Marcus Bone

Sorry to resurrect the dead, but did this ever come out in any type of format? I know that there were rumours of a MW Companion (in which it might appear), however I suppose that ended up on the scrap heap with the whole of MW. I was thinking with the recent release of Chaosium's licencing standards (Fan or Small Publisher), that there might be a future these products? Marcus

So I've been watching a lot of different things on television of late (and I don't usually watch TV), and they've stirred together into a setting that I think would suit the Magic World mechanics. Five hundred years ago, the sorcerer Helica rose to power. Under his influence the Empire of Alcania rose to prominence, growing from a small city state to be the conquerors of much of the known world. But while Alcania brought with it learning, knowledge and science, it left behind compassion, loyalty and the ideals of freedom. Thousands were enslaved to do Helica's bidding, acting as his warriors in the battles against the free races and as the labour to build his monuments of power and glory. After 200 years of rule, Helica was finally struck down, not in any battle against the dwindling free people, but rather from within, when Gratanius, his mightiest General, removed the Emperor's head from his shoulders. Driven by his own lust for power, the Empire under Gratanius was ever more blood thirsty. But Alcania now lacked a leader powerful enough to bring together such a diverse collection of bodies and minds, and soon the General himself was deposed. And so it has been for the last 300 years, with each successful ruler rising to the throne on the blood of the one before, but with each generation the size and influence shrinking. Today the Empire is large and formidable, but thankfully more interested in political infighting, than war with the flourishing free peoples. However, in the lands that have long been abandoned by the Empire a new threat has arisen, and some whisper that it is Helica who has returned seeking his vengeance. I see the setting as bit of a combination of the fall of the Roman Empire sprinkled in with a bit of Lord of the Rings. The Empire is very striated, in regards to class, privilege and power, and as such is so inwards focused that it can't see its own position weakening while others strengthen.Throw into this an element of dark magic and a corrupting influence spreading across the land,and I think it would make for an interesting setting. I might flesh these out more here in the future...

This is just about perfect for filling that gap in the SB rules. I guess the challenge is always going to be that during character creation investing skill points in shield never seems to be a worthwhile option. At the risk of going off topic, I've tinkered with a house-rule that modifies Initiative based on your weapons and armour (existentially you have a normal Dex for most rolls and a 'Combat Dex' which is used in battles). The idea that large shields allow more 'free' parries would, IMO, sync nicely with that (i.e. larger shields have more of a Combat Dex penalty). Marcus

So not to necro this threat too much (yet), but should I claim copyright on this KS from Green Ronin https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/504269797/the-lost-citadel-post-apocalyptic-fantasy-roleplay I do hope to produce a bit of an update for my (In the Quiet Lands) setting shortly BTW... Marcus

I really like this idea. How to implement it is the challenge, especially, as I previously mentioned the BRP has no way of reinforcing play outside of the social contract (barring the Sanity rules). Does this mean a Young Kingdoms game should actually be based on the Fate system or the Apocalypse Engine? No, because then you lose the other aspect of gaming from such proscriptive mechanics - that being freedom of character. As you say Reign, the characters need to have the illusion of free choice, but the reality is that are but puppets (played by unseen hands) of some unknowable Passion Play. This is why I like to make my adventures challenge the players beliefs and concepts of change - you don't need mechanics when your players are arguing about whether they should kill an NPC or no based on the fact he may, or may not, kill innocent people the future*. I guess this is why I always see the Balance as a fulcrum (as I've previous raised in other topics), much like the Passions system is in Pendragon. But how to translate to a 100% system is quite a bit harder than I first imagined... Marcus * - This was the premise of one adventure I once ran.

Oh, I'm sure they didn't. But then you don't need to know that you are agents of the Balance; you just are. In fact, as I might have stated earlier, I really see the characters - no matter what their skill level - as 'victims' of Mistress Fate and the Balance, rather than truly their agents. IMHO Stormbringer's central conceit is that the characters the roles given to them - they bring order to Chaos and disrupt Law. This means even when they don't mean to they are movers and shakers in the world (or Multiverse). I personally think players should embrace this style of play. For example, in Call of Cthulhu investigators should expect to encounter the mythos and come out the other side a little less sane, and in D&D the heroes should need no encouragement to explore dungeons and fighting dragons (small ones at first obviously :P); as an extension then, in Stormbringer the characters make hard choices and change realities. But back to your concerns, yes enacting this concept in game mechanics isn't easy, not without offering some sort off incentives (be they positive or negative). BRP derivative games don't really have mechanics that reinforce a style of play (it instead provides a game system upon which a GM hangs his narrative hooks, it does not drive play in a session). So how to do this without adding another mechanical subsystem? I'm not sure yet, but I think it would be fun to explore the options. Marcus P.S. I hope no of that sounded pretentious, it wasn't meant to be - rather I've thought a lot about this subject over the years... maybe a little too much

Hi Colin, I'm personally not a big fan of the earlier editions, and while I do think their 'craziness' has a place, its not for me. I'm a big fan of point-buy systems so will be looking to utilise that as an option for Character Gen. I'd stay away from random, but will likely look to ensure minimums (I mean we are creating heroes here, right, not peasants?). The Allegiance System has never been a happy one for me - it never really reflected Fate or being agents of the Balance (which in my mind all characters are). I'm leaning towards a system that rewards the characters for staying close to the Balance. Sanity rules don't really mesh with my ideas, but some sort of madness mechanics might be something worth exploring, especially for characters leaning towards Chaos). I don't know about the majority of Moorcock fans but I think the later novels, while better written stories, were never as interesting or dynamic as the earlier Elric was. This older version is what I'll more focused on. Hope that doesn't sound too pushie, but you raise a good point; is my ideas of the ideal SB the same as everyone else's? Maybe not... Marcus

You're right it should be Communications! Mechanisms might be a good name for this...

Suggested Skill List To follow on from yesterday, this is my suggested 5.5 Skill List for non-combat skills (These are presented as Name - Change from 5th/MW - Skill Category). Awareness - Combines Search, Sense/Smell - Perception Art - Unchanged from 5th (Uf5th) - Communication Athletics - Combines Jump, Swim, Climb into one skill - Physical Bargain - Unchanged - Communication Evaluate - Unchanged - Knowledge Engineer - Combine Repair/Devise and Trap - Knowledge Craft - Unchanged (except where noted) - Manipulation Disguise - Unchanged - Communication Dodge - Unchanged - Physical Fast Talk - Unchanged - Communication Hide - Unchanged - Physical Insight - Unchanged - Perception Known Kingdoms - Unchanged - Knowledge Million Spheres - Unchanged - Special (starts at 0%) Move Quietly - Unchanged - Manipulation Natural World - Unchanged - Knowledge Navigate - Unchanged - Knowledge Oratory - Unchanged - Communication Other Language - Unchanged - Special (starts at 0%) Own Language - Unchanged - Knowledge Physik - Unchanged - Knowledge Pick Lock - Unchanged - Manipulation Potions - Unchanged - Knowledge Ride - Unchanged - Physical Sail - Unchanged - Physical Scribe - Unchanged - Knowledge Sleight of Hand - Removed from Craft and combine with Conceal Object - Manipulation Track - Unchanged - Perception Unknown Kingdoms - Unchanged - Special (starts at 0%) In Skill Category Order - Special - Million Spheres, Other Language, Unknown Kingdoms Communication - Art, Bargain, Disguise, Fast Talk, Oratory Physical - Athletics, Dodge, Hide, Ride, Sail Knowledge - Engineer, Evaluate, Natural World, Own Language, Navigate, Physik, Potions, Scribe Perception - Awareness, Insight, Track Manipulation - Craft, Move Quietly, Pick Lock, Sleight of Hand

Character Creation It seems logical to look at Character Creation first and foremost in a revision. Below are the areas that I'm interested in revisiting (and streamlining). Defining Archetypes - Keep 5th's (and MW's) Cultures and Professions, or replace with more lifepath (yet to be defined) style of characters? Characteristic Generation - Random rolling or point allocation? Base line 2D6+6 for all 'human' characters or mixed based on Characteristic (i.e. 3D6 for STR, etc. 2D6+6 for those needing a higher base)? Skill Starting point - Keep Skill Category Modifiers (as per MW), or create a new 'Aptitude' system? Allocate point as desired or provide allotments (again as per MW)? Skill List - Keep 5th's skills or revise (i.e.I've always been keen on combining skills like Jump, Swim, etc. as a single Athletics skill, etc.). Look to change names of some skills to better reflect their uses ('Trap' can be incorporated into 'Repair/Devise', could 'Repair/Devise' be renamed as Engineer?) Allegiances - Better define what these mean and usage. I think that covers this portion of the rules. Happy to discuss. Marcus

Hi All, I've recently been thinking about creating a SB 5.5 rule set (much like Pagan Publishing did way back in the 90s for Call of Cthulhu in their Unspeakable Oath zine). What do I mean by this? Well, going back to the ELRIC! and 5th edition rule sets (maybe even 4th?) and revamping the variables for a more streamline style of mechanical play (as is the trend these days; unified dice mechanics . This would likely be more around the skill names and descriptions, magical abilities and other things like that, rather than the core mechanics (i.e. what dice you roll, the names of the stats, etc.). Am I barking up the wrong tree on this? Or something worth doing as an exercise on this forum even? Marcus

Me neither. I'll be honest and say that I do have PDFs of every english SB/Elric product officially released, but these are for my own personal use only (and involved the 'deaths' of a number of physical, and might I say expensive, books). Unfortunately I don't think any of the existing books will ever see the light of day again, but that being said most can still be found for a manageable price on ebay. Marcus

The fonts should be embedded... I'll check and re-upload. There is no issue from my end in printing the documents... Marcus

I think this is probably the best solution. It should be easy enough to do as well.

Hi All, With the annual renewal coming up for the magicworldrpg.com site, I'm wondering whether I keep it going or not? Any opinions? Marcus

While news like this is always disappointing, it is good to hear that Chaosium are open to licensing etc. I agree with their philosophy - to focus on their 'knitting' and produce top notch works (both in the writing and design) for both Call of Cthulhu (which I for one love) and Runequest etc. (which isn't so appealing to me). Marcus

To be honest, I've had mixed success with my contact. Some people seem keen, but can't devote the time, while many others don't reply to my requests. It's a shame to lose all that history, but... Any leads on Mr Syzmanski's whereabouts or contact details?

Hi All, Just sitting here and it struck me that Magic World would be a perfect system for the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying game. I know the original 1st edition rules and MW both come from the same origins, and so they already have a lot in common. What do you think would be needed to create a conversion? IN my mind the list would start with: Horror/Insanity mechanics A more granulated character generation system. Toning down of magic (maybe make casting a little more dangerous?) What else? Happy to also hear that I'm crazy on this one Marcus

Good to see you mention the River of Heaven soundtrack. I listen to a lot of music at work or when I'm here in front of my PC, and (I'm not looking at being a 'suck-up' when I say) the RoH OST is by far the best RPG soundtrack I've ever heard. It focuses on real music, rather than just atmosphere, and that, to me at least, is why it stands out from most others. Marcus

Looking forward to this especially!

Definitely, I have a number of half finished things - but time is the killer for me. Oh to be a 20-something student again (rather than a 40 year old dad and IT manager :P) Errrr... what I meant to say was, yes indeed, I'm happy to take new content for any of the iteration of the Eternal Champion RPGs. Marcus

Hi All, Probably encouraged by Dirk the Dice's podcast, I've finally got around to updating the Stormbringerrpg.com website*. Don't go expecting new content (except a link to the Dirk's podcast), but I've given it a whole new look and feel (using a intriguingly named Wordpress theme called 'Lovecraft')! Marcus * - I've sure some of the links and images are still broken, but I'll slowly fix those over time...

Thanks Rick - I appreciate the clarification. As a fan (as part of running the http://www.stormbringerrpg.com fan site) I only knew what others had told me. Thank goodness I never release any in the interviews or rumours without clarification! Thanks again and keep up the great work you and the team are doing with Chaosium! Marcus

*Just reading through my comment here - It looks as if might be horribly smarmy - it's not meant to be...* Hi Rick, I thought all the existing material was transferred to Mongoose in the licensing agreement? As part of the settlement with Michael and the acquisition of the license by Mr Sprange? You probably know more than me, but I'm sure I was informed that was the case (i.e. the reason that Mongoose was selling them on Drivethru etc). Marcus

Fantastic! I'm downloading now and will listen with interest. Marcus