What can I expect with Elric?

[Mage]

Now, I am no stranger to RPGs, and I have read the first Von Bek story, and am going through an Elric book.

With Elric, and indeed 'The Warhound & the World's pain', I feel and initial sense of mystery, danger and coming conflict at the start of the books draw the reader in, and indeed, I am enjoying Elric quite a bit. In fact, I prefer it to Tolkien, and hope the movie of elric rocks. Also, I'd put Elric on par with Dune.

Getting to the point, what can I expect to mke this different from other RPGs? The setting so far seems awesome, and there seems potential for great conflict (I am only three chapters in to the first story). There seems to be the whole ridiculouly powerful magic thing going on, as well as a hidden aspect of something else being there that is about to come to the surface.

Will professions be a major thing in this game, or will it be the magic system, or setting?

I know there was a previous Elric role play game before, and I would like to hear what players have to say about it.

 

[weasel_fierce]

The old Stormbringer game is one of my fave games ever. I have high hopes for this new one.

The real change, I'd imagine from "traditional" (i.e. D&D) fantasy is that sword and sorcery vibe. Eerything is sort of rundown or hopelesly decadent,and life is pretty grim.

 

[tarkhan bey]

Stormbringer 5th Ed and Elric are essentially the same game with a few minor changes.
I have been playing this system right from the first edition back in the early eighties. Over the years it changed quite a bit and by the time of "Elric RPG" it had evolved substantially.
Combat was a slightly simplified version of RQ with attack initiative based on descending Dexterity scores instead of strike ranks and a magic system which ranged from fairly simple spells to world shattering rituals.
I cannot recommend the Eternal Champion books from Chaosium enough.
I hope that Mongoose produces equally as high quality products and I have no doubt that with Lawrence Whittaker on board that this will be the case.
Expect weirdness aplenty,things which are strangely familiar but oddly alien at the same time. Expect treachery,deceit and backstabbing,and thats just from your companions. Above all,never trust a Melnibonean,especially one with a demonic sword that hungers for souls.

 

[weasel_fierce]

oh.. yeah. Noone ever gets the better end of a deal

 

[Mage]

Sounds like I better finsish the book soon. Are Melniboneans humans or what the hell are they? Elves? Something else?

 

[weasel_fierce]

evil space demon elves.

Sort of

 

[Mage]

Evil space demon elves huh. Freakin' Awesome.

 

[Loz]

The Elric saga is one of unremitting tragedy. It reverses most of the usual fantasy cliches and it most certainly doesn't have a happy ending!

Melnibone is an analog of several different empires: the Melniboneans are inhuman - elf-like in appearance, but worshippers of Chaos, the greatest sorcerers of all time, rulers of the world for 10,000 years, and as decadent and amoral as they come. Elric is the exception; his curiosity drives him to learn more about the world, but choices he makes lead to death and destruction for all concerned. Expect bleak...

The saga also tackles a whole series of complex themes: the meaning of betrayal, loss and atonement; the power of comradeship and love; the meaning of myth and dreams; and eternal battle between Law and Chaos. So expect some complex philosophical exploration.

As fantasy tales, they are exemplary. Moorcock's an expert storyteller who can make a story move at a rate of knots or slow it to investigate a particular point or idea. So you can also expect a variable pace, but never less than interesting.

If you can, try to read the books in story sequence rather than as written sequence. The ending of 'Stormbringer', which is the last part of the saga, but written early in it, is an absolute tour-de-force.

Expect to fall in love with Elric and the Young Kingdoms....

 

[Mage]

I am reading it write now in 'chronological' order and am loving it. Just wanted to know how the RPG would be different, and is good so far.

I've started on 'Elric of Melnibone', and the book also contains 'The Fortress of the Pearl', 'The Sailor on the Seas of Fate', 'The Dreaming City', 'While the Gods Laugh' and 'The Singing Citadel'.

I like it so far, but hope to God that the movie is not cack.

Which brings me to my last question:

Why in all things holy have I only heard of Elric in the last year and never seen it in a bookshop until just a few months ago? Why is there some crap fantasy out there that is critically accalimed but really unoriginal Politically Correct Excrement, and getting more attention than Moorcock?

 

[weasel_fierce]

Because shite fantasy sells.


Do yourself a favour and in addition to checking out Moorcock (the Hawkmoon books are a must), hunt down books by Jack Vance, Robert Howard and Fritz Leiber

 

[homerjsinnott]

Why is there some crap fantasy out there that is critically accalimed but really unoriginal Politically Correct Excrement, and getting more attention than Moorcock?

who did you have in mind?

 

[Vagabond]

Why in all things holy have I only heard of Elric in the last year and never seen it in a bookshop until just a few months ago? Why is there some crap fantasy out there that is critically accalimed but really unoriginal Politically Correct Excrement, and getting more attention than Moorcock?

Because of Moorcock's print status. White Wolf did omnibus editions about
six years ago, but there was a falling out between WW and Moorcock, and the
terms were not renewed, so no reprintings were done. However, Elric will be
given the same treatment Del Rey gave Conan, Bran mak Mor, Kull and
Soloman Kane. Expect it sometime next year IIRC.

-V

 

[Mage]

Jack Vance, Robert Howard and Fritz Leiber, better jot those down.

As for the pop crap fantasy, I am going to have to say pratchett for one, most of the other stuf out there (that is stuff that is not Tolkien or moorcock, the great majority of it being crap), Harry Potter, Wheel of Time is very unoriginal I must say (not trying to start a flame war here, and I know there are Robert Jordan fans on the site, and I know he is sick, God help him, but I just do not like it) are to name but a few.

 

[Loz]

Add to your reading list M John Harrison - a contemporary of Moorcock and a very fine fantasy writer. His Viriconium series is breathtaking.

If you want a change of pace and tone after you finish Elric, then 'Dancers at the End of Time' is a good series to read.

 

[andakitty]

Other 'forgotten' fantasy/science fantasy writers you might want to check out: Karl Edward Wagner, Fletcher Pratt, Poul Anderson, Leigh Brackett, A. Merritt. You will find a great deal of gold in this genre in the middle of the 20th century, esp. from the 1930's through the 1970's...the last part of this period was when Moorcock wrote the best of the Elric stories, IMO, for instance. There are other single gems as well, such as David Drakes' 'Dragon Lord'. Good hunting!

 

[tarkhan bey]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention two of my favourite things about the Stormbringer family of games. Wardpact's and Demon Doors. Just watch your players faces as their big huge weapon of choice becomes useless or when a seemingly ordinary door sprouts a fanged maw and bites off their hand. :twisted:
I think the best thing about this game is that anything goes. Moorcock's million spheres of existence and the ability to occasionally travel between them means that your characters could turn up anywhere,in any setting and in any time period.

 

[Mage]

SOLD!

You had me on the doors, but that travelling between time periods rocks.

 

[Loz]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention two of my favourite things about the Stormbringer family of games. Wardpact's and Demon Doors. Just watch your players faces as their big huge weapon of choice becomes useless or when a seemingly ordinary door sprouts a fanged maw and bites off their hand. :twisted:
I think the best thing about this game is that anything goes. Moorcock's million spheres of existence and the ability to occasionally travel between them means that your characters could turn up anywhere,in any setting and in any time period.

The game I ran at Tentacles last weekend had a Melnibonean renegade from Eequor, a Weeping Waste Earth shaman, a blind Mystic and an inhuman desert nomad from Gwenthia, a slave girl from Granbretan and a member of the von Bek family from Mirenburg. All kicking around the Young Kingdoms doing dreamthiefy stuff. Great fun.

On the demon doors/wardpacts thing, the former will be extremely difficult to to do in 'Elric' (but not impossible) and the latter is handled very differently to how it was, but still there. It shouldn't detract from your enjoyment of such horrors though, because there's still a great deal of demon nastiness to be had.

 

[tarkhan bey]

Loz,
Is there going to be separate styles of magic as there were previously?(Western/YK sorcerors and those from the Unknown East)
Will there be rules for your aforementioned Dream thiefing?
Did you ever get around to doing Atlases for the other continents and islands,and if so,are we likely to see them in print?(Atlas of the Young Kingdom's,The Northern Continent was an amazing piece of work.)
There are certain things,persons and places that were part of the Chaosium imagining of the setting eg Cardinal Garrick and the Unchanging Nine gods of Law. Will these be reappearing in the new Mongoose edition,or is this a completely new take?

By the way, I hope that your Tentacles game was a real blast. The characters sound like they were a very eclectic bunch indeed.
Following a several year hiatus(and an excellent Conan rpg campaign) my group have once again ventured into the Young Kingdoms and the Tragic Millenium.
I still have two of my old players on board and the chance for them to once again become Nalkor Zakstrassin(The Eternal Optimist) and Aladahn Zain the (Thin White) Duke of Bromlee was eagerly grasped by both.

 

[Mage]

Loz, I'm gonna use that door hitng in every game. My friends who GM are very fond of having booby traps in their games, and i think using one of those would be... poetic justice....

That tentacles game sounds insane by the way. Theres always a von bek somewhere...