[Proposal] Conan: Total War
To anyone who follows me on the forums, you're quite aware of my hatred for CA's current stable of games and Attila in particular. The arrival of Ebdanians and Picts in Spain, France, and the boot of Italy, as well as the near-constant rise of Maurian and Garamantian empires infuriates me. Yet, one day as I was looking at the growing Pictish Empire in Magna Graecia, I was struck by an epiphany. Civilization and empire were being torn apart by Picts who seemed to pop up out of the woodwork... rather like the apocalyptic scenario in Robert E. Howard's Conan universe.
To those not versed in early 20th century swords and sorcery pulp fiction, Conan the Barbarian (best known for a delightful film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and narrated by Mako, the voice of Aku and Uncle Iroh) was a warrior from the fictional, primitive land of Cimmeria. Originally featured in Howard's short stories and novellas, Conan became a popular figure in multiple author's writings, became the hero of multiple comic book series, inspired the Dungeons and Dragons archetypal "Barbarian," and even had its own spin-off series in the form of Red Sonja. Conan stories generally featured the barbarian traveling through analogues of the ancient civilized world as an out-of-place mercenary or pirate -- a German adventuring through decaying Egypt (Stygia), Francia/Roman Gaul (Aquilonia), and various other medieval and ancient countries. The world of Conan, called Hyboria, was actually quite dense, with multiple countries and cultures that were analogous to most ancient and medieval European, Middle-Eastern, and Asian civilizations.
The apocalyptic scenario for Hyboria involved the decaying empires eventually collapsing under the weight of their own corruption and the migrations of Picts, savage warriors from the forests (often depicted like Native-Americans for some reason) who tore all of the great cities down, thus leaving the world empty and destroyed for the arrival of new civilizations (namely, our own, thus implying some cyclical rise and fall of the same cultures and civilizations throughout eternity). With Picts in Italy, it struck me that Attila was perfect for a Conan the Barbarian mod, featuring the various, competing countries of Hyboria, and possibly using the German Hero narrative from the Langobards (though I haven't given in and bought it) for a Conan character.
Are there any skilled modders that would be interested in such a thing? I would be happy to lend my talents to writing or talking more about the world of Conan the Barbarian.
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Originally Posted by Murderin
