The ever-threatening Vanir of Conall’s Valley have set up numerous encampments throughout the great ravine, leaving only a small Cimmerian settlement to be the last defense between these savages and the Cimmerian village of Broken Leg Glen that lies somewhere to the west. In Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, players can choose to be either spectators or participants in the conflict between the Cimmerians and the Vanir. “Once in a while – and the player will see this happen randomly – a computer-controlled Vanir hornblower will emerge from a tent in the Vanir camp to sound the attack on the fortified Cimmerian settlement,” says Content Designer Thorbjørn Olsen at Funcom.
(read more...)

In Cimmeria’s icy east, the ravine of Conall’s Valley cuts a shallow slice in the stone and soil flesh of Hyboria. Here, in the shadow of Ben Morgh – Crom’s mountain throne – his people make a valiant and desperate last stand against invaders from the north. In times past the region was known for its wild beauty and was home to several Cimmerian clans, each tribe founding their settlements among the many ancient Atlantean ruins that the lush northern forests have never completely concealed. (read more...)

Torn of hardy northern stock in the land known as Vanaheim, the Vanir share similarities with the Cimmerians: both peoples are considered barbaric by most other nations and live tribal existences where the males train almost exclusively to make war and hunt for food. The Vanir differ from their Cimmerian neighbors to the south in that they are vicious raiders who attack others for slaves, plunder and sometimes just for amusement.

(read more about the Vanir and Wolves)

Funcom is proud to present the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures comic magazine! Created by the talented people over at Dark Horse Comics, it tells a story that ties into the game perfectly. The magazine has been produced in several hundred thousands copies, mostly bundled with various gaming magazines, and we will now start putting them onto our website. Last month we released the two first pages (including the front) – this month we’re updating the PDF with another three pages that continue the exciting story!

Read the updated comic book here! (PDF)

Every month website MMORPG.com will interview one of the many talented people that works on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures here at Funcom to create a developer profile which is then posted on their website. For November, Content Designer and resident Lore Master Heidi Schmidt is featured. MMORPG.com sat down with her to pick her brain about everything from her childhood to what she does at Funcom. Read the entire profile!

Every month we try to bring you some selected press coverage from
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. If you find something you would like to tell us about, please drop us an email. This is some of the coverage over the last couple of weeks:

22.11.06 — Interview on Game Musketeers
15.11.06 — IGN on Funcom/nVidia partnership
15.11.06 — New trailer available (various sites)
02.11.06 — Interview on MMORPG.com
17.10.06 — Interview on Split Infinity Radio

More news on the Community Site!

Every week we give you an update on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures by posting our special Friday Update on the community website. Here are some of the Friday updates we’ve published recently:

17.11.06 — Behind the scenes #5 (update on beta progress)
10.11.06 — New concept art (showing different kinds of clothing)
03.11.06 — New screenshots (showing off some ancient ruins)
27.10.06 — Behind the scenes #4 (on the road with Age of Conan)
20.10.06 — New screenshots (showing the great city of Tarantia)
13.10.06 — Competition winners (Ultimate Conan Guide prize)
06.10.06 — Behind the Scenes #3 (update on beta progress)

More news on the Community Site!

In order to give you an even better understanding of Conall’s Valley, particularly the visual aspects of it, we’ve created this fly-through video showing off the location. You can download the video from our website, or from any of these websites:

Gamespy.com, Jeuxvideo.com, Gamigo.de or Juegaenred.com

Take a look at this month’s exclusive screenshots! These six exclusive screens will bring the beautiful vistas of Conall’s Valley before your eyes. Explore this majestic ravine through the eyes of an unnamed explorer, who without fear and with complete disregard to his own safety has braved the place that is best known for its bloody conflicts.
(check out the new screens)

This month we bring you an exclusive wallpaper themed according to this newsletter’s primary focus: Conall’s Valley. The wallpaper comes in four different sizes. (check out the new wallpaper)

Just because we are such incredibly kind people here at Funcom, we have decided to give away free loot every month. All you need to do is send us an email and hope for the best. Every month we pick out three people who will be sent a bunch of exclusive loot such as inflatable Conan swords, the Age of Conan comic, games and even hardware.

These three people will also receive a guaranteed place in the
Age of Conan beta test!

If you want to be one of the lucky three who gets Funcom loot delivered in the mail, you will need to send us an email and include your full name, your home address, and your telephone number in order to be eligible. You must also keep the subject of the email “Age of Conan November Newsletter Sweepstakes”. Those who enter and get picked out will have the opportunity to receive one or more exclusive prizes such as:

•  Concept Art print signed by the artist
•  Dreamfall: The Longest Journey PC game
•  Full-colored Age of Conan comic book
•  Inflatable Age of Conan toy swords

Send us an email by December 15th and you might get lucky!

No purchase necessary. Prizes are three (3) inflatable swords, three (3) comic books, three (3) copies of the Dreamfall PC game and one (1) Concept Art print signed by the artist. Odds of winning dependant on number of entries. Competition open to residents of the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. (except Rhode Island and Puerto Rico). Drawing will be made by manner of random draw in Oslo Norway on the 10h of November 2006. Any applicable taxes or customs fees are responsibility of winner. Entry to this competition is void where prohibited by local laws.

This month’s community site is the Age of Conan site on the German network Gamona!  This is by far one of the most complete fan sites for Age of Conan on the web, not only among the German ones, but all the fan sites in general. It has a complete reference library of just about anything released on Age of Conan so far, and they always seem to be able to find the latest news on the game before anyone else. Great work!

Visit  AoC Gamona!

Have a suggestion for Community site of the Month? Email us now!