History Franchise / ConantheBarbarian

* "The Road of Kings" (October, 1979) by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Edward_Wagner Karl Edward Wagner]]. Novel, features intrigues over the throne of Zingara.

* The infamous ''Conan: Mysteries of Time'' (1991) for [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] (in reality DolledUpInstallment based on ''[[http://www.mobygames.com/game/myth-history-in-the-making Myth: History in the Making]]'', which was considered a classic on Commodore 64 and UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, although the NES version was [[PortingDisaster an entirely different story]]).

* "Conan and the Emerald Lotus" (November, 1995) by John C. Hocking. Novel. A sorcerer has gotten two of his rival magic users addicted to a drug. It amplifies their powers when used, but has nasty withdrawal symptoms. He then cut off their supply, waiting for results. The two afflicted magic users intend to use Conan as a pawn to get them their drug. He has no choice on the matter as their spells threaten his own life. Will receive an UpdatedRelease in 2023 as ''Conan in the City of the Dead.''

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Thoth Amon. His little sister Ayina is the only person of his family he cares about, with his father regularly beating him and sending him out to steal money to keep him flush with alcohol and his mother turning a blind eye to avoid being punished. Ayina stands up against her fathers abuses and Thoth makes it clear that when he finally leaves the city, he will take only her with him. He eventually goes to join the Temple of Ibis, promising to find her again one day and giving her a ring to keep that promise. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, despite all his atrocities, when Thoth finally sends for her, he learns that [[KickTheDog one of the villages he had affected with a mystical plague in his quest for power]] was also where his family had lived, killing them all, including his beloved sister. If there was any good left in him, that disappeared the moment he learned she had died.]]

* NotSoExtinct: Finding the pelt of a long-extinct golden leopard in "The Devil In Iron" suggests to Conan that sorcery has reverted the area he's exploring to the state it had in the remote past. [[spoiler: This is confirmed when he fights a giant snake, also of a long-extinct species.]]

* AWorldHalfFull: Thanks to... Conan! Sure, he is not an AllLovingHero, but he sees this as a world full of adventures and treasures and inspires those under his command, encouraging them to triumph over impossible odds. He eliminated many tyrants allowing more benevolent governors to ascend to power in various nations large and small. After ascended to the throne of Aquilonia he becomes a good and righteous monarch, ensuring the prosperity and justice of the Aquilonian Empire and its people. He saves the world from the machinations of evil sorcerers and their dark gods, ensuring an age where BlackMagic is vanquished. In his last adventure, he [[spoiler: overthrows the evil priests ruling the Antillian Isles, and then navigates to the continent of Mayapan (America) where he ends up in legend as Kukulcan/Quetzalcoatl, bringer of (ironically) civilization.]]

In 2022 (the ninetieth anniversary of "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword"'s publication), the Conan rights holders commissioned Creator/SMStirling to write new fiction about the character, to be set within Howard's continuity. The first book, ''Conan - Blood of the Serpent'' is to be released in November 2022.

* LeonineContract: A slave taunts Conan with the prospect of one in "The Scarlet Citadel".

* "Conan and the Emerald Lotus" (November, 1995) by John C. Hocking. Novel. A sorcerer has gotten two of his rival magic users addicted to a drug. It amplifies their powers when used, but has nasty withdrawal symptoms. He then cut off their supply, waiting for results. The two afflicted magic users intend to use Conan as a pawn to get them their drug. He has no choice on the matter as their spells threaten his own life.

* LegCling: Creator/FrankFrazetta's ''Conan'' covers are the TropeCodifier, with the page images both here and for the trope showing seperate examples.

** King Strabonus of Koth is a casual traitor who poisoned his way to the throne, but he blanches when Tsotha-lanti calls on Set to aid his sorcery.

%%* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor

%%* ExactWords

%%* HoneyTrap

%%* HowTheMightyHaveFallen

* LeonineContract: A slave taunts Conan with the prospect of one in "The Scarlet Citadel"

* TheMenFirst: Chivalry is pretty universal -- Conan has his own rough type and even a number of his enemies value their women over themselves. Exceptions tend to be vile, regarding women as playthings, food, or in Tsotha-lanti's particularly vile case, a source of human skins on which to write his spells.

->''"Know, o prince, that between the years when the oceans drank {{Atlantis}} and [[ShiningCity the gleaming cities]], and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars - Nemedia, Ophir, Brythunia, Hyperborea, Zamora with its dark-haired women and towers of spider-haunted mystery, Zingara with its [[KnightInShiningArmor chivalry]], Koth that bordered the pastoral lands of Shem, Stygia with its shadow-guarded tombs, Hyrkania [[BlingOfWar whose riders wore steel and silk and gold]]. But the proudest kingdom of the world was Aquilonia, reigning supreme in the dreaming west. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian; black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet."''

* DecadentCourt: All of them. Howard was pretty clear about his feelings of civilization being an inherently corruptive force on humanity, thus anyone who lives in something larger than a village and has a political system more complicated than AsskickingEqualsAuthority is partaking in one of these by default. Even if the ruler and their trusted advisors and associates are all good people, someone somewhere within eyesight of the throne is plotting against it.

** In "Iron Shadows in the Moon", a fugitive Conan comes by chance upon a warlord who had recently slaughtered a mercenary band he served in (about to rape the [[GirloftheWeek Girl of the Story]]) - and, with a [[PreAsskickingOneLiner Pre Asskicking Monologue]], kills him in turn.

** Conan himself gets slapped with this trope in Howard's ''The Hyborian Age'' essay, which describes the history of Conan's age, starting with the rise of the Hyborian nations (the proudest being Aquilonia) and ending with the Picts and other barbarians rising up and destroying the entire Hyborian civilization (starting with Aquilonia). Despite having been a prominent king of Aquilonia, Conan isn't mentioned once.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Aside from Conan, in Howard's original stories most characters and {{MacGuffin}}s only ever appear in a single tale and are then never mentioned again even if they do survive the experience. This naturally leaves the question of what happened to them afterwards wide open.

* ''Conan - Blood of the Serpent'' (November 2022) by Creator/SMStirling.

* SharedUniverse: Originally the stories of Conan shared the same universe with the ''Literature/CthulhuMythos'', since Robert E. Howard and Lovecraft were great friends, although currently, apparently for legal reasons, this is no longer possible.

* CoolSword: In the original stories by Howard, Conan didn't really have a [[WeaponOfChoice signature sword]] (or indeed, any other signature weapon) unlike some other fictional characters, and weapons tended to be nondescript. (Conan had a bad habit of losing stuff, up to and including kingdoms.) More apparent in derivative works like the swords from the 1982 film (especially the Jody Samson-designed Atlantean and Father swords) and the [[ThunderboltIron "starmetal"]] sword from the cartoon.

* WeaponOfChoice: Conan [[HeroesPreferSwords most commonly uses swords]] in all media, and is described as "sword in hand" right away in his very first appearance. But in contrast to his film and TV versions (which had the Atlantean and Starmetal swords), the original Conan used nondescript swords - not magical, let alone [[NamedWeapons named]] - and he's not particularly attached to them. He's also just as comfortable with other weapons like spears and axes.
** For reference, this is likely because in the movies, Conan is a hero, and has destiny on his side to glue his blade to him. In the books, he spends a significant amount of time falsely accused of crimes and the majority of the time correctly accused of crimes, so any weapon he doesn't break is going to be taken when he inevitably gets arrested or captured again, and he finds it easier to steal new gear than hang around and risk getting caught again.
** In one story Conan, after a losing streak gambling, considers selling his sword to make up his losses, but stops when he realizes he can use the sword to make more money than he'd ever get by selling it. Obviously he's not that attached to his weaponry if he's even considering such a move.

In 2022 (the ninetieth anniversty of "Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword"'s publication), the Conan rights holders commissioned Creator/SMStirling to write new fiction about the character, to be set within Howard's continuity. The first book, ''Conan - Blood of the Serpent'' is to be released in November 2022.

* AnAxeToGrind: While Conan generally uses swords as his weapon of choice, he has used the battleaxe from time to time in Howard's stories, such as in the first Conan story, "The Phoenix on the Sword," which has King Conan taking one to the assassins trying to kill him in his bedchamber after breaking his sword. King Kull, another Howard creation, famously used the axe, with his catchphrase being "With This Axe I Rule!"

* CombatPragmatist: While a 'stout broadsword' is his usual preference, Conan will use pretty much whatever else is at hand. This includes other weapons like [[AnAxeToGrind axes,]] [[BladeOnAStick spears]], daggers, bows and arrows (though he only learns archery after leaving Cimmeria), and [[ImprovisedWeapon improvised ones]] - like a stool in "Rogues in the House". He will also fight dirty, as when he gouges someone's eyes out in "The God in the Bowl".

* RatedMForManly: But of course. Conan and his massive thews felling mighty foes with speed and strength and winning the heart (or at least temporarily, the body) of the gorgeous and scantily-clad GirlOfTheWeek, felling everything from [[RedshirtArmy Redshirt Armies]] to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s by stabbing them repeatedly with his [[HeroesPreferSwords sword]] (or [[AnAxeToGrind axe]], or [[BladeOnAStick spear]], or [[SinisterScimitar scimitar]], or [[DeviousDaggers poignard]], or [[ImprovisedWeapon whatever readily falls to hand]]).

* WarriorVersusSorcerer: Conan's frequent clashes with {{Evil Sorcerer}}s could arguably make him the TropeCodifier. Thoth Amon, Yara and Thugra Khotan are just a few of the sorcerous opponents he has faced (the first he never met face-to-face, at least in the Howard stories, the second Conan was simply delivering the mechanism whereby the AncientAstronaut who the sorcerer had held captive and tortured could get revenge). Many sorcerers learned that opposing Conan and coming face-to-face with him was a fatal career choice.

Conan reflects Howard's [[AuthorAppeal preferences]] and [[ValuesDissonance prejudices]]; non-Hyborian (i.e. darker-skinned) people are usually untrustworthy, foolish or villains. And snakes... Howard must have been [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes scared of snakes]] - huge [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent "loathsome serpents"]] turn up [[ScaledUp continually]], although this could also have to do with his friendship with Creator/HPLovecraft. The original Conan stories are actually a [[CanonWelding peripheral part]] of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos (although they are, separately, also canon to the Franchise/MarvelUniverse as well).

* BalefulPolymorph: Many ways exist to turn someone into something horrific, and Conan frequently has to fight against such transmogrified beings, and whatever created them. Such as the werehyenas in "Queen of the Black Coast" or the statues in "Iron Shadows in the Moon".

He wrote a few other Conan-related pieces, like [[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Hyborian_Age "The Hyborian Age,"]] [[AllThereInTheManual an essay about his fictional setting]], and the poem "Cimmeria", evoking Conan's homeland.

* FantasyPantheon: Most 'pantheons' aren't really made up so much as stolen from various historical pantheons (Crom being an exception). Derketo, Ibis, Hanuman, Ishtar, Asura and Ymir are all mentioned, but the two big names theologically are Mitra (the chief Aquilonian deity) and Set (the chief Aquilonian ''demon'' and head of the Stygians' pantheon).

* WretchedHive: Shadizar, capital of Zamora (and its thieves' quarter, the Maul, is considered even worse by the residents of other parts of the city. Tortage, the pirate city of the Barachan Islands. In a very different LawfulEvil way, the city of Khemi in Stygia may qualify as well.

* OneSteveLimit: {{Averted}}.
Amalric is the name of three distinct characters within the Conan legendarium: An Aquilonian soldier of fortune who adventures with Conan throughout the Black Kingdoms in "The Drums of Tombalku", the leader of a Nemedian mercenary company who allies himself with Conan during a Khorajan civil war in "Black Colossus", and the Nemedian nobleman who bankrolls Valerius's coup in "Hour of the Dragon". It's never explicitly spelled out if they're all supposed to be the same guy, or if this is just a case of Howard's penchant for using similar-sounding names for characters catching up with him. The name Valerius was also used in "Hour of the Dragon" for the new king of Nemedia then immediately after for one of Conan's allies in "Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn".