Steel yourself, for a new power rises in the Hyborian Age.

With the unveiling of Monolith’s latest Conan RPG, only one thing is for certain: Blood will flow, steel will sing, and only the cunning will survive.

Who dares to forge such a thing? Matt John– a name whispered in reverent tones among Conan enthusiasts. 

We recently had the chance to interview him and lay his secrets bare of how he took his experience as a veteran of countless Hyborian Age campaigns and architect of legendary board game scenarios to distill a lifetime love of Conan into something new. 

Easy to Pick Up, Impossible to Put Down

In the savage realm of the Hyborian Age, Matt John’s vision for a new Conan RPG burns with a fierce intensity. Approaching the design as a 40-year-old gamer with little patience for extensive rulebooks, John set out to capture the essence of Robert E. Howard’s world without the shackles of complexity. 

His goal: make a system that can be grasped quickly, allowing players to dive headlong into blood-soaked adventure with minimal preparation. As he puts it: “I wanted to streamline everything. I wanted to just streamline all of the stuff so we don’t have to have a bunch of subsystems and we can get right to the point.”

At the heart of this streamlined approach lies a simplified stat system, as lean and efficient as Conan himself. All actions, from scaling fortress walls to unleashing eldritch sorceries, utilize the same core mechanic. Players add a stat to a stat die, roll them together, and pit the result against their foe’s defense or the challenge’s difficulty. This elegant simplicity ensures the rules never impede the flow of epic storytelling.

Combat in John’s Conan RPG crackles with visceral energy. Players wield two actions per turn, free to unleash a flurry of attacks or maneuver across the battlefield as they see fit. An innovative minion system allows for swift dispatching of lesser foes, creating those iconic Frazetta-esque piles of bodies that epitomize the warfare of Howard’s tales. Skills like “murderous frenzy” enable chain-killing, letting players carve through enemies with barbaric efficiency.

Yet, true to Howard’s vision, this game isn’t merely about hack-and-slash heroics. Pre-generated tales thrust players into morally ambiguous situations, forcing tough choices that echo the ethical dilemmas found in the original stories. Will you pursue vengeance against a deceiver, or prioritize your own survival? Can you justify rescuing a duke’s daughter when it might jeopardize your escape from a savage island? By starting tales in media res, the game propels players into immediate action, emphasizing the gritty, mercenary nature of life in the Hyborian Age. In this world, there are no easy choices – only the promise of blood, treasure, and glory for those bold enough to seize them.

Character creation eschews rigid classes, embracing the versatility that defines Howard’s hero. Players choose an “origin” – be it the untamed hills or decadent city streets – as their starting point. From there, progression follows a “buffet style” approach, with experience points spent on a vast array of skills, combat moves, and arcane abilities. In roughly 20 sessions, players can ascend from humble beginnings to the heights of power, truly embodying the legendary “King Conan.”

And, thankfully, tales require a mere ten minutes of preparation, making the game accessible even to teenagers. Yet, seasoned gamers will find ample opportunity to optimize their characters and strategies. This balance ensures that whether you’re a novice or a grizzled RPG veteran, the thrill of adventure remains ever-present.

Best of all? Owners of the Conan board game will find themselves right at home. Designed with over 60,000 existing players in mind, the RPG can, if a player desires, seamlessly incorporate miniatures, boards, and familiar monsters from its tabletop predecessor. As John says: “If you own the board game and you have, like, tons of that painted up like I do, then when you start playing this RPG you’re going to be like, ‘My God, I got miniatures for that!.”

Nothing Short of Rich

From his early days rolling dice in his uncle’s D&D games to running the “Conan Gaming Group” on Facebook, Matt John’s journey through the Hyborian Age has been lifelong. This devotion shines through in every aspect of the game, from its mechanics to its lore.

The game’s treatment of the Hyborian world is nothing short of wondrous. Jason Durall’s extensive lore writings bring to life the diverse cultures and nations of Conan’s world. John emphasizes their commitment to authenticity: “We basically wrote it down as we know. And we didn’t speculate deeply about, ‘Well, maybe this means xyz. No, it’s ‘What are the facts? What do we know and what’s canon?’” The core book’s gazetteer and culture write-ups promise to be a treasure trove for both newcomers and seasoned Conan scholars.

Sorcery in this game is as weird and perilous as Howard envisioned. “Sorcery in the Hyborian Age is weird,” John explains. “We don’t necessarily know what powers it… It’s very weird.” For GMs, this represents a wonderful opportunity for storytelling, as the magic system’s origins are technically up for interpretation! Spells are cast using the same core mechanics as other actions, but at a cost – sorcerers must spend life points or stamina to work their arts, reflecting magic’s taxing nature. The system acknowledges the cosmic strangeness of Hyborian magic, offering categories like alchemy, black magic, and necromancy. Sorcerers must seek out and “purchase” individual spells, mirroring the dangerous quest for arcane knowledge.

For the devoted fan, the game is laden with easter eggs and references. Sharp-eyed players might spot nods to the 1982 film, like a certain “grain grinding wheel” reminiscent of the iconic Wheel of Pain. Skill names are often pulled directly from Howard’s prose, while the “waterfront fists” ability tips its hat to the author’s Steve Costigan boxing tales. 

But what of the monstrosities that lurk in the shadows? John teases nightmarish creatures pulled straight from Howard’s imagination. The dragon from “Red Nails” makes an appearance, promising to be a “complete ass-kicker.” Lovecraftian “deep ones” may drag the unwary to watery graves. Even seemingly mundane threats like lions are not to be underestimated. Most intriguingly, John hints at future expansions that could include some of Howard’s more obscure creations, like the four-armed shark man from Kull’s Thurian Age.

And beyond? John’s passion suggests a realm of possibilities – from expansions delving into specific geographies to potential adaptations of other corners of the Conan mythos. The road ahead promises to be as rich and perilous as any of Conan’s legendary exploits.

Get the New Conan RPG Now!

The embers of anticipation smolder, ready to ignite into a blaze of glory. In the new Conan RPG, Conan diehard fans will find a system that captures the primal spirit of the Cimmerian’s adventures, while RPG enthusiasts can sink their teeth into a lean, visceral experience that cuts straight to the marrow of what makes roleplaying thrilling.

For those hungry for more tales of the game’s creation, our full interview with Matt John awaits on YouTube. 

But why wait for the flames to fully catch? 

Matt John’s battle cry rings out: “Go forth and back the Kickstarter so the Hyborian Age can consume you!”