| 'Black Colossus' | |
|---|---|
Cover of Weird Tales, July 1933. Art by Margaret Brundage | |
| Author | Robert E. Howard |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Conan the Cimmerian |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Published in | Weird Tales |
| Publication type | Pulp magazine |
| Publisher | Rural Publishing Corporation |
| Publication date | July 1933 |
| Preceded by | 'The Tower of the Elephant' |
| Followed by | 'The Slithering Shadow' |
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Explore the far reaches of Conan's world. Travel through damp jungles, burning deserts, sprawling cities, and windswept mountaintops. The world of Hyboria is yours to explore. ‘Age of Conan: Unchained’ offers players the option of playing the game for free, without obligation. The business model is a hybrid of the 'store only' free-to-play model and the tiered offering that includes a Premium subscription option. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures PC. Log In to add custom notes to this or any other game. Notify me about new: Guides. Black Castle. L30-38.
'Black Colossus' is one of the original short stories starring the fictional sword and sorcery hero Conan the Cimmerian, written by American author Robert E. Howard and first published in Weird Tales magazine, June 1933.[1] Howard earned $130 for the sale of this story.[2]
It's set in the pseudo-historical Hyborian Age and concerns Conan leading the demoralized army of Khoraja against an evil sorcerer named Natohk, 'the Veiled One.'
This story formed part of the basis for the later Conan novel, The Hour of the Dragon.
Plot overview[edit]
Age Of Conan Black Castle
An ancient wizard named Thugra Khotan is awoken from his 3,000 year slumber by Shevatas, a Zamoran thief (he doesn't survive the experience). Soon, Thugra remembers his dream of world domination. He assumes the alias of Natohk (The 'Veiled One'), assembles an army of desert nomads, and begins his strategy on conquering the Hyborian nations. However, the tiny kingdom of Khoraja - with a mixed Hyborian/Shemite population, culture, and religion - stands in his way. Khoraja is presently ruled by the beautiful Yasmela, sister of the king, who is now a prisoner in neighboring Ophir. In fear of Natohk's potential invasion, Yasmela seeks advice from the long-forgotten god of her ancestors, Mitra. Eventually, Yasmela is told to travel into the streets and offer her kingdom's defenses to the first man she meets.
Fortunately, the first man she encounters is Conan the Cimmerian. Conan already has a position in Yasmela's army. Now, he's given full command over Khoraja's royal military, much to the confusion of his more cultured comrades. Conan's efforts are ridiculed by the arrogant officers below him who fall victim to Natohk's magic. Meanwhile, Natohk has made it clear conquering the world isn't the only goal on his agenda: He also desires Queen Yasmela for himself.
The story climaxes with an epic battle. Conan defeats Natohk's army and the wizard devises a final attempt in capturing Yasmela. Conan goes after Natohk and confronts him near the ruins of a Stygian temple.
Themes[edit]
The story marks an important stage in the career of Conan. Due to the direct intervention of Mitra, Conan - who had never commanded more than a 'company of cut-throats' - is given the opportunity to become a general and emerge victorious from an epic battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers while affecting the future of the whole world. Though Conan's career would know many more ups and downs, this was an important step towards him eventually becoming a King - which is hinted in the story itself, and which Howard and his readers already knew since 'The Phoenix on the Sword' was already published half a year earlier.
At the climax of Leonard Carpenter's Conan the Great - taking place many years later, when Conan has already become King of Aquilonia - it's revealed that Conan's relationship with Yasmela resulted in the secret birth of a son, which Conan never knew about at the time, and his child eventually became the king of Koth. This revelation has a crucial importance in the plot of Carpenter's book.
The expression: 'A short life and a merry one', used by the character Amalric in Howard's story, is attributed to the AustralianbushrangerSteve Hart (1859 – 1880).
Publication history[edit]
'Black Colossus' was first published in Weird Tales 32 lives keygen not working. , June 1933.
A version of the story that was edited by L. Sprague de Camp was first published in the collection Conan the Barbarian (Gnome Press, 1954). It was then republished in several collections entitled Conan the Freebooter (Lancer Books, 1968; Sphere, 1974; Prestige, 1977; Ace, 1981) and The Conan Chronicles Volume 1 (Sphere, 1989).
The original version was first republished in Black Colossus (Grant, 1979). It has more recently been published in the collections The Conan Chronicles Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle (Gollancz, 2000), Conan of Cimmeria: Volume One (1932-1933) (Del Rey, 2003), The Weird Writings of Robert E. Howard Volume 1 (Girasol Collectables, 2006), The Complete Chronicles of Conan (Gollancz, 2006), Valley of the Worm (Wildside Press, 2006) and Three Tales of Conan the Barbarian (Echo Library, 2007).
Adaptations[edit]
The story was adapted in comics form by Roy Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala in 1974, in the B&W Marvel Comics magazine Savage Sword of Conan #2.[1] 'Black Colossus' also forms the basis of part of Conan the Barbarian #248 and all of 249. (Conan serves as a mercenary captain for Khoraja, fighting rebels and Natohk's Stygian allies, in #246 and 247.)
The Savage Sword comics adaptation was reprinted in full color in the large sized Marvel Treasury Edition #15 in 1977.
In 2008, the Marvel adaptation was reprinted in black and white in the Savage Sword of Conan trade paperback published by Dark Horse.
In 2009, Timothy Truman and Tomas Giorello adapted the story in Dark Horse Comics' Conan the Cimmerian #8-13.
References[edit]
- ^ abPublication history of Black Colossus retrieved 23 December 2007
- ^REHupa Fiction TimelineArchived December 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine retrieved 23 December 2007
External links[edit]
| Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Black Colossus title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| Preceded by 'The Tower of the Elephant' | Original Howard Canon (publication order) | Succeeded by 'The Slithering Shadow' |
| Preceded by 'Shadows in the Moonlight' | Original Howard Canon (Dale Rippke chronology) | Succeeded by 'Queen of the Black Coast' |
| Preceded by 'Hawks over Shem' | Complete Conan Saga (William Galen Gray chronology) | Succeeded by 'Shadows in the Dark' |
Age Of Conan Black Castle Quests
Barring any announcements from FC that they are changing the bosses up again,I will not be updating this log unless someone has new, important info. I'll assume that the 2015 schedule will repeat in 2016. If the Moderator feels that this post is of value to the community, seeing as I've been keeping it running for 2 years now, a Sticky would be appreciated.
Conan Hyborian Age Map
(1) If you turn in your old Cloak quest, you get your cloak and can take the quest again, if you wish. However, the same boss that same month will not advance it again.
(2) You get a reward box for each kill. The 1st boss kill of the month also gives you a Portent Relic token.
(3) The vendor is on the same steps of the Library in Old Tarantia that the Astromancer stands upon, only over to the left as you look up. Sells a purple prize box for 1 token and coin (2g50s I think) or your choice of boss pets for 4 tokens plus more gold (5g I think). Be careful: for me the vendor showed boss pets that I already had as well as some that I did not.
2016 Monthly:
Jan.: WB up in Conal's Valley as of New Year's Day. Same details as 2014. It's also spawning right by the rez pad for the Field of the Dead gate, as well as the old 2 locations. In 2015, Conall's Valley was dead; everyone was fighting the WB in Atzel's Approach which is far more problematical for anyone less than L60-- not impossible, but you need to know the zone well and be adept at riding past mammoths and murderers.
Feb.: So far, seems the same as last year. Spawned in Northern Grasslands (NG) and Chosain Province (CP); this year most went for NG. For this WB, healers with Steadfast Faith AA (silver) perk, to remove the Obsidian Gaze petrify effect (a Ruin effect) will be much appreciated. Speeds up the battle; otherwise your tanks can be petrified and then auto-killed with a ground slam. Remember, this perk needs to be slotted on the perk-bar, not just bought.
Mar.: As before.
Apr.: As 2015, Thunder River. Great zone; you can swim up waterfalls!
May: As 2015.
June: As 2015.
July: As 2015.
Old 2015:
March: Still in Dragon's Spine. Name: Dust Fiend. Summoner: Fire Servant Herald. One known spawn point, around 900, 648, centre of the map, south of the T5 entrance 'Otherworldly Junction'/Palace of Cetriss. The rez point is quite close, south of the spawn point. As of the March 5th, the WB is NO LONGER susceptible to CC, as it was when it first appeared. Watch out for flaming patches on the ground which dot you. Thanks to Tapwater for the call-out, other details checked by myself.
April: Initial indications are that April is exactly the same as last year, in Thunder River.
May: Same as last year, except that a new mechanic has been added: 'They Hunger'. Snow kicks up around target. After several seconds, worms pop up and autokill the target UNLESS Active Block (default is 'X') is used to deflect the attack. Just press and hold until after the cast is done.
June: Pretty much the same as last year.
July ditto.
August: White Sands again.
Sept.: Eiglophian and Field of the Dead, as before.
Oct.: New Boss in 2015, replaces Banshee Queen. Wildlands of Zelata F2P, L20-40 zone AND Thunder River F2P, L60+ zone (confirmed). Boss: Dark Beast Alpha. Summoner: Strange Flutist. Spawns in Wildlands of Zelata at South of Tesso on a rise near the rez pad (550, 850) and in Thunder River in the Wildlands (coords to come). The boss seems to be a pretty standard tank and spank with a few dots. Apparent Loot Bug: the Dark Beast Alpha does not drop the purple boxes [Slayer's Cache of the Dark Beast Alpha]. The blue boxes also apparently incorrectly drop [Slayer's Cache of the Inferno Lord]. This may have happened on the other WB as well. (Thanks Tapwater and numerous others for noting this.)
Nov.: Kheshatta, as before. Try to call out the spawns specifically, folks. People are calling three different areas out as 'Oasis'.
From Joel's November letter: The World Boss Revamp
Joel (quote): As I mentioned last month, we have always been remaking the world boss event in preparation for the new version of the event. Additional changes include the following:
- Health values have been adjusted for PvP servers
- Abilities that were unbalanced or frustrating have been tweaked to provide a more entertaining experience.
- Two of the less popular bosses have been replaced
- Bosses will now drop a Portent Relic token once per month, per character. A new vendor in Old Tarantia will be available to accept these relics.
(End quote.)
From Tapwater:
Hi, fellow Hyborean adventurers. Trying to make this thread the one-stop-shop for all World Boss info.
According to Joel`s Dev News post (Nov. 2013, as I recall), World Bosses are a permanent addition to AoC. They can be spawned at will by GMs but that would be a rare occasion. ONE YEAR LATER: Texan615 confirms, now that we have passed the month where the quest could first be completed, that the quest is repeatable. So, those with the interest and perseverance can go for a 2nd legendary cloak, as well as the pets, social gear and so forth.
They spawn on the first Wednesday of each month and stay active for 7 days (start time is 0000h UTC Wednesday). To figure out your time, find out your displacement from UTC (GMT). So, for example, if you are North American Eastern Daylight ST (GMT-4 when this was written), then the event should start at your 8 p.m. Tuesday night and run for 7 days. If you are currently on Central Euro daylight savings (GMT+2 I believe) then it would be at 0200h Wednesday, and so on.
This presumes that the start is pegged to 0000h and does not move with daylight/standard changes. If it does, adjust accordingly.
These tend to be lag-fests; I highly recommend turning particles down to 'my group only' for these fights. Turning off nameplates and details may also help. If you're really strapped for FPS, you may wish to turn off some combat data as well.
LEGENDARY CLOAK QUEST: There still seems to be a bit of misconception regarding this, despite mounds of info from FC. Put simply: you get credited with a maximum of one boss kill per month, regardless of which month you start. Missing a boss does not matter; it just makes the cycle take longer. The event will not end after the first 12 bosses; it is intended to recycle (my guess is for years-- why not?). So, if you have killed 8 different bosses after the 1st year, you have 4 more kills to go to get the cloak. Whether the quest will become repeatable so that one could get a different cloak (a few classes could use perhaps 2 of them) is not known-- I'd rate it doubtful. The other epic gear, the tokens, and the social stuff would still be available, of course.
LOOT RULE UPDATE: As of June 26th, sezmra posted that 'The requirement for receiving loot of any quality from a world boss is that the player is within 75m of the boss and previously upon the threat list when the boss dies.' tapwater and kinlock confirm that you can be dead and still get an epic box (thanks!).
LOOT: In addition to T1 (sell for 20s) and T2 (sell for 30s) drops, there are specific, rare, T3-budgeted 'quest drops' that are not, in fact, T3 pieces, and that sell for 50s. Drops can be found at the AoC Is Better Than TV Armory, under 'World Boss'.
Each also drops regional social armour, plus one or two generic armour sets like Slayer's. Many of the social sets are BoP and cannot be sold; a couple sell for 20s or 30s per piece.
As well, a variety of potions, social/RP items, pets (some generic/city, some world boss based), mastery XP 'pots', and simple relic III urns can drop. I do not know if any of the rare relics can drop, but a couple of T3 items can be purchased with just simple relics and gold. EDIT: Villith informs us that T3 rare relics can, indeed, be obtained.
To be eligible for loot you must get on the boss` threat table (polled once per minute, so staying on it for at least one full minute 'guarantees' it), and you must be in the zone within 75m of the boss when the boss dies. I have crashed out and still received the loot box, so it may be that the game is reasonably robust regarding loot assignment.
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INSTANCING: As more and more players get into the zones, more and more instances open up. If you are trying to transfer between instances at a rez pad, along with 70 others, the target instance may fill as you are doing so. If so the game will shunt you to a DIFFERENT instance WITHOUT notifying you. So don't go screaming in General that a boss call out was a troll until you check to see if you are actually in the called instance.
'PLAYFIELD' INSTANCES: Sometimes instances open up that are labelled 'Playfield'. This means that they are the Elite version of the zone. To get to them you must either leave the zone and come back in, choosing 'elite', or you need to find an instanced spot in the zone, enter it, and then immediately exit it again, choosing the elite version of the zone.ETIQUETTE: If you just logged in, you could probably ask if there is a live, active World Boss once without being ridiculed too much. If you spam 'whar bos' eight times in a row, prepare to be ignored. Likewise, publishing false data about boss pops, for giggles, will often get you ignored. Accurate data is appreciated, even if people don't say 'thanks for spotting' nearly often enough. So I'll say it here: 'Thanks for spotting'.
LOCATION CALENDAR: This is a tentative calendar, based upon forums research. While some of the future ones have been posted by people as 'sure things', I would take anything shown as coming in the future with a grain of salt. So far, the list has proved correct.
NOTE: IF ANYONE CAN SUPPLY NEW/CORRECTED/UPDATED DATA, PLEASE PUT IT IN A REPLY AND I'LL UPDATE THE OP.
Boss names usually also correspond to the name of the epic mini-pet that can be dropped. Thanks Naerri for providing the first few name confirmations.
Jan.: Conall's/Atzel (confirmed). F2P, L20-40 and L60 zones. Boss: The King of Winter (Giant Yeti). Summoner: YmirishHerald. Conall's was up the cliff-side in the Ymirish camp, or up the series of climbing-cliffs at the west end. In 2015, the WB was also spawning right by the rez pad for the Field of the Dead gate. Atzel's location: One is above the Halls of Eternal Frost rez pad (climb or ride up; ride if the boss is engaged) and the other is near where the NPC Magnus can be found, a short ride from the HoEF rez pad up the hill.
Feb.: Northern Grasslands/Chosain Province (confirmed). P2P Khitai, L80 zones. Boss: Obsidian Basilisk. Summoner: Legendary Monster Hunters. NG was near the Hole, or north of Pin-Pin near the instance bridge, or at the Red Cliff Inn area. Chosain was either near the northern chicken coop rez pad or further east by the pagoda/in the swamp.
March: Dragons Spine (confirmed). P2P, L80 zone. Boss: Dust Fiend. Summoner: Fire Servant Herald. One known spawn point, around 900, 648, centre of the map, south of the T5 entrance 'Otherworldly Junction'/Palace of Cetriss. The rez point is quite close, south of the spawn point. As of the Wednesday, the WB is susceptible to knockdowns and other interrupts, and even fear effects. Watch out for flaming patches on the ground which dot you. Thanks to Tapwater for the call-out, other details checked by myself.2014 OLD BOSS, removed: Dragons Spine (confirmed). P2P, L80 zone. Boss: Serpent Man Oldblood. Summoner: (proper name?). One spawn point (east) was near the Excavator's Camp/Slithering Coil (1300, 500). The other (west) was west of the Nomad Camp (460, 350).
April: Thunder River (confirmed). F2P, L60+ zone. Boss: The Thrice Drowned. Summoner: Followers of the Deep. One spot is at 500, 1300, island in river NW of Croc Caves. 2nd spawn point around 970, 600, south end across from the southern rez pad. 3rd is 1320, 1660, near path to Graveyard.
May: Eiglophian/Ymir's (confirmed). F2P, L50-63 zones. Boss: Ice Worm. Summoner: Vanir Miner. EM spawn 1 is right in front of Vile Nativity, around 310, 1210. Spawn 2 is by Yakhmar's cave at 630, 1165. Ymir's 1 is right by the entrance to the Amphitheatre of Karutonia (1200, 795). Ymir's 2 is at 970, 1270 near Ymir's Champion on the way to the Temple. Thanks also to Shax84 for confirming these with similar coords. Closest res pad in the Eiglophian Mountains is the Hunting Lodge.
June: Turan, AKA Coast of Ardashir (confirmed). Purchased zone, usable by F2P if they have purchased it, 50+ zone. Boss: Spawn of Nergal. Summoner: Arch Lector. Spawn point 1 is at 775, 825, on the island in the bay. Spawn point 2 is at 650, 450, the logging camp. Most just call out 'Island' or 'Camp'.
July:
Khopshef Province F2P, L20-40 zone AND Dragons Spine P2P, L80 zone (confirmed). Boss: Leviathus Spawn. Summoner: Umbra Conclave Agent. Khopshef Province at Crossroads (488, 234), Ruins (288, 375), Black Castle (778, 242), and Caravanserai (792, 554). Dragons Spine Oasis (560, 970). Thanks Tamber, Graveguard and Toskipa for info.August: White Sands F2P, L10-20 zone (confirmed). Boss: Black One Executioner. Summoner: Prisoner. Tortage Island, White Sands Island (no mounts!). There is only one spawn point at 718, 607 (the Ancient Temple, top of the steps). The nearest rezpad is the 'Cannibal Camp' pad, at 590, 220). Thanks, Khoylz, for the collated info. Note: If you don't have the Secluded Cove rezpad, up from the bay with the boss croc, it's worth getting. Depending upon how far the WB is roaming around you can die and end up there instead of the Cannibal pad. If you don't have the Cove pad, you can get sent back to the rowboat start pad, which makes it a long run back.
Sept.: Field of the Dead F2P, L40-50 zone AND Eiglophian Mountains F2P, L50-63 zone (Confirmed.) Boss: Remnant of the Lurker. Summoner: Memory of <various names like Khor-Nu and Xan-Phon>. Spawn points: House of Crom in Field of the Dead. Closest rez point is the Stream Bridge, then head north through the Vanir-infested (L43ish) Ancient Ruins. In Eiglophian, the spawn point is at Vile Nativity. Closest spawn point is at the Mountain Hunting Lodge.
Oct.: Wildlands of Zelata F2P, L20-40 zone AND Thunder River F2P, L60+ zone (confirmed). Boss: Banshee Queen of Acheron. Summoner: Black Ring High-Necromancer. Spawns in Wildlands of Zelata at Sanctum of the Burning Souls (1200, 630) and in Thunder River at Xibaluku (920, 960). Thanks, Amardad and others, for the info. Wildlands spawn site is quite close to a rez pad in the ruins.
Nov.: Kheshatta F2P, L80 zone (confirmed). Boss: Risen Inferno Lord. Summoner: Flame Oracle. 4 spawn locations (all in Keshatta): East Ruins (1125, 865), Caravan Raiders Camp (1130, 435), Ghanatan Camps (650, 155), and Black Ring Explorers (260,640). Thanks Caudilloo for the initial data and Sirkhus for the coords.
Conan Castle Cats
Dec.: Old Tarantia Noble District (confirmed). F2P, L40+ zone. Boss: Black Dragon. Summoner: Dragon Cultist. 2013/2014 was in front of Conan's castle on the bridge. 2nd spot was Tarantia Common District at the northern cliff - where a group of thugs are throwing people down into the river. (Credit: Khaletohep)