The Hyborian Age - Total War

[Taranaich]

"Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyberborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its chivalry, Koth that bordered on the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania whose riders wore steel and silk and gold. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."

Thus began the legend of Conan, one of the great literary icons of the 20th Century.

The Hyborian Age was an age of splendour and decadence, of golden civilization and savage barbarism, of proud swordsmen and eldritch sorceries. Most of all, it was an age of war.

The Hyborian Age: Total War is a project to bring the world of Robert E. Howard into the Medieval 2: Total War engine, to recreate the lost era of the Hyborians.

About Me

I'm completely new to the practical side of modding, but I've been working on the background to THATW for a few years, since the original Medieval in fact. There are various Conan mods for role-players like Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights, but the epic warfare and grand histories of civilizations so far haven't been attempted. I'm doing most of the work myself, though naturally I'd welcome any help on the project.

Still not convinced? Here are a few screens of those dark-haired, sullen-eyed dreamers of dark dreams, the Cimmerians:


The average Cimmerian ceitherne, or warband, is worth ten civilized men in battle, twenty in defense of their land. Dour and moody, they are ferocious warriors when defending their lands or avenging a slight against their clan, but they have little patience or interest in invasions or sieges.


Although every Cimmerian is a warrior when the times demand it, many Cimmerian men enjoy the bloody rage of battle enough to take it up as a vocation, as a member of the bonnachta (paid warriors). They can be found as mercenaries for Hyborian kingdoms, or tagging along with other Cimmerian or Nordic campaigns when their own tribe is at relative peace.


Cimmerian rastriagha (berserkers) are obsessive warriors, adventuring and plundering their Nordic neighbours and the soft Hyborian lands to the south. They wield big nasty claymores, useful for splitting the skulls of savages and discourteous civilized folks alike. They frequently enter a trance-like state of gloominess and emptiness, where they would lose themselves entirely in the bloodshed. Unlike their lusty and hearty Nordic neighbours, Cimmerian berserkers are unsettlingly emotionless and silent, never uttering a word during their cold, relentless reaping of heads and lives.


Some professional Cimmerian warriors prefer the use of a great axe to a claymore, and utilize great skill in crushing bone and plate armour with their mighty weapons. These warriors, the Scriostóira (destroyers), are frequently found on the borders of Aquilonia and the wild Border Kingdom, where plate-armoured knights are more likely to be on the other side of a battleground. They are every bit as deadly as the rastriagha, although they require much greater control of their minds considering the caliber of their chosen nemesis, the heavily armoured juggernauts of the Hyborian lands.

So what's worse than seeing a blood-crazed barbarian warrior charging at you?

When he's brought his mates.

[Gurkhal]

It's great to see a Hyborian Age mod as a Howard fan. And I damn love those Cimmerians you've done.

Is there any information on how great part of the world which will be included? Faction list and like?

[Dimeola]

used to be a company in Tempe Az called Reality Sims that had a good mail game called Hyborian War. There would be some excellent info there. Will be looking forward to this mod.
Good luck

[Taranaich]

It's great to see a Hyborian Age mod as a Howard fan. And I damn love those Cimmerians you've done.

Cheers.

Is there any information on how great part of the world which will be included? Faction list and like?

Sure is. I'm taking a leaf out of The Fourth Age and concentrating on a particular region, but because half the factions are already in the game (Hyrkanians = Mongols, Aquilonia = France, Nemedia = HRE etc) I hope to have a substantial enough map.

The first stage of the mod will focus on the northwest, hopefully with some neat Howardian subtitle. The factions will be Cimmeria, Asgard, Vanaheim, Aquilonia, Nemedia, Hyperborea, and the Pictish Confederacy, though I'd like to also stick Zingara, Brythunia and Ophir in too.

After that, if all goes well, I'll extend the map south to include Koth, Corinthia, Argos, Pelishtia and Stygia. Finally I'll extend east to Turan, the Zuagir Horde, Zamora, Vendhya and Hyrkania. If I can get my head around adding new factions I hope to include Kush, Tombalku, Zembabwei, Keshan, Iranistan, Khitai, Ghulistan and Kosala.

Here's the map I hope to use, utilizing the latest research of Howard scholars:

[Gurkhal]

Starting with a small part of the world seems resonible enough, more than enough action for everyone to go around.

These links might be of intresst for you.

http://hyboria.xoth.net/

http://www.reality.com/hwpking.htm

[Taranaich]

Thanks for the links Gurkhal.

Well so far we have a few Cimmerians, but they need someone to fight. So who better than their ancient enemies, the Picts?


Tribesmen
The average Pictish tribesman would be largely similar tribe to tribe, with only a couple of tattoos or symbols denoting their totem animal. They are fairly flexible troops, capable in defense and attack, and in sufficient numbers to act as meat shields. These warriors can be defeated easily by superior Hyborian troops, but used in conjunction with other, more specialized troops they can be deadly.


Hunters
As well as war, all Picts are trained to hunt efficiently in the wilderness they live in, but just as some Picts choose to concentrate on warfare, some Picts specialize in hunting as their vocation. These warriors are normally safe to hunt in peace, and exempt from the predations of hostile tribes, as it is a grave offense among Picts to kill one of Jhebbal-Sag’s children while in hunting-paint. In times of war, however, these hunters scrub off their distinctive hunt markings to paint themselves in the unmistakable war paint of the Picts. A lifetime of hunting the deadliest animals on the earth has made them effective ambushers, and whilst not as effective in a melee as a warband, they have more than enough warrior spirit to prove a dependable support unit in a battle.


Warband
Picts have a great love of war and bloodshed, and so it is natural that most Pictish men take up service in the patrols and warbands of their tribe. While all Pictish men are trained for battle, the vast expanses of the wilderness mean that tours of duty can last weeks, so a rota of warriors is established: these Warbands are sent to see off any intruders, whilst the tribesmen remain at the village to defend it in their absence. They use the highly versatile spear, carrying a couple extra to hurl at foes before closing into the melee.


Warriors
For most of the Hyborian Age the Pictish culture was in a strange state of suspended animation: it neither advanced nor retrogressed. However, some Picts nearer the civilized lands have the cunning to steal or even trade for high-quality Hyborian steel, usually from the Zingarans. These warriors are few in number, but highly skilled and armed, wielding their steel with the ease they would an axe or spear. If the Pictish Revolution is triggered, then these troops can be upgraded to light mail and scale mail, becoming a disciplined fighting force with the ferocity of a thousand years of barbarism - a deadly combination that could bring the civilized lands to their knees.


Tiger Warriors
Each Pictish tribe has an elite group of warriors that put their regular troops to shame. The wild Tiger Picts of the central Wilderness have evolved a patience akin to their totem, choosing to advance silently before pouncing. Like many Pictish elites they are frighteningly adept at hiding in the jungles, and can appear out of nowhere to even experienced woodsmen. These warriors have proven their aptitude at ambush and quick, silent kills, their final test being the slaying of a tiger. Those who fail usually die: those who succeed are lauded, for only a tiger can kill another. As reward he is permitted to bear the skins of his brother as proof that he is of the tiger's brethren.

And here are some of the faction symbols

Top Row: Aquilonia, Nemedia, Zingara, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea
Second Row: Cimmeria, Asgard, Vanaheim, The Pictish Confederacy

More coming soon, I'm trying to add as much variation as I can to the Picts.

[Gurkhal]

Love those Picts, as well as the faction symbols.

Although am I being mistaken, or is the skin of the body darker than that of the face on those models?

[Taranaich]

They're wearing white paint which could give that impression. :)

[Helgi]

Bwain was working on this for Rome total War, until he got swamped with metal mayham

I hope this Project does not suffer the same fate as did Bwain's attempt to bring us The Hyborian Age - Total War

Looking foward to this mod

[Taranaich]

Cheers mate. I've actually been in contact with Bwian, who has been very helpful and informative to me over this. He's even very kindly given his permission for me to scavenge from of his models from Warhammer, though to be truthful I'd rather make my own attempt at modeling before using other people's stuff.

Continuing with the barbarians, here come the Aesir!

The Aesir are proving pretty difficult, as it's hard to give them big flowing beards and horned helmets without having to delve deep into modeling, which is a worrying prospect. I have all the tools and some tutorials, but it's finding a good starting point that's the problem.


Oxmen (Axemen)
Every man in Nordic society knows how to wield a shield and axe, and when times are grim kings will summon these farmers and craftsmen from their homes to defend their land. They are not particularly well trained nor well equipped, but very well motivated to battle, and they can use their trusty household handaxes to good effect so long as they are not committed to the hardest fighting.


Hirdmen (Swordsmen)
Hirdmen are the sworn companions of mighty Nordic chieftains – great fighters loyal to the death to the nobleman they serve. They are stalwart warriors in either attack or defense, but excel in the dense and almost unbreakable shield-wall. Like the Huskarls, these men are handpicked veterans given the best that their lord’s generosity can provide.


Huscarls
The Huscarls are the elite forces of the great Nordic kings and athelings. Veteran warriors, hand picked, given the very best equipment and fed from the lord’s table. They swear the mead-bargain with their lord, giving loyalty to the death in return for mead, wealth and land. It is considered the greatest disgrace to live if your lord dies, and such men will be condemned to live as exiles. As a result, these units have exceptional morale, and will fight to the death rather than retreat unless their lord orders it.


Berserkers
Dedicated to Ymir, the Frost-Giant of Nordic mythology, these men are an elite among the Nordic warriors, set aside for war. They protect themselves with little other than animal pelts and an unshakeable belief in their own invulnerability, hurling themselves against the enemy line in reckless fury. They are best used to shatter enemy defensive lines before the warbands pour in behind them, for they can rarely be held back long enough for any sustained defense.


Jarls
Jarls are the closest thing the Nordheimir have to a nobility: the chiefs and sons of chiefs who commit their tribe's forces to their local King's army. They are the most well-equipped of the Nordheimir, and act similarly to a general's bodyguard. They wear heavy scale mail, the heaviest armour available to the barbarians at the start of the game, but through conquest or alliance can gain access to plate mail in the campaign.

And a look at the first campaign map, providing I can get a handle around making the darned thing:


Sadly it looks like the Zingarans won't be making an appearance, since extending the map further would encroach on Koth, Corinthia and Argos, and that's probably too much for the first build.

The Vanir are pretty much just the Aesir with red beards, but I'm trying to give both sides unique units so it's not like playing the Scipii/Brutii/Julii.

The Aquilonians & Nemedians are pretty much done too, just need to figure out the bump maps. Hyperborea's also shaping up, and since Howard says very little about the nation I've been given a bit of creative leeway.

[Gurkhal]

Great work. Although I'd like to ask about one thing:

Dedicated to Ymir, the Frost-Giant of Nordic mythology,

would it not be more sensible to simply name Ymir the patron of the Aesir and Vanir? Do they (Vanir and Aesir) even have any other gods except Ymir?

[Taranaich]

No others are mentioned, but there's no reason to assume Ymir's the only one. I will be taking the absence of evidence = evidence of absence approach though, unless I find another Nordic god in the books. Perhaps "Ymir the Frost Giant, god of the Aesir and Vanir" or something.

[Gurkhal]

I think Ymir is mentioned as the patron of the Aesir and Vanir peoples in the story "The Frost Giant's Daughter". He is also called the Father of Giants, if memory serves.

[ninjahboy]

wow looking really good so far keep up the good work! Will there be new voice acting or will it just have default sounds :P

[Taranaich]

I'll generally be keeping as close to Howard as possible on the mod, and because there is so much conflicting stuff in the pastiches (sometimes conflicting with Howard too) I'd prefer to fill in the gaps with my own stuff drawn from Howard's design, though I will use pastiche references if there is no clash with Howard (such as city and region names).

Hopefully there will be some voice acting (it wouldn't do to have the Cimmerians praise God or St Andrew now would it?) as well as the usual fluff like new loading screens. I'm also making some new opening movies: nothing spectacular, mostly montages of units and scenes with some suitable excerpt of Howard's writings as narration.

Work hasn't begun on the in-game map yet, I'm going to try and finish the skins and icons before the map, since that's what I'm most familiar with.

Anyway, here's the first civilized kingdom, Hyperborea!


The Hyperboreans are very mysterious, with very little mentioned of them in Howard's writings. All that is known is that their warriors are tall, big-boned, gaunt, slow of speech and with violent temperaments, and that their castles are of an awesome scale. I've based them on the Russians, since the land is geographically close, and a few tidbits left here and there, plus the proximity of the Aesir, Kozaks and Hyrkanians (Vikings, Cossacks and Mongols) means they can have an interesting and diverse range of units.


Militia
Like the more advanced Hyborian kingdoms, Hyperborea relies on its peasants for the more mundane duties such as garrisons and patrols.


Having been born in the harsh northern wastes, Hyperborean peasants are hardier than other Hyborian peasants, made strong through a life of toiling frozen fields and herding horses. They wield strong work axes used for a variety of purposes, but suitable for relieving enemies of their heads.


Raiders
After the overthrow of Hyperborea the Elder's ruling classes by a group of roving Aesir, Hyperborea adopted a strong Nordic influence, especially in the upper class warriors. These warriors are the descendents of those Aesir invaders, ironically now defending Hyperborea from outside invasions.


Spearmen
Like all Hyborians, the infantry of Hyperborea's army consists of poorly armed and low-morale spearmen to protect their archers and offer a defense against cavalry. They may not be ideal spearmen, but their large shields offer them more protection than their southern brethren, adopted after attack from both Hyrkanian arrows and Aesir axes.


Knights
Apart from Aquilonia, all the Hyborian kingdoms have a great gap in quality between infantry and cavalry. Hyperborea is no different, their heavily-armed and disciplined knights are far more effective than their barely adequate infantry apart from the Raiders. They start off in classic Nordic-style armour, but the very elite units can afford lamellar armour which offers protection against arrows and heavy weaponry equally, and some even wear plate.

I expect I might get a bit of flak over Hyperborea from those folk who liked DeCamp and co's White Hand Hyperboreans with their sorcerers and purple alien dudes, but after a discussion I had with other Howard enthusiasts I decided a more realistic approach would be best. Besides, it's not as if Hyperborea will be boring: because of their position they'll have a good variety of barbarian-style heavy axemen and Hyrkanian-style horse archers as well as classic Hyborian armies. Let's leave the sorcery to Stygia and Zamora, having too many sorcerous kingdoms would lessen the impact of sorcery in mod, which is meant to be earth-shattering and change the course of a game.

[Gurkhal]

Once again magnificent. I can't wait to start playing this mod.

[Bwian]

No reason why you shouldn't take a bit of licence with the source material. In actual fact, a significant amount of the published material was either edited or finished off by others after Howard left it undone. The actual true, genuine work is fairly small.

As long as it fits the mood, and doesn't jar with the existing Mythos, then go for it!

[Dimeola]

check out www.reality.com for the mail hyborian war game. The website besides rules and signups has a good map and links to some fan sites with troop types etc.
What about add some undead foot to Hyperborea?

[Taranaich]

Cheers lads, I'm glad to have people excited about it. I'm thinking I could ask for a subforum for the mod since I think I have enough stuff to get working on, and it would offer better organisation: I could have a thread for each faction and different aspects of the game, though since it's only really me working on it I don't know if I'm worthy Couldn't harm to ask though.

So we come on to the next faction = Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west!


Knights of Aquilonia
The Knights of Aquilonia are as proud and impetuous as any knight of the Hyborian Kingdoms, with the very best arms and armour available to them. They are reckless and unreliable, but extremely effective at breaking enemy lines, though they cannot be trusted to wait for their general to give the command.


Knights of Poitain
The Knights of Poitain are unique among the Hyborians in their discipline: whereas most knights are wont to charge recklessly regardless of their general's orders, Poitain's knights have the strength of mind to contain their incredible ferocity until the General commands. Once the command is given, however, all bets are off: these knights will ride down any enemy still standing until either they are victorious or they fall in glorious death.


Dismounted Knights of Poitain
The knights of Poitain rarely leave their mounts on the battlefield except where cavalry is least effective, such as the defense of settlements or in the forested mountains of their homeland. When such tactics are necessary, the knights wield terrible two-handed swords comparable to those wielded by the Nemedian Adventurers, although with the added protection of black, gold-chased armour. Being elite horsemen themselves, these warriors are surprisingly effective against heavy cavalry as well as pike infantry.


Gunderland Pikemen
The wild Gundermen are the mightiest and most unbreakable pike infantry in the world, born and bred to battle and with unshakable will. Unlike the other Hyborian Kingdoms, Aquilonia long learned the value of strong infantry, and put great stock in their strong pikemen from Gunderland. Whereas most Hyborian pikemen were a mere wall of spears to be sacrificed for the glory of knights and men-at-arms, the Gundermen have a pride and resilience which makes them virtually unroutable. They fight with a unique pike and shield combination (I'll probably have to finally delve into modding the models for this since the Gundermen are so awesome. I found a tutorial that explains how to give arquebuses to Highland Nobles, perhaps I can use it as a guide)


Bossonian Archers
Raised in the unforgiving westermarck in the shadows of Picts and Cimmerians, the Bossonians are raised with the constant threat of annihilation: however, their success in fighting back roving hordes of Picts with their mighty longbows have given rise to the proudest and most formidable archers among the Hyborian Kingdoms. Armed in brigandine or mail (or sometimes both) and chanting their boisterous songs, they are a strong and vital presence on any battlefield. They have such great discipline and synergy that they loose as one man with deep, short shouts with volleys that don't so much shower their foes as pummel them like fists. The Bossonians are arguably the greatest protection the Aquilonians had from the Picts: once the Aquilonians stupidly massacred them in response to desertion the empire soon fell to the Picts in a tide of blood.


Mounted Bossonian Archers
This is another dynamic unit, this time assuming that the Aquilonians didn't foolishly massacre the Bossonians in the late Hyborian Age, and formed a special division of archers on ponies to counter the Hyrkanian and Hyperborean mounted archers, as well as a rapid response unit along the borders of Cimmeria and the Pictish Wilderness.

Here's a brief explanation of these dynamic units: Basically, since Total War is all about changing history, I think it's unreasonable to impose restrictions on the player to conform to history to an unreasonable degree. To paraphrase another poster, Gaul never invaded Egypt, but how come they couldn't recruit Egyptian units? Therefore to spice things up, I plan on making unit recruitments in the Hyborian age dynamic and interesting to reflect Howard's dynamic world, where tribes and cultures migrate across the world.

Let's take the Aquilonians as an example. If I was being boring, then I'd just let the Aquilonians have their base units and that's it, and maybe some local levies. However, I plan on making each faction be able to recruit a unit according to the region that represents the faction's armies adapting to their new environment. Therefore, Aquilonians invading Koth will eventually give rise to a Desert Longbowmen unit, in the Black Kingdoms Jungle Longbowmen, in Nordheim Mountain Longbowmen and so forth, each better adapted to their environment than the faction's core unit. Hopefully this won't be too much of a pain to implement, but I think it's doable seeing the work of the Fourth Age and Europa Barbarorum.

[Gurkhal]

I like it a much as the previous, keep going.

I'm thinking I could ask for a subforum for the mod since I think I have enough stuff to get working on, and it would offer better organisation: I could have a thread for each faction and different aspects of the game, though since it's only really me working on it I don't know if I'm worthy Couldn't harm to ask though.

They should without doubt give this mod a subforum. If they don't, you just give a call and me and my boys will have a chat with them. I'm sure we can make them change their minds... (intended as a joke and in no way as a threat or intimdation of the site's admins or mods in anyway)

[GrimFinger]

Ack, it won't let me post a URL, until after I have posted one posting. So, please forgive.

[GrimFinger]

Anyway, here is what I tried to post, before.

check out www.reality.com for the mail hyborian war game. The website besides rules and signups has a good map and links to some fan sites with troop types etc.
What about add some undead foot to Hyperborea?

If you want to use look at some of the Hyborian War game material, either for inspiration or just to see how they approached certain aspects, such as troops, then on The Hyborian Tome website at http://grimfinger.net, you can downloaded all of the 36 player kingdom set-up reports. In them, each troops type that RSI used for each player kingdom is listed.

There are several Hyborian War players who are also fans of the Total War series that can be found on The Road of Kings website located at http://warbarron.com. I posted a link to your discussion thread here on that site, located here http://www.warbarron.com/rok/showthr...7236#post97236, in case your project might be of interest to them.

Just trying to be helpful. I always like to see Hyborian Age mods for any type of game.

[Taranaich]

I've actually visited your site on a number of occasions, it's very well put-together. I have downloaded the kingdom reports already, but I didn't know about the Road of Kings forum. I'll certainly be dropping by to say greetings.

I personally thought I'd make Hyperborea sort of evil, but without too much sorcery: they'd have things like horned helmets and skull masks, sort of like the Saxons and vikings in a really bad mood.

The Undead will be handled differently: each faction will have the oppurtunity to build a Temple to the Old Ones, from which various sorcerous units can be created. Even "good" factions like Aquilonia have this option, although if they do it there will be a great likelihood that this will cause significant problems with loyalty and peace. An Undead Horde will be one of these possible units, but because of the nature of them only very nasty factions like Zamora, Hyperborea, Stygia and Kosala will be able to field them without causing troops to desert or even rebel against you. Hyperborea will be a fairly despotic faction, so they'd be barely tolerant of undead units in their army, especially when you keep those armies away from the cities. Aquilonia will likely have constant rebellions though.

I've hit a bit of a problem: I've searched all over the forums for protocol and stuff, but I can't figure out exactly whom to contact over getting a sub-forum. I generally prefer to search about before bothering folk with questions, but could anyone here tell me how exactly you go about it?

[Dimeola]

Are there a couple forum mods listed?

[GrimFinger]

I've actually visited your site on a number of occasions, it's very well put-together. I have downloaded the kingdom reports already, but I didn't know about the Road of Kings forum. I'll certainly be dropping by to say greetings.

Well, thanks for the compliment. I wouldn't have known that you had visited, if you had not mentioned it.

The Road of Kings forum will probably gain you at least a couple of drooling followers for your Total War mod, if not more.

If you haven't checked out my links page, you might want to browse it, sometime. There are a variety of websites that pertain, in some way, to Hyboria. Of particular interest to you might be the link to Mike Stelzer's Armies of the Hyborian Age page, and the Wikisource page on Robert E. Howard. As far as general knowledge of the Hyborian setting, something that might serve as inspiration or a source of ideas for the setting, I would recommend Dale Rippke's book, "The Hyborian Heresies."

I personally thought I'd make Hyperborea sort of evil, but without too much sorcery: they'd have things like horned helmets and skull masks, sort of like the Saxons and vikings in a really bad mood.

With regard to magic, I don't know what kind of magic you can create or use in Total War. On a purely personal note, probably because I have played Hyborian War on and off for 20+ years, I would advocate magic for Hyperborea, just different magic from Stygia. I've never played Total War, though, so take my input with a grain of salt. I doubt that my computer would run Total War.

[GrimFinger]

I couldn't find an edit button to edit my last post, as part of your prior words I inadvertently posted without quote brackets around them.

Anyway, I had one other thought regarding your mod. Not having played Total War, I don't have any idea how much leeway that you have in modding things.

But, if it is possible, you might could emulate characters (assuming you don't have leaders in Total War, which it may) by creating troop types that a player can only have 1 single one of, a very unique troop type, and instead of listing it as a troop, you could list it as a character/leader. Hyborian War is very strong in the character aspect, hence why I mention this.

[Taranaich]

It is possible to create named characters in the faction generals and captains, each with different traits that can be modified. Total War is surprisingly good for roleplaying characters, and can be modified further to have more impact. I don't know if the general's models themselves can be made unique for each character (they could in Alexander.) It would be grand to have Conan, Trocero, Pallantides and Prospero charging against the pitiful Nemedian spearmen!

I've been in contact with Dale himself regarding the mod: he basically suggested that for things like characters and city names I should refer to existing material (so I'll probably go back to Haloga and Sigtona for Hyperborea) or, if none exist, then make up my own.

The magic of the Hyborian Age could be replicated in Medieval, since it basically comes in a few types:

Mentalism = this is things like hypnosis, brainwashing, and similar mind-altering techniques. This is easily replicated using morale traits and flags.
Black Plagues = a popular form of assassination used by Stygians and Acheronians, where they cause a black wind to storm through a populace and kill anything they touch in minutes. This is a bit of a problem, perhaps it would be more practical on the strategic map through triggers.
Summoning = the art of summoning and controlling eldritch beings from the Outer Dark. Hopefully I'll be able to include classic Howardian beasties such as his ghouls, great apes, giant serpents, Children of the Night and Devils from the Outer Dark. This last one will be the most terrifying unit on the battlefield, and hopefully the most impressive looking as I have some interesting ideas on how it could be portrayed.
Awesome Cosmic Power = this is displayed by extremely powerful sorcerers like Xaltotun and Thugra Khotan, who can rock the foundations of the battlefield itself by causing earthquakes and explosions. I'm not sure how best to show this, as using fireballs and the like seems a bit blunt. In any case, a sufficiently powerful sorcerer should cause more destruction than a full stack of Monster Bombards.

I'll be posting another update soon: as a change of pace, I'll show some of the new buildings that will (hopefully) appear in the mod!

[JD1]

This is an awesome idea. I have dreamed of a game for the PC set in Howard's world of Hyboria since I have started playing games on the PC.

I am a long time member of The Road of Kings website, which was created as a player community for the play by mail game, Hyborian War, by Reality Simulations. Grimfinger posted the link at the site in our gaming forum, so I followed it here, like a moth to the flame.

My ideas for the troop types would be largely based on the troop types in Hyborian War. It is neat to see what you have done with them according to your own ideas.

For instance, in HW, Hyperborea fields a large percentage of it's total army in Undead Infantry. The UI has certain limitations, though, in that they can only be used in a defensive capacity. They cannot be used to invade. It would be cool to see them as a unit for Hyperborea in your mod, appearing as skeletons or zomie-ish on the screen, tattered armor and rusty weapons... the whole undead dealio.
Hyperborea's magic is largely consisting of Summon the Dead spells. What this does is when a troop unit falls on the battlefield, they are resurected as an undead infantry unit to fight on the side of Hyperborea. Whereas the other major magic using kingdom, Stygia, is dominated by spells such as Black Death for it's military and Resurection to revive slain court members.
Zamora has the Firewall spell, a giant wall of flame the engulfs an entire rank or two of charging troops in the opening phase of battle.

I have no idea how easy or hard this would be to incorporate into your mod, or if it even interests you. It is your mod, afterall. These are just some ideas I'm throwing out there from the play by mail game. I love where you are going with this, though. I am very excited to see it becoming a reality, at long last.

A question: How hard is it to make your own mods like this? Does it take a lot of computer know-how? I would be very interested in putting together a mod of my own, with the help of the guys in Hyborian War over at the site, based purely on that particular game.
Your mod, I think, probably resembles Howards world more accurately than RSI's version and that is hella cool.

[Gurkhal]

I'll throw in my weight that magic should probably mostly be a matter of traits. Regarding zombies, I haven't read any stories with Hyborian zombies so take this with a grain of salt, should probably be a great horde of infantry who have several hitpoints each and an insanly high morale, pretty much never breaking. This of course might easily get unbalanced, but it might make them different from the standard unites in the game.

[Taranaich]

It's been a dream of mine too JT :D

In this mod, I plan Hyperborea to be more like a standard Hyborian kingdom, in that it won't rely on sorcery and necromancy as much as in Hyborian War. Howard never specifically mentions Hyperboreans being notable necromancers or even sorcerers. However, this doesn't necessarily mean Hyperborea cannot field large armies of undead: merely that it is the player's prerogative to have a standard human army, or to turn to sorcery to dominate the world. Nemedia and Koth both used sorcerers to great success in their campaigns against Aquilonia, but they aren't necessarily sorcerous kingdoms: Hyperborea will be no different.

The Firewall spell I will try to get in: Thugra Khotun used a similar spell in Black Colossus, though I don't know the best way to implement it.

The Total War series are pretty accessible once you get the tools released and spend a bit of time orienting yourself. It takes time and effort, certainly, but even simple changes to the text files can be very rewarding. Have a browse around the site for tutorials, and there are plenty of far more experienced modders you could ask too.

I've talked to NagatsukaShumi about getting a subforum, and he's very kindly agreed to set one up soon. Until then, here are some of the buildings and wonders that will appear in the game:


The Iron Tower of Tarantia was formerly the citadel of the Aquilonians in earlier times. An ancient, forbidding construction of stone and black iron, it is in a part of the city normally relegated to the less fastidious, surrounded by a maze of dark alleys and streets. By the time of Conan, the Iron Tower is the city's most notorious prison, where the political enemies of Aquilonia were held and executed, and had been so for a millenium. The Tower is virtually impenetrable, save for a highly secret entrance from a dilapidated watchtower three streets away known only by a dozen at most.
20% public order bonus due to law


The King's altar is a mysterious landmark in the south of Aquilonia near the Goralian Hills. It is a hill with a curiously-shaped rock on the summit resembling an altar. The origins and original purpose of the hill are long lost to history, save to those students of the dark arts who seek out such forbidden knowledge. At the Battle at the Valley of Lions, Xaltotun planned to unleash beings of horrific power to crush the 50,000 strong Aquilonian army, before he was thwarted with the Heart of Ahriman. It is possible that a sorcerer of similar power might succeed where he failed.
Allows the summoning of greater sorcerous units when a Temple of Set or Temple of the Old Ones is constructed.


The Scarlet Citadel is a mighty fortification that overlooks Khorshemish in Koth. Below it are the Halls of Hell, a vast subterranean network of caves that are home to terrifying beings of earthly and unearthly origin. Originally under the auspices of Tsotha-Lanti, since his defeat at the Siege of Shamar it has been largely abandoned, with no man brave enough to approach the citadel without the sorcerer's presence. A sufficiently skilled sorcerer could attempt to harness and even control the terrible beings in the Halls of Hell.
Allows the summoning of greater sorcerous units when an Awesome Temple of the Old Ones is constructed
50% public order bonus due to fear


The Mountains of the Dead are a range of mountains in the northwestern Pictish Wilderness with a terrible reputation. No men have ever traversed their treacherous peaks, and it is rumoured that creatures long extinct in the rest of the world somehow survive there, and can be called upon by the Children of Jhebbal-Sag.
20% public order bonus due to fear
Allows the summoning of Ghost Snakes, Black Apes, Sabretooths, Swamp-Devils and Dragons when a Grove of Jhebbal-Sag is constructed


The Tomb of Tranicos is a lost cave filled with the treasure of the legendary pirate lord Tranicos. Those few who have entered the cursed tomb have claimed to see Tranicos himself and his crew seated around a table, their bodies eerily preserved after a century. The treasure could feasibly be plundered, were it not for the hideous deadly air that fills the cave to thwart any tresspasser's attempt to loot the treasure of Tranicos. As it is, the superstitious Picts are too wary of the site for it to be of much use, though an enterprising civilization could gain a vast amount of wealth if they conquer the province in which it is situated.
Any non-barbaric faction who conquers the Eagle Tribe and creates an "Expedition to the Cave of Tranicos" will receive 1,000,000 lunas.