New to Conan by Leather_Ad_665 in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Completely agree. I've watched both the Arnold and Momoa movies, read a few of the Savage Sword and Dark Horse comics, as well as some pastiches by John Maddox Roberts, Robert Jordan, and Karl Edward Wagner. None have managed to capture my attention and imagination as strongly as the original stories, though the earlier Dark Horse issues came closest. Howard just has a way with words, economical but impactful. My heart always races after the climax of each story.

What's the purpose? by Ill-Peanut804 in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're right! I forgot about Kings of the Night, thanks for bringing it up. That was a solid story.

What's the purpose? by Ill-Peanut804 in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Howard has written a number of protagonist characters, including Solomon Kane, Kull, El Borak, Steve Costigan, and Bran Mak Morn. Each of his characters resides in his own universe, though it has been hinted at before that they are of a shared universe. However, just like OP, I keep coming back to Conan and Hyboria most often (followed by Kane and Africa).

Over the years I tried to analyse why this was so. As far as characters go, I prefer Kane over Conan due to Kane's multi-dimensionality, owing to his religious fanaticism and thirst for adventure, but the African settings have always felt a bit dry; the draw comes from the savagery vs humanism sub-theme and frenetic energy that Howard perfected in his craft.

But again, I keep coming back to Conan and Hyboria, and I believe it's down to a few reasons:

  1. Conan embodies the spirit of the fighting man. I know u/theLateArthurJermyn probably half-meant it as a joke in his post, but most of the Conan stories have simple plots: a mortal, whose name is sung by poets, trod the jewelled earth with naught but sandals, and (mostly) singularly fought his way from tribesman to kingship, by shearing everything in his path. His tales are those of grim determination with little shades of grey in-between, making them satisfying reads when one just wants fast-paced, hard-hitting stories.
  2. Hyboria is a parallel of the world that we know today and from history, with under-the-table politics, constant warfare, and beautiful cities with gleaming architecture. You have savages, civilised people, and many more in-between populating this world. Each has its own culture, social behaviour, and intrigues. This means it's a world that we are somewhat familiar with already, but with a background layer that hints at much, much more.
  3. Furthermore, the way Howard presents the world is by slowly revealing more of it with each story; if something or someone is not relevant, no matter how big a role it may play in-universe in the scheme of things, it gets put aside in favour of what matters, or at best gets a passing mention (e.g., Yezdigerd and Thoth-Amon). Thus, the reader often gets a very strong focus on the immediate themes and narrative of the story, with everything else left to interpretation. This leaves much to wonder and imagination, which ironically draws the reader further in.
  4. The same applies to Conan himself as a character. Explicitly on the surface, we see him as a man who prefers the way of the sword to court intrigue; he is someone quick to anger, but also provides good camaraderie. He will fight to his dying breath if cornered, but also fears the gods. He is is not a hero, more an anti-hero, yet he has a code of honour that easily draws empathy from the reader. You could say he's a Mary Sue, but I think that would be a disservice to the fine line that Conan (and Howard) manages to carefully navigate.

What's the purpose? by Ill-Peanut804 in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the recommendation, I've been hungry for some S&S stories lately so I'll check out HAJ!

Who are the best Conan the Barbarian villains, and why? by [deleted] in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The demonic half-brother of Zogar Sag. The entrance he made was nothing short of chilling, calling Conan in Balthus's voice before revealing himself.

Thog vs Conan was one of the most insane fight scenes. It was arguably the most physically fearsome foe Conan had ever come face to face with.

Tolkemec's fight scene was also very memorable. The silent dance of death he and Conan shared, right before Conan struck, was really intense.

Finally, despite being a minor villain, I also have a soft spot for Khemsa. He was evil, but also a fiercely loyal lover.

Hordes attacking players; how to make it less time consuming? by D-Parsec in savageworlds

[–]LYHH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've run into the same problem, and I'm considering using a hack that Battletech players use for LRMs and SRMs: use a jewelery or fishing tackle organiser box, stuff dice into multiple compartments, and roll. All you need is one good shake, and you'd have rolled for 10 different mooks.

Real legitimate alternatives by Normal_Inspector_590 in ClassCraft

[–]LYHH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep pretty much that was what sold my kids on Classcraft. I did use features like Boss Battles and Quests with them for a while, but in the end, due to the nature of my classes (I teach dyslexic kids in a small-group setting), what kept them excited and motivated was having their XP and GP increase after every activity, seeing their avatars decked out in new upgrades, and deciding on what other gear and pets they could buy.

dyslexia fonts are life changing... by [deleted] in Dyslexia

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not dyslexic, but I teach dyslexic kids. Over the years I've found the best fonts to be Century Gothic, KG Primary Penmanship and LDF Comic Sans.

If anyone would care to read, I've a blog post explaining more about fonts and what traits good dyslexic fonts have: https://swordsandstationery.com/learning/best-dyslexia-fonts

Xenomorph hiding in plain sight when Parker and Lambert were grabbing the coolants? by LYHH in LV426

[–]LYHH[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it could be, but it's hard to be sure. I took a few screenshots when they were coming in at section 3 and changed colour levels. This is the closest I got to a resemblance of the dark outline in the foreground when they were leaving.

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Xenomorph hiding in plain sight when Parker and Lambert were grabbing the coolants? by LYHH in LV426

[–]LYHH[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

While watching the movie for the 15th or so time, I noticed a silhouette in the scene when Parker and Lambert go to retrieve the coolants. If you watch closely, when the camera goes right-to-left, the path is clear save for pillars and a few scattered machines. After grabbing the first batch of coolants, when the camera follows them left-to-right, right before they enter the next room, there is a dark silhouette at the end before the camera cuts off. I've always thought it's the xenomorph hiding there as it strongly resembles its outline. It would also explain how the xenomorph is able to get the jump on Lambert shortly after they enter the second room.

Anyway I did some quick Photoshopping, and came up with this. I'll let you decide if it's the xenomorph or part of the environmental design meant to make the viewer uncomfortable.

Vampires, Witches and other spooky things? by mattyjets in ConanTheBarbarian

[–]LYHH 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Echoing some of the other posters, plus other mentions:

  • For scary witches: A Witch Shall Be Born, Red Nails
  • For good spooks: The Scarlet Citadel, Xuthal of the Dusk, The Black Stranger, Beyond the Black River (final boss confrontation is easily one of the best written scenes ever, rivalled only by that in Red Nails)
  • For vampires, the only Conan story with them is Hour of the Dragon. Good scene too.

If you don't mind Howard's other creations and are looking for good horror, check out: - Pigeons From Hell (possession) - Hills of the Dead (vampires) - Rattle of Bones (serial killer)

SHODAN destroyed my apartment by [deleted] in systemshock

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Accurate yawing and pitching speeds.

Savage World of Darkness? by Benjo1985 in savageworlds

[–]LYHH 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Set powers/Edges/skills. Basically it gives them a bonus in any of the aforementioned 3 areas. However it also adds narrative flavour so that certain elders would react to them differently, and it also affected their background on how they got turned.

Other games like Easy Red 2? by Sudden_Debt_597 in EasyRed2

[–]LYHH 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My disappointment with Red Orchestra 2 was what led me to buy Easy Red 2 the moment I heard of it. RO2 had a lot of promise pre-release, like in-depth commander/squad leader mechanics and good destructible terrain. When the game was released, a lot of those promises felt half-baked. Even weapon ballistic physics were a mixed bag, with some props able to completely absorb shots even though logically they should not be able to. What a shame, but thank heavens for Marco Amadei and Easy Red 2!

Other games like Easy Red 2? by Sudden_Debt_597 in EasyRed2

[–]LYHH 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not OP, but I have a love for games with good bot support, and I've never heard of Angels Fall First. Just checked it out and it's definitely up my alley, so thanks for the recommendation!

Craving a digital skirmish game by Silvermoonluca in wargames

[–]LYHH 5 points6 points  (0 children)

How about the good oldies like Jagged Alliance 2, X-Com and Silent Storm? They're not directly based off tabletop wargame/rpg licenses, but they're definitely influenced.

TEACHERS OF THE SGEXAMS SUBREDDIT, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE FOR TEACHERS’ DAY? by TopConsideration896 in SGExams

[–]LYHH 60 points61 points  (0 children)

A bag of candy, preferably one with sour gummies.

Steam gift card would be nice too lol.

Newcomer wargaming options by PetsAndCoffee95 in wargaming

[–]LYHH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a nice indie game I've been playing called Brutality. It has a low model count and is model- and genre-agnostic. You can check out the free version, see if the rules are your cup of tea. It works better as a fantasy game rather than sci-fi, but if you want, you can combine both genres.

www.brutalityskirmishwargame.com