Given the lack of standard fantasy races in the setting, one might suppose that race isn't an issue in Conan. One would be very, very wrong in that assumption. In complete defiance of political correctness but in perfect accordance with Robert E. Howard's writings, the various human races of the Hyborian age here fill the "fantasy race" niche.

Major races include Cimmerian (naturally), Himelian Tribesman, Hyborian, Hyrkanian/Turanian, Khitan, Kushite/Northern Black Kingdom Tribesman, Nordheimer, Pict, Shemite, Southern Islander/Southern Black Kingdom Tribesman, Stygian, Vendhyan, Zamorian, and Zingaran. Several of these include variant races – the Hyborians in particular. From a game mechanics standpoint, race determines background skills, favored class, prohibited classes, automatic languages, and bonus languages, as well as a series of miscellaneous perks and drawbacks.

Background skills are those for which the character receives a couple of levels regardless of class. Choosing to pursue a race's favored class provides extra feats as opposed to allowing easier multiclassing – in fact, in keeping with Conan's primal Renaissance man style, the game puts no restrictions on multiclassing at all. "Prohibited class" refers only to classes a character may not choose as an initial career – obviously, the landlocked Cimmerians aren't going to produce a pirate, but as Conan himself illustrates, Cimmerians may certainly become accomplished pirates when given the opportunity.

I love the game's generosity with languages. There's no "Common Tongue" in the setting, so it's only natural that well-traveled characters would have to pick up a number of different languages. As such, characters not only receive a number of bonus languages available to their race equal to 3 + INT modifier, but they also get a new language automatically every other level. This deftly simulates the limited obstacle language barriers play in the life of Conan – and, by extension, in the lives of the PCs sharing his world.

The politically incorrect bits really kick in with those miscellaneous perks and drawbacks. Consider the Cimmerians, for example: not only are they natural climbers and outdoorsmen, but they really are both stronger and dumber than the average human. And another race, the Wazuli, possesses a natural ability to see in the dark – a perk reserved for nonhumans in most fantasy games, and one that would be considered an ignorant ethnic stereotype if ascribed to real-world humans.

Character Classes

Several differences from d20 immediately stand out here.

First of all, starting at 11th level, players no longer roll hit dice and add the Constitution bonus for hit points gained per level. Instead, characters get a class-dependent flat hit point increase, sans Constitution bonus. While this does fit the gritty setting by allowing characters to grow tougher but not impervious, players of characters with high Constitution bonuses may feel ripped off.

Also, due to the lack of Armor Class, characters instead have class-and-level-based Dodge and Parry bonuses. What might strike readers as strange, though, is the presence of a universal Magic Attack bonus as well – despite the fact that only one class normally uses magic. This makes some sense given the freewheeling nature of multiclassing in the game, however, as it keeps characters moving into the Scholar class later in their careers from being crippled magically. Essentially, it's the inverse of that mysterious manner in which characters in most d20-related systems increase their combat skill even while pursuing non-combat professions.

Given the nature of the setting, it should come as no surprise that Conan classes lean heavily toward variations on the "fighter" theme:

• Barbarian: Not the berserker you may have come to expect. These are, instead, the most versatile fighter types in the game, with a bit of outdoorsman thrown in. Interesting class features include Versatility, which lets the character use any improvised weapon with a lesser penalty than normal, and Crimson Mist, which does allow the character to go berserk – but only when faced with a terrifying opponent and successfully resisting his fear. Incidentally, I couldn't help noticing a bit of ambiguity in the class description regarding whether this is a profession or a culture.
• Borderer: A ranger by another name – right down to the two-weapon fighting – and a match for the Barbarian in combat ability. (Then again, every class except the Noble, Scholar, and Thief starts with two-weapon proficiency. It's just that the Borderer has the option to get better at it as a class ability.) I'm not really certain if this class springs from Howard's work or simply from a perceived character niche, although the similarities to the standard D&D ranger make me suspect the latter. I do like the high-level Heroic Sacrifice ability, though, which allows the Borderer to prevail against overwhelming odds… so long as he dies in the attempt.

Playtest: The Borderer in our group proved the deadly effectiveness of even basic two-weapon proficiency with his two light maces. The group's Barbarian preferred instead to use his broadsword two-handed, thereby getting a bonus to damage. It seemed to me that they both did quite well for themselves in combat, although I'd have to give a slight edge to the Borderer.

• Noble: Another fighter type, this one starting out a bit weaker than the others and picking up more social than martial abilities. On the other hand, this is only one of two classes with automatic proficiency in heavy armor – the other being Solider – and the only class with the starting funds to actually purchase it. I like the fact that Nobles receive certain perks particular to their homeland, and the fact that they receive such class-based abilities as Do You Know Who I Am?, which can overawe those of lesser blood. (If they do, indeed, Know Who He Is, of course.)
• Nomad: Like the Barbarian, this class occupies a blurry realm between "class" and "culture". The class is the equal of the Barbarian and the Borderer in combat skill, but gets good survival abilities in hot, dry climates, powerful mounted combat tricks, and great fleetness of foot in battle.
• Pirate: In addition to the obvious seagoing skills, the Pirate combines the quick-footed combat of the Nomad with the deadly sneak attacks of the Thief. In combat ability, they're basically a seagoing version of the latter; however, they also get the combat-related class ability with the coolest name ever: To Sail a Road of Blood and Slaughter. (Actually, it sounds cooler than it is, in my opinion. It just lets Pirates administer a coup de grace on a fallen opponent as a free action without provoking an Attack of Opportunity.)
• Scholar: As you might expect, this is the only completely non-fighter class in the bunch, with the possible exception of the Thief. Scholars are also the only ones who may learn spells as a class ability. Note that I said "may" – that's important, because to the game's credit, it allows for Scholars who really are purely scholars rather than sorcerers. Basically, Scholars can choose to learn more stuff rather than to take more magic. Considering how weak most beginning magic-using Scholars are already, however – seriously, they make 1st level D&D 3.x magic-users look like the love children of Merlin and Gandalf – I doubt anyone but a hardcore "Real Roleplayer" would go such a route.
• Soldier: I suppose this is the closest the game comes to a basic fighter analog, but that's oversimplifying things. Soldiers and Barbarians probably share the status of the best dedicated fighters in the game – although Borderers and Nomads certainly can give both a run for their money, depending upon the circumstances – but whereas the Barbarian excels at individual combat and quick movement, the Soldier starts with proficiency in heavy armor and picks up bonuses for fighting alongside other Soldiers. Since starting Soldiers can't afford heavy armor, however, and since some of their trademark abilities depend upon other Soldiers being in the group, I'm guessing that most of those players primarily interested in combat-capable characters will turn to the Barbarian.
• Thief: Not much to tell here. If you know the D&D 3.x rogue, you know the Thief.

Playtest: While I liked the various class abilities, I found them restrictive in play. For every remotely unusual action the PCs took, I had to stop and think whether the action in question was one anyone could attempt, or whether it fell under a class ability. (Clasping a sword in one's teeth is a class ability, for example.) It made the game feel a little less gung-ho that it should have felt, somehow.

I should note that this chapter includes a table allowing players to select one of three starting "equipment packages" for their characters in lieu of starting funds – a very welcome time-saver.

Playtest: All of my players took advantage of this option, with just a couple of tweaks here and there – a testimony to the attractive scope of each class's options.

Fate Points

To turn even 1st level Conan characters into tools of destiny, every character starts the game with three Fate Points (FPs). These work much like a weaker version of the Drama Points in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. With them, characters can be "left for dead" by an enemy when they would otherwise perish, strike a mighty, weapon-shattering blow that always does maximum damage (including bonus damage from sneak attacks, etc.), buy off Corruption (see below), or tweak the current circumstances in the character's favor.

The mighty blow aspect doesn't seem particularly useful to me, since enemies vulnerable to a single strike – even a maxed-out strike – aren't likely to be worth breaking a weapon over. And while such a blow conjures visuals of Conan making a bicep-bulging sword swing, characters using sneak attacks stand to gain the most from spending FPs that way.

Playtest: Only "left for dead" saw any use in my trial adventure, when a demon put the smackdown on the group's barbarian. I'd imagine that's the most common use of FPs for low-level characters. Of course, since this was a one-shot, being "left for dead" in the climactic battle didn't do him a whole lot of good. I would suggest that FPs ought to be able to reduce damage, but I suppose that ever-increasing hit points – even when limited slightly as they are in this game – already represent the increasing ability of characters to reduce the effects of damage.

Codes of Honor and Allegiances

In lieu of an alignment system, Conan PCs have the option to take Codes of Honor and/or Allegiances.

The former come in two varieties – Barbaric and Civilized – each with a distinct list of acceptable behaviors. (For example, the Barbaric Code of Honor allows an adherent to slay a helpless but dishonorable foe.) In exchange for adhering to these restrictions, the character gains bonuses to Will saving throws – especially against Corruption – and a small Reputation boost.

Allegiances – of which a character may have up to three, to people, organizations, nations, or religions – give the PC potential access to help from the aligned party as well as a Charisma bonus when dealing with them.

Corruption

In an excellent nod to the inherent bleakness of the setting – which is, after all, part of the Cthulhu Mythos – characters must make Will saving throws to avoid gaining Corruption points whenever they interact with the forces of darkness in any capacity other than fighting or fleeing (e.g., chatting with demons, engaging in nasty sorcery, mucking about with Artifacts Man Was Not Meant To Use, etc.). And just as losing Sanity in Call of Cthulhu makes additional Sanity loss more likely, Corruption points act as a penalty to Will saves against Corruption, thereby creating a setting-appropriate downward spiral into depravity.

Reputation

Here's yet another clever rule for emulating the source material. As was the case with Conan himself, PCs in this game probably won't be building up their own private hoards of loot. In fact, they're quite likely to find that they've blown their hard-earned cash on ale and whores between adventures. In a way, Reputation replaces material goods as the object of accumulation. Characters start with a Reputation score of their level plus their Charisma modifier, and the score increases by one each level. In addition, the characters' actions and exploits will increase or decrease this score. Higher scores give a bonus to various interaction rolls, although (at the GM's discretion) they can also act as a penalty to disguise attempts where the character is well-known. The mechanic factors in a number of logical variables, such as the effect of location, the nature of the reputation, and the ability of characters with multiple aliases to have multiple reputations as well.