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[Hyborian Age] Suggest adventures for conversion

Started by Teodrik, March 15, 2018, 10:11:05 PM

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Teodrik

So I would like to hear your suggestions of adventure modules fitting to use with the hyborian age setting. Stuff already published by Mongoose and other licensed Conan stuff, things published on xoth.net (lots of good stuff, check it out!) etc. needs no mention.

Preference to stuff fitting for conversion with OSR games like old TSR modules, anything interesting from the d20 boom perhaps, or just anything else that general fit in regards of tone and setting.

I start out myself with one suggestion:

The Nameless City by Alponso Warden. Dungeon crawl in a lost city of serpet creatures. A fanfic extrapolation of the H.P.L story of a story with the same name. Made for Swords&Wizardy (Core or White Box). Works in most desert areas. Could be set in Stygia, Shem, Iranistan, Southern Desert etc. Could also work even better according to lore set in the age of Kull(Thurian Age).

JeremyR

Eh, Alphonso Warren is widely considered just about the worst OSR module writer there is, because he writes them as stories, not adventures. Among a number of Advanced Adventure atrocities, he also wrote an awful adaption of A. Merritt's People of the Pit.

I might suggest the original Freeport trilogy from Green Ronin (Death in Freeport, Vengeance in Freeport, Madness in Freeport) because it's a combination of REH (snakemen), HPL (Great Race of Yith) and Chambers (Hastur) and is largely a city adventure trilogy.

Curse of the Witch Head by James Boney (generally considered one of the better OSR module authors) might also fit the bill. The plot revolves the PCs needing to rescue a relic from a group of bandits led by a crazy evil magician

And a couple of old (though probably updated for PF and 5e like all their other stuff) Necromancer adventures, Morrick Mansion and Aberrations.  Both are weird, creepy dark fantasy.

Larsdangly

Howard's stories are a lot closer to Lovecraft than they are to 'centrist' fantasy fiction, so I've long thought Call of Cthulhu is the game most aligned with the spirit of a hyborian age campaign. CoC has a deep catalogue of much loved adventures, and adapting them to the hyborian age would tweak them enough that even people familiar with the originals could be duped into thinking they were doing something new.

crkrueger

One of the issues with Sword and Sorcery modules in general or quasi-Hyborian Age settings in particular is that they usually are set in what would be the East or South in Howard's stories.  Stygia, Shem, Turan, etc.  There is precious little S&S in what would be the Dreaming West.

The Freeport Trilogy, as mentioned, is an exception and is good.

The Savage Worlds game Beasts and Barbarians has a lot of modules, but most of them are going to be Exotic East in flavour.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess has lots of modules that are set in Europe and are Weird as Fuck.  You'll need to do a goodly amount of adapting, but if you're looking for stuff to do in Aquilonia, Nemedia, Argos, etc.  there's tons of stuff that is set in the West and isn't filled with D&D humanoids.

If you're specifically looking for Stygia, then Necropolis by Gary Gygax for Mythus is a huge adventure.  There's also the old Desert of Desolation series.

Monster Island from Loz and Pete for Mythras is perfect to drop into the western ocean.

If you want a mini campaign setting and adventures to drop into the remote hills of Nemedia or Brythunia, where Acheronian-descended Hill People dwell, then the Chained Coffin boxed set from Goodman Games is excellent.
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery\'s thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

MonsterSlayer

I would suggest "Beyond the Black Gate" from DCC for a good adventure that could be dropped into Cimmeria.

But I am going to make a crazier suggestion, much of your work has already been done and you just need to play an online MMO. Seriously, "Age of Conan" is free to play and it is loaded with ideas set in Hyboria (including some of the more Lovecraft variety).

I'm not suggesting that you give up on pen and paper but that if you play the game it has thousands of quests and adventures laid out in different regions of Hyboria  for you already. All you have to do is keep notes as you play. Great for NPC names. Monster ideas and threats set out by region. It even has instances for solo and group so it divides that up for you as well.

If you don't have time to actually play an MMO to rip off for your pen and paper (how the world comes full circle), you can probably find all of the region/ faction info on line.

Remember most of your combat will be against different humans and "naturally occurring" creatures.

So for the North you could face off against Vanir, Ymir, and maybe some Hyborians. Create a wondering monster list full of wolves, mountain lions, spotted snow leopards, etc.
Sprinkle in some more fantastical natural beasts such as Mammoths, Giant Spiders, and Woolly Rhinoceros.
Then go crazy with Frost Giants and Yetis for the fantasy part.

those are the types of notes you can take straight from the game. Anyhow...just thinking outside the box.

S'mon

Everything xoth.net is great - http://xoth.net/publishing/

The Spider God's Bride & Other Stories - http://xoth.net/publishing/xp1/index.htm

Edit: Read OP more carefully. OK I'll get me coat... :o

crkrueger

In addition to Monster Island by The Design Mechanism (Loz and Pete), there's also:
  • Sarinya's Curse
  • The Book of Quests (a great campaign of quests against a Sorcerer) - I'm running it set in Brythunia.
  • Xamoxis' Cleansing
  • Hessaret's Treasure
  • Madness and Other Colours
I also like Meeros so much (the city described in adventures from the Core Rules and Gamemaster's Pack) I'm putting it on an island SW of Argos.
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery\'s thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

Teodrik

http://www.strangestones.com/downloads/

Great collection of short adventures in Hyborian Age written for Barbarians of Lemuria (some also dual stated for BRP).

Teodrik

#8
Quote from: S'mon;1029651Everything xoth.net is great - http://xoth.net/publishing/

The Spider God's Bride & Other Stories - http://xoth.net/publishing/xp1/index.htm

Edit: Read OP more carefully. OK I'll get me coat... :o

Well it was kind of stupid of me of stating xoth.net being superfluous since it such a good resource. So I'll break my own premise!

http://hyboria.xoth.net/adventures/index.htm

Great collection of adaptions and conversions. I especially like the ones with AD&D stats.

Nerzenjäger

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"You play Conan, I play Gandalf.  We team up to fight Dracula." - jrients

RPGPundit

Yoon Suin for weird eastern lands? Arrows of Indra for epic mythological india-parallel?
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Teodrik

Quote from: RPGPundit;1030151Yoon Suin for weird eastern lands? Arrows of Indra for epic mythological india-parallel?

Could probably work well for Vendhya and areas near since it is very sparce on detail in the first place.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Teodrik;1030279Could probably work well for Vendhya and areas near since it is very sparce on detail in the first place.

There you go! A great reason to get Arrows of Indra!
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you\'ve played \'medieval fantasy\' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Malrex

I may be biased, but The Red Prophet Rises. Bryce Lynch said it was Conan on 11.

darthfozzywig

#14
Old D&D modules made for this include:

B4 The Lost City - this is basically Red Nails, so perfect for Hyborian Age

I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City - again, pretty much perfect for this

CB1 Conan Unchained - AD&D Conan adventure. Railroady, but still has some good stuff

I3 Pharaoh - literal sandbox, as it's in the desert. The latter two in the series are more railroady, but this one would be great in Stygia

B6 The Veiled Society - works for a trade city in Argos or Zingara

D2 Shrine of the Kua-Toa - another "lost city filled with creatures from a bygone era"

L2 Assassin's Knot - could reskin the location for Zamora pretty easily

N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God - set it anywhere in Hyboria with honest folk falling under sway of a Naga out of Stygia's past

X1 Isle of Dread - anywhere in the seas. Perfect as-is.

X2 Castle Amber - hear me out! This one is all based on Clark Ashton Smith, a contemporary of Lovecraft and Howard. It's weird, but hey, why not?
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