Voltron64 wrote:Might I believe that this setting's version of Conan has a much lesser distrust of magic and wizards considering his friendship with Shazam?
Well, during the time he knew Conan, Shazam went by the title of 'Champion' and was much like Captain Marvel: a physical powerhouse combined with wisdom and a few extra abilities. And like Cap, the Champion used his abilities mostly to a) Talk his opponents down, b) Beat them up, or c) Out smart them, usually in that order. So as far as Conan was concerned, Shazam was his kind of warrior, beating his opponents through raw might or cunning. And since his powers came from the gods, Conan had little problem with him. Basically, Conan saw the Champion the way most Greeks would have viewed Heracles/Hercules: powerful, with a link to the gods, but not necessarily 'magical' the way wizards were.
Now, this version of Conan was more willing to work with wizards, given that one of his friends, Greywolf, was one of the most powerful spellcasters of the day, as well as a member of the city of Xanthis, the Hyborian equivalent of the White Council. However, Conan never really got over his innate distrust of magic. For a guy firmly rooted in the physical world, magic is something that never stops freaking him out.
The best analogy would be to compare Conan with a modern day soldier that hates big explosions. They freak him out, make him nervous, he doesn't understand how they work, and there's always the chance something'll go wrong with them and he'll get his face blown off. But he's got a really good friend who is an expert on explosives, and uses them all the time to complete their missions. He likes his friend, but every time said friend puts down a bomb, he gets a little nervous. But at the same time, he has the satisfaction of knowing the thing that freaks him out is going to be doing worse to his enemies, so he takes some comfort in that. Nothing freaks him out worse than coming across an unfamiliar bomb, but likewise he's comforted knowing he's got a friend that knows how to deal with them.
It's basically the Vader Principle as applied to magic.
And this better should have happened once.
http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/12ada00b4099ff1e51b1a5dadc074143/http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c385/epoy04/MY%20COLLECTION/predator_classic_Conan.jpg
It's certainly happening now.