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Character Creation: Conan the Hyborian Age: From the Streets

Moving on the next of the Origins, we come to From the Streets. All the big cities, and even the smaller ones, have these places, where the poor and desperate grow up, crime is rife and those that live there have to do what they can to survive. The underside of civilisation.

Characters with this origin get +1 to edge checks and attacks, and a choice of the Fleet Footed or Of the Shadows skill, but low lifepoints compared to most.

The archetypical character from such places is the weedy, nimble, quick witted thief.

For stats, we will go with 3535 – 5 in Edge and Wits and 3 in Might and Grit. Quick of mind and body, but not the most physical of specimens.

That gives them a physical and sorcery defence of 7 for both, making them harder to target. Base lifepoints on 22 plus 6 from Grit gives them only 28 total. They also only have 3 Stamina.

For skills, go with Of the Shadows for starters, and take Assassin and Fleet Footed with your starting XP. Of the Shadows gives +1 to Edge checks to stealth or to detect it, which stacks with the Origin bonus, meaning they are very stealthy, at 1D6+7 on their rolls. Fleet Footed means they can move around very quickly, with a bonus move action if they take 2 move actions on a turn. And Assassin means they can use Edge instead of Might for melee attack rolls for light medium one handed weapons. Again that stacks with the bonus from From the Streets. With daggers, short swords and the like, they are very accurate, though they still add Might to damage rolls.

Gear wise, stick with no armour to not impede your movement, a short sword to fighting with and a few daggers for throwing or to use in the off hand.

Astan; Might: 3, Edge: 5, Grit: 3, Wits: 5
Lifepoints: 28
Stamina: 3
Flex Dice: 1d10
Physical Defence: 7
Sorcery Defence: 7
Skills: Of the Shadows, Fleet Footed, Assassin
Armour: None
Short Sword: 1d6+3 damage
Dagger: 1D4+3 damage, Range: Medium

And what about a character that doesn’t stick to the archetype? What about a thug, a brutal enforcer who is more than capable of causing harm to those that get out of line?

For stats, go with a 5452 build; 4 Might and Grit, 4 Edge and just 2 Wits. Muscle bound but not too smart. That gives 6 PD, 5 SD, 32 Lifepoints and 5 Stamina.

For stats, go with Of the Shadows. They can still sneak up on people, and make them regret it if they do. Take Iron Hide, which increase their Lifepoints by 3, and Waterfront Brawler. That makes their unarmed attacks count as Improvised Weapons, meaning they can apply melee bonuses to the attack and make flex rolls on damage. They are actually good with any weapon they can lay their hands on, but if they can’t find any, they can still pummel the enemy.

For gear, at most go with light armour, though no armour works best if sneaking about. But given they are more likely to be in the thick of fighting, they are more likely to need it compared to the thief. For weapons, take whatever you feel like using; bows, swords, spears, axes.

Alcad the Bull; Might: 5, Edge: 4, Grit: 5, Wits: 2
Lifepoints: 35
Stamina: 5
Flex Dice: 1d10
Physical Defence: 6
Sorcery Defence: 5
Skills: Of the Shadows, Waterfront Brawler, Iron Hide
Armour: Light (3 Armour Rating)
Fists: 1d4+5 damage

Posted on by qorvus

Character Creation: Conan The Hyborian Age: From the Hills

Previously, I did a post looking at the Quickstart rules for Conan, but now that I have my hands on the full game, I can do a bit more of a dive into it, and character creation.

There are ten Origins in the book. They aren’t classes exactly, but more backgrounds that shape how you might build your character, each with a few bonuses to help out. Of the ten, five have access to magic, but that doesn’t mean they have to use magic. You can, in fact, develop them in different ways that at first may not be obvious or fit the most obvious archetypes.

I’m going to make my way through the Origins one at a time and make up a couple of starting characters for each – one sticking to the archetype, and another that is different from how you would first expect the Origin to play. Such as one of the spellcaster archetypes being a frontline tank, or a tough melee damage dealer.

The first is From the Hills, who are depicted as hardy warriors who live beyond the frontiers of civilisation, Conan and the Cimmerians being the most obvious examples. They start with high lifepoints and their bonus is that at the start of each Tale (adventure) they choose either Might, Edge or Grit and get +1 to attacks and checks with that stat. It makes them adaptable and flexible in how you play then, which is good in the system. A +1 is a fairly big bonus and you never know where you are going to end up, what you are going to do or even what equipment you might have so being able to match your bonus to the situation is handy.

So first we will go with the typical Archetype of a From the Hills character, a tough warrior, getting in close and swinging a sword.

For stats, we have 16 points to distribute between the 4, with a maximum of 6 in any stat. For this character, who we will call Cianan, I will go a 5452 build – 5 Might, 4 Edge, 5 Grit and 2 Wits. Strong and tough, but not exactly good with people or knowledge. he is there to hit things.

For defences, that gives him a Physical Defence of Edge+2 (6) and a Sorcery Defence of Wits+2 (4), but SD has a minimum of 5, resulting in an ED of 6 and an SD of 5.

Lifepoints is equal to base lifepoints from the origin plus GRITx2. In this case, Cianan has 40 lifepoints, which is quite substantial.

Stamina is equal to his GRIT stat, so he starts with 5 stamina to use.

Each charcter has 3 XP to spend on starting skills, and for a non nonsense warrior like this, Brawler (+1 melee damage) and Charge (1 Stamina, 1 action, make 2 move actions followed by a melee attack action), works well. He can get stuck in quick and hit things hard.

Gear wise you get two weapons or a weapon and a shield, and either light of medium armour. Gear isn’t too important, as this is Sword and Sorcery, and you may not always have access to the same gear you had in the last tale, or any at all. Conan used whatever was at hand, so grab whatever works best. But some Light Armour, a big Great Axe and a Short Bow to shoot at foes you can’t reach immediately are a good way to go.

So there you have it, a quick and easy build for an archetype of the From the Hills origin.

Cianan; Might: 5, Edge: 4, Grit: 5, Wits: 2
Lifepoints: 40
Stamina: 5
Flex Dice: 1d10
Physical Defence: 6
Sorcery Defence: 5
Skills: Brawler, Charge
Armour: Light (3 Armour Rating)
Great Axe: 1d12+6 damage
Short Bow: 1D6+1 damage, Range: Long

If you need to be a bit more sneaky and shooty for a Tale, boost your Edge with your origin bonus, but if you are just going to hit things, go with Might. Grits would be if you think you are going to have to survive a grueling ordeal, or lots of poison.

Now to look at how to build a character From the Hills who doesn’t follow the archetype so much. Not a frontline brawler, but what about a more sneaky, skirmisher type instead?

For stats, go with a 4543 build. Five in edge, 3 in wits and 4 in the other two. That gives a PD of 7, a SD of 5, Lifepoints of 38 and 4 stamina.

For skills, take Fleet Footed (when making 2 Move Actions in a turn, get a bonus move action), Hit and Run (1 Stamina, make a Melee Attack Action, followed by 2 Move Actions, counts as only 1 Action) and Of the Shadows (+1 to Edge checks involving stealth and to detect others).

For gear, at most you would want to wear Light Armour, but no armour works best as you don’t have a penalty to move stealthily then, and for weapons, a handful of Javelins to throw at the enemy and a War Spear for when you get into melee range. War Spear has the bonus of having longer range so you can poke enemies and they can’t strike you back straight away.

There you have it, a very mobile scout and skirmisher, who can wear down foes with javelins, is hard to get to grips with, if the foe can even find them first, and can still contribute in melee.

Eluned; Might: 4, Edge: 5, Grit: 4, Wits: 3
Lifepoints: 38
Stamina: 4
Flex Dice: 1d10
Physical Defence: 7
Sorcery Defence: 5
Skills: Fleet Footed, Hit and Run, Of the Shadows
Armour: None
War Spear: 1d10+4 damage, Range: Close
Javelins: 1D6+4, Range: Medium

If you think you might be forced into melee more often than not, going with Might as your flexible bonus would a good idea, but otherwise stick with Edge for the extra sneakiness (giving 1d6+7 for Stealth Checks) and more accurate Javelins would be the preferred option.

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Character Creation

One thing that I enjoy doing is creating characters. By this, I’m not referring just to characters in stories, but to characters in games. TTRPGs specifically.

Over the years I’ve collected quite a few different systems, many of which I have never gotten around to playing, but one thing I do enjoy is experimenting making characters with them.

However, I tend not to go with the standard characters. You know, the elf archers, the halfling rogues, the dwarf warriors etc. I like quirky, oddball kind of characters, but ones that are still useful. It is one thing to play an odd character, but another thing entirely to do so to the detriment of the group you are playing with.

So coming up I will explore various systems I have purchased over the years and go through making example characters with them. First up we will start with the Conan ttrrpg that Monolith just released and I have gotten my hands on to, exploring the various origins and building some builds that at first might not have seen apparent from their descriptions.

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Plans for 2025

After a short intermission (or a long one if you want to call it so), I am making a return. Things got a bit hectic there for a while, with the arrival of a new baby and associated issues with that, leaving me little time to do much, even writing. But we are over the worst of it and I even am doing some writing again.

I have plans for the year, including more updates on here and plenty of writing. I hope to keep updating stories and how they came about, as well as looking at various games and books that have influenced me.

First up is a challenge to write 52 short fiction stories over the year – 1 a week. So far in the first 4 weeks I have written 3 (2 sword and sorcery short stories and 1 historical fiction flash story), but have 7 others started.

In addition I would really actually like to release some of it and not just on the website. Some collections of the short stories that I have already written, and hopefully a novel that I have been sitting on for years – a weird noir fantasy.

So, on with the show.

Posted on by qorvus

Peregrine and Blade: Eyes of the Frozen North

I can’t remember the exact details, but Eyes of the Frozen North came about from a writing prompt on a forum somewhere. It is a short piece – a vignette really – that takes Peregrine and Blade to a new part of the world, and continues on with the world building.

Really, world building never ends. There are always new lands, peoples, cultures, ideas and more to explore. And that is what makes writing fun, especially fantasy. You get to explore all of this and see where the story leads.

Sometimes, as mentioned before, the characters can run across troubles that can not be defeated. Such again is the case in this story.

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Peregrine and Blade: The City in Shadows

The first story, The City in Shadows, after the initial three took Peregrine and Blade to a new part of the world – the deserts. I like deserts, and stories and settings that take place in them, like Dune and Dark Sun. I also visit them a fair bit in my stories, but this is the first time I took Peregrine and Blade into them.

There was, once again, some DNA that came from other stories; you might be able to pick which Conan stories inspired it, in parts.

But this story sends the duo off on mercenary work for the first time, though one that didn’t quite work out, and also continued to expand more on the history of the setting, and of the world in general.

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An early look at the Conan RPG Quickstart

I am a fan of Conan, obviously. It was what introduced me to S&S and REH’s works was what inspired me to try both the genre and short fiction as well.

It isn’t just the stories I like, but also other forms of Conan; comics, movies, games. I kickstarted the Modiphius’ Conan TTRPG and also Monolith’s Conan board game (both of which I want to talk about at some point). I had always thought that the board game had the basis of a decent RPG hidden in it, so as exited to hear that Monolith was also doing a Conan TTRPG.

And now the quickstart guide is out, giving a glimpse at the game to come. While it isn’t a RPG version of the board game, there is a little bit of DNA from it in there. This isn’t going to be a review of it, just some initial thoughts – a proper review will come out when I get the full game.

For a S&S game to feel like one, it should endeavour to be about action and adventure, risk and reward and hopefully be fast paced. You wouldn’t want a system that was heavy on the book keeping – there are places for that style of game but I would argue that it isn’t really for S&S.

The good news is that is what the game aims for and delivers on from what is presented in the quickstart guide. There are more rules as yet to be seen in the full version, but I can’t see them bogging the game down.

The game has just the 4 stats – Might, Edge, Grit and Wits. Very appropriate for a S&S setting.

Might is of course for the physical strength of the character. Climbing, hitting things, lifting.

Edge is an interesting one, and covers both the physical and mental agility or sharpness of the character. If you are sneaking about, thieving, searching, noticing things, Edge is what you use.

Grit is your toughness and will to survive. When you are pressed to your limit, tired, hungry, thirsty, then Grit is what sees you through.

And Wits is about knowledge and interacting with people. And sorcery.

For a S&S system, that is really all you need.

There are no actual skills to be had; you don’t have to worry about having cooking (soup) or basketweaving to attempt anything; you just try it and use the appropriate stat. Makes it quick and fast and very much in the spirit of S&S.

On face value, Edge has the edge for usefulness. The skill checks it covers will see a lot of use, and throw in it also being used for initiative and avoiding being hit, as well as ranged attacks, and it is something you’d want as much of as you can get. On the other end of he scale, Grit appears as if you would get less use out of it, unless the GM is really using a lot of poisons, fear or playing up the survival aspect. But it also provides your Life points and Stamina points, and those you generally want.

In fact, there isn’t really a dump stat, unlike in other systems. A big, beefy brawler may want to drop Wits and a spell caster may feel they can dump Might but all stats are useful to everyone. Which I like. It will be fun to play around with character creation when it comes out – a warrior who emphasises his Wits over Might would be fun to play.

On the combat side, not having to wade through 50 pages of spells or work through a dozen different modifiers will make it fast, but Flex dice and Stamina pools give options for the unexpected and to do more than just swing a weapon.

The addition of minions I also like; it allows the characters to wade through groups of chaff without bogging the game down, but also still provides a threat for those who underestimate them.

Armour & shields function how they should – shields help prevent you being hit while armour reduces damage taken if you are hit. A dagger will struggle against heavier armour, while a heavy axe will get through a lot easier, which is logical.

Character creation isn’t shown yet, but from the pregen characters provided, in keeping with the rest of the system, it looks quick and easy, yet still provides varied characters. Choose an origin, assigned the four stats, pick a couple of skills, choose gear and you are ready to go.

The five pregen characters each use a different origin, and there are others yet to be seen, but each plays different just from those few choices.

Hanzi (From the Streets) is a swift moving, stealthy dagger user who is hard to hit and accurate with his daggers, but low damage.

Aengus (From the Hills) is there to hit things very hard with a big sword but don’t expect much from him on the thinking side.

Mhambi (From the Wilds) is an allrounder and the main ranged character. Decent melee fighter, decent stealth, decent range.

Davor (From the Blood of Jhebbal Sag) is a spell caster – not much good in a fight but can provide healing and, at the cost of his own life blood (which is very S&S), summon wolves to fight for him.

Gudrun (from the North) is the party tank. Decent melee damage, but high defences, armour to soak damage and good health mean they can hold the line.

So, yeah, when the character creation rules are available, I am going to have fun times experimenting with them.

That is just some quick initial thoughts – I may deep dive into the quickstart further in the future, and will certainly look at it in more detail when the game comes out. There are more rules to come, and, as ever, house rules to be made,

One house rule I will probably adopt is one I used in a S&S style modification of the old Cyberpunk rules. (Yes, it sounds odd, but it worked.) In it, any treasure the characters found could be used to buy things of use – or it could be blown on wine, women and song, and that was how they earned experience to gain skills. Very in keeping with S&S, and also meant they got blind drunk and then woke up somewhere new and unexpected with a new adventure looming.

In the meantime, keep your axes sharp and go cleave some skulls.

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Peregrine and Blade: Blood Upon the Sands

The third of the trio of stories written to get a feel for Peregrine and Blade and their world, Blood upon the Sands, took them far from Qaiqala for the first time, seeing them as part of a corsair crew landing upon a tropical isle in search of treasure. Conan went a-pirating so I didn’t see why they couldn’t. And treasure hunts on tropical islands are always fun.

Except it didn’t turn out that way, naturally. When I started the story I had no idea of what was to happen, because that is the way I generally write. I don’t plot or plan for the most part, but let the story – and the characters – go where they will. And this story ended up starting the world building of the setting, introducing an inhuman race from before the time of man, one that would crop up again later.

And as happens in S&S stories, the duo didn’t completely succeed in their adventure, and not for the last time. Some times the foe or situation is too dangerous, or a choice has to be made or mere bad luck prevents the heroes succeeding. It is a part of S&S that makes it feel real.

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Peregrine and Blade: The Scroll in the Tower

The first three Peregrine and Blade stories I wrote in very quick succession, with the second being The Scroll in the Tower. Sadly, my early attempts at names for the stories weren’t great; in hindsight I could have done better. It was still a learning process at the time, which was also why I wrote the first three in a rush; to get to know more of the characters and the settings.

And yes, that meant there were still cliches in the story as a result. I mean, it starts off in a tavern, with a tavern fight and a mysterious stranger approaching the heroes to undertake a quest. And it wouldn’t be the last time either.

What is does do is introduce for the first time a recurring side character, though at the time that wasn’t the plan. Bakanon, the hard done by owner of the tavern in question, was to make a number more appearances in later stories, as does his tavern, which remained unnamed for the time, and which served as a base of operations for the duo when they were present in the city. And it also introduced the Souk of the Crimson Mists, in which the tavern resided, another place oft visited, a hang out for the ne’er-do-wells of the city. A perfect home, then, for Peregrine and Blade, and for them to start – and end – their adventures in.

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Peregrine and Blade: Darkness in the Flames

Darkness in the Flames was the very first S&S story that I wrote, and one of the earliest attempts at short fiction as well. This is where it all started, around fifteen years ago. Looking back on it, I do have a fondness for the story because of that, though it does wear its DNA on its sleeve. It is a little bit cliche in parts, and its inspirations fairly obvious to see, but we all have to start somewhere.

And this is where Peregrine and Blade’s story starts. At least from a writing point of view, not a chronological one. From that point of view, it takes place much later on in their adventures.

The inspiration for the story was not the characters though – they grew through the story to take form when they had started fairly vague in my mind – but the city itself; Qaiqala. I wanted to make a memorable city and so was Qaiqala born, the pre-eminent city of the Swordlands. I know it is a fanciful place that probably couldn’t function, but nonetheless it is an interesting place, and Peregrine and Blade’s stories keep coming back to it, and the various parts of it, especially the Souk of the Crimson Mists. But more of that in later stories.