Review – Conan – Adventure in an Age Undreamed of

Conan… the name conjures images of tough barbarians sacking ancient temples, battling fiends, and enduring awful weather… all in loin cloths that expose their massive thews.

What is Conan-Adventure in an Age Undreamed of?

The core rulebook for a fantasy RPG by Modiphius Entertainment. The book contains all you need to play Conan adventures, including a 20 page adventure, and a selection of NPCs to use as allies or enemies. Each nation of Hyperboria is covered in a brief overview, followed by a guide to gamemastering Conan adventures, including tone and pace.

At 440 pages this tome is no pamphlet, but players will only use the first 195 pages, and only 160 if they are not using magic. There are plenty of examples to clarify potentially confusing rule sections.

Characters have homelands, caste, archetypes and natures. All of these helps flesh out and define where your character is from, what they can do and the sorts of stories they will start off in. Included are random tables for those who like to let the dice make the creation decisions.

Tone and Style

If you like the Conan movies or stories then fear not, the stories this game will produce are gritty, fast paced and centred on action. Treachery, dark sorcery and dangerous wilderness are eager to challenge your heroes.

Artwork – Plenty of artwork has been spread throughout the book, most of it good, some of it breathtaking. All the artwork suits the sword and sorcery tone you would expect for Conan stories.

Function

A comprehensive (hyperlinked pdf) Contents page, and a thorough Index in the back. If only more tomes had this level of organization by Crom!

The system for the game is similar to Modiphius other games, using Momentum, Close-Medium-Long-Extreme ranges, Talents and Stress. Each spell has a range of effects, all of which fit with the style and tone of Conan tales perfectly.

The book does not presume previous RPG experience, or experience with other Modiphius systems. While this is not a simple game, real effort has been made in the character creation and gamemastering sections to get people in the flow of the game quickly.

Layout

The use of artwork, quotes from the original stories, and tables are well placed to break up text throughout the book. The most used tables are repeated at the back as a consolidated collection.

Quirks – One of the most colorful character sheets I’ve ever seen.! Surely the cults of Stygia will come for this soon!

Conclusion

Avoid this book if…

• The only thing I felt was missing was a disclaimer on tone and style. Some of the violence and criminal acts described or implied may be unsuitable for those under the age of 10.
• If you prefer more advanced culture-technology with renaissance masquerade balls and steam punk gear then this book may not be for you.

Buy this book if…

• This is an easy to read, well-crafted book that covers all the bases to run this game. As far as core RPG books go, this one is solid.
• There is enough detail on the setting to use with other systems. The magic system could be modified and fitted to D20 games, though you would have to add a few more spells.