Conan board game - In the Clutches of the Picts

'...let me tell you of the days of high adventure!'

After painting up everything needed for the 1st scenario - 'In the Clutches of the Picts', some friends and I sat down to give the game a first whirl at one of our game days. For this post I'll just share a few photos of the game and some initial thoughts. This is not a review!

In this scenario, Conan and his partners Shevatas the thief and Hadrathus the mage must find and rescue a princess from a Pictish village. They know she is in one of the huts, but not which one. As well as finding her, they need to kill Zogar Sag and take his head as proof of the deed.

To start, let's take a look at some pictures of the heroes in action.

You'll see:

• A giant snake
• Pict hunters and warriors (green, red, and purple bases)
• Conan
• Shevatas
• Hadrathus
• Zogar Sag

The giant snake awakes...

The pict village board.

Conan faces some picts, while Hadrathus looks on.

Board and dice...only 9 in the core set.
Some player aids I downloaded are visible.

Shevatas and Conan are outnumbered!

The man himself...

Picts in their huts, along with their treasure chests.

The pict village from above.

Hadrathus is in danger here!

Conan finishes off the giant snake. Another victim

We actually played two games. There were three of us, so one player took control of two of the heroes each time we played. Naturally we didn't get the rules right the first time - even though I had watched lots of videos and run through the rulebook many times! Still, by the end of the second game the mechanics were pretty clear and thanks to my fellow players the game was shaping up.

I really enjoyed getting these models on the table. The maps are really high quality. Great printing, very detailed and atmospheric. The minis looked good for the tabletop (even if I do say so myself!) and I didn't mind the different coloured unit markers that you clip onto the bases (however they will chip off any paint on the rim of your mini - even with varnish.)

Aside from getting the rules wrong, a couple of frustrations crystallized.

1. During the game there are not enough dice in the core set. You get nine (three of each necessary type), and you often end up managing multiple re-rolls and having to remember your total attacks etc.
2. Two players managing three heroes is not ideal (at least for beginners). I guess that this can't be helped as each scenario seems to be very different and written carefully. There was no 2 player version provided (for this particular scenario).

After the game, my friends and I started to appreciate the tactical challenges the Conan boardgame presents. The overlord and the players both have a fair amount to think about and plenty of options, and the characters have different skills and equipment loadouts which certainly affect play.

So what's next?

I decided to make some additional dice (extra dice were made available separately but are now very expensive on eBay.) Also, I'll see if I can find any fan-made or official scenarios for two heroes. There ARE a few in the core scenarios book, but hopefully there will be others online. 

Finally, to prep for those pirates, I need to paint up some new enemies - the pirate captain Zaporavo awaits!

Happy holiday gaming.

:-)

Conan board game - Painted heroes.

About the game

Created by Monolith games, Conan is a tabletop game that includes plenty of dice throwing and resource management. Originally funded via Kickstarter in 2016 the game was also released through retail channels, which was how I picked up a copy in late 2021. I was attracted by the miniatures and the cinematic action that the game promotes by not having an 'I go you go' approach - plus I'm a fan of the 1982 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The miniatures

The amount of minis varies based on whether you purchased the base game or the "King's pledge", but even in the core box there are 74 nicely sculpted models. These are divided into three types - the heroes, the individual villains, and their henchmen (these are not the terms used in-game, but you get the point!). In this post I'll focus on the heroes.

But before that the usual disclaimer.... I'm no expert! Here I'm just trying to get the models ready to play, so they are going to be 'tabletop quality' - and that is good enough. to reflect this in the photos below I've included some images taken from further away. 

Conan the barbarian

Conan hero sheet, as shown at monolithedition.com

The game's namesake, Conan himself is a nice model. What I think is great is the simplicity - you get the muscle, the sword, and the scowl.

For Conan, I used a mix of Citadel paints from both their regular and Contrast paint range. His furs used Contrast Gore Grunta Fur, and boots were Cygor Brown. For these heroes I did all the skin from a base of Tallarn Flesh, then a Guilliman Flesh wash, and finally progressively lighter layers of Tallarn Flesh and Elf flesh mix. If you look from close up, the layers of paint have very stark lines from layer to layer, and they are not blended at all. BUT from a couple of feet away this isn't noticeable and actually makes the model stand out.

Shevatas the thief

Shevatas hero sheet, as shown at monolithedition.com

Shevatas posed a challenge in painting terms because there are different ways to paint dark skin. In the end I went with a simple approach that saved time. You guessed it - a Contrast paint. Cygor Brown worked well by adding shadows without resorting to doing a wash. This colour provided a really beautiful contrast with the (Blood Angels) red loin cloth and gold of his belt, scabbard and necklace ( IMHO ).

If I go back to add more detail, I'd add a couple of layers of highlights using normal brown paints. This would add definition to the muscles. I'll share Belit's body guards below the pirate queen towards the end of this post. (I did do a bit of layering on them and I think it looks good for relatively little extra work.)

Hadrathus the mage 

Conan hero sheet, as shown at monolithedition.com

As the model wields some kind of elemental flame, I thought this would be a good chance to try Object Source Lighting (O.S.L.) After some YouTube instructional videos I gave it a try. Overall I think it worked! To improve next time I would make the light reflect further away from the light source, as it doesn't throw far enough away in this case. Still (based on my experience) I'd recommend anyone try it. It isn't too difficult and I think the end result is really engaging.

Belit - pirate queen

Conan hero sheet, as shown at monolithedition.com

You may know that this game was launched amid some controversy due to its objectification of women. The authors decided to hold true to the Conan of the books of Robert E. Howard and, for better or worse, that has resulted in women being represented in the game art and models in less than practical clothing (not to mention lacking agency in some cases). 

As you can see that applies to Belit, here wearing the...ensemble...described in the books. (Although Belit is a powerful character in the stories, commanding ships and men - see the bodyguards below.)

I'll be honest - I didn't enjoy painting this model. The details were very small and I found it tough to get the skin tone right. Although it can't be seen easily in these photos I made a custom rose-pink wash to add some colour, but the effect wasn't as effective as I hoped it would be.

Belit's bodyguards

Similar to Shevatas, Belit's bodyguards were a great opportunity to paint some different flesh tones. Here again I went with Citadel Contrast paints - a lighter Gore Grunta Fur, and a darker Cygor Brown. As there are five of them with identical poses this gives a nice bit of variety. Although it can't easily be seen in the photos I did layer some Citadel Mournfang Brown highlights on the three darker-skinned models.

They also have really a really different vibe in terms of armor and clothes, which was a nice chance to break away from typical dull metallics. I imagined their homeland as rich in gold but with little iron or steel. As a sign of wealth and social status they have many gold items of jewellery, but for weapons and shields they use copper (Citadel Hashut Copper). I made a link with other models in the box by painting the leather of their shields as hyena hide.

So there you have it, the four principal heroes (and Belit's entourage). Now I'd just like to get them on the tabletop and adventuring in the world of Hyboria.

In my next post I'll share some of the troops/ henchmen that Conan and his allies will face on their travels. Let the adventure begin!