Conan [Monolith Boardgame] - KS over and funded

[Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye]

They're not cannons! They're ballistas. 

So they are! I had to zoom in 500% or more on the pic they sent to see them.

TBH, I don't care a bit about the game. I only backed b/c of the figures. Same with CW and that other Viking- themed gane from last year...Blood Rage, is that what it was called?

[Eithriall]

No gunpowder in the Hyborian Age, but you can find weapons, armors or clothes from Antiquity to the Renaissance...

[Arthadan]

I find that strange too. They should have left out Spanish Conquerors and so...

[PanzerKaput]

Dont the Khaitis have gunpower of sorts?

[Eithriall]

Sorcerers of Khitai are discribed as more powerful than western sorcerers, but no written trace of gunpowder in REH's works.

Arthadan, I think you're talking about Zaporavo. As he is a zingaran pirate, this spanish conqueror look fits him well. In "The Pool of the Black One" novel, you can read this :
"He was a tall man, tall as Conan, though of leaner build. Framed in his steel morion his face was dark, saturnine and hawklike, wherefore men called him the Hawk. His armor and garments were rich and ornate, after the fashion of a Zingaran grandee. His hand was never far from his sword hilt".

Actually the clothes and hand weapons of the Zingaran pirates in "The Black Stranger" novel are *Late* Renaissance (though *without gunpowder*). Thus a Zingaran warrior with a Spanish Conquistador 'look' is consistent with such reference.
The cultures described by Howard are not copycats of historical prototypes - Shem combines almost everything  'Middle Eastern' / 'Arab' / 'Muslim' from Assyria to 19th C. beduins, for instance. Zingara is 'Spanish' but no more homegeneous, time-frame wise. Meaning that miniatures would not be copycats of historical prototypes: for instance for Zingara a Spanish knight from the El Cid period *but with a morion* (the iconic 'Spaniard' helmet in popular culture).

[Eithriall]

Nevertheless, the Hyborian Age in places seems more like 1500 A.D. if gunpowder hadn't been invented (Aquilonian Knights in full plate armor, something was was not invented until the end of the 14th century), and advanced ship designs like Galleons exist (although it's not clear if those have any artillery).

Eithriall : The bronze age feeling is only part of the entire "Hyborian Age" created by Howard....His wish was to write novels without the constraints of an historic world (just remember Robert Howard has written historic novels so he's knowing how it's difficult to be historically accurate). So, in the Conan's world coexist medieval lands (Aquilonia, Nemedia), vikings (Asgard and Vanaheim), ancient Greece (Corinthia), Hittite Empire (Koth), ancient Egypt (Stygia), Mesopotamia with Shem, pirates, etc....

Patrice Louinet : The reasons behind the invention of the Hyborian Age were perhaps commercial: Howard had an intense love for history and historical dramas; however, at the same time, he recognized the difficulties and the time-consuming research needed in maintaining historical accuracy. By conceiving a timeless setting – a vanished age – and by carefully choosing names that resembled our history, Howard avoided the problem of historical anachronisms and the need for lengthy exposition.

[Arthadan]

Sorcerers of Khitai are discribed as more powerful than western sorcerers, but no written trace of gunpowder in REH's works.

Arthadan, I think you're talking about Zaporavo. As he is a zingaran pirate, this spanish conqueror look fits him well. In "The Pool of the Black One" novel, you can read this :
"He was a tall man, tall as Conan, though of leaner build. Framed in his steel morion his face was dark, saturnine and hawklike, wherefore men called him the Hawk. His armor and garments were rich and ornate, after the fashion of a Zingaran grandee. His hand was never far from his sword hilt".

Thanks for your answer Eithriall! Yes, I was refering to Zaporavo. Your interpretation is perfectly consistent with the description, but I would have prefered something equally consistent with the description and looking right together more "primitive" hyborian cultures.

For example, some morion designs doesn't look like a conquistador helmet so much:




Something like this with, say, an ornate scale armour instead of Renaissance style plates would also fit the description and make the miniature less "Renaissance" and more "Dark Ages", allowing a better integration with half-naked barbarians. And if you want to go for ornate plates, I would have considered a Roman cuirass (although I think metal armour is an odd choice for a ship captain):



For me the key to make visually beliveable a Fantasy world is making it as realistic as possible, the more crazy things it has, the harder it is to believe in (again, at least for me). If you introduce heavy plate armour in Zingara, then every civilised western kingdom should have it.

Let's take a look to Monolith's take on Black Dragons, the elite of Aquilonia (a spot-on design!):


Why a wealthy kingdom such Aquilonia would give its elite warriors an "inferior" armour? If the only answer is "because it's Fantasy" you have just put me out.

I know it's challenging but I'm sure there is a way to respect R.E.H. descriptions and make all the miniatures look as if they belong to the same world and period (and most miniatures of the Conan game do, it's this guy who stands out too much for my taste).

[Eithriall]

If you introduce heavy plate armour in Zingara, then every civilised western kingdom should have it.
Why a wealthy kingdom such Aquilonia would give its elite warriors an "inferior" armour? I know it's challenging but I'm sure there is a way to respect R.E.H. descriptions and make all the miniatures look as if they belong to the same world and period.

I understand what you mean, but REH has not created the Hyborian Age as an unique world and period ! As exemple, The Pictish wilderness has a border with Aquilonia...but the Picts from the Hyborian Age are living in the stone age !  

The first novels of REH feel more bronze age or high Middel Ages....but as he developed Conan's world, he used more late Middle Ages vocabulary.
It's not a world frozen. A man with a plate armor can fight a pirate with clothes of 16th century or a viking from 9th century. That's how REH want this, no historical limit.

[Duncan McDane]

Well, I'm not a Conan expert but I did back the Black Dragons, simply because they have a great old school evil/chaos warrior feel about them ( and, of course, because they were ks only and of course because I'm a lost cause  ).

[Arthadan]

I understand what you mean, but REH has not created the Hyborian Age as an unique world and period ! As exemple, The Pictish wilderness has a border with Aquilonia...but the Picts from the Hyborian Age are living in the stone age !  

The first novels of REH feel more bronze age or high Middel Ages....but as he developed Conan's world, he used more late Middle Ages vocabulary.
It's not a world frozen. A man with a plate armor can fight a pirate with clothes of 16th century or a viking from 9th century. That's how REH want this, no historical limit.

I understand your point and is a perfectly valid interpretation. We have now some tribes living with a Stone Age level, but since they are below the "average" technicall level, they are an exception.

I'm not sure REH wanted his world to look like a collection of time-travellers, and as I said earlier I think there is a way to stay true to the source material and give miniatures a consistent look at the same time.

That said, I think Moolith has made a great job overall.

[Eithriall]

That said, I think Monolith has made a great job overall.

+1  

[PanzerKaput]

Congratulations Monolith, another delay, maybe October now, what a bunch of armatures. Well at least we have admitted it is your fault but maybe you can pull your finger out and sort the game out.

[beefcake]

Well with the amount of stuff they funded the initial date (a year before the current expected delivery) was a bit of a stretch. Waiting doesn't bother me. I'm still waiting on a Kickstarter from 2012 that is slowly being completed and fulfilled.

[PanzerKaput]

You might be waiting on this one that length of time to

[beefcake]

  Could be. Hope not though. I often find my enthusiasm for a project wanes when it takes too long. Funnily enough the one from four years ago saw me getting rid of the majorioty of my sci fi stuff (sci fi KS) and now I'm collecting sci fi again so it was probably a good thing it took so long... kind of.