The Hyborian Age - Total War

[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.

[Gurkhal]

Looks great, keep it coming.

[Taranaich]

Just a quick post to say everything's still going.

Right now, the skins for Aquilonia, Nemedia, Hyperborea, Brythunia and Cimmeria are pretty much complete. The Picts, Asgard and Vanaheim have some complete and a few placeholders till I can figure out Milkshape (it's a horrible, horrible program). I have done some work on Ophir, but frankly I'm finding it difficult to realise them due to a great lack of info on them. Currently I'm basing them on a mix of the Italian states and the Latin Empire of Constantinople, purely based on speculation from their soldiers and what little is known of them. Since it shares a name with a mythical kingdom in the Bible they'll have some Shemitish elements, no doubt from the proximity to Koth.

I'm also torn as to the inclusion of a particular fantasy unit: Mastodons. Mastodons would have been around in the Hyborian Age on the Nameless Continent which would become America, and Conan himself mentions them. I had long toyed with the idea of giving some of the factions Mastodon units, since their lower intelligence would make them much more docile and suitable mounts than temperamental and intelligent elephants. I'm going to work with the presumption that the "Mastodons" were a synonym for Mammoths, which existed all over Europe/Hyboria. The factions I think are most eligible for Mastodons are:

The Picts. The Picts originally migrated from the Isles of Sunset, which were formed from the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and so could feasibly have taken some Mastodons with them.
The Hyrkanians. These seem the best fit to me, since it offers a reason for Conan to know what a Mastodon was (Red Nails) without conflicting with the fact he didn't know what an elephant was early on in his life (Tower of the Elephant.) Conan went about the Vilayet, and could have encountered Mastodons or tales of them there. This could also allow them to be recruited by Vendhya and Turan.
The Hyperboreans. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this apart from the fact that Hyperborea appears to be very cold, and animals adapted to the cold climate would probably be very useful as labourers and war mounts. Unfortunately, this might conflict with the fact that Conan didn't know what an elephant was by Tower of the Elephant, after he was captured by Hyperboreans.

If included, Mastodons will not replace Elephants, who will be recruited by Pelishtia, Koth, Stygia and Vendhya. In addition, elephants will be one of the few mercenaries who have a unique skin for each faction, allowing elephants recruited by e.g. Aquilonia to be kit out in black and gold, and Nemedia in scarlet and gold. These units will reflect those more professional mercenaries who offer their service, as opposed to random adventuring knights and spearmen, and also as regional recruits when a nation conquers the territory they can be found in. Other units with this feature will include the Bossonian Archers, Gunderland Pikemen, Asshuri, Desert Archers, Tribal Warbands and Barbarian Warriors.

I also have some nice concept art of some of the more radical units I hope to include, so watch this space!

[Escudodeteixo]

Great concept, great skins, great mod. I'll love play it.
Do you need help playtesting?