Hyborian Age

The Hyborian Age is a phrase used by author Robert E. Howard to refer to a specific epoch in a fictional timeline used for many of the Sword & Sorcery tales of his artificial legendry; in particular, the stories of Conan the Barbarian.

The word "Hyborian" is a contraction by Howard of the Ancient Greek "hyperborean," referring to a "barbaric dweller beyond the boreas (north wind)"; Hyperborea itself was a fictitious northern realm in the age of the ancient Greeks. Howard stated that the geographical setting of the Hyborian Age is that of our Earth, but in a fictional version of a period in the past that predates surviving historical records, circa 14,000 BC to 10,000 BC.

According to "The Phoenix on the Sword", the adventures of Conan take place "...Between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the Sons of Aryas..." more or less from 16000 to 8000 years ago.

The reasons behind the invention of the Hyborian Age were perhaps commercial: Howard had an intense love for history and historical dramas; however, at the same time, he recognized the difficulties and the time-consuming research work needed in maintaining historical accuracy. By conceiving a timeless setting — "a vanished age" — and by carefully choosing names that resembled human history, Howard shrewdly avoided the problem of historical anachronisms and the need for lengthy exposition, also this allowed Howard a lot of liberties such as dinosaurs, ape-men, sorcery, aliens and lost civilizations.

Although Robert created the world, he allowed others to play in it; the Hyborian Age is considered part of the Cthulhu Mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith wrote his own stories set in the Hyborian Age, before Conan. It is also, separately, considered canon to the Marvel Comics multiverse as well.

For /tg/, er. Although TSR (for a start) has been doing Hyboriana since 1984, mostly these RPGs have had you play The Man, himself. You may want to check out Primeval Thule, a 3PP setting for D&D 5E and 13th Age set in the titular realm of Thule, which is a Hyborian Age version of Greenland that will eventually be swallowed by sentient glaciers, but is currently a lush, jungle and swamp-covered realm.

Modiphius has the loisense now and it does seem like "Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of" allows you to play as any character you like, not just Him. There's a Thurian sourcebook too in case you cared about Kull.

In that spirit there was a "Hyborian Adventures" vidja, which spawned a number of books rather foreshadowing the Gotham series; here, it's Conan-Without-Conan. Loren Coleman's "Legends of Kern" trilogy started out pretty well actually.

Nations and Empires

The Hyborian Age itself is set in what can be considered a mish mash of late Bronze and Iron ages with armies of the world nations numbering thousands or tens of thousands at a time and several of the nations themselves transitioning into mega-empires like Rome or Han China. The world itself however is still brimming with unexplored lands, fierce monsters and ancient civilizations more fitting for a Bronze Age setting.

The major polities and empires of the Hyborian Age are as follows:

• Aquilonia & Nemedia The most powerful and developed kingdoms of the dreaming west. Their armies feature knights clad in full plate armor and both are wealthy and culturally sophisticated. Aquilonia has a number of client-kingdoms such as Poitain, Gunderland and Bossonian Marches which keep the barbarous picts and Cimmerians at bay.

• Zyngara & Argos Merchant nations on the southern coasts of the continent. They posses vast fleets that ply the oceans to trade with Stygia and the Black kingdoms further south. A few centuries after Conan's reign they become annexed by Aquilonia.

• Ophyr, Corinthia and Koth Kingdoms of middling power situated in the center of Howard's map. They are mostly prosperous but also decadent, homes of wizards and nobles residing in tall towers. As with Argos and Zyngara most later fall under Aquilonia but as tributaries rather than being annexed.

• Zamora The easternmost of the hyborian-descended kingdoms. A shifty land whose capital Shadizar bears the moniker "City of Wickedness". Has plenty of sorcerers and also contends with Turan encroaching from the east.

• Cimmeria & Brythunia Cimmeria is a barbarous land analogous to Scotland and/or Ireland before the roman arrival on the isles with Brythunia being a bit civilized. Cimmerians are viewed as the scourge of the west and are only rivaled by the even more northern peoples.

• Vanaheim, Asgard and Hyperborea Lands on the extreme north of the Hyborian continent, barbarous and belligerent, they primarily worship the god Ymir as opposed to the Hyborian Ishtar and Mithra.

• Turan & Hyrkania Basically the Mongol Empire, the Turanians are the western prong of the horde that remained after the Hyrkanians were pushed back east. Turan is described as one of the wealthiest nations of the world and eventually expands it's borders all the way to Zamora.

• Shem Nations reminiscent of the middle-eastern/semitic peoples. They are potent fighters and valued as mercenaries across the neighbouring kingdoms.

• Stygia Predecessor of Ancient Egypt, a home of dusky desert tombs, black pyramids and devious sorcerers worshipping the demon snake-god Set. Also a nation of some of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, bested only by those hailing from the distant Khitai.

• Kush, Darfar and Keshan Border-nations of semi-barbarians south of Stygia that often war with each-other and are a source of goods for Zyngara and Argos.

• Vendhya Proto-India, a wealthy and ancient kingdom south-east of Turan. The people there are of non-hyborian eastern stock and the primary religion centers around the worship of Asura, who's cult has spread as far west as Aquilonia.

• Khitai Proto-China and another of the ancient empires. Little is known of it but the empire posseses the best wizards in the world.

There are also several empires which existed prior to the rise of contemporary realms but after the sinking of Atlantis:

• Atlantean and Pictish empires The twin empires arose after the cataclysm though they were beaten back to the stone-age level by the cataclysm and incessant warfare. The Atlanteans were known as rough but artistic people while the Picts were above all practical and simplistic. Both of them collapsed with Atlanteans devolving into ape-men and later re-evolving into Cimmerians while the Picts slunk back to tribal-based society that has since stagnated for millenia.

• Ancient Stygia A powerful empire that stretched as far north as Ophir and Koth before the Hyborian hordes drove it south across the river Styx

• Acheron A sophisticated and developed empire that covered many present kingdoms 3000 years before Conan's birth. It was a nation of sorcerers exceeding even it's sister nation of Stygia and legendary in it's cruelty and evil, practicing necromancy and thaumaturgy. They enslaved the incoming Hyborians but were later overthrown.

Mythology

The gods and religions of the Hyborian Age borrow from various lesser-known ancient dieties, especially the many archaic and primeval ones that got superceded by the more popular ones that were more familiar in the classical era. A handful of fictional ones are thrown in as well, especially those worshipped by sorcerers and mystery cults to add to their mystique.

A handful of the gods can possess “avatars,” as seen in the game Conan: Exiles, which act as gigantic powerhouses of death for crushing your enemies, driving them before you, and hearing the lamentations of their women.

• Crom: the grim god who requires no worship, as he merely gives each man the gift of life at birth and then leaves it to them to struggle to survive on their own merits, ignoring any further prayers. While the Cimmerians are generally his followers, “worship” of him is generally limited to a warrior’s code of honor, to be courageous and tenacious and honorable.
• Dagon: yes, that Dagon. Worshipped primarily by the Deep Ones and some human kingdoms.
• Derketo: goddess of fertility, pleasure, and death. Her binary nature is represented by her depiction being that of half nubile woman, half emaciated skeleton. Her cults are predictably involved in shenanigans like murder orgies and the like. She’s mainly worshipped in the southern kingdoms, especially for those looking for a break from Set’s incredibly bleak grip on Stygia.
• Ishtar: goddess of Earth and fertility. Basically for those who are put off by the whole “murder-orgy to a half-skeleton goddess” thing. One of the historical includes; we know the Sumerians were worshiping her six thousand years ago.
• Jhebbal Sag: god of beasts, a favorite of shamans, witch doctors and beast tamers. Jhebbal’s direct descendants includes every manner of beast, including humans (in case that’s too subtle for you, he’s the biggest omnisexual to exist). Jhebbal’s progeny are gifted with his forgotten language and can communicate with one another. Just don’t mistake him for some hippy nature god, he’s all about ripping and tearing each other apart.
• Mitra: god of righteousness and authority. Basically he’s the patron god of the more civilized kingdoms. Mitra worship is among the few religions at this time that explicitly decries human sacrifice as a moral evil.
• Set: the snake god of Stygia. Explicitly aligned with the evil gods and kingdoms, and requires ritual human sacrifice. His followers also worship snakes and consider being bitten by a snake to be a blessing.
• Ymir: father of Frost Giants and Nordheim’s god of war. Sacrifices to him are mainly in the form of the hearts warriors slain in battle.
• Yog: if you’re thinking of Yog-Sothtoh, you’re in the neighborhood. Primarily worshipped by cannibals where they have monthly rituals of killing and eating captured prisoners.