In one of the Conan comics I read a long time ago one did mention dinosaur like creatures

Conan the Barbarian #95

The synopsis does mention a Raptor like dinosaur so maybe it’s possible for dinosaur like creatures to exist……maybe?

Again, did you read what was sad? After all you did quote it.

So unless you can provide some evidence in one of the works of Robert E. Howard in which he describes wolves being of a size that could be saddled and mounted then there is no evidence that the dire wolf (as you have provided as an example) was not already extinct.

From the story Beyond the Black River:

A shuddering gasp swept over the village and men crowded hastily back, jamming one another between the huts. Balthus felt the short hair stir on his scalp. The creature that stood in the gate was like the embodiment of nightmare legend. Its color was of a curious pale quality which made it seem ghostly and unreal in the dim light. But there was nothing unreal about the low-hung savage head, and the great curved fangs that glistened in the firelight. On noiseless padded feet it approached like a phantom out of the past. It was a survival of an older, grimmer age, the ogre of many an ancient legend—a saber-tooth tiger. No Hyborian hunter had looked upon one of those primordial brutes for centuries. Immemorial myths lent the creatures a supernatural quality, induced by their ghostly color and their fiendish ferocity.
The beast that glided toward the men on the stakes was longer and heavier than a common, striped tiger, almost as bulky as a bear. Its shoulders and forelegs were so massive and mightily muscled as to give it a curiously top-heavy look, though its hind-quarters were more powerful than that of a lion. Its jaws were massive, but its head was brutishly shaped. Its brain capacity was small. It had room for no instincts except those of destruction. It was a freak of carnivorous development, evolution run amuck in a horror of fangs and talons.
This was the monstrosity Zogar Sag had summoned out of the forest. Balthus no longer doubted the actuality of the shaman’s magic. Only the black arts could establish a domination over that tiny-brained, mighty-thewed monster. Like a whisper at the back of his consciousness rose the vague memory of the name of an ancient god of darkness and primordial fear, to whom once both men and beasts bowed and whose children—men whispered—still lurked in dark corners of the world. New horror tinged the glare he fixed on Zogar Sag.

So, technically speaking at least a couple sabre-toothed cats still exist but in any “civilized” lands they had not been seen in centuries and only the power of a Shaman of Jhebal Sag was able to summon one out of the depths of Pictland. I find it unlikely that this would be an unlikely candidate for a mount.

I literally have a pet sabertooth in the game what’s stopping my character from putting a saddle on it ? If we are talking realism…… eh screw the lore give me a saber mount.

Any animal that we can tame in Conan exiles that can support our characters waight we should be able to mount and ride.

It’s teeth versus you if you try and saddle it.

Tarzan. But even he can’t.

You can put a saddle on a poodle, but that doesn’t mean it can carry you.

Feline and canine animals do not have a similar strength to carry stuff on their backs as hooved animals do. They’re more optimized for short, explosive bursts of strength to bring down their prey.

I want to ride a mammoth.

Just sayin’

They will once Funcom finds it profitable.
Then we will have dino mounts, flying mounts etc. and no one in funcom will give even a single “redacted” about lore or books.

I’m more optimistic in that regard. So far, Funcom has been very respectful towards the IP, and I don’t see that easily changing.

As you can see I don’t share your optimism.
I have no doubts they will push towards that direction once they reach the limit of consumer’s interest in current mounts versions.

Hyperborian Cycle, that was one of the collaborations with the group of Authors that Robert E. Howard was part of. It exists. Funcom uses elements of that book. And REH was fine with that book being written. So I will continue my sad little delusional life, in that I believe the original and current lore people over you.



I got mine

What game is that?
Doesn’t even look like Conan :thinking:

FYI, the Hyborian Age is generally placed somewhere in the 10,000 BC - 32,000 BC range. I think 10,000 BC is the most widely accepted. Dire wolves went extinct only about nine or ten thousand years ago. :upside_down_face:

Ugh. Can we please not be limited to only what is in the letter of the works but instead use the intent of the works (IE low fantasy Sword and Sorcery). What works vs what doesn’t in the intent of the world vs the specifics of the world.

Dire wolves? I don’t see any reason why wolves couldn’t be used if we can imagine a rhino.
Ostriches ? Yeah can’t see Swiss Family Robinson races in CE (old school 60’s Disney reference)
Sabers? Sure but too much He-Man reference that legal may need to be involved.
Crocs? Ummm functionally why?

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I can’t see putting a saddle on giant crocs. Pulling something maybe. Like a medium sized siege engine or a wagon or something of that nature. Slow moving though, and probably more for aesthetics than any potential practical value. But people riding them just doesn’t sit right.

Ostriches, yeah, that’s way too Final Fantasy for this setting.

Sabers, I’d probably put them on the wrong side of close to the line, unlike wolves who are on the right side. The reason is simple:

How do you train a dog for an acting role in the movies? Repetition, incentive, encouragement, discouraging unwanted behavior, etc. etc.

How do you train a cat for an acting role in the movies? You get twelve similar looking cats and film the one that just happens to be doing the thing you want the cat to be doing at that particular time.

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Really it’s realistic in South Africa

We do it in Australia too

I would squish that pup like a grape.

The largest wolf species averages around 140lbs. Dogs do not have enough heft for anything approaching the size of the average exile.

Largest living species. Which is one reason why I mentioned dire wolves as an example, which may have been a tad larger and would have existed in the Hyborian Age time period.

And as mentioned earlier, although this is a low fantasy setting, it’s still fantasy. Which means that while it’s still guided by reality and historical record, it’s not strictly bound to it as demonstrated by the presence of various demonic and mythical creatures, among other things. It would be entirely consistent within this setting for there to be a species of wolf large enough and strong enough that one could potentially ride it as a mount.

Yes, I’m aware that ostrich races are a thing. It’s also a far cry from “battle birds”.

A Ostrich as battle bird :joy::joy: who asked for that.