Forum > General Discussion
Conan the Barbarian and Rolemaster
jdale:
>Where you come from, how you were raised, what's in your blood, however, dictate how you react to the world. It is very much in contradiction with more modern fantasy.
I don't think a dependence on racial stereotyping is the best thing that Conan has to offer us.
EltonJ:
jdale is right. Conan stories are more than that.
MisterK:
--- Quote from: jdale on March 08, 2024, 05:56:55 PM --->Where you come from, how you were raised, what's in your blood, however, dictate how you react to the world. It is very much in contradiction with more modern fantasy.
I don't think a dependence on racial stereotyping is the best thing that Conan has to offer us.
--- End quote ---
Oh, I totally agree. But if you want to be true to the source, you have to integrate it. As long as your players are fully aware of the cultural bias and background (and Howard, true to his time period, origin and occupation, probably had a fair share of that), I don't think it is a problem.
I mean, it's the same as wanting to play in historical medieval Europe but erasing religious persecution, ethnic segregation, marginalisation of women, and class bias. You're whitewashing the period, and, in my opinion, it actually *helps* propagate the bias, because you're basically saying "see ? medieval times were not that bad". They *were* (and, in many aspects, the modern times still are).
On the other hand, if you want to play original fantasy loosely inspired by swords and sorcery genre, then by all means, get rid of the biases - it's probably easier to handle. But playing in a very biased setting when players are fully aware of the biases and how bad they are is quite healthy as well - it makes you face all the little things you take for granted in the modern world and actually *are* biased, because of the magnification of the setting.
Druss_the_Legend:
A campaign set in the world of Conan might work. Maps and lore exist. It would be a brutal place. Hobet.E.Howard was a special author who influenced many others who put pen to paper after him. David Gemmel for example was heavily influenced by his writing.
I know there were some D&D modules back in the 80s that were created that I think mirrored the second conan film, Conan the Destroyer? I wonder how faithful these were to the world of conan. It might be interesting to create a world that was set just after the time of conan. He might still live and be retired perhaps. That might be fun.
Wolfwood:
It is worth reading the Wikipedia page, esp. under "Attitudes" about Howard's values and attitudes and how they changed as he grew up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard
Also, the Conan stories, as I read them, are rarely about race: they are more about cultures - especially about barbarism vs civilisation (civilisation makes men soft pleasure-seekers, barbarism keeps them tough survivors etc.).
But Conan is not his only character - for a better understanding of the author's values and attitudes, it is necessary to look at his other writing as well: female heroes, mid-east settings etc.
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