Conan is the son of Corin, a barbarian chieftan. Conan is a skilled but violent warrior, whom his father believes is not ready to wield his own sword. Their village is attacked by Khalar Zym, a warlord who wishes to reunite the pieces of the Mask of Acheron to revive his dead wife and conquer Hyboria. The mask, crafted by a group of sorcerers and used to subjugate the world, was broken into many pieces, scattered among the barbarian tribes. After locating Corin's piece of the mask and murdering the entire village, Zym leaves. Conan, the only survivor, swears revenge.
Years later, Conan is a pirate but still seeks revenge. He encounters a slave colony and frees it by killing the slave handlers. In the city of Messantia, he encounters Ela-Shan, a thief being chased by Lucius, one of Zym's soldiers from years before. He allows himself to be captured alongside Ela-Shan. Conan escapes imprisonment, kills several of the guards, and confronts Lucius, forcing him to reveal that Zym seeks a girl, the pure-blood descendant of the sorcerers of Acheron; sacrificing the descendant and using blood from the girl will unleash the mask's power. Conan helps the prisoners escape and Ela-Shan tells Conan he will find him at the City of Thieves, Argalon. Lucius is killed by the prisoners.
Zym and his daughter, the sorceress Marique, attack a monastery to find the pure-blood descendant. Sensing something is wrong, Fassir, an elderly monk, tells one of his students, Tamara, to run away and return to her birthplace. When Fassir refuses to reveal his knowledge of the descendant, Zym kills him. Marique slays several priestesses. Tamara's carriage is chased by Zym's men, but Conan rescues her, kills three of her pursuers, and captures Remo. After forcing him to reveal Tamara's importance as the pure-blood, Conan catapults Remo into Zym's nearby camp, killing him.
