Conan: Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of 2d20 RPG Revealed, CRPG Incoming?

There are things we know and things we don’t know about the new Conan: Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of tabletop role-playing game from Modiphius Entertainment. On the one hand, we know that it’ll use their 2D20 system, feature cover artwork created by industry veteran Brom, and will spawn a Kickstarter campaign later this month or next month “to fund a larger range of role-playing supplements, campaigns, and accessories to follow the core book.”

On the other hand, we don’t know what to make of this announcement by Funcom late last year that they’re developing a new game based on the Conan license, and whether that means it’ll tie in with Conan: Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of in some way or if we should expect a single player CRPG, a new MMORPG, or a more straightforward action game of some kind. In any event, the tabletop RPG is moving forward at a substantial pace, and there’s more to glean about it in the press release below:

Modiphius unveils CONAN Roleplaying Game cover by World-renowned fantasy artist BROM

Modiphius is proud to unveil the brand new cover for Robert E Howard’s CONAN Roleplaying game – Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of

Brom is an iconic name in fantasy gaming and literature. Well known for his work on the Dark Sun setting for Dungeons & Dragons, he also contributed to Magic: The Gathering, Alternity, Forgotten Realms, Planescape and Deadlands. His covers have graced Michael Moorcock, Anne McCaffrey and Terry Brook’s novels. Brom went on to work as a concept artist for movies like Sleepy Hollow and Van Helsing as well as illustrating DC, Chaos and Dark Horse Comics.

Brom joins a mighty line-up of world-famous CONAN artist signed to the project including Sanjulian (Conan Ace Paperbacks, Vampirella, Eerie, Creepy), Carl Critchlow (Batman/Judge Dredd, Anderson: Psi Division), Mark Schultz (The Coming of Conan, Xenozoic Tales, Prince Valiant), Tim Truman (Dark Horse Conan, Grimjack, Jonah Hex), Phroilan Gardner (Age of Conan, World of Warcraft), Alex Horley (Blizzard, Heavy Metal, Magic: The Gathering) plus Dark Horse regular Tomas Giorello (Conan The Cimmerian, King Conan, 2013 Robert E. Howard Foundation Award for Artistic Achievement), legendary Conan and Red Sonja artist Esteban Maroto (Conan Ace paperback illustrations, Savage Sword of Conan, Red Sonja, Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella) along with the spectacular Tom Grindberg, who is currently illustrating the Tarzan Sunday comic strip alongside Roy Thomas (Conan, Savage Sword of Conan, Conan Saga, Judge Dredd, ERB’s Back to the Stone Age); and Jose Villarrubia, one of the top colorists in the business (various Dark Horse Conan titles including the award-winning King Conan, Alan Moore’s Promethea, Dynamite’s Red Sonja, and many more).’‹

Robert E Howard’s Conan Roleplaying game has been in development since late 2013 by UK based tabletop publisher Modiphius Entertainment and promises all manner of adventure for those who join the Kickstarter launching soon. The campaign will unlock a wide range of high quality full colour hardback books, each cover featuring a maor Conan artist, accessories including beautiful dice and stunning collector’s items.

Jeff Shanks, award-winning Robert E. Howard scholar and essayist (Conan Meets the Academy, REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, Critical Insights: Pulp Fiction, The Dark Man: The Journal of REH Studies, Zombies from the Pulps!) has been hard at work guiding the Modiphius team.

(As a life-long fan of Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories, as well as an avid gamer, I cannot begin to describe how excited I am to see this project nearing completion. The dedicated and inspired writers and artists that I’ve been working with over the last year have been pouring their lifeblood into this game to make it something truly special. Howard’s original tales of Conan the Cimmerian leap off their pulpwood pages, teeth bared, sword in hand, to grab the reader by the throat and drag them along on a whirlwind adventure of blood and steel, savagery and sorcery. This game captures that essence like no other Conan product has in the 80 years since Howard’s death and I am proud to be a part of it.

Over the last year I have worked closely with the talented creators on this project to make sure that this game remains true to Howard’s vision of the Hyborian Age – an age undreamed of – and I believe that the final product will show that to be case. I have been honored to work together with such legendary artists as Brom, Sanjulian, Mark Schultz, Tim Truman, Tomas Giorello, Esteban Maroto, Alex Horley, and many others to bring the world of Conan to life and I’m so excited that the fans will finally get to see some of their spectacular work. And finally I would like to thank Modiphius for having the courage to make this game the way it need to be made – respectful of the source material and true to the core of what makes Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian one of the great archetypes of fantasy adventure.)