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?! 

Saint Patrick's Day Serpents With The Magicks of Corum & Beyond

 "A New World for Stormbringer

The balance between Chaos and Law has tipped. Barbarian hordes sweep across the land while civilization decays in doomed castles. Eldritch beasts terrorize the innocent. Arcane technologies are all but lost and foul Chaotic magic corrupts land and sea alike. In the age to come a cursed Prince will seek his destiny across this dying world. His path will be vengeance, his ultimate goal . . . to confront the gods themselves.

In this supplement to the acclaimed roleplaying game Stormbringer you can adventure in a heroic fantasy setting based on the World of the Five Planes created by the master of fantasy, Michael Moorcock. You will confront the most bizarre monsters and foil the deadliest plots on this and other planes of the Multiverse as you battle to free yourself and your world from the machinations of the gods."

Published over almost eighteen years in 2001 by Darcsyde Productions ago 'Corum A New World for Stormbringer' by Geoff Gillan with Mark Angeli & Alex Hammond along with Bill Routt & Liam Routt.  Is one of the best supplements, setting books, & all around treatments of the Corum mythology. Since its St.Patrick's day it seems appropiate to do a blog entry on Corum Jhaelen Irsei ("the Prince in the Scarlet Robe") 's Stormbringer rpg supplement. The real diffence here between garden variety Stormbriner rpg & Corum is the fact that this long out of print supplement allows the DM to create Law oriented lands straight out of the Corum mythology. 

And the real advantage to Corum is the fact that it allows the DM to add in some really cool Law & Chaos magical tweaks to their Elric or Stormbringer fifth edition game campaigns. And this includes further machinations to the conjurings of both Law & Chaos. The artwork in Corum just oozes moist Moorcockian goodness.

One of the things that really clicks with the Corum universe opposed to the Elric books is that journeys through the 'otherworlds' of Corum connect deeply to the 'Otherworld' of Celtic mythology. And all of the dire consquences of those otherworlds with Moorcock's spin on them. 

Oisín and Niamh approaching a palace in Tír na nÓg, illustration by Stephen Reid in T. W. Rolleston's The High Deeds of Finn (1910)

In many ways Corum's journey is far more satisfying then Elric's as an aspect of the eternal champion. And it's something that as one get's older one comes to appreciate. The gods of Law & Chaos within Corum's mythological arch are nasty, dangerous, & ultimately are detrimental to the evolutional & spiritual journey of mankind. This is something we see again & again throughout the Eternal Champion stories & books. And its also something reflected in the magicks of the Stormbringer  rpg supplement of Corum. 
This is also something we see in Luther Arkwright's fight across the ether with the Jammers. The fact that the chaos caused by the disruption of societies across the planes & timelines occurs again & again. A DM & players can see the focus of this in Valhalla's Mjollnir Section's struggles within  Luther Arkwright: Roleplaying Across the Parallels.  These same battles are the flip side in many ways of the machinations of Jerry Cornelius. 

Mankind's journey is both helped & hindered by the forces of Law, Chaos, & destiny. Forces that we as human beings are privy to with both insight & logic. The fate of the eternal champion not so much for his is tied with the black sword & it was always far more evil then its mortal companion. 

Review & Commentary On Castle Brass (2008) By Lawrence Whitaker For The Mongoose Publications Hawkmoon: The Roleplaying Game or The Elric of Melnibone RPG

"  A guide to Count Brass’ domain, the Kamarg, Count Brass is an essential sourcebook for all Hawkmoon Players. An in-depth guide to the successful navigation of this potentially treacherous landscape.

Not only will you learn the secrets of the Kamarg itself, you will learn the deep dark secrets that fester in each of its little towns. You will gain an understanding of its residents, along with their own eccentric secrets, intricate enterprises and convenient friendships.

Unlock the doors of Castle Brass and familiarise yourself with its twists and turns, its hidden rooms and forgotten laboratories.

Castle Brass is an excellent source of knowledge about the Kamarg but also an essential tool for Game Masters wishing to create their own scenarios. So enter this distant marshland and search out the veritable treasures it beholds."

Castle Brass for the Mongoose Corum rpg game by Lawrence Whitaker is one of those books that in various rpg circles that seems to come back with 'weak sauce' for the Mongoose Corum rpg or a five point five star review on Rpggeek.  Castle Brass follows Count Brass's later years & his associatation with Hawkmoon. And its another adventure location that adds to the layers of mystery surrounding the rise of  post apocalyptic empire of the Dark Empire of Granbretan. Count Brass is the protector of the protector of Kamarg France  and the ruler of Castle Brass. My players  also believe he's another aspect of the eternal champion sided with the Rune Staff & the Sword of the Dawn.

 And some of Castle Brass confirms this. The layout is good & its pretty standard Mongoose Runequest style graphics & surrounding page artwork. All pretty standard stuff for the Corum rpg within its Mongoose incarnation. Where Castle Brass shines is in some of the inside information. By the time of Dorian Hawkmoon Castle Brass has been both location of historical conflict & oasis against the tide of post apocalyptic  madness  that Europe has become. Kamarg France  is a land of mutant infested swamplands that surround it but behind the reeds is a world that still has glimpses of the pre apocalyptic world. But with the coming of the Dark Empire of Granbretan the tarnish of Castle Brass is beginning. The area is rife with agents, plots, & potential double crosses as the forces of the immortal Emperor King Huon of Londra and his Beast Men are already deep within the land of Castle Brass.

Castle Brass delves deeply into the history of the castle, its locations, the lands surrounding Kamarg France. It really brings home the potential for using Castle Brass as an adventure location for adventures going back to the early history of Count Brass himself.  And its this crossover potential for the Stormbringer rpg  that really intrigues  a DM.

The in-depth overview  given in Castle Brass gives the DM plenty of fodder to bring the castle, its NPC characters, and more into focus as a campaign central location perhaps.. We already know that there have been alternative versions of Dorian Hawkmoon that have been seen within Moorcock's authorized Hawkmoon comic books. And we've seen other timelines of various eternal champion worlds. Castle Brass may have other such reflections within the 'million spheres'. And this brings the great potential of Castle Brass as a campaign starter. 

Lawrence Whitaker would later on go on to form the Design Mechanism rpg company. And create Luther Arkwright: Roleplaying Across the Parallels which we played back in 2015 or so. One of the locations that was used in that game was Castle Brass when the Jammers tried to take over this timeline before the coming of Dorian Hawkmoon. 

The PC's had a field day with that adventure & meeting Count Brass who they found out is very learned in some matters of the timelines & multiverse. We're using this example to illustrate the adventure & campaign potential of Castle Brass as a viable campaign location for Mongoose Publications Hawkmoon The Role Playing Game   or The  Elric of Melnibone RPG  and  even  Luther Arkwright. Castle Brass provides a wealth of knowledge about one of the more under utlized locations in Moorcockian fantasy within the Tragic European setting of Count Brass opening up to both the players & the DM..