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Faith and Fervour
FAITH AND FERVOUR
Credits Contents
Author
Vincent Darlage
Editor
Richard Ford
Cover Art
Chris Quilliams
Interior Artists
Jim Brady, Slawomir Maniak, Philip Renne &
Chad Sergesketter
RPG Manager
Ian Belcher
Production Director
Alexander Fennell
Proofreading
Scribendi
Playtesters
Mark Billanie, Daniel Haslam, Mark Howe, Alan Moore,
Daniel Scothorne, Mark Sizer & Michael J Young
Special Thanks
Thommy Wojciechowski & Fredrik Malmberg at
Conan Properties.
Introduction 2
Prayer & Sacrifice 3
Skills & Feats 8
Mitra’s Might 15
Aquilonia’s Asura 23
Gods of the Black Kingdoms 25
Brythunian Heresies 41
Crom & his Dark Race 44
Hyborian Bori 47
Hyperborean Heresies 49
Lords of Hyrkania & Turan 51
Ancient Traditions in Khitai 54
Nemedia’s Ibis 58
Nordheimir Religion 61
Dark Rites in Pictland 63
Shem’s Polytheism 68
The Faith of Set 80
Mystical Reverence for Asura 83
Religion in Zamora 87
Mitra & Zingara 90
Arcane Religions 93
Roleplaying Priests & Cultists 95
License 96
Conan: Faith and Fervour
is © 2006 Conan Properties International LLC. CONAN®, CONAN THE BARBARIAN® and
related logos, characters, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Conan Properties International LLC
unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorised User. Conan the Roleplaying Game
is released under version 1.0 of the Open Game License. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by
any means without the written permission of the pulisher is expressly forbidden. See page 96 for the text of this
license. With the exception of the character creation rules detailing the mechanics of assigning dice roll results
to abilities and the advancement of character levels, all game mechanics and statistics (including the game
mechanics of all feats, skills, classes, creatures, spells and the combat chapter) are declared open content.
Printed in China.
1
Introduction
Religion in the Hyborian Age
Religions in the
Conan stories are generally dark,
brutal affairs, full of secrets and monstrous priests. Most of
the stories give religion a rather unholy, unclean air. Conan
the Cimmerian strives to conquer and tread a primitive time
with primitive religions. This volume in the
Conan
the Roleplaying Game
series is designed to enhance the
roleplaying aspect of scholars, cultists and religious
leaders in the Hyborian Age.
world; a completely comprehensive work would diminish a
player’s and a Games Master’s ability to make the game world
of the Hyborian Age his own, with its own rituals and gods
and concepts.
In the Conan stories, it is left unclear as to whether
the gods exist or not. The descriptions for the
Hyborian Age gods, which may or may not be real
entities, do not include ‘statistics,’ such as might
be found in many sourcebooks. Even if a Games
Master does consider the Hyborian Age gods to be
real, they would possess powers that no mortal, not
even the mighty Conan, could hope to defeat. Thus
the need for monster-like statistics for these gods is
still unnecessary. Conan does not come into armed
conflict with Set but only with Set’s priests. Keep
in mind that just because a certain demon claims to
serve a deity, that demon could be lying or may have
the same misconceptions about the gods as some
mortals have.
Since this volume does not contain useless statistics
for the gods, the question becomes, what does a
priest of a god worship and why does he worship it?
This volume is designed to answer those questions,
not to become some sort of ‘divine bestiary’ of fiends
and foes for
Conan the Roleplaying Game
characters
to fight and defeat.
The religions are divided up largely by culture and
even a few heresies and alternate religions at variance
with the ‘official’ religion of an area are detailed. New
feats, spells and other concepts are also detailed.
Readers will note that a few things are left vague.
For the most part, this book does not try to
describe each and every ritual or even catalogue
all the possible rituals a given religion
might have. A game should live during
actual play, and players and Games
Masters both should be able to
contribute to the overall
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Prayer & Sacrifice
Pantheons and Gods
Most of the
gods are structured together into
pantheons, which are worshipped in particular regions.
This is because those gods who are worshipped in more
than one kingdom often seem to change according to the
perceptions and culture of their new worshippers, so that in
effect the Asura worshipped in the Hyborian kingdoms is no
longer the same Asura worshipped as part of the Vendhyan
pantheon. Thus what appears to be the same god may be
worshipped within different pantheons. While worshippers
of one pantheon might be respected by and happily engage
in debates with the priests of another, as worshippers of a
different form of the god they are not regarded as having the
same privileges as local worshippers.
experience and thus creates the first sacrament of the religion.
Later, after his death, his tribal symbol becomes a holy symbol
for the new religion, adding another sacrament, and his burial
place becomes holy. His teachings are preserved and guarded
as the revelations of the god he worshipped. Thus the tribal
religion is converted to a revealed religion with sacramental
aspects.
Mystical Religions:
Mystical experiences are at the heart
of this type of religion. In order to understand the divine
and become devout one must have a mystical experience
of some sort. Life, society and even fellow believers are of
no consequence. The divine must be experienced directly
and individually. Usually these religions do not go beyond a
single person but occasionally there arises a charismatic and
powerful individual who constructs a social structure built
around the achievement of the preferred divine experience.
These religions usually die with the charismatic leader unless
a new authority quickly takes over. Ritual, sacraments
and traditions are used to aid beginners in achieving the
divine experience but are ultimately thought of as crutches
and the goal is to get rid of the need for such crutches as
soon as possible. A problem with this religious form is its
unpredictability. Anyone can have any sort of experience and
come away with virtually any message, inspiration, insight
or teaching, even if it contradicts the current authority’s
teachings. These alternative insights may generate their own
followings, creating a split or even hostility in the religion.
Some mystical religions revolve around the use of certain
drugs or around certain acts, such as masochism or even
orgasm. Many of the mystery cults are simply craftsman
guilds devoted to protecting the secrets of their chosen craft.
At annual festivals the various craft guilds put on complex
morality plays emphasising myths and philosophies relevant
to their chosen craft.
Some of the gods are sufficiently powerful that they are the
only one worshipped by many people in a particular region.
Sometimes these lone gods are worshipped alongside a more
established local pantheon; other times they are suppressed,
regarded as demons by the official state religion.
A character who is a worshipper or priest of an entire pantheon
may well have a preferred god or gods within that pantheon
but he will call upon whichever deity is most appropriate at
the time. A priest of a pantheon can officiate at the services
of any of the gods of that pantheon.
Types of
Religions
There are many types of religion in the Hyborian Age.
Mystical, nature, prophetic, revealed, sacramental and tribal
religions all exist throughout the nations of the world. Many
of these religions revolve around the same pantheon of gods
and are simply alternative paths argued and debated among
the priests and holy men, but others are truly alternative
types of religions. Most Hyborian Age religions are complex
enough that many of these types are intertwined. An example
might be a revealed religion with sacraments that create a
mystical experience.
Nature Religions:
Among the earliest sort of religion
developed by men, nature religions present gods and
supernatural powers as revealed through natural events and
objects. Deities can be metaphorical or literal. Nature
as a whole is often treated as sacred; everything in the
universe is connected by an intricate web of energy.
These religions are almost always polytheistic.
They do not rely upon sacred writings,
individual prophets or single religious
figures. Shamans act as religious
guides to serve the community
Religions often grow and change and these types may help
a Games Master develop a history for a religion. Perhaps a
charismatic leader of a tribal religion has a mystical experience
and a revelation. He leaves his tribe and begins to spread the
word of the revelation and his teachings are written down.
He encourages people to use lotus to re-enact the mystical
3
but any believer is considered to be capable of experiencing
divinity and the supernatural. Often all members are
considered members of the clergy and both men and women
can be found in leadership positions. Religious events are
held in open air courts or outside of cities. Few followers
erect permanent sacred buildings, preferring to leave nature
unmodified as much as possible. Most of these religions have
a darkness lurking behind them, a ‘dark side’ inclined toward
the mastery of nature and other humans. Unfortunately,
many people tend to embrace the darker elements of these
types of religions.
authoritative interpreters of existing revelations, but
sometimes serve as conduits for continued revelations. The
primary duty of the believer is to be loyal and perform slavish
obedience to the religion’s gods and/or priests. Few of these
religions exist at this point in Hyborian history. Thieves
often consider the theft of the written revelations of these
few temples to be a testament to their thieving abilities.
Prophetic Religions:
A prophet defines a prophetic religion.
Prophets guide and warn society, playing an ongoing and
dynamic role, something other religions cannot provide with
their static texts and past messages. Oracles play a large
part in prophetic religions. Prophets do not authoritatively
interpret past revelations; instead, prophets receive new and
ongoing revelations. The past is not important. The new
information being received supersedes the past. The focus
is on society and action as manifestations of divine will
and presence. The nature of society is a portent of divine
will. If good things are happening, the gods are happy but
if bad events are ongoing, divine anger is evident… and
the prophet will reveal what the gods want from
man to fix society. Obedience to divine will is
mandatory in these religions to avoid divine
anger and retribution. Correct behaviour is far
more important than correct belief. Members of
prophetic religions can be found in all Hyborian
Age nations, preaching their visions
and revelations, warning everyone
of their impending doom.
Revealed Religions:
A revealed
religion has a set of revelations,
usually given to mankind by
a god or gods, as its symbolic
centre. The law is communicated
to believers in the form of sacred
writings, prophets or miracles.
These things express the will
or desires of the god or gods.
Revealed religions teach that their
god or gods are active and real.
They have a hierarchical structure
in terms of religious leadership
and even in relationships
between members. Priests are
considered intermediaries
between the human and
the divine. They
usually serve as
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