Conan, Robert E. Howard, and the Hyborian Age

For the past couple of years I've been focusing on building up my Conan collection. I know, I know, a lot of the Tor Pastiche's suck, but some of them are fun and I've only got about 10 or so more to go to complete the series. I read the de Camp & Carter Conan compilations during my teenage years, but when I picked up the Del Rey Omnibus editions, I was able to enjoy Howard sans editorial interference. 


I remembered little of what I had read in the de Camp series over 25 years ago and was mildly surprised to discover that every time Conan went up against a powerful Sorcerer, he had help. Another Wizard or Priest would take out the evil Magician, while Conan dealt with the more mundane foes, or, they would give Conan some magic item to enable him to prevail (this surely won't please the 4e proponents of Character Class Balance.) 


I love Howard's writing, though I do find the whole "Virtuous Barbarian's Superiority to Decadent Civilized Men" philosophy a bit tiresome at times; the stories move with a speed and violence that match Conan himself and the stories effuse an atmosphere of sheer Swords & Sorcery goodness.


The Hyborian Age is a setting which we all find familiar. By creating a mirror of our own historical civilizations, Howard insured that his readers would already be familiar with the lands through which Conan rode, fought and caroused. Also, it allowed him to tell the kinds of stories he wanted to, indulging his love for writing historical fiction, while at the same time setting the tales in a time and place that never was. 

Creating original cultures for fictional worlds is a subject I've been thinking about of late. The idea of creating truly original societies for D&D campaign worlds is one I think worth exploring, but, when taking player expectation and enjoyment into account, I believe an approach closer to Howard's may be the best option. Not necessarily something as on the nose as his Hyborian Age, but a culture close enough to those we are familiar with, that the players and DM will feel at home. The type of cultural blending that Stephen King used in his Dark Tower series is another avenue worth exploring.