HYPERBOREA » African and Asian races

ArjenL · 9/25/2018 5:57 pm

Did anyone detail any African or Asian races for Hyperborea. I'm eying Spears of Dawn and such as rpg source material to insert into AS&SoH. R.E.Howard did establish Africa and Asia in his Hyborian map (Punt, Zimbabwe, Shem etc.) so it's not as if the source material is lacking.

mabon5127 · 9/25/2018 6:09 pm

ArjenL wrote:
Did anyone detail any African or Asian races for Hyperborea. I'm eying Spears of Dawn and such as rpg source material to insert into AS&SoH. R.E.Howard did establish Africa and Asia in his Hyborian map (Punt, Zimbabwe, Shem etc.) so it's not as if the source material is lacking.

There is no reason not to include the Lemurians and the men of Mu as player races. There are also many empty islands that could have various remnants and lost races! Let us know what you develop!

Morgan

measuredrums · 9/25/2018 9:49 pm

Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!

achiriaco · 9/25/2018 10:39 pm

measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!

Interesting

Iron Ranger · 9/25/2018 10:46 pm

achiriaco wrote:
measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!
Interesting

Worked for John Carter...and Travis Morgan....

Last edited by Iron Ranger (9/25/2018 10:46 pm)

achiriaco · 9/25/2018 10:52 pm

Iron Ranger wrote:
achiriaco wrote:
measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!
Interesting
Worked for John Carter...and Travis Morgan....

I see this working perfectly from a Call of Cthulhu game! Write it!!!

Brock Savage · 9/26/2018 12:55 am

ArjenL wrote:
Did anyone detail any African or Asian races for Hyperborea. I'm eying Spears of Dawn and such as rpg source material to insert into AS&SoH. R.E.Howard did establish Africa and Asia in his Hyborian map (Punt, Zimbabwe, Shem etc.) so it's not as if the source material is lacking.

Check out Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess, It describes Lemuria, a mythical proto-Asia as large as the Hypeborean continent that exists in a spatial anomolay at the edge of the planet..

mabon5127 wrote:
There are also many empty islands that could have various remnants and lost races!

This is very much in the spirit of the setting IMHO.

measuredrums wrote:
I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!

I have considered the same thing myself. I imagine a few Old Earth sailors, airmen, and astronauts have turned up in Hyperborea over the ages as well

Last edited by Brock Savage (9/26/2018 1:07 am)

mabon5127 · 9/26/2018 8:33 am

measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!

I ran a game at Origins called "Lost in Hyperborea" Victorian era characters were waylaid on a rocket ship bound for Venus and ended up in Hyperborea. They had to find a fuel and fix the rocket while dealing with the locals. Lots of fun.

mabon5127 · 9/26/2018 8:41 am

Brock Savage wrote:
ArjenL wrote:
Did anyone detail any African or Asian races for Hyperborea. I'm eying Spears of Dawn and such as rpg source material to insert into AS&SoH. R.E.Howard did establish Africa and Asia in his Hyborian map (Punt, Zimbabwe, Shem etc.) so it's not as if the source material is lacking.
Check out Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess, It describes Lemuria, a mythical proto-Asia as large as the Hypeborean continent that exists in a spatial anomolay at the edge of the planet..

mabon5127 wrote:
There are also many empty islands that could have various remnants and lost races!
This is very much in the spirit of the setting IMHO.

measuredrums wrote:
I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!
I have considered the same thing myself. I imagine a few Old Earth sailors, airmen, and astronauts have turned up in Hyperborea over the ages as well

I have toyed with the idea of the Apes of Kor being led by stranded other-worldly peoples called astronauts much in the feels of Planet of the Apes.

I am also creating a convention game in which shamed Samurai are transported to Hyperborea and must reclaim their honor while they fight for survival.

I've used "enhanced" WWI troops wearing gas masks and exuding mustard gas as enemies in a Hyperborean convention game with Esquimaux heroes!

It all seemed perfectly normal in the weird fantasy of Hyperborea. Much fun!

achiriaco · 9/26/2018 8:52 am

mabon5127 wrote:
measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!
I ran a game at Origins called "Lost in Hyperborea" Victorian era characters were waylaid on a rocket ship bound for Venus and ended up in Hyperborea. They had to find a fuel and fix the rocket while dealing with the locals. Lots of fun.

Sounds great

Iron Ranger · 9/26/2018 8:52 am

mabon5127 wrote:
I've used "enhanced" WWI troops wearing gas masks and exuding mustard gas as enemies in a Hyperborean convention game with Esquimaux heroes!

Oooh....This one!!!

jcstephens · 9/26/2018 6:40 pm

Moorish corsairs raided as far north as England, maybe some of them kept going.

ArjenL · 9/26/2018 8:41 pm

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll have to work on some descriptions of people from the R.E.Howard African Hyborian nations of Punt and Zembabwe and Shem.

Caveman · 9/27/2018 2:06 pm

measuredrums wrote:
Heck yeah man, great idea ... That's what I really love about the Hyperborea setting, you could literally insert any adventurer from any historical period of Earths past (or ... future!?!) and have a go at it ... I've actually been contemplating an adventure, and/or campaign, where certain 1920's Earth "Mythos Investigators" are transported to the land beyond the North Wind via a spell/ritual from an ancient insanity blasting tome!

Plan to have 4 investigators travel through from standing stones in Dunwich to a Kelt standing stones in my Blackmarsh.

Using Eldritch Tales rules to combine to AS&SH.

measuredrums · 9/28/2018 11:08 am

Caveman wrote:
Plan to have 4 investigators travel through from standing stones in Dunwich to a Kelt standing stones in my Blackmarsh.

Using Eldritch Tales rules to combine to AS&SH.

My plan involves taking PC's from an actual Call of Cthulhu game/campaign (yet to be started) and porting those characters over to ASSH/Hyperborea once their characters find their way beyond the North Wind. The conversion between the Chaosium Basic Roleplay system and ASSH/old school D&D is rather painless (the conversion guide in d20 Call of Cthulhu is helpful too) ... Haven't had a chance to look thru Eldritch Tales yet.

Blackadder23 · 9/28/2018 12:23 pm

With respect to the original questions, in my opinion a DM can and should add whatever races he wishes (or whatever of anything else he wishes, for that matter) to Hyperborea. I do think it's worth noting that Hyperborea seems to have connections mainly to the northern hemisphere of Earth, probably due to the fact that it was once "beyond the North Wind". That would explain the lack of sub-Saharan Africans, South American natives, and Australian Aborigines. Also that Esquimaux and half-blood Picts are physically (partially) Asiatic, and that the Ixians and (especially) Lemurians have "pulp Oriental" cultures, so there are some options already for creating adventures along those lines.

(While I support a DM adding whatever he wants to his game, I personally probably wouldn't add these elements to the game. Hyperborea is a very unusual pulp setting with a lot of distinct flavor, and I really don't see what is gained by making it more closely resemble every other Conan knockoff and retread by adding a pseudo-Africa, pseudo-China, pseudo-India, etc. But that's just me.)