Quick update (Updated July 28th!)

[Taranaich]

Because I haven't been working on a single faction, I thought I'd post a quick preview of some of the new textures I've been doing, as well as a very intriguing discovery.:inquisitive:

First of all, I'm redoing the barbarian units. Though the Cimmerians will just have a few tweaks, mostly new faces and a few extra baubles, the AEsir/Vanir didn't really come across as the "Vikings from Hell" I was looking for. I've also refined a few of the other units I thought were lacking, and given some factions some new units too.

Reskinned units:

https://img61.imageshack.us/img61/5905/htwscreenasgardoxmennom2.th.jpg (https://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenasgardoxmennom2.jpg)
Oxmen
The Nordic axemen look a bit more muscular and heroic with bare chests: not entirely comfortable in winter, but these are tough men, a little chill won't kill them.:beam:

https://img160.imageshack.us/img160/1751/htwscreenbrythuniaarweicl4.th.jpg (https://img160.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenbrythuniaarweicl4.jpg)
Rhyfelwyr Spearmen (Brythunia)
I made the armour more "celtic" looking, especially the helms, and gave them more muted plaid.

https://img66.imageshack.us/img66/4701/htwscreenbrythuniacampwci2.th.jpg (https://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenbrythuniacampwci2.jpg)
Campwyru Champions (Brythunia)
I decided to make the Campwyru a bit more interesting, so I gave them greatswords instead of the sword/shield combo, just so Brythunia can get a cool two-hander unit.

New Units:

https://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9738/htwscreenasgardgeirmennst3.th.jpg (https://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenasgardgeirmennst3.jpg)
Geirmen
Basic Nordheim spear unit, with padded armour and kite shield.

https://img20.imageshack.us/img20/5050/htwscreenasgardogrioxmekl1.th.jpg (https://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenasgardogrioxmekl1.jpg)
Ðigriøxmen
Nordic axemen, cheaper and more numerous than Huscarls and Jarls, but not quite as heavily armoured.

https://img61.imageshack.us/img61/9333/htwscreenborderkingdombgv0.th.jpg (https://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenborderkingdombgv0.jpg)
Border Reivers
The finest light cavalry of the Hyborian Age, can be armoured up to heavy mail and armed with a small crossbow.

https://img68.imageshack.us/img68/7900/htwscreencorinthiaakontyj7.th.jpg (https://img68.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreencorinthiaakontyj7.jpg)
Mounted Peltasts (Corinthia)
Mounted peltasts of the Corinthian hills, hardy and effective ambushers.

https://img158.imageshack.us/img158/4746/htwscreencorinthiacatapxz9.th.jpg (https://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreencorinthiacatapxz9.jpg)
Cataphracts(Corinthia)
A fusion of ancient Hyborian knights with Shemite and Hyrkanian armour conventions, the cataphracts are some of

https://img126.imageshack.us/img126/9277/htwscreencorinthiacompaql7.th.jpg (https://img126.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreencorinthiacompaql7.jpg)
Companions(Corinthia)
The retinue of a Corinthian lord, Companions are powerful medium-heavy cavalry.



And, drumroll please...
https://img241.imageshack.us/img241/9929/htwscreencorinthiahelioxe2.th.jpg (https://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreencorinthiahelioxe2.jpg)

On your right is an Assault Tower, used by the Hyborians to scale walls, just like in Medieval. On the left is the Corinthian Helepolis, the Taker of Cities. It can be used in sieges like other siege towers, but it is far stronger, and has a formidable battery of ballistae, catapults and other nasty weapons.

While most siege towers are built on site at a siege, the Helepolis is a weapon which can be commissioned by the King to be built at a city, and can be used in many sieges. In addition to this, they are manned by Myrmidons: elite assault infantry trained and experienced in multiple sieges, making them ideal for taking the walls of a foe. The biggest advantage to building the Helepolis over building sieges at the city is that you can strike immediately without using a turn, giving the enemy little time to retaliate. Of course, the Helepolis could prove to be a white elephant if foiled by savvy defenders, and the initial building cost of the monster is pretty daunting unless you want your general to gain a few siege traits.

At the moment the Helepolis just looks like a big siege tower, and acts like one (though it catches fire a bit too quickly for my liking), but I hope to have it rain pointy death on it's enemies so that it can be used in field battles as well. As it is, it just works like a regular siege tower, except it comes with it's own unit and provides a morale bonus to friendly units, and scares enemy men with it's awesome presence.

I'll update the respective faction threads too.

[Gurkhal]

Looks good, and I very much like the idea of the Helepolis. More flavor to the game. :yes:

[christof139]

Demetrius Poliocretes would be pleased!!!

Sharp units!!!

Chris

[Cadwalader]

They're all great Taranaich, good job!

[Taranaich]

Thanks lads!


Demetrius Poliocretes would be pleased!!!

Exactly who I had in mind for one of Corinthia's generals, in character at least. :book:

[christof139]

Antigonius or Antiginous One-Eye is another one. Chris

[Taranaich]

Hmm, maybe I could model all of Corinthia's generals after the Diadochi. Could lead to some interesting conflicts when the starting faction leader dies: maybe one or two could go rebel and try to wrest control of Corinthia from your new leader. It would be more fun if you could chose your faction heir, but eh, what can you do.

I think basing the starting Corinthian general on Alexander would be too obvious though. Maybe he could be the heir, and the starting leader based on Philip? Or just a whole bunch of different traits from other Greek generals and kings.

[christof139]

Yeah, those are good ideas, throw in some Byzantine and Roman names too and it would all be in flavor.

Chris

[keravnos]

Amazing stuff, especially the Korinthian bodyguard and Elepolis!

WOW!

[Taranaich]

Cheers again lads.

Another quick update: I'll be going away for a week to see some family up in the Cairngorms, but I thought I'd give everyone an update on where the mod is currently:

Most Hyborian and Barbarian units done, still have to do all the Shemites, Hyrkanians, Black Kingdoms and other eastern cultures.
The final concept for the map is almost done after literally *dozens* of different iterations, I'll post it next week.
Concepts for ancillaries, traits etc still being fleshed out, not implemented yet.
UI stuff being worked on (events, unit/building pics, .
Building textures done for Ancient culture buildings (a lot more Egyptianish than the old screen), some for Hyborian culture buildings too.
Balancing working well: I've beefed up defenses substantially in a manner reminiscent of RealCombat: 0-20 for shields, 0-20 for armour, 0-50 for skill. This allows unarmoured units like the Rastriagha to be deadly in melee, but vulnerable to archers.

Units done (screens and a preview for Koth will come up next week)
Rastriagha now have axes and "highlander" gear
New Berserkir for Asgard/Vanaheim
Vanulfrs (Vanir unique unit, wolfskin-wearing spearmen)
Asvikingar (AEsir unique unit, heavy infantry with huge axes serving as halberds)
Kothic Macemen
Kothic Swordsmen
Kothic Spearmen
Kothic Cataphracts
Kothic Knights

Koth is basically "Dark Byzantium", with a lot of Byzantine-esque units with more black and dark red. I'll come up with more ethnic names for the units: Kothic Spearmen is descriptive, but it just sounds rather dull. They'll probably be latinised greek terms (Pronoians for the Macemen for instance).

See you soon!

[Nevada]

the idea of the helepolis is good, that wilol make the defence of cities much more difficult

[christof139]

Neat idea for Koth!!! Chris

[Helgi]

The "Dark Byzantium" aspect for Kothian forces is a great idea:toff:
:england: :france: :denmark:

[Taranaich]

Heh, cheers lads. I'll put more info about Koth and the "Dark Byzantium" aspect in the faction thread, though it's taking a bit longer than I anticipated, I can't get them looking "Byzantine" enough, though I have plenty of resources to look at.

[christof139]

Groovy!!! Chris

[IrishArmenian]

Love the units and I never even read these books! Now you know you've made some progress!

[The_Baron]

Helepolis! Wicked cool! I remember the days of owning everyone in Age of Mythology with those tanks. The re-skinned units look more unique than they did - which is good. The think about the Hyborian age is that all of the different factions are incredibly distinct in their cultures and ways. This is an excellent representation.

Keep up the great work!

[Taranaich]

Love the units and I never even read these books! Now you know you've made some progress!

Thanks IA - and that's something you'll have to fix, the books are great! :book:


Helepolis! Wicked cool! I remember the days of owning everyone in Age of Mythology with those tanks. The re-skinned units look more unique than they did - which is good. The think about the Hyborian age is that all of the different factions are incredibly distinct in their cultures and ways. This is an excellent representation.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks Baron. I did try to make the factions as distinct as possible without making them look alien to each other, but history has a plethora of inspiration for such things. I loved AoM (make a sequel Ensemble! And put the Chinese, Mayans and Celts in!)

[Meldarion]

Very nice, I'm really looking forward to this mod.

[Taranaich]

Thank you Meldarion. :)

Another tiny update: I've put up the Koth preview sans a few units I'm getting the kinks out of, but I thought I'd show two units I'm pretty proud of:

https://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9157/htwscreencimmeriabersersf1.th.jpg (https://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreencimmeriabersersf1.jpg)
New Rastriagha

https://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7819/htwscreenasgardberserkegk3.th.jpg (https://img215.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenasgardberserkegk3.jpg)
Berserkers!

Basically these two units are the most dangerous (non-sorcerous human) infantry in the game. They have awesome mass allowing them to cleave right through enemy formations, and with almost inhuman resistance to pain and injury they'll make utter mincemeat of most other soldiers. The only differences between the two are that the Berserker has slightly better armour thanks to their helms, while the Rastriagha have better defense skill (clearer vision & hearing from no helms), though they will cut each other down to a near draw in a straight-up brawl.

They'll be helpless under concentrated arrow fire though: next to no armour means a single unit of Bossonian Archers could take them out if you're sharp enough to command them (and they don't have any chums around)

[Cadwalader]

They both look great, except the transition between the upper body and throat look somewhat unnatural. Otherwise great job!

[Taranaich]

It does, it needs a bit more blending. Thanks though!

[russia almighty]

Question : At least in Hyborian terms what is "modern" about a feudal army vs. The king is king bitch and everyone bows down and the army is paided directly from the coffers or land is lent out but still owned by the crown ?

[Taranaich]

"Modern" as in "a recent development". Not "more advanced" or anything like that. :)

[Gazi Husrev-Beg]

You are doing great work...all sounds great and first images are shaping up nice.

You most probably heared of Age of Conan MMO, check these concept art from upcoming game, might help you a LOT in coming time.

These are Stygian warrior concept art :

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1432&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1433&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

Vanir :

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1362&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

Aquilonian :

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1363&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1364&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

Diverse Barbarians :

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1288&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1289&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1290&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

Mage/Priest :

http://www.ageofconan.com/wsp/conan/frontend.cgi?func=publish.show&template=img_full&func_id=1159&sort=PRIORITY&table=CONTENT

I hope this gives you some inspiration ;)

[Taranaich]

I appreciate the links, they're very good, but to be frank I'm trying to steer myself away from the "Dark Horse" Conan aesthetic, as they make a lot of deviations from Howard's tales in terms of art design. The biggest offender is their Aquilonians, who bear little resemblance to the unambiguously late middle ages/early renaissance vision of Howard. I only gave the Corinthians a classical look because we know so little about them, so anything I do won't contradict Howard too much, and I thought a classical faction would complement the medieval and ancient nations well.

Having said that, their Vanir and some of the Stygian art is spot on.

[Gazi Husrev-Beg]

Well, I digg dark horse comic art :) It fits perfectly for me :) Anyways, if sometimes you need inspiration, check aoc sites.Lot of info, as iterpretaion of books and visula art...keep up :)

[Taranaich]

Back again with a quick update!

I've basically looked back on some of my placeholder textures (ie Ophir. If you haven't already looked in the Ophir thread... don't. Just don't), and redone the worst of them. I've also figured out a nifty way to make Gunderland Pikemen with shields, without fiddling about with the models just yet. I plan on doing them properly when I get Milkshape working, but for now they're pretty good.

So here are the new Gunderland Pikemen:
https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5237/htwscreenaquiloniagundebb2.th.jpg (https://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenaquiloniagundebb2.jpg)

And some more new units:

https://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6711/htwscreenaquiloniaknighue7.th.jpg (https://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenaquiloniaknighue7.jpg)
Knights of Poitain
“The hosts met with a shock like that of an earthquake, that shook the tottering towers of Shamar. The disorganized squadrons of the invaders could not withstand the solid steel wedge, bristling with spears, that rushed like a thunderbolt against them. The long lances of the attackers ripped their ranks to pieces, and into the heart of their host rode the knights of Poitain, swinging their terrible two-handed swords.” – The Scarlet Citadel
The units formerly called "Knights of Poitain" are now "Lancers of Poitain". These knights are not as devastating in a charge, but much more capable of slugging it out in melee. Usually the Lancers will smash a gap in an enemy line, and the Knights will follow through.

https://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6946/htwscreenophiragemaguarna7.th.jpg (https://img223.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenophiragemaguarna7.jpg)
Black Guard
"Conan of Aquilonia, blood from unbandaged wounds caking his huge limbs, faced his captors. On either side of him stood a dozen black giants, grasping their long-shafted axes." - The Scarlet Citadel
Many Hyborian nations like Koth and Ophir suffer from intense dynastic disputes, where every nobleman feels the right to strike for the throne regardless of how far removed their ancestors were from the ruling family line. As such, treachery is frequent and bloody, and a wise ruler would seek to surround himself only in company he trusts. One result of this is the Black Guard, a bodyguard unit formed of giant warriors of the Black Kingdoms armed with halberds. Because they are foreign slaves with no ethnic connection to the nobility, the logic goes that they would be less likely to be bribed by a rival, or even to assassinate their own charge and take over themselves. In addition to their loyalty, they are also steadfast soldiers, well trained and equipped by their lord to defend their holdings, family and person.

https://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4417/htwscreennemediadragonptr9.th.jpg (https://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreennemediadragonptr9.jpg)
Dragon Pikemen
"Like a river of a molten steel the Nemedian host flowed into the valley, the great scarlet dragon rippling over it." - The Hour of the Dragon
In the great frenzy of industry and war-making Tarascus initiated to supplement his plot to take Aquilonia, his generals and strategists studied every facet of Aquilonian warfare. Their attempt to counter the famous Gundermen was a battallion of heavily armoured pikemen. They did not adopt the unique Gunderman pike-and-shield combinations, but attempted to circumvent that by encasing themselves in high quality plate armour vastly superior to their foe's mail and brigandine. The result is an expensive, slow-moving, inflexible but extremely tough formation that can withstand the charge of even the Knights of Poitain, and with their plate armour the devastating hail of Bossonian Arrows would clatter harmlessly from their flanks.

https://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4677/htwscreenophirlegionet5.th.jpg (https://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenophirlegionet5.jpg)
Legion
Though much of Acheron's might lay in it's dark sorceries and demonic pacts, the more practical arm of Acheron was in it's professional military. The Legions of Acheron were a disciplined military force, charged with defending Acheron's expansive borders from barbaric invaders and keeping the long trade routes safe from bandits and outlaws. As the empire grew, so the legions drew from the indigenous populations of new territories more from the homeland, and so the vassal kingdoms Ophir, Corinthia and western Koth had their own legionary traditions. With the fall of Acheron and the rise of the new Hyborian Kingdoms the legions became relics, mere shadows of their old glory, although some of the more culturally inclined areas perpetuate the legions, in addition to other Acheronian traditions.

https://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5076/htwscreenmercsailorslw4.th.jpg (https://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenmercsailorslw4.jpg)
Sailors
“A distant medley of voices reached their ears, and creeping to the southern edge of the cliffs, they saw a motley horde emerge from the fringe of trees along the western rim of the plateau, and stand there a space in debate. There was much flourishing of arms, brandishing of swords, and loud rough argument. Then the whole band started across the plateau toward the ruins, at a slant that would take them close by the foot of the cliffs.” – Iron Shadows in the Moon
Although sailors are not warriors by profession, a life of hard labour on the open and frequently hostile ocean breeds rugged and hardy men. They may lack the training and cohesion of a true military unit, but if an army needs a few swordsmen to bolster their armies or patrol a settlement, out of work or retired sailors would prove as good a choice as any other militia. Unlike normal militia, however, they are much less likely to rout in the face of overwhelming odds, and their skill with a sword is better than the average militiaman.

https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/715/htwscreenmercbuccaneersjw9.th.jpg (https://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenmercbuccaneersjw9.jpg)
Buccaneers
“The buccaneers weaved drunkenly, they swore incoherently; they were addled and bewildered, but they grasped their swords and advanced with a ferocity not dimmed in the slightest by the fact that they did not understand what it was all about… shouting with muddled fury, ran groggily across the court and fell on their gigantic foes with bloodthirsty zeal.” – The Pool of the Black One
Buccaneers are pirates authorized by a government to attack a foreign nation's shipping, be it simple plunder of traders or the sack of a port. Drawn from the Zingaran Freebooters or Barachan Pirates, Buccaneers have all the grace of both, but with a small measure of protection from attack from their client country's own ships. Though they are generally more useful on sea, in times of desperation buccaneers can be hearty fighters on land as much on the waves, skewering their enemies with light swords and filthy language.

[Cadwalader]

Great units! Especially the dragon pikemen!
I'd love to command those.

[Justiciar]

I like the "Barbaric Roman" look for the Legion of Acheron. Good job, there.

[Senta]

great looking units there Tar! thanks for the previews

[Taranaich]

Thanks guys!

Cadwalader: I'm glad you like the dragon pikemen, I really wanted a sort of "gothic pikemen" unit. They're the second best pikemen in the game after Gunderland Nobles, who are basically normal Gundermen in better armour.

Justiciar: Even though I don't agree with Dark Horses' Romanised Aquilonians, I have to admit a Roman-type unit was cool. Since Acheron is the Hyborian equivalent of the Roman Empire (run by evil sorcerers) it seemed fitting to have a throwback unit that persists to Conan's time. I personally think the Aquilonian Black Legion and Black Dragons date back to Acheron too, except they adopted plate armour and hyborian weapons.

The map (which was never really worked on much apart from provinces and such) has been scrapped, in favour of Vincent Darlage's awesome maps, which he has very kindly allowed me to use and adapt for the mod. This map is based on rigourous research and toil to create a Hyborian Age map that is accurate to Howard, as well as beautifully fleshing out the landscape, terrain and environment. The regions and settlements are pretty much the same, though one or two have to be nudged around.

I'd post a link, but unfortunately the site that hosts his maps has exceeded it's bandwidth, so I'll post my versions of the map (with faction overlays) soon. He even sent me the bump maps he used - what a guy!

[Senta]

it's a great map, and big props to Vincent for letting you use them. here's a link to the aforementioned map:http://www.enworld.org/Inzeladun/conan/map.htm

[Taranaich]

Ah, that's one of his old maps, though it's still very similar to the new one and gives a good idea of the mod's map.

The new maps basically flesh out the Black Kingdoms and east of the Vilayet, which look totally different geo-politically. The Hyborian nations are pretty much identical though, seeings as they're both based on Bob's own illustrations.

[Volkmar]

Here's a good map I found:

http://www.wikiaoc.com/images/8/8f/Clayton_bunce_hyboria_1024.jpg

[Taranaich]

Another quick update to explain what's going on:

On the Hyborian Age side of things: progress is going a bit slower than hoped, but I've managed a few extremely cool new things, specifically regarding siege weapons and projectiles. No pictures yet, they'll go in a mini-preview dedicated to weapons which will appear soon, since Argos is proving a lot more complicated (and hopefully interesting) than I thought.

In non-Hyborian news, I'm also now an official Europa Barbarorum member! Having received an invitation and being a huge fan I simply couldn't refuse. Although I'm going to do my best for EB, it won't be at the expense of Hyborian Age: it's in addition to the work I'm doing, not supplanting/infringing upon it, so don't worry about Hyborian Age going by the wayside. I feel this would be useful to help me hone my craft as well as contributing to a much bigger project, so that The Hyborian Age will be enriched.

Apart from all that, I've had some... interesting events in my personal life going on, unfortunately slowing down the mod further, but things are picking up so hopefully the mod will get back on track soon.

[Khazar_Dahvos]

yaay:juggle2:
Also welcome to Europa Barbarorum. That is my favorite mod since they released the first beta.:balloon2:

[Spartan198]

Hey,congradulations! I'll definitely have to get EBII when it comes out now.

I,too,like the Dragon Pikemen,and also the Legion of Acheron. Are the Dragon Pikemen,by any chance,a branch of the Black Dragons (but not necessarily a general's bodyguard unit),or not?

How about adding an execution stipulation to the Black Guard's profile: I don't know how historical it is,but the profile for BI.exe's Imperial German Bodyguard stated something like,"If their charge died,the bodyguards themselves faced execution,and so had a vested interest in seeing their employer survive."

[Taranaich]

Hey,congradulations! I'll definitely have to get EBII when it comes out now.

:beam:


I,too,like the Dragon Pikemen,and also the Legion of Acheron. Are the Dragon Pikemen,by any chance,a branch of the Black Dragons (but not necessarily a general's bodyguard unit),or not?

They are indirectly related. Both Aquilonia and Nemedia have a lot of Acheronian influences in their cultures: basically, all the latin or "Roman" elements of those nations are remnants of Acheron. In addition, the two nations have a dragon as a royal standard: given the heavy symbolism prevalent in Hour of the Dragon of Xaltotun and Acheron, I'm treating this as part of Acheronian heritage. Dragon Pikemen and Black Dragons are both linked to Acheron.

The Dragon Pikemen and Black Dragons are thus perpetuations of Acheron's influence on the kingdoms. The main difference is that Dragon Pikemen are relatively recent innovations developed to counter the Gundermen: the Black Dragons have an almost uninterrupted lineage back to Acheron.


How about adding an execution stipulation to the Black Guard's profile: I don't know how historical it is,but the profile for BI.exe's Imperial German Bodyguard stated something like,"If their charge died,the bodyguards themselves faced execution,and so had a vested interest in seeing their employer survive."

A nice touch, yes. :2thumbsup:

[Taranaich]

Sorry it's been so long since the last preview, but since taking on cherryfunk a lot of options which weren't available to me before have opened up, and this means some big changes. The nature of those changes will be explained in the inaugural Conan: Total War preview, but I thought I'd give you chaps some fun things to speculate on:

Nine more factions have been added to the first release.

Five of the new factions will be playable, four unplayable.

One of the original factions has been replaced with a larger, more unusual faction.

Battlefield magic has become something truly terrifying to behold.

The regions/settlement plans are almost complete.

And, just to show you all I'm not being a lazy heathen...

https://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4224/htwscreenargosroyalcrosnw1.th.jpg (https://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenargosroyalcrosnw1.jpg)

Who are these chaps? What is their role? Whom do they serve? And where do they get those nifty sashes?

[Spartan198]

Sorry it's been so long since the last preview, but since taking on cherryfunk a lot of options which weren't available to me before have opened up, and this means some big changes. The nature of those changes will be explained in the inaugural Conan: Total War preview, but I thought I'd give you chaps some fun things to speculate on:

Nine more factions have been added to the first release.

Five of the new factions will be playable, four unplayable.

One of the original factions has been replaced with a larger, more unusual faction.

Battlefield magic has become something truly terrifying to behold.

The regions/settlement plans are almost complete.
Great news,especially on the factions. Just means more choices when the beta comes out. Though I'm anxious to see what this "larger,more unusual" faction is.


And, just to show you all I'm not being a lazy heathen...

https://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4224/htwscreenargosroyalcrosnw1.th.jpg (https://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=htwscreenargosroyalcrosnw1.jpg)

Who are these chaps? What is their role? Whom do they serve? And where do they get those nifty sashes?
Wow,those are really nifty sashes. Argossean crossbowmen?

[Taranaich]

Great news,especially on the factions. Just means more choices when the beta comes out. Though I'm anxious to see what this "larger,more unusual" faction is.

Heh heh heh...


Wow,those are really nifty sashes. Argossean crossbowmen?

In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have given it away in the file name...:sweatdrop:

[Spartan198]

Heh heh heh...
Uh-oh,that doesn't sound good for King Conan.

In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have given it away in the file name...:sweatdrop:
Actually... I took a wild guess. :embarassed:

[cherryfunk]

Uh-oh,that doesn't sound good for King Conan.
Actually, it's a faction that probably has rather fond memories of Conan... :yes:

It will also present a totally unique challenge to the player -- and one of the most unique campaigns of any Total War game or mod ever created...

[Taranaich]

Uh-oh,that doesn't sound good for King Conan.

As cherry said, the faction has generally good relations with Conan:
unfortunately the faction leader has a major, major bone to pick with him...


Actually... I took a wild guess. :embarassed:

I should've known.:2thumbsup:

[Spartan198]

As cherry said, the faction has generally good relations with Conan:
unfortunately the faction leader has a major, major bone to pick with him...
I misread Cherry's post. My mistake.
But if the faction leader has a bone to pick with King Conan,it still might provide a minor annoyance to mighty Aquilonia,though.

[cherryfunk]

Much more likely to cause problems for Conan's enemies in Stygia and Turan...

[Spartan198]

What,like a friendly rivalry type of bone to pick?

[Taranaich]

More because the faction doesn't have any settlements very near to Aquilonia, this faction doesn't really have Aquilonia as a priority. Then again, this faction isn't really very friendly with anyone, which makes them all the more interesting.


What,like a friendly rivalry type of bone to pick?

Could be, could be: the justifications for both friendly and unfriendly rivalry with the Cimmerian are there. It's up to the player to decide what to do in regards to good king Conan. It's going to be quite a complex faction with many conflicting motivations among the main characters, due to the very nature of its government.

[Codeman90]

I would actually like to see Conan's main rival Thoth-Amon play a part in this mod.

Unless of course the mod takes place after the book "Conan of Aquilonia" that is

[Taranaich]

I would actually like to see Conan's main rival Thoth-Amon play a part in this mod.

Thoth-Amon's role in the game will be different from the pastiches and comics: although he's undoubtedly the pre-eminent sorcerer of the age, he has bigger plans and problems than to concern himself with a brainless northern barbarian such as Conan. The two times Thoth-Amon does interact with Conan (in God in the Bowl and The Phoenix on the Sword), it's sheer coincidence: both were assassinations, which Conan just happened to be a witness to, and there's no direct contact. There's no indication that Thoth-Amon has any emotions towards Conan apart from apathy, or at most irritation, in the original tales.

Having said that, that doesn't mean you don't have to play it that way: that's just the default position in the game. If you play as Stygia or Aquilonia you can choose to make the rivalry happen, and the two nations are bound to come to blows at some point. Whatever you choose to do, Thoth-Amon will have quite a unique (and powerful) role in the mod, be certain of that!


Unless of course the mod takes place after the book "Conan of Aquilonia" that is

The mod takes place some time after The Hour of the Dragon: exactly how long is still being ironed out, but it's in the region of 6 months to two years.

The pastiches will not be a primary source for the mod: a few elements might make their way in, but only if they don't contradict the original tales or are deemed "Un-Howardian" in tone.

The mod's inspirations and resources are thus:

1. The original Conan stories, fragments, drafts and synopses by Robert E. Howard
2. Other Hyborian Age stories linked to the Hyborian Age by Robert E. Howard (such as the James Allison tales)
3. Other Robert E. Howard historical tales that would complement the Hyborian Age mythos and atmosphere
4. Elements of the Hyborian Age which are alluded to by Howard's contemporaries Clark Ashton Smith and H.P. Lovecraft
5. Elements from worthy Conan pastiches - Karl Edward Wagner, John Maddox Roberts etc.

While this might seem restrictive, it actually allows more freedom to interpret the Hyborian Age, as well as stay true to Howard.

[Spartan198]

I for one am glad you're putting your inspirations to such scrutiny. If you were to just throw everything "Hyborian" in there regardless of its source and content, it could possibly turn out like Conan the Destroyer. And no true Conan fan wants that, right?

[Taranaich]

I for one am glad you're putting your inspirations to such scrutiny. If you were to just throw everything "Hyborian" in there regardless of its source and content, it could possibly turn out like Conan the Destroyer. And no true Conan fan wants that, right?

It's also because the amount of Conan and Conan-related material out there is simply vast: think of the hundreds of comic issues from Marvel and Dark Horse, and the dozens of pastiche novels out there. It would be ludicrous to try and implement all those in a single mod, especially when they flatly contradict each other (even the names of Conan's parents differ in some books!)

By sticking to Howard's originals, the inconsistencies can be kept to a minimum, and any that are unavoidable (such as chronological issues between the Conan tales and the Hyborian Age essay) can be treated as the result of conflicting accounts by the Nemedian chroniclers, with the pastiches treated as anecdotal legends or myths.

A full list of sources for the mod will probably be put in a readme/manual: even discounting the pastiches/comics, there's a huge amount of material.

[keravnos]

It's also because the amount of Conan and Conan-related material out there is simply vast: think of the hundreds of comic issues from Marvel and Dark Horse, and the dozens of pastiche novels out there. It would be ludicrous to try and implement all those in a single mod, especially when they flatly contradict each other (even the names of Conan's parents differ in some books!)

By sticking to Howard's originals, the inconsistencies can be kept to a minimum, and any that are unavoidable (such as chronological issues between the Conan tales and the Hyborian Age essay) can be treated as the result of conflicting accounts by the Nemedian chroniclers, with the pastiches treated as anecdotal legends or myths.

A full list of sources for the mod will probably be put in a readme/manual: even discounting the pastiches/comics, there's a huge amount of material.

One of the main reasons why I am routing for you, as we all do T. is that you take the time (and have the mindset) to separate the wheat from the chaff.

It is that simple. :yes:

[cherryfunk]

Hey, does 'The Vale of Lost Women' count as wheat or chaff? :beam:

[Taranaich]

One of the main reasons why I am routing for you, as we all do T. is that you take the time (and have the mindset) to separate the wheat from the chaff.

It is that simple. :yes:

Cheers! I try my best.:beam:


Hey, does 'The Vale of Lost Women' count as wheat or chaff?

The unfortunate period racism/sexism aside, VoLW has some nice insight into Black Kingdom society, and the Vale itself is an intriguing place. I'd say a few kernels of wheat in an ounce of chaff personally.

[russia almighty]

Question about the black kingdoms and Kush.


Are they going to be more like Axum and Songhai; the city dwellers are civilized, but they have tribal levies and elites that are pretty back asswards, or, are they going to be mostly naked spearmen/archer armies?

[Taranaich]

Are they going to be more like Axum and Songhai; the city dwellers are civilized, but they have tribal levies and elites that are pretty back asswards, or, are they going to be mostly naked spearmen/archer armies?

Kush will resemble the earlier Nubians, but elements of Axum will probably be in evidence. Although there was a strong Stygian/Egyptian influence in the Chaga (Stygian-Kushite nobility), after the events of Snout in the Dark the Chaga seemed to have been wiped out or at least ousted from the country.

Kush's army will pretty much consist of lots of tribal levies and a few powerful elites: their soldiers are probably the weakest of the barbarian factions, but environmental bonuses, cheap cost and vast numbers work to their advantage.

Although Kush is the only black kingdom faction, each of the other black kingdom regions will have their own character and culture, so the Kush player will have the feeling of forging a great Southern Empire. :2thumbsup:

[Spartan198]

When's that Argos preview coming? I've been looking forward to it for a while now.

[Taranaich]

When's that Argos preview coming? I've been looking forward to it for a while now.

I'm afraid to say the Argos preview's been put on hold until after the inaugural Conan: Total War preview, which is itself an unspecified distance away. Sorry to disappoint. :embarassed:

Given the amount of time between previews though, I'm going to start using this thread as a mini-preview thread, where if there is a long time between previews me & cherryfunk will post a screenshot or piece of information pertaining to the mod just to keep the community informed. It's been such a long time since the Turan thread that I'm feeling kind of guilty that you lads have been kept in the dark, though me and cherryfunk have done a lot of work in the private forums.

So every so often if there's no big preview, I'll try to put something here for your perusal. I'm ironing out the first mini-preview, which should be out this week at the very most.

Thanks for your patience! :2thumbsup:

[cherryfunk]

And keep an eye open for elephants... :yes:

[soibean]

everything looks great
keep it up

[Taranaich]

Ok, here we go:

Beast of War: Military Animals of the Hyborian Age

Throughout the ages of humanity, many things change, but much also remains the same. Men have always built great cities, created artworks and music, fashioned marvelous technologies… and warred upon each other. One constant from the Thurian, to the Hyborian, to the modern ages is the implementation of animals in warfare: as mounts, beasts of burden, and weapons.

Horses

Since the first men domesticated the first horse, the two have been brothers-in-arms through eons of battle and bloodshed.

Although the peoples of the Thurian age are known through fragments of pottery, sculpture and art to have used horses, the breeding and history of the beasts were lost in the rage of the Great Cataclysm. As with their masters, the Thurian horses became scattered throughout the new continent. Some became feral, wild and untamed, but with a dim glimmer of their former domestication in their brains. Others evolved to a greater degree, becoming not just feral, but evolving into a truly wild new species.

After the ice comes, once again the great horses of the civilized peoples descend into barbarism and beastdom. However, like those of their masters, the memory of these magnificent creatures lives on in the mythology and folklore of the modern world: the famous Mares of Diomedes are based on the Corinthians' practise of feeding their warhorses small amounts of human flesh, as part of their training to attack men in combat. The great horses of Norse mythology - Blóðughófi, Falhofnir, Gullfaxi, Gulltoppr, Hamskerpir, Gardrofa, Hofvarpnir, Svadilfari, Hrimfaxi, Skinfaxi and others - all are based on the famous steeds of Aesir and Vanir warlords: the great Celtic horses can also trace their memory from Cimmerian and Brythunian horses.

Hyborian Breeds

http://www.worldofhorses.co.uk/horses_usa/Breeds/Images/Shetland_pony.jpg
Goralian Pony
"Meanwhile the opposing host had debouched onto the plain. With the knights came what seemed a second, irregular army on tough swift ponies. These dismounted and formed their ranks on foot - stolid Bossonian archers, and keen pikemen from Gunderland, their tawny locks blowing from under their steel caps." - The Scarlet Citadel
This small, but deceptively tough pony is used by the Gundermen, Bossonians and Border Kingdomers, mostly as a transport for infantry to the field of battle, but also for their horsemen. It is nimble enough to negotiate the marshes of the Border Kingdom, the rough foliage of the Bossonian countryside, and the uneven hills of Gunderland, and has enough endurance for sustained skirmishing and chases. Although some individuals can be stubborn and devious, the average Goralian is good-natured and friendly, though fearless enough to be a valuable mount in warfare. Named for the Goralian Hills in northern Aquilonia.
The Goralian Pony is an ancient breed, with origins back beyond the Cataclysm. Its ancestor was the Atlantean horse, a large and ferocious breed which was transported in large numbers to the new Atlantean colonies on the Thurian continent. After the cataclysm, the Atlantean horse became first feral, then evolved into a new and totally wild beast. From this creature both the Goralian pony and the great Commorian Warhorse were born. The Goralian pony was domesticated independently by the Hyborians of Gunderland, and the aboriginals of the Bossonian Marches, and eventually even the Cimmerians would adopt this versatile and useful animal.
After the Hyborian Age, the humble Goralian Pony would survive, and mix with the Commorian Draught, to give rise to the legendary "Draft Horse" ancestor of western europe and the British Isles, from which animals as diverse as the Shetland Pony and the Shire Draught can claim descent.

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/834/554237.JPG
Zingg Genet
The Zingg Genet is a light horse unique to the Zingg Valley of Zingara. Lightly built
The exact origins of the Genet are unclear: some horse breeders say that the horse was native to the region before the Zingg People came, others that it was brought with them from their eastern homeland. The similarity to both the Zhemri and Aphaka horses gives credence to the second theory, though the proud Zingarans would deny their horses anything but a true Zingg heritage. Named for the Zingg Valley in north-east Zingara.
With a smooth naturally ambling gait, compact and muscular build, and an agreeable disposition, the Genet was ideal for light cavalry. They are mostly used by the Genetos, mounted Picto-Zingaran borderers and scouts.

Shamu Rouncey
The Shamu Rouncey is the general purpose horse of the Hyborian kingdoms. Used as pack mounts, work horses, show horses, riding horses and more, they are also common battle mounts. The rouncey is used by many Hyborians, usually those of non-noble birth: scouts, squires, sergeants, watchmen and border guards favour them for their great speed and endurance, as well as their cheaper cost. Named for the Plain of Shamu in western Ophir.
Its origin is undetermined, save that it was first domesticated by the early Hyborians, before even the ancient kingdoms were founded. Perhaps because of this, the Rouncey's reputation is somewhat conflicted: a knight or noble would consider it a lowly creature of little worth, while a soldier would laud its reliability and strength. Elitism is the most likely cause of this, as a nobleman would obviously prize an expensive, well-bred horse over one of mixed breed and relatively cheaper cost, despite it being arguably more useful and cost-effective than a destrier.

Shirki Courser
"Zenobia had chosen well to selecting the white horse. His speed, toughness and endurance were obvious. The girl knew weapons and horses, and, Conan reflected with some satisfaction, she knew men. He rode westward at a gait that ate up the miles." - The Hour of the Dragon
The Shirki is a common and dependable breed of warhorse. Light, fast, and strong, they are the most frequently seen warhorse, used by soldiers, rich squires, men-at-arms and even some knights. Named for the Shirki Valley in Aquilonia.
Originally bred from the running horse of the Shirki valley, it was spread across the continent, becoming the primary warhorse of the Acheronians, Corinthians, Kothians and Ophireans, and even finding its way to Zamora and Zingara.


Khor Destrier
"The tall horses of the cavalry seemed hard and savage as their riders; they made no curvets or gambades. There was a grimly business-like aspect to these professional killers, veterans of bloody campaigns." - Black Colossus
The Khor is the primary breed of Hyborian destrier, used by knights and noblemen across the Hyborian lands. With powerful hindquarters, a short back, muscular loings, strong bones, and well-arched necks, they were able to charge with incredible power, and turn with remarkable fluidity. Named for the Khor Valley in Aquilonia.
The Khor was first domesticated by the Acheronians, although wild ones roamed in the northern regions, which would themselves be domesticated by the later Hyborian tribes. It was strong, sturdy, and versatile enough to be used in a number of situations, although it is as a war mount that it truly shines.

http://www.omcb.eu/percheron2.JPG
Valkia Warhorse
"The Aquilonian host was drawn up, long serried lines of pikemen and horsemen in gleaming steel, when a giant figure in black armor emerged from the royal pavilion, and as he swung up into the saddle of the black stallion held by four squires, a roar that shook the mountains went up from the host." - The Hour of the Dragon
The Valkia is the most sought-after breed of destrier: although related to the Khor, careful breeding (and, some say, more than a little sorcery) have made it the mount of Kings. Named for the Valkia Valley in Aquilonia.
The Valkia was originally bred by the Acheronians, later exported to Ophir and Corinthia, formed by crossbreeding the Khor with the Stygian: the result was a horse with the strength and size of the Khor, with the endurance and ferocity of the Stygian, forming a truly terrifying mount. When Acheron was conquered, most Acheronian horses were absorbed back into the Khor stock by the new Hyborians, but some populations were kept separate: these became the prized mounts of kings, princes and royal guardsmen. These beasts are so rare, they are usually only seen as part of a general's bodyguard, or elites like the Black Dragons, Scarlet Dragons, or Klibanarions.

Barbarian Breeds

http://www.drakkart.com/photos_ire/konie09.jpg
Nordic Warhorse
Named for the Nordic regions. Strong, heavily built and difficult to control, it is used by rare Nordic and Cimmerian cavalry, though in the later Hyborian Age, it will be used far more frequently.



Shemite Breeds

http://www.arabianhorsebreeders.org/newcomers-guide/bedouin3.jpg
Aphaka
"The hill steed reared wildly under the unfamiliar clash of the Kothic armor, and Conan's gusty laugh rose above the din as he led them to where the eastern ridge branched away from the plateau. Five hundred footmen - pauper patricians, younger sons, black sheep - on half-wild Shemite horses, charging an army, down a slope where no cavalry had ever dared charge before!" - Black Colossus
Named for the Aphaka region north of the Eastern Desert.
The Aphaka horse shares a name with one of the earliest tribes of the Sons of Shem. An enterprising tribe, they were among the first to trek out of their homeland in the east, eventually settling far south in Tombalku. The tribe and horse were so closely linked, that eventually all Shemites referred to the horse as the Aphaka, in honour of that great first tribe.



Stygian Breeds

http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/images_breeds/arabianphoto_blackwindjafar.jpg
Stygian
"First was a long line of chariots, drawn by the great fierce horses of Stygia, with plumes on their heads - snorting and rearing as each naked driver leaned back, bracing his powerful legs, his dusky arms knotted with muscles." - Black Colossus
Named for the Styx river.
Much like their human masters, the mighty Stygian is a horse bred and born to battle and the hunt. An ancient breed that came with the mysterious folk who would become the Stygians, they were the cavalry of the army that usurped the Giant-Kings and conquered the Winged Men of the Black Coast. As with the nobles, they were a strong, tall, virile race: centuries and centuries of husbandry, refinement and toil resulted in a truly masterful breed. In the days of the Stygian Empire, the Stygian was spread across the continent, and frequently used to improve other breeds by other nations, particularly the Zamorians and Acheronians: adding speed, endurance, strength and intelligence.
The Stygian is used not only by their original breeders, but among the Pelishtim, Zamorians, and the nobility of Kush, who either field pureblooded Stygians, or interbreed them with native stock. They are much more intelligent than the average horse, but this also makes them somewhat unpredictable.
The Stygians enjoyed great success throughout the Hyborian Age: though the Stygian empire contracted over time, the Stygian horse was still widespread and populous. The Hyrkanian horses gave them a run for their money, but when they rode back east with their masters, the Stygian prevailed. Over time, its preternatural endurance, ferocity and intelligence would lessen, though it would remain a beautiful and magnificent beast, as the Arabian Horse.

http://mobarakandish.com/asbiran/Ihb/Images/turkoman.jpg
Kharamun
Named for the region northeast of Stygia.
The Kharamun is a horse of mixed Stygian and Aphaka breeding, and likely other horse breeds as well. Bred in Kharamun, a polyglot region changing hands between Stygians, Kothians, Iranistani and countless Shemite hordes, it was perhaps bound to be somewhat of a mongrel breed. Nonetheless, it is a frequently-used horse, found in the armies of Stygia, the Shemites and the southern Hyborian nations, especially Khauran and Khoraja.

Uncanny Steed
"Hadrathus bent to unbind the swooning girl on the altar, when from among the trees appeared a strange apparition - Xaltotun's chariot drawn by the weird horses. Silently they advanced to the altar and halted, with the chariot wheel almost touching the brown withered thing on the grass. Hadrathus lifted the body of the wizard and placed it in the chariot. And without hesitation the uncanny steeds turned and moved off southward, down the hill. And Hadrathus and Zelata and the gray wolf watched them go - down the long road to Acheron, which is beyond the ken of men." - The Hour of the Dragon
The Uncanny Steed is a horse unlike any other of the age. It is seemingly tireless, travelling hundreds of miles in a day without breaking a sweat, and are stolidly silent and still when not in motion, betraying a grim and unsettling intelligence. The exact nature of these mysterious beasts is known only to the sorcerers and priests whose chariots they pull - some say they are natural horses strengthened by unnatural means, others that they are warped by sorcery, and others still that they are not horses at all, but devils of the Outer Dark bound in equine form by their master.
The only sure thing about these impressive beasts is that they are a frightening force in battle: they can run faster and for longer than any other breed, and when they charge it seems no force on earth could stall them, save a veritable forest of pikes and thunderstorm of arrows.



Hyrkanian Breeds

Turanian
Named for the Turanians, who first bred them.

Balkhana
Named for the kingdom where it was bred and exported from.

Khorosun Bullhead
Named for its unusually-shaped head, which is wide and bull-like.



Elephants

Compared with modern times, even antiquity, elephants are abundant: with more land and no Roman Empire Venatios to devastate their numbers, they gather in herds of hundreds in Hyrkania, and enjoy greater population prosperity than after the Ice Age. As well as elephants, mammoths and mastodons share the landscape, and other megafauna of what would later be termed the Pleistocene. Most of these beasts are wild and untamable, but a few species have proven receptive to taming... and war.

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/african_forest_elephant_1.jpg
Forest Elephant
The elephant from which modern African ones originate was a humble, relatively small creature: some 8 feet high at the shoulder, though with the distinctive large ears and concave back of modern ones. Their small size is a result of adatptation for life in the forests rather than the southern savanna and grasslands, though they are still the largest herbivores of the region, their only predators dire wolves and the great Hyborian lions. They are unarmoured, and are too small to be equipped with towers, though up to two archers could ride on the back behind the mahout, making it a light horse archer elephant.
The elephant was once found in armies across the continent: Acheron, Corinthia, Ophir and Koth used them to counter the gargantuan Stygian and Iranistani elephants: though they were far smaller, they were considerably more docile and maneuverable, so with effective commanding and decent support they could defeat their larger cousins. However, with the new Hyborian Kingdoms and the collapse of Old Stygia, the need for elephants in warfare was not as pronounced. Still, with the Shemites a frequent threat and the rising shadow of Turan, the southeastern kingdoms of Corinthia, Ophir and Koth have retained a small number of elephant squadrons, though nowhere near in the number of the Acheronian days.
After the Hyborian Age, the small elephants would be driven south into Africa, where it would give rise to the great Bush and Forest elephants of today.

http://big_game.at.infoseek.co.jp/japan/recki.jpg
Kush Elephant
"These they enslaved and set to building a city. From the hills to the east they brought jade and marble and lapis lazuli, and gold, silver, and copper. Herds of elephants provided them with ivory." - Red Nails
The great elephant of Kush is a strong, irritable and gigantic beast in comparison to other pachyderms, a relic of older times. At the time of Conan the creature is on its last legs, with competition from smaller Forest elephants, and overhunting by ivory prospecters. Still, there is life in this old beast yet, and it is ironically humans who sustain its populations most steadily.
The Kush Elephant has been used by the Stygians in warfare for many centuries, and as with the Stygian Horse - and Stygians themselves - sorcery and intensive breeding programs have created a true monster of warfare. Dark, almost black, in colour, 18 feet at the shoulder, with terrible 8-foot tusks and the reddish eyes of a creature half-mad, they are a fearsome foe indeed, among the largest creatures ever employed in warfare. Their berserk rage is unparalleled among elephant kind, though they are wont to run riot in friendly as well as enemy lines. Although they are unarmoured, their skin is toughened by strange and unnatural means, and one would need to hack it to near pieces to fully incapacitate it. Though obviously used by the Stygians most frequently, the territories and satellites of the Stygian Empire have some communities remaining, and some continue to use them in warfare and heavy work, Kush being the most prominent.
After the fall of Stygia, the largest elephant to walk the earth went into decline, and the loss of sorcery and training led to it reverting to its original, natural form: scientists today call it Elephas Recki. Sadly, this comeback was too late, for it was living on borrowed time: by the beginning of the Ice Age, it was already gone.

http://www.donsmaps.com/images9/elephasantiquussm.jpg
Straight-Tusked Elephant
The Straight-Tusked Elephant was a large beast, with long straight tusks and a height of 12 feet at the shoulder. First used by the Shemites to counter the great Stygian war elephants, they are used more as archery platforms for the famous Shemite Archers than proper cavalry units. They are usually drugged on a special concoction to keep themselves steady for the archers, making them less responsive and sluggish - though if pushed into a melee, their great tusks will slaughter enemy troops with frightening ease.
After Conan's time, the massive Hyrkanian Expansion brough the Straight-Tusked Elephant deep into the Hyborian lands, where they battled the Pictish Mastodons. After the Nordic Drift devastated the two empires, the Straight-Tusked Elephants went back to the wild, forcing the Mastodons out of their territory as far west as the Pictish Wilderness, before the Ice Age killed them off.

http://mammuthus.chat.ru/stegod.jpg
Hyrkanian Elephant
"Ahead of him he saw, looming against the sky, the Tower of the Elephant. He mused, wondering why it was so named. No one seemed to know. He had never seen an elephant, but he vaguely understood that it was a monstrous animal, with a tail in front as well as behind. This a wandering Shemite had told him, swearing that he had seen such beasts by the thousands in the country of the Hyrkanians..." - The Tower of the Elephant
Of all the beasts of war in the Hyborian Age, few are quite so awesome as the great Hyrkanian War Elephant. With a height of 13 feet at the shoulder and deadly 10-foot-long straight tusks, their mere size is impressive enough: however, when encased in shining steel and gold armour, with a massive tower brimming with archers straddling its back, the beast seems less an animal and more a juggernaut of living steel.
In the early Hyborian Age, elephants were a common form of combined assault cavalry and siege engine, being capable of smashing troop lines and wooden fortifications with great ferocity. While elephants largely declined in use falling the fall of Acheron and the rise of new, deadly siege engines, in the east, where the creatures are abundant, they are still a common sight. The Hyrkanians had realised the need for war elephants to battle the elephants of the then-mighty Iranistan, Vendhya, Bakhaurus and Khorala. Although the Iranistan Empire has fallen by Conan's time, Vendhya is still strong, and the new Shemite cities have elephants of their own, so Turan has continued to field war elephants.
After the Hyborian Age, the Hyrkanian Elephant was spread all across the eastern half of the Thurian continent from the Hyrkanian conquests. With the coming of the Ice Age, the Mammoths of Hyperborea started to encrouch on their territory, and they were pushed south. When the Swamps of the Dead descended beneath the oceans, small communities remained on the new islands around Asia, and evolved into dwarfs. Fossils of the Hyrkanian elephant are still found today - known as Stegodon.

http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=94699&rendTypeId=34
Mastodon
""We encountered a bench-legged monstrosity about the size of a mastodon," said Conan..." - Red Nails
The Mastodon is quite modest compared to other pachyderms, but it is still a mighty and dangerous beast. Ridden by a single Pictish mahout, it has no armour, saddles or cloth, and it is decorated in hideous warpaint designs. The typical Mastodon is about 8 feet tall at the shoulder, with five-foot tusks.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Mammuthus-sungari.jpg
Mammoth
Far in the northern wastes, a new breed of beast is growing common. Like the southern elephants, they are tusked, with legs like pillars and trunks that can lift a horse, but unlike elephants, they are covered in thick shaggy hair, and their ears are small to adapt to the tundra: mammoths. Most mammoths are confined to the colder parts of the world, but are most common around the Vilayet, taking advantage of land too frozen for their Hyrkanian competitors.
Mammoths are rarely seen on the battlefield: they are temperamental and unpredictable, and likely to run amok against friend as well as foe, so only the most highly trained mammoths are fit (or safe) enough to field. Nonetheless, the devastating power they offer has made them highly desireable as "terror" weapons, as much for show and intimidation as actual combatants. Most mammoths are tamed and trained by the expert trainers on the shores of the Vilayet, spending their entire lives working with and studying the great beasts, turning them from wild and skittish creatures into aggressive war mounts. As a mammoth has sturdier bones and greater strength than even the mighty Hyrkanian elephant, they can be equipped with heavy armour, a stout tower, four archers and a rider. They are even outfitted with metal spikes on their tusks, legs and flanks. So well trained they are, they even carry an oversized mace with their trunk, resting it on their tusks when not in use. With all this armour and weaponry, a troop of war mammoths is truly a sight to behold, and one of the most devastating units to ever cause a battlefield to tremble.
After the Hyborian Age, Mammoths would rise to the occassion during their finest hour: the Ice Age. Unfortunately this would not last, and coupled with hunting by the Sons of Aryas and Cro-Magnons, the Mammoth would fade into the mists of prehistory.



And, that's it for now. Any equestrians and horse/elephant fanciers champing at the bit to give suggestions/point out glaring inaccuracies please do. Until next time!

[Irishmafia2020]

Wow... have you made the mammoth model yet?

[Taranaich]

Not yet, sadly. Currently the Mammoth in the game is just the regular Medieval 2 elephant with a fur texture, but I really want to have a new model with the mammoth proportions: big tusks, small ears, etc.

Also, I should've mentioned which factions would get access to the elephants. These are the places that have an "elephant resource" at the game's start:

Forest Elephant
East Ophir, East/Central Koth, East Argos, Western Shem, Stygia, Kush, the Black Kingdoms

Kush Elephant
Kush, Stygia, the Black Kingdoms

Straight-Tusk Elephant
Eastern Shem, the Southern Desert, Iranistan, The Golden Kingdoms

Hyrkanian Elephant
Hyrkania, Eastern Turan, Ghulistan

Mastodon
Pictish Wilderness, the Golden Kingdoms

Mammoth
Northern Steppes around the Vilayet

Some might be moved about, but that's basically the idea.

[Cadwalader]

Very interesting. Especially the mammoths. I always loved mammoths.:beam:

[Taranaich]

Glad you like it! :beam:

Mammoths in the Hyborian Age are never directly mentioned by Howard, however I don't think its too much of a stretch to include them. We see Sabretooths, giant apes and snakes after all, and Red Nails makes it pretty clear that Conan' seen or at least heard of a Mastodon: why not Mammoths?

The only problem giving it to Hyperboreans would be the fact that, early in his life, Conan was captured by them. Yet in Tower of the Elephant, Conan's never seen an elephant, which is obviously quite similar. So how can the Hyperboreans have mammoths, when surely Conan would have seen one? I'm taking the "Conan was taken to western Hyperborea where there aren't any mammoths", and keeping the Mammoths relatively far over at the Vilayet.

At the start of the game, the Hyperboreans have a small force of mammoths, descendents of the original population of Elder Hyperborea's mammoths. Since then, Hyperborea has shrunken considerably, and the eastern cities have become semi-independent principalities: the city that trains war mammoths being one of them. The player will have to conquer or convince the settlement to become a vassal (bribe) in order to start training mammoths, or hire mercenary mammoths. A more costly but peaceful alternative is build a series of "trade link" buildings in a homeland settlement to simulate buying & transporting them from mammoth traders: sort of like "mammoth guilds".

[christof139]

Hyperborea sounds like it will be very interesting. I like the evil magic and the mammoths. Mammoths with whitish-grayish-light brownish hair would be great methinks for an added touch of originality.

There was a so-called Royal Mammoth in the USA and Canada that was very large, but I forget the proper name of it (was once studying vertebrate Paleo.), and some of the ealier Eles. and mamoths were larger than the African Savana Ele. I do believe. It is very neat that you are giving the Picts Mastodons, finally someone is making use of those straight backs!!!

For other beasties how about some prehistoric Crocidilli, I think you said earlier that you would have these in the southern areas, not sure. 40 to 50 -footers would be great.

Chris

[Taranaich]

Hyperborea sounds like it will be very interesting. I like the evil magic and the mammoths. Mammoths with whitish-grayish-light brownish hair would be great methinks for an added touch of originality.

Interestingly, study of mammoth genetics indicates that they could have a range of hair colours not unlike humans: in addition to the usual brown, there's red, black and even blonde! However, making multiple skins for mammoths would mean some big texture files, so I'll probably stick to one: I think a lighter colour like that you describe would work well for the snowy icelands of Hyperborea.


There was a so-called Royal Mammoth in the USA and Canada that was very large, but I forget the proper name of it (was once studying vertebrate Paleo.), and some of the ealier Eles. and mamoths were larger than the African Savana Ele. I do believe.

Sounds like the Imperial Mammoth to me (Mammuthus imperator). It's the largest American species, only the mighty Mammuthus sungari was bigger. I think the biggest prehistoric pachyderm was generally a toss-up between sungari, Deinotherium and Stegodon, sungari being the current champion.


It is very neat that you are giving the Picts Mastodons, finally someone is making use of those straight backs!!!

I always had a soft spot for Mastodons: it sounds such a great name until you find out it means "nipple tooth". To think they've been immortalised in the annals of science with such a weird name... :inquisitive:

Also, the Mastodon is much more suited to the Pictish Wilderness because it was believed to be a browser, instead of a grazer like mammoths. Plenty of shoots, leaves and fruits in Pictland, not so much grassland.


For other beasties how about some prehistoric Crocidilli, I think you said earlier that you would have these in the southern areas, not sure. 40 to 50 -footers would be great.

Well, we know from Hour of the Dragon that the Stygians kept gigantic snakes (Sons of Set) in their temples, letting them out every so often to feast upon the unfortunate populace. We also know that the Stygians worshipped other gods: "apish" and "half-bestial" ones.

The Egyptian descendants of Stygia had a whole city (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilopolis) dedicated to the Sobek cult, with a Holy Crocodile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petsuchos) adorned with gold and jewels living in the temple.

I can imagine a Stygian city that worshipped a crocodile god having a similar setup to Crocodilopolis, but try to include the common people in the... sacrificial feasts. Like the Sons of Set, these crocodiles would be somewhat larger than their natural cousins.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Crocodilians_scale.png

Food for thought. Om nom nom.

[cherryfunk]

Food for something, that's for sure... :beam:

[Spartan198]

Food for something, that's for sure... :beam:
You took the words right out of my mouth. :laugh4:

What about Rhynos for the Black Kingdoms? You still planning it, or has the idea been dropped?

[Taranaich]

Nope, rhinos are still planned (I new I forgot something!) I also forgot the Kushite horse breed, as well as camels, I'll put those up too.

[Irishmafia2020]

How are things coming? No rush, I will wait for two years, but with so many promising units done, I hope that I don't have to...

[Geoffrey S]

Interestingly, study of mammoth genetics indicates that they could have a range of hair colours not unlike humans: in addition to the usual brown, there's red, black and even blonde! However, making multiple skins for mammoths would mean some big texture files, so I'll probably stick to one: I think a lighter colour like that you describe would work well for the snowy icelands of Hyperborea.
To be honest, despite the larger filesize I hope you go for the multiple skins approach. I can think of little that would look more impressive than a varied herd of mammoths bounding across the horizon in MTW2.

[GazzaD]

Note that the Kingdom of Zembabwe had units of flying reptiles....

Now that would be cool to see on a TW battle map.

[Taranaich]

How are things coming? No rush, I will wait for two years, but with so many promising units done, I hope that I don't have to...

Slooooowly. I have two big projects at work to get done, one for end of July, another August, and Cherryfunk's busy with Roma Surrectum. Still working on it when I get the chance though.


To be honest, despite the larger filesize I hope you go for the multiple skins approach. I can think of little that would look more impressive than a varied herd of mammoths bounding across the horizon in MTW2.

It would be nice, but I don't really know how feasible it would be. It would be a, literally, mammoth texture. Nonetheless, if I can get it to work it would indeed be very cool to see.


Note that the Kingdom of Zembabwe had units of flying reptiles....

Now that would be cool to see on a TW battle map.

Zembabwei's flying reptiles were a very cool idea, but there are two problems with it:

1. No sign of them in REH's work. I don't think they're too bad conceptually, Howard included a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs-style creatures, and Conan did fly a big dragon/pterodactyl/"Thing Which Was Neither Bat Nor Bird" in The Scarlet Citadel, but I'm not aware of any nation using flying creatures in such huge numbers in any REH Conan story.

2. Flying units are, while possible, really difficult to implement successfully. The only one I know of is Lord of the Rings: Total War's Nazgul, and a Chinese modder put static dragons in Medieval 2. So while they are possible, I don't know if a non-REH unit for a non-player nations would be justified when the time used to make them could be better spent on other units for playable factions.

[Taranaich]

Been quite a while, so here's another mini-update!

Still not much concrete progress due to work issues, but again these should be over by mid-august.

In the meantime, following on from the "Beasts of War", here's something I thought would be a nice behind-the-scenes image, the scale diagram I'm using for Hyborian beasties inspired by the wonderful wikipedia images:

https://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9382/conantwbeastsscaleoh1.jpg

I forgot to add annotations and stuff, but the colours indicate the faction the creatures belong to. The squares denote 1m square.

Grey Humanoid = Conan, to offer a human comparison
Grey Primate = Bull Ape (Picts)
Purple Primate = Man-Ape (Zamorians)
Tan Primate = Grey Ape (Rebels)

Grey Wolf = Dire Wolf (Picts, ancillary of Zelata)
Grey Sabertooth = Sabertooth (Picts)

Larger Green Snake = Greater Son of Set (Stygians)
Grey Snake = Ghost Snake (Picts)
Smaller Green Snake = Son of Set (Stygians)

Lime Pachyderm = Hyperborean Mammoth (Hyperboreans)
Brown Pachyderm = Hyrkanian Elephant (Hyrkanians, Turanians)
Green Pachyderm = Stygian Elephant (Stygians)
Yellow Pachyderm = Straight-Tusked Elephant (Shemites, Iranistani)
Olive Pachyderm = Kush Elephant (Kushites, Stygians)
Grey Pachyderm = Pictish Mastodon (Picts)
Pink Pachyderm = Forest Elephant (AOR)

These are the creatures which are "top priority" among the beasties in the game, since they're the ones we've seen in a war context and have some sort of precedent in the Conan stories, or at least an internal logic (as with the elephants). Some of the more exotic creatures like the Karkadann, Petsuchos and Sirrush aren't there since there's no precedent in the Howard tales, but (IMO) work in the Hyborian contexts I have them in.

Descriptions of the beasties coming soon!

[Cadwalader]

Woah!
It won't be a good day for the poor troops when they have to face the Son of Set.

[Taranaich]

Woah!
It won't be a good day for the poor troops when they have to face the Son of Set.

Aye, a pretty grim prospect: all the fury and terror of a mammoth in a slim, hard-to-target form. :egypt:

Though compared to some of the... things in the mod, the average soldier would be glad of an earthy foe to face, even if it is a 100-foot snake.

[Spartan198]

Hey, whatever happened to that Argos preview you mentioned was coming a while back? :inquisitive:

Oh, BTW, I'm back after close to a month long absence (my IP address was banned, and I was just recently shown a work-around)! :beam:

*hears thunderous celebratory applause*

[Taranaich]

Hey, whatever happened to that Argos preview you mentioned was coming a while back? :inquisitive:

Well, I regret to say that it's been... postponed. :shame:

Most of the work is going into a big giant "Conan: Total War" inaugural preview with a shedload of content and info regarding all aspects of the mod, but Argos will be the first regular preview after that.


Oh, BTW, I'm back after close to a month long absence (my IP address was banned, and I was just recently shown a work-around)! :beam:

*hears thunderous celebratory applause*

I was wondering where you were, nice to see you back!

Which reminds me, it's been a while since the last update. I'll have to do something about that...

[Spartan198]

I was wondering where you were, nice to see you back!
How could I forget about my absolute most favorite Total War mod ever? :2thumbsup:

[Taranaich]

Which reminds me, it's been a while since the last update. Well, no time like the present...

(take a deep breath, lots of text to get through!)



Unknown Lands of the Hyborian Age

While some Hyborian countries, cultures and peoples are charted in great detail, there are a few that are far more mysterious. Some are only known by name, others by their geographic whereabouts. Some are prosperous and wondrous nations, others desolate wilderness populated by savage nomads, or dark jungles inhabited by horrors terrible and indescribable.

What follows is a scholarly overview of some of these nations, including theories on their people, history and culture.




Saa'bah the Accursed

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/parkx632/architecture/petra.jpg
The entrance to the Temple of Yog in Sabatea

"The Black Ring was a fable and a lie to most folk of the western world, but Conan knew of its ghastly reality, and its grim votaries who practise their abominable sorceries amid the black vaults of Stygia and the nighted domes of accursed Sabatea." - The Hour of the Dragon

"Conan, you are of the West, and know not the secrets of this ancient land. But, since the beginning of happenings, the demons of the desert have worshipped Yog, the Lord of the Empty Abodes, with fire - fire that devours human victims." - The Man-Eaters of Zamboula

South of the Eastern Desert and West of Stygia lies a dark and evil land, one so feared that even the redoubtable Shemite traders will shun, and so little known it is believed to be long deserted like dead Kuthchemes. The many-domed city of Sabatea is the capital of Saa'bah, an ancient land long used as the seat of the Black Ring in the time of Old Stygia, and hotly contested by the old empire of Iranistan.

The first human habitation of what would become Sabatea was originally a system of caves built by a mysterious culture of cave-dwellers. Starting as merely hollowed-out tunnels, the artistry and sophistication of these caves developed into spectacular rock-cut temples, palaces and castles as every bit as impressive as the Caves of Jhelai in Vendhya or the subterranean temples in Stygia. Eventually more conventional buildings and constructions were erected around the mountains, and the city of Sabatea became a power in the East.

For many ages Sabatea stood strong, withstanding even the Great Cataclysm with its tremendously durable architecture and fortuitous position in a geologically quite area. However, the might of the people who would become the Stygians overcame the city, and it became part of the old Stygian Empire, where the notorious Black Ring made it the centre of their abominable sorceries.

Then the Hyborians came. When even the behemoth of Kuthchemes staggered under the onslaught of the Hyborian invaders, Sabatea was hard-pressed to defend itself. The Black Ring relocated to Keshatta, the nobility fleeing to Khemi: few soldiers remained in the city to defend itself from the northern plunderers. Fate was kind to Sabatea, as the Hyborians bypassed the hidden city and turned their attention elsewhere. This luck was not to last, however: centuries after Stygia's withdrawal, Sabatea was attacked by the kingdom of Iranistan. But Sabatea had not been complacent: in the years since being abandoned by the Black Ring, a new cadre of sorcerers came into power. Formed of fugitive sorcerers, priests and heretics cast out from their homelands, this polyglot ring of renegades and radicals builded up Sabatea from an abandoned relic into a stronghold of grim magicks. This ring cannily manipulated both Stygia and Iranistan, playing them against each other while they plotted and the Saa'bah people built up their military and infrastructure. In time, perhaps Saa'bah will emerge as a new power in the east.

The Saa'bah are insular and secretive, with a populace composed mostly of the indigenous Sabateans and a considerable Stygian presence. The Stygians naturally worship Set, and temples to the Old Serpent dominate the outer city: however, the old Sabateans worship Yog, the Lord of the Empty Abodes. Sabatea is the home of Yog's cult, being spread as far as Zamboula and Darfar.

At the time of Conan, Sabatea is a minor city, but with many unique buildings and resources that would be a great boon to any aspiring empire. Their greatest resources are the unique spices of the Red River, which are part of a lucrative spice trade among the priesthood and sorcerers of the world, and a primary source of income for Saa'bah. In addition, Sabatean craftsmen make finely-potted painted ceramics, most commonly vessels for incence, powders and elixers by priests and sorcerers, another

Saa'bah military is modest, but sufficient to defend their land. Three regional soldiers are available as mercenaries or regional recruits in Sabatea: Sabatean levies, Sabatean Warriors and Yoggite Fanatics. Sabatean levies are simple peasants and labourers armed with spears and Shemite-styled bows, a few members wearing light armour but most wearing cloth or silk. Sabatean Warriors are a rag-tag elite, formed from old Stygian warriors, Shemite nomads and Sabateans of noteworthy battle experience: they wear an eclectic range of armour, and wield a one-handed weapon and shield with a Stygian-styled longbow. Fanatics of Yog are wild, dangerous men with a fanatical devotion: clad in green robes, they beat their enemies with cudgels and maces - this prevents excessive blood loss, blood being an important part of their rituals.

In the end, even ancient Sabatea was lost as the Hyborian Age came to an end, but its legacy was not wholly forgotten: the great Arabic trade kingdoms of the Sabeans and Nabataeans can claim to be the heirs of nighted Sabatea, and it is rumoured that beneath the rocks of Arabah, the remains of an ancient system of corridors and tombs lurks beyond the stone floors of Petra. Who knows if someone will find an entrance into the lost halls of Sabatea - and the horrors that dwell within.




Cherkessia, the Country of the Knife


http://mapstor.com/data/images/articles/caucasus/caucasus-tiberda.jpg
The Cherkess Mountains

"His only weapon was a broad curved Cherkess knife in an ivory sheath girdled high on his left hip, kozak fashion. " - A Witch Shall Be Born

The Cherkess are a hardy, dangerous people of the Cherkess Mountains south of the Vilayet. Proving indomitable to the Iranistani, Golden Kingdoms and even the Turanians, Cherkess men are reknowned as vicious warriors, their women famed for their beauty. The Cherkess mountains are rugged peaks, not as formidable as the Himelians, but still difficult to navigate, and extremely difficult to invade.

Part of the progenitor tribe which founded the Golden Kingdoms, the people who would become the Cherkess claimed the highlands and mountain range south of the Vilayet and north of the Great Plains, which became known as Cherkessia. Tribal disunity meant that they did not forge a kingdom of their own, but they managed to resist incursions from Turan, Iranistan and Ghulistan nonetheless: the relative remoteness of Cherkessia to the Hyrkanian and Hyborian worlds have made it largely of little interest to conquerers, in comparison to more attractive targets like the Golden Kingdoms.

Independent from the other Golden kingdoms, Cherkess society is quite different from that of both their southern neighbours and the western Hyborian kingdoms. A warlike people, men are expected to always carry a weapon, and all boys were trained in combat. Familial ties like those of western Hyborians were nearly nonexistant: each child was viewed as a son of the tribal community than that of their own parents, and many parents would foster their children to other adults. Cherkess society is also strongly matriarchal: the women are the heads of community, leaving matters of warfare to the men, although the women would frequently fight alongside the men in times of war. The Cherkess are also fairly egalatarian, with few stata outside community and community leaders, much like the early Hyborian tribes.

Cherkessia's main settlement is the town of Adegya. It has little appeal outside of a source of good soldiers, being little developed and extremely dificult to besiege. Allying or establishing trade would be ideal, and a soujourn into the province with a powerful general will attract many mercenaries. Nonetheless, Cherkessia's human resource is worth attention - and caution. Although the Cherkess are independent, many young men - and women - become mercenaries for other nations: they can be hired as mercenaries or regional recruits as Cherkessian Warriors. They are excellent assault and support infantry, fighting with swords, axes and the famed Cherkess knives, and are particularly adept at ambushing in mountainous terrain. Outside of warriors, Cherkessia is renowned for exceptionally beautiful women, who would be excellent princesses and ambassadors - and for a particularly dominant conquerer, slaves.

After Conan's time, the Cherkess continued to repulse Turanian attempts of acquisition, but by the time of Turan's greatest expansion the might of Turan was simply too great, and the Cherkess were made part of the Turanian Empire. For centuries it endured the indignity of subjucation, the desire to rebel palpable under the facade of tolerance for their new masters. However, when the Picts rose to challenge Turan, the Cherkess rose up, only to be beaten into submission. Time and again the Cherkess would rebel, but Turan was merciless in their reprisal: it was only by the time the Cimmerians came to divide Turan's army that the Cherkess finally threw off the Turanian yoke, and by then it was too late. The ice came, and the Cherkess descended into barbarism. Still, the memory of those strong men and beautiful women would be echoed in their descendents: the Circassians.




Kordafan


http://photos.igougo.com/images/p336702-Sudan-Lion_temple.jpg
Kordafan Ancient Temple of Set

"The monster was a survival of a forgotten age, controlled by a dusky adventurer from Kordafan." - The Snout in the Dark Synopsis

Kordafan is a small but prosperous kingdom lying to the south-east of Kush, and was indeed a province of Kush in its earlier Imperial days. While Kush has expelled the Chaga nobility, Kordafan retains their dusky nobles, augmented by refugees from the Kushite revolution, and more than a few renegade Stygians.

Kordafan was originally part of Kush, when it was almost three times the size of its current incarnation, extending from Darfar to Abombi and encompassing the Southern Desert. When Stygia was attacked by the Hyborians some 3,000 years before Conan's time, Kush saw an oppurtunity to acquire some Stygian territory: though weakened by the Hyborians, Stygia repulsed Kush, and was vicious in its reprisal. Kush's borders started to falter: the eastern desert descended into anarchy, and tribes rebelled. The final straw was the Aphaka invasion, which settled in the city of Tombalku: Kush contracted to its present size, and Kordafan was among the newly independent satellite states.

Being a centre of Set worship and the Stygian priesthood, many of the Chaga of Kush's old territories made their way to Kordafan. When Kush expelled the Chaga from their kingdom, the southernmost fled to Kordafan, where the Chaga were more powerful. Being much smaller than Kush, its army must work harder to defend itself from incursions by the larger kingdom and the surrounding tribes. By the time of Conan, Kordafan is an insular but powerful realm, concentrating its power in a small area: and the bitter tree of the Chaga outcasts' memory may yet bear crimson fruit.

Like Stygia in miniature, Kordafan broods quietly to the south, content to explore its dark religion and ways: the treasures and prizes in the temples of Kharatu would be reward for daring to rouse the lions of the small state. Kordafan is an important region of the international slave trade, being one of the crossroads between the Black Kingdoms and Kush, and thus the Hyborian Kingdoms and Stygia: people of all shapes and sizes are trafficked through the caravan route of Kordafan. Kordafan shares a few regional units with the southern Stygian and outer Kush provinces: Chaga Warriors, Chaga Guards and Chaga Nobles, which are an infusion of Stygian and Kushite styles. Chaga Warriors echo both the mighty Stygian warrior-nobles and the chosen warriors of Kush, wielding Stygian-style bows and Kushite-style swords: they are unarmoured, but carry a shield with the unique Chaga art design. Chaga Guards are the chosen warriors of the Chaga elite, with uniquely-shaped spears and shields, and wearing a type of leather scale armour with leopardskins and a multitude of plumes. Chaga nobles are mounted on Stygian horses, rare so far south: they are armed with excellent quality Stygian axes, long lances and shields, and wear lavish gilt scale armour. In addition, elephants can be herded here, which the Kordafans sometimes raise for their armies.

After Conan's time, Kordafan was absorbed into the great Black Empire which threatened Stygia, rising up against their old foes and taking great swathes of territory. The Vanir conquerers of Stygia managed to turn back the hordes, which again fell to infighting and collapsed back into savagery. Some remnant of Kordafan's old kingdom remains, by a large army which settled just south of Stygia's successor Egypt, where it influenced the kingdoms Nubian kingdoms, especially the Kordofan region of Sudan.


http://galen-frysinger.com/graphics/mexico118.jpg


Negari, The Land of Skulls

A Skull Temple of Negari

"I've roamed in the unknown countries south of the black kingdoms of Kush..." - Beyond the Black River

"Then the sea rose and shook himself. He thundered from his abyss and the thrones of the world fell before him! New lands rose from the deep and Atlantis and Mu were swallowed up by the gulf. The green sea roared through the fanes and the castles, and the sea-weed encrusted the golden spires and the topaz towers. The empire of Atlantis vanished and was forgotten, passing into the everlasting gulf of time and oblivion. Likewise the colony cities in barbaric lands, cut off from their mother kingdom, perished. The savage barbarians rose and burned and destroyed until in all the world only the colony city of Negari remained as a symbol of the lost empire." - The Moon of Skulls

Atlantis has long been a fixture of mythology and history in various forms, but even in the Nemedian Chronicles, the true history of the island nation and its people is complicated and unusual, and it is likely that the truth will never be truly revealed.

The original inhabitants of Atlantis were a race of black-haired, blue-eyed barbarians, of whom King Kull of Valusia was a descendent. The Atlanteans were settled in various colonies about Valusia, including a large area of land which became known as Commoria. The post-Kull history of Atlantis is unclear, but the startling evidence is that after the barbarian Atlanteans migrated to Commoria, a new ethnic group appeared on the land: a tall, dusky, strong-featured race, one that worshipped many gods, which built great gold spires and topaz towers and extended their maritime empire far and wide with their purple-sailed galleys. This race bears a remarkable similarity to the people of Bal-Sagoth, Khemuri, and the Stygians, arguing that these people are linked to each other.

Thus, Atlantis after the time of Kull was split between barbaric tribelands and a vast maritime empire, building their cities all across the world. The aboriginal Atlanteans war incessantly with these newcomers, and despite great sorceries and powers, the wizards could not fully subjucate the black-haired savages. Then the Great Cataclysm rocked the world: the savage Atlanteans left in great fleets of small boats, while the Atlantean Empire crumbled and sank: only some scattered outposts remain. The Atlantean territory in the eastern half of the Thurian Continent was largely unharmed, and the fleeing Lemurians were enslaved. A few islands and outposts in the new, nameless continent in the west survived: Bal-Sagoth and Khemuri. And far to the south of the Black Kingdoms, the last of the Atlantean successors built an empire stretching from the west to eastern coast - Negari.

Negari was initially the master of the Black Continent, subjucating the primitive tribes, and forging an impressive empire. However, by the time the Hyborian Age truly started, things went wrong. The old Stygian Empire under the Giant-Kings had started to encroach on its territory: its vassal Kush, far larger and more powerful than by Conan's time, was attacking Negari's northern provinces. The two titans struggled for dominion of the continent, with Negari's protectorates becoming increasingly embittered at their treatment and perceived abuse in the war effort. Eventually, after a particularly disastrous rout, the protectorates rebelled, and Negari was split apart: Alkmeenon, Punt, and Amazon broke away, leaving Negari vulnerable. Just at Negari's weakest moment, the Stygians retracted abruptly from the war: a new menace had appeared in the east, one that threatened to completely destroy them. This foe was the Eastern successors of the dusky Atlanteans: they eventually overcame the Giant-Kings, and became the ancestors of the modern Stygians.

With the Stygian menace no longer an immediate concern, Negari focused its fury on its old protectorates, using the levies and aboriginals to do the bloody work. The blacks grew disillusioned, with thousands of their people sent off to die, and eventually a full uprising exploded. The eastern half of Negari, being the regions with highest number of black Negari, took up arms against the predominantly dusky Atlantean Negari. The southern islanders too broke away, and preyed on the two nemeses impartially like pirates. Both sides were devastated by the conflict. By the time of the second Hyborian migrations, Kush had asserted its independence from Stygia, and the eastern Negari became a new, black nation: Atlaia.

By the time of Conan, Negari is still a powerful kingdom. It may have lost its coastal provinces, but it rules the inland lakes and rivers which lead to the sea. The Negari use this shipping route to trade and communicate with the other Atlantean diaspora in Bal-Sagoth and Khemuri, though the Black Corsairs - the descendants of the Island Kingdomers - are always keeping watch. Their old enemies Atlaia brood to the east, but they also have Zembabwei, Punt and Keshan to be concerned with, and so aggressive expansion into Negari is not likely at the moment. With no real foes to the immediate west, south and north, it could be time for the Negari to expand.

In Conan: Total War, Negari is far south of the map's southern frontier, though as with far places like Khitai, some buildings relating to the empire can be found. Stygia and Kush can build "Negari Trade Outposts": these are extremely exculsive and lucrative buildings that are tied to the vast Negari trade network, which bring the exotic goods from Khemuri and Bal-Sagoth to the Thurian continent.

Like Khitai & Stygia, Negari would survive the end of the Hyborian Age largely intact, though as shadows of their former glory. They survived and prospered in Africa well into the late 1500's, until Solomon Kane brought the ancient kingdom to an end.





The Golden Kingdoms

"As the girl's mind cleared, her first sensations were furious rage and shame. She was appalled. The rulers of the golden kingdoms south of the Himelians were considered little short of divine; and she was the Devi of Vendhya!" - The People of the Black Circle

The origin of the Golden Kingdoms is something of a mystery to Hyborian scholars It is believed that the kingdoms of Vendhya, Ghulistan, Iranistan and the Golden kingdoms have a common origin: this progenitor tribe is tentatively named the Ghuli. There are two theories for their origin, which I will add in more detail at a later date:

The Eastern Empires Hypothesis - descendants of the easternmost Thurian nations became the founders of the Golden Kingdoms.

The Hyborian Hypothesis - the Hyborian tribes which stormed over Kuthchemes 3,000 years before Conan's time continued southeast, and settled on the eastern coast & Vendhyan subcontinent.

For the purposes of the mod, I'm going to try and leave it as ambiguous as possible: although I overwhelmingly favour one theory over the other, I want to leave it unstated for now until one theory proves its dominance in wider Hyborian scholarship.

While the three major Golden Kingdoms are well explored in both the Nemedian Chronicles and the apocryphal legends, there may be others that are little known or investigated.




Bakhara, Realm of Knowledge


http://www.advantour.com/img/uzbekistan/bukhara/bukhara.jpg
Bakhaurus, Capital of Bakhara

"The broad Bakhariot girdle that supported his knife in its ornamented scabbard would have matched the robes of a prince" - The People of the Black Circle

Its very name meaning "Full of Knowledge", The kingdom of Bakhara is a centre of eastern civilization, with its art, architecture and history being a veritable pillar of Golden Kingdom history, and is one of the most advanced kingdoms of the region. Its capital Bakhaurus is a great city of blue domes, with the great citadel at its centre an unassailable stronghold.

As well as the exquisite clothing items like the famed Bakhariot girdles and belts, Bakhaurus is renowned as a city of learning and science. Many learned and prominent scholars have studied at Bakhaurus: physicians, historians, poets, scientists, and polymaths of all fields and nationalities have graced the madrasahs and libraries of the city. Even now, many easterners - and even some Nemedians - consider the Great Library of Bakhaurus to be unequaled throughout the world.

The origin of Bakhara is rendered in the epic poetry of the region, particularly "The Book of Kings", which was later transcribed into the Iranian Shahnameh. Siavash, an Iranistani king of the Peshtahk Dynasty, had been driven from Iranistan by a conspiracy of rival Viziers, who were jealous of his skill, intelligence and popularity. Arriving in Turanian-controlled Secunderam, which was originally a Turanian city before the Ghulistan tribes conquered it, he married the Lord of Secunderam's daughter. King Afrasiab granted him a vassalage, and gave him territory on the Bukhara Oasis. Here he built the city of Bakhaurus.

Eventually, Afrasiab too became jealous of Siavash's power, and had him assassinated: in retaliation Siavash's father Shah Kai led his army and devastated Secunderam, killing Afrasiab and leaving the southern Turanian cities vulnerable to attack by the savage Ghuli hillmen. Shah Kai then took control of Bakhaurus, and declared it independent of both Turan and Iranistan, to forge its own destiny in the east.

Bakhara is a strong kingdom, which can be allied with or conquered as the player desires. There are three unique mercenaries and regional recruitment units available: Bakhariot Hillmen, Bakhariot Guardsmen and Bakhariot Lancers. Bakhariot Hillmen are light skirmishers native to the low hills of Bakhara, and are armed with javelins, axes and light bucklers. Bakhariot Guardsmen are a new corps of professional guards formed from recent Hyborian emmigrants: they wear the fabulous clothing their realm is famed for, as well as shining gold-chased scale armour, wielding spears and shields in both defensive and offensive formations. Bakhariot Lancers are famed throughout the Golden Kingdoms, a fusion of western and eastern Hyborian cavalry: they are armed with an unusual two-handed lance and a great axe, mounted on great Khorosun bullhead with scale barding. Textiles are the major resource of the region, along with some scholarly-related ones.

After the Ice Age, the memory of Bakhara would be echoed in the city of Bukhara in Bactria: a shining heir to its glorious predecessor of the Hyborian Age.




Khorala, The Forest Kingdom


http://musictravel.free.fr/india/mysore2/somnathpur2.jpg
Khora, Capital of Khorala

"So you could steal from him the only thing he would never give you - the ring with the jewel men call the Star of Khorala - the star stolen from the queen of Ophir, who would pay a roomful of gold for its return." - The Man-Eaters of Zamboula

West of Vendhya is Khorala, famed for its magnificent gems and exquisite jewelry. Like Bakhaurus, the origins of Khorala are remembered in modern times as myth and legend. The founder of Khorala was Parasurama, a warrior-wizard like the unnamed Hyborian figure who conquered Acheron with the Heart of Ahriman. Parasurama's people were great foes of the Kshatriya, the ruling caste of Vendhya: they said to have filled five lakes with the blood of fallen Kshatriya in their devastating wars. However, the guilt of his murderous rage weighed heavily on Parasurama's mind, and he sought penance with the priests of Asura. They decided that the lands he hand conquered from the Kshatriya should be given to the priesthood: he did so, and in return was blessed by the gods. Taking his axe, he came to the Golden Coast, and hurled his axe into the air. The spot where it landed would be the centre of his new city, Khorala.

Khorala remained independent from Vendhya and Iranistan for centuries: now on good terms with their old foe Vendhya, the geography of the region being easily defended by the redoubtable warriors of Khorala from Ghulistan and Turanian attacks. Their neighbour Bakhara is more interested in conquering the field of knowledge and wisdom than land and wealth, and is in any case too concerned with the threat of the Zuagir, Iranistan and Turan to seek imperial goals in Khorala. However, the jungle empire of Ghanara, the constant predations of the Red Brotherhood and the possibility of a seaborn invasion from Iranistan or Zembabwei means peace is not a forgone conclusion for Khorala.

Khorala's military is very different from Vendhya's: instead of highly trained nobles born and bred to warfare in lavish armour and shining weapons, the Khoralans are warriors from many backgrounds, and different levels of traning & battle experience. They have a greater range of light and heavy troops, and without Vendhya's reliance on the small population of Kshatriya soldiers they can field a much larger army in comparison to their civilian population. However, while their style of warfare is ideal to their forest haunts where they can ambush and whittle down a much stronger force, in open terrain their strategies may not be sufficient to defeat a powerful and disciplined foe.

Khorala would be a jewel in any emperor's parade of vassals, with riches and glories aplenty to enrich an empire. Khorala has many unique buildings and bountiful resources to exploit - precious metal veins, gemstone mines, peppers, spices and more - and with the highly developed and populated city of Khorala itself it makes a good centre of trade and a strong gateway to Vendhya and Iranistan. Khorala has three unique regional units: Khorala Hunters, Khorala Warriors and Khorala War Elephants. Khorala Hunters are skirmisher spearmen, wearing no armour and carrying light shields, spears and javelins. Khorala Warriors are expert heavy infantry and archers, wearing scale corselets and carrying round shields: they wield their longbows and great two-handed Khorala Axes with equal efficiency and deadliness. Khorala Elephants are not as large as their Vendhyan cousins, but more suited for their forest home: they are unarmoured, adorned with warpaint, with Khorala Warriors with longbows mounted on their backs.

After Conan's time, Khorala remained largely independent, occassionally falling under the rule of Ghulistan, Vendhya and Bactria when those powers experienced a territorial surge, eventually falling under the banner of Turan during the latter's greatest imperial sphere. After the Cimmerians destroyed Turan's empire, Khorala became independent, only to descend into barbarism and savagery. In the age of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, though, the early Indians would settle in the old lands of Khorala, and some memetic continuation of the ancient kingdom would arise, in the mythology and people of Kerala.




Ghanara, the Jungle Empire


http://www.tamilnation.org/images/religion/temple/thanjavur8.jpg
Thunjuvar, Capital of Ghanara

"Conan pulled his eyes back from following a bold-eyed, red-lipped Ghanara whose short skirt bared her brown thigh at each insolent step..." - The Man-Eaters of Zamboula

"Tolkemec said they came from the east, long ago, from Old Kosala, when the ancestors of those who now dwell in Kosala came up from the south and drove forth the original inhabitants of the land." - Red Nails

Deep in the jungles, south of Ayodhya, the Ghanara Empire broods. While descended from the Ghuli like the other Golden Kingdoms, the Ghanara are an exceptionally dark-skinned people, possibly a result of admixture with the mysterious aboriginals of the region, or simply from the burning climate. They are a warlike and fiercely proud people, and of all the Golden Kingdoms the one which could become the greatest.

The farthest-reaching of the Ghuli culture that founded the other Golden Kingdoms, the tribes descended into savagery and infighting, becoming more like the Picts or Black Kingdomers than their advancing neighbours. After a millennia or so of constant tribal warfare, one tribe came under the rule of a chieftain who claimed to be descended from the Lemurian warlords of lost Kumari Kandam, one of the most powerful Lemurian realms. Uniting the tribes and destroying any rival confederacies, the kingdom of Ghanara came into being, ruling the southernmost tip of the continent. Even now, all the tribes south of Vendhya are called "Ghanara" tribes by outsides, even if they are not related to that particular group: a great horde of these tribesmen conquered the old kingdom of Kosala.

Being on the tip of the Vendhyan sub-continent, Ghanara was an integral point on the sea trade routes from the Golden Coast to Kosala, Khitai and Hyrkania: thus the ports of Ghanara became extremely prosperous. Ghanara also became a haven for pirates and miscreants, much like Messantia in the west, though the savagery of Ghandara's natives and officials prevent the black market from dominating the open trade. Ghanara boasted heights of excellence in its people's art, religion and literature: cyclopean architecture, gargantuan bronze and stone sculptures of mythic & legendary figures, and epic poetry famed throughout the Golden Kingdoms.

Ghanara's military is composed mostly of extremes: unarmoured jungle ambushers, supplemented with strong chieftains & religious fanatics as vanguards and assault infantry, mighty elephants serving as the hammer of the army. Each military unit is specialised for their role on the battlefield, with little training or ability to function outside their element, outside of a few mercenary units and the elites. They are thus a dangerous army, but one that can be thwarted with some cunning - and a good army to carry it out.

Ghanara's lands are mysterious and dangerous, but in the unexplored jungles there may lie untold treasures and resources, which would make braving the deadly tribelands worthwhile. Even if the jungles prove to be free from rewards, Ghanara itself is no small prize, the great city sharing the empire's name being a unique citadel with architecture unlike any in the world. As Ghanara is off the map in Conan: Total War, Ghanara cannot be conquered: however, Ghanaran mercenaries can eventually be hired through mercenary outpost buildings in the Golden Kingdom settlements. There is only one mercenary unit available from Ghanara: Ghanara Warriors, which are heavily armoured swordsmen with shields and bright colours, though their dark skin and eyes betrays their Ghanara heritage.

After Conan, Ghanara was locked in eternal battle with their northern foes Vendhya, taking huge tracts of territory, but they could never fully conquer the Kshatriyas. They eventually looked overseas to increase their empire, conquering southern regions of Kosala, Khitai and the Swamps of the Dead, forming a great maritime empire. Warring on three fronts meant that they could not extend their empire further, and by the time the Ice went the empire collapsed under its own power. Ghanara's great empire and glorious architecture was washed away when the modern outline of the world took shape, though flickers of that ancient kingdom can be found in the kingdoms and empires of the Punjab and Tamil people.




Yamal, the End of the World


http://www.eth.mpg.de/subsites/siberia/images/1-Andrej-chum.jpg
A small Yamali community

"I was much interested in your remarks concerning findings on the Yamal Peninsula, the first time I had heard anything about that. Doubtless Conan had first-hand acquaintance with the people who evolved the culture described, or their ancestors, at least." - Letter from Robert E. Howard to P. s. Miller

In the great wilderness to the north of Hyrkania, a mysterious people roam the tundra. The Yamal are a far-flung offshoot of the short aboriginals of the land now ruled by the Hyrkanians, though few men venture as far north as their homeland. These people living on the veritable edge of the world are nomadic savages, adapted to the cold and very hardy. They are a spiritual people, and although not predisposed to warfare they are nonetheless dangerous fighters.

For the past few thousand years, the Yamal have remained savages: travelling by sled and reindeer, sleeping in animal-hide tents, living off the land, and worshipping ancient animalistic gods. There are two distinct groups of Yamal: the "Forest People", who were absorbed into the Lemurian stock to become the Hyrkanian tribes; the other is the "Tundra People", the group which lived in the icy northern regions. Their religion is based on shamanism and an animistic belief system, the clans looking to their Shaman for guidance on where to travel with the seasons and game.

The Yamal do not have a dedicated army, rather all men of "fighting age" rise to the occassion. On foot, they fight as light infantry with spears and javelins, being accustomed to bringing down mighty Cave Bears with their weapons. Having no horses so far north, they instead ride mounted on a large species of reindeer, the ancestors of the modern species: unlike the later Sami and Nenets, the Yamal have managed to tame the reindeer to act as war-mounts.

Yamal cannot be conquered: indeed, the only reference made to the area in Hyborian maps is Conan's mischievous "Here Be Dragons!" annotation north of Hyrkania. Nonetheless, some Yamal mercenaries can be recruited for anyone willing to venture so far north: Yamal Hunters, Yamal Warriors and Yamal Chieftains. Yamal Hunters are clad in heavy furs, wielding vicious barbed throwing spears and knives of curious design. Yamal Warriors are mounted on reindeer, using barbed spears in melee and at range. Yamal Chieftains ride war-sleighs pulled by four reindeer, with two warriors with throwing spears.

After Conan, the Yamal continued living their simple life in the far north of the world, but when Khamatar Khan came from the eastern shores of Hyrkania to forge an empire that would impress Ghenghis Khan himself, he recruited Yamal warriors to attack northern regions. Yamal warriors were instrumental in the campaigns against Hyperborea, and even though their savagery and ruggedness was not enough to conquer the Cimmerians, they did not shame themselves in battle with the black-haired ghouls of the dark land. Eventually the Hyrkanian Empire would fall, and the Yamal would be back to its old ways - where it would remain, until they branched off into the modern peoples of the northernmost edge of the world: the Uralic peoples. The Nenets are pure-blood Yamal descendents, the Sami and Finns of mixed Nordic-Yamal heritage, and the Ugrics from the descendents of Yamals settled by the Hyrkanians in Zamora and Brythunia. The name itself is remembered among the Nenets: "End of the World", and is given to one of their homelands.




Malayu, Beyond the Swamps of the Dead


http://www.jakartajavakini.com/media/img_prambanan_2.jpg
Barobodar, a city of Malayu

"He travelled to Khitai and Hyrkania, and to the even less known regions north of the latter and south of the former..." - Letter from Robert E. Howard to P. s. Miller

"Many Lemurians escaped to the eastern coast of the Thurian Continent, which was comparatively untouched. There they were enslaved by the ancient race which already dwelt there, and their history, for thousands of years, is a history of brutal servitude...

...In the distant east, cut off from the rest of the world by the heaving up of gigantic mountains and the forming of a chain of vast lakes, the Lemurians are toiling as slaves of their ancient masters...

...Far to the east, the Lemurians, levelled almost to a bestial plane themselves by the brutishness of their slavery, have risen and destroyed their masters. They are savages stalking among the ruins of a strange civilization..." - The Hyborian Age

South of Khitai lies the forbidden land known as the Swamps of the Dead, and the little-known kingdoms of Lemurian descent. The old race conquered by the Lemurians may be gone, but their cities and citadels are occupied by their usurpers. The most powerful of these isolated states is Malayu, a kingdom of sorcerers arcane and dangerous enough to rival Khitai.

The mysterious people who enslaved the Lemurians is all but unknown: whoever they are, they were undoubtedly mighty, for the heirs of that terrible civilization are the powerful realms of Bal-Sagoth, Khemu, and Stygia. After the cataclysm, the civilization was scattered throughout the world. One remnant of the civilization was situated on the great landmass beyond the Swamps of the Dead, a cursed place where the superstitious Lemurians feared to venture. Without Atlantis as a capital, the civilization founded a new kingdom: Malayu. The sorcerers of Malayu were mighty indeed: in the early centuries after the foundation of the Lemurian kingdom of Khitai, Malayu set their sights on the usurpers of their imperial allies. Were it not for the wisdom of Yag-Kosha, who taught the Khitans old and mighty magic to combat Malayu's sorceries, Khitai could have been blotted out. Old Kosala also proved too powerful to subdue, with its unique technology-based sorcery making them unassailable: with Khitai and Kosala emerging as powerful sorcerous nations in their own right, Malayu had to turn from the offensive to the defensive, until Old Kosala and Khitai united to humble Malayu, turning it from the great power of the east into a footnote.

With Malayu seemingly reduced to a powerless state, Old Kosala and Khitai were locked in a Sorcerous Cold War, neither nation wanting to make the first move. This was hardly a bloodless conflict though: the satellite nations of both powers were manipulated into proxy wars to disrupt trade, economy and growth. All this time, Malayu bided its time: it worked in secret with Kosala and Khitai, playing each nation against each other, involving other powers like Vendhya, Ghanara and the Hyrkanian tribes in the intrigue. Through a masterpiece of subtle machination, the Malayu set in place the destruction of Old Kosala, by assisting the tribes of Ghanara to invade and usurp the old kingdom, driving the old people into the west, with plans to install the tribal conquerers as vassals. However, the tribal chieftains had their own plans, and were secretly working with Kosalan conspirators and Khitan outcasts to learn Old Kosalan magic and sorcery. Thus instead of a puppet kingdom, the Malayu had inadvertently just replaced their old foe with a new one, with the sorcerous influence of eastern masters infused with the vitality of barbarian genetics. Luckily for Malayu, Kosala's new masters were greedy, waging war on the entire east - they were thwarted by a coalition of Golden Kingdom states, leaving them wounded, but still a major power.

New Kosala thus is locked in a sorcerous Cold War with Khitai, neither side willing to make the first move, and wary to shift their imperial ambitions elsehere. This is not a bloodless affair though, as a series of proxy wars among the tribes of Ghanara, Hyrkania, Ghulistan and the Himelian Mountains fought for Kosalan and Khitan interests plagued the east, and to this day skirmishes and conflicts redden the land. Even far nations like the Black Kingdoms are affected by the two power's actions. Ever the oppurtunist, Malayu has become involved in international affairs again: this time more cautious. Thus far Malayu still seems to be of no interest or no threat to the eastern nations: a facade the Malayuri want to uphold until the time is right.

Malayu is a secretive and very difficult to find nation: only a few learned individuals know its current whereabouts, and the average person seems content to consider it extinct or even mythical. Indeed, most expeditions who venture into the Swamps of the Dead never return. Nonetheless, the evidence for some sort of presence south of Khitai is compelling: black-sailed galleys of uncanny design can be seen along the coasts of the Eastern Ocean, with unknown cargo in the hold, steered by unseen hands, which never dock at any ports save the shunned harbours of the Swamps of the Dead.

Malayu does not appear in Conan: Total War, being far off the map, but its presence can be felt in a few trade buildings. "Grey Lotus Supplier", a trader who can supply a nation with the insanity-enducing Grey Lotus, can have a trade building built by Stygia & Zamora to enhance their magical units, ancillaries and traders. "Upas Supplier", a trader who can supply clients with derivatives of the deadly Upas Tree, can be built by any nation to do the same: however, different nations have different applications for the tree's ingredients. The name Malayu is a portmanteau of Malay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malay_race) and Melayu, the Khmer name for Srivijaya. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srivijaya) I'm still looking through Howard's stories to see if there's a more fitting name.



The main reason I wanted to explore these nations is because, for whatever reason, the pastiches didn't: they invented their own nations for their own purposes. I have no problems with that - I'll probably be doing that myself - but I don't see why so many cues from Howard should be ignored, and in a number of ways I think some of these nations could easily take the place of pastiche inventions.

Why invent Uttara Kuru when one could appropriate Ghanara as a rival for Vendhya?
Why make Khorala a ruined place when it could be a living, prosperous nation?
Why make up Venjipur when Bakhara could serve as a Golden Kingdom, instead of being wasted as a Hyrkanian city?
Why not tie in the mysterious lands north of Hyrkania and south of Khitai to other hints Howard left behind (the Yamal culture north of Hyrkania, the proto-Stygians that ruled Asia) instead of making up Pathenia & Kambuja out of whole cloth?
Why completely ignore the Cherkess, when their inspiration the Circassians were such a fascinating people, one that Howard and one of his heroes Harold Lamb are known to have admired?
Why not continue to tie Solomon Kane to Conan by making the Negari, which are probably of the same stock as the proto-Stygians, the "unknown countries" south of the Black Kingdoms?

Now, again, I have no problem with Uttara Kuru, Meru, Kushan etc, they're really cool and well thought out kingdoms. I just think that, for the purposes of the mod, I thought it would be more appropriate to try and enhance the Hyborian Age taking cues directly from Howard. I was surprised to see that it would be possible to take single words from the Conan tales and others, and make entire countries out of them: Sabatea, Cherkess, Kordafan, Negari, Bakhariot, Khorala, Ghanara, “north of Hyrkania” and “South of Khitai” - NINE new countries! I could add even more using names Howard only used once - Kyros, Ghaza, Yaralet, Akbitana - and make them their own nations, but because the west seems more concretely formed in Howard's map I'm content making them cities (in Ophir, Iranistan, Corinthia and the Eastern Desert respectively). Even then, the cities' history is a bit more complicated: Akbitana is more than just a "Shemite" city - like Zamboula it has quite a storied life.

The info here MAY be changed too, as more information comes to light, but this is the general outline. I may make a modification of Vincent Darlages' fantastic maps to show my personal interpretation of these nations. A few colour/flavour pictures could also turn up.

Of course, some ideas are likely to be very controversial, particularly the Negari, but trust me when I say a LOT of research has gone into these theories, and I'm fairly confident with them, and think it puts a fresh spin on the Hyborian Age.

[Justiciar]

My eyes. They bleed!

That's a lot of text, sir. Good job too. Excellent discriptions, esspecially considering they're almost entirely of your own creation.

[Spartan198]

I saw that preview last night on TWCenter. :laugh4:

But I still like it! :smash:

[Taranaich]

My eyes. They bleed!

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! *passes a pack of gauze to Justicar*


That's a lot of text, sir. Good job too. Excellent discriptions, esspecially considering they're almost entirely of your own creation.

Well, I had a lot of help from the back-room boffins, and I've taken much inspiration from history and Howard's own inspirer, Harold Lamb. Those Circassians were a wild bunch!

[Khazar_Dahvos]

Good work!!! You obviously did your homework Taranaich!!!! Been a big fan of Howards so I give you props. I even love some of his other works like his essay the Beast from the abyss!!!!:2thumbsup:

[Taranaich]

Good work!!! You obviously did your homework Taranaich!!!! Been a big fan of Howards so I give you props. I even love some of his other works like his essay the Beast from the abyss!!!!:2thumbsup:

Cheers! I think Howard's mythos is every bit as fascinating and mysterious as Tolkien's legendarium: working out how Kull, Conan, James Allison, Bran Mak Morn and others work together is great fun. There are some who think that Solomon Kane should be considered an "alternative universe" from Conan and Kull because the Atlantis of those works is so different from Kane's, but that's just part of the challenge.

[Taranaich]

For anyone wondering where these nations fit in Conan's world, here's a map:

https://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4717/conanmapnewnationsqu7.jpg

I may treat the "north of Hyrkania" and Yamal references as separate, and make the land northwest of Hyrkania below the ice into the Manju Steppes, based on the Manchu. I'm also adding the mysterious nation of Timnar... a shiny golden luna for anyone who gets the reference!

EDIT: Also for anyone wondering: the Black Coast is now joined by the Golden Coast, named for the Golden Kingdoms, and the Jade Coast, named for Khitai, which possesses the largest royal Jade site in the world (which will become Burma).

[Spartan198]

For anyone wondering where these nations fit in Conan's world, here's a map:

https://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4717/conanmapnewnationsqu7.jpg

I may treat the "north of Hyrkania" and Yamal references as separate, and make the land northwest of Hyrkania below the ice into the Manju Steppes, based on the Manchu. I'm also adding the mysterious nation of Timnar... a shiny golden luna for anyone who gets the reference!

EDIT: Also for anyone wondering: the Black Coast is now joined by the Golden Coast, named for the Golden Kingdoms, and the Jade Coast, named for Khitai, which possesses the largest royal Jade site in the world (which will become Burma).
Is that a map you photoshopped yourself or not? If not, do you have a link to a larger version of it?

I always had a soft spot for Mastodons: it sounds such a great name until you find out it means "nipple tooth". To think they've been immortalised in the annals of science with such a weird name... :inquisitive:
Mastadon, Pterodactyl, Tricerotops, Sabertooth Tiger, Tyranosaurus!

:tongue: :laugh4:

[Taranaich]

Is that a map you photoshopped yourself or not? If not, do you have a link to a larger version of it?

It's based on Vincent Darlages maps like this one (http://hyboria.xoth.net/maps/vd_hyborian_age_full.jpg). I'll put up a larger version of my modded one.


Mastadon, Pterodactyl, Tricerotops, Sabertooth Tiger, Tyranosaurus!:tongue: :laugh4:

Slag, Sludge, Snarl, Swoop, Grimlock, transform and roll out! :beam:

[ScionTheWorm]

This mod looks so awesome! Looks very well done and is the kind of a mod I always wanted to play.

[Taranaich]

Cheers Scion! Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to post updates for a while, but rest assured work IS going on, even if there isn't much info or stuff to show for it. :sweatdrop:

[Spartan198]

If you don\'t mind my asking, how\'s campaign map progress going?

[Taranaich]

As with everything, like a geriatric tortoise on snail roller-skates. :sweatdrop:

I'm still working out the borders of Cherkessia & Sabatea, and Cherryfunk's still working on the next Roma Surrectum (which, not to give too much away, looks incredible), and to top it all off I have another project to get done for November. Never rains, but it pours I guess. :dizzy2:

Next quick update will be relatively soon though, I hope: it's an update of some of the main character biographies, hopefully with proper portraits and one or two ancillaries.

[christof139]

Timnar = Timor = Indonesia???

Mastodon had bunodont teeth like humans etc. have (teeth with rounded cusps or raised areas, nipples or whatever, that grow independent of other teeth) in contrast to the lophodont teeth of Mammoths and Elephants. Since the Mastodons were not that tall they ate more vegetation nearer the ground or in the ground or the low branches of trees in constrast to the taller Mammoths and Elephants. Hence, the Mastodon's developed bunodont teeth that enabled then to eat harder 'twiggier' material, to crunch-up the twigs and maybe even roots easily in comparison to the Mammoths and Eles. that ate more 'leafier' and softer vegetation.

Yup, Imperial or Royal Mammoth was quite large, but smaller than the other Ele. types you mentioned, but it was big.

Yeah, good to only have one color for a 'special' animal type as it would be too much work otherwise. Light brown with faint blonde highlights with some white/gray streaks/areas with some medium brown background or streaks/areas might look OK for the cold climate Mammoths in your version of the Hyborian Age.

Hmmm, looks like Sabatea comes from Nabatea and the Nabateans judging from the temple built into the hill/mountain. I think the Crusaders and indigenous Christians used some of the Nabatean caves etc. as hideouts, supply depots, and fortresses when dealing with the Islamics that invaded the area from Arabia.

Good photos to draw ideas from.

That map is good, and I have seen it and similar ones and posted links to some awhile back but you probably were aware of them anyway.

Looking forward to this as I now have METW2 and have enjoyed the Broken Crescent mod, however I still enjoy MTW-VI and RTW-BI and TalonSoft ACW and Nappy War series and John Tiller's (HPS) ACW etc. games.

I'm a lookin' forward to it for shhuuoore.

Chris

[Taranaich]

Timnar = Timor = Indonesia???

I have... other plans for Indonesia. *grim laugh*

Here's a hint for Timnar: it's a fusion of two names, one historical, one fictional. :book:

Good stuff on Mastodons, it's because of their diet & the American connection that I place them in the Pictish Wilderness.


Hmmm, looks like Sabatea comes from Nabatea and the Nabateans judging from the temple built into the hill/mountain.

Yup, I deduce that Howard drew upon the Sabaeans and Nabateans for Sabatea. A shame he never elaborated more on this city and its "nighted domes".


That map is good, and I have seen it and similar ones and posted links to some awhile back but you probably were aware of them anyway.

Amazingly, the map's still a bit of a work-in-progress. More talking with my head scholar has convinced me to make a few amendments, particularly in the Iranistan area, which will be a very important area of the map for the secret faction. But it's more or less ironed out.


I'm a lookin' forward to it for shhuuoore.

Chris

:beam:

[Spartan198]

Any new updates for us yet, T.? :inquisitive:

[Taranaich]

You'll find out before the week's out, hint hint. :yes:

It's basically a "flavour" update showing event screens. Some are just new versions of the usual TW trappings like births, coming of age, deaths, marriages and the sort, though tailored to fit barbarian/Hyborian/Hyrkanian/etc cultures. Others are more specific events like discoveries of lost ruins and treasures, adventures, ill omens, and various incidents and happenings that may or may not affect the actual game, but provide a sense that there's a world outside your chosen nation's borders.

More to come later.:skull:

[Spartan198]

Can't wait! :beam:

[Taranaich]

Sorry for the delay, guys: it'll be out sometimes this week though.

[Cadwalader]

Looking very much foreward to it.

[christof139]

I have... other plans for Indonesia. *grim laugh*

Here's a hint for Timnar: it's a fusion of two names, one historical, one fictional. :book:

Good stuff on Mastodons, it's because of their diet & the American connection that I place them in the Pictish Wilderness.



Yup, I deduce that Howard drew upon the Sabaeans and Nabateans for Sabatea. A shame he never elaborated more on this city and its "nighted domes".



Amazingly, the map's still a bit of a work-in-progress. More talking with my head scholar has convinced me to make a few amendments, particularly in the Iranistan area, which will be a very important area of the map for the secret faction. But it's more or less ironed out.



:beam:

Timnar, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??? Tamerlane + Tibet??? I don't know. I guess I'll have to wait.
Narwhales in there?? Narvik in Norway?? :wall::dizzy2:

Yeah, didn't Howard mention Mastodons or similar in the Pictish Lands or no??

Iran(istan) needs to be ironed out, as do a few other places and things/matters on the planet. :idea2::furious3: I think the Iranistanians will do this themselves.

OT: I just upgraded from an excellent 22" LCD monitor to a 24" and my poor eyeballs are bugging/bulging/burning out and stretching horizontally methinks from all the color and brightness and size even though I knocked 10-20% off the Gamma, Brightness and Contrast, but it does look good. I have to play a RTW or MTW 1 or 2 mod/fame to see how it looks. I wear bifocals now and this is a trip. :inquisitive:

Take your time - Makessss it goodsss Precioussss. (great voice and acting in the movie for Gollum the 3rd Age Schizoid Proto-Hobbit, from Pink Floyd; 21st Century Schizoid Man) as we all will still be around for the finished product.

Good luck, Chris-toe-fur

[Taranaich]

Timnar, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm??? Tamerlane + Tibet??? I don't know. I guess I'll have to wait.
Narwhales in there?? Narvik in Norway?? :wall::dizzy2:

Ok, I'll spare you the trouble: It's a sort of ancestor to Timna (http://www.jewishmag.com/95mag/timna/timna.htm) of Yemen, featured in the Bible, and Mnar (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thedoomthatcametosarnath.htm), an ancient land spoken of by the noted historian H.P. Lovecraft. :2thumbsup: More to come soon.


Yeah, didn't Howard mention Mastodons or similar in the Pictish Lands or no??

No straight references to Pictish Mastodons that I'm aware of (I'm going through non-Hyborian tales like "Men of the Shadows" just to make sure), but given the giant pythons, sabretooths & other ancient horrors I figure it's the best place Conan could have seen a mastodon before "Red Nails". The Dark Storm Chronology, the timeline I'm using, as Conan being in the Pictish Wilderness ("Beyond the Black River" & "The Black Stranger") directly prior to "Red Nails", which is a decent enough explanation as to why he compared the dragon to a Mastodon as opposed to an elephant, since they might've been fresh in his mind.


Iran(istan) needs to be ironed out, as do a few other places and things/matters on the planet. :idea2::furious3: I think the Iranistanians will do this themselves.

Iranistan is basically the most important, powerful and influential of the independent sub-factions, even in its current contracted state: if I decide to make the "Eastern Kingdoms" faction it is a part of playable, the capital would be there. Probably the best model to imagine is the Sassanid Empire with a little of the Achaemenids & Parthians thrown in : basically, the ultimate zenith of Persian culture.

All clues in the saga show that Iranistan had massive cultural influence in its neighbours: almost all nearby lands have some aspect of Iranistan culture. Howard seemed to imply a lot of back-and-forthing between Shemite and Iranistan rule in Eastern Shem and the Eastern Desert. Turan has adopted much Iranistani language into its military (Shahs etc), and the kings of both Turan and Stygia - the mightiest empires of the South and East - have Iranistani names, arguing possible intermixing or at least some cultural assimilation. Even the Hyborians worship Mitra, a god with an Iranistani name. And of course, the mightiest magical talisman of the Hyborian Age - the Heart of Ahriman - has an Iranistani name, implying an Iranistani origin. I would bet much of the "modern" Hyborian religion started in Iranistan.

So yeah, Iranistan's pretty important. :sweatdrop:


Take your time - Makessss it goodsss Precioussss.

Cheers, I hope to get the preview up tomorrow/tonight. It'll probably be a tad text-heavy, though: mostly flavour images (though maybe one or two "surprises")

[Ebonhand]

We're not worthy!

[christof139]

Ok, I'll spare you the trouble: It's a sort of ancestor to Timna (http://www.jewishmag.com/95mag/timna/timna.htm) of Yemen, featured in the Bible, and Mnar (http://www.dagonbytes.com/thelibrary/lovecraft/thedoomthatcametosarnath.htm), an ancient land spoken of by the noted historian H.P. Lovecraft. :2thumbsup: More to come soon.



No straight references to Pictish Mastodons that I'm aware of (I'm going through non-Hyborian tales like "Men of the Shadows" just to make sure), but given the giant pythons, sabretooths & other ancient horrors I figure it's the best place Conan could have seen a mastodon before "Red Nails". The Dark Storm Chronology, the timeline I'm using, as Conan being in the Pictish Wilderness ("Beyond the Black River" & "The Black Stranger") directly prior to "Red Nails", which is a decent enough explanation as to why he compared the dragon to a Mastodon as opposed to an elephant, since they might've been fresh in his mind.



Iranistan is basically the most important, powerful and influential of the independent sub-factions, even in its current contracted state: if I decide to make the "Eastern Kingdoms" faction it is a part of playable, the capital would be there. Probably the best model to imagine is the Sassanid Empire with a little of the Achaemenids & Parthians thrown in : basically, the ultimate zenith of Persian culture.

All clues in the saga show that Iranistan had massive cultural influence in its neighbours: almost all nearby lands have some aspect of Iranistan culture. Howard seemed to imply a lot of back-and-forthing between Shemite and Iranistan rule in Eastern Shem and the Eastern Desert. Turan has adopted much Iranistani language into its military (Shahs etc), and the kings of both Turan and Stygia - the mightiest empires of the South and East - have Iranistani names, arguing possible intermixing or at least some cultural assimilation. Even the Hyborians worship Mitra, a god with an Iranistani name. And of course, the mightiest magical talisman of the Hyborian Age - the Heart of Ahriman - has an Iranistani name, implying an Iranistani origin. I would bet much of the "modern" Hyborian religion started in Iranistan.

So yeah, Iranistan's pretty important. :sweatdrop:



Cheers, I hope to get the preview up tomorrow/tonight. It'll probably be a tad text-heavy, though: mostly flavour images (though maybe one or two "surprises")

Ha ha ha!! OK, the noted 'historian' Lovecraft.

Thanx for the info. about Timnar or whatever.

Vendhya (India) was very powerful in Howard's world, more so than Iranistan I do believe. anyway, sound interesting.

I'd make a lot of the smaller states as rebels and have maybe an emerging state appear somewhere, becuase there are so many states in Howard's world.

We were gifted with 12" of snow here today and more is on the way Sunday, Monday and tuesday. Some places got 23" and 3-foot of snow here in the old USA and Canada. Quite common. Messy too and a drag to drive through. There are some good videos on YouTube showing the Great Lakes in storm conditions (they are inland seas with large waves and much wind like Vilayet(sp?)) and plenty of vids about some massive snowstorms. Here is Buffalo, NY in 1977 when a terrible storm hit. The vid is quite Arctic. These vids can put you in the mood when working on the northern states in your mod.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=m-gRb_MuUgg
Nordlanders buried in snow. This was also a disaster for the Picts.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vaVXBn94UpM&NR=1
Picts surfing off the coast of the future Cornwall, trying to get to shore and conduct a raid on other Picts.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JiEi59gm0io
The original Picts of King Kull's time on the southern shores of the Great Nordland and Pictish Lakes.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hCTj7Gkk7xk&feature=related
Picts at Whitefish Point, Lake Superior, Michigan, a dangerous place where the 729ft. freighter Edmund Fitzgerald went down. Bad currents and wind, not to mention gnarly waves that can reach 35ft., maybe 50-60ft. on this little borderland Nordland and Pictish Lake.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0R3cnFLZHv0&feature=related
Picts at it again surfing in the winter.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl4f3JlWdHQ&feature=related
Yet more and more Picts surfing.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IpFUU586MHM&feature=related
Aesir and/or Vanir warriors.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg4MPc7YUac
Big 'uns coming up da Duluth ship channel in da Nordland winter.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-KHiKurzsws&feature=related
Pictish Frank Zappa sings of the Yellow Snow in Pictland.

Chris

[Taranaich]

Ha ha ha!! OK, the noted 'historian' Lovecraft.

Thanx for the info. about Timnar or whatever.

No problem.


Vendhya (India) was very powerful in Howard's world, more so than Iranistan I do believe. anyway, sound interesting.

In Conan's time, Vendhya was a bigger player than Iranistan, probably just behind Turan. I don't think Iranistan was too far behind though, since the clues in "People of the Black Circle" paint the Iranistani as on similar footing to Vendhya and Ghulistan.

Unfortunately the same problem with Vendhya is the problem with Maurya in Roman era mods: too much too far off the map. Still, Vendhya's presence will be felt the further east on the map.

Fun slideshows, BTW. :2thumbsup:

[christof139]

No problem.

In Conan's time, Vendhya was a bigger player than Iranistan, probably just behind Turan. I don't think Iranistan was too far behind though, since the clues in "People of the Black Circle" paint the Iranistani as on similar footing to Vendhya and Ghulistan.

Unfortunately the same problem with Vendhya is the problem with Maurya in Roman era mods: too much too far off the map. Still, Vendhya's presence will be felt the further east on the map.

Fun slideshows, BTW. :2thumbsup:

Yeah, thanx again for the info. :yes:

Yeah, Venhya/India was/is BIG. Wasn't it also somewhat fragmented into many independent princedoms, with only a couple being VERY powerful?? Wasn't there also a fear that tribes of Iranistan would unite, and that the more powerful Vendyhans held sway over the fragmented tribes of Iranistan along their common border, but the Vendyhans were worried about the Iranistanians uniting?? Something like that I think.

Glad you have a good sense of humor and enjoyed the slideshow. Some of those Pictish and Nordlander Surfer/Raider types are a wee bit addled methinks. At least they like to get wet.

When you finish your mod it will become a classic.

Happy New Year!!!! :2thumbsup:

Chris

PS: Some of those Picts are more Irish than you think!!! :dizzy2:

[christof139]

Some more interesting views of Nordland and Pictland through a crystal seeing-stone. About 8F or -13.33C here now, still not nearly as cold as 0F (-17.77C) to -50F (-45.55C) or so:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xheqV0jX_OM&feature=related
Pictish Shaman's Lake House. Note the much larger waves farther out in the lake and look at the uneveness of the horizon. No Picts out fishing today.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=87pKV2-z-FI&feature=related
One 5 to 8-foot wave right behind the other on a bay in Lake Ontario. These waves pound the Pict canoes and any other boats and ships to pieces, tis why you don't see any Picts or anyone or anything else on the lake ATM. Further out in the lake the waves are much bigger. Note the Evil Pictish Shaman's Tower belching smoke in the distance, or is that a Hyperborean Wizard's Tower??

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NjrB03DsHQ0&feature=related
More of the same. Look at the horizon.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=AOpuhGZJlrE&feature=related
Pictish Shaman summons up the Steam Devils from the sea (Lake Ontario).

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GB5B84meSh0&NR=1
Nordlander sacrificial site on a point of 60-foot cliffs along Lake Superior.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia9SMxIqyIM&feature=related
Nordlander Wizard summons the Creeping Ice.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ct-5CEl5upM&feature=related
Picts get nailed by 16-foot wave on Gichigumee (Lake Superior) in the winter.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6yHNtVA9EmY&NR=1
More Picts getting wet. A strange trial of manhood or something.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cbaxf_oyVgM&feature=related
Nordlander on the shore in the winter talking with his gods, and saying 'Ouch!' when he gets hit with flying pieces of ice.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KI8PkvLbVTo&feature=related
Winter Waves pounding the shore underneath a Nordlander Keep on Gichigumee (Lake Superior). Maybe a Pictish Shaman is responsible for this weather?? The waves get bigger than this in fiercer winter winds/blizzards, but there are a few near 20-foot waves in this video.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Ee8y0hN1s&feature=related
Pict wondering why Lake Michigan is frozen. Could it be more evil magic.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ql7Z9NIA4&feature=related
Aquilonian commenting on frozen Lake Michigan at the town of Chicago.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UFPEb3jhFtc
Beach and lake are frozen.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=yvjJ64vWTIY
More evil wizardry affecting the waether and waves on Lake Michigan.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iquCHSkmUek&eurl=http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/tag/edmund-fitzgerald/
729-foot Argossian ship SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks off Pictish coast when the "Witch of November" visited Lake Superior. Especially watch from 1:20 to 3:05 minutes on the video. Especially at 3:00 when a 30-foot or so wave breaks over the deck of a simialr ship.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEwEfti7gRk&feature=related

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D7n0bbbK4kM&NR=1
Nordlander or Pict river before ...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CcdfdU5u-r4&NR=1
... and after some rain. No fishing or boats on the water today and for some time to come. Perhaps this is the Black or Thunder River between Aquilonia and Pictland???

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a_PYRjr0Kiw
The Great Cataclysm begins along the Zingaran and Pictish coasts. In the future, this area would be known as Britanny/Bretagne and the Bay of Biscay. This is truly the wrath of the gods.

Chris

PS: Make sure you have good seaworthy boats (Pict sailors on the Great Lakes call them 'boats' and not 'ships'.) in your mod.

[Taranaich]

Yeah, Venhya/India was/is BIG. Wasn't it also somewhat fragmented into many independent princedoms, with only a couple being VERY powerful??

Wasn't there also a fear that tribes of Iranistan would unite, and that the more powerful Vendyhans held sway over the fragmented tribes of Iranistan along their common border, but the Vendyhans were worried about the Iranistanians uniting?? Something like that I think.

You're thinking of Ghulistan, which was thrown into chaos when the Turanians took three of their biggest cities (as per the "People of the Black Circle" synopsis). Vendhya seemed to be pretty stable, but unlike the pastiches/later maps, it probably didn't control the entire subcontinent, with a substantial portion of the south ruled by Ghanara and the Thaggans (you'll hear about them in the future).

Iranistan was shown as a barely-intact country of tribes like Ghulistan in the pastiches, but I don't really see enough evidence to come to that conclusion in the few snippets we have. The sheer number of Persian influences in Turan & Stygia are too great to be coincidental, and more indicative (to me) of an organized, centralized empire than a tribeland. Contrary to most people's opinion on Howard, his history was never slap-dash: a reading of his historical books would show a great amount of detail and depth. Howard was very careful in choosing his Hyborian names: those that seem out of place are usually there for a reason. All the clues again point to Iranistan being an "Empire put to seed": one that was a mighty force in the past, but threatened by newer, younger empires.


PS: Some of those Picts are more Irish than you think!!! :dizzy2:

I don't doubt that! :D Very interesting (and sobering) clips, quite evocative of Northern Pictish climes. I have some dark plans for the Mountains of the Dead, northernmost part of the Pictish Wilderness (that area directly west of Cimmeria and south of Vanaheim).

[christof139]

Yeah, I have read some of the pastiches and have many of them. The only things 'historical' Howard wrote about the H. Age is some very short histories(y) that have been added to one (or two?) of his novels. All of his notes haven't been published as far as I know, however, ...

Seems that in one of the orginal 13 novels published (not all totally Howard's writings as you know), that Iranistan is described as fragmented, and perhaps that Ghulistan was actually once part of Iranistan (?), pointing to what you said about Iranistan once being an empire.

Yeah, somethings are very sobering. However, one must have a sense of humor concerning this and etc. I always liked nature, and hence my degree in Geology, even though I am and have been for some time a defunct geologist. Never worked in the field directly, just some related things. The videos on YouTube are great concerning nature and there are also some decent historical etc. ones.

I wish Howard had written more of Hyperborea, that very cold, isolated, and magic ridden place. The queen/sorceress reminds me a bit of the evil ice queen in the Narnia tales. Maybe the evil beings etc. of Narnia and the Warhammer world's Chaos Warriors and maybe even the Kislevites would be good to draw some more ideas from to flesh out the ice realm of Hyperborea. winter maps for the battles in the game, with maybe a battle setting in a large ice cave/fortress for one battle map, if anyone wants to take the time to mod that and it would be a lot of work.

Thaggans = Thuggies maybe?? Something like that would be good.

Yeah, the Irish are everywhere: at the Gaelic League, the Fratenal Order of Hybernians (or whatever it is called, I forget), the Polish American Legion (doesn't discriminate as to race or ethnicticity), in Mexico of course per the San Patrico(-tricio) Battalion and etc. Guiness is good to put in Bar-B-Q sauce BTW, as are most beers but particularily dark beers I prefer(ed). Polish Honey Mead is also good for a Bar-B-Q sauce ingredient. Ale and Mead would make a good trade resource for some nations of the Hyborian Age - would add some historical factuality.

Chris

PS: More evidence of the Irish being everywhere: Conan is replacing Jay Leno on the Tonight Show, originally starring Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon (Irish), or was it MacMahon (Scottish)?? The Scotti were an Irish tribe anyway as you know. :dizzy2::laugh4:

[Spartan198]

PS: Make sure you have good seaworthy boats (Pict sailors on the Great Lakes call them 'boats' and not 'ships'.) in your mod.
I'm fairly certain that REH's Hyborian Age Picts never took to the sea at all... :sweatdrop:

I mean, that's not to say they shouldn't have any sea-going craft, but their navy should be severely limited when compared to sea-faring kingdoms like Zingara and Argos.

[christof139]

Yeah, no kidding. :laugh4: Perhaps the Picts might have canoes and bateauxs (large canoes) as I mentioned, and/or Pacific Island type boats and maybe primitive catamarans.

Maybe they had boats like these big 1,000 foot plus canoes:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OHPPIBiXoMw&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTCZsEqYNbQ&NR=1

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EpvpqXwmaSQ

Not thousand-footers but still big canoes.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SYgcKv7BtbM&feature=related

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pVwePp3hcNA&feature=related
Oops!! :idea2::dizzy2:

In the meantime laugh a bit, it will help. :laugh4: Chris

[Taranaich]

Yeah, I have read some of the pastiches and have many of them. The only things 'historical' Howard wrote about the H. Age is some very short histories(y) that have been added to one (or two?) of his novels. All of his notes haven't been published as far as I know, however, ...

Not all of them, no, there are some drafts that haven't been published yet.


Seems that in one of the orginal 13 novels published (not all totally Howard's writings as you know), that Iranistan is described as fragmented, and perhaps that Ghulistan was actually once part of Iranistan (?), pointing to what you said about Iranistan once being an empire.

Ghulistan and Iranistan are most likely of the same root culture, and Iranistan's empire likely occupied a lot of the space Ghulistan takes now. I'm viewing Ghulistan as a relatively young kingdom in comparison to Vendhya and Iranistan, which grew quite a bit before Yezdigerd invaded.


I wish Howard had written more of Hyperborea, that very cold, isolated, and magic ridden place.

Me too. Indeed, there was the possibility that he would've written a story set there, since he mentioned the name of the King in his notes. Alas, twas not to be - though the clues sprinkled throughout the stories give a tantalizing glimpse into possibilities.


The queen/sorceress reminds me a bit of the evil ice queen in the Narnia tales. Maybe the evil beings etc. of Narnia and the Warhammer world's Chaos Warriors and maybe even the Kislevites would be good to draw some more ideas from to flesh out the ice realm of Hyperborea. winter maps for the battles in the game, with maybe a battle setting in a large ice cave/fortress for one battle map, if anyone wants to take the time to mod that and it would be a lot of work.

I'll be drawing on similar sources that Kislev & Chaos are based on: the Slavs, Rus, and other northern folk. Generally I've been shying away from the overtly sorcerous kingdom of the pastiches in favour of a more neutral civilized state, but with plenty of scope to take that route should the player want to. No Queen Vammatar, but Queen Katarina is very interested in the ancient mysteries of Elder Hyperborea. No White Hand, but the Scions of Eibon keep the dark mysterious of the legendary priest of Zhothaqquah. No giant purple warriors, but the giant warriors of Hyperborea are no less ferocious and terrible. Lots of torturing though.


Thaggans = Thuggies maybe?? Something like that would be good.

Pretty much a fusion of the Thuggees and the proliferation of gods called "Th-g" or some variation thereof throughout the world, yes: they strangle their victims to retain as much blood as possible for their demonic god's pleasure. The Cult of Yajur in Kosala is an offshoot from the original Thaggan cult merged with Old Kosalan religion & sorcery.


Ale and Mead would make a good trade resource for some nations of the Hyborian Age - would add some historical factuality.

Oh yes, trade resources will not get the shaft.


I'm fairly certain that REH's Hyborian Age Picts never took to the sea at all...

I mean, that's not to say they shouldn't have any sea-going craft, but their navy should be severely limited when compared to sea-faring kingdoms like Zingara and Argos.

And they will be: it would take a lot of canoes to take down a Zingaran or Argossean transport, and even then it would have to be an ambush that wouldn't allow said transport enough movement points to escape. It's only after the reforms when they learn more advanced sea engineering that they get the big catamarans - and even they would be toast against anything bigger than a galley. Plus they'll be quite expensive, since there isn't really that much reason for the Picts to go to sea in the first place.

[christof139]

Yeah, you have it figured out pretty good. Didn't Howard et al, in one of the 13 original books, have a story that dealt with Hyperbora, or maybe it was that he mentioned Hyperborea and a previous adventure Conan had there, maybe Conan was reflecting on this in the book, can't remember????

-11F (-23.8888C) here now (10AM) and last night, it is supposed to go up to +7F or +8F today. Temps.in other areas around here in the northern midwest and in Canada are hitting -20F and -30F and a bit more. Very Nordlander and Cimmerian and northern Pictish and Hyperborean like. It's at times like this that notherners howl at the celing because they can't see the moon since it is concealed by snow clouds and ice fog and it's too cold to howl around outside anyway. Makes sense to me. Yeah, make Hyperborea evily cold, frigidly insane, the White Hand or whatever would be a good order of evil sorcers and sorceresses, with large wolves/wargs running around with the rebels and brigands.

Yeah, Picts should only have canoes and war canoes with maybe catamarans latter, and maybe they can be somehow used on certain rivers in the game?? Maybe not, as the rivers would have to be too wide. So, maybe as jsut coastal ships restricted to the adjacent Pictich waters and maybe one sea area to the north and one to the south, if that is possible. Something like that.

Take care over there on the Emerald Isle and its Cliffs of Moher etc.

[Taranaich]

Yeah, you have it figured out pretty good. Didn't Howard et al, in one of the 13 original books, have a story that dealt with Hyperbora, or maybe it was that he mentioned Hyperborea and a previous adventure Conan had there, maybe Conan was reflecting on this in the book, can't remember????

Conan never talked about the Hyperboreans in the stories, but in a letter to P.S. Miller, Howard did say he was captured by them in his youth, and gained a hatred of them which would last his entire life. Conan never talked about other times that affected him deeply - Belit's death was another - it wouldn't surprise me that this would be the same. There are also lots of references straight and oblique to Hyperborea's insularity and propensity for violence & torture.


Yeah, Picts should only have canoes and war canoes with maybe catamarans latter, and maybe they can be somehow used on certain rivers in the game?? Maybe not, as the rivers would have to be too wide. So, maybe as jsut coastal ships restricted to the adjacent Pictich waters and maybe one sea area to the north and one to the south, if that is possible. Something like that.


Much of the Black River and some of Thunder River will be traversable by boat, with the possibility of developing the small fishing villages to ports and having tiny trade fleets. I'm going to try and use the shallow/deep water mapping so that the larger ships (& sea monsters) will be unable to go up river: that way we won't have galleons, polyremes (or krakens) going up rivers too shallow to accomodate them. Since the mod probably won't use the discovery of America element, it's as well to use the dynamic for something.


Take care over there on the Emerald Isle and its Cliffs of Moher etc.

I'll pass it on from Scotland. :beam:

[christof139]

Yeah, the 'discovery' of the Americas - even though they were already 'discovered' by the inhabitants and contained great civilizations - only pops up in 'Conan of the Isles'.

Scotland, hmmm, yes, it does say that under your avatar. I guess I relate Conan more to the Irish and in reality there isn't much difference between the Irish and Scots being as closely related as you all are, and the pipes exist in both places.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5P1M5qwBwo&feature=related
2006 Scottish/Irish Highlands Festival in Estes Park, Colorado. Mass band with several different bagpipe groups and the Marines playing Amazing Grace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99quMP4KVN4&feature=related
Happy St. Paddie's day!! Irish-American piper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZuq_mMDg20
From USA Veterans in Colorado. Features the King's Own Scottish Borderers and the Marine Air Land Combat Band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2zcgieFVtE
Scotland per Robbin Williams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZUZCoMKxA&feature=related
The Massed Bands, 700 pipers and drummers play together in Calgary (Canada, I do believe) at the 2006 Highland Games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84uMcdRg4YY&feature=related
Conan time period pipes and drums. This is WULF playing An Dro at the Loveland Castle in Ohio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrIUwo_GgmE&feature=related
Clann An Drumma at Culloden. This group is great!! The drummer on the right gets into it ten-fold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lg-7XS_Bc4&feature=related
Clann An Drumma and the walk for Wallace.

Yeah, I was wondering if the game had the shallow and deep water distinction thingie, good it does and you are doing what I was thinking.
I have METW2 but haven't played it in awhile, and have 2 decent compooters to play it on. Had about 5, but I upgraded and reduced the amount of compooters to 2. Too confusing for me.

Bonnie Prince Charlie was half Polish and it is a shame he didn't have some Polish cavalry and infantry at Culloden as that would have been the end of Cumberland.

Stolat!!! Chris

PS: Pictish boats; rafts > war canoes > outriggers > catamarans.

[Argent Usher]

Hi i want ask how much life is still in the barbarian because i have begun a own cthulhu mod which includes also some lore of your mod.
Well my mod will be for Empire but maybe you can use some material of my mod if needed.

Regards A.U.

[Spartan198]

Hi i want ask how much life is still in the barbarian because i have begun a own cthulhu mod which includes also some lore of your mod.
Well my mod will be for Empire but maybe you can use some material of my mod if needed.

Regards A.U.
Sounds to be an interesting mod.

[Helgi]

Quote:
I'm fairly certain that REH's Hyborian Age Picts never took to the sea at all...

I mean, that's not to say they shouldn't have any sea-going craft, but their navy should be severely limited when compared to sea-faring kingdoms like Zingara and Argos.

And they will be: it would take a lot of canoes to take down a Zingaran or Argossean transport, and even then it would have to be an ambush that wouldn't allow said transport enough movement points to escape. It's only after the reforms when they learn more advanced sea engineering that they get the big catamarans - and even they would be toast against anything bigger than a galley. Plus they'll be quite expensive, since there isn't really that much reason for the Picts to go to sea in the first place.

Quote: christof139

PS: Pictish boats; rafts > war canoes > outriggers > catamarans.

In the Story I've been working on, is set 500 years after Conan's death and as per a conversation with Taranaich and a couple other people. Some of the Polynesian canoe's made sense given that after the Picts spring out and shatter the Hyborian West.

[Taranaich]

Hi i want ask how much life is still in the barbarian because i have begun a own cthulhu mod which includes also some lore of your mod.

Still life in the barbarian, but there isn't much visual/text stuff to show, most of the recent stuff has been bugfixing and coding, trying to get the blasted custom battles working again. One of these days I'll get that bally Argos preview up... :sweatdrop:

And, under the suggestion/enthusiasm of my go-to scholar, I've decided to combine two factions (which were unplayable, so very little is lost) in order to include another playable faction, simply because they're too much fun to exclude, plus the area of the map they're in was just awfully empty without them. Their identity shall remain nameless (though you chaps'll probably guess easy enough!)

Probably the most irritating thing, though, is the "Multiple Atlanteans" conundrum: a bunch of recently unearthed/noticed facts have thrown some of the history I made up into complete disarray (specifically the Negari/Malayu material). It doesn't cause things to be ruled out, it just means a lot of amendments.

I'm very intrigued by this Cthulhu mod you speak of, and appreciate the offer for material: I'd be happy to return the favour. :2thumbsup:

[Spartan198]

And, under the suggestion/enthusiasm of my go-to scholar, I've decided to combine two factions (which were unplayable, so very little is lost) in order to include another playable faction, simply because they're too much fun to exclude, plus the area of the map they're in was just awfully empty without them. Their identity shall remain nameless (though you chaps'll probably guess easy enough!)

Oh, come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, I promise. :bigcry:

[Taranaich]

Oh, come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else, I promise. :bigcry:

I'll give you a clue: it's not Atlantis. :beam:

[Taranaich]

Been a bit quiet recently, so here's a little history.

"The Hyborian Age" is a fully-detailed account of the rise of the Hyborians, and has been used by scholars for decades to form a timeline of events prior to the age of Conan. The East has no such document yet discovered, and so an exploration into the history of the Blue East requires much conjecture. The result is briefly encapsulated in the following, and as it turns out, Iranistan - a nation barely mentioned in the Nemedian Chronicles - is of paramount importance to the recent history of the Blue East...

The Blue East

After the Great Cataclysm, the remnants of the mighty Thurian-era nations were scattered and depopulated to a mere percentage. There may have been as few as a thousand-score people alive on the earth, hurled into savagery and barbarism. As the centuries progressed, humanity began to recover: new cultures started to emerge around the Zaporoska, Illbars, Jhumda, Tanada and Yamuna rivers. These aboriginals continued the climb to civilization, until Empire came to their borders. Twenty thousand years before the Age of Conan (BAC), the Elder Stygian Empire conquered much of the Blue East, reaching its greatest extent at the Zaporoska River and Himelian mountains. The centre of civilization for the Blue East was Kuthchemes, and the client Shemite cities advanced rapidly into shining citadels under its watchful gaze. However, the glory of Elder Stygia would come crashing down three thousand years BAC, with the coming of the Hyborians.

Birth of Iranistan

During the reign of Thugra Khotan, a vast horde of scale armoured, wolf-skin clad Kothic barbarians rampaged from the northeast, a confederation called the Irani. Tribes were scattered, cities razed and plundered, and even the dark arts of Thugra Khotan and his acolytes were not enough to stem the blood-tide. The Irani swarmed over Kuthchemes, pillaging and looting all they could find, until the city was a red and black ruin. However, the Irani did not settle: they continued on their bloody tear through the East. Eventually they hit the Southern Ocean and could not continue their storm, and settled on the coastline.

Five hundred years later, and the Hyborian devastation yet remained. Stygia has fortified its borders on the interior shore of the Styx, and the new Hyborians have started to collect into tiny kingdoms, while the older kingdoms of Corinthia, Ophir and Koth expand their territory into former Acheronian lands. However, on the golden shores of the Southern Ocean, a grand civilization is forming: Iranistan. Formed from the city-states of the Irani horde, Iranistan is expanding rapidly, and encompasses the lands roughly analogous to its current form, but also encompassing what are know Ghulistan and the Cherkess mountains. It has strong neighbours in the fledgling Vendhya and the Himelian mountain tribes, but there is nothing to check their expansion westward, which it does with enthusiasm.

Another five hundred years, and the Hyborian Age as Conan knows it is beginning to shape. The kingdoms of Karaban, Pellia, Attalus, Torh, Thune and Goralia are welded by alliance or conquest into a greater kingdom, that of Aquilonia, joining Argos and Nemedia as the new Hyborian nations, pushing back the grasping fingers of Ophir, Koth and Corinthia. Hyrkanian tribes have appeared just outside the map's borders on the eastern shores of the Vilayet. In the five hundred years since its formation, the Irani have exploded, tripling in size. Having absorbed their Ghuli neighbours and dominating the white-clad nomads and indigenous tribes of the Cherkess mountains, the Irani empire ranges from Akbitana in the west to Secunderam in the east.

The Irani Empire

https://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4111/conantotalwariranistani.th.jpg (https://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=conantotalwariranistani.jpg)

For a thousand years, Irani reigns unchallenged in the east: Stygia broods in the west, Vendhya has to contend with their Ghanara and Kosalan rivals, and the predations of bandits and barbarian tribes have been thwarted by their indomitable military machine. Many peoples bow to the knee of the Emperor: the Cherkess, the Ghuli, Timnar, as well as allied states like Bakhara. Many Irani tribes such as the Qaradis, Tokharians and Ezedons have their own lands within the empire, and treated as equals by the ruling tribal dynasty. Entire peoples have even been stationed in parts of the empire for defense: the Aphaki Shemites patrol the northern Eastern Desert, the Zaheemi Shemites watch the Kothic Escarpment, the dangerous Skalathi ride in the lands between the Zaporoska and Illbars to beat down Zaporoskan uprisings, and Eksuumite Black Kingdomers guard the southern border.

The Iranistani are constantly attempting to expand their territory, with limited success. With the backing of Stygia, the Pelishtim are unconquerable. The distant ancestors of Koth are tough fighters, with many tales of heroism and glorious sacrifice emerging from the Irani-Kothic wars. For the better part of that millennium, intermittent wars between Iranistan and Stygia, Pelishtia, Koth and various barbaric tribes meant that the swords of the Azadan were rarely allowed to rust.

However, it was not all bloodshed. While Stygia frequently warred with Iranistan, there was a great deal of cultural exchange too: Iranistani art, industry, technology, and princesses were traded between the two nations. As such, occasionally a Stygian noble would be given an Iranistani name, a relic from a short Iranistani dynastic rule from the middle period of the empire. Ctesphon, the current ruler of Stygia, is an example of the impact the Iranistan/Stygia culture exchange still has on the nation. Iranistani influence can also be found in Koth, the Eastern Shemite kingdoms, even in Turan, itself having its origins as a satrapy of the Iranistani Empire.

Yet as with all empires, the curtain must fall. It took a lot to topple Iranistan's empire: shattering schisms, betrayal, barbaric invasions, blackest sorcery, natural disaster. Iranistan held out valiantly, but eventually the odds were too much, and the greatest empire of that age faded into memory.

Fall of the Irani Empire

https://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7351/conantotalwariranistanb.th.jpg (https://img135.imageshack.us/my.php?image=conantotalwariranistanb.jpg)

750 BAC, the great Irani empire collapses into fragments. The death of the Emperor, who in his folly had all his relatives executed without leaving an heir, left the empire in chaos. Its allies Ghulistan, Bakhara and Khorala, which were never truly part of the empire so much as willing confederates, broke away when various threats came to their kingdoms and they turned to their own troubles. The Eksuumite tribes have established their own kingdom, and are largely autonomous, though they will occasionally lend aid. Much of what is now Saa'bah is ruled by Iranistan save Saa'bah itself, as is Timnar. Iranistan at this time covers an area roughly the size of Stygia, most of the Eastern Desert and the Iranistan homeland: this area is known as Greater Iranistan to later historians. Cherkessia is still loyal, as are the various tribes and clans absorbed into Iranistan society. Other realms of the empire are not as loyal: in addition to the above, former Irani lands splintered into independent entities, and for generations they would fight against Greater Iranistan and each other.

The first of these powers was the Empire of Shushan. The ruler of Shushan was a charismatic and wily Shemite general, who attained great prestige in battles against Koth and the Zaporoskans. With the empire in disarray, the general united the historically Shemite cities of Shushan, Zamboula, Akbitana, Eruk, Shumir and Nippr into an empire of his own, founding the Empire of Shushan. At its greatest extent, the Empire of Shushan was almost the same size as modern Aquilonia, though never gaining more territory than Greater Iranistan. Shushan would prove a powerful rival, echoing the rivalry in the Middle Eastern kingdoms of the Dark/Middle ages, amassing tremendous wealth and power.

The second power to emerge was the Khorosun Sultanate. During Iranistan's golden age, Khorosun was recently populated with Turanian tribesmen federates, led by the appointed Sultan of Khorosun and his feared Skalathoi bodyguard. For a few centuries they were stalwart warriors, defending against their wilder kin's raids, and assisting in campaigns against Stygia. However, a decade or so before the Schism, the new Sultan was unhappy with his role, and eager for more power. The Sultan was secretly gathering his Turanian allies across the border for a revolt: when Shushan broke away, the Sultan saw his chance, and openly revolted, bringing hordes upon hordes of Turanian and allied Hyrkanian tribesmen into the lands around Khorosun, including Secunderam. The seeds of the Turanian Empire were sown in the Khorosun Sultanate.

The final major power was the Khawarizmian Shahdom. With Shushan and Khorosun breaking away, the ambitious Shah of Khawarizm seized the opportunity to make his own empire. With the Iranistan territory cut off from the rest of the empire by Shushan lands, it was relatively easy for him to simply bully the stranded and helpless outer cities into bending their knee to him, and gave Khawarizm enough strength to expand to the northern steppes, as far north as the Illbars Delta.

For a century or so Shushan and Iranistan would snarl at each other with the Khorosun sultanate harrying Iranistan, and Khawarizm cackling out of reach, until the Shemite cities rebelled - possibly a result of Western Shemite aggression or interference - and Shushan collapsed in on itself. Unfortunately for Khawarizm, Khorosun saw the western nation as a useful staging ground for the west: after Shushan fell, Khawarizm was next, and within a matter of decades Khawarizm was totally absorbed into the fledgling empire of Turan. Eventually a combination of inner strife, the invasion of the Aphaka and Zuagir tribes into the desert, Turanian conquest, Stygian retaking of territory across the Styx and other disasters would cause Greater Iranistan to fall, but without dealing the death blow to Iranistan itself. Thus is the state of the Blue East.

...

So, what does this have to do with the mod? Well, colour obviously: the western Hyborians have an Acheron to look back on, I felt it was fitting for the Blue East to have a similar history, to give the region more verisimilitude. Most of all, the Irani Empire is of considerable cultural importance to a few factions, some details of which figure into victory conditions, religion, ethnicity, buildings, technologies and even units. :inquisitive:

A lot of it is based on some, ahem, wild extrapolation from the stories: the Empire of Shushan, for example, is spawned from a single line in "Queen of the Black Coast": "Bêlit's eyes were like a woman's in a trance. The Shemite soul finds a bright drunkenness in riches and material splendor, and the sight of this treasure might have shaken the soul of a sated emperor of Shushan." Although Shushan is a Shemite city in Conan's time as of "Black Colossus", its historical counterpart Susa was part of a great many empires. Therefore, rather than make the Shushan Empire something glib like a jumped-up Shushan king bullying a few neighbouring cities and proclaiming himself an emperor, I felt the phrase denoted something more grand than that, so I decided to make the Empire of Shushan a historical empire, albeit a former one. The Khorosun Sultanate and Khawarizmian Shahdom are borne from more speculation than with Shushan, but I think it works well with the stories and complements their historical namesakes: Khorasan and Khwarezm being powers in their own right after an empire's fall, before being absorbed by other empires.

Until the next update, see if you can guess the origin of the new Iranistan city names (Yzdagar, Takhtemit, Zhiruzi, Faraza), and those of the new cultures (Skalathi, Eksuum, Qaradistan, Ezedon, Tokharistan). :book:

[Meneldil]

Your mod (and Age of Conan - too bad this MMO was at the end of the day a bit lacking) convinced me to read Conan's tales. :2thumbsup:

Quite a shame that you're working alone. Having started a few mods myself (none of them came near to a release), I know how much work it is. Good luck.

Gonna read that part about Iranistan now ;)

[Justiciar]

A grand read, as usual! :2thumbsup:


Until the next update, see if you can guess the origin of the new Iranistan city names (Yzdagar, Takhtemit, Zhiruzi, Faraza), and those of the new cultures (Skalathi, Eksuum, Qaradistan, Ezedon, Tokharistan). :book:The only ones I can place at the moment are Eksuum (Axum?), Qaradistan (Kurdistan?), and Tokharistan (Tocharians?).

[artavazd]

Until the next update, see if you can guess the origin of the new Iranistan city names (Yzdagar, Takhtemit, Zhiruzi, Faraza), and those of the new cultures (Skalathi, Eksuum, Qaradistan, Ezedon, Tokharistan).


Yzdagar- From King Yezdgert of the Sassanid era.

Zhiruzi- maybe from the Farsi word for Victory "Piroozi" ?

Skalathi- From the Sctyians, or Sarmatians?

Ezedon-Maybe from the Farsi word for Free "Azat"?

[Taranaich]

Your mod (and Age of Conan - too bad this MMO was at the end of the day a bit lacking) convinced me to read Conan's tales. :2thumbsup:

Awesome to hear that! Don't stop at Conan, though, all REH's tales are worth it. His historical tales are pretty damn impressive in their accuracy considering the few sources he had to work with.


A grand read, as usual! :2thumbsup:

The only ones I can place at the moment are Eksuum (Axum?), Qaradistan (Kurdistan?), and Tokharistan (Tocharians?).

Three silver lunas for you, good sir!


Yzdagar- From King Yezdgert of the Sassanid era.

Zhiruzi- maybe from the Farsi word for Victory "Piroozi" ?

Skalathi- From the Sctyians, or Sarmatians?

Ezedon-Maybe from the Farsi word for Free "Azat"?

First and third get you two silver lunas, two more up for grabs! For Zhiruzi, think capitals: for Ezedon, think nomads. Of course, the beauty is that Piroozi and Azat are just as viable etymology for Iranistan as anything else.

[Spartan198]

Great read, T. I'm gonna have a blast rebuilding the Irani Empire...someday. ;)

[Justiciar]

First and third get you two silver lunas, two more up for grabs! For Zhiruzi, think capitals: for Ezedon, think nomads.Ezedon.. Ossetia, perhaps? As for Zhiruzi.. 'tis beyond me.

[Taranaich]

Great read, T. I'm gonna have a blast rebuilding the Irani Empire...someday. ;)

:beam:


Ezedon.. Ossetia, perhaps? As for Zhiruzi.. 'tis beyond me.

Alright then:

Ezedon - The Issedones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issedones). I have quite a weird and dark history lined up for them. :skull:

Zhiruzi - Shiraz. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiraz) The cities of Iranistan often have an epithet related to the creative arts - Zhiruzi is "The City of Poets", where many of the great epics of Iranistan culture are kept, some being passed on to Iranian legend.

[Justiciar]

Issedones?

I've heard of them. Who says I haven't?!

[christof139]

Yeah, they're like the Caledones, and Iceahcones, Dalekahdones, Creamcones, Clonedones, Fartazones, Chromedomes, and Dogbones, etc.

[Helgi]

Have to agree with Spartan once again, the history of the Blue East was a good read, looking forward to the next update

[Spartan198]

Any updates for us, T?

[Taranaich]

Good news and bad news.

Good news: some very exciting stuff underway, with some great possibilities that I've been busy preparing for, that I cannot yet divulge. :beam:

Bad news: it isn't related to CTW.:no:

However, work hasn't faltered from its slow but heroic snail-pace. An update is taking shape though, this time with screenshots!

[christof139]

Groovey!!!

[Cadwalader]

That is good news indeed.

[Taranaich]

Sorry about the lack of updates folks: I somehow managed to break the mod, and for days upon days I was tearing my hair out... only to realise I put a single space in the ModDB file where I needed a double space. That file is a nightmare to the non-maths oriented. :sweatdrop:

Anyway, after a week on holiday to see some family friends, a proper update WILL come around. In the meantime, check out The Cimmerian (http://www.thecimmerian.com/) blog: they got a new blogger there. Hopefully he'll be a boon to the site, and not embarass them too much. :book:

[Meneldil]

Cool stuff. Can we expect an update of the map?

It's quite a shame this mod doesn't get more attention. Did you think about asking for your own mod section on TWC? It's much more active than the org, mod-wise. I know you're doing it for your own pleasure, but - having been member of 2 modding teams - that cheering from the crowd is always nice.

[Taranaich]

A map update: maybe, not a full map since there are still a few things to sort out. The forts dynamic of kingdoms has given me a lot of fun new things to play with.

I used to have a place on TWC, but after a month of inactivity it got moved somewhere, and I don't know how to get it back. :no:

[Satyros]

Just stating my support , move along , nothing to see here .

Be well man .

Satyros

[Calaurin]

Hello everyone, I usually am just one of the many "silent" readers (and delighted users of the final results, of course :sweatdrop: ) of the TW forums, but this time I felt my duty to register here and give my support to Taranaich 's awesome job, and to any people who is helping him !

I've always been a huge Howard 's fan, and I'm waiting in trepidation for the release of this Conan mod... it promises many hours of pure fun (Koth forever!)

Keep up the great job ! :2thumbsup:

[oz_wwjd]

Just a quick question:will the genrals in Conan:total war give speeches like in MTW2 at the beginning of the battle? I'm really looking forward to playing as The Kingdom of Aquilonia,but conan wasn't exactly known for giving speeches at the beginning of the battle,so excessive and long things like that would ruin the fun of playing as conan,at least for me

[keravnos]

Don't worry Taranaich. We're here. Take all the time you need, and if you need motivation, well, read some Conan. :2thumbsup:

[Taranaich]

I've always been a huge Howard 's fan, and I'm waiting in trepidation for the release of this Conan mod... it promises many hours of pure fun (Koth forever!)

Keep up the great job ! :2thumbsup:

Thanks for the support, Calaurin!


Just a quick question:will the genrals in Conan:total war give speeches like in MTW2 at the beginning of the battle? I'm really looking forward to playing as The Kingdom of Aquilonia,but conan wasn't exactly known for giving speeches at the beginning of the battle,so excessive and long things like that would ruin the fun of playing as conan,at least for me

It depends: I know a couple of friends who've done acting who I might be able to hoodwink into doing voices. There really aren't a lot of pre-battle speeches in the stories: if, for example, Conan has anything at all, it'll be something short and sweet like a battle cry, slogan or bloodcurdling roar. "Split their skulls to the teeth!" "Hang their hides on the bramble!" "Varnish the battlefield with their brains!"

Some of the other generals might have short pep talks. Something I'm looking into is rousing songs: the Song of the Bossonian Archers, for instance, Cimmerian dirges, Nordic battle refrains and the like, as well as nastier stuff like demonic Stygian chanting and Pictish howls.


Don't worry Taranaich. We're here. Take all the time you need, and if you need motivation, well, read some Conan. :2thumbsup:

Cheers guys, you're all showing inhuman levels of patience.

[Crom]

Wow, everything you've done so far looks awesome Taranaich. This would have to be the greatest idea for a mod, controlling the kingdoms in Howard's Hyborian Age. All I can say is thank you for doing it as I also registered just so I could congratulate you on your great recreation.

By Crom it will be fun to command the Cimmerians!...

Keep up the great work!

[Taranaich]

Wow, everything you've done so far looks awesome Taranaich. This would have to be the greatest idea for a mod, controlling the kingdoms in Howard's Hyborian Age. All I can say is thank you for doing it as I also registered just so I could congratulate you on your great recreation.

Cheers Crom! I certainly thought the Hyborian Age was a great place for a wargame.


By Crom it will be fun to command the Cimmerians!...

It certainly will be: uniting the tribes alone will be a game in itself. Of course, that's if you want to make a Cimmerian nation: you might just want to get a head start on the Ice Age and pick a nice spot at the Vilayet, or just raise some hell in Aquilonia. :beam:


Keep up the great work!

Thanks!

[artavazd]

Is the mod still being worked on?

[Calaurin]

Is the mod still being worked on?

I really,really, really hope so... :yes:

[Spartan198]

I'm fairly sure it is. Taranaich is a man of few words. :yes:

[Jerat]

Hmm, it would be nice to hear something of this mod....

[Fríðálvur]

Hmm, it would be nice to hear something of this mod....

I Think so Too.

This Mod Looks amazing.:yes: Hope it is'nt dead...:yes:

[The Wicked]

Me too...!

[oz_wwjd]

Me as well. Just a quick question: Will conan die as such,or will there be a script event of him handing his kingdom to his son when he feels it's the right time? He never actually died in the Howard novels that I've read he abdciated in favour of his son. Also will Conan be routable in battle,or will he stay and fight to the last man? He doesn't seem to be afraid of much, In the Scarlet Citadel he's facing down pretty much an entire army at the beginning.

[Lurtz]

I think it would be silly if the mod died now, I mean Mr. T has made so many great models already (it would be a waste to throw all that hard work away).

[Calaurin]

UP !!!
Please Taranaich, let us know how things proceed with this beautiful mod... we are all crossing our fingers !

[born2dive67]

Last I remeber he had one person helping him but it seems thats not the case anymore :( I also remember he was helping out with a ROME Mod but I know not which one or if its been completed. Like everyone else I would really love to see this mod come to life.

[Jerat]

I want to play this mod, the Conan universe would be a very good scenario for a total war game. But it really seems that this mod is dead :(

[Lurtz]

He didn't even respond to an e-mail I've sent him a while ago.

[Calaurin]

Oh my...
I just don't want to think that this mod will be abandoned. :no:
As Lurtz said, such a lot of beautiful work cannot be thrown away!

Some words from Taranaich could make some light on the matter, maybe?

[Lurtz]

It always pains me to see mods die like this, espescially since the artist is very talented ansd has come so far.

As I said before, a while ago I've sent him an e-mail asking him if I could finish the mod and get his files to save me the time and trouble. I'm affraid that after all this time I'm too occupied with my other projects.

[Calaurin]

It always pains me to see mods die like this, espescially since the artist is very talented ansd has come so far.

As I said before, a while ago I've sent him an e-mail asking him if I could finish the mod and get his files to save me the time and trouble. I'm affraid that after all this time I'm too occupied with my other projects.

I understand you Lurtz, but I'm sure that a lot of people would be happy even if you or someone else could just say that this mod will be completed someday!
Everything is acceptable, if the mod will just not be abandoned :no:

[Lurtz]

I'm affraid it's the truth, it can't be that hard for Taranaich or one of the team members to respond to a question once a month (it has almost been a year since Taranaich was last online).

[The Wicked]

no i cannot believe that the mod is dead......

[Helgi]

This is indeed sad news, I had looked forward to this mod... I can only hope that Taranaich saw's up in near future and finishes the project or gives it over to Lurtz (Yes this is wishful thinking, I know but one can hope)...

[Satyros]

I really hope it is not dead .

Whatever the state of the mod , be well Taranaich , and thank you for working on this mod .

Satyros

[Lurtz]

For anyone who is interested to know, Taranaich has been active here on the 30th of may this year so in regard to that I have tried to contact him again about taking over his project.

I am also awaiting posting approval at a different forum to be able to contact him there (he was active today), this was possible thanks to Spartan198 so a special thanks to him. I will inform you guys when I have news. One last thing, if I am able to continue Taranaich's beautiful work then I'll be relocating this project to twc.

[Populus Romanus]

Good news.

[Lurtz]

I guess any news is good news :P. I'm still waiting for my account to be validated at the other site which is annoying, normally you can post right away when you join a new forum.

[Cadwalader]

That's good news indeed! Terrible shame if nothing ever comes of this mod.

Also glad to hear that Taranaich is active somewhere. I was beginning to think he'd died or something similarly tragic.

[Lurtz]

Spartan198 has contacted Taranaich for me, but unfortunately Taranaich hasn't responded to his message. This makes me think that taranaich has abandoned modding and this project in particular which makes me angry since he should at least announce that he stopped working on this, he hasn't even responded to my posts in this forum while he has been active a few months ago (after I posted).

[born2dive67]

He actually listed the MOD on that site as well, but as of 25 Mar 11 someone named Deuce there posted this


"Mr. Harron is still compiling the EH. No time for the mod. The mod would be just another (if highly superior) REH/Conan pastiche. The technology could very well be outdated tomorrow.

The encyclopaedia, on the other hand, will be a sourcebook for all and sundry pasticheurs in EVERY media, whether that be prose, comics, gaming or films. Since all entries will have their source in Howard (NO pastiches), would-be pasticheurs best read the EH before attempting an "interpretation".

No more excuses about "I didn't know, so I made it up."

That, IMO, is far more important than any videogame.

All that said, Al's mod (as far as it went) DID kick ass. "

[Lurtz]

So this means it will never come out.