by Burt Labelle
HYBORIAN AGE II is loosely based on the HYBORIAN AGE DIPLOMACY by Gary Gygax which in turn had its basis in the map of the Hyborian World which appears in most Robert Howard Conan books.
0. All the usual rules of Diplomacy apply save where amended below.
1. There are five “major powers” in HA II. They are Cimmeria, which has risen to great heights under Conan and the mercenary army he has with him wherever he goes, Aguilonia, which a while back had none other than Conan as its King, Turan, which has been expanding aggressively (and unchecked) for some time, The Federation, made up of Ophir, Corinthia, and Koth, with direction of the group presently under Corinthia, and last, Stygia, allied with the Corsair and Black Kingdoms, in a last effort to regain its former glory.
2. Initial deployment:
CIMMERIA: A Thorn, A Calgar, A Blue Mountains;
AQUILONIA: A Tauran, A Poitan, A Shamar;
THE FEDERATION: A Tybor, A Ophir, A Corinthia, A Khorshemis;
TURAN: A Akif, A Aghrapur, F Khawarism;
STYGIA: A Khemi, A Thoth-Osiris, F Sukmet.
3. One might suspect that Cimmeria, Aquilonia, and The Federation are landlocked by their supposed inability to build fleets. Not so. Besides the home supply centres (stars) and the neutral supply centres (dots), you will note five unusual neutral supply centres (circled dots). They are: Vanaheim, Southern Pictish Wilderness, Isle of the Black Ones, Messantia, and Corsair. In these supply centres, any nation may build fleets in a fall turn. The only prerequisite is that the nation control the supply centre (i.e., occupy it). In the first Fall occupation it is of course impossible to build in these centres, as the unit occupying it is already there; but in Fall immediately following, fleets may be built. Armies may NOT be built in these provinces; only in a major power’s homeland.
4. No power may build more than one Fleet per year.
5. Lined areas are desert and/or mountains, impassable.
6. Victory criterion is 17 units on the board.
7. Abbreviations listed:
WPW-Western Pictish Wilderness
UP-Upper Hold
SPW-Southern Pictish Wilderness
GUN-Gunderland
EPW-Eastern Pictish Wilderness
KOR-Koraja
PIW-Pictish Waste
SHA-Shadigar
BOS-Bossonian Marches
VaH-Valley of Hangmar
ZMB-Zamboula
8. Spring moves take place in the year 3700.
(Original publication July 1973)