Barbarians of Gor is a by the book (BtB) Gorean role-play server that is set in a group of islands many hundreds of pasangs west of the mainland in the middle of Thassa (the sea). The group of islands is collectively known as World's End, and this season we are playing on the island of New Tabor (Savage Wilds Map). Goreans, from the mainland, are marooned on these islands with no opportunity to return home and must make the best of it on a small island surrounded by hostile flora, fauna and natives. This island is less then 200 pasang square and numbers a population in the thousands, not tens of thousands.

This season the people of Vargor on New Sardar have left their home and migrated to New Tabor for the promise of Eldarium and advanced medical technology. How will your character adapt to an unfamiliar land and the making of allies from those once enemies? Some things will change simply because you aren't in Kansas any more, and some things will remain the same. Only the adaptable will survive.

While it is valid for a character to be antagonistic towards other cultures, the setting is one of survival and characters may have to “adapt or die”. We encourage players to moderate their BtB opinions against the reality of the setting. There are many examples in the books of characters integrating, however temporarily, into situations not of their Home Stone/Land.

Location

Land Mass

World's End lies somewhere west of the known world of the Gorean mainland on the Planet of Gor. In our Barbarian's of Gor fiction "World's End" refers to the myth of lands in the western part of Thassa (the sea). <Read Me>

Population/Wysiwyg

For most things, including population, we follow the rule of WYSIWYG which means "What you see is what you get". Consequently, the population of World's End is directly related to the number of hostile NPCs, NPC thralls and players found in the game world. All players may count their fictional clan size to include themselves, their actual player clan members, and the maximum thrall count on the clan screen. <Read Me>

Season 3 Fiction

The volcano's silence was a blessing and a curse. Returning Gorean settlers, weary from battle on a neighboring isle, found not the expected eruptions, but instead a land in upheaval. The native Stygians, seizing opportunity in the chaos, had risen to reclaim their territories from the would-be invaders. The settlers were forced to regroup around Telith's Island, its valley rich in resources and natural defenses. Months of bitter fighting ensued, until a final, decisive assault on the Stygian fortress ended the threat in a blaze of fire and rubble.

Yet, with the immediate danger past, a new kind of storm clouds gather. The fragile unity forged in battle begins to fray. Some protectorates remain loyal to the Vargor banner, but others - the Karian Outpost, Vagon Plains, Northern Tradepost - have declared their independence, embracing a lawless existence on the fringes of the fledgling civilization.

The political landscape seethes with tension. Will Torvaldsaer's growing numbers cleave them from Vargor's alliance, or will they remain loyal? Can Argentum Hills muster enough strength to preserve the Gorean caste system in this untamed land? Turan Cliffs teeters on the brink - will they turn their backs on the Ubar and join the outlaws of the Karian Outpost? The Wagon People and other nomadic tribes of the Vagon Plains have choices to make - will they find common cause with those of the north, or forge their own path? And as always the might and honor of the enigmatic Pani people leave all wondering where their swords will stand.

This is a crucible, a powder keg of rival interests and conflicting desires. Alliances will be forged and broken, heroes will rise and fall, and the very soul of this young nation hangs in the balance. What will be the fate of this tumultuous land, where the only constant is change?

Character

Barbarians of Gor allows players to transport their previous Gorean characters into our setting through mishaps while sailing. For those characters who are unlikely to get on a ship, we allow a generic hand waving of "I don't know how I got here" with the implication that someone brought them here against their will.

Those with modern-day Earth-born characters are encouraged to have their character know enough Gorean to get by but can otherwise have arrived here directly via spaceship or have first gone to the mainland and then arrived via a sea vessel mishap.

Hyborian characters have all been born on one of the three islands shown on the map; New Sardar (Exile Map), World's End (Siptah Map), or New Tabor (Savage Wild Map). There is no other place that Hyborian characters to have been born - the whole of the Conan world existed 10,000 years before our current fiction - and on another planet. Additionally, these three islands are small and do not have large cities. For example, New Sardar has only Vargor, Sepermeru, and Asgard. New Tabor has only Muran. There is no main city on World's End.

New Story

Free Persons

Your character's story arc must now align with the world in which they find themselves. Their Home Stone is far from here and there is no reasonable chance of return. There is nothing to be gained as an outlaw, you must join forces with the other Goreans.

For the success of the server we are not accepting characters who intend to "go their own way" and divide the player base. To reach a point where multiple RP centers can co-exist we must first grow the current population, for as we all know - if new players can't find RP quickly, they do not stay. <Read Me>

Slaves

Every server/sim has a slightly different set of rules as to how a player can go about playing their slave role. This article will seek to address the most commonly asked questions, such as who do I get an owner, how do I change owners, can I use weapons, where can I go, what should I do? <Read Me>

Races

Our server offers two "races" for players to choose from; Gorean, and Earthling. (These races are less actual races and more references to geographical locations like we might say Asian or European.)

• Goreans are those characters who were born on the mainland of Gor which includes the large continent and surrounding islands represented in the book series by John Norman.
• Earthlings are those characters taken from modern day earth to be brought to Gor primarily to become slaves.

Further information for those new to the fiction can be found here: <Read Me>

Best Practices

By the Book

It is our intention to create a game environment that is suitable for By the Book Gorean role-players. We have carefully curated our selection of mods and scripts with this in mind, and intend to continue doing so. However, there are limits on what we are willing to enforce. <Read Me>

In Character Restrictions

Updated 6/13/24 Chainmail has been restricted. There are codified rules on how you must dress and act on Gor. Many of these are actual laws in some of the cities and can be enforced in character with a wide variety of punishments. These minimum restrictions apply to all characters regardless of their background. These standards are much more flexible than the books and is intended to be a compromise between the ideal and the reality of role-play. Do not ignore this list, we will enforce it if necessary. <Read Me>

Caste, a Reality Check

Caste is a function of populated areas, much like our modern day unions. Caste on Gor is also a function of tradition. Realistically, there is little need for caste structure in a town as small as Vargor, however, when Goreans settled the area they would seek to re-establish comforting traditions.

The value of caste at its simplest form is an exchange of knowledge and standards. In a larger area the caste system of Gor would offer such things as loans, education and pensions/insurance. This is not likely in a settlement such as Vargor and the role of Caste functions primarily as an educational and organizational body.

While some cultures on Gor didn't have caste, that is largely a by product of low populations or nomadic life styles. The general on-line role-play push back by these people towards "caste" is more authentically against "city living". A valid contention both in the Gorean fiction as well as our own earth history. <Read Me>

Medicine

Medicine on Gor is surprisingly advanced for the setting, especially in the bigger cities. Most of that medicine is available on this island. However there does seem to be some rather advanced herbalism and alchemistry; it is probably very unfamiliar to most main land physicians, but should be easy enough to learn. (Torvaldsland and other barbarian tribe "healers" would pick it up just as fast.) <Read Me>

Slavery is a Sliding Scale

The transition of a free woman to slave is not like a light switch where one moment she is a free woman the next she is a slave. There are a series of actions and decisions that drive a free women in to the generally irreversible position of slave. This article is a general concept document for new to Gor players. <Read More>

Thralls

Conan Exiles has functioning combat NPCs called Thralls. These thralls can be used in almost any fictional way a player can imagine including a free man of their clan, a free woman of their clan, a guard protecting them, an owner, a free companion, a slave, etc. We encourage free women and slaves to make use of these thralls as their primary mode of combat using what is known as an "authority build", in which the thralls fight for you allowing you to maintain the fiction of being non-combative. These thralls also allow free women and slaves the freedom to travel with the fiction that they are either "with their guards" or "in the company of their owner/clan free men". However, please note that the IC restrictions for women and weapons still apply -- a "slave thrall" walking around with a two-handed sword is not by the book.

Note

The word "Thrall" in Conan Exiles refers to the mechanical NPC of any gender and is not the same as the Gorean thrall of Torvaldsland.

Conflict Progression and Resolution

This article will serve to act as a “good practice” article that combines both generally agreed upon practices as well as how those practices are implemented on Barbarians of Gor. <Read Me>