Greetings, Exiles! 
With this thread I want to make one last attempt to compile and enrich this community’s forum about the fantastic world, conceived by Robert Ervin Howard (REH) over a hundred years ago in, which is the linchpin of the fantasy Conan Exiles lore: Our Earth during REH’s Hyborian Age - an Age Undreamed Of.
The impetus for this is my repeated observation that criticisms have been voiced, again and again - here in the forum and outside of it, for example, in the global chat on official Conan Exiles servers, on private Conan Exiles roleplaying servers, or in Discord channels related to Conan Exiles -, that the game Conan Exiles isn’t all that “barbaric”, that far too many medieval or ancient greek influences distort the setting, or that the implementation of magic (Skelos’ sorcery to be exact) in it’s current form or “Caribbean-style” pirate elements would ruin Funcom’s last video game adaptation of Conan the Cimmerian.
My personal opinion on the criticisms I’ve just listed regarding the lack of consistency in the Hyborian Age game world in Funcom’s Exiled Lands and Isle of Siptah? … These are just opinions - and they’re wrong, and above all, they just reflect a lack of knowledge about the Hyborian Age of REH.
In my opinion there were and are definitely aspects and developments in Conan Exiles that can be criticized and maybe even blamed on Funcom. What definitely isn’t among them, however, is Funcom’s cautious and respectful approach to the authentic lore of REH surrounding Conan the Cimmerian, and also, to a very small extent, Kull of Atlantis. Yes, Kull of Atlantis, Emperor of Valusia, finds resonance in Conan Exiles and anyone who has followed the game’s main story of Conan Exiles closely will know what I mean.
And by authentic lore, I mean those artistic works that were primarily created by REH himself, not the John Milius film with Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1982 or Conan comics. Please don’t get me wrong! I really love the Conan movie with Arnold. 
But the movie, like many comics, is only inspired by the original. They tell the story of REH’s Conan the Cimmerian and the Hyborian Age partially in a completely different way in contrast to its original version.
So, let me get to the point … What’s the point of this thread?
It’s meant to be a resource for anyone who’s landed here in the forum and is interested in the authentic lore surrounding our barbarian Conan.
And how exactly is this supposed to be realized? After all, YouTube alone is full of lore videos about Conan. So why this thread?
That’s true, without question! But a traditional forum like this does have one advantage: You can follow a discussion more easily and - hopefully! - make it more constructive and long-lasting. 
And from my own experience, I know that quite a few of these lore videos are extremely speculative, which they don’t always clarify, and sometimes, above all, misrepresent things. For example, I recently noticed something that made me think: “No, that’s kind of wrong.” And that brings us to the first rule of this thread:
It’s not meant to disparage anyone, but rather to expand the horizon of the original Conan lore. Ideally, with a bit fun and enjoyment.
I’ll try to keep this thread somewhat constructive. Please assume that fundamental statements about Conan lore made without any source citation, or offensive comments and excessively off-topic content, will likely be flagged and removed. Please differentiate between whether you simply want to offer your own commentary and whether you want to make a truly in-depth contribution to Conan lore. The latter should always be supported by some kind of evidence.
And now for a concrete example about the lore diversity on YouTube: Grim Dark (Half Off) theorizes in a Conan lore video that dragons originated from a union of Set and fire elementals maybe. I want to state two things first:
First: I appreciate Grim Dark, and second: He makes it clear in his video that he is speculating and that this is not a well-founded statement. But in my opinion, the approach of the whole theory is wrong, because from REH’s works it is clear that the ancient real dragons were adversaries of Set and his serpent men. Read the short story The Shadow Kingdom by REH, it is explained there. Here you can find a corresponding passage from the book:
“[…] Men took for a sign and a standard the figure of the flying dragon, the winged dinosaur, a monster of past ages, which was the greatest foe of the serpent. And men used those words which I spoke to you as a sign and symbol, for as I said, none but a true man can repeat them. So mankind triumphed. Yet again the fiends came after the years of forgetfulness had gone by - for man is still an ape in that he forgets what is not ever before his eyes. As priests they came; and for that men in their luxury and might had by then lost faith in the old religions and worships, the snake-men, in the guise of teachers of a new and truer cult, built a monstrous religion about the worship of the serpent god. […]”
In my opinion, this is also the reason why the Black Winged Dragons are viewed in a relatively positive light during Hyborian Age - even if they are not friends of humans and never were! - and receive reverence, which is expressed, for example, in the form of the Legion of Black Dragons of Aquilonia or echoed in the royal heraldic animal of Nemedia.
And before the criticism arises about what Kull has to do with Conan, it should be clear: A lot! Even a damn lot.
The Hyborian Age of Conan builds directly on that of Kull – everything in REH’s fantasy stories takes place on our Earth in the very, very past and Conan’s stories build on those of Kull.
Okay, so how am I supposed to contribute here? It’s simple!
No one expects of you to be a REH-nerd who knows all of his novels by heart. 
Just set a tone:
For example, why do you find a particular culture from the Hyborian Age so fascinating that you prefer it over all others. And in your opinion, is this represented accordingly in the game Conan Exiles, for example? This can quickly spark a conversation thread that others can then enrich with source information. Or why do you think sorcery, as it appears in REH’s fantasy genre, is so good or bad? Do you have a favorite REH novel about Kull, Conan, or Bran Mak Morn? (Kull and Bran Mak Morn can therefore be understood as the “Co.” in the title of this thread. 
There are even clear parallels in individual elements between the works of REH and H.P. Lovecraft. Example? The most well-known is probably the deity Yog, which is a key feature of the story Shadows of Zamboula alongside other gods who are also mentioned: Hanuman, Set, Erlik.) Just write it here, explain your opinion, and join the discussion here. There are now countless audio books about REH’s works. But one thing is important: Please do not link here to content that constitutes copyright infringement. This is usually easy to identify, for example, if a professionally created work from a company is made available in its entirety on an unknown and private account. Creative artists like Gates of Imagination, for example, are setting stories whose copyright has already expired. This includes a large portion of REH’s works.
Please consider this all as a contribution from forum users and the player base of Conan Exiles and Age of Conan for these users and player base. 
The thread Your - Hopefully! - Regular Black Lotus Bazaar Service has also somehow become established. At this point, a personal thank you to Dark_Overlord: “Thank you for your constant dedication.” 
Maybe I’ll live up to my claim and manage to post a (short) constructive contribution here once a week. Hopefully, this thread will make a fruitful contribution to the topicality of this forum, and I’d like to conclude with a video link that I’d like to recommend to anyone who wants to get a deeper understanding of REH’s understanding of the Hyborian Age - the basis for the world in which Funcom’s Conan games are set. It is also worth visiting the homepage conan.com as a starting point to explore the world of our favorite barbarian. 
Have fun, here’s to a successful exchange, and may the gods be with you! 
PS. For Harperson: 
EDIT: @Dana, this is my corresponding contribution of mine.
It’s definitely a delight to listen to! 
Mir ist es wichtig, hier noch einen Link zu einem Stück von Alexander Wohnhaas reinzusetzen - der Herr ist wirklich mit einer ganz famosen Stimme gesegnet und neben seiner Tätigkeit als Synchronsprecher auch noch mit seiner eigenen Band und einem YouTube-Kanal, für von ihm eingesprochene Produktionen, unterwegs. 
Viel Spaß damit!
A kind of general introduction to the realms of REH’s Hyborean Age during the time of Conan the Cimmerian, the later ruler of Aquilonia. I’d like to share this discovery here. (And depending on the course and the longevity of this thread, I’ll try to maintain a thematic table of contents at the beginning of the thread.)
Niestety, nagranie dźwiękowe nie jest zbyt profesjonalne, ale moim zdaniem narrator brzmi bardzo sympatycznie. 
But perhaps you’d still like to share a post with us just because of your passion for Conan Exiles?