Crom laughs at your mail!

I decided that I was tired of getting paper cuts opening my mail, so I bought this nifty letter opener fashioned after Conan's father's sword from the 1982 film.  I'm rather pleased with it.

You can get one here.  $29 is a bit steep for a letter opener, but it is pretty cool

Happy Birthday Robert E. Howard

Today marks the 112th birthday of Robert E. Howard.  Though he saw less than a quarter of those years, his influence on sword and sorcery fiction is undeniable.  So, on this auspicious day, drink to his shade and to the shades of those who followed in his footsteps!

Robert E. Howard at 111

On this day, in 1906, Robert E. Howard, arguably the father of sword and sorcery fiction, was born in Peaster Texas.  It still amazes me that even though he died at the age of 30, he had such a profound effect on the fantasy genre, and on roleplaying games.  I drink a toast to his shade and to the dream of what he might have accomplished had he lived longer.  May the fame that eluded him in life follow him into the next, and may all of those slain by the bloody hand of Conan stand as his honor guard in hell.

Kickstarter Ennui

So, my Conan board game Kickstarter rewards arrived on 26 October, and I have yet to open it.  I should be exited, but 20 months after pledging, I just really don't care.  I backed it for the miniatures, but even those fail to excite me anymore.  Given that the rulebook is by the creators' own admission, a mess, I'm unlikely to even try to play it until I have a printed copy of the new version in my hands.  This is my trouble with Kickstarter.  Many of them look cool and lure me in, but past a certain point, I lose interest.  Oh, well.  At least I have a bunch of new sword and sorcery miniatures (221 to be exact).   Does anyone else find themselves generally feeling blah about Kickstarters once they arrive?

Two Boxes.  I don't have room for this stuff.

More Conan the Barbarian (1982) Trivia

Last night while I was straightening out my games shelf, I had the first episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys running on Netflix.  At 11 minutes and 01 second in (33 minutes and 22 seconds left), this shot appeared as the exterior of a tavern where Iolaus is arguing with a villager who came to seek the help of Hercules.

A tavern exterior in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

There was something very familiar about that exterior, and I paused the show and stared at the screen for a few moments.  Then it hit me.  I loaded up Conan the Barbarian (1982) to confirm, and sure enough it was the exterior of the witch's hut!

The Witch's Hut in Conan the Barbarian

I think it's kind of cool that they slipped something like that in there, since Hercules:  The Legendary Journeys really was more sword & sorcery than Greek mythology.  Less interesting then Conan's father's sword, but still neat.

Suffer No Guilt Yee Who Wield This In the Name of Crom

Holy crap it actually does say that. I've been watching the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film at least twice a year for the last 34 years, and until I flipped the frame, I never realized what the runes on Conan's father sword said (or in fact that they said anything at all).  SUFFER NO GUILT YEE WHO WIELD THIS IN THE NAME OF CROM.  It's nice to find that I can still be surprised. :-)

I've stared at those runes for many years an never got it.  I'm really impressed that they thought to put this kind of detail into the film.  Just one more reason that Conan the Barbarian remains my favorite S&S film of all time.  I really can't wait for the Modiphius Conan RPG.  Crom!

Kickstarter: Conan RPG

The Conan RPG Kickstarter from Modiphius is closing in on $300,000.  I backed it based on the Quickstart rules.  There are some definitely interesting ideas in the rules, but I haven't had a chance to try them in actual play yet.  In any case, it's good to see Conan making a return to the RPG scene.

Free Conan RPG Quickstart Rules!

Modihpius, which will be publishing the upcoming Conan RPG has put the Quickstart rules up on DriveThruRPG.com, and they are free!  It looks like the Quickstart contains an introduction to the rules, 7 pre-generated characters and an adventure.  I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I will admit to being curious as to how their 2d20 system works.  For those interested in the full game, the Kickstarter for the full game is still ongoing, and can be found here.
Being a huge Conan fan, I've downloaded the Quickstart and will post more on it later when I've had time to look through it.

Crom!

This must be mine!