A Cure for the Stormbringer RPG? 3 Suggestions

 

I think I may have stumbled on a cure for what ails Stormbringer (and Elric! and Hawkmoon and Corum). The insight came to me after reading JB's comments on a previous post:

"I think the strength of the game (as originally designed) was in emulation of Moorcock's books...or rather the books to that point in time. A game with 1E Stormbringer feels very much like pulpy S&S adventure stories of a low-down/mean variety. The Young Kingdoms are "high fantasy" done in a grim-dark fashion (as opposed to Warhammer, which is much more grim-dark "historical"). Everyone dies...just as in Moorcock's stories...whether the PCs are farmers or beggars or warrior-priest-sorcerers. Finding Tanelorn and escaping from the rat-race-of-life is probably the best/ultimate goal of most Stormbringer campaigns: a place to wait out the apocalypse in relative peace and comfort. There is a particular fatalism that hangs over the head of the Stormbringer campaign (at least, when running the game with knowledge of how the series ends), which leads to petty machinations and misadventures of a "get what's mine" type. Perhaps because of this the struggle between Law and Chaos becomes a lesser issue in the drama of the game. It's a minor consideration...a momentary distraction (and/or occasional bonus) for PCs that want to explore that road. But the fate of the world is set."

As JB notes, the pulpiness of the 1e rules are very much at odds with the doomed setting of the Young Kingdoms. By allowing the playgroup to choose which aspects of the Elric saga to focus on, and to select rules anchored in this choice, the GM and his or her playgroup can shape the style of play in a way that pleases them. My prescription to cure what ails Stormbringer is thus to implement three concepts:

1) The establishment of the two different play modes, one to emulate the pulp origins, the other to follow Moorcock's angsty apocalyptic fiction 

2) Addition of the concept of alternate dimensions so that each gameworld does not have to slavishly follow the books, but rather is reset for every gaming group, just as a chessboard is swept clean then pieces reset for the next game

3) Make explicit the differences in rules for each setting so to keep them dynamic

1) Two Play Modes

Like Stormbringer, Alien RPG is another intellectual property (IP), yet is a wild success. This is due to several factors - the amazing art, the exhaustive research into and compelling writing about the universe, the simple system, and the great published scenarios in the boxed set and Destroyer of Worlds.

But one of the major factors for its success is, in my opinion, that it has two modes of play - Campaign and Cinematic. In Campaign games, PCs are tougher and more likely to survive, and unraveling the mysteries of the universe is the overriding theme. Campaign mode is suited to a continuing adventure in the universe of Aliens, and thus is akin to playing Aliens: Fireteam or watching James Cameron's Aliens. In contrast, Cinematic games are played like the original film, PCs are vulnerable and some bound to die or suffer. The mode is suited to the horror one-shot, and is in step with Ridley Scott's Alien, or playing Alien: Isolation.

Adventures in the world of Elric (and Corum or Hawkmoon) could benefit from a similar definition of modes. The two modes I propose are Pulp mode and Saga mode.

Pulp Mode

Want to adventure around the Young Kingdoms, kill demons, rescue victims, pillage ruins, infiltrate cult strongholds, and overthrow or lead kingdoms? This is the mode for you. This mode is based more on the pulp inspirations for the Elric books, such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as Moorcock's early work, notably The Golden Barge or von Bek's adventures in The Sundered World.

Although Pulp Cthulhu makes mechanical changes like doubling HP to reflect the hardiness of characters in the genre, I will refrain from suggestions at the moment until I have time to give it further thought. Suffice to say, any changes have to support and incentivize the play style. For the GM, making cultists of any stripe into baddies, backgrounding the struggle of Law and Chaos, and keeping things light yet dangerous would seem to be sufficient at this point. Travel between planes would seem to be par for the course, and the end of the world is to be either too big a concern or else fought and foiled fortnightly.

Saga Mode

Want to challenge death and the gods themselves for the fate of the world? This is the mode for you. This mode is based on the Eternal Champion books as they are, with a heavy slathering of angsty pathos and resonant themes.

Once again I'll refrain from making rules suggestions, suffice to say the struggle of Law and Chaos is front and center, PCs play their part in it, and Armageddon is just a few bad decisions and failed rolls away. Other planes are largely off limits except for in the course of quests to get the MacGuffin needed to keep forces in check.

"But," you say, "How can we enjoy either mode when the Young Kingdoms are doomed?" For that, we implement the next concept, that each gameworld is an alternate dimension that is not fated to the same end as the worlds depicted in the Elric, Corum, or Hawkwind books.

2) Gameworlds are Chessboards

As JB commented above, "The fate of the world is set,"  and this can put players off. Indeed, the story of Elric ends in death and thus is replete with fatalism. Yet this is only true for Moorcock's Elric novels, and the story of any gaming group does not need to be that way.

I think the original designers of Stormbringer made a mistake when they offered the following advice to gamemasters:

[8.1.2] THE YOUNG KINGDOMS DURING THE LIFE OF ELRIC

"...the underlying assumption of this game has been that most people will want to play during the lifetime of Elric. This gives the GM a choice to make - whether to include Elric and other known Moorcock characters such as Moonglum, Yishana, Smiorgan Baldhead, Jagreen Lem, Theleb K'aarna, or Yyrkoon, in your adventures, or whether to avoid them entirely. While the GM makes the decision, it might be nice to poll your players. They might wish to match their characters against Elric or Yyrkoon. (They'll lose, of course, but there's some honor and distinction in having your character's soul stolen by Stormbringer.)"

This assumption basically locks the PCs into lurching around Elric's world until it or they are destroyed. No wonder only direhand fans played it. To heck with that. Like NYC chess hustlers, the Lord of Law and Chaos sweep the board clean and start a new game without a second thought, but it is the same gameboard and pieces they use. Playing an RPG in the Young Kingdoms should be no different. The original author of the Stormbringer RPG also agrees with this sentiment:

"the GM and players have one more important decision to cope with - whether or not to abide by the writings of Moorcock. There are two possibilities. Either Moorcock's writings are law and players cannot cause them to deviate from the official saga, or your version of the Young Kingdoms is an alternate world where events do not have to follow the pattern outlined by the Elric stories."

I think people skip over this section a lot in their zeal to play in the world of Elric. However, the author himself makes the case for playing in another dimension, where the future of the Young Kingdoms does not necessarily end in apocalypse:

"However, there is no reason why GM and players must limit themselves to such a future. One could have a great deal of fun by actually playing Elric as a player character, using Moorcock's writings as only a rough guide, and letting the character determine his own fate in the course of play. If Moorcock's writings are not regarded as sacred and unchangeable, anything could happen. This requires more imagination on the part of players and GMs, but it offers more hope, because you will be playing in a world that is not necessarily doomed to be destroyed by the Lords of Chaos. This is the choice that I prefer."

More than in other games, Stormbringer PCs are just pawns. But having two game modes let them choose what type of character they are - free willed or aligned to greater powers. It is a choice that Moorcock himself often muses about through his protagonists:

“It was as if my fate had been taken entirely out of my hands. I had become a tool. If only I had known then to what use the tool would be put, then I might have fought against the pull and remained the harmless intellectual, John Dakar. But perhaps I could not have fought and won… At any rate, I was prepared at that moment to do what fate demanded of me.”

- The Eternal Champion

If you want, you can roll randomly to see who is in control of Melnibone and let that colour your game:

(Roll 1d8)

1 Elric, but hale, hearty and untroubled by conscience as his parents followed the teachings of Chaos

2 Yrkoon, but a perfectly old style Melnibonean emperor sending the dragons out again for tribute

3 Empress Cymoril, who uses her elemental powers to aid Melnibonean shipping and usher in a new age of trade

4 No one - the place was sacked by Pan Tangians who resented its old glory and now claim 1st place in the eyes of Chaos

5 Demons - Melnibonean sorcerers lost control of their summonings and Imrryr is now the Nightmare City

6 The Council of Elders (Dr Jest, Dyvim Tvar and others) overthrew the emperor and now rule from the shadows

7 Count Baldhead, whose surprise attack took the decadent city unaware and now rules as a benevelont dictator

8 The Jade Man, Arioch in an ancient guise, rules from atop the imperial palace and has started the Melniboneans on their next transformation...

And if players do tire of The Young Kingdoms or cannot shake the associations with the Elric saga, the stories of these other manifestations of Elric have different associations. The first Corum series ends in defeat of the Sword Lords and a happy ending with his love, while Hawkmoon also does get to a happier ending after several digressions. Happiness and triumph are possible in Moorcock's Multiverse, and should be the norm in a roleplaying game based on it. These unique realities of the worlds of Hawkmoon and Corum are also reflected in the setting-specific rules made for them, which should also keep players interested.

3) Special Rules for Specialized Settings

Just as Elric finds Stormbringer dulled when travelling to the End of Time, characters travelling between Moorcockian gameworlds will have to play by different rules. As noted in the Hawkmoon Science Book, characters travelling either way between the chaotic Young Kingdoms and lawful Tragic Millenia Europe will have to face certain changes:

In Elric's world, science from Hawkmoon's dimension works, but with certain restrictions. Lore skilled are capped at 20%, technological weapons cannot harm demons unless they are extremely powerful or time has been taken to scientifically study and prepare to counteract demonic nature. More importantly, there are also no tools, fuel, ammunition, or other examples of the infrastructure needed to keep technology going. The plane is what James Burke would call a technology trap, where machines in good condition work fine, but are useless and unrepairable when they break down.

Conversely, chaotic powers are hit hard in Hawkmoon's world. The sorcery skill and demon points are all reduced to 1/10 in Tragic Millenium Earth, elementals can be summoned but not bound, and magic cannot be learned at all.

I think the creators of both games had the right idea in reflecting the difference in a gameworld's lawful or chaotic nature in mechanical effects, even if the balance is somewhat suspect. Players will have to think hard about the effects when they venture from their home plane, and new or unknown worlds will hold even more surprises, not all nice.

This disparity between worlds is also evident in Moorcock's fiction. Arioch is a powerful and cunning entity in the YK, but for Corum, he is a corrupt and corpulent godling who is soon dispatched. So change up the narratives and rules governing by gameworld and keep the game dynamic.

Conclusion

From the above, I think we can see that there is life in the old game yet. Unhinging the game from the weight of the Elric stories, letting players choose which play mode to run in, and opening the door to other worlds with in game effects should make Stormbringer viable as a modern game system and setting.