GURPS Classic Conan
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE GREATEST HERO OF THE HYBORIAN AGE WAS A BARBARIAN: CONAN OF CIMMERIA! Black-haired and sullen-eyed was Conan, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth. Cycles of legend revolve around his name, glimpses of a world before history, where evil wizards performed dark sorcery, and where the fate of an empire turned on the strength and skill of a single sword. GURPS Conan, a worldbook for Steve Jackson's Generic Universal RolePlaying System, lets you enter the Hyborian Age, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles across the stars ... Zamora, with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery; Zingara with its chivalry; Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs; Hyrkania whose riders wore steel, silk and gold; and powerful Aquilonia, the proudest kingdom of the world. GURPS Conan includes: • A gazetteer describing the people, customs, laws, religion and mysteries of 34 lands of the world of Conan. • A complete bibliography of 73 currently-published Conan stories: names, races and nationalities, places and more. • Maps and historical information for the entire Thurian continent, from the isles of Antilla to the coast of Khitai. • Spells of the Hyborian Age, including the enchantments of the mysterious Black Ring and the potent sorceries of the Book of Skelos. • Rules for generating Hyborian Age characters. • Advice on running a Hyborian Age campaign and how to roleplay the non-human races, including Degenerate Men, Serpent People and Satyrs. • Complete GURPS stats for characters from the Conan saga, including Conan, Befit and Thoth-Amon. Based on the Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and others. Note: You need the GURPS Basic Set to use this supplement. GURPS Magic is also helpful, but not required. Written by Curtis M. Scott Introduction by L. Sprague de Camp Edited By Michael Hurst Cover by Kirk Reinhart Illustrated by Butch Burcham By Curtis M. Scott Introduction by L. Sprague de Camp Edited by Michael Hurst Cover by Kirk Reinert Interior Art by Butch Burcham Additional Art by Dan Carroll, Larry Dixon, Norman Doering, C. Bradford Gorby, Denis Loubet, George "Speed" Webber and Charlie Wiedman GURPS System Design by Steve Jackson Ken Trobaugh, Managing Editor; Charlie Wiedman, Art Director Page Layout and Typography by Melinda Spray and Drew Camard Production and Maps by Linda Ervin, Carl Manz, Charlie Wiedman Proofreading by Ingrid Kunze Playtesters: Russell Jones, Stephen Posey, Pat Vermiere and the SJG-BBS Illuminati CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: CONAN THE MIGHTY 3 Khitai 63 About Curtis M. Scott 3 Kosala 65 66 About L. Sprague de Camp, Map of Hyboria 4 Koth Kush and the Black Kingdoms 68 1. CONAN'S WORLD: THE HYBORIAN AGE . 5 Meru 71 History and Prehistory 5 Nemedia 72 The Serpent People 5 Nordheim 74 The Rise of Humankind 6 Ophir 75 Bibliographical Entries 6 Pictish Wilderness 76 The Cataclysm 7 Shem 78 The Khari 8 Stygia 80 Acheron, Hyperborea the Elder and Stygia 8 Turan 83 The Calendar 8 Vendhya 85 The Rise of the Hyborians 9 Zamora 87 Conan and the Cthulhu Mythos 9 Zembabwei 88 The Coming of the Hyrkanians 10 Zingara 89 The Hyborian World 10 The Hyborian Nations 10 6. THE CONAN CAMPAIGN 91 Technology 10 Running a Hyborian Campaign 91 The Khari Empires 11 Campaign Settings 91 The Khari Successor States 11 Campaign Style 92 The Tribal Peoples, The Iranistani, The Shemites 11 Rewriting History 92 Magic 11 Money in Hyboria, Ransom 93 2. HYBORIAN CHARACTERS 12 Playing Conan 94 New Nonhumans 13 HYBORIAN MAGIC 95 Degenerate Men 13 The Nature of Magic in the Hyborian Age 95 Satyrs 13 Adapting Magic to the Hyborian Age 95 Creating New Nonhuman Races 13 Campaign Period, Suggested Spell List 95 Serpent Men, S'Tarra 14 Hyborian Psionics 96 Advantages 15 The Book of Skelos 97 Disadvantages 16 Sorceries of the Black Ring of Stygia 97 Skills 17 Mysteries of Mount Yimsha 98 New Skills, Inappropriate Skills 17 Spells of Khitai 99 Languages 18 Amulets, Talismans and Ancient Devices of Power 99 Jobs, Status and Cost of Living 18 MASS COMBAT 101 Jobs Table 19 Overview 101 Equipment and Prices 20 Troop Strength 101 Powers of the Lotus 20 Mass Combat Turn Sequence, Determining Troop Quality 101 Other Poisons 21 Troop Types 102 3. HYBORIAN BESTIARY 22 Troop Quality and Morale 102 Key to Animal Statistics 22 Changing Troop Quality, Determining Commander's Experience 102 Dinosaurs 23 Battle Magic 103 Hyborian Creatures 23 Determining Magic Power 103 The Walking Dead 26 Using Magic on the Battlefield 103 Mystical Creatures 26 Raising Troops 103 Demons, Summoned Demon Table 28 Paying and Maintaining Troops 104 Catastrophe 105 4. HYBORIAN RELIGION 29 Consequences to Player Characters 105 How Religion Works 29 Survival Roll 105 Clerical Magic 30 Formations and Ranks 105 The "Blessed" Advantage 30 Glory Roll 106 Gods and Pantheons 31 Strategy Modifiers 106 Mitra 31 Relative Troop Strength 106 Set and the Stygian Pantheon 31 Elevation and Defensive Position 107 Erlik and the Living Tarim 32 Special Troop Superiority 107 The Shemitish Pantheon 32 Special Circumstances 107 The Vendhyan Pantheon 33 Loot, Use of Pikemen, Morale 107 The Animal Gods 33 Battle Plans 108 Nature Worshippers 33 Resolving the Contest of Strategy 108 Gods of the North, Ancestor Worship, Demon Worship 34 Morale Modifiers, Rout and Disaster 108 Other Gods 34 Second Survival Roll 109 Map of the Hyborian World 36 Casualties 109 5. LANDS OF THE HYBORIAN AGE 38 Roleplaying Battle Scenes 109 Antillia 38 Casualty Table 110 Aquilonia 40 Force Roster 110 Argos 45 Quick and Dirty Mass Combat 110 Barachan Isles 46 APPENDICES 111 Border Kingdom 48 Bibliography 111 Brythunia 49 Conan the Thief 116 Cimmeria 51 Conan, Captain of Turan 117 Corinthia 52 Amra the Lion 118 Darfar 54 Conan the Kozak 119 Ghulistan 55 Conan, King of Aquilonia 120 Hyperborea 56 The Women in Conan's Life 121 Hyrkania 58 Friends and Enemies 123 Ira nistan 60 Keshan 62 INDEX 126 -2- INTRODUCTION: CONAN THE MIGHTY Robert Ervin Howard (1906-36), a gifted but ill-starred Texas writer of the 1920s and '30s, created the Hyborian Age, a fantastic fictional setting to rank About GURPS with Baum's Oz, Carroll's Wonderland and Burroughs' Barsoom. In Howard's Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of the GURPS system. Our Conan stories, before recorded history, " . .. shining kingdoms lay spread address is Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars — Nemedia, Ophir, Please include a self-addressed, stamped Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of envelope (SASE) any time you write us! Resources now available include: spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the Roleplayer. This bimonthly magazine pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose includes new rules, variants, new races, riders wore steel and silk and gold . ." beasts, news on upcoming releases, sce- nario ideas and more. Ask your game re- Conan, the greatest Hyborian hero, was born in the barbaric northern land tailer, or write for subscription information. of Cimmeria. After an adventurous life as a thief, pirate and mercenary, he New supplements and adventures. literally crowned his career. He became King of Aquilonia, the richest and most We're always working on new material, powerful nation in the West. and we'll be happy to let you know what's available. Write us for our current catalog. Howard proposed that this age had glittered between the sinking of Atlantis, Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, in- around 18,000 B.C., and the dawn of known history. A catastrophe wiped out cluding us — but we do our best to fix our Atlantis and Lemuria, whose survivors reverted to savagery. In time these errors. Up-to-date errata sheets for all GURPS releases, including this book, are peoples built new civilizations. By 15,000 B.C., the powerful empires of always available from SJ Games; be sure Acheron and Stygia, rife with sinister sorceries, had arisen in the western part of to include an SASE with your request. the main continent. Q&A. We do our best to answer any game question accompanied by an SASE. Northern barbarians, the Hyborians, overran Acheron. On its ruins, the Gamer input. We value your comments. conquerors raised Howard's "shining kingdoms." Another natural catastrophe We will consider them, not only for new later ended the Hyborian Age, whose history survives only in fragmentary form products, but also when we update this book on later printings! in myths and legends. Howard assured his readers that this was pure fiction, not BBS. For those who have computers, a serious theory of human prehistory. SJ Games operates a multi-line BBS with discussion areas for several games, includ- ing GURPS. Much of the playtest feedback for new products comes from the BBS. It's up 24 hours a day at 512-447-4449, at 300, 1200 or 2400 baud. Give us a call! Page References Rules and statistics in this book are spe- cifically for the GURPS Basic Set, Third Edition. Any page reference that begins with a B refers to the GURPS Basic Set — e.g., p. B102 means p. 102 of the Basic Set, Third Edition. An M reference means GURPS Magic; BY is GURPS Bestiary; SW refers to GURPS Swashbucklers. About Curtis M. Scott Curtis Scott, author of GURPS Conan, GURPS Humanx, and several other books for various game companies, was a soft- ware engineer and dedicated gamer. He was perhaps best known in the gaming community for his devotion to M.A.R.