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.

Time & Investiment In "The Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022' & Cepheus Engine Rpg

 My wife gave me a fifty dollar Amazon gift certificate for Christmas & I've been mulling over what to get in the wake of this OGL fiasco. And after reading through some of the comments & ideas I decided to grab Mongoose's Traveller second edition. 

TRAVELLER CORE RULEBOOK UPDATE 2022 offers a great Sic Fi  alternative to the tons of issues that seem to be happening with Cowards of the Coast. And so it's fantastic time to flip over to  "The Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022'.

However I'm planning an update to the Washington Sector & perhaps with plans move up the timeline a bit. One of the things I've noticed with this set of Traveller rules is the baked in setting. This is fine but with our group used to Stars Without Number & even Star Seige. The switch over to 

"The Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022'. has not been as traumatic as one might think. 
There are several reasons for this update to our gaming. One the learning curve doesn't seem that steep. Two is the fact that the Washington sector is prime real estate for the players. And three is Mecha. 

We've been teasing giant monsters & fauna for a while now & so I pulled the trigger on grabbing a copy of Walker Vehicles Volume 2 by 

Colin Dunn

. The players are used to Kaiju in our various campaigns having visited failed colonies across the Border's divide in our Washington sector campaign. 

The fact of the matter is that the walker technologies within our campaign come from the Clement sector.  
And then the hyperspacial wormhole  collapse happened causing the Washington sector & the Clement sector to be separated by huge distances in light years. 

Walker Vechicles supplement looks very well done & I'm looking forward to using this supplement with 

"The Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022'.
That being said we have a ton of time & energy invested in the Cepheus Engine books. And thats not going away anytime soon. 
However over the years of flipping over fifth edition D&D players over to Cepheus Engine & classic Traveller. One thing is evident & that is that you've got to bring the excitement to the table top. And this is why our fantasy rpg campaigns are  actually taking place within the fringes of the Washington sector. 
And the one game that's done that has been Zozer Games Hostile rpg. 
Hostile remains one of my all time favorite incarnations of the Cepheus Engine rpg system & classic 2d6 bones.  I've been experimenting using Hostile as the four hundred year point in the past for the Washington Sector. 
And this brings me to Stellagama Publishing's Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition. Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition Rpg has a ton of good things to offer. It's rules lite, has a completely reliable system, and helps to set up PC's fast, & gives a solid incarnation of the Cepheus Engine rpg. 

That being said the players asked for "The Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022' & that's what we're going to be using going  forward. Wish me luck 

OSR Thoughts & Commentary On Michael Moorcock's Hawkmoon & The Granbretan empire

   "Centuries after the Tragic Millennium, when the older order of Earth was washed away in fire and poison, Europe has been reduced to a land of squabbling princedoms, of monster-haunted wormwoods and empty, ruined cities. From the bleak and terrible island of Granbretan, the Dark Empire plots to conquer all the world. Their beast-masked legions, armed with flying ornithopters and sorcerous flame-lances, march on across the Silver Bridge to put all of France to the sword. The Madness of Granbretan will consume all the universe if not checked."

Two thousand seven was not a great year for the family & quite a bit of turmoil happened. That's all water under the bridge these days. One of the games that almost passed my group of players by was Mongoose's Hawkmoon rpg. Today we got together to discuss rpg's for the coming year & Mongoose's Hawkmoon came up. So why Hawkmoon?! Well that's a great question. But it boils down to the fact that when Mongoose folded their tents with the  Hawkmoon rpg & the entire run went up on sale on Drivethrurpg. So the entire Hawkmoon rpg run sat   on my hardrive & a local print shop spiral bound the books right before the Pandemic. Now with things opening up again rpg campaigns are coming into vague. For the inside skinny on the Mongoose Hawkmoon rpg go here.  Reading through both Michael Moorcock's  Hawkmoon again. A singular question springs to mind. What the Hell was Hawkmoon's Earth messing with within the Million Spheres !? How did they have so much truck with the Lords of Order?! And why did Hawkmoon's Great Britian survive the various wars?!  Through the intercession of the lords of Chaos?! 


One of the head cannon theories that my group of players put together is that the United States military found their way into an alternative reality within the Million Spheres. This escalated the early Eighties Cold War world stage as the gods of Chaos in some form began to influence the world of Hawkmoon's Europe. Various Chaos mutation, alien technologies, gifts of chaos,etc. all allowed mankind to advance along the ladder of various technologies. But unto all things there is a season & like its want to do Chaos's creations began to turn out the will of their masters. Worlds & seasons end especially with Chaos's influence on the world. Not unlike Jerry Cornelius 's exploits in 'A Cure For Cancer'. The total break down of physics provides the return of the Dark Age world of Hawkmoon. 

There's a very elastic quality that we find with Michael Moorcock's Count Brass novels where everything seems set up for the appearance of Doreen Hawkmoon. Hawkmoon's world is rife with the rise of  the Granbretan empire during the end of the  Tragic Millenium.  

Talking this over with my players the rise of the Granbretan empire with its twisted sorcery & super science seems in direct contradiction to Kamarg. Warriors from the dark empire of Granbretan can literally show up anyplace to terrorize adventurers. 

At the end of the Hawkmoon books the Granbretan empire during the end of the  Tragic Millenium seems like its positioned to take over not only the rest of what remains of Europe. But to expand its scope into the rest of the Multiverse.  So we're really surprised that the animal masked orders of the Granbretan empire haven't shown up as enemies in more Mongoose Stormbringer rpg games. 

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. 

Blast em with Hellfire! Settling into an OSR Hell - Cha'alt & My Version of the OSR Hells!

There are so many lovely little Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry Monsters that 

I'd love to use in my games. I decided to get my infernal campaign  notes out for some business in my version of Hells. This goes back to my 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons D20 days so a little OSR patience.

Recently we reviewed Troll Lord Games Castles & Crusades Tome of the Unclean  & that review generated a ton of controversy. That's good because it means that folks are reading the blog & thinking about OSR gaming. Let's kick the infernal into hi gear or at least my version of Hell.


Someone made a comment on Me We in one of the OSR groups I'm in about the free D20 Infernum book rpg system book -  'Infernum - Book of the Damned'

"You are in Hell.
For an eternity, there has been nothing in the Infernum except constant war and constant suffering. Those in power grind those beneath them into the burning dust, while those below plot and conspire to overthrow their masters and take their place and all bow before the might of the warring Houses. Now, there is dissent and opposition even against their might, as the Free Cities declare their independence and threaten the hegemony of the Houses.
War is coming to Hell. Anyone, even a mortal, could conquer the Pit and become a lord of the Infernum.
Infernum: Book of the Damned is the Player’s book for the Infernum Roleplaying Game. In it you will find everything you need to start your adventures in Hell and begin working your way up the demonic ladder towards total domination.
Play as Mortal, Demon or Fallen Angel. Equip yourself with the latest infernal weaponry such as the flayer or hellcannon and trap a demon within your chosen tool of warfare. Develop and nurture your mutations as they twist your flesh and increase your demonic power. Feed from damned souls and bind other demons in unbreakable Covenants. Do unto others before they do unto you and remember...
Conquer or suffer. These are the only choices in the Infernum."

Now here's the thing for three years when D20 Infernum book rpg system book  came out I ran the system as an addition to 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons. Shocking I know because the first book was followed up with the setting book Infernum: Book of the Tormentor. The final book in the series was Infernum: Book of the Conqueror  which gives the upper PC levels & to rule in Hell & more.
Now I had a far bit of experience with the Infernum Hell because I also own Mongoose's D20 Book of Hell. Here's the thing this book came out before  D20 Infernum book rpg system book & there are several monsters, classes, equipment, etc. That are  not in the D20 Infernum the Book of the Damned.  There's a very nice quick conversion for 3.5 D&D or  Pathfinder over to Swords & Wizardry on the Pickled Punks OSR blog here. 


Now given the circumstances that several of Frog God Games Swords & Wizardry products are on sale I thought I'd go into these Hellish circles.  Now I had to do a lot of house ruling when it came to running D20 Infernum book rpg system books. So much so that I whole cloth modified very nature of the setting Hell itself. The Seven Circles of Dante's Hell became the main stage of Hell with the Abyss & its demons being the back stage. The view point was reinforced with Green Ronin''s Book of Fiends another 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons  book which I own.  The thing is you as the dungeon master have to realize the amount of scaling that you have to do with the monsters for OSR games. But for converting 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons monsters over to Castles & Crusades? I've got that covered with this forum post over at Troll Lords. 

Now with my Cha'alt/Godbound campaign on hiatus for a bit I've taken some time to evaluate some of my old Hell campaign notes. You've got to understand that this was a balls to the walls Rifts/Gamma World style VHS grind house game. Towns being swallowed up by Hell, humans being mutated into demonic horrors then sent to ravage their own towns, etc. This was a campaign in need of  heroes & it got them! These were some very flawed heroes indeed but they were summoned to Earth to do a job! 


Now I've been thinking about using the Siege engine/Castles & Crusades to do a full balls to the walls Rifts Cha'alt game for weeks now. But what about the forces of Hell are they simply going to be on the side lines?! I've got a team of demonic mutant horrors just waiting to be unleashed on my table top as soon as this quarantine breaks!

Note that I really don't give two craps about the poisoned  politics of any the designers & writers of these games. I've put my time into this campaign & on the whole I've got to say that this part of the community aspect of the hobby sucks. Keep your politics off of my table folks.