Dragonbane & Stormbringer

So I am reading the Dragonbane QuickStart to bone up on the system before it is used in Free League's Stormbringer.

And I am seeing a lot to like. Many Dragonbane rules would be awesome house rules in an old Stormbringer game. Here are a few I would definitely implement.

Boons & Banes

First, in Dragonbane, you roll D20 and try to get under your skill level for a success. This means it is roll under like Chaosium, but just reduces the number of die rolled.

The Dragonbane rules state that if you are under a Boon (blessing) you instead roll 2D20 and take the best result, while if you are under a Bane (curse), you roll 2D20 and take the worst result.

This would be so easy to port over, since you roll two die anyway. So if you roll a 9 and a 3, with a Boon you could reverse it to 39, with a higher chance of success depending on skill, while a Bane would keep it at 93, most likely a failure. In the case of rolling 4 and 0, it could be 04, probably a critical, or 40, on the line of success or failure in many cases.

Moreover, the idea of Boons and Banes is very in keeping with Moorcock's fantasy, and the Dragonbane rules often read as an homage to Stormbringer.

Monster Combat & Sundry

When I ran Stormbringer, I had to fill in lots of holes in combat, the main difference being how men and beasts or monsters are adjudicated. I ruled that monsters can do ALL their attacks AND have a Dodge, but can't Parry, while men choose one attack and Parry OR Dodge and Parry. This makes monsters or beasts largely not worth the trouble for sole adventurers and require teamwork to defeat or avoid. I find this fits well with Moorcock's writing, where Elric needs to summon a creature or use magic to defeat or escape from such creatures as Mist Giants or Oonai.

Dragonbane adds some great rules, such as monsters NEVER doing the same attack twice in a row, and not being able to Parry. These are all very evocative and add an element of chance.

For example, if we take the old Stormbringer dragon and map out its attacks like Dragonbane, this is what we get if we add in a few options.

1. Flame breath - 80%, does POW in damage (average 27)
2. Claw - 40%, 9D6 (this damage needs adjusting...)
3. Wing buffet - 60%, all human size foes must make a STRx1% roll or else be knocked to the ground and lose their attack this round.
4. Tail swipe - 30%, any foes behind or off to one side of the dragon take 1D8 damage and are knocked down.

The idea of defense as Reaction is interesting, but seems a bit fiddly and I prefer the Stormbringer rule of 'free' Parries that are reduced by 30% for extra attempt.

Critical Choices

I like that a critical attack (that Dragonbane calls a dragon) gives the player choices between double damage, taking another attack, or ignoring armour, and I actually implemented similar choices the last time I ran the game. I can only see these adding to the fun of Stormbringer combat.

D&Disms

I'm not sure about Dragonbane's D&Disms, such as levels, higher Hit Points, and Stretches or rests to recuperate Hit Points. But I am willing to give it all a chance based on what I have read so far to not repeat the mistakes of Dragon Princes of Melnibone.

Stormbringerisms

As I have written before, I am really enamored of Stormbringer's rules on Elementals & Gods, which don't have stats and are thus put such entities beyond any mortal attack. I think this differentiates Stormbringer from D&D, which gave Arioch stats, and thus marked a god as something to be fought physically, which I consider the antithesis of Moorcockean, where men can only attack gods indirectly or with supernatural aid.

I wouldn't want to lose any of the unique elements that Chaosium's Stormbringer got right.

Only time will tell how right or wrong Free League will get it.

Elric Comes TWICE!

Last week I posted that there seems to be a bit of an Elric / Moorcock revival going on, based on the proliferation of Elric or pro-Moorcock content on YouTube..

Then the RPG world exploded with TWO big announcements.

TWO HARBINGERS

First, Free League announced an Elric RPG based on Dragonsbane.

Then, Goodman games of Dungeon Crawl Classics announced THEIR Elric game.

What do I make of these announcements?

Nobody asked for it, but here are my two Large Bronzes.

THE ONE I AM BUYING

I don't think it is any surprise but I will be ordering Free League's game. Dragonbane from what I have read is a spiritual successor to the old Chaosium games, and from what I know probably fits between the original Stormbringer and the fanmade Barbarians of Lemur hack floating around on the inter webs in terms of mechanics.

Content wise, if Free League can do LotR right, I'm interested to see what they'll do with the Young Kingdoms.

As for DCC/5E, I am largely over the OSR and vanilla fantasy. I am also moving past my distaste of 5E - I appreciate that people play it for relaxation, don't really use the rules, and make meme characters for laughs. Good on them, and a good antidote to the tiring corporate touting of D&D as "world's greatest" and the glut of 5E products.

I am a proud member of the I'm Begging You To Play Another RPG FB page, where we regularly promote indie and lesser known TRPGs and bag on 5E / WotC marketing bloat. But I also feel that people should play what they want (while hopefully trying new things), and Goodman Games are experts in both marketing and getting people to the table.

So I wish them well, and would sit in on a game in a heartbeat.

WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU GET?

If you got the cash, why not get both? The older editions have doubled or trebled in price the past few years, so this may be the only way to get an affordable official Elric game.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

I'll go out on a limb and say that with this much buzz, an Elric TV show or movie is nigh inevitable. If the suits catch on that The Witcher is an Elric pastiche, they might bankroll the project. However, their interference might also make it go pear shaped.

In my dream dimension, Ralph Bakshi has come out of retirement to make it. Dude made Fire and Ice and Wizards, the Secret of Nimh. He can do no wrong in my book.

Exciting (and unsettling) days ahead for us Moorcock lovers! I hope that Michael is getting a well deserved cut of the proceeds.

Why I Don't Use Minis & Battlemats

I just reconnected with Andy from Breakfast in the Ruins and gave a re-listen to the podcast episode he kindly invited me to guest on a few years back.

Listening to us bang on about Moorcockean roleplaying I had to laugh at our conversation about minis.

I do not like them, Sam I am.

DISCLAIMER

If you like minis and battlemats, more power to you. They just are not my bag.

My friend KinpatsuSamurai paints amazing mini diaoramas. I love seeing them.

My friend Dave is a master of online grid combat with digital minis. I enjoyed gaming with him.

My friend Chris has cabinets of minis in his basement and knows what every one means. They are awesome to look at.

I just don't want to do any of that in my games. I am a pure Theater of the Mind guy.

So, what do I think is wrong with minis (for me)?

Grab a chair...

1 Not a Roleplaying Game

As Andy puts it, using minis and battle mats doesn't feel like playing a roleplaying game, instead it turns the game into string of combat encounters a la the old Heroquest boardgame. As a GM, some of my proudest moments are when players roleplay in a way that totally avoids a combat slugfest. In my Laughing Tower playtest of a few years back, a Melnibonean high priest bluffed his way past guardsmen, the party hopped on his mystical yacht, and they sailed away from a city on high alert. This just after battling with powerful demons. Having the option to roleplay out of some combats means that the combats you do engage in are meatier and more memorable.

The few times I played 4E, I found combat very video gamey. We had status markers going everywhere, it really was more gamey than immersive, and the game petered out quickly after a few fights.

2 Problems With Scale

Besides distracting from roleplaying, the Dollhouse Scale of most battlmats and minis means that the immense scale of fantasy environments is wasted. Tolkeen's Moria is huge, an endless dungeon, but with minis it is reduced to an endless array of battlemats (ho hum). Go look at the final chase scene in Moria from Peter Jackson's films, the party are ants running along endless corridors that team with innumerable hostiles.

Back when I played AD&D, we had massive maps to explore, and combat was abstracted. We knew our position . Modern gaming has shifted focus from the PARTY on a single 10x10 wide BLOCK to the MINI on a 1x1 or 2x2 TILE. This is a huge step down in scale, and game worlds feel all the more constrained and small for it.

3 Lack of Imagination, Group Cohesion, & Listening Skills

With Theater of the Mind, you have to listen intently to scene descriptions for any tactical advantage. With minis, you peek at the grid, then go get a drink from the fridge until it is your time to roll dice. You are disengaged and disinterested in what is going on until it is your turn.

I saw the difference big time when I ran The Laughing Tower and had old Stormbringer stalwarts (hullo Alan!) and younger games who had been raised on mini combat. The characters had entered a ruined town where the tower had materialized, and were walking towards the rainbow-hued tower. I explained that there was a door at its base and a window straight above it near the top.

The party got half way across the square the tower had appeared in when a disgusting fly headed archer began shooting arrows at them from the window. The vanguard was made up of older players, who all decided to book it for the door, reasoning the sniper could only loose so many arrows before they got to safety. However, a younger player and Moorcock newbie decided to stand his ground and return fire. When he was knocked, an older player asked "Can I just drag him a few steps to the side and be out of the field of vision?"

"Of course!" I replied.

The older player had an image of the scene and the tactical considerations in his head, the younger one had been condition to stand his ground and fire back by reliance on minis and battlemaps. Just as we should be wary of kids nowadays letting AI do their thinking for them, we should also consider the effect of outsourcing our descriptions of combat to mats and minis.

4 Prevention of Narrative Abilities & Overreliance on Rules

Although I am a grognard and love older games, I do believe that adding some narrative rules judiciously can improve the experience of Moorcockean games, considering their narrative origins. Case in point, some of the rules I am working on have narrative effects that reflect Moorcockean themes, such as the ability to sacrifice NPCs or allies if in danger.

If you are using a battlemat and rules made for it, such an ability would have a range of effect and also be limited by the physical positioning of the minis. The player of a Melnibonean PC could offer to sacrifice an ally, but others could point out that their spaces aren't adjacent, or invoke some BS 5 meter casting range. The battlemat and minis thus becomes a physical constraint on rulings and creativity.

This isn't very Moorcockean.

5 Literary Roots

Last but not least, having a static dollhouse view of the battlefield takes away all the thrill of combat as it appears in the work of literature the game is based on. Go read the scene where Count Brass duels Baron Meliadus, or when Elric fights Yrkoon. These are page turners, tightly worded and pulse pounding descriptions of combat that are exactly why we love Moorcock's books and play games based on them. To read the book then abandon all descriptive efforts in favor of pushing little men around squares seems the antithesis of what I for one am trying to do.

Conclusions

I know I sound elitist or snobby for my dim views on minis, but I have to be true to how I feel. I am not here to yuck anyone else's yum, just articulate my feelings.

Now with the 5E glut pumping out products like pocket dungeons and battle maps, the scale of combat will only get smaller.

This make me sad.

To combat this trend, I have started working on a Guide to Theater of the Mind. Look for it sometime next year.

Breakfast in the Multiverse - What is Moorcockean?

Just listened to this BANGER of a podcast with Andy at BitR and irrepressible game designer Tanya Floaker.

The conversation circles back around the perennial question, "What do we mean by Moorcockean gaming?"

The answer depends on which works you are basing the game on.

THE ETERNAL CHAMPION GAME

Andy calls The Eternal Champion  games from Chaosium and some indie publishers 'Geographical trappings' without larger themes. He is not wrong. I even called these Young Kingdoms tourism ads when we spoke years ago.

The Elric stories are a fantasy saga and pulp mix up, with serious literary inspirations, with gods and sundry beyond the power of the players to influence. Stormbringer RPG et al do a good enough job of this, but I wrote Stormbringer Redux because I felt more that an overarching framework that emphasized the themes of fate was needed.

Andy notes that players are intimidated by other players changing the narrative, so adding meta mechanics is of necessity limited.

This is what I would call bottom up Moorcock gaming.

MOORCOCK'S MULTIVERSE

For her part, Tanya posits making a game based on The Multiverse Comic - a self-referential series which includes meta-gaming for the multiverse at actual gaming tables. Sounds like a combination of The Microcope RPG and Playing At Worlds RPG, hopefully with better mechanics. She and Andy bandy about using cards to simulate moves of the Lords of the Higher Worlds, both poker and Tarot. Tanya gives hints on poker and the roles (Champion, Consort, Companion, Enemy), something which I have toyed with before.

Sounds tasty!

Andy adds that this would emulate the Balance and the 'correction through violence' that is a staple of Moorcock's works.

This is what I would term top down Moorcock gaming.

THE GAME OF CREATION

Tanya then brings up the Lester Dent master formula for writing pulp as Moorcock's process.

How about instead of the game mechanics, we focus on GM training. Lester Dent as a guide to Moorcockean storytelling?

Let's run Elric through this! The first 1500 words:

1 Fistful of trouble - The armada from the Young Kingdom draws near!

2 Hero Pitches In - Elric armors up and heads out to meet them on his battle barge

3 Introduce Everyone - By this time we've met Elric, Cymoril, Yrkoon, and Dyvim Tvar in short order.

4 Hero In Trouble - Elric is thrown overboard by his cousin. GAME OVER?

5 Surprise, It's A Twist - Strassha comes to save Elric, upending Yrkoon's betrayal and ursurpation of the throne.

In hindsight, we can see that Moorcock used this framework in his stories. But how do we adapt it to a game about fragile rat kickers? Maybe preparing a Fiasco style playset is the ticket.

Tanya notes that Moorcock was unsettled by the accuracy of Tarot readings. Maybe the cards give not only randomized events, but also the possible moves to counter or deflect them as determined by the cards.

We are thus trapped between the tendency of random events to go off the rails, and the need for superior improvisation and interpretation of game events by masters.

This is what I'd call Meta Moorcocking.

WHERE I COME IN

As for me, I think I would be up to creating a Bestiary that leans into the aesthetics of Moorcock's monsters that I previously categorized into Metaphorical, Allegorical, Psychedelic, Weird, Alien, and Cosmic Horror, or a combination of the above. This would spice up any bottom up Moorcock game and avoid the baby + bathwater conundrum. Could also be used as moves in top down gaming.

I'm also interested in making scenarios for the old games. Other than that, I would just continue my fine tuning of the old rulesets.

I like what I like.

THE PROBLEM

As I see it, there is always a contradiction between player interests and the meta game. Can you play Elric if you control Arioch and see what move is coming? Also, what is the benefit for players of being pawns? Elric is a main character who dies, yet players want to avoid death.

In the end, game and fiction are not the same. We have to temper our expectations (ie prepare to die) but reach for the stars (improvise like madmen and madwomen).

ANDY'S HABERDASHERY

One thing that I really dug was the talk of character fashion. Andy hits the nail on the head when he notes any Elric or Moorcockean game needs a haberdashery with a wild array of absurd or frivolous clothing options. I remember Elric's yellow silk kimono, later on his kilt and tartan breeches, and the infamous shopping scene from the 2nd or 3rd Hawkmoon book just before the hero acquires the Sword of the Dawn (the comic adaptation was simply Zoolander with a sword). Moorcockean fashion seems to be a mix of 1960's psychedelic clothes and Camden Market thrifting, but it should also give advantages to social skills or survival I reckon.

There was an old OSR random table that did this. Maybe I should make one for Stormbringer...

Thanks again Andy and Tanya!

PS I am editing and polishing up Stormbringer redux again.

Stormbringer Redux # 28 - Was Stormbringer The Wrong Name?

I've been thinking Stormbringer thoughts in my limited spare time.

What if Chaosium got the semiotics of Moorcockean game naming all wrong?

(NOTE - This is just a fun mental exercise about my first gaming love. I have huge respect for Willis, Stafford, Peterson and Campbell-Rogers and would not dare to actually accuse any of them of being 'wrong'. The games they made have stood the test of time, but are also products of their time before the RPG market became the demographic-targeted Kickstarting industry it is now. So in that light, and with tongue firmly in my cheek, I proceed in my analysis.)

Stormbringer is not the name of the protagonist, which is confusing for newbies, but that would emphatically come later with Elric! To be fair, these games came out when Moorcock's popularity was at its peak, so eliciting the albino and his runesword were not bad decisions. Then they made a D20 version during the 3E glut, when arguably younger generations of fantasy enthusiasts had also presumably moved on in their reading, and they chose Dragon Princes of Melnibone. Not the most resonant or representative name or ruleset.

Naming the game after the hero continued with Hawkmoon, and Darcsyide followed this trend years later with Corum (not Corum! I note).

Naming a game after an IP's protagonist is, on the one hand, resonant for hardcore fans. But naming a game after a single hero is limiting - Serenity is not named Mal, the RPG. Conan and James Bond seem to be the exception here.

The original FRPG games were named after their setting, so as to appeal to players as a site where they could be the heroes of new adventures.

Forgotten Realms.

Dark Sun.

Ravenloft.

Planescape.

All very resonant, mysterious names.

So what if instead of Stormbringer (or Elric! or Mournblade), which do not have popular appeal they once might have had, we named the next iteration after the setting instead of the characters?

Stormbringer et al become The Young Kingdoms. Hmmm, sounds like a Percy Janes novel. How about Melnibone?

Hawkmoon becomes The Tragic Millenium. Or maybe Granbretan. Sounds like an AI generated Beatles' album.

Corum becomes Bro-an-Vadhagh. Or maybe The Fifteen Planes. Not very enticing.

These place names were made in a highly literary mode, and thus are not as succinct or enticing as other game-only worlds.

But maybe Chaosium had it right after all. Both Stormbringer and Hawkmoon prudly bore a sticker proclaiming them part of The Eternal Champion series of games.

How about we use this as the game name, and choose a resonant subtitle + blurb for each setting?

The Eternal Champion RPG.

Book One - The Doom of Melnibone. The gods of Law & Chaos have chosen your world as their battleground. Whose side will you fight on?

Book Two - Granbretanne Invasion. Repel the superscience armies of the evil empire that seeks to overrun post apocalyptic Europe.

Book Three - The Sword Gods. Free your world from the Chaos gods who warp its very reality.

Now we're getting somewhere.

I need to get to bed.

Stormbringer Redux #27 - Berserk

I just watched THIS video and, as a fan of the manga Berserk for a long time, it has made me ponder applications to Stormbringer.

I consider Kentaro Miura's Berserk saga a spiritual successor to The Eternal Champion in many ways. Gutz is called The Struggler (a moniker that could apply equally to Elric), both wield a giant sword, and Gutz loses a hand and an eye like Corum. In Berserk there is the phenomenon of history repeating itself like ripples, interspersed with the idea of doom & sacrifice, much like Moorcock's Vanishing Tower.

What insights from Berserk can we use in Stormbringer roleplaying? I see two useful takeaways for Saga style play. Groups enjoying pulp adventures in the Young Kingdoms will largely steer clear of gods at any rate - just not worth it.

ONE - Where Invisible Armies Clash By Night

In both Berserk and Elric, we know the names of the godhand / Lords of the Higher worlds. This does not mean we know what they want, or that mortals can hope to rise against them, or that they are inviolate. Just as the video I linked indulges in the fan theories about the Godhand, their origin and fate, and the concept of Causality that makes their victory unavoidable, so too do the gods of the Elric saga remain an inscrutable, irresistible menace that should leave players puzzling.

This gives us three corollaries for running Stormbringer games:

1) Whatever you do plays into their hands.

Elric would have been doomed regardless of whether had he taken Yrkoon's life or not in the Shadow Plane when he acquired Stormbringer. Elric's dream of a demon haunted Imrryr, with Arioch manifested and Cymoril as his bride (a la Tim Curry in Legend) gives us a glimpse of other possible outcomes to the saga. Gamemasters thus have to be ready to improvise at any instant when players (invariably) throw a spanner in the works, but always make the gods come out on top, one way or another.

One exception to this is if player characters commit heresy or try to ursurp a god, in which case they will rightly be sent to hell for their temerity.

2) It takes a god to kill a god.

If the player characters take it into their heads to kill a god, they will need equally strong allies. As noted before, D&D gives stats to gods, implying they are killable. Stormbringer / Elric! doesn't, which means players will have to get creative and roleplay like mad to make useful friends if they want to rub out a cosmic lord. In Moorcock's works, we see Corum 'kill' Arioch (ie banish him from a plane), but he needed the help of the mad immortal Shool (who had stolen some of Arioch's power) and the alien hand of a forgotten god to do so.

The downside (and there should always be one in Stormbringer) is that the new godly ally will likely prove worse than the god they depose.

3) A God Never Truly Dies

Corum may have crushed Arioch's heart, but he never truly killed him. Instead, Arioch exists in different forms on different planes, much like the Lich in Adventure Time. This means that if player characters DO succeed in banishing a god from their home plane, they may have some explaining to do when they meet the deity on another plane, or better yet they will be forced to act when some cult moves to let the exiled god back to the gameworld.

In a way, death is only the beginning for gods. Berserk hints at this with the existence of the previous Godhand, and it will be interesting to see what the Berserk team comes up with on how the older pantheon was deposed.

BONUS QUESTION - What if Arioch & posse were younger gods who replaced an older pantheon? Who were they, what happened, and how could this affect a game?

TWO - Great Power Needs Great Sacrifice

In Berserk, Griffith sacrifices his mercenary army, the Band of the Hawk, to become Femto, an Apostle or basically god of evil. Similarly, Elric ends up sacrificing nearly every companion he has, from Smiorgan Baldhead to Moonglum and Zarzonia (not to mention his entire civilization), but only ends up playing into Arioch and Stormbringer's hands.

Once again, let's take 3 lessons for Stormbringer games.

1) You have to choose to let them in, but you must always pay the cost.

A god will never just give boons without expecting something in return. In too many games, contacting or summoning powerful entities is a one and done with no longterm ramifications. I call this Pokemon summoning, and it is dull.

Instead, summoning any type of entity should make a character beholden to it. Call on  beast lord or elemental? Then expect to be asked to protect the natural world from destruction.

There is never a free lunch.

2) The brand of sacrifice and ghosts of those you sacrifice will ever haunt you.

In games I have run, players have sent NPCs and other PCs to their doom to save their own skin. This is soon laughed off and forgotten, which is really antithetical to Moorcock's works. Instead, sacrificing someone, even a nameless NPC, should weigh on characters.

You could give Elan (allegiance points) every time someone is sacrificed. Also, expect the ghosts to appear and oppose the character whenever they move through a spirit realm. Perhaps sensitive NPCs will shun a character that has lots of skeletons in their closet.

Once again, there is never a free lunch, especially when someone else pays the bill.

3) In the end, you are doomed.

I probably don't need to say this, but becoming an Agent is like becoming a vigilante in Watchmen - no one dies peacefully in their bed. As I noted before, being an Agent should make you a magnet for weirdness and danger, much as the brand of sacrifice does to Gutz.

In game terms, an Agent becomes an easy adventure seed generator - no need to look for a quest or purpose when they come knocking at your door, and your allegiance means you cannot refuse an entreaty.

In Pulp games, this would mean an Agent would best be an NPC to let the PCs keep their autonomy and right of refusal. But if your are running a Saga and everyone is in on the Ride of Doom, this is a feature of the game, not a bug.

BONUS QUESTION - What if we replaced Amulets of allegiance with Brands of sacrifice? Imagine a character with the Sigil of Chaos (or Law) carved into their flesh, bleeding whenever danger approached.

Food for thought.

Stormbringer Redux #26 - Stormbringer Monster Strengths

I find how BRP does monster stats interesting because it is just a bunch of pioneering game designers guestimating or eyeballing what they think the numbers should be. This creates some wonky stats in early edition games, but has mostly been codified in later games.

BRP's massive statblocks have always been a big draw. Whereas OD&D stats started with the minimum of data needed for combat (AR, HD & HP, Attacks, MOV, XP and special abilities), BRP gives you the whole kit and kaboodle. On the plus side, it means you can roll up a pet or PC morphed into a beast or monster right away. On the down side, you have to roll up or calculate average stats before using any encounter, and stat blocks are always massive.

So today I'd like to compare monster stat strengths to see if they make sense.

Let us begin!

ANIMAL STATS COMPARISON

First, let's lay out ALL the animal & monster stats in the 1E book:
(NB This was mind numbing work, so if you see any mistakes tell me)

STR

1D10 Vipers

2D4+ Hawks (+1)

2D6+ Eagles (+1), Vultures (+1), Dogs (+3), Wolves (+6), Small Crocs (+18)

2D8+4 Dogs of the Dharzi

3D6 HUMANS

3D6+ Tiger (+12), Panther (+6), Constrictors (+12), Horse (+18), Large Crocs (+30)

3D8 Clakar

4D6+ Forest Bears (+6), Baboons (+6), Great Black Apes (+12), Cave Bears (+18), Mastodon (+36)

4D8+8 Creatures of Matik, Olab

5D8 Oonai

6D6 Sharks

8D8 Mist Giants

12D8 Dragon

CON

1D6+ Large Crocs (+12)

2D6 Hawks, Vipers

2D6+ Small Crocs (+6), Sharks (+6), Horse (+6) 

3D6 HUMANS, Baboons, Eagles, Vultures, Dogs

3D6+ Panther (+3), Wolves (+3), Mule (+3), Great Black Apes (+6), Forest Bears (+6),  Cave Bears (+6), Tiger (+6), Mastodon (+6), Constrictors  (+6)

3D8 Clakar, Dogs of the Dharzi

5D8 Oonai

6D8 Dragon, Olab

6D8+8 Creatures of Matik

8D8 Mist Giants

SIZ

1D10 Vipers

1D6+ Hawks (+3), Eagles (+6)

1D8+4 Dogs of the Dharzi

2D6 Vultures

2D6+ Great Black Apes (+12), Panther (+6), Dogs (+1)

2D8+4 Olab

3D6 HUMANS, Baboons, Wolves

3D6+ Forest Bears (+6), Tiger (+6), Small Crocs (+6), Large Crocs (+12), Cave Bears (+18)

3D8 Clakar

4D6+ Mule (+6), Horse (+12), War Horse (+25), Mastodon (+36)

4D8+4 Oonai

5D6 Constrictors

5D6+ Sharks (+6)

20D8 Dragon

18 Creatures of Matik, Mist Giants (Is this a typo?)

INT

1D4 Hawks, Vultures, Small Crocs, Large Crocs, Sharks, Vipers

1D6 Forest Bears, Cave Bears, Tiger, Panther, Eagles, Wolves, Dogs, Mastodon, Horse, Mule

1D6+ Great Black Apes (+1), Baboons (+1), War Horse (+3)

1D8 Dogs of the Dharzi

2D6 Constrictors

2D8 Clakar, Oonai

2D8+2 Olab

3D6 HUMANS

4D8 Dragon

7 Mist Giants (why not 2D6?)

POW

1D6 Small Crocs, Vipers, Horse

1D6+ Hawks (+3), Vultures (+3), Eagles (+6)

1D8 Creatures of Matik

2D6 Great Black Apes, Baboons, Forest Bears, Cave Bears, Panther, Wolves, Dogs, Sharks, Constrictors

2D8+4 Oonai

3D6 HUMANS, Tiger, Large Crocs, Mastodon

3D8 Clakar, Dogs of the Dharzi, Olab

4D8 Dragon

4D8+4 Creatures of Matik

5D8 Mist Giants

DEX

2D6 Baboons, Vultures, Mastodon

2D10 Vipers

2D6+ Dogs (+1), Small Crocs (+3), Large Crocs (+3), Wolves (+6), Constrictors  (+6), Eagles (+9), Panther (+12), Hawks (+12)

3D6 HUMANS, Sharks, Horse

3D6+ Forest Bears (+3), Great Black Apes (+6), Cave Bears (+6), Tiger (+6)

3D8 Dragon, Oonai, Creatures of Matik, Olab

4D8 Clakar, Mist Giants

Same as CON (3D8) Dogs of the Dharzi

CHA

1D8+2 Olab

3D6 HUMANS

ARMOR

1 Baboons, Panther, Eagles, Vultures, Horse

2 Great Black Apes, Tiger

3 Sharks (CON/3)

4 Cave Bears

5 Small Crocs

6 Mastodon

10 Large Crocs, Dragon, Creatures of Matik

Variable - Oonai

Immune to normal weapons (POW vs POW for enchanted) Mist Giants

PATTERN ANALYSIS

There is a lot of weirdness going on here. Some creatures have just a number for a characteristic, and there seems lots of duplication errors (Creatures of Matik and Mist Giant SIZ).

I might be guilty of apophenia, but let's try to suss out a system where it is easier to determine stats for creatures.

Before we begin with the details, let's start with a few definitions of things that pop out. 

Dice Ranges - We must remember that the whole array is humancentric, with the bell curve made by 3D6 as the norm of humans. Thus 3-8 is low for humans, 9-12 average, and 13-18 superior. Comparing all creature stats by this metric gives us an idea of relative strength.

1D6 Far below human ability
2D6 Less than human ability
3D6 Human norm
4D6+ More than human ability, the more dice the more superior.

Demon Dice - Using D8 instead of D6 really works well for me, as it reflects how they are supposed to have the edge as antagonists from another plane. In story terms, that extra bit of potential is what they get for aligning with Chaos I suppose. Alternately, using D4 instead of D6 reflects below human, animalistic arrays.

Oddball Dice - 1D10 Lower than human so inconsequential, but with a wide array.

Bonuses - Any bonus to the roll indicates there is a baseline from which their array of numbers starts.

+3 At least equal to minimum human (infants & invalids)
+6 At least equal to weakest humans (children)
+9 At least equal to average human
+12 At least equal to above average human
+18 At least equal to superior human
+36 At least equal to double human

As for Armor, the numbers seem not excessive, except I would probably bump up dragons by 5 points. I suppose one could whip up a system relating static animal armor ratings to variable human armors, but I prefer to leave a little chaos in and not worry about the bugbear of game balance.

UNDERSTANDING THE NUMBERS

In the Big Gold Book there is a breakdown of what SIZ means, but nothing really descriptive for the other attributes. I am a career educator, so I'm always trying to find a description that is simple yet easily graspable. Here is how I would describe each attribute in a way that would help anyone trying to figure out relative powers of attributes.

STR - To understand strength, a good metric is how many humans are required to handle or hold down the creature.
1D6 Can be handled one handed
2D6 Can be handled two handed
3D6 Same as handling a human
4D6-6D6 Too tough for one human to handle
7D6+ Too tough for any number of humans to handle

CON - Similarly, we can define CON by how much damage it takes to beat the creature.
1D6 Can be beaten bare handed
2D6 Can be beaten with small 1H weapon
3D6 Best beaten with a two handed weapon.
4D6-6D6 Too tough for one human to handle
7D6+ Too tough for any number of humans to handle

SIZ - Simple comparison with human size, but without numbers for easier comprehension.
1D6 One third human size
2D6 One half human size
3D6 Same as human
4D6-6D6 Larger than human.
7D6+ Larger than twice a human.

INT - This is a tough one, and most BRP stats never go above 3 or 4D6.
1D6 Dumb animal
2D6 Crafty animal
3D6 Same as a human
4D6-6D6 Smarter than human
7D6+ Godlike intelligence. Since the GM is only human, this is modelled by something else, namely GM fiat or psychic powers and the like.

POW - This is another tough one, 
1D6 Unclouded by emotion or spirit.
2D6 Simple emotions or spirit
3D6 Same emotional or spiritual range as a human
4D6-6D6 Much deeper or complex emotions or spirit than humans
7D6+ Too complex for any human to relate to

DEX - If STR shows us how hard it is to hold down a creature, DEX shows us how hard it is to catch them.
1D6 Easily caught
2D6 Caught with effort
3D6 Same as a human
4D6-6D6 Too quick or agile to catch without traps or assistance
7D6+ Too tough for any number of humans to handle

CONCLUSION

You have to hand it to the old BRP designers, like fine craftsman they put together relative statistics without any overarching or explicit guidelines (so far as I know). And like the Bio-engineering system of Hawkmoon, with a little effort to one can organize the statistics into a workable guide, useful for designers or house rules.

Next, I want to see if I an organize and simplify monsters skills in a similar way. Finally, I will try and pare down monster stats to see how small an entry we can make for an instant GM reference, which should be useful no matter what edition you're running.

Stormbringer Redux #25 - The Weirdness of Old Stormbringer Hit Points

Hit Points are weird in old Stormbringer, and some of this weirdness continued on even to Elric! where HP don't equal the total they should have according to the rules.

Humans are calculated as equal to a base of CON, with plus 1 per SIZ higher than CON and minus one per SIZ lower. This is fiddly, but not too bad.

But monster HP are just... weird. A lot of them are CON + SIZ - 12. Why minus 12? For Baboons (CON and SIZ 3D6), this could easily give them negative HP.

I would prefer a simple solution, so either the Stormbringer method (CON base + or - 1 per SIZ greater or smaller) or the Elric! method (CON + SIZ/2). If we look at the first monster in the bestiary, Great Black Apes, we get the following.

Great Black Apes

CON 3D6+6 (average 17)
SIZ 2D6+12 (average 19)

Method 1 - So, if we use the Stormbringer method we get 17+2 or 19. This is fine with close numbers, but some monster CON and SIZ are hilariously far apart.

Method 2 - If instead we use Elric!, we get 17+19/2 or 18. Ho hum. Once again, easy for smallish numbers, but can get out of hand for Kyreen and such.

Method 3 - There is a third, lazy ass solution. And I'm all for being a lazy GM and reducing math or work so I can concentrate on story and having fun.

What if we just choose the highest of either CON or SIZ? Then the Ape's HP are 19, same as Method 1 without the math.

Now do the same for PCs and NPCs.

BOOM DONE

Stormbringer redux #23 - Cracking the Class & Genre Connection

EUREKA!

I've messed around several times with conceptions of how to use social class to tie together pre-existing mechanics in a way that emulates the writings of Michael Moorcock.

I think I've done it.

Take a look at this table.

This table organizes the different facets of a character (Class, Game Style, Wealth, Magic, and Bonds) in a useful framework explained below.

Social Class

Characters are created firmly enmeshed in the hierarchy of the Young Kingdom, with several game effects.

Vertical Relations - Characters of higher class will look down on and order about those below them, while lower class characters will fear and fawn before higher class ones. There is little to no repercussions for accosting people of lower class, while lower class people will be punished for bothering those above their station, with the penalty being more severe the farther apart the classes are. For example, a YK noble might have to apologize for insulting a Melnibonean, while a Merchant (urbanite) might be handed over to a torturer, and a farmer executed on the spot.


Changing Class - Characters of higher class can become lower class by choice (ie slumming temporarily) or by misfortune, ie stripped of the rank due to failing their sovereign or native land. Lower class characters may move up one rank by doing two things.

First, they need to choose a profession of the rank desired and learn the skills of that profession.

Second, they need to pay a guild 1000 coins of the currency of the rank to which they aspire. 

For example, a beggar wanting to become a warrior has to obtain the skills (First weapon x 5%, second x 4%, third at x3%, Ride at x 4%), and may have to pay for training if necessary, gather the requisite gear (weapons and armor), and pay a warrior’s guild 1000 LB. 

If a character wants to skip several levels, ie a Beggar wants to become a King, they have to pay 1000 x the number of levels jumped, plus gain the requisite skills, AND engineer the in-game narrative events leading to that change. A Beggar wanting to be a King would have to get the skills, pay 5000 LG (yikes), AND engineer some skullduggery to get that position. And still they would have to face treachery or opposition from outraged NPCs who hate the 'uppity' character.

Game Style

The Game Style suggests what type of adventures the character is suited for. This is not meant to be prescriptive, but as a guide for GMs and players, and the style of game is of course up to players & GM to decide.


Epic, or Elric Mode - In this style, the main focus is power and the cosmic struggle, with the following tenets.

• The powers that be are morally ambiguous, and will do anything to win.

• There is usually lots of discussion and investigation, and characters do not attack while parlaying. Combat is sparse and avoiding it to focus on the goal is the norm. NPC mooks or henchmen should be used as damage sponges where possible.

• Adventures are usually sagas stretching over multiple sessions, involving massing armies, travelling to exotic locales to gather objects of power, parlaying with treacherous nobles or sorcerers, and using magic to travel between realms and challenge the gods themselves!

• Any territory or objects of power obtained change the gameworld permanently, and may be met with repercussions.

Pulp, or Moonglum Mode - This style focuses on small scale capers and adventures against clearcut foes, with the following expectations.

• One shot, episodic adventures in which characters band together to search for treasure or fight evil.

• Enemies are black and white, with an occasional reversal or twist adding to the excitement.

• Magic is considered dangerous and evil, and is used with caution.

• Any wealth obtained is half squandered by the time the next adventure begins.

• Should include copious amounts of combat, stealth, treasure and carousing afterwards.

Note that Epic characters can play in Pulp games and vis versa, but are bound by restrictions on Wealth and Magic below.

Wealth

Abstract wealth (High classes) - Higher class characters in Epic adventures do not need to track money, and so long as the character is in their place (ie civilized part of their nation), they usually can obtain whatever reasonable gear they need.

• However, if an Epic character is cut off from their support, either by calamity during an Epic adventure or participation in a Pulp adventure, they roll starting money in their currency and can buy equipment or hire henchmen with that. For instance, a YK Noble who goes adventuring will roll starting money in Large Gold instead of Large Bronze.

• While adventuring, higher class characters are vulnerable to robbery and other loss of equipment.

• High class characters using abstract wealth WILL NOT give money willy nilly to poorer characters. They may hire them for INT x their currency a day. For instance, a Noble hiring a warrior and a beggar will pay the warrior INT x Large Bronze a day, while the beggar will receive INT x Small Bronze a day.

Concrete Wealth (Lower classes) - Lower class characters always need to track money, and must always pay or otherwise obtain any gear they need.

• While adventuring, lower class characters are vulnerable to robbery and other loss of equipment.

• Lower class characters CANNOT simply borrow wealth from high class characters who use abstract wealth. They may be hired for INT x their currency a day, as above. This inequality should spur lower class characters to accumulate enough wealth to change their class and improve their income.

Magic

This means that characters can use magic appropriate to their background.

• Nobles can try to become Agents of their deity.

• Elemental Priest Sorcerers can summon the elemental of their deity, or call on their deity for aid as per the Elan rules.

• Chaotic sorcerers can try to summon demons, or risk calling on their deity for aid as per the Elan rules.

• Lawful Priests or Agents can make or use Virtues, and may summon Elementals or call on their deity. They generally avoid using Demons unless in great need or explicitly permitted to do so. 

• Lower class characters wanting to use magic can either have it gifted (but will still need to bind it with a POW x POW roll), or may alternately increase their social standing and learn the requisite skills to become a Sorcerer, or Noble if they want to apply to be an Agent.

Note that some may cry foul that Agents are limited to Nobles, but all I can say is

Emperor Elric

Duke Dorian Hawkmoon

Prince Corum Jhealen Irsei

Bonds

Most characters are born bonded to their people and place, which comes with attendant benefits and drawbacks.

• They can expect support and civility from NPCs of the same class, nationality, or church, but will be exiled and hounded should they betray their bond.

• The table entries give groups they are especially loyal to, and can be rewarded for protecting or punished for betraying or neglecting.

• They are expected to follow the commands of their liege and protect their nation. Failure to do so can lead to exile, imprisonment, or a death sentence depending on the severity of the betrayal.

• The Dispossessed may not have obligations, but cannot expect any civility or support either.

Do You Need These Rules?

One of the big draws of Stormbringer for me is the real authentic sense of place and people it conveys by the great descriptions, effects of nationality, and of course inspirations from the fiction. If you want the same thing, consider implementing this as a GM guide rather than canon that must be followed slavishly. 

What of Hawkmoon's World?

You could definitely adapt this for Tragic Europe, but it is a sunny Sunday in the waning days of summer and I intend to spend it with sonny.

Take care!

Stormbringer Redux #24 - Stormbringer and (Dis)Associated Mechanics

Once again, Ben over at Questing Beast has a corker of a video on his YouTube channel, this time on associated vs dissociated mechanics in roleplaying games.

(His video is HERE)

Basically, Ben differentiates between abilities that exist INSIDE the gameworld and those that exist OUTSIDE it.

Inside abilities, which Ben notes are called ASSOCIATED abilities due to their gameworld or genre connection, include things like spells. Outside or DISASSOCIATED mechanics are Luck points or bennies as in Savage Worlds, and have no connection whatsoever to the genre, gameworld, or what we would call reality. Ben states his preference for associated mechanics as disassociated mechanics take away from immersion, in his opinion. I have to agree to a point, as I found Savage World's bennies distracting, but players around me simply loved them and the game of chance element they added to the session. Since I bang on about the evocative aspects of old Stormbringer, I am all for improving associative mechanics, without ruling out appropriate or entertaining dissociative mechanics.

Ben also notes that some make the distinction between the roles these mechanics allow players to take, whether as ACTORS, AUTHORS, or DIRECTORS of their character's fate. This shows that the question of associated vs disassociated exists not on a binary of extremes, but instead a spectrum of gradual movement from gameworld-limited or connected autonomy to autonomy that supersedes the reality of the gameworld. This resonates well with Stormbringer, both fiction and game, as non-noble mooks are relegated to actors, while Agents / Champions have more power to become authors of their fate, and may even be offered to become directors in exchange for serving Lords of the Higher Worlds.

All fascinating stuff for discussion. How does Stormbringer fare in this regard? I'll be taking a look at the Elan system and Luck to see how it handles associated AND disassociated mechanics.

The Elan System

Stormbringer's Elan system, which I thankfully reviewed a few weeks back, has several functions.

1) It is a form of XP, but with access limited to Priests and Agents. It is accumulated by serving the patron deity of the character, so very associated in terms of emulating the gameworld.

2) It unlocks certain static powers (ie double HP for Lawful agents and lowered Summoning rolls for Chaotics), which is traded off by several flavorful limits to behaviour. This makes a character more than just an Actor, but upgrades them to Author of their own destiny.

(Just my opinion, but I always preferred the Elan system to D&D's blood and treasure XP. Accumulating Elan just seemed to fit thematically better than D&D's one size fits all XP system, where Fighters who wade into combat and others who avoid it are equally judged on their ability to take down foes. Considering older versions of AD&D had optional classes like the Healer, I always found this unsatisfying. Add to that only Agents & Priests involved in the saga of the Young Kingdoms get XP, whereas more pulp characters living day to day don't count in the cosmic struggle, then I find this very evocative)

3) Elan can increase POW, useful for sorcery, a staple of the game. With greater POW a Sorceror can summon and bind entities with greater ease, and also resist supernatural attacks.

The increase of POW also brings us to another staple of BRP games, the Luck roll, which seems fairly disassociated or what Ben calls 'meta' at first glance. As we shall see, it inadvertently connects to the gameworld in interesting ways.

The Luck Roll

As far as I can tell, the Luck roll is not in original Stormbringer games and first appears in Elric! Notwithstanding, there are arbitrary DEX x 3% or CHA x 4% rolls all over old Stormbringer, so there may be a nascent Luck roll in there somewhere.

Luck roll from Elric!

The Luck roll is given as POW x 5% to have a lucky occurrence, although there is no details as to how often it can be used, or under what other conditions. The description of "being in the right place at the right time" or "escaping the consequences of being wrong" seems ripe for abuse. It has become a staple of BRP games, appearing in the Big Gold Book, and I suspect it first appeared in Call of Cthulhu.

Luck roll from the Big Gold Book

In my experience, there are several ways to use The Luck Roll.

1) Luck as Divination. As a GM, I ask for Luck rolls all the time and use them for NPCs to determine things. Does the downed guardsman have the keys to their cell? Luck roll!

2) Luck as Saving Roll. BRP suffers from the old school tendency for a string of unlucky rolls derailing a game, leading to no fun. In such a case, as GM I sometimes allow a Luck roll for a narrative solution to the problem.  Get shoved off a cliff and hope a bush breaks your fall? Luck roll!

3) Luck as Bennie for Characters. This is the use described in the BGB, and is closest to players' hearts, as it can directly benefit them. Unfortunately, the rules descriptions are rather vague, and although older players mostly use this rule fairly, I find younger players raised on newer D&D try to game as much as they can out of a constant demand for Luck rolls. Luck roll every five minutes!

At a glance, the Luck roll seems quite meta or disassociated. If we remember that Sorcerers and Agents can increase their POW through the accumulation of Elan, we also realize that they are luckier than non-magic characters. Since Elric's foe Thelab Karna often escapes through luck, and as this is a staple of pulp fiction that inspired Moorcock's tales,  the Stormbringer designers inadvertently made Luck rolls a lot more associative.

However, the Luck roll does have its problems, which I turn to next.

Flaws & Fixes for the Luck Roll

As noted, the Luck roll is unpredictable and prone to being abused. To remedy this, I institute the two following rules.

1) Pushing Your Luck - I agree with Ben that an arbitrary limit of once a day on these powers takes away from immersion. Instead, I reduce the modifier for Luck rolls by 1 everytime they are used in a session. For example, the first Luck roll for a character in a session is POW x 5%, but the next x 4%. then 3% and so on to x0%, or "Your luck has run out!". This makes players more wary of pushing their luck and feels every more triumphant when they succeed despite the odds. The modifier reverts to x5% the next session.

2) Degrees of Luck - To further add to the feel and effect of Luck rolls, you could implement Criticals and Fumbles. If we take the rulebook examples of remembering to bring rope, being helped by a stranger, or having a monster attack hit your mount instead of you, we could get something like this.

Critical (1/10 of Luck) - Lucky enough to turn the tide! You not only brought rope but also a hook; the stranger is wealthy and takes a liking to you; the horse instinctively kicks and gets a free attack on the monster.
Success - A lucky chance, though not supernatural. You did bring rope; the stranger gives you directions; the monster bit your horse instead.
Failure - Nothing happens, player must face consequences of actions.
Fumble - In addition to not being lucky, a complication arises. Not only did you forget the rope, a hole in your bag has lost your half your rations; the stranger is a follower of an enemy cult; the monster strikes you and the impact forces you to make a Ride roll to stay in your saddle!

Of course, the GM should keep in mind the concept of falling forward and, where applicable, look for ways to turn these failures into opportunities of some sort. The ripped bag could incite NPC kindness; the monster could lead you to its lair where some treasure has accumulated; besting the enemy cultist could give you a lead on how to progress the scenario. 

3) Luck Rolls or Pools? - Although Ben largely dismisses Story game systems, they have made some innovations that are worth stealing in OSR games. Case in point, the Gumshoe system, which is used for CoC a la Trail of Cthulhu and Stormbringer a la Swords of the Serpentine, allows Players to use pools to buy special effects instead the unpredictability of Luck rolls. The same thing could easily be implemented in Stormbringer and take the whiff factor out of Luck rolls.

I posted about this a long time ago HERE, but may rejigger this at some point.

Conclusion

The Elan system is a great associated mechanic, and one that even inadvertently makes the meta mechanic of Luck rolls more in line with the genre trope of lucky sorcerers. If you're looking to bring disassociated mechanics more in line with your game, once again old Stormbringer shows the way.

OSR Style Problems, Stormbringer, and D&D

Ben from Questing Beast just did a deep dive with This video about OSR style gaming. I think one of the reasons Stormbringer has lasted as long as it has with minimal changes is because it meets lots of the requirements he outlines.

Is Stormbringer OSR?

First, he notes the characteristics of an OSR style game:

1) The System Needs to be Incomplete

(As I've noted, original Stormbringer is almost rules lite in its lack of rule minutae)

2) System Supports Rulings via Disconnected Rules

(Elementals, Elan, Demons, all pretty disconnected and again rules lite)

3) System Has A Way To Resolve situations

(skill system)

Stormbringer's Crunch

Ben also notes that 'crunchy' systems don't allow OSR style gaming, but what do we mean by crunchy? Crunch, in my estimation, implies two things:

1 - There is a number or stat for everything

(Contrast the statted out Arioch of D&D's Deities and Demigods, who is a 10th level Bard for some reason, versus the paucity of stats for any god in Stormbringer)

2 - All effects have been laid out, leaving no room for interpretation (ie rulings)

(In D&D, all Arioch's attacks and abilities are clearly spelled out, conversely making him more limited in power. In Stormbringer, summoning an avatar of any Chaos lord makes them have all attributes at 10 x that of the summoner, with SIZ and shape at will, and as we are told, "Lords of Chaos may accomplish anything up to the destruction of the world... by fiat." This means power is effectively unlimited, as a god should be.)

Deities and Demigods shows up the difference in the D&D and Stormbringer / OSR mindset. In the Melnibonean Mythos section, all gods are given stats. This means they are killable.

"To a hammer, everything looks like a nail." Hit points imply combat, and feats & powers limit action to what is on the character sheet.

By this metric, Stormbringer 1E Elemental rules are very OSR, while demon rules become less so from 1E to 4E and its laundry list of powers, which is a very 90's thing.

Stormbringer has accumulated some crunch as it aged, witness the jump from 1E rules lite demons to 4E catalogue of powers demons, and Elric! spells. But this still pales in comparison to modern D&D.

Rulings Not Rules

Next, Ben asks, "How do you support the rulings not rules principle at the adventure level? You give players problems that can only be solved with innovation." He also notes, "I've noticed that fairytale and mythology frequently contain great examples of these types of problems."

What Ben has hit on is the narrative aspect of old school gaming. This is the influence of the source fiction, where triumphing comes from being inventive, not just the game of whittling down hit points of enemies. Moorcock's stories are very mythic, witness the golem Aubec defeats by showing it its own reflection, or how Elric uses elementals to escape the Sack of Imrryr, which is emulated in the Elemental rules' lack of heavy simulationist crunch. In game design, I think we forget the source fiction to our detriment. Part of the reason D&D went down the crunch for crunch's sake road is that it made its own (to me) lukewarm settings that I never got into, and that had no guiding narrative constraints for its designers. Thus D&D became its own game-narrative genre unto itself, an ouroboros eating its own tail.

This may be why Dragonlords of Melnibone failed - it is hard to have Moorcockean mythic stories in a game of preset feats and spells.

Zeroing in on OSR Style Problems

Ben then resumes OSR style problems according to the venerable Goblin Punch blog:

1 No easy solution

2 Many difficult solutions

3 Requires no special tools

4 Can be solved with common sense

5 Isn't solvable by ability on character sheet

Here is where Stormbringer falls down a bit. As I have noted, original Stormbringer is schizophrenic. It has stats and skills for characters, but none for Elementals. Some of its published scenarios are nothing more than reskinned D&D dungeon crawls, but even the starter adventure, Tower of Yrkath Florn, has hints of the mythic OSR style in it. The demon trapped in the tower can be bypassed, fought, or bound, depending on what the players feel they could or should do. This is a stark difference from the norm of monster = combat from other games.

Another way to express this dialectic is "Is the GM a computer, or is he a philosopher? Are the players bean counters, or fellow storytellers?" Stormbringer's inherent mode of combat = avoidable, emulated in the lethality of rules and inspired by the source material, pushes this question to the fore.

Ben calls the  principle "Create Problems Without Solutions" and notes that it is the players' job to find solutions, with or without GM help. Readers may remember I touched on this in my Moorcock bestiary, in which I changed the Kay from boring Kobold stand ins to mobs of psychic crabs, and wrote:

"How can the PCs defeat an innumerable enemy? I don't know. That is their job to figure out. Maybe their sorceror-noble can call on the Lord of Crabs, or use flaming oil, or start a Cajun crab cook up."

I agree with Ben when he notes, "For me as a game master, I just love seeing players find a way to bypass these OSR style problems." In my Laughing Tower playtest, young players unfamiliar with Moorcock / Stormbringer tried to emulate skills by rubbing mud on their face for camoflauge, while older Moorcock-loving players interacted with NPCs in unforeseeable ways to get what they wanted.

Conclusion

I agree with Ben when he notes, "Anything that gives you a numerical bonus is not an OSR style tool. What you want are tools that allow innovative problem solving, that stretch the brain." Stormbringer has tons of such tools in its Exotic Treasures section, all ripped directly from Moorcock. But its Elementals, though lacking hit points and other crunch, provide very flavorful yet unpredictable ways to solve problems.

As Ben says, "If OSR problems are problems without solutions, then OSR tools are solutions without problems." And this is a lot easier to do in Stormbringer than other games, due to both its system and source fiction. 

For this reason, in my next Stormbringer post, I will be looking closely at how the game mixes a minimum of stats with a modicum of narrative options in its Virtues vs 1E Demon rules, a dichotomy of power I have unfairly overlooked for decades.

I Have It!

 It is decidedly grubby, but no complaints for $50.

Behold the beauty!

Stormbringer redux #21 Theology & The Alignment (Agent Elan) System

OK, since I keep banging on about Stormbringer mechanics that emulate or support the cosmology of Moorcock's fiction, this is the one mechanic that most fits that description, and thus merits a closer look. Honestly, I've never had recourse to use it, as no player in any of the short-lived games I ran ever needed it or insisted on it.

THREE LEVELS OF RELIGION

As I remarked in the BitR podcast, Stormbringer is all about theology, not cosmology so much. This makes sense since it is emulating a whole gameworld of believers. This is how the rules delineate them:

1 Believers - Can have multiple cults if not in opposition. Don't get Elan, cannot invoke divine invention (see houserule at the end for one suggested exception).

2 Priests - Manage business, conduct services & sacrifices, build temples, collect knowledge, scheme on behalf of deity, speak directly to god & representatives. Get Elan, can invoke divine intervention.

3 Agents - Souls promised to deity, work in their interest, get Elan, an amulet, special powers, and can invoke divine intervention. May also be priests.

No objections here, except the houserule at the end to give non-priest / non-Agent characters a little skill boost for their faith.

WHO CAN BE AN AGENT

Although the rules state, "Any character may become an Agent for a god" [6.5], in keeping with Moorcock's fiction, I would say only Nobles can do so. Thus if a Beggar character wished to become an Agent, they would first have to carve out their own title and demesne. This is a wonderful roleplaying hook, in my opinion, and so I'll stick with it.

I would also add that characters can only be agents of a god listed in their Nationality description, to reflect the 'ancient bonds' mentioned in the Elric books. Remember, I suggested letting nationalities with no descriptions use Beast Lords or appropriate Elemental lords instead. As I wrote,

"Note that all entries of ‘None’ on the table should instead be considered Elementals & Beastlords. Entries of ‘Other’ should include minor or local deities and godlings the GM should create, such as the undead ancestor worship in the Forest of Troos."

BECOMING AN AGENT

The procedure is simple:

1) Find a temple to the deity you wish to serve, have the priests make preparations

2) Declare the number of POW points you wish to sacrifice

3) Roll for success

The simple formula for the roll is CHA + number of POW points sacrificed. In a way, this makes as much sense as Arioch being charmed by Elric, so I like it. Usually, I would suggest replacing a random attribute roll like this with a skill roll, such as Persuade, but I think the riskiness of the roll as it is works fine.

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF BEING AN AGENT

Again, these all make sense - the agent gets a boon (supernatural aid) and is protected from the element or followers of his god.

Let's just take a quick look through these:

Advantages

Elemental Agents - Get one appropriate elemental, can get a new one if destroyed for 1 Elan; can't be attacked by elemental of their god.

Law - Double CON and HP, unaging but sterile. Gods only intervene when directly fighting Chaos. Get one Virtue.

Chaos - Divine intervention or message of inability, never have to make a demon POW vs POW over 50%. Get one free weaker demon.

Disadvantages

All Elemental Agents - All can't worship other elements, mustn't lose amulet on fear of death or punishment.
Grome - Can't dig up or defile buried corpses.
Strassha - Originally can't eat fish, but I prefer can't eat land animals (see below).
Lassha - Never eat or kill birds.
Kakatal - Can't extinguish flames.

Law - Cannot worship Chaos or elementals, cannot lose amulet on pain of losing Agenthood, must take orders from priest of own deity, cannot cooperate with Chaos Agents, must kill them.

Chaos - Cannot worship Law, cannot lose amulet on pain of demon attack, must take orders from priest of own deity, cannot stay in any location more than a month.

AMULETS OF AGENTS

The rules for amulets are spread all over the shop, so I thought I'd try and review them all here.

All - Although this is only noted in the Elemental section [6.6.6], we can assume that an amulet is needed for any divine invocation by an Agent of any cult. Also, amulets only work for the Agent they belong to.

Elemental - Although there is no reference to elemental amulet powers, I think the following should be allowed:

Grome - Can detect any undine within 100 yards, take 1/10 landslide damage.
Strassha - Can detect any gnome within 100 yards, take 1/10 drowning damage.
Lassha - Can detect any salamander within 100 yards, take 1/10 falling damage.
Kakatal - Can detect any sylph within 100 yards, take 1/10 fire damage.

Law  - Glows and warms if Chaos forces within 100 ft vicinity (take 1 Elan to hide)

Chaos - Detects Chaos gods within 100 miles via rainbow swirl
             Detects Lawful Agent within 1 mile via chill
             Detects harmful intent within 100 feet via electric shock

NB: I really dislike putting ranges on these effects, and just generally handwaive them as the story demands. Also, Chaotic amulets seem to have a little edge in sensing abilities, so I would just make both able to detect their own or opposing forces as appropriate for the adventure.

STORY EFFECT OF AGENTHOOD

As I noted in a previous post, Agents set themselves up as center of the story. As such, the following GM rules of thumb are suggested:

1 Agents are ALWAYS targeted by the opposition, companions are often ignored.

2 Agents CANNOT refuse the call of their faction, companions may come and go as they please.

AGENTS OF BEAST LORDS?? ELDER GODS??

As noted, characters from minor nations should also have the chance to become an Agent of Elemental or Beast Lords. Now, let's look at a sample Beast Lord Agent.

Becoming - Once again, a Noble of any aligned nation should be able to be an Agent of a Beast Lord.

Amulet - The amulet is made of some precious metal (gold or silver) plated to a part of the animal. A skull for a small animal, a fang or talon for larger ones. The amulet allows divine intervention, but should also allow the character to use a skill from the animal's description. For instance, an Agent of a tiger god could take the animal's heightened senses or stealth ability percentage, but doing so negates any skill check for improvement. If the amulet is lost or destroyed, the Agent can no longer access these abilities.

Advantages - The Agent cannot be attacked by the animal in question, and he can summon a swarm (2D20) of small animals or group (1D6+1) of larger ones and give them commands that they may follow if it serves their interest and the character makes a successful Persuade skill or entices the animals somehow. Summoning animals costs 1 Elan each time.

Disadvantages - The Agent can never harm one of the animals, and must try to protect the animal and its natural habitat at all costs. Failing to do so will lose them Agent status.

ELAN

Elan ranges from 0 to 100, equals percentage the god intervenes when called upon by Priests or Agents. A character must be devoted to one god to get Elan.

50 Elan can be converted into 1 POW at any time. I don't know if this is a bad or a good thing, so leaving it as is.

GAINING ELAN

I have no objections to any of the rewards listed, but would also add GMs should reward any roleplaying that fits with a follower of the cult. The only issue I see is that keeping track of Elan for multiple priests or agents seems like a hassle for the GM, who should inform players it is their responsibility to declare when they are doing Elan-worthy actions.

INVOKING DEITIES (Priests and Agents only)

Roll D100 vs Elan. 

Success (equal or below Elan) means wish is granted, the number rolled is subtracted from Elan.

Failure (above Elan) means wish is not granted, Elan halved..

NB: I would add the following levels of success to spice things up:

DIVINE INTERVENTION ROLL LEVELS

Critical Success (1/10 Elan) - Deity is pleased, solves the character's problem in style. 50% it leaves a useful boon (companion or item of power) until the end of the session. Can try again this adventure.

Success (Equal or below Elan) - Deity grants a boon in an indirect or understated way. Can try again next adventure.

Failure (Above Elan) - Deity ignores the demand, Elan reduced by half. Can try again after a year of gametime.

Fumble (99-00 if Elan is 50 or below, 00 if above) - Deity is angered by the petty demand, Elan reduced to 0. Deity won't answer any demands until the character has recovered at least 50 Elan. Also, can't try again until character has done some service for the deity and been forgiven for presumption.

One more thing I would add is that the deity themselves can offer to assist if the character is a necessary pawn in their game. However, there will be a HEAVY price to pay for accepting such assistance.

PROFESSIONS FAVOURED BY DEITIES (Houserule for non-Priests or non-Agents)

I don't agree entirely that non-priest or agent characters should have no benefit for having a cult. Also, the long list of gods who are patrons of certain professions is rendered window dressing if there is no mechanical incentive behind it. Instead, here is a simple houserule that I'd like to playtest at some point that adds a small advantage for mundane characters being in a cult.

If a character follows a deity that is a patron of their profession, they can add their CHA to a professional skill if it is used in an activity that somehow favours the deity or its supporters. For example, Strassha is patron of sailors, fishermen, laundry workers (?), painters, and also farmers to a degree. If a non-agent Sailor character is fighting a group of Pyaray cultists, he can invoke his god and get a CHA bonus to use any of his profession's skills (first weapon, Swim, Tie Knot, Climb, Balance, or Navigation for mates) if it supports Strassha or opposes Pyaray. 

However, if using this rule, characters are also bound by the rules of the cult. This requires some modificatons, since some of the restrictions make little sense. For example, banning followers of Strassha from eating fish when the god is patron of Fishermen would seem counterintuitive, and instead it would be more evocative and restrictive if followers of Strassha were permitted to eat no LAND animal, and subsist on fish alone, in accordance with their opposition to Grome and his followers.

I Should Have Listened To This Long Ago...

Finally caught the Grognard Files' first podcast on the Stormbringer RPG (HERE).

So much jibes with what I feel about the game. Especially Judge Blythy's insights on Stormbringer as a proto-story game.

"Modern games are about story. And I think Stormbringer is going in that direction. Whether it's intentional or not, I don't know. But what it forces you to do is consider: there's four people playing this game, one is very powerful... one is kind of ordinary, one is ... from Lormyr... a bit dim... and one of them is a beggar with one leg. Now go and play that game. But I think what it's trying to do is the story, isn't it? You could have a Melnibonean sorcerer with a beggar sidekick, and if you're the beggar sidekick, what it seems to be suggesting, and it doesn't say so overtly, but what it's nudging you in the direction of is 'Play the role, do the story. Just because you're the one legged beggar doesn't mean you're any less important than the sorcerer. It's not about power, and wealth, and going up the levles. It's about story."

Couldn't agree more! Can't wait to find time for part II.
 

Stormbringer redux # 17 - Abstract Weight and Wealth

(NB: Yes yes, I realize I skipped # 17. Things are ready when they are. This isn't work, there are no deadlines thankfully.)

I've circled back to this post after a long pause because it was daunting. But something has clicked in my brain, so I thought I'd churn it out.

Here are my thoughts on Concrete vs Abstract systems of Weight & Wealth. I will go through Original Rules, Concrete Rules & Reasoning, Abstract Rules & Reasoning, and finally define When To Use them and suggest Other Effects.

1 ORIGINAL RULES

Famously, the old Stormbringer rules had nothing about carrying weight. Players were on an honour system.

As for wealth, there was starting wealth based on character background, stretching from Nobles all the way down to peasant Farmers. There was also a catalogue of things to buy, but nothing on living costs, quality of items, etc.

Let's try to connect these things in useful or interesting ways.

2 WHEN TO USE CONCRETE VS ABSTRACT WEIGHT & WEALTH

As noted earlier, I think the implementation of 2 styles of play, Pulp vs Saga, would make gaming more enjoyable. Each of these dictate different rules to help emulate the feel of their source material.

PULP PLAY = CONCRETE RULES, ELRIC!

Pulp is when you want to hack and slash through the Young Kingdoms. In this mode, player characters need to face limits, and thus Concrete Wealth and Weight are natural choices. Just like Moonglum in the Elric books, characters are more concerned with actual coin than abstractions, and thus limiting how much they can carry feeds into this aesthetic. The Elric! game also limits the characters to humans, and so is firmly in this camp.

SAGA PLAY = ABSTRACT RULES, STORMBRINGER

Saga play is when characters strive for higher ideals, fighting for a cause, opposing the gods themselves, even if it means destroying worlds. In this case, stopping to count coins in their purse or bank vault seems counter productive. Although Stormbringer toys with this idea of a higher struggle, especially with its Elan and Agent rules, there are no clear rules underpinning this aesthetic.

3 CONCRETE RULES EXAMPLES

WEIGHT

For weight, you can use the encumbrance rules I proposed (HERE), or something from a Chaosium product. This will make players more wary of the gear they choose and any treasure they pick up.

WEALTH

Likewise, the starting wealth and price lists are useful. However, we could add levels of wealth & living costs to give some connective tissue. Here is my previous stab at it.

SOCIAL RANK                        CURRENCY               REAL WORLD

Melnibonean Imperial               Melnibonean Wheel      500, 000 dollars

Melnibonean Nobles                   Silver Dragon (MA)      500 dollars

YK Royalty                                  Large Gold (LG)          100 dollars

YK Nobles                                   Small Gold (SG)          50 dollars

Clergy                                           Large Silver (LS)          10 dollars

Urbanites (Merchants, Rogues)      Small Silver (SS)          5 dollars

Rural Folk (Hunters, Farmers)      Large Bronze (LB)          1 dollar

Dispossessed (Beggars)                  Small Bronze (SB)          ½ dollar


STARTING WEALTH

Starting wealth could thus be calculated in the currency of the social rank. For example, according to the 4E rules, a Young Kingdom noble would 100 x 1D100 LB, and a Hunter with 1D100 LB. You could either keep this, which seems reasonable, or start all characters with 1D100 X INT of their currency to simplify things.


LIVING COSTS

One staple of pulp fiction is the constant need to go find treasure. Conan gets the rich at the end of a story, and is broke and needs to go adventuring again at the start of the next. Living costs help give this impetus for adventure.

If we make living costs 100 - INT in the requisite coins a month for all characters, this would give them a motivation to adventure and try to accumulate wealth. Small currency means characters live cheaply, large means ostentatiously. Note that even Melniboneans live using gold, because their currency is so rare and a result of exploitation that it can never be spent on mundane things. Instead, it is reinvested in keeping the status quo.

ITEM COSTS

The Stormbringer item price list is very limited, as is Elric! By extrapolating costs based on the currency suggested above, we open up the game to an interpretive economics that enriches the whole experience.

For example, a Riding Horse is listed as 100 LB in Stormbringer. Moving up or down the social ranking, we get very different 

SOCIAL RANK                        CURRENCY               REAL WORLD

Melnibonean Imperial               Melnibonean Wheel      A fine dragon with ornate palanquin

Melnibonean Nobles                   Silver Dragon (MA)      A young dragon with simple saddle

YK Royalty                                  Large Gold (LG)          A trained & intelligent warhorse plus retinue

YK Nobles                                   Small Gold (SG)          A fine, fast steed with a pair of mounted guards

Clergy                                           Large Silver (LS)          A thoroughbred trotter

Urbanites (Merchants, Rogues)      Small Silver (SS)          A gentle city trained mount

Rural Folk (Hunters, Farmers)      Large Bronze (LB)          A rough riding horse

Dispossessed (Beggars)                  Small Bronze (SB)          Broken nag a fortnight from the glue factory

The same range of prices and qualities can be extrapolated for all items on the list through discussion between GM and players.

WEALTH GAP

Note that poorer characters should never be allowed to 'piggy back' off the wealth of others. Pulp worlds are dog eat dog, so any rich Noble character would have to pay poorer characters in their retinue, while poorer characters would be constantly forced to work or adventure to make ends meet.

4 ABSTRACT RULES

WEIGHT

If we want to step away from the bookkeeping to focus on story, we can tie encumbrance to character occupation. First, we can link carryable arms & armor:

Warriors - Any armor and shield, up to 3 weapons (usually one main, a side, and one ranged)

Soft urbanites - One side arm (ie boot dagger or cudgel), with one more when prepared for battle. Can only use soft armor and small shields (target, buckler).

Hardy countryfolk - One side and main weapon (usually bow), plus one extra when prepared for battle. Can use any armor except full plate, and up to medium shields (target to heater).

For other objects, common sense judgments of weather it is light (no penalty), carryable (fills arms and slows movements), or draggable (so heavy can only be dragged slowly with character exhausted afterwards).

WEALTH

Similarly, we can do away with number of coins and simply use the following descriptors for any equipment or services the character uses.

SOCIAL RANK                       CURRENCY                       LUXURY DESCRIPTOR

Melnibonean Imperial               Melnibonean Wheel          Decadent

Melnibonean Nobles                   Silver Dragon (MA)          Opulent

YK Royalty                               Large Gold (LG)                  Magnificent

YK Nobles                                 Small Gold (SG)                  Ornate

Clergy                                           Large Silver (LS)              Distinguished

Urbanites (Merchants, Rogues)      Small Silver (SS)             Clean, proper

Rural Folk (Hunters, Farmers)      Large Bronze (LB)              Rustic, sturdy

Dispossessed (Beggars)                   Small Bronze (SB)          Squalorous, unhealthy

STARTING WEALTH

Here we do away with costs, and simply decide what a character would have based on their Social Rank. In my playtest last year, we had a Melnibonean noble high priest, who started with a mystical yacht made of strange alloys by lost ancient craftsmanship. His companions were various YK folk, such as a Weeping Waste warrior who had arms, armour, a pony, and naught else.

LIVING & ITEM COSTS & ACCESS

Once again, abstraction does away with all price lists, and characters get the item quality they can afford. The Melnibonean high priest would usually have opulent meals in Imrryr, but would have to settle for lower fare while traveling in the Young Kingdoms. The Weeping Waster would be satisfied with rustic food, such as tartar steak seasoned under his saddle and cooked by his horse's bodyheat.

4 OTHER EFFECTS

One other effect of choosing Pulp vs Saga play is whether the Allegiances system should be used. But this is a tale for a different time.