A shroud hangs over the people of Cimmeria. While one might assume it is the pall of the dark weather overhead, eternally threatening grim days and violent storms, the truth is that the Cimmerians live under a shroud of impending doom. As the Hyborian Age enters its final centuries, few people feel it as acutely as the northern barbarian clans. It is a subconscious sensation – more a subtle, ever-present melancholy than any true emotion.

(read more...)

The towering Eiglophian Mountains mark the northern border of Cimmeria. Beyond their peaks to the northwest are the lands of the Vanir invaders; to the northeast are the folk of the Aesir, who are infrequent allies or foes of the Cimmerians. There are few passes through the mountains, so most hostilities are limited to raids and pillaging — or so many believed, before the Vanir marched an army of warriors into Cimmeria.

(read more...)

The rare tales that tell of Yakhmar speak of a monstrous white-furred worm, it's body formed of coil upon coil of winding, rippling, muscled flesh. The beast's eyes are a sickly, undersea green that radiate cold light in the dark surroundings of it's lair, and it's opened maw is a gaping hole of inward-pointing teeth and a slick, grasping tongue that snares a warrior by the limbs and drags him closer so the creature may feed.

(read more about the Yakmar and Savage Cannibals)

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. We've added fourteen pages to the PDF so far (including the front page), and we're adding another three pages today, making it a total of seventeen pages so far!

(read the updated comic book here!) (PDF)

Every month website MMORPG.com will interview one of the many talented people that work on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures here at Funcom to create a developer profile, which is then posted on their website. For March, Item Designer Mats Remman is featured. MMORPG.com sat down with him to pick his brain about everything from his childhood to what he does at Funcom.

(read the developer 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:

22.03.07 — G4W preview on Voodoo Extreme
19.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on GamersInfo
16.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on MPOGD.com
16.03.07 — GDC 07 developer walkthrough video - Part 1
16.03.07 — GDC 07 developer walkthrough video - Part 2
13.03.07 — Interview on MMOSite.com
12.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on WarCry
12.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on MMORPG.com
09.03.07 — Updated GDC 07 preview on Gamespot
09.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on Ten Ton Hammer
09.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on WorthPlaying
08.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on GameSpy
08.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on IGN
06.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on FiringSquad
06.03.07 — GDC 07 preview on Kotaku

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:

23.03.07 — Four new screens (and a story!)
16.03.07 — Class preview: Demonologist
09.03.07 — Update from GDC
02.03.07 — Class preview: Necromancer

More news on the Community Site!

This month we're featuring an in-game location video from the Eiglophian Mountains. Take a look at this quick flyby that will give you a sneak-preview on what to expect as soon as you are able to step into the forest that lies at the mountains’ feet and gaze up on the peaks towering above. The massive sense of scale that this area offers is truly incredible, and you will be able to spend hours just exploring the mountain paths.

(The video will be available exclusively at Gamespy, Jeuxvideo, Gamigo, InsideGamer, Goha and Juegaenred until next week when it will be posted on the community site)

Take a look at this month's exclusive screenshots! We’ve added six screenshots of the Eiglophian Mountains. This massive region lets you explore some of the massive mountains found in Age of Conan, mountains that are much more than just backdrops. Discover a myriad of trails that twist and turn along the mountain sides, and explore the thick forest and open plains that can be found at the foot of these great mountains.

(check out the new screens)

This month we bring you an exclusive wallpaper themed according to this newsletters' primary focus: the Eiglophian Mountains. 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 March 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 April 23th 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, U.K., and U.S. (except Rhode Island and Puerto Rico). Drawing will be made by random draw in Oslo Norway one day after the entry deadline. 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 Age of Conan WarCry, a site that is part of the well-established WarCry network. The first thing that strikes us with this site is how well it is structured. It is easy to navigate and it will immediately give you an overview of the game when you first enter the site, and the changing screenshot window is also a very nice touch. We also appreciate the work this site puts into creating unique features such as editorials, polls and contests. This makes Age of Conan WarCry more than just a site that display news articles collected from other sites – they also make their own content. We're proud to have this site join the ranks of so many great community sites for Age of Conan, and we look forward to watching the site grow and expand their services.

Visit aoc.warcry.com

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