Some news courtesy of Pete Roncoli of the Conan forums: until 1st January, anyone deliberating on whether to leap into Funcom’s Age of Conan has the opportunity to try the first twenty levels entirely free.

DURHAM, N.C. –(Business Wire)– Funcom is delighted to announce a unique holiday offer for its massively multiplayer online game ‘Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures’. Anyone who downloads, registers, and starts playing the trial before January 1st 2010 will be able to enjoy all of level one to twenty – the entire Island of Tortage experience – without ever having to upgrade to a full account or pay a subscription fee. This unique Unlimited Free Trial campaign is only available until January 1st as a special holiday offer to anyone who wishes to experience the sexy and savage world of Conan.

I’ve held off on trying Age of Conan due to various technical considerations, but this might just be the ticket. I at least owe it to Joel Bylos. The early levels in Tortage are considered to be the strongest in the game, so they at least promise to be engaging enough for a few playthroughs. I guess it remains to be seen whether Age of Conan will follow Anarchy Online, and have the entire game free of charge.