"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and 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,Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered 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."
The Nemedian Chronicles
ROBERT E HOWARD CHARACTERS
CONAN the CIMMERIAN
Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 25 STR 15 14- Lift 800 kg; 5d6 HTH Damage [2] 23 DEX 39 14- OCV: 8/DCV: 8 25 CON 30 14- 20 BODY 20 13- 15 INT 5 12- PER Roll 14-/18- 18 EGO 16 13- ECV: 6 25 PRE 15 14- PRE Attack: 5d6 10 COM 0 11- 8 PD 3 Total: 8 PD (0 rPD) 8 ED 3 Total: 8 ED (0 rED) 4 SPD 7 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 10 REC 0 50 END 0 46 STUN 0 Total Characteristics Cost: 153 Movement: Running: 7"/14" Leaping: 5"/10" Swimming: 4"/8" Cost Powers & Skills Martial Arts: Swordsmanship Maneuver OCV DCV Damage 5 Cleave/Slash +1 -2 Weapon +4 DC Strike 4 Disarm -1 +1 Disarm; 35 STR to Disarm roll 4 Dodge -- +5 Dodge, Affects All Attacks, Abort 4 Parry +2 +2 Block, Abort 5 Thrust +1 +3 Weapon Strike 6 "Never Knew Fatigue": Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) for up to 25 Active Points of STR 8 "Taken Enough Punishment To Kill Three Ordinary Men": Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25%; STUN Only (-1/2), Character Must Be Aware Of Attack (-1/4) 3 Strong Willed: Mental Defense (10 points total); Only Works Against Mind Control (-1) 2 "Swinging Hillman's Stride": Running +1" (7" total), END 1 14 "Always Carried The War To The Enemy": Running 7", Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Only To Make A Half Move (-1/2) 2 Sailor: Swimming +2" (4" total), END 1 7 "Ever See A Cimmerian Scale A Sheer Cliff?": Clinging (normal STR); Cannot Resist Knockback Or Throws (-1/4), No Ceiling Movement Or Angles Of More Than 80 Degrees (-1/4) 6 "Faculties Were Akin To Those Of A Wolf": +2 PER with all Sense Groups 1 "Eyes Like A Cat": +2 PER with Normal Sight; Only To Counteract Darkness Modifiers (-1/2) 2 "Caught A Subtle Scent": +2 PER with Normal Smell Perks 4 Contact: Publo of Messantia (Contact has very useful Skills or resources) 11- 9 "A Score Of Ballads Celebrated His Ferocious And Audacious Exploits": Reputation: Amra the Lion or "Most Renowned Warrior Among Western Nations" (among the Black Kingdoms/elsewhere) 14-, +3/+3d6 Talents 6 Ambidexterity (-1 Off Hand penalty) 6 "Oh A Scratch Here And There": Combat Luck (3 PD/3 ED) 29 "Warned By His Savage Instinct": Danger Sense (immediate vicinity, out of combat, Function as a Sense) 14- 10 "Fell Like Ripe Grain Beneath His Blade": Deadly Blow: +1d6 (any circumstances, any HTH weapon) 10 "The Air Was Full Of Feathered Destruction": Deadly Blow: +1d6 (any circumstances, any Ranged weapon) 10 "Blur Of Blinding Speed": Follow-Through Attack 3 "Slumber As Light As A Wolf's": Lightsleep 5 "Immovable In The Face Of Pain": Resistance (5 points) Skills 32 "Manner Of Fighting Was Unorthodox": +4 with All Combat 8 "Striking Right And Left Too Quickly For The Eye To Follow": +4 with Sweep 5 Woodcraft: +2 Concealment, Shadowing, Stealth, and Tracking; Only In Forests (-1) 3 "Hit Cat-Like On His Feet": Breakfall 14- 0 Climbing 8- 2 Woodcraft: Concealment 12-; Self Only (-1/2) 0 Conversation 8- 0 Deduction 8- 10 "An Ever Moving Target": Defense Maneuver I-IV 3 "His Sword Flashed Half Out Of Its Sheath": Fast Draw (HTH) 14- 2 Gambling (Dice Games) 12- 3 Navigation (Land, Marine) 12- 0 Paramedics 8- 2 PS: Mercenary 11- 2 PS: Sailor 11- 5 "A Direct Actionist": Rapid Attack (HTH) 3 Riding 14- 3 Shadowing 12- 7 "Sandaled Feet Made No Sound": Stealth 16- 3 Streetwise 14- 6 "I Was Raised In A Naked Land": Survival (Temperate/Subtropical, Desert, Mountain) 12- 3 "All A Man Might Do He Had Done": Tactics 12- 0 TF: Equines 5 "Handled His Boat With Skill": TF: Large Rowed Boats, Large Wind-Powered Boats, Rafts, Small Rowed Boats, Small Wind-Powered Boats 3 "Tracked Wolves In His Native Hills": Tracking 12- 10 "Sword In One Hand And Dagger In The Other": Two-Weapon Fighting (HTH) 6 WF: Common Melee Weapons, Common Missile Weapons, Off Hand, Thrown Sword 3 "Roared Songs In A Dozen Languages": Linguist 3 1) Language: Aquilonian (completely fluent; literate) 2 2) Language: Archaic Pelishtim (fluent conversation; literate) 0 3) Language: Cimmerian (idiomatic; literate) 2 4) Language: Hyrkanian (completely fluent) 2 5) Language: Khauran (completely fluent) 2 6) Language: Kothic (completely fluent) 2 7) Language: Nemedian (completely fluent) 2 8) Language: Ophirean (completely fluent) 1 9) Language: Pictish (fluent conversation) 2 10) Language: Pirate Code (fluent conversation; literate) 1 11) Language: Sea-coast Dialect Of Kush (fluent conversation) 2 12) Language: Shemite (completely fluent) 2 13) Language: Stygian (fluent conversation; literate) 2 14) Language: Vendhya (completely fluent) 2 15) Language: Yuetshi (completely fluent) 3 Scholar 2 1) "I've Seen His Kind Before": KS: Races Of Hyboria 12- 2 2) KS: Beasts And Monsters Of Hyboria 12- 1 3) KS: Customs Of The Free Companions/Red Brotherhood 11- 2 4) KS: Gods And Religions Of Hyboria 12- 2 5) KS: Myths And Legends Of Hyboria 12- 1 6) KS: Myths And Legends Of The Black Kingdoms 11- 2 7) KS: Ships And Shipping 12- 3 Traveler 2 1) AK: Afghulistan 12- 2 2) AK: Aquilonia 12- 1 3) AK: Asgard 11- 2 4) AK: Hyrkania 12- 2 5) AK: Nemedia 12- 2 6) AK: Poitain 12- 2 7) AK: The Black Coast 12- 2 8) AK: The Black River/Pictish Wilderness 12- 2 9) AK: The Hyborian World 12- 1 10) CK: Messantia 11- 1 11) CK: Zamboula 11- 1 12) CuK: Asgardians And Vanaheim 11- 1 13) CuK: Cimmeria 11- 1 14) CuK: Picts 11- 361 Total Powers & Skills Cost 514 Total Character Cost 200+ Disadvantages 20 DNPC: scantily-clad female in distress 14- (Normal) 15 Psychological Limitation: "A Keen Relish For Women And Strong Drink" (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: Crude Code Of Honor, "A Man Who Discharged His Obligations Eventually" (Common, Strong) 15 Psychological Limitation: "I've Trusted No One Too Far, Man Or Woman" (Common, Strong) 5 Psychological Limitation: Racial Hatred For Picts (Uncommon, Strong) 10 Reputation: "Cimmerians Are A Bloody Race, Born With A Sword In Their Hand", 11- 20 Reputation: "One Of The Greatest Scourges Of The Sea", 14- (Extreme) 214 The Original Barbarian Bonus 514 Total Disadvantage Points OPTIONS Powers 4 "Human Foes He Did Not Fear": +10 PRE; Only To Protect Against Presence Attacks (-1), Only Versus "Mundane" Threats (-1/2) 10 Fists Like Iron: HA +2d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 10 "Stealth Personified": Invisibility to Hearing Group , Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Only When Not Attacking (-1/2) 1 "Springy Sinews": Leaping +1" (6" forward, 3" upward), END 1 2 "Can Sleep Naked In The Snow": LS (Safe in Intense Cold) 5 "Struck [the sphere] Aside With His Sword": Missile Deflection (Thrown Objects) Talents 3 "Instinct... Made His Course Unerring": Bump Of Direction 15 "Unerring Instinct Of The Barbarian": Combat Sense 12- Skills 2 "Quieting The Uneasy Steed With A Low Word": Animal Handler (Equines) 14- (16-) 3 "I Ran Quickly To The Wall And Scaled It": Climbing 14- Disadvantages -15 Psychological Limitation: Lives For The Moment (Common, Strong)
Background/History: Conan, the greatest warrior of the Hyborian Age, was literally "born in the midst of battle," during a fight between a band of invading Vanir and his own Cimmerian tribe. The son of a blacksmith, his early life in the hard land of Cimmeria made him strong and durable, qualities that would be a great asset in the years to come. While still a youth, aged no more than fifteen or so, his prowess was such that "already my name was repeated around the council fires." In addition, he was part of the howling barbarian mob that sacked the city of Venarium, putting the population to the sword and the city to the torch. Shortly thereafter, Conan's "roving foot" caused him to strike out for Asgard, where he helped fight against the Vanir and Hyperboreans. After several months of campaigning, he escaped from captivity by the Hyperboreans and headed south, into civilization and the city of Zamora, a fresh-faced youth of seventeen in a city-state of thieves.
From this point, Conan's future was set. He would settle nowhere long, instead journeying from place to place, usually as a sword-for-hire, eventually crisscrossing the Hyborian world in his travels. For a time, he was the scourge of the Black Coast, sailing with the pirate Blit. Later he would (among other things) command bands of kozaks, act as a mercenary soldier, return to his former life as a corsair, become a warchief of the Bamulas, and at around the age of forty, become king of Aquilonia.
As king, Conan would reign for many years, during a turbulent period in history, when wars of imperial expansion where common. Eventually, Conan would (apparently) abdicate, traveling to even distant lands, including the nameless one far to the west of his own. His final fate is unknown—he may have died on campaign, trying to establish his own empire, or he may have fallen far from home, during one of his travels. One thing is certain however, he didn't die of old age.
Personality/Motivation: Unlike most (if not all) Cimmerians, Conan has an exuberant nature, and tends to live life to the fullest. He is quick to laugh, but also not one to forget slights and feuds, and is capable of wrecking bloody vengeance on those who have wronged him. His is also described as "a valiant trencherman," and wine is both "a passion and a weakness" with him. Naturally, he has a notable liking for women, and has been swayed into a questionable course of action by a pretty face and figure more than once.
For the most part, Conan lives for the moment, with little thought to what tomorrow may bring. This does not mean he is the happy-go-lucky sort (far from it), but that he takes both success and failure in stride. When things are going well, he enjoys himself, spending his money on wine and women freely. Once that runs out, he simply shrugs his massive shoulders and looks for a new way to earn his keep. And when a chance to gain a fortune fails, he doesn't bemoan his fate, but instead accepts it and moves on. Conan is a very practical sort, to say the least.
Although accepting of the twists and turns of fate, Conan isn't above trying to change his own. He likes to be in charge, and tends to rise to command whatever group he is with—be it the captain of the Queen's guard, or captain of a shipload of pirates. And he's not above using violence to get it. Although he won't betray a friend, he is more willing to double-cross a competitor, and while he won't stab a man in the back, he will often take them down face to face.
For all of this, Conan does have his own code of honor—he tends to play fair with those who treat him fair, normally won't harm a woman (or see one harmed), and won't abandon a friend (or other companions) if he can help it. As a final note, Conan, like all barbarians, has a certain dread of the supernatural. While he doesn't exactly fear it per se, he doesn't go out of his way to encounter it. On the other hand, experience has shown Conan that a good steel blade can accomplish wonders, and most, if not all, supernatural monstrosities bleed and die just as well as men do.
Quote: "I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I see not beyond death. ... Let me live while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. ... I know this: if life is an illusion, then I am no less than an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content."
Powers/Tactics: Conan's two most distinguishing features are his strength and speed. He has been described as having "tigerish strength," being able to cave in the side of an armored man in with an ax, as is "strong beyond the comprehension of civilized man." His agility has been likened to "blinding speed," the "quickness of a panther," and "a striking cobra." He has wrestled with great apes, hurled benches of solid silver, cut men in two with a single sword blow, and shattered skulls with a single punch. In battle he is never still, moving constantly, and never presenting a clear target to his opponents. He almost never fights defensively, preferring to attack, taking the offensive and overwhelming his foes with a blinding flurry of crushing blows.
As a Cimmerian, Conan's "barbaric" upbringing has honed his physical skills to an almost unnatural degree. Like all hillmen, he can climb virtually anything, even seemingly sheer cliffs. He also has highly acute senses, and has been known to recognize people in the dark by the faint perfume they wore in their hair. His hearing is also quite acute, and is often good enough to alert him of a trap mere seconds before it is sprung.
Having traveled extensively, Conan has seen many lands, and knows quite a bit about them and their people. He also speaks an astonishing number of languages, and can read many of them.
Appearance: Conan is repeatedly described as tall and massive. He stands well over six feet in height (at the sack of Venarium he stood six foot even and weighed 180 pounds), with "broad heavy shoulders, ... massive chest, lean waist, and heavy arms." His skin is burned brown by the sun, his face dark and scarred, his hair a black mop, and his eyes are "smoldering blue."
Contrary to most art, Conan doesn't dress in just a fur loin cloth, sword belt, and helmet. Normally he dresses in whatever is the local fashion, adding in such armor as is available. He tends to wear mail shirts if possible, and understands the value of armor in battle, at one point crediting it with keeping him alive during an ambush. His arms usually consist of a broadsword and poniard, but he has also armed himself with bows, spears, and axes.
Designer's Notes: Conan first appeared in the short story The Phoenix on the Sword, published in Weird Tales in December of 1932. Derived from the King Kull story By This Axe I Rule!, it presented the world with the character of Conan, barbarian king of Aquilonia. In January of 1933, Conan appeared in his second story, The Scarlet Citadel, once again as king of Aquilonia, but his third story, The Tower of the Elephant (published in March of 1933) showed him as a mere youth in the city of Zamora. From that point on, Conan stories came one after another, some very, very good ( Beyond the Black River, Queen of the Black Coast, Red Nails), some rather formulaic (The Man-Eaters of Zamboula, The Vale of Lost Women). All told, Howard wrote some two dozen Conan stories during his life, along with one full novel (The Hour of the Dragon). He also wrote numerous unfinished fragments and outlines, many of which were turned into complete stories (of questionable quality) by the team of de Camp and Carter in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The character sheet seen here was developed from the Del Rey Robert E Howard collection. Consisting of the volumes The Coming of Conan, The Bloody Crown of Conan, and The Conquering Sword of Conan, they present the various Conan stories as close to the original forms as possible. The only editing is to correct obvious spelling errors and the like. As with my other Howard adaptations, I am only going with what was written, and am ignoring any non-canon (i.e. non-Howard) sources. In addition, I have used actual quotes from the stories as special effects for all of Conan's powers, Talents, and Skills. I have even included some optional powers for those who wish to make Conan even more powerful. Oh, and one last note—I wrote down every language Conan is listed as speaking in a story—which means the 15 languages listed might not be complete!
Conan's Options Hero Designer File
(Conan created by Robert E Howard, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
Return to Book-Derived HERO System Character Adaptations.