Stormbringer

[Ron]

Ha, thanks! Does Chaosium make other fantasy RPGs ?

Can I find a free download of their basic RPing system, like the SRD ? How does this system work (in a nutchel) ?

Chaosium once published several fantasy games, such as RuneQuest, Pendragon, and Nephilim. Virtually all Chaosium's games are based in their Basic Roleplaying (BRP) engine which is a simplified version of RuneQuest. Chaosium sold RuneQuest rights to Avalon Hill back in the 80s and now the rights are with its creator, who publishes HeroQuest (the new edition of HeroWars), a fantasy game with new rules by Robin Laws in Glorantha, the original RuneQuest setting. Pendragon uses a very derived BRP engine, relying only in d20s. It is the game if you're interested in Arthurian legends or want some Dark Ages action. Nephillim is a urban magic game developed by a French publisher using BRP and published by Chaosium in the US. RuneQuest and Nephilim are out of print, but Pendragon is current available by Green Knight (who brougth the rights from Chaosium in the middle 90s). Chaosium also publishes BRP, which is an introductory game. In the past, the use to bundle BRP with Worlds of Wonder, which consisted of three advanced rules and settings to play sci-fi, fantasy, and supers. Finally, Chaosium is set to publish a new edition of Dreamlands to Call of Cthulhu, which is a fantasy setting within Lovecraftian Mythos.

BRP is skill based game quite easy to play. Stats are similar in number and scale to d20 with the addition of Size and, depending of the game, a few others such as Education and Power. Stats do not give bonuses to skils but rather define important values such as damage bonus, initiative, skill points, hit points, magical power, etc. Skill are in a percentage scale and are initially brought based in your stats values and your choice of profession, which restricts the initial choices. To perform a task, roll a d100 bellow your skill number; some good rolls might give you extraordinary success. In combat, a dodge or a parry (if allowed) might avoid being hit. Damage is based in the weapon rating plus the damage bonus. Armor protect the target from damage by a variable value defined by a roll of dice. The game is very simple, being, perhaps, more suitable to those looking for a rules-lite system as an alternative to D&D.

There is some free implementations of BRP availabe in the Internet. I am not sure if they aren't an IP violation, but it's not hard to find them with Google.

 

[King_Stannis]

Ha, thanks! Does Chaosium make other fantasy RPGs ?

Can I find a free download of their basic RPing system, like the SRD ? How does this system work (in a nutchel) ?

Chaosium also makes "Pendragon", an RPG set in Arthurian England. I just started playing this last week, and it is wonderful. It emphasized roleplaying more than combat, which is quick and deadly. The game actually has a mechanic for role playing through a system of "Traits and Passions". Check it out if you get a chance.

As for Stormbringer (or Elric! as I know it), it is quite good as well. The BRP system it percentage based. I know that Chaosium makes a $5 slim booklet of the BRP system, but after flipping through it you really don't need it. The system is so simple, because it's percentage based you already know that if you have 90% in a certain skill, you are pretty darn good.

Combat in Stormbringer is fairly simple and well done. In essence you compare your roll with your opponent and judge what you got. A success, a failure, a critical or a fumble. Then you consult a very simple chart and cross index it based on what your opponent got. It actually sounds a lot more complex than it is. ARmor is actually a "die". So if you have Plate Mail, you would actually roll a D12+2 for each hit your opponent scored. I like this aspect, as it makes combat deadly but a good set of armor can still save your life if you roll good.

Your combat skills can also be over 100%, which affords you the chance to split your attacks (2 at 50%, etc) and parry a bit more.

All in all, Stormbringer is quite good. Try it. So too is Pendragon, though technically Chaosium doesn't have anything to do with Pendragon anymore. Green Knight Publishing took over the label.

 

[Mark]

I had the same reaction to "Elric vs. the Nazis" but it actually turned out quite well.

...but you're a young man. How many books have you read, televisions shows have you seen, or movies have you watched where the Nazis were trotted out for fodder? Won't draw a guy like me in with that as a premise, no matter who the author is. It just smacks of "I'm out of ides, so I guess I'll slap a swastika on it!" No, thank you...

 

[Azlan]

The Melniboneans are elves. Moorcock flat out says it in one of the Corum books, IIRC. But closer to real-world elves, not Tolkien-ish.

Um, "real-world" elves... ?

One thing that has not been mentioned here is how decadent and even depraved the Melniboneans are. Yes, it was mentioned several times that the Elric's is dark fantasy world, but not why it is "dark", or just how "dark" it is.

Generally, the Melnibonean society would be considered chaotic neutral (if applying the D&D ruleset), with most of the noblemen and rulers among the Melniboneans being chaotic evil. With the great and ancient magicks at their command (including demons, elemental lords, magic armor and weapons, and dragons that breathe a type of Greek fire), they would be a terrible force for the Young Kingdoms to reckon with, if they weren't so chaotic and complacent, caught up in their debauchery and lost in their lotus dreams.

 

[Neo]

Chaosium also makes "Pendragon", an RPG set in Arthurian England. I just started playing this last week, and it is wonderful. It emphasized roleplaying more than combat, which is quick and deadly. The game actually has a mechanic for role playing through a system of "Traits and Passions". Check it out if you get a chance.

All in all, Stormbringer is quite good. Try it. So too is Pendragon, though technically Chaosium doesn't have anything to do with Pendragon anymore. Green Knight Publishing took over the label.

I'm not familiar with Green Knight Publishing or anything they have done for Pendragon, but that game is certainly the best game i've ever run to protray traditional arthurian knights in a medieval world... though the magic system when introduced was very unbalanced and made it lose some of the mystique.

As for Stormbringer the Dragon Lords of Melnibone D20 supplement although a good idea was quite poor I felt trying to convert too closely the BRP version and ending up very unbalanced and not quite functional. For the Best Strombringer experience personally I prefer the original Hardbound Stormbringer BRP edition or the Perfect bound with green cover that followed as opposed to the Perfect Bound black covered Elric that followed.

 

[Purkle-chan]

...but you're a young man. How many books have you read, televisions shows have you seen, or movies have you watched where the Nazis were trotted out for fodder? Won't draw a guy like me in with that as a premise, no matter who the author is. It just smacks of "I'm out of ides, so I guess I'll slap a swastika on it!" No, thank you...

But this is hardly a new concept when it comes to Moorcock. The Nazis pop up in a couple of the older books in the Eternal Champion series. There's definately a short story where one of the other Von Bek's has to deal with them, though that is I think a different Earth. They are, if memory serves, also in the book where Prince Flammadin is the EC.

 

[King_Stannis]

I'm not familiar with Green Knight Publishing or anything they have done for Pendragon, but that game is certainly the best game i've ever run to protray traditional arthurian knights in a medieval world...

I think Green Knight is a real small operation. I'm not even sure what they've contributed, per se, but they have kept the game around - which is probably enough. If they hadn't, I might have never found my way to it.

 

[Maldur]

ALL pendragon is green knight now! Their stuff is pretty good. It includes reprints of older material and some new suplements. Their cover are (IMHO) not that good (Really bad even).

Runequest will never be published again as the rights are still Avalon Hill/hasbro, but any implementation of the runequest ruleset still needs an ok from greg stafford, who will not give any permissions.

Herowars/heroquest is the new Glorantha game, but its published by Issaries Inc not Chaosium.

Chaosium publishes : Call of Chtulhu and suplements for D20 CoC. And Strombringer (including the d20 version, but that book is not that strong)

All Other "eternal champion" games : Corum and Hawkmoon are done by small publishers, but in the BRP system. These are really good , with awesome artwork (esp the covers)

 

[Aaron2]

I played mucho Stormbringer back in the day. I loved it. It kinda breaks down at high skill values though and the rulebook doesn't really have enough world info. But I read all the books so that was no problemo. I liked the demon summoning rules. BTW-I've seen lots of overstock Stormbringer d20 at my local 1/2 price books.

Green Knight has really slowed down recently. I think I have all their new books but I'm not sure. Cool game but you'll need a masters in medieval studies to understand the mailing list.


Aaron

 

[Shadowlord]

The game is very simple, being, perhaps, more suitable to those looking for a rules-lite system as an alternative to D&D.

That's what I'm looking for!

There is some free implementations of BRP availabe in the Internet. I am not sure if they aren't an IP violation, but it's not hard to find them with Google

I searched and didn't find it.

PS: What's Nephilim about?