I started this project a few months ago with the goal of creating a system that, while rules-light, still had enough weight to let players truly feel its theme.

Conan the Cimmerian is one of the heroes who shaped my childhood, alongside the heroes from The Lord of the Rings. I still remember the first time I "met" him: I was nine or ten when one evening my older brother came home carrying a rented VHS tape. “You’re about to meet a hero even greter than Aragorn,” he told me and our younger brother. I instantly doubted him - until I saw Arnold on screen: a mountain of muscle and raw will, a warrior who rose every time he fell, facing dark sorcerers and monstrous foes with nothing but his resolve and his blade.

It wasn't long before I devoured the stories of Robert E. Howard. “Beyond the Black River” was one of the first I read, and it remains my favorite to this day. I’m no longer sure if Conan is greater than Aragorn, but I know this: if any fictional hero could rival the heir of Gondor, it would be the grim Cimmerian.

Creating Flesh and Steel, I faced a design dilemma: should I keep Flesh, Steel and Will as three philosophies, or focus solely on Flesh and Steel? While I believe the answer to the Riddle of Steel lies in the will of flesh that wields the steel, I chose to center the system on that core duality. Flesh or Steel? The same philosophical clash between Thulsa Doom and Conan would become the vehicle through which players explore this question and find their own answer.

I’ve tried to capture as much of the spirit of the film as possible, leaving Howard’s stories in the background and offering instead a heartfelt homage to the legendary 1982 movie. I hope that I managed to accomplish that.

The art in the game is unfortunately AI-generated, as I lack the ability to draw anything more than stick figures. I would have loved for this system to be adorned with human-created artwork, but I simply don’t have the financial means to hire an artist. And since this project is free and made purely out of love, there’s no profit involved to support such an expense.

I intend to write and adventure or two to support this system and one day, I hope to return to Flesh and Steel, expand it with rules for mounted and naval combat, and adorn it with hand-crafted art worthy of its inspiration.

Until then, I hope this game gives a vessel for stories true to the sword & sorcery spirit and stand as a humble tribute to a cinematic hero who left his mark on so many of us.

–Bob_bibleman