The dungeon crawl is one of the RPG hobby's most venerable
institutions. And in Conan's Hyborian Age - thanks to REH and the stream of storytellers that have added to his legacy - there
are plenty of interesting dungeons to explore on the Thurian continent.
As any delver knows, a dungeon can take many forms and need not be below-ground
or even long-abandoned to be worth a look see by a bold hero or a band of adventurers.
Ruins often make the best dungeons for there are mysteries hoary with age associated
with such places and wispy hints of lore only vaguely remembered that echo in each mortal footfall that invades their desolate
sanctity.
Ruins of Hyboria starts off with a Random Ruin Generator with enough options, Hyborian
flavor and detailed background lore to create numerous unique settings for your Conan RPG adventures.
This is followed by a Gazeteer of known ruins from Aquilonia to Zingara. The Conan
mythos was thoroughly raided to provide this lore and some of it is very obscure indeed.
My favorite portion of this valuable resource is the detailed chapters on some of the
most memorable settings in the Conan saga:
- The City of the Winged One, where the pirate-queen Belit met her doom.
- The mysterious Green Stone Cities that Conan occasionally stumbled upon in his travels.
- Gazal: demon haunted, ancient
and evil. A strange red tower amid strange green ruins.
- The Isle of Iron Statues & the
Isle of the Black Ones.
- Lost Kutchemes, where Thugra Khotan slumbered.
- Pteion the Damned, where the Ax of Varanghi lays hidden.
- Xuchotl, where Conan and Valeria sought refuge in Red Nails.
There are also chapters detailing Stygian Tombs and Pyramids, the very Lovecraftian City
of the Ghouls, Dagoth Hill and Khet the City of Scorpions.
Each of the above chapters contain all the NPCs, monsters, lost races and magical
items needed to expand on the original Conan tale or reference to the ruin mentioned in the mythos.
The remaining chapters deal with traps, treasures and additional horrors that can be
deviously dropped into ruins to further harry your player characters as they quest for excitement, gold and glory.
As with the Road of Kings tome, I can see Ruins of Hyboria serving as a constant reference
and resource as my Barbarian Legion wends its way around the Thurian continent in the service of King Conan.
