserker Edge and al-
the effects. If a hero survives 5 exposures to ways has to use Wild Attack. Choose the target
the black lotus he no longer dies from a stan- randomly when more are in the vicinity and the
dard dose. It grows in the haunted, forbidden closest one in front of him has the priority. If the
jungles of Khitai. A single dose costs about 200 Vigor roll is succeeded with a raise, he still gets
silver coins. the virtue but he’s just extremely irritable who
Black Lotus from Xuthal: this variant was will start a fight for the slightest cause, per-
improved by plant breeding techniques and ceived or real. He even provokes others. A
brings gorgeous and fantastic visions instead of small dose gives the Berserker Edge without ill

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effects for some minutes but the dose must be saber, light lance (=long spear), medium shield.
very carefully portioned. One dose costs about Sometimes battle ax or mace.
200 while a small dose without ill effects costs Picts: no armor but some might have leather
20 silver coins. or rather hide armor, especially on the north.
Golden Lotus: The juice of the golden lotus Bronze axes, spears and daggers, clubs,
cures insanity, addiction, poison, disease or any medium shields. They might use some looted
other ill effect but it doesn’t heal wounds. It is steel weapons as well. Stone-headed weapons.
even rumored that this potion can save a man Northern barbarians: mail for the nobles and
poisoned by the black lotus when used in time. elites, hide armor or just clothing for the most.
A single portion costs 400 silver coins. Open face helmets. Hide decoration on caps
and clothing. Shields with spear, sword or ax.
They also might have warriors with two-handed
GEAR OF NPC axes or swords. Archers usually wear no armor,
or hide armor.
SOLDIERS Stygian nobles: bronze corselet and helmet.
Stygian bow, steel swords and axes, shields.
Typical gear sets: They ride chariots.
Peasant insurgent: light or thick textile armor Stygian foot archers: They might wear textile
and cape, the more affluent ones might wear armors in linothorax fashion, stygian bow, short
open face lamellar helmets. Tools and cheap swords, axes and clubs.
weapons like: spears, shields, bows, javelins, Stygian footmen: Thick textile armor in
hatchets, clubs. linothorax style, steel helmets. Spears or pikes
Peasant on the streets: no armor, maybe a and swords. Elite troops or bodyguards might
hatchet, club or spear when he he feels some wear lamellar corselets. Bodyguards often wear
danger. bronze helmets.
Citizens in peacetime: short sword, some- Kushites: no armor in barbaric lands but no-
times a small shield. Long sword for the martial bles can use mail and steel helmet in civilized
type. In war see gear of soldiers. kingdoms. Large shields, spears, clubs,
City guard: thick textile armor (padded jack), javelins, bows, slings, throwing axes.
lamellar helmet. Weapons: halberds, cross- Vendhyan mounted nobles: mail, mail leg-
bows, short swords as sidearms. gings, mail coif or openface helmet, medium
Western ranged soldiers: thick textile armor round shield, tulwar, sometimes battle ax, bow
(padded jack), lamellar helmet. Weapons: which is similar to the Shemite bow, light lance
medium crossbow or longbow and short sword, (=spear). Their retinue use the same equipment
hatchet, light mace or club, small shield. without mail, maybe with a mail coif. Mail coif
Western footmen: brigandine or mail, lamel- here means a peaked plate top with mail aven-
lar or open face helmet. Halberds, pikes, tail (search kulah-khud to see).
spears, two-handed axes, two-handed maces Vendhyan infantry: medium round shield,
or shield with short spear. and spear or bow. Sidearm can be a tulwar,
Western type light cavalry (retinue of hatchet, light mace or simply a club.
knights): brigandine or mail, lamellar or open
face helmet. Shield, arming sword, lance and
maybe a mace.
Knight: plate armor or brigandine, closed hel-
MONSTERS
mets. Lance, medium shield, arming sword and Some supernatural monsters can be dam-
mace or warhammer on horseback. Two- aged only by silver, fire or magical weapons.
handed sword or ax on foot. This is considered common knowledge. Every-
Hyrkanian horse archers: lamellar armor, body with a success on the trait roll knows one
leather armor or just clothing depending on the method while they know all of them on a raise.
rank. Turanians also wear mail and mail coif. When the heroes don’t have appropriate
Lamellar, steel or leather helmet. Hyrkanian tools, you should provide a solution somehow.
bow, saber, light lance (=long spear), small For example, in the Black Stranger there are sil-
shield. ver candle holders, a big silver box and a fire-
Shemitish horse archers: mail, thin textile ar- place Conan can use to destroy the demon. In
mor or just clothing. Mail coif, lamellar or open the Hour of the Dragon, he gets a magical sign
face helmet or just a turban. Shemitish bow, on his sword. A writer has total control over en-

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counters but a GM also may ask for a Notice more from them. The easiest method is simply
roll anytime to let the heroes “discover” a silver adding them Edges and monstrous special
item in a secluded place. abilities from the rulebook. Unlike gods,
demons are better to steal from games than
Black Scorpion from historic works. Both their look and their
One foot in length, the deadliest creature of abilities are planned with the mindset to make
the desert, the stroke of whose spiked tail the fight against them interesting.
means instant death. Lethal Poison. An example
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6, Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
Strength d6, Vigor d8 Strength d12+2, Vigor d12+2
Skills: Athletics d6, Fighting d8, Intimidation Skills: Athletics d8, Fighting d12, Intimidation
d10, Notice d4, Stealth d10 d12, Notice d8, Stealth d10
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 4 Pace: 7; Parry: 8; Toughness: 12
Edges: — Edges: Frenzy (Imp.), Arcane Resistance
Special Abilities: Special Abilities:
• Bite: Str. • Bite/Fist: Str+d8
• Poison (−4): Lethal. See page 128. • Fear -2
• Size −3: One foot in length. • Hardy: The creature does not suffer a
Wound from being Shaken twice.
Boar • Immunity to Normal Weapons: demons
Wild boars are hunted for their rich meat. can be damaged only by Powers, unearthly
They are tenacious fighters, especially when weapons, fire and silver.
wounded. They try to hide when wounded if • Immunity to poison and disease.
they can, and ambush their hunters. • Infernal Stamina: Demons gain a +2 bonus
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d6, to recover from being Shaken.
Strength d8, Vigor d10 • Darksight: no penalties from Illumination.
Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d6 • Size 2 (or more).
Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
Edges: Berserk
Demonic People
Special Abilities: People with some demonic ancestry or simi-
• Gore: If a boar can charge at least 6” before lar sinister past. They are probably stronger
attacking, it adds +4 to damage. than regular people and have some bizarre fea-
• Tusks: Str+d4. tures, innate abilities and strange customs.
• Size: 0. They might guard some ancient magic structure
or tradition. Example features might be: cat
Children of Set eyes, red eyes, black eyes without the white of
Snake body with a human head. Story: The the eyes, no eyes but can see everything,
God in the Bowl. Constrictor template without scaled skin, bone outgrowths, goat legs,
Biting attack. Maybe with a bit higher Tough- chicken legs, horns, claws, fangs, pitch-black
ness. They might hypnotize a target with the skin, tail, without any hair, hairy like animals,
Puppet Power as a wizard with d8 skill and tentacles.
15PPs. Demonic people can be used freely, thus
they can be lonely figures, too, like powerful vil-
Crocodiles lains or lieutenants of a big boss, assassins,
false or even real pretenders (child of a king
These Stygian animals can be easily reach
and a succubus), wizards, even warriors.
Size 2 thus their Strength should be increased
Inspiration: The Pool Of The Black One.
to d12.

Demon Dire Wolf

They are related to Zogar Sag and the Pic-
Ebon-bodied beasts of different types.
tish lands.
Grotesque and animal traits. They are enemies
for high Ranks, at least for heroic. Dragon
They are unique monsters thus you need to
create them. Demons in Howard’s works are “Grinning jaws bared rows of dripping yellow
very simple beings. They are strong, black and tusks; above the yawning mouth wrinkled a
can sneak. That’s all. So you probably want saurian-like snout. Its eyes are huge, like those

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of a python a thousand times magnified. The Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8,
head, bigger than that of a crocodile, was fur- Strength d12+2, Vigor d12
ther extended on a long scaled neck on which Skills: Fighting d10, Notice d6
stood up rows of serrated spikes, and after it, Pace: 5; Parry: 7; Toughness: 13 (4)
crushing down the briars and saplings, waddled Edges: Arcane Resistance (Imp.)
the body of a titan, a gigantic, barrel-bellied Special Abilities:
torso on absurdly short legs. The whitish belly • Armor +4: Magically hardened stone.
almost raked the ground, while the serrated • Construct: Constructs add +2 when at-
back-bone rose higher than Conan could have tempting to recover from being Shaken, ig-
reached on tiptoe. A long spiked tail, like that of nore 1 point of Wound penalties, don’t
a gargantuan scorpion, trailed out behind.” breathe or eat and are immune to disease
It’s actually a big dino. Use the Drake tem- and poison, don’t Bleed Out.
plate without fire breath. This is the ancient • Fearless: Golems are immune to Fear and
monster Conan poisoned with the apple of Der- Intimidation.
keta. People call them dragons. These dragons • Fist or Bite: Str+d6.
were recreated by magi of Xuthal so they must • Hardy: The creature does not suffer a
live around the city and that landscape. Wound from being Shaken twice.
• Immunity to called shots: they don’t have
Giant weak points.
Huge and very strong creatures, use the • Size +1: Stone golems stand over 8’ high
ogre template. Gods of certain people, magi- and weigh 4,000 pounds.
cally improved servants, demonic creatures or
whatever you want. They must be unique char- Gray Ape
acters in each and every case. Use higher stats Gray apes or gray man-apes are between
for a leveled party. men and apes. These gray furred beasts are
strong like apes while having minimal intelli-
Ghoul gence so they can copy human behavior.
“Ghouls, men called them, eaters of human “They are in the formative stage; they are nei-
flesh, spawn of darkness, children of unholy ther apes, as their remote ancestors were, nor
matings of a lost and forgotten race with the men, as their remote descendants may be.
demons of the underworld.” Just use the tem- They dwell in the high crags of well-nigh inac-
plate from the rulebook. cessible mountains, knowing nothing of fire or
the making of shelter or garments, or the use of
Ghost Snake weapons. Yet they have a language of a sort,
Poisonous pythons. Like the python, it consisting mainly of grunts and clicks.”
crushes its victim, but unlike other constrictors, Certain people keep them as servants. (Thak in
its fangs bore venom that carried madness and the Rouges in the House, or servants of Bit-
death. This name is used in the western king- Yakin in Jewels of Gwahlur). Different groups
doms because of its pale scales. are mentioned in the eastern mountains of
Constrictors template with Strength d8, Zamora, the eastern part of the Vilayet Sea,
Toughness 8, Size 1 and Lethal poison. Ghost northern Hyrkania and Khitai.
snakes see through illusion and disguise. Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6,
Strength d12, Vigor d12
Golem Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Intimidation
d8, Notice d8, Stealth d8
They aren’t part of the original stories but fit
Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10
easily. In the stories the ancient crypts are
Special Abilities:
guarded by demons or similarly dark monsters
• Hardy: The creature does not suffer a
but for the sake of variety you may use golems
Wound from being Shaken twice.
as well.
• Fist: Str+d8
Golems can guard ancient tombs or the
• Edges: Brute
tower of the enemy wizard. These animated
• Size 1.
statues can appear in different shapes, such as
huge apes, crude giants, lions, sphinxes (in Sty- Lich
gia), the statue of a narcissist wizard, ele-
phants, sacred animals of gods. Perfect for ancient undead wizards like Xal-
totun in The Hour of the Dragon.

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Saber-tooth Tiger from meteor iron can damage magical crea-
tures and Powers doesn’t defend against them
They appear in the land of the Picts. It is not
either. But such metal rarely falls from the sky.
known whether they live freely in the wilderness
That type of metal is few in amount so people
or are summoned by their shamans.
make small weapons from the rustless iron like
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d8,
a dagger, spearhead, mace head but arrow-
Strength d12, Vigor d10
heads could be a material saving solution as
Skills: Athletics d10, Fighting d8, Notice d8,
well. He got once a phoenix sign on his sword
Stealth d8
to defeat a demon – such signs might be useful
Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 10
against other demons as well. On the other
Edges: Frenzy (Imp)
hand demons and were-men can be damaged
Special Abilities:
only by magic weapons. Therefore these mon-
• Bite: Str+d10, AP 1.
sters cannot appear randomly in your game, the
• Claws: Str+d6.
players must have a chance to defeat them.
• Low Light Vision: Lions ignore penalties for
You might use the famous Damascus steel if
Dim and Dark Illumination.
you want. Historically it was made from Indian
• Pounce: Saber-tooths pounce on their prey
iron so it might be called Vendhyan steel in the
to best bring their mass and claws to bear. If
game. Their razor-sharp blade might provide +1
a tiger makes a Wild Attack, it adds +4 to its
to damage, but they aren’t magical weapons.
damage instead of +2.
Only swords may get this bonus because a ra-
• Size +3: Saber-tooths weigh over 1000
zor-sharp blade is not essential for axes and
pounds, heavier than standard tigers.
maces don’t even have blades. If there is a
Spiders chance of weapon breaking, Vendhyan steel
must have a significantly higher chance to re-
They may come in any size and form. Poison sist. For example, if there is a 30% chance for
can be varied. Giant Spider template is in the common swords, Vendhyan steel sabers should
rulebook for dog-sized spider, and you may add have 5% or less. Price should be 3-6 times of a
Size, Damage and Toughness for bigger ver- normal saber (3× in Vendhya, 6× in distant
sions. Conan fought a spider as big as a pig, its lands). Not all tulwars in Vendhya are made
hairy legs raising its body at a headlong pace. from this special steel, there are common
weapons as well.
Vampire Identifying a magic item is a very hard
The standard rules apply. task. It’s not a magical process but rather an in-
vestigation in magical libraries. Xaltotun (The
Were-man Hour of the Dragon) explains despite being the
Werewolf template. “Everyone knows there greatest necromancer of his age he wasn’t able
are men who take the form of wolves at will.” to research the full power of the Heart of Ahri-
“Human weapons cannot harm a were-man.” man. Orastes, who resurrected Xaltotun spent
years researching how to use Heart of Ahriman
Zombie to resurrect a person. So the classic attitude
Only when someone uses the Zombie could apply: the more powerful the item it takes
power. more time to research. And the research means
working in libraries and talking with mystical su-
pernatural beings. In Hyboria there aren’t spells
LEGENDARY for identifying magic items.
I encourage you to make your own magic
TREASURES items. Your players cannot read about them this
way in the stories and in the rulebook thus they
Magic items are created by wizards and don’t need to pretend the lack of knowledge.
meant to use by wizards. Use this mindset Creating magic items by heroes is better to
when creating new items for your game. be restricted to single-use potions, ointments,
Magical weapons are extremely rare and powders and similar. Even these require great
don’t fit the Conan feeling. The legendary tulwar effort. Reusable magic items can be enchanted
of Amir Khurum might be one example but due only by hundreds of years old wizards or by
to the lack of explanation, it can be a master- gods.
work tulwar as well. Unearthly weapons forged

9
 Some magical items might require activation Mirror of thoughts: projects the images the
to use their abilities. For activating sinister wizard has in his mind. Silvery mirror which
magic items the heroes or the villains might doesn’t cast reflections.
need to perform similar deeds. For example, Chrystal ball: spying. The ball shows what
killing a certain number of his friends or lovers. happens in distant lands.
Friends could be those to whom the hero made Staff from the tree of death: its touch causes
some significant service, or maybe friends from death.
his past. In theory, other player characters Phoenix sword: this magic sign on a weapon
could count as friends but if a player kills them makes it possible to damage supernatural mon-
for this reason, it’s better to make his hero an sters.
NPC to avoid player vs player personal con- Star of Khorala: magic ring to enslave the
flicts. Maybe the player needs to bring debilitat- hearts of any of the opposite sex.
ing nightmares with the item for several people Pipes of Dancing: playing it makes people
to gain access to the other powers, or commit dance. Not a joyful one but rather writhing.
cannibalism. These requirements need to be Ring of Set: the wielder can summon a ba-
researched, too or can be activated randomly. boon-like demon.
And these subjects are only for adult players
really.

Magical item examples from the stories:

WHERE IS IT FROM?
Burning Skull: touching it causes madness In rare cases it worth using names created
and killing frenzy. by an epigone writer than inventing a very new
Pipes of Madness: the subject wants to at- name.
tack the piper without hesitation or considering
dangers. Conn, son of Conan: Earth-616 by Roy
Wand of fire: shoots a ray of fire. Thomas and John Buscema, 1980.
Girdle of Khemsa: enemies aim others than Zath, the spider god of Yezud: the name is
the wearer when it’s possible. Or it might simply from Conan and the Spider God by L. Sprague
bring luck. Conan also drew strength from it. de Camp, 1980.
Golden Elixir: this golden wine gives vigor Sea of light as the power source for white
and vitality. It doesn’t heal but makes wound magi is my idea. Only the source of black magic
penalties disappear for hours. It heals fatigue, is mentioned in the original stories.
however. The hero must drink a bottle of it to
feel all the effects.

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