Barbarians!!!

Playing the Noble Savage
I am once again reading the Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard and dreaming of ages that never were. The Conan stories inspired my earliest forays into tabletop role-play and many of my first generation characters were human fighting men of a barbaric nature. The barbarian, or noble savage, is as strong an archetype in my mind as any can be. Following years of playing “fighting men” (itself a term often used by Hoard) and later “fighters” all loosely based on Conan as an archetype, you can imagine my thrill when I first opened the pages of TSR’s Unearthed Arcana for the Advanced game and discovered an actual class called “Barbarian” which was seemingly modeled with Mr. Howard’s iconic hero in mind. My very next character was to be a “Barbarian” class warrior.
In some ways the new class catered to my needs for playing a Conanesque character, but the fighting man class was never a complete disappointment. Rereading the Conan stories I am reminded how often Mr. Howard mentions Conan in armor. In many stories he appears in chainmail and occasionally in plate armor, facts which coincide nicely with the fighting man character class. The bare-chested Conan is largely an image from comics and movie portrayal, although the stories do portray Conan as frequently clad only in loincloth and sandals.
The barbarian class from Unearthed Arcana allows for the wearing of metal armor, but makes certain barbarian class abilities less useful while in heavier armor. The class portrays an aversion to magic that seems very consistent with the Conan character. (Although in at least two stories, The Phoenix on the Sword and The People of the Black Circle) Conan makes use of a magic item.
TSR did not include the Barbarian class in the 2nd edition core players handbook of its Advanced game, although the barbarian did get its own softcover “Complete” series book. The Barbarian class of 3rd edition and those that follow is unsatisfying to me and it has been years since I have played a D&D Barbarian. Starting with 3e, I notice the Barbarian’s key feature becomes the “rage” mechanic, which makes the class seem more like the old “Berserker” villain rather than a noble savage modeled upon Conan the Barbarian. The Cimmerian can certainly be impulsive and enter a state of fighting “frenzy”, but he is much more than an unthinking brute (and never unknowingly slaughters his companions in a blind rage).

The popularity of Mr. Howard’s barbarian stories have inspired comic books, movies and a number of role-playing games. One of my favorites is Barbarians & Basilisks by John M. Stater. A slim 23 page print-on-demand booklet devoted to playing barbarians in an heroic age undreamed of, B&B contains everything needed to play as a Barbarian, Sorcerer, Thief, or (civilized) Warrior and includes a bestiary and a sample scenario. B&B uses a straight forward 2d6 universal system mechanic and a three rank spell system. Magic spells are defined by their effect, Passive, Active or Attack. The exact nature and effect of the spell is left up to the player to describe (with referee approval, of course) making the system flexible and open ended. For example, conjuring up a large rock could be done in each of the three magical ways. As an illusion of a large boulder, it would count as Passive magic. If an actual boulder is called into existence and used to block a tunnel, that would be an Active spell. While the conjured boulder, if dropped onto an enemy for damage would constitute an Attack spell.

Barbarians of Lemuria is an RPG aimed at, you guessed it, playing barbarians in a sword & sorcery setting filled with fantastic beasts, nimble thieves, dark gods and sinister sorcerers. Set in the fantastic world of Lemuria inspired by the fiction of Lin Carter, BOL exists in at least three editions. They all feature the same core mechanics and the larger volumes include a more detailed gazetteer of Lemuria describing the lands, cultures and creatures of the antediluvian world. The Mythic Edition pictured above comes to just over 200 pages. The core mechanic on BoL is a 2d6 task roll adding an appropriate attribute or career skill modifier. The magic system is based on spell points and spells themselves are classified according to four levels, cantrips, and arcane powers of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd magnitudes. Casting requires a task roll in addition to expending power points. In keeping with the spirit of Howard’s Cimmerian, characters in BOL spend their treasure between adventures on carousing so that they are always broke and eager for the start of their next adventure.

Blood & Bronze is a high adventure game with much the same feel as the Conan stories although it is placed in a setting more inspired by historic Bronze Age Mesopotamia. The result is a rather unique experience in role-playing. The popular ( mis)understanding of Bronze Age civilizations with their priest kings and mythical heroes in many ways lends itself to creating adventure stories involving bigger than life characters. This B&B game is a translation of a Swedish RPG. It, like the other B&B is also a class-based system. B&B has simple, easily recognized mechanics combining a mixture of d20 saves with a d6 dice pool system for combat that produces levels of success and damage. The setting is loosely based on a mythical Mesopotamian civilization heroic age, but the feel I get from the game is more fantastical than historical. Set about a century after the great flood, it is somewhat post-apocalyptic in feel as well. Civilizations are recovering in some places, barbaric in others and mysterious ruins abound. The game includes a couple of magic using player character classes and in keeping with a mythical age, there are monsters to challenge the heroes.

Going from a thin booklet to my next topic, the thick hardcover Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea by North Wind Adventures, AS&SH is an old school style FRP game much inspired by the work of Gary Gygax, Clark Ashton Smith (Hyperborea) and Robert E. Howard. AS&SH includes core mechanics that will seem familiar to many, but are very much flavored toward delivery of a swords & sorcery feel. The default setting of Hyperborea is one of the best I have encountered in the genre. Hyperborea is at once original and yet familiar having elements inspired by H.P. Lovecraft and other classic pulp era authors. The core rule book is just over 600 pages and includes the setting material. There is also a players’ manual that contains all the rules for creating characters and playing the game minus the GM advice, monsters and setting sections, thereby cutting the page count by half. AS&SH is an excellent game I am always thirsting to play more of.
The World’s First Role-Playing Game and the greater hobby it created has its origins in many influences, among them are stories of myth and legend and the fantastic popular fiction referred to as Swords & Sorcery. Chief among the protagonists of many of the most well known swords & sorcery genre tales are the larger than life barbarians. Inspired by what we read, many of us gamers have created characters which we imagine to be something like those barbarian fighting men (and women) we have read about. The savage worlds which breed such people are usually just the type to support a life of high adventure filled with legendary deeds - and isn’t that a great reason to play a barbarian character in a savage world!