The age of conan

We fight for honor glory and destruction

QUESTS

8.1 Will there be any quests in Age of Conan?
Yes, lots of them. Quests are an integral part of the game (though it by no means is the only way of developing your character), and you will encounter many of them as you progress through the world of Hyboria. Certain computer-controlled characters can give quests, or you can stumble upon them out in the terrain and have them offered to you.

8.2 How do quests work in the game?
We're trying to avoid having quests being all about tasks that just involve killing things or delivering items. While you will certainly find these in the game – after all, they can be quite rewarding when you don't want to dive too deep into a quest line – there are also several quests that really takes skill, strategy and planning to complete. Many quests are multi-layered and they require interacting with both characters and the environment in order to be completed. They also may include puzzle solving that may require one or several people to break. In addition many of the quests are presented in a very cinematic manner, where NPC’s with spoken dialogue will present the story of the world to you in a way you have not seen in MMOs so far. 

8.3 You will actually have puzzle-solving in the game?
Yes! While Age of Conan first and foremost is a massively multi-player online game, we realize that one of the major strengths of single-player games is their ability to create involving quests that can really alter the way the world works around the player. In Age of Conan there will be several quests where you will have to do more than just killing or delivering things. This have always been one of the major problems with massive online games, the fact that quests often tend to be non-interactive and not varied enough to really capture the player's imagination. We really aim to change this with Age of Conan, adding quests that are interactive, captivating and exciting.

8.4 Any concrete examples?
Well, one quest that is planned for the game involves having to find food in the form of ice worms in order to distract a dragon that is blocking the player's path. By collecting the food and laying it out for the dragon to see, they might distract it long enough to slip past it. Another one is where you need to burn your way to the bushes, and in order to do so you must first find a torch, which will do the job.

8.5 How will you interact with characters?
Whereas most MMOs feature boxes full of text which, pops up when you talk to a NPC, Age of Conan takes an entirely different angle. Funcom, the developers of the game, are also the makers of the award-winning adventure games The Longest Journey and Dreamfall, and we're using this experience to create interactive conversations with computer-controlled characters that sometimes resemble what you would find in such games. The game can take control of the camera and give you a special angle when talking to computer-controlled characters, and there will be a branching dialog-tree where you can choose what to say and what to reply when talking to these. The storytelling element is always present.

8.6 Will exploration of the world be tied up to quests?
Yes and no. You will be able to explore many parts of the world without ever touching a quest, but many areas can only be traversed by reaching certain goals and meeting specific challenges. For instance, in one case, you will have to gain access to a gondola in order to make the ascent up a mountainside so that you can progress further into the region you are exploring.

8.7 Will quests be long and complicated or short and simple?
Both, actually. You will find those epic adventures and quests that take a long time to complete, but you will also find quests that can be finished in a short period of time. Both is quite valuable – the long quests may give you more of a challenge and may feel more rewarding, but sometimes you're just logging in to play for a short time, and then shorter quests are more rewarding.

8.8 Will players be able to give out quests?
To a certain degree, but they will have to do that by themselves. There is no system in place for that, and players will not be able to create quests as such. A player can, of course, say that he'll pay money if another player delivers or goes out to kill certain creatures, but it has to be handled by the players themselves. Creating a system for this has not been a focus in the development of Age of Conan.

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15.1 I'm completely new to this – who is Conan?
Conan is a fantasy character created by author Robert E. Howard. Howard wrote a series of stories during the 1930's which took place in the fictional world of Hyboria, where the protagonist was a mighty and fearsome barbarian called Conan. The Howard stories all follows Conan’s life as he evolves from a young warrior and thief to finally become king of Aquilonia, the mightiest nation of Hyboria. In the past seventy years or so, there have been a multitude of books, comic magazines and even movies based off this popular license. Today the Conan name stands stronger than ever, and he is considered to the world’s greatest fantasy hero.

15.2 What part of the Conan lore is the game based on?
We're basing the game primarily on the original works of Robert E. Howard, but we're also drawing upon over seventy years of books and comics. The game itself plays out shortly after the events that are described in the story “Hour of the Dragon”, which is considered to be one of Howards’ finest novels. In this world, filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race, the mighty barbarian has finally seized the throne as king of Aquilonia.

15.3 What steps are you taking to staying true to the original Conan lore?
Staying true to the Conan lore is vital for Funcom, and we have gone to great lengths to ensure that we are true to it. Not only are most of the developers huge fans of the Conan universe, they are also avid consumers of the novels, comics and even films. We even have specific lore persons internally, as well as working together with other companies in the Conan universe, like Moongoose Publishing, Penguin books and Dark horse comics. This means that we can ensure consistency in the world. In addition Conan Inc., the license holders of Conan, are involved in the development to aid us on creating the world as true to the lore as it can be.

15.4 Will any of the nudity and erotic material of the Conan lore feature in the game?
Many characters will certainly be scantly clad and we are staying true to Robert E. Howard's sensual vision of the world. However, there will be no obvious nudity quite simply because we have to stick to certain rules regarding the rating process. While Age of Conan is indeed the first mature MMO, pushing our luck here could risk us getting an Adult Only rating, which we certainly don't want. That said, we embrace our mature rating. 

15.5 Will I be able to meet Conan?
Yes, you can meet him. Conan is the king of Aquilonia though, and he will certainly not open his doors to just anyone. He sits upon his throne in the capitol city of Tarantia, and depending on the nature of your actions you may just be able to meet him in his royal palace one day. Conan is very much present in the game, and he is a central character in the storyline of the game, and you may even see him walking out on his balcony to greet the people far below on the streets.. You will not, however, be able to take on the role of Conan.

15.6 Are there any other known characters present in the game?
Yes, there are many known characters in the universe. We have truly tried to sample the history of Conan, so you can expect to meet many of both his friends and foes. Characters such as Thoth-Amon, Kalanthes and Zenobia are all present in the game. We are working very hard to make sure that you get the ultimate Conan experience in our game, and an important part of that is to give you the chance to truly explore the Conan lore in all its brutal glory.

15.7 Are there any specific locations in the lore that will be present in the game?
Yes, absolutely. We're including areas where entire books and stories have taken place, but we're also aiming to include areas that have not been so elaborately covered in the lore. Players will indeed get the opportunity to visit places such as Tortage, the Bossonian Marches, Tarantia, the Sand Dunes, the Eiglophian Mountains and so on, and there will be plenty of areas to explore. We will reveal more and more regions as we come closer to launch (but not all of them as we want the players to get some surprises). If you have any experience with the Conan lore, we hope you will immediately feel at home when you step into this amazing gameworld.

15.8 What's more important – sticking to the lore or making a fun game?
Although the lore is very important to us, we also have to consider that we are making a game, and games are all about being fun. We are thus trying to strike a fine balance, but it’s always with the lore in mind.

15.9 Slavery is prominent in the Conan lore – is this true for the game?
There are computer-controlled slaves, yes, and some slavery is present in the world, but you can not, for instance, have other players as slaves. We are aware that the world was a different place when the original Conan stories were written in the 1930’s. This means that we have taken certain measures, like in for instance the racism aspects, to make it more modern. Howard tied the races in his world to real cultures and their stereotypes, and stereotypes change with time. We are well aware of how all the lore fits in as a part of the world, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn’t be careful and tasteful about how things are presented.

15.10 Where can I find out more about the Conan lore?
We are updating the lore section at the community website at regular intervals. You will also find more about the lore in our newsletters, as well as on the official Conan website. In addition there are thousands and thousands of comics out there, as well as books and films. If you want to start digging into the amazing lore of Robert E. Howard you can do so from many angles, but it’s only in the MMO where you can actually explore the depth of it first hand.