Spitting Into the Wind - The Elric of Melnibone rpg second edition & The Mongoose Hawkmoon rpg Commentary

  Dealing with newer editions of classic role play games brings up all kinds of interesting wrinkles in this post covid age of ours!? Today we dive into two newer role playing incarnations  of both Elric & Hawkmoon. Here's a bit of background on the history behind the newer Elric incarnation of the Elric of Melnibone  from the Elric of Melnibone site;" Mongoose Publishing acquire the Eternal Champion Licence from Chaosium in 2006, and published new versions of both Elric of Melniboné and Hawkmoon. The initial editions of these games utilised the Runequest (itself licensed from Greg Stafford) rule set, while the 2nd edition Elric of Melniboné was built on both the Runequest II and latterly Mongoose’s own Legend game system." 

Where do I begin?! If you want something done right then do it yourself. Last night I grabbed my pdfs of the Mongoose Hawkmoon & second edition Elric Rpgs. Why the second edition?! Well according to the Elric of Melnibone rpg website; "Initially written by Lawrence Whitaker and Pete Nash, this short lived 2nd Edition revised the game mechanics to match the Runequest II ruleset, while looked to expand the Young Kingdoms setting to more remote locales." 
And this lines up with my original question  what I asked in the Elric/Stormbringer rpg Facebook group.  Don't look for the thread because I deleted it. The questions  were how are the Mongoose Elric & Hawkmoon rpgs?! And do they work well together?! Comments on Christmas puddings & bull shite made it so that I got very frustrated. So taking on the question myself I looked deeply into both role playing games. 

So after reading through the Hawkmoon rpg last night & with a bit of eye shattering strain through the Elric second edition. The conclusion is that these would work very well together for a campaign & there are several reasons for this: 

1. Second editon Elric was created to smoothly intrgrate into Runequest rpg rules making my hit list of plusses. 
2. The Elric game is impressivley detailed enough to take the Young Kingdoms as a very viable rpg campaign setting. 
3. The Hawkmoon rpg  game gathers strength from the Elric rpg giving the players even more range with regards to the character creation.
4. Alone I don't think that the Hawkmoon rpg is very good but with Elric as a system it works extremely well. 
5. The range of trouble the PC's can get into is impressive to say the least. 
6. The world of the Young Kingdoms is nasty in the Mongoose Elrice second edition version. Its down & dirty Sword & Sorcery rpg world just waiting to screw with the PC's. 

 But let's talk about the Hawkmoon rpg for a moment. The setting is far more detailed in its own right & the empire of  the Tragic Millennium, is rife with adventure possiblities. 

Are the two games worth the price of admission?! Possibly by themselves?! Maybe but not for the fifty dollar plus collector's asking price at the moment. But coupled with Runequest & together?! Certainly and this is because they do the job of presenting their respective worlds very well. These games take on their material & bring it to the table top level in a way that actually suits the gaming that we've got today.

Coffee, Tea, or Elric of Melnibone By Michael Moorcock - Some Quick Sword & Sorcery Thoughts on The Elric the NPC

 "Elric of Melnibone, an albino prince, travels in the Ship Which Sails Over Land and Sea to the city of Dhoz-Kam, through the Shade Gate to the Pulsing Cavern where the magic swords Stormbringer and Mournblade await him"

Written in Seventy two when I was but a wee lad of two, by Michael Moorcock Elric of Melniboné. This was one of my bed time stories when my dad got back from
 to. There's something about Elric's situation which just goes from bad to worse that seems more akin to how Sword & Sorcery sometimes plays out. Moorcock's writing is at his best here someplace between 70's Rock & Roll & the Pulps. In other words the majority of Elric's saga is lightning in a bottle. It will not come again. Why because Elric isn't really a likeable guy but does he deserve the part he plays in the saga of the multiverse?! Yes & no.. 

Yes & no, the consequences he unleashes to stop his cousin ultimately doom all of reality to the cosmic cycle of things when Law & Chaos come calling. Chaos itself is ultimately a force of evil unto itself that people are only far too willing to play with. Magick itself is power. That unto itself is dangerous & nothing about the Elric saga is safe. And its that danger that propels the saga forward in a way. The older I'm getting Elric is not an NPC that should ever really be encountered! Every place he goes gods, evil, & destruction follow in his wake. 
                                                                                                                   

Recently the group of players that I'm with have been tossing the Stormbringer rpg back & forth. And talking about the fact that Elric isn't really an NPC that they'd want to run into. And in point of fact he might be a danger on level with the Jammers in The Design Mechanism's Luther Arkwright rpg. 

This was a topic of conversation over coffee & tea today with some friends. How would you get rid of Elric & co. if they blundered into your world?! He's got the attention of the chaos gods & elemental lords on his side?! Not to mention a god killer & soul sword at his side in the form of Stormbringer.

If Elric shows up on your back doorstep in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons first edition your campaign is  in major trouble. Elric is a mercenary & antihero of the highest order & no where is this more evident then in the recent Titan comics releases of the graphic novels. Elric's appearance in AD&D first edition's Deities & Demigods gives a good overview of the NPC. 

Make no mistake he really is Chaotic Evil in every sense of the word after a quick re read of Elric of Melnibone By Michael Moorcock. We used to run or clean up after Elric would show up in my uncle's Stormbringer rpg campaign. But how the Hell do you get rid of Elric? What happens if the anti hero is actually the real villain after all?! 

Spitting Into the Wind - The Elric of Melnibone rpg second edition & The Mongoose Hawkmoon rpg Commentary

 Dealing with newer editions of classic role play games brings up all kinds of interesting wrinkles in this post covid age of ours!? Today we dive into two newer role playing incarnations  of both Elric & Hawkmoon. Here's a bit of background on the history behind the newer Elric incarnation of the Elric of Melnibone  from the Elric of Melnibone site;" Mongoose Publishing acquire the Eternal Champion Licence from Chaosium in 2006, and published new versions of both Elric of Melniboné and Hawkmoon. The initial editions of these games utilised the Runequest (itself licensed from Greg Stafford) rule set, while the 2nd edition Elric of Melniboné was built on both the Runequest II and latterly Mongoose’s own Legend game system." 

Where do I begin?! If you want something done right then do it yourself. Last night I grabbed my pdfs of the Mongoose Hawkmoon & second edition Elric Rpgs. Why the second edition?! Well according to the Elric of Melnibone rpg website; "Initially written by Lawrence Whitaker and Pete Nash, this short lived 2nd Edition revised the game mechanics to match the Runequest II ruleset, while looked to expand the Young Kingdoms setting to more remote locales." 
And this lines up with my original question  what I asked in the Elric/Stormbringer rpg Facebook group.  Don't look for the thread because I deleted it. The questions  were how are the Mongoose Elric & Hawkmoon rpgs?! And do they work well together?! Comments on Christmas puddings & bull shite made it so that I got very frustrated. So taking on the question myself I looked deeply into both role playing games. 

So after reading through the Hawkmoon rpg last night & with a bit of eye shattering strain through the Elric second edition. The conclusion is that these would work very well together for a campaign & there are several reasons for this: 

1. Second editon Elric was created to smoothly intrgrate into Runequest rpg rules making my hit list of plusses. 
2. The Elric game is impressivley detailed enough to take the Young Kingdoms as a very viable rpg campaign setting. 
3. The Hawkmoon rpg  game gathers strength from the Elric rpg giving the players even more range with regards to the character creation.
4. Alone I don't think that the Hawkmoon rpg is very good but with Elric as a system it works extremely well. 
5. The range of trouble the PC's can get into is impressive to say the least. 
6. The world of the Young Kingdoms is nasty in the Mongoose Elrice second edition version. Its down & dirty Sword & Sorcery rpg world just waiting to screw with the PC's. 

 But let's talk about the Hawkmoon rpg for a moment. The setting is far more detailed in its own right & the empire of  the Tragic Millennium, is rife with adventure possiblities. 

Are the two games worth the price of admission?! Possibly by themselves?! Maybe but not for the fifty dollar plus collector's asking price at the moment. But coupled with Runequest & together?! Certainly and this is because they do the job of presenting their respective worlds very well. These games take on their material & bring it to the table top level in a way that actually suits the gaming that we've got today.