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The Age of COnan

The Age of COnan

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Introduction<br />

"Know, oh prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and<br />

the gleaming cities, and the years <strong>of</strong> the rise <strong>of</strong> the Sons <strong>of</strong> Aryas, there was an<br />

age undreamed <strong>of</strong>, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like<br />

blue mantles beneath the stars—emedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea,<br />

Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers <strong>of</strong> spider-haunted mystery,<br />

Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands <strong>of</strong> Shem,<br />

Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and<br />

silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom <strong>of</strong> the world was Aquilonia, reigning<br />

supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, blackhaired,<br />

sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic<br />

melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones <strong>of</strong> the Earth<br />

under his sandaled feet."<br />

—<strong>The</strong> Nemedian Chronicles.<br />

Welcome, Lords and Ladies, to this, the latest in a long line <strong>of</strong> recent<br />

un<strong>of</strong>ficial supplements to the original Dungeons & Dragons role playing<br />

game. What lies herein is not a slew <strong>of</strong> new rules, options, monsters, character<br />

classes, and such (though it does see its fair share <strong>of</strong> each), but rather notes for<br />

translating D&D into the<br />

very sword-and-sorcery<br />

world that inspired the game<br />

in the first place: the<br />

Hyborian <strong>Age</strong> <strong>of</strong> Robert E.<br />

Howard.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Hyborian <strong>Age</strong> (it is not,<br />

despite what some modern<br />

authors and designers like to<br />

call it, “Hyboria,” but<br />

properly called “<strong>The</strong><br />

Hyborian <strong>Age</strong>”) was an<br />

ancient age <strong>of</strong> humankind,<br />

approximately 10,000 years<br />

ago. <strong>The</strong> old civilizations<br />

had fallen and new ones<br />

arose, achieving a<br />

technology level equivalent<br />

to the High Middle <strong>Age</strong>s<br />

before a great and unknown<br />

catastrophe wiped all traces <strong>of</strong> these great and ancient kingdoms from the<br />

Earth. Still, their influence was felt down through the ages and many later<br />

(and even modern) kingdoms have their roots in the Hyborian <strong>Age</strong>. It is not an<br />

epic fantasy world <strong>of</strong> elves, dwarves, and struggles against powerful Dark<br />

5

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