Conan the Barbarian (Not the Talk Show Host)
It’s been a while since I did one of these on a major character, but I introduced Timoran Wrath to the world and now I should explain him. Sadly, he is a barbarian, so he has an uphill battle.
Most people think of the wild, illiterate berserker when they think of a barbarian. Not always true. After reading some of the original Conan stories, I have a different thought on them. They are primal, easy to anger, and brutal, but they’re not stupid and they can possess honor. This led to the barbarians of Windemere being more war philosophers. They have the aggression and rage when they need it, but they’re very wise and remain calm when around non-clan members. In fact, every barbarian must take a journey to find honor and wisdom when they turn 18. Even the women do this because they can throw a beating as well as the men. Timoran will mention this several times as well as pointing out that Nyx would make an excellent barbarian if she was bigger.
The original Timoran was a non-player character in the game that the gamemaster used to give us the power that we were lacking. At the time, we had the speedy blades of Luke, the basic magic of Nyx, and the quick daggers of Sari. We lacked strength and that’s where Timoran came in. He had no last name, so I called him Timoran Wrath in the book. He was calm and wise while staying in the background because he wasn’t supposed to solve the puzzles.
Then he was up-graded when a new player adopted him. Now, Timoran was talking and drinking and fighting and drinking. Yeah, the guy played a really good barbarian by the traditional sense. I loved playing the game with him, but Timoran was slowly eroding into a battle-hungry drunkard. For example, Luke had come into possession of an ancient wine cellar and it was mentioned that there was a vial of ancient Elven wine. Rare and not made anymore. Timoran raced off to drink the wine right after the battle, which I shrugged off on the surface. Beneath my surface, I made a mental note to revert Timoran back to his original stance. Look, players can do whatever they want and more power to him for making Timoran his own. I just didn’t think a drunk, warring barbarian would be a good fit for what I had planned. Also, it was kind of cliche.
This brings us to the current Timoran Wrath. When he appears, the group is nothing more than the three most emotional character in the story. Luke is reckless, Nyx is temperamental, and Sari is a flirty ball of mischief. I knew they needed somebody to be their common sense or they wouldn’t make it through the up-coming battles. Timoran adopted a habit of sharing wisdom and speaking very eloquently by using the same speech pattern as Aedyn Karwyn. This created a barbarian that I couldn’t enrage at the drop of a dime and I love that about him. You really need to push his buttons to unleash the whirlwind of death. He also developed heightened sense, making him a perfect tracking ally for Luke. I have to admit that Timoran had the smoothest transition into the group, which says something about him. Though, he is still nervous about Nyx’s magic.
I’m having a lot of fun writing him now even though he’s starting to adopt some of Luke’s recklessness, which is becoming a disease among my heroes. All of them pull an occasional crazy stunt worthy of Luke. Is there a reason for this? Maybe.
Legends of Windemere 
Thanks for the intro of Timoran. I haven’t read the Conan stories, but I’d like to give them a shot since I did like the Conan movie starring Ah-nold. (Yes, I admit I did!) I love the idea of a more philosophic barbarian with honor. I dunno. I can’t help thinking of Touchstone in Garth Nix’s Sabriel. Touchstone can give you the berserker. But he’s wise.
The reckless nature of your characters is an interesting theme. The cool thing about that is that you have to figure out ways to get them out of whatever boneheaded mess they got themselves into (which keeps us turning pages). You’re so much braver than me. I think I keep my characters too safe, which isn’t good for their stories.
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I’ll warn you now that the Arnold version is a pale comparison. The real Conan is described a large, but his corded muscle and constantly compared to a ferocious panther. I hate to say it, but bodybuild he’d be closer to the new guy. Just taller. At least that’s how I read it.
With the addition of Timoran and the 5th hero, it’s easier to get out of trouble. Before them it came down to Luke’s unpredictability, Nyx’s power, or Sari’s cunning. I like how each hero has a to get into trouble and a way to get out of trouble. Not sure about the 6th one though because that one hasn’t even made a cameo . . . yet.
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I read many of the Conan books when I was younger… wasn’t too happy with the Arnold take on Conan… I haven’t seen the new movie yet…I am so far behind on movies… but I always enjoyed the Conan books and I never saw him as dumb or dimwitted as barbarians are portrayed in Hollywood.
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I started on the Conan movie and heard the new one sucked. Oddly enough, the closest non-literary medium to the real Conan seems to be the old cartoon. Still childish, but he wasn’t an idiot.
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I like Timoran already!! Maybe he could have a fairytale! heehee!!
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Sure. Though, I think Sari gets the next one. Sounds like you need cunning more than brute force.
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Oh, the next one is definitely Sari all the way! 🙂 I just want to stare at Timoran…I mean Vanilla just does! heehee
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He gets that a lot, but mostly because he’s huge and has a lot of scars. The great axe with tiger colored head gets some attention too.
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I bet it does! Scars always have a story to tell…
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That’s why I have no problem giving Luke a few as his story progresses. Can’t bring myself to give the girls scars.
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Most of the time, in human girls at least, the scars are on the inside.
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Yeah. I do find it odd that female warriors in fantasy stories rarely get scars. Though even the males will walk out of horrible torture without scars at times.
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That is odd. Maybe it’s a chivalry thing. Or maybe the female getting scarred would distract the male warriors. Kind of like how the soldiers reacted to Demi being tortured in GI Jane…
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It could also be that fantasy authors (predominantly male) can’t bring themselves to do that to a woman.
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I agree with that! That’s why women end up kicking guys behinds when they fight! lol
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Most times. Though, I’ll admit that my female characters get as good as they give. It’s rare that a hero of mine gets out of a fight without taking a hit.
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That is why you are brilliant! 🙂
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Sure. We’ll go with brilliant. 😉
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Ooo, I like this new character! What book does he show up in?
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Book debut is in book 4. Though, he makes a brief appearance in an earlier book.
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Cool! If it is in book three, you’ve already given us a hint about him, isn’t it? When Luke goes to visit his family?
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The cameo is in book 2.
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Hmmm, I must have missed that. 😦
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Yup . . . he shows up for part of a scene, so he’s easy to miss. Actually, I don’t think his name is said.
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Oh, okay. I don’t feel so bad now. 😉
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You’ll realize who he was when he shows up again in the 4th book. Kind of hard to forget a red-headed barbarian with a giant axe.
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LOL. Got it now!
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Do you realize how much I’ve learned about character development from this post? Wait… I have to go see a doctor about a new brain because my mind is blown!
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Better get a spare to keep on hand. It’s sad that barbarians are always made to be the stupid brutes that always have that big warrior death against 100 people.
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