All Gods in Conan Lore Part 1 Introduction and The Popular Gods

[@jakelee5096]

You're saying our beloved Jhebbal Sag is a demonic God? Nonsense! Is the wolf evil because it hunts elk for food? The crocodile evil because it rolls it's prey to shreds? The rat evil because it spreads sickness and disease? Of course not, these things are either in their nature or a byproduct of it entirely. Jhebbal was once the God of men and animals because men were once no better than animals, they were savages and as such spoke the language of the animals. Savagery, survival, bloodlust, the hunt - these are necessary things to keep the wilderness from killing you. Lycanthropy is a gift, a bridge between man and beast. Fixing what was lost. All praise our beloved Scorpion-Eagle-Kitty

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

This is easily the best comment here. You get a pin.

[@Zankaroo]

Yes this. I always saw him as a just a pure primal entity. Just wanting the world to return to the way it was when man and beast talked with one another. The story behind my first character in Conan Exiles was that as a Nordheimer he worshiped Ymir, but through his travels he met a child of Jhebbal Sag who told him about Jhebbal Sag and a story about how his brother betrayed him and he just wished to return home. After helping there werehyena by defeating Impisi my character became the Chosen of Jhebbal Sag and as such started to revere Jhebbal Sag and learn more. At this point I point I had him worshiping Ymir and Jhebbal Sag, more focused on JS though. I basically made him into a berserker and had him go into battle wearing the Pictish Warlord Armor set and welding the Claws of Jhebbal Sag as his weapons. He had three sets of combat thralls I would use with him two men set up the same as him gear wise, two women wearing the Pictish Wolf Shaman Armor that were archers, and two frost giants (yes mods were running so I had actual armor and visual armor and could have up to 4 followers although I normally only took 2 plus horse, although sometimes it was fun to run with 3 archers and a melee. 3rd archer was my "wife" thrall that was normally left in the house and never used because she was a store/lore thing and while I normally don't lose thralls I still didn't want to risk it much). It was so much fun, because back then when you pulled the claws out the character would yet out of battle cry then I would charge/pounce into combat. to me they have ruined the claw weapons now. I understand how they were kinda broken in pvp but they removed the unsheathing roar and ruined the attack pattern. They are garbage now.

[@StevenMichaelCunningham]

Obviously they are evil. Note their being fearful, hateful, insulting, mocking, indifferent or each instead of natural. Cleanliness being what it is answer your own questions or be forcibly escorted to the consequence.

[@StevenMichaelCunningham]

@@DBeskar6605 I am refusing your attempts at a social addiction relapse actually. Your trying to coerce me at all cocnerning it why I shoot you & such just a self respect is why you survive it like it or not. Get mental health care or wish you did like every other perverted psyche in all it's corruption & violence you disrespectful speck of your SELF.

[@michaelpettersson4919]

A concept of degeneration of gods is something I seen in a roleplaying game. In game/lore terms a deity could be reflection of the worshippers. A god with immense amount of followers can disregard the wicked followers but when there is few left shear hunger can force a formerly good aligned deity into evil. The idea here is that an ancient deity can have become a monster due to only being fueld by some wicked fanatics. A deity like Crom would avoid this fate due to his followers not expecting him to deliver miracles on a regular basis.

[@VintageNarwhal]

You’re like the David Attenborough of Conan lore.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

This comment makes me happy.

[@VintageNarwhal]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff I’m glad 😁

[@kiltedcripple]

He's better, he's the Baldermort of Conan.

[@gasmonkey1000]

I do hope you realize that now I need Grim Dark (Half Off) to do a video on the wild life of Conan in his worst David Attenborough impression

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

@@gasmonkey1000 I do a decent Attenborough impression, that would be fun lol

[@johntaylor7029]

"If you're playing Derketo in Conan exiles, you're playing the bad guy!" Looks over my army of forcibly acquired friends and the various altars to dark gods, including a pyramid for the zombie-waifu. Surprised Pikachu face.

[@bdobdnoble5750]

Bro same, i was confused by her duality of being a life / death goddess....Im now corrected... I'm going back to crom.

[@KinshinReaper]

@@bdobdnoble5750 (This reads like you were a Derketo "believer" and are now regretting it soo) Crom would reject you for running away from your choices like a coward!

[@SonofSkyrim01]

Each simp chooses Derketo as their starting deity.

[@Harrison11106]

What I always found unique about Crom in comparison to the other gods, was that he never wanted people to pray to him. You could pray INDIRECTLY, but if you prayed directly to him he'd curse you. In that sense he reminded me of Io from the Forgotten Realms D&D setting. Whereas Io doesn't want people worshipping him or praying to him because he was trying to ascend to a higher plane of being (mortal worshippers were basically holding him back, from what I read of him); Crom struck me as not wanting people to pray to him since he viewed it as weakness on their end. After all, he gave them what they needed when they were born. Praying for more after is just "greedy".

[@michaelpettersson4919]

In Havamal Odin discurage too much worship. Sure, send your prayers, do the rituals etc but do it in moderation.

[@nowhereman6019]

Worship is not on bended knee Nature knows not of mercy To pray is to accept defeat Power pisses on the weak Bow and beheaded by the beast Beggar on a bitches leash Scum is desperate for relief

[@nunyanunya4147]

we do not pray. we demand to be witnessed. behold at your glory! look away at your regret! it matters not in the end.

[@tyv5887]

The real crom cruach didn’t want anything but a challenger to come to his hill and do battle, then he may respect you if he didn’t mop the floor with you to easily , a prayer he would just tell you to shove it and grow a pair and pull your steel

[@Red_Bubble]

I remember conan saying crom would bring you dooms if you pray to him, Hes a God of strength, you pray for strength he will give you opportunities to grow, thus, Dooms!

[@benhuether5474]

From a literary perspective I love how Howard’s Conan series, Lovecraft’s expanded mythos, and Chamber’s King in Yellow anthology are all loosely connected.

[@e.xcalibre]

Piqued my interest

[@crimesagainsthumanity2059]

This guy's enthusiasm for Bears is hilarious. Lol I love it.🐻🐻‍❄️🐼

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

If you must pray, then pray to Mitra for salvation and protection of your soul, but trust yourself & trust your fellow brothers in arms & shield sisters, for Crom & Ymir have given you all that you will ever need, now you must earn your keep!

[@trapperjohn3488]

As to the status of Crom as a diety or legendary hero. In the books Conan prayed to Crom once. While facing an Eastern wizard. Crom appeared in a vision calling Conan a true son of Cimeria and deemed him worthy of assistance.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Based

[@irateastartes1206]

Crom seems to have a sense of fair play, he won’t grant victory in war because you’re supposed to do that yourself. But facing an unfair situation like a demon sorcerer cheating he will level the playing field.

[@NathanCassidy721]

Which book are you referring to? I have all the Conan stories and read them all recently and I don’t remember seeing that.

[@brothergrok]

@@NathanCassidy721 I'd like to know this as well

[@conanmcdonagh2619]

Also, I'm fairly certain that the Riddle of Steel & "Paradise Afterlife" only exist in the movie. In the books, the only Cimmerian afterlife (the only one mentioned, anyway) is wandering in Crom's realm, which is a grey & gloomy mountain.

[@bouganhagain8131]

I believe it is said somewhere in Conan exile that Set abandoned the serpent men as their races declined, only then did he put his eyes upon humanity and allowed them to borrow his power, once he saw that humans were just as, if not more cunning and selfish than the serpent man.

[@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos]

Take lore within Conan Exiles with a very large grain of salt, friend.

[@rachnussouldrinkerlibraria5640]

It can be said that the serpent men were more serpentine in body, but humanity was more serpentine in mind.

[@hunterkiller1984]

I think calling Thoth Amon "snake Pope" would irritate him greatly. Also ...An amazingly comprehensive video

[@angelangelis8362]

And thus he will be referred to as such, just to slight him. Snake Pope is a dick.

[@michaelpettersson4919]

Good, another reason to keep using the term.

[@TheOtherBradBird]

I had a group of set-loving friends who went commie over the last half-decade. I think it would annoy them too and that's enough reason for me.

[@eldradulthran6482]

@@TheOtherBradBird As a snake communist I love the snake Pope.

[@lukasaaron102]

The actual pope has a snake temple so this can be confusing

[@erikbjelke4411]

"I call him Snake Pope, I will never apologize for calling him Snake Pope, he is Snake Pope." I'm dying! This is my new favorite nickname for Thoth-Amon!!

[@JungleJoeVN]

Mithra was called the Mediator. Mithra was also the god of the sun, of the shining light that beholds everything, and, hence, was invoked in oaths. The Greeks and Romans considered Mithra as a sun god. He was probably also the god of kings. This is the source REH used for Mitra. REH was an incredible history buff and used so much historical truth in his writing, distorting it to suit his storylines, of course.

[@bill9068]

Yog is my fav. Also the fact conan has taken some inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft makes me love it even more.

[@archieduke1619]

You should read about Lovecraft's Circle, a clique of friends that shared ideas and stories that complemented eachother's works, to which Robert E. Howard was a member and close friend of H. P. Lovecraft which resulted in the two often collaborating and exchanging ideas to the point Lovecraft and Howard's works were closely intertwined on a meta level.

[@PolyphonicWaves]

"Hey, we're a hedonistic sex cult. But we have standards."

[@michaelpettersson4919]

The standard is over there, the one with a huge XXXX on it...

[@carlosjohnson6726]

My kind of hedonistic sex cult..... gotta have standards.

[@truemisto]

xotli - "of the elder night" - before there was light, there was darkness, it got here first, and entropy gradually grinds the universe back to that state. mortals routinely wield destructive power and destructive warfare against their enemies. it can seem wicked to those on the receiving end of that destruction, or beneficial to those inflicting it, but it is still ultimately a neutral natural aspect.

[@chaddeus_marik756]

“I don’t apologize because that’s bad energy.” I like your style sir. Great video, I had no idea Conan had this much depth. As someone who is massively into world building I feel like I’ve missed something great for a while lol.

[@Cbf3v3r]

I don't even like Conan, but your voice is perfect for narration. You actually are the reason I got onto 40K lore! I've been listening to you for a LONG time. Cheers

[@thecommenter9678]

One way to look at Derketo is a god of Life, Fertility and Death, representing the cycle of nature and time. But i admit that is stretching it to a degree, but not to the point you wouldn't ever see anyone worship her as such. Personally im a Crom guy.

[@JO-zu3mz]

My Derketo interpretation is of celebration and balance of life and death. Too much indulgence can obviously result in resource and social exhaustion/decline. Moral as well, especially if you're that kind of "necromancer" lol. Death is mandatory but poses an albeit good role, as it recycles the elder matters and welcomes the new. Not sure how well that melds with cannon, as I'm a newbie to lore. Your enthusiasm is contagious, I love your content!

[@Plague_Archangel]

What a fantastic "finding" it was getting your channel suggested by KZbin itself to me. The correlations with the "real history" and most accept theories on specific subjects elevates this channel to "scholarship-quality". I, for one, as a linguist by University degree and with several hours studying literature and teaching, I appreciate your research and time to put these videos together. All hail to thee!

[@Sylentmana]

I like to imagine Set is often mistakenly associated with Nyarlethotep but is actually a separate entity. The mistake could be due to Nyarlethotep using serpent imagery or straight up lying to throw people off.

[@kristiankepley5944]

Or people who know of Nyarlethotep on a superficial level, in terms of in universe, associating it to Set Similar to what the romans did to other gods

[@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos]

It’s an interesting notion, but it does seems unlikely, as Set is canonically known to be an aspect and mask of Nyarlathotep within the larger sphere of Mythos lore, within which Conan lore typically tends to fall under. Personally, my take on it is that Set as the “Chaos Serpent” divinity is just a prehistoric interpretation of Nyarlathotep originating with the Serpentfolk, then the Elder Race/Giant Kings, and finally being adopted by Humanity when the younger race inherited the cultures of their predecessors. Nyarlathotep, as Set, would change a little here and there to better suit the races and cultures he associated with, until you get the Set of Egyptian religion and myth.

[@Sylentmana]

@@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos I guess you would be the one to know lol

[@somerandomschmuck2547]

@@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos could be that Nyarlethotep and Set are seperate entities, but Nyarlethotep would take advantage of the surface level similarities to manipulate Set followers into doing what they want by pretending to be Set. Or alternatively, maybe Set was a name Nyarlethotep used, but either somehow that aspect split off into its own being, or possibly a follower of “Set” realized what was going on, grew in power, ascended into godhood, and usurped the name, that being was the one who the Serpent Men would come to worship (we know in Serpent-people mythology Set is specifically their Grandfather, what if the Set they worship is actually Sligguth?) Also might explain why you have human followers or Set capable of drawing power from their God, despite Set in theory hating humanity, in a lot of case, those human followers like Thoth Amon are actually worshiping Nyarlethotep, while Serpent men worship Sligguth/Set

[@teogonzalez7957]

I’ve seen some people associate Set with Yig, a lovecraft snake god.

[@Dershizer]

I think it was the original "What If..." from the 80's where Conan came to the modern era and fought Captain America. Very well written story.

[@AhlquistMediaLab]

All of my Derketo temples are just coffee shops. The 5th century Greek historian Ctesias called the goddess Atargatis, "Derketo". Atargatis is more commonly (or at least popularly) known as the mermaid on the Starbucks logo. So get those Tale of the Goatherd scrolls, open up for business and tell customers not to ask what goes on in the back room.

[@thedukeofdoom6323]

Dude I am so excited to find a Conan lore channel

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Well please stick around. After I finish up my weights today I’ll be completing my second draft of my script for the Acheron video.

[@GlassingForTheEarth]

Important to mention that Crom was a real-life god of Ireland, which is appropriate given that the Cimmerians are based on the Irish. Not much is known about him except that he was probably a solar deity, and that he was offered blood sacrifices.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Very good to know!

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

Crom Crough and was probably a dragon

[@sabithasajan5564]

@@durrangodsgrief6503 only in highschool DXD he's a dragon irl he's a god.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

@@sabithasajan5564 I mean how hes described gives off quetzalcoatl vibes a dragon god

[@jacobitewiseman3696]

@@sabithasajan5564 what a pointless show. Globalist propaganda

[@thexteam1231]

Holy cow you are WAY under subbed. This was fantastic, I started out about an hour vid over 11 gods... but it was well worth it. Learned a lot. Love the Conan universe, most of my knowledge lays in Lovecraft and always liked the connection to Conan. Im gonna share you around all over the place lol

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you I appreciate it!

[@ΝίκοςΘεόδωρου-γ8β]

Small correction. According to the original stories (i think it is addressed in the black colossus and queen of the black coast) Croms afterlife is not Valhalla. It's a misty empty dimension in which souls wander eternally.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks for the extra info I was going partially off of CE

[@ΝίκοςΘεόδωρου-γ8β]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff The movie version of Crom accepts warriors into Valhalla after they answer the riddle of steel. So its an understandable mistake my guy. Don't worry about it.

[@zekun4741]

And I believe in Phoenix on the Sword, Conan actually explains that most foreign gods like the gods of Nordheim seem much more appealing to him than Crom, he just has a cultural commitment to Crom

[@shinobi-no-bueno]

@@zekun4741 I don't think that's right, I only remember Conan looking down on other gods as being too helpful to their followers whereas Cromm essentially just didn't want you to bother him.

[@ashmoleproductions5407]

@@shinobi-no-bueno You can look down on something while admitting it is appealing.

[@MissionControl-]

"You want to make your sex palace and I'm trying to lawyer it for you even though I shouldn't." I for one appreciate your attempt for us but I am completely okay with my sex cult being an evil sex cult. Seriously though I just stumbled upon your videos and these are amazing! Been playing Exiles for years now but don't know a lot of lore outside of it and the Arnold movie so these are fantastic!

[@robgau2501]

I feel really stupid. My entire life I've always thought Conan novels would not be my jam, but now that I've watched your videos it's exactly my thing. There's way more to it than I expected. It's exactly what I love.

[@paulogaspar8295]

I'm so happy you are getting finally some recognition on youtube after so many years and specially doing videos about a topic you love so much.

[@Animoia]

From what i understand, nyarlathotep is supposed to be one of the more human focused old ones, as in they at least acknowledge that humans exist

[@manezijiya413]

Derketo seems like she could be seen or told as a corrupted fertility goddess or even an absolute amalgamate of life/death goddess which could be interesting for table top lore that could be the positive ethics play style you were looking for

[@kristiankepley5944]

Like a Shub-niggurath. If we’re going with the lovecraftian view

[@carlosjohnson6726]

My kind of Goddess,Big fan of Derketo, Ishtar,and Yimir.

[@LeRodz]

I really love how you change from this almost academic take on the lore to a straight up hypeman. Really shows how much you know and care about this world.

[@thegamersconclave8709]

Im watching this to get ready to do a Conan in the Lands Between run in Elden ring. You sir are a scholar and a gentleman.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Great to hear hope it goes well

[@angelangelis8362]

When it comes to Yog, if you are wondering what his stance is on Humanity during Conan, we COULD go with what our friendly if creepy buddy/ neighbor Nunu has to say in the subject. He's having people eat each other so he can KNOW them. In this case, to me at least, this means Yog is currently still learning of humanity. He's taken interest enough to want to study them, possibly seeing us as a quaint if simple bunch of creatures that are worth studying if only to pass eternity. It's later he starts to like us as much as any Elder Being can, finding it endearing how we strive to survive and thrive against the supposedly inevitable.

[@entropicflux8849]

yog sothoth is the father of illithids, change my mind

[@Zankaroo]

My dive into Conan's lore started back when I first played Conan Exiles. And when I found the friendly werehyena and the Midnight Grove I got kinda exited as I too love druidism and shapeshifting (sadly you can't become a were in CE, even as JS' champ you are stuck as a stupid human.) I loved it when you kill Impisi and then you hear the stomping and then see Jhebbal Sag towering over you. His model looks so cool. My first character's store was that he was a nordhiemer Ymir worshiper but also started worshiping Jhebbal Sag effectively making him a berserker.

[@mausolus8466]

I always wondered if Cimmerian Bear shamans believed they go to different afterlife than Crom's joyless realm. I mean, I would like to think that they have some more joyfull afterlife, but then again, I know most Cimmerians are grim, fatalistic folk. Speaking of which, as an afterlife-enthusiast, I was wondering if you would consider in future making video about afterlife interpretations of different philosophies/religions in Conan's world. I know about Crom's joyless realm, about Ymir's Valhalla, and even Mitra's paradise and hell, but most of the others viewpoints are quite vague or unknown to me. I mean, there are also hints in many factions met in Conan Exiles (dying Yoggite saying "To the Empty Abode!" or "To the great feast!", dying disciples of Jhebbal Sag claiming "My spirit will run free!" or "To the Dark Lands" or even note of Zamorian worshipper of Zath before she commits suicide, hoping for afterlife with bedsheats of finest spider silk). As I said, I'm an afterlife-enthusiast, and what would people in Conan's world expect to follow after death would be greatly interesting to me (and I hope to many others as well, of course). Thank you in advance

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

That is a VERY good idea!!! I’m going to do a video on that!

[@mausolus8466]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff Thank you

[@erikbjelke4411]

Crom does not have a paradisical afterlife, nor is it related to Valhalla. The Nordheimers believe in Valhalla, and Conan prefers their beliefs to his own. In "Queen of the Black Coast," Conan describes Crom and his afterlife by basically saying "life sucks, why should the afterlife be any different?" and describes Crom's realm of ice and cloud, where the souls of the dead just kind of wander in an eternal void. The Riddle of Steel was entirely an invention of the film, and Valhalla was mentioned in connection with Crom and Conan because John Millius always wanted to make a Viking film, and used Conan to do it. EDIT: Okay, that's more your take an alternative look at Crom, which is really cool. Personally, I would have led with that.

[@danmaertens7872]

The enthusiasm in your voice about this lore is really inspiring, I have always been interested in the gods of Conan’s world. Great content.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you very much! Currently my plans are: Part 2 - Minor/Demi-Gods Part 3 - Cultural/National Gods I also have everything I need for my dragons video except time to record it.

[@tim3tRav3l3RR60]

Ive been looking for a channel like this for years. Like and subscribed. All about story mythos and ancient lore in media. Conan is king 👑

[@Seanbo88]

This video is amazing, such a great breakdown of gods that I never fully knew about. I'd love to see you do the same sort of video for other pantheons or lores, like the gods of the Elder Scrolls or the gods of Game of Thrones. You seem really knowledgable too so I'd even love videos like this of gods from actual religions like Hinduism, Nordic, or Greek. Please!

[@ayyvril]

Im so glad I found this video. I'm a newbie to the Conan lore and listening through it I just realized that Conan is a part of Marvel. With that information and everything you said my mind has been BLOWN. I started also looking up wikis for certain deities and just the fact that these gods have "evolved" with cultures and time and either were renamed or degenerated into demon gods and have some influence in the modern Marvel world BLOWS MY MIND!!!! Every minute of this video has put me in a stun locked state lmao

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks bro!

[@MD-yd8lh]

Howards lore feels simple and deep at the same time. Very cool.

[@smuggrog9821]

Really hope Funcom adds in Varnae, Xolti, and The Great Bear as religions in a future Conan Exiles update. The Great Bear in particular, since it would cover the "animistic deity" which is missing from the roster of gods you can follow. it would also be nice to be able to create a more primal character from the jump instead of having to wait to learn the Jhebbal Sag religion. Anyway man loving the content and just subbed, big fan of conan, vtm, tes, and 40k so your channel is right up my ally.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks brother Grog! May the Bear Guide you on your Journey!

[@chrisnichols807]

I've read that the Kull movie was originally supposed to be a conan movie so it makes sense why the characters were mixed up, the writes didn't care to rewrite much. For the conan movie I've got nothing

[@willturnbull4796]

Just started the video and loving it, Conan doesn't have enough coverage on YT and this is easily the best channel that covers it Keep up the great work bro 🤙

[@The_Cosmic_Navigator]

I was about to be like "What about were-Jaguars? I remember the Forvalakka being one." But then I realized I was thinking about The Black Company (Glenn Cook) not Conan. I can still see a were-jaguar in a place like Tortage.

[@baddragonite]

These videos and your channel are way under rated. You just tied together basically like 7 different versions of a canon into a cohesive singular unit.

[@misterjoshua5720]

20:28 An interesting bit of apocrypha for some folk: The word Bear comes from an old germanic word that just means "the brown." The thought (which is not backed up by much concrete academia I could find) is that Germanic folk feared the bear so much, that they never referred to it by name lest they call its attention to them. I imagine many young hunters joking about the superstition of their elders, right up until a bear wanders into their camp, eats their freshly killed and hard won game, then casually mauls anyone who tries to stop it with sharp sticks. Where I live we deal with bears all the time rooting through trash and wandering into back yards. Whenever that happens, I'm quite happy I've got more than waddle and dob walls and a turf roof between me and even a small bear. A hunter friend of mine said he knew a guy who shot a charging bear with a 30-06, it glanced off the top of its skull. Now he hunts with something a big bigger.

[@entropicflux8849]

humans are natural predators of bears. bears get genocided everywhere humans go. it's only the stupid ones who aren't smart enough to be afraid of sharp sticks. if bears are really smart, they have their own nicknames for the horrifying animals that stalk the woods dressed in the flayed skins of their victims.

[@jelly434]

wattle and daub...

[@Pyre]

A funny thought, regarding Set. Basically all pop culture depictions of the god get major details wrong from the original Egyption religion, for understandable reasons. Chief among them: Set isn't the snake. Set's animal was the horse. He gets placed as the Big Bad of the pantheon because of his role in murdering Osiris, one of the chief benevolent deities. But the actual Big Bad of the Egyptian pantheon IS a snake: It's Apophos. A being who is the literal (probably original) Chaos Serpent, an avatar of that exact thing, formed of flame, who attempted to swallow the sun every night as it sailed through the underworld. But Set always gets depicted as or associated with giant snakes and chaos, because the true terror of the Egyptian pantheon was that. The conflation is likely because most information we have on ancient religions now got filtered through a Christian lens, and the idea of a single terrible Adversary, particularly one associated with a snake, probably stuck with scholars etc. much more strongly than "That jealous horse who carved up his brother". So the deity as described here isn't really Set, the horse-associated fraternal murderer. But it's not Apophos either, an unknowable cataclysm associated with fire and driven only to unmake all order (that'd be the fire squid). The Conan mythos seems to have, intentionally or no, created a fascinating mix of Set-like motivation with Apophos imagery. Also your insight is great and any video where I end up tumbling back down the mythology-knowledge rabbit hole is a joy. Praise the Algorithm.

[@tylerhood5035]

I found something interesting today. Type in "giraffe god" on google and see who appears. I see him in a whole new light now.

[@slinkyslink5161]

I don't think set is a horse

[@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos]

Actually, Set has always been the chief antagonistic figure in the religion, and he has always had many sacred animal totems, including the one he is typically known for and represented as. The Sha, also known as the Set Animal, and later as the Typhonic Beast, is a chimeric composition entity. It has qualities from various creatures, with the most common theories as to which creatures typically including the following: jackals, wild dogs, greyhounds, wild pigs, donkeys, aardvarks, and possibly okapis. Other animals which were considered totems for Set included lions, jackals, wild dogs, wild pigs, vultures, snakes (yes, snakes), hippos, donkeys, fish, crocodiles, lizards, bulls, scorpions and more. He was always known for being associated with the more dangerous animals, and animals who were typically associated with death and the wilderness. Set is a truly ancient divinity, and has his origins in predynastic times. In those predynastic times, long before Apep was ever adopted into the religion due to cultural interactions and exchanges with other Near Eastern peoples, and long before even the idea of the Ennead was present in the religion, Set was also even associated with dragons and other outright monsters. One of Set’s most ancient aspects and manifestations from this time was as that of a monstrous entity known as the Akhekh, which was always represented either as an ouroboros dragon/serpent with occasional humanoid qualities, or as a griffin-like chimera with many serpentine qualities. The Akhekh symbolized Set’s role as the origin and master of Asfet/Isfet, and all manner of other dangerous natural and unnatural forces outside of and within the world. Even though Set was originally the primary antagonistic and dangerous force within the religion, he was still always thought of as having positive qualities as well, and people still prayed to him so that he would withhold his chaos, conflict, violence, death, sterility, disease, storms, and any other dangerous and destructive influences. In this capacity, not only was Set the destroyer, he was also the protector, two sides of the same coin. He was antagonistic, but also protagonistic. That religion didn’t really have an “Us vs. Them” or “Good vs. Evil” way of looking at things. Everything worked together, even Set’s Asfet functioned side by side with Ma’at, and both had equal, opposite and necessary purposes. When Apep was adopted into the religion, it cause some confusion and mixed things up a bit. Apep started to take on many of the same negative roles Set previously filled within the religion, and Set was also associated with these things as well, but they were downplayed somewhat to emphasize his more positive and protective qualities. When the story of Set killing Osiris and warring with Horus became popular, during the time when upper and lower Egypt were unifying, the significance of Apep began to lessen within the religion, and Set started to become the primary antagonistic force again, but this time they neglected his more positive qualities and focused more on the negative. He was outright demonized.

[@Pyre]

@@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos This is easily one of the best responses (and also one of the most interesting looks at a Chaos vs Order old religion) I've ever gotten to a comment, thank you.

[@NyarlathotepCrawlingChaos]

@@Pyre Very welcome.

[@ethanallen6070]

i see xotli as a god of "random bullshit go and here are cool demon powers for smiting your enemies with just your thumbs ". also love your videos man

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you very much *high tentacle*

[@delimate]

This is the best fantasy lore video I have ever encountered by FAR. Mind blown. Thank you

[@theapostatejack8648]

Unless I've missed it, an oddity to this list is the absence of Ishtar, a deity frequently referred to throughout the Conan stories. A Godess adopted by Shemites and apparently others in the lands from Zingara al the way east to Zamora. In some kingdoms supplanting Mitra, mostly as a way for Howard to express their descent into decadence. She is sort of "Derketo-lite" focusing on fertility with orgiastic antics and animal sacrifice and the earth, though I'm not aware any stated connection to Derketo. Many online descriptions claim a connections to Shub-Niggurath though I do not know where this came from and they don't cite sources for it.

[@GozertheGozaerian]

I don't recall Ishtar being mentioned at all, and certainly not in the pure Howard tales.

[@theapostatejack8648]

@GozertheGozaerian Quite a few characters in Howard's tales swear by Ishtar. Orastes in Hour of the Dragon does so in the very first chapter. So does Belit upon first meeting Conan in Queen of the Black Coast. And Taramis in A Witch Shall be Born. Strabonus in The Scarlet Citadel as Conan resists capture. I could keep going, but I think the point is made. And these are the original texts, not the rewrites by certain notorious parties.

[@robrib2682]

personally I choose Derketo in conan exiles because I HATE trying to explore half of that jungle and guess which half her trainer is in? Edit: I think that why wolves and hyenas are used is because for at least wolves there is a distinctive sense of dread and fear attributed to (at least the wolf, but I am unsure of the other) them and altering that fear to where theres the fear of contracting a disease as well

[@Ayeskint]

You do a great video, Grim. Interesting, entertaining, and informative (and I've been reading Conan for well over 40 year). You also do a pretty damn good impression of James Earl Jones!

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you very much!

[@locklear2478]

Crom imo gifts his followers the best any god could ever, the power of self-determination and respect, perhaps the best form of altruism you can have. It reminds me of this John Wayne quote as JB Books in the Shootist, "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."

[@Dzugoslav]

I smell several degrees here: sociology, psychology and perhaps a bit of palaeontology. And of course a great deal of pop culture knowledge and passion for storytelling. Thank you kind sir.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks! I’m actually just getting my associate of arts later this year, but I love studying stuff! I also used to have a small political career!

[@RavenElite1776]

Every since I started watching your videos conan and it's lore have pretty much taken over my life learning about all it's people's and cultures and now a more detailed gods video please for the love of YMIR and JHEBBAL SAG give me more lmao 🤣 greats vids bro

[@FockYeah]

Same😂

[@VintageNarwhal]

Big same 😂

[@Sp1tfireProduction]

Your videos are honestly so good. You always research so much on the topic beforehand, which is highly applaudable. Hope you're aware of the impact your videos have on people, such a soothing voice which is just the icing on the top. Your contribution on KZbin is highly appreciated. Thank you so much sir!

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

That means a lot to hear, if I’m doing good for others than maybe I’m doing something right

[@vinash86]

19:38 Jambavant is the King of Bears in Hindu Mythology

[@erikbjelke4411]

My thought on "good" Derketo worship: basically, "Eat, Drink, And Be Merry, For Tomorrow We Die." Focus on the pleasure and death aspect. Everything that lives will die, you are alive so you will die, embrace the fact that you're going to die to deny it power over you. But you aren't dead yet, therefore you are alive, so go enjoy life!

[@TheDoomAbides]

So glad this video finally got made. Can’t wait to watch it in full after work tonight 🤘🤘

[@dawall3732]

I always prefer to use the type of Gool in the Dresden files. Kind of a cross between the original Wolverine from the original comic book version and a werehyena with appetite control problems.

[@owenleach7778]

Your videos really itch that intellectual critical-thinking part of my brain, they are all so cool

[@dragonpjb]

On the subject of ghouls, only eating the already dead is a totally valid interpretation.

[@davidhenderson441]

Wow never knew that the lore in series with the dude runing around in a Loin cloth was so deep. Thanks for the upload!

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Your more than welcome it’s why I’m here!

[@l3gendarylycan916]

Man I'm so glad I found this channel. It's glorious. I love conan lore.

[@Inquisitor_Redacted]

Herald of Xotli is the only thing I remember about Age of Conan. Such cool idea for a class.

[@davidclingerman7668]

In Norse cultures it's more common to see the bear as a commodity. It's meat a pelt, tradable goods, etc. However the Sami people were more inclined to view the bear with a sense of spiritual reverence. So the interactions between the Norse and Sami ultimately may have influenced certain changes in culture that had the bear become more of a symbol of power and status. Not to mention the bear was a symbol of status and royalty with some recordings even mentioning "house bears" in Iceland or bears kept as pets by wealthy Jarls and chieftains.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Very good thanks for the info, I’ve done some research for next time when we talk about the difference between animal aspects and Lycanthropes

[@DementedDemons]

The background music you choose is just amazing :)

[@OlavEngelbrektson]

20:15 interesting to note that there is a given name in Norway "Espen" originally "Åsbjørn/Asbjorn" that basically means God Bear.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Convert Everyone. Now.

[@OlavEngelbrektson]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff love the channel btw, always been more of a Tolkien man myself but Howard/Lovecraft is still a not-so-guilty pleasure.

[@60sspider-man29]

I think my favorite part of the Conan Universe is the minor little household deities. Like in real life we don't know how large Loki worship was, or even if Loki was worshipped at all and they just did a ritual to keep him from causing mischief. We also don't know if giant worship was a prominent thing. It probably was because we don't know where Ymir came from, maybe he actually was worshipped before the Norse pantheon. We just don't know.

[@teogonzalez7957]

Ymir is tied to the chaoskampf, so he probably wasn’t worshiped IRL, none of the other creatures who follow his role in the chaoskampf were worshiped.

[@younousyoutoube]

Somehow this video helps me fall asleep I’ve listened to it a dozen times already

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thanks! It’s why I’m here! 👍🏼

[@opegamin]

Bro went hard on Great bear, and I'm here for it.

[@logancole5101]

I like how I have only read the Hour of the Dragon, have no other exposure to Conan lore wise (not even the movies). Yet watching this video I don't feel lost. It just makes sense. Even the Vampire monkey, Count Donkula. For Conan, it just makes sense.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Yes!

[@chrisseymour2848]

This was great, a bit of bear cult lore, bear was the sort of nick-name for the creature, the word being associated with bees and honey, the real name was thought to summon a bear, this was a common belief amongst varied peoples such as Celts and Finns.

[@MICEBATH]

I love how excited you got when talking about the Cimmerian gods. Hehehe thank you for also having that reaction

[@someguy4405]

Yog Sothoth is outside time and space, his opinion does not change. What changed was humanity, from 10,000 BC to the 1920’s. Their relationship with Yog improved because their comprehension improved.

[@kristiankepley5944]

Just found this stuff today. This is cool! Especially the mixing of some lovecraft elements, with Yog. Quick question, is Yog’s sibling, Shub-Niggurath there in Conan?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Yes! It is under the guise of Ishtar which is her Hyborian form often worshiped under the disguise of a divine goddess!

[@kristiankepley5944]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff figured as much, wasn’t completely sure on that front. Given well, most things with Conan. I figured Ishtar and her lover to be two humans fighting the sex/death goddess

[@kristiankepley5944]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff still relatively new to Conan btw. What other straight up gods from Lovecraft’s mythos are in the Conan world? Not counting Cthulhu or Dagon. Given that I saw your beast gods vid.

[@dueinuremom5082]

Jesus I thought all there was to Conan was a movie from the 80’s. What an interesting surprise.

[@Rare_D]

"snake pope" and "welcome to flavor town" never would have thought i could hear that in one video

[@nicovelardita8619]

Great video with a lot of insight. The Bear God is my favorite part. I've always had an instinctive respect for bears. Other thing you may take into account for your observations is how bear alimentary habits are kinda similar to humans in how they're omnivorous and a lot less predatory that other big animals, relying more in low energy wasting sources of food. Bears also live through seasonal changes similarly to us. This imo also adds to humans seeing themselves in bears.

[@Malkoth]

I like to head-canon that some of our characters in exiles go on to earn a demi-god role that makes them the early heroes and gods of our "modern" age.

[@grosslittlegoblin1358]

Hey, just wanted to say thank you. Im running a westmarches style oldschool DnD campagain with exploration and wilderness survival as the main themes. Im creating the world as the players explore, these videos gave me a lot of inspiration to cultures they discover.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

That’s why I’m here!

[@krispalermo8133]

I am mostly a player of D&D3.5e, a different look at the CR system, where it is listed that eight toads equal CR:1 giving 300xp for dinner. Rats/rabbits, ravens/chickens. Then is an 1980's comic series called " Elf Quest," mostly the elves are halflings riding wolves and trolls are dwarves. And the 4th graphic novel collection of comics the snow mountain trolls/dwarves and elves are at a multi generational war and they eat each other day. Base theme was a high psionic shape changing space traveling species crashed landed on a world during the ice stone age of humans and the elves adapted to three/four main different locations and the trolls/dwarves branched out into two different kingdoms. We ran a game of desert elves where they were so isolated it was just them and no other species for a few thousand years. Only combat xp came from hunting rats, lizards, Jackels/coyotes, wild pig/ boar, and mountain lions. Base CR of prey can take a PC up to 12th-level. Ran a few other games of multiclass rogue/ranger in a stone age setting of hunter gathers, base game hunting over a five-year time period can lead to a rogue3/ranger4,CR:7 PC. Now having six to ten hard core players mapping out dice rolls on Survival checks of not just to feed yourself but the number in your nomadic family unit/tribe and gather enough food to put up for the winter. So you have six PC forming pike formation and trying to flank a bear with stone spears knowing if anything goes wrong you won't have enough to eat that winter. 3.) Levels of magic, .. a.) Stander D&D flashy magic when a cleric cast Create Food & Water, and it magically appears out of thin air. b.) Low not flashy magic, party finds a pack mule with only water skins .. the party can eat the mule. Or it rains and earth worms come up to the surface. The PCs can drink muddy rainwater off the ground and eat the worms. Healing spells don't heal PC like Marvel comic character Wolverine, heal spell only provides additional hp recovery during bed rest. c.) Only spellcaster allowed is NPC class Adapt, pre cursor to druid class. It is a nice campaign touch a few games down the road or a year later you have the players rediscover the +2 flaming stone spear their cave man shaman made or the deer skin fur Blanket of Warming in an ancient burial mound. 4.) Races/species, .. Neandertal is orc, cromag is an half orc, and you just have humans. English word for Soot is rooted in Norse Surtur for black. Cover your body in black ash, then use white ash to skull motif your face follow along with taking yellow flower pollen creating a paste to artist Flame trail body paint yourself in flames and fire. Next step, take a fire harden staff and wrap raw hide around it, then use render fat into an oil and set it on fire. Flaming staff/ great sword. Wotan/Odin was a shaman medicine man that lead pony riders herds men into " fire " giant territory. Loki started off as a " lesser " fire place heath spirit. When the protective heat of the fire leaves your tent/house, you will be Devour/Jotun by the Cold. Hench a fire giant becomes a frost giant. As for the .. " cow " .. horns, they were Bull Horns. Cattle fertility cult, and the green robes represent fresh green grass to feed the cattle on. b.) Next step in regard to D&D 3rd edition rules, a spellcaster could become an undead Lich at 11th-level. Why not .. Ghost .. attached to a fetter. Odin carries/ is possess by the spirits/ghost of his two brothers, hench his extra power. Then factor in 8th-level True Polymorph or 9th-level Wish to gain the life span of an Elf ? Or use 6th-level Call Planar Ally/ Bind Planar Outsider to call a fire genie and bargain for a Wish at 13th-level spellcaster for long life. Stone age - Boar fought " fire giants " orcs/ Neandertal, Wotan fought the frost giants, and Phor/Donner " Thunder " fought all giants and brought rain to crops. Bronze age - Bori fought Fire giants, " cough/ ogres " etc .. and Thor's hammer was forge from a lump of gold. Iron/steel age - stander D&D. with Spelljammer. Marvel comic age - we just played around crossing WotC D&D magic with Star Wars 3.5e force abilities and star ships that could shit through alternate realities and time lines. So my gaming shop over a year time played through four myth cycles measuring at about three thousand years for each time span. 5.) I DM a few games of .. high magic .. only after the players got done with some epic level fast PC leveling and time skips did they realized they were playing the Nose gods or frost giants. After wards they were more than willing to PC giants, fire genies, and run devil/Baator PCs during Blood Wars campaign in the lower planes.

[@grosslittlegoblin1358]

​@@krispalermo8133 The system i play is my own hacked D&D. Creating a character is 10 min. There are no classes, only limited item solts. Depending on what you equip, that's what you character does. There are weapons, charms, scrolls, holy relics giving your character different abilities. Weapons have also a variety of abilities. You get as many XP as much gold you get, encounters are not balanced you have to know when to run. Characters have a low hitpoints and it doesn't change with leveling up, but so as monsters. I have a complete system for traveling, hunting, gathering, cooking, skining animals, you can also sell the skin to gain gold and xp. Spells and magic are rarely damage based, its mostly utility. I DM for 16 years now, in that time a i realized i can do my own thing. But i still buy D&D books for inspiration.

[@krispalermo8133]

@@grosslittlegoblin1358 Sounds cool, short and to the point. I played many different systems over the years and home brews. But I never really played an .. equipment .. base game. My last gaming group at the public gaming shop 15 years ago ran a cross of AD&D mixed with 3rde, along with Whitewolf/World of Darkness: Vampire the Masquerade d10 system. We had a comic book shop/ Magic the Gathering store but my area was a bit overly slow and covid lock down caused many of the small string budget shops to shut down. Since my last group before work time tables got into the way, used a lot of hand out props .. well online gaming is not the same as having a dozen or so people around a table to play. It is something about group social energy along with the sound of people laughter echoing off the walls which add to the social experience.

[@megaman1808]

You good sir, have a good taste in passion, knowledge and general rambling about lore that I love! Here's a comment and subscription

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

It means a lot!

[@megaman1808]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff and now I'm going to shamelessly bingewatch every video about Conan lore on your list 😂 BTW, what is your opinion that the Hyborian age of Conan is part of the MCU now?

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

@@megaman1808 No.

[@andywilliams4898]

Thank you to my buddy Shane I am here and eager to learn more about this interesting world and lore. And thank you grim dark (half-off) for making the video. Keep it up!

[@Ромка-ш7ю]

Hey mate keep it up its dope the amount of effort you put in these videos

[@chriscock6584]

Subscribed. Your understanding of Conan lore and the history of ideas is great. Have you thought about doing a series on the esotericism of the Mysteries of the Greek Pantheon?

[@ivelinivanov1310]

My man your channel is seriously underrated

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you, hopefully it won’t be for much longer!

[@BraveBob13]

This is amazing Conan is one of my favorite IPs out there. I need to look into Age of Conan now. Awsome vid and channel!

[@aranornangwathor8327]

I just looove the passion you're talking about bears brother. Keep on going, love the content

[@subj3kt17]

This was very informative. I knew very little of the Conan universe going into Conan: Exiles, and that game isn't exactly the most informative lore-wise. I always liked the idea of making my character thematically appropriate for role playing reasons, even if I didn't actually do any roleplaying. I wish the game did more with the various religions to make them more unique and give them a bigger impact on your character, such as factional immunities with various NPC's or even traits and abilities you can unlock that fit the religion. Perhaps the sorcery update will allow them to expand on this.

[@Punkfilms4605]

Discovering your channel is tempting me to go through my Conan books again. I only ever made it half way through The Coming Of Conan The Cimmerian.

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

I hope I helped!

[@Punkfilms4605]

@@GrimDarkHalfOff You definitely have been helping me the world of Conan a lot more. Update also I found my Conan books by Howard.

[@chriscolumbia9834]

Well deserving of more subscribers

[@GrimDarkHalfOff]

Thank you very much

[@majingojira]

IIRC, there is a Marvel What If story where Conan does indeed do battle with Captain America, and it has them as evenly matched.

[@tomdadada]

About Yog & Xotli (the latter; not in the video): the "Exiles" Avatar of Yog looks to me more like the antillian demongod of Xotli, while i saw cartoon-art of "Yog of Darfar" which looked more like a ghoul (as seen in your video about the Conan-Ghouls). I think its a comparable change (or confusion ?) like with the sorcerers Toth-Amon and Thulsa-Doom in the first movie. James Earl Jones plays the role of a Toth-Amon-like character, but was named after Kulls main-antagonist. Yog should be a Mordiggian-/ghoulish Cannibal-Incarnation, while the "Exiles"-Yog is an obvious Xotli-Demon. Dont know why they twist the names around like that...

[@PeterDivine]

28:54 - trial by CROMbat.

[@albertmilton9424]

"They're necromancers like us, but they do the creepy sex stuff."

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Anyone who says that is necrophiliac, not a necromancer big difference,

[@albertmilton9424]

@@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723 Pretty sure there are many necromancers who are both as being one doesn't exclude the other, like how eating meat doesn't imply that you do not cook your food. Wouldn't it make sense for a necrophiliac to practice that kind of magic in a world where it exists? Kind of an odd "correction"

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

@@albertmilton9424 I know for fact many necromancers are pretty much single and before you ask, yes there is very large of that pool who are total goth GF material after 1960 for some reason or another but before you ask no, I do not know the names and addresses of every single one of them Side note necrophilia is a very big problem in the necromancer, undead and practitioners of the dark magic community, not only will the upper brass revoke you license but you will jailed and castrated,

[@albertmilton9424]

@@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723 Alright at first I thought you were some pedantic asshole but that was hilarious

[@Caseyuptobat]

By Crom, your pronunciation of the Crawling Chaos's name fills my ears with a pain worse than a spear to the chest.

[@ΝίκοςΘεόδωρου-γ8β]

Oh yes! I've been waiting for this one.