Hyboria is the world in which Conan and Red Sonja experience their adventures. It was invented by Robert E. Howard. His idea was that the Hyborian era is a fictional epoch in the history of the Earth. Many countries have parallels to today’s countries, but he focuses mainly on Africa and Asia and is not interested in today’s geography. Oceans, rivers, mountains, everything looks different. The borrowings are in my eyes rather meant to have a rough idea of the culture. In general, however, the works should of course be read with fantasy glasses.
This post acts as a collection that will be added to bit by bit. I have some miniatures in my collection that I find perfectly suitable for Hyboria. Whenever I paint them they will be added here.
Snake priestesses
Thulsa Doom’s snake cult in Conan the Barbarian includes not only many, sinister warriors but also other followers who deeply revere him. Cultic women and men, some of whom I wanted to have in my collection. Starting off are two “Serpent Priestesses” from Forge of Ice (available in Europe from Fenris Games).
The Forge of Ice figures are stand-alone designs, but they clearly borrow from the pulpy fantasy stories of the 30s and 40s that were published in magazines like Weird Tales. There’s a dash of Ray Harryhausen in there, too. “Conan” by Robert E. Howard isn’t the only inspiration, but it’s certainly one of the strongest. I like their assortment insanely well, even if I can’t do anything with everything. Still, a lot of it is suitable to be embedded in a Conan setting. Even my serpent statue is from Forge of Ice – but it’s also undoubtedly taken from the movie.
The “Snake Priestesses” fit perfectly into the setting. They are excellently modeled by Patrick Keith (Bombshell Miniatures) and finely cast. Working on these two ladies was really fun and I’m sure Thulsa Doom is very pleased with the addition to his cult.
