Plots in Elric

M

Mage

Mongoose
I am finding it hard to think of plots for a campaign in the Elric of melnibone game. I don't know if it is the fact that I have not read enough of the books or lack understanding of the world, but I can think of nothing that creates an adventure of significance or that is unique to the young kingdoms that cannot be done with any other fantasy setting. I want to do something unique to the world, but cannot think of what.

I am totally clueless if anyone can give me ideas.

Same goes for Hawkmoon. I still have to read it a lot more, but I know more about the world from reading less. But everything seems to boil down to fighting granbretan.
 
Hawkmoon adventures:

* Yep, fighting Granbretan is a big one, and can take many forms, from "the Dark Empire invades your homeland and captures all you love" to "a smiling Beast shows up at your doorstep and offers you a devil's bargain".

* There are also all manner of other bad guys. Cruel sorcerers, mutant warlords, ambitious nobles, bandits and thieves.

* It's medieval Europe with laser cannons and mutants, so you've got lots of politics and intrigue and chivalry and nastiness with laser cannons and mutants. A princess of Espanya is betrothed to a noble from the Belgic States. She's just run away with her lover, a troubadour. You're sent to bring her back before her husband-to-be finds out about this disgrace. With laser cannons and mutants.
 
Elric:

* Characters are hired to accompany a sorcerer into the festering forest of Troos in search of rare herbs.

* Investigate the ruins of an old Melnibonean palace/castle/villa in search of riches.

*Disturbing dreams of some kind trouble one or more characters: a dreamthief is needed to get rid of these nightmares

*A minor Lord of Chaos somehow breaks into the YK and threatens Kaneloon. Myshella herself summons the characters to retrieve a series of components to counter his mayhem.

*A strange black ship with a blind captain and mute steersman collects the characters from a lonely shore and transports them to a shadowy plane where a great evil threatens the peaceful inhabitants.

*An inept sorcerer of Dharijor summons a demon he cannot control which then runs amok in downtown Ilmar, slaughtering as it goes.

*The characters are ordered by their cult to assassinate a ranking official in a rival cult or faction.

*Weeping Waste or Pikaraydian tribes go to war on behalf of Straasha and Grome to reassert supremacy of one element or another in a time of drought.

*The cult of Arkyn uncovers an ancient machine that they believe is of lawful origin and start to experiment with it. It is, in fact, one of Cran Liret's Chaos Engines and the machine cannot be switched off once activated. The characters must go in search of the means of deactivation before Old Hrolmar gets turned to sludge.

*The characters accompany a trader to Imrryr, acting as his bodyguards, on the eve of Imrryr's Sacking at the hands of Elric. The characters must escape the slaughter alive.

*Six handsome men of Bakshaan are found with their throats slit and blood drained (stored in jars neatly beside their body). Each one wears a red waistcoat or sash. Is this the work of Eequor or Teer? The characters must find out...

I hope these offer some inspiration. BTW, I reserve the right to use some (or all!) in the Elric Companion and other Elric books...
 
Rather than basing your plots on the worlds, base them on the characters.

Ask each player to write a brief background of their character including at a minimum one friend or ally, one enemy or rival, one mentor, and one hope, goal or aspiration.

Each of these can serve as mini plot hooks to draw a specific character into the current story.

Favorite movie, tv and short story plots can all serve as inspiration, as can music.

I ran a great Stormbringer campaign inspired by Blue Oyster Cult's "Imaginos" album, it would work well for Hawkmoon as well.

Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and teh Grey mouser story "The Howling Tower" made for a memorable Stormbring adventure, even the player who had read the story didn't recognize it until well into it.

I have also seen players dash off in pursuit of rare artifacts based on throw away comments I made during the game that I never meant to go anywhere.

Don't worry about building a monumental epic from the first adventure. Just keep track of interesting NPCs and bits that could be brought back in a future game. Consider how simple farmboy Luke Skywalker's search for a runaway droid lead to the destruction of an Empire... Or what Bilbo Baggins' chance discovery of a magic ring lead to...

Often a good place to start adventure writing is to look at the world and pick a place that seems interesting. To use the Island of the Purple Towns for an example, this is a society of merchants and traders. Comparison could be made to the whaling ports of 18th and 19th Century New England or the Netherlands in the 17th century. A great plot could involve something as simple as flowers. In the 17th Century the Dutch were gripped by Tulipomania, a mad passion for tulip flowers. Suddenly the bulbs of rare varieties were worth many times their weight in gold. Bulbs were traded, sold, stolen, etc.

To place this in the Young Kingdoms perhaps the Isle has been gripped by similar fever. One of the prominant merchants has heard rumours of an outstanding variety (let's say of orchid) found in the Forest of Troos. Not being the adventurous sort himself he hires the players to obtain the bloom for him. Naturally nothing is ever simple. Complications could include attacks by pirates or sea serpents, rival flower enthusiasts, the natural hazzards of Troos, a Pan Tangian sorceror and his minions searching the same part of the forest for reasons of their own, etc.

Pan Tangians make great villains for Young Kingdoms games. They are evil, corrupt and unlike the Melniboneans they are outward looking and expansionistic.

In addition to this Moorcock has given us an endless supply of plot hooks in dreams and the multi-verse. Any events that alter the campaign too radically can be revealed to be a dream or have taken place on another plane. nb use the sudden revelation sparingly. Adventures in dreams and alternate planes can be fequent occurences, but usally the Dreamer knows he is dreaming.
 
If you find that you are really stuck for time/inspiration,pop over to the Chaosium website. There are several free downloadable adventures there. Should keep you busy until Mongoose release their campaign.
You also may be able to pick up some of the earlier Hawkmoon/ Elric stuff on e-bay.
 
dave-the-lost said:
Rather than basing your plots on the worlds, base them on the characters.
Click to expand...

Great advice! In my RPG campaigns, I find that once the characters start to interact with the setting and make some friends and enemies and establish some goals, plots start to take care of themselves.
 
Those are all great suggestions, Loz. And great work on Elric by the way! Can't wait to see what else is coming.

I would also suggest using some of the old Chaosium books such as Sorcerers of Pan Tang and Perils of the Young Kingdom in particular. These are rather cheap on drivethrurpg.com is you can't find the actually books.
 
Chardros The Reaper said:
I would also suggest using some of the old Chaosium books such as Sorcerers of Pan Tang and Perils of the Young Kingdom in particular. These are rather cheap on drivethrurpg.com is you can't find the actually books.
Click to expand...

Were cheap...unfortunately all of Chaosium's Elric books have been taken down from DriveThru now
 
Oh damn! Didn't know that. Should have picked up Sea Kings of the Purple Towns while I could...that's the only one I don't have! Oh well...the gears of Chaos are forever turning...
 
The best Elric/Stormbringer campaign I ever played in was in the late 1980s. It was a tragedy in the classical sense of the word. The storyline was epic, yet character driven. The crunch was that all the characters were flawed in someway, on a personal level, and those flaws led them, ultimately to their respective fates.

Interestingly, as long as the players can revel in the epic nature of their character's jouney, having them perish or be doomed in the end is something they can revel in dramatically.

So, ensure the characters are well designed and motivated, send them on some sort of quest, plan it out like a road movie and ensure that there is some spectacular ways for them to meet their ends.

That is how I'd run a good Elric adventure.
 
Here's some of the current stories from my on-going Stormbringer Saga that I'm converting over to the new Elric (once it arrives at my doorstep).


D'Jorsca of Dharijor was once a member of the Order of the Crimson Vultures. Cultist and assassins in service to Hionhurn the Executioner. Unfortunately, D'Jorsca was also the lover of the Queen of Dharijor. The good king discovered the romance and ordered D'Jorsca's capture...with every intention of torture and execution. D'Jorsca eluded capture though he remains hunted by members of his own order. He now plots the overthrow of the king. A literate man, he's written a polemic in Cadsandria and has begun to spread his rhetoric in the hope of stirring eventual rebellion against the aristocracy ( not necessarily the wisest plan as he's learned) while seeking fortune in order to fund a mercenary army against the King of Dharijor. In this effort, he's joined with...

Bakanabulis, Noble of the Purple Towns and a dabbler of sorcery. The merchant lord found a cask floating in the sea, this water proof cask was made by some unknown civilization and within it, a book of Gold. Solid gold covers and gold leaf pages inscribed with a runic language and depicting diagrams of the stars. Bakanabulis has managed to decipher the star charts- documenting the stars as they appeared 12,000 years ago and through lengthy and costly consultation with the scholars of the University of Cadsandria, he's determined the approximate location of the origin of the book. With the support of the university, he obtain audience with the King of Argimiliar and has convinced him to fund an expedition to the unknown continent in pursuit of what Bakanabulis believes, may be a library of golden books! Just imagine the "wealth" of knowledge.

Ka'aul Corgan, a Melnibonean noble and sorcerer who seeks the Blackblades in the hope of returning Melnibone to its ancient glory. Through his research and wanderings of the Young Kingdoms, he's learned of the ancient city of R'lin K'ren A'aa which he believes, holds the origins of his people and the secrets of finding the runeswords. Could the Purple Towns man have found a book of this ancient city? The book is not in either the low or high tongue...but he must be sure.

Yl'andrek, also of Melnibone. A sorcerer weak in body but strong in will. Betrayed by his own son and wife ( who are now lovers). Yl'andrek escaped death and slavery. Forced into a pact with Chardros the Reaper, he served him until through unique circumstances, broke his pact and now seeks a return to Melnibone to take vengeance on his own family. Despite his more personal ambitions, he owes Corgan a debt and accompanies him to the lost continent to repay it.

Jasmin Blacksoul, she's one of the few warrior-priests of Chardros from the distant land of Eshmir. She is an outlaw of her own cult for her gender in these western lands and more importantly, for "stealing" a treasure of the Theocrat for herself. Nearly slain on the shadow plane of Ameeron, she was rescued by a sorcerer of dying world. He has employed her to find a "power source" to his "God Machine." He has little time as the strange automatons created by his race have acquired a mind of their own and sought to destroy their creators. He is the last and wishes to enable the god machine was more. He has implanted a parasite in the chest of Jasmin. It shalll burrow into her head and eat her brain when it hatches. It certainly has ensured she'll serve the sorcerer and find what he's looking for and return...
 
really good stuff here - may borrow some for my game - thanks! :D I can't agree more about basing the game around the characters - I often have to work quite hard to twist any publsihed adventures to make it fit - usually just end up nicking ideas.........

my present cast list - find it a useful resource (especially re names of characters for the players)
I did nick Mariad and her family from the Chaosm Melnibone sourcebook

The Players
Dor-Tal-Halmir Mercenary Warrior from Tarkesh, has a new friend,
Du’Cain Half Melinbonean bodyguard and favoured slave to the Lady Mariad,
Mac-Kral-Degory Captain of the Glorious Destiny, Pleased to be away from the Dragon Isle
[Mariad YnD’aan 16 year old lady of Melnibone, heir to House YnD’aan, banished from her home.

NPCs
Lady Tmoria H’Sarai Mistress of the Arcane Arts, Tutor to the Lady Mariad
Kalas Her Human Companion
Prince Lauash Karas Tersi Melnibonean in appearance but claims he is of the Vadhagh race, seeking a way home.

Torson, First Mate, powerfully built, practical man from Dhaijor, he knows what he is doing,

Lyrsia Daughter of Cerit Flamehair, a merchant from the Purple Towns, now a slave…………….
? A human slave smuggled from the Dragon Ise

On the Dragon Isle Melnibone (*all these should have Lord or Lady affixed to their names when spoken to)
House YnD’aan
Aary (*) Mariad’s 14 year old brother, irritable and bored, – his squeaky Demon Fidelak
Klo’astra (*) Mistress of the Ghost Tower, mother to Mariad, calm and distant
Theese (*) Lover of Klo’astra, attentive and pleasant,
Darus Chief Slave of House YnD’aan,

The Royals
Emperor Sadric Emperor of Melnibone, soul sick and remote,
Princess Cymoril Royal Princess, sister to Yykoon, Official lover of Prince Elric, a vision of beauty,
Prince Elric Heir to the Bright Empire, albino scholar and sorcerer,
Prince Yykrron Royal Prince, a rising power on the Dragon Isle,

Others
Leth-Aria (*) Melnibonean weapon mistress, worshiper of Xiombarg, Queen of the Swords

The Young Kingdoms

Marla-Thom-Patan Attractive daughter of a blacksmith in the village of Vornskold, Tarkesh,
Lorje A Merchant of the Purple Towns, he profited well from the loss of Cerit Flamehair

One of my players characters in case of interest:
Captain Degory, “Kral” to his few trusted friends is the owner and captain of the Glorious Destiny, a small but fast merchantman that plies its trade up and down the coast of Tarkesh. This is no easy task for as he must dodge the dangerous slavers and pirates of Pan Tang as well as natural and unnatural hazards. Over the years, he had gained the favour of the Temple of the Sea God after transporting a priest, despite the dogged pursuit of a pirate galley. It is, however, not unknown for Degory in lean times to turn pirate himself, though he refrains from the brutality of Pan Tang and is content to merely take the cargo rather than slaughtering or enslaving the crew and passengers. Recently he has been rejoined by the Halmir, a doughty and dangerous mercenary who hails from the far north of Tarkesh. They told him that they must return to the north and reminded him that he owed them a favour – a small matter of a Sea serpent attack and “from the jaws of death”…………Actually he was quite happy to take them, and slightly resents the reminder, he aims to prove that he is every bit as honourable as them. “Kral” is a practical, somewhat dangerous man, but whom will always fulfil his obligations and seldom gives his word, as he has to keep it. He does not enjoy violence or killing but has no qualms about either. Items of note: He carries an elaborate and bejewelled sword which he “acquired” from the captain of a slave ship he boarded. The blade is finely crafted and the pommel bears a large, but somewhat odd jewel, sometimes it seems a red light can be seen in its murky depths……………….He bears a gift from the Lord of the Oceans, Straasha – a coral ring that contains a water elemental (or undine), she is bound to his service for a year and a day. Strangely following adventures in a foreign realm she seems to be now pregnant – something thought impossible on this world.
 
Cool. There is a lot of detail here with all you guys, and am I getting intrigued. I think I may just create a few npcs ideas in my head, leave them in different corners of a scenario I will pen for myself, and create the rest of the campaign out od what the players do.

However, there does seem to be a lot of positive feedback regarding the character's family, mentors, friends and whatnot. There seems to be a lot for a player to do, espcially my fellow gamers who ussually would not put too much effort into their characters.

I remember playing Cyberpunk and there was an optional set of tables where you rolled up a character's history and relationships with family, genders and everything. It would be cool if there was one like this for Elric or Runequest in general. Someone could do one for Elric. Its just using such a chart would be quicker than getting my players to do my own stuff, and would be more spontaneous and 'real'.
 
I did actually do that once - just changed some of the entries - it only took a short time - also apparently there are various versions of Cyberpunks "lifepath" out there on the interent according to a friend...........I'll let you know if I get an address :)
 
There's a sort-of lifepath affair appearing in the RQ GMs' Guide.

Sengoku also has a lifepath system which is quite useful.
 
I best look into that.

what else...

Oh ya, that elric story where the champions meet up to fight agak and gagak with the boat and stuff (I cannot remember the name), that sort of cross champion capering happened several times, didn't it?

If so was it through the same boat or under a different method?

And where exactly do the stories cross? i mean hawkmoon must have been recruited at some point...
 
A quick story plot.

A Pan Tangian sorceror,dwelling in Cadsandria in the Kingdom of Argimiliar has had a scroll come into his possession. The scroll describes the location of the tomb of an ancient Melnibonean Prince named Darsu Devorac. It also states that this Prince was a sorceror of great power who had in his possession an enchanted crystal which enabled the eternal binding of summonings to the wielders service.
The problem is that the ruins lie in the Dead Hills between Pikarayd and the plains of Dorel and that the area is considered sacred by the chariot riding barbarians thereabouts. These barbarians are prepared to kill anyone who risks disturbing the evil spirits that are said to dwell within the ruin.
Of course there is also the problem of Devorac's demonic guardians, eternally bound to protect him in death as they were in life.
 
I like that plot tarkhan.
And on a lighter note my order of elric and hawkmoon goodies arrived yesterday!
I think my main problem with the plot devising for my campaign is even though I have an understanding of melnibone, elric, sorcery, and a lot of important aspects of the world, there is little I know of the society geography and politics of the young kingdoms. Hopefully the rulbook, bright shadows, and the elric companion will help me in these efforts, as would reading more Elric stories.
I have been trying to come up with NPCs, but over the last two months only one has seemed really cool, and I do not know whether to make him an antagonist or ally, or both, or whatever. I suppose I'll know more if I create some more back story for him and decide more of his character niches.
 
Thanks a lot Mage. :) I have been thinking a bit more about this and have come up with a few further ideas. I would like some thoughts from anyone who cares to comment or offer suggestions.

I have decided that I am going to call the gem "The Prism Chamber of Static Entropy" or the "Entropic Stasis Crystal" or something like that. The idea being that it is used to effectively imprison the soul of a being and entrap it it a never changing environment where it neither regresses or progresses for eternity.

I first thought that I might make it an artifact of Law,much in the same vein as those mentioned in the Granbretan sourcebook. If this was the case I reckoned that it would have clearly defined abiliities and a maximum unchanging capacity for eternal bindings.

Then I thought that the name suggested something that the insane scientists of Granbretan might create, that several of these might be in existence and that they might have varying capacity or even variable capacity for bindings based on the ability of the user.

Then I thought, what if the user was required to attune himself to the crystal in a similar way to a prospective sorceror making a pact with a diety ie; by sacrificing a point of POW or more?

Next I am thinking that only one person can be attuned to the crystal at any one time and to reattune the crystal, the prospective wielder must somehow sever the link between the crystal and its previous owner
(after defeating the eternally bound guardian demons, of course).

The POW must be diminished as per the Hawkmoon spell and there is the link to Granbretan again, or at least the Tragic Millenium.

So,Artefact of Law or the result of Tragic Millenium scientific sorcery? :?:
 
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