Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Chaosium Digest Volume 05 Number 02
Chaosium Digest Volume 5, Number 2
Date: Sunday, December 5, 1993
Number: 2 of 2
Contents:
Review: Melnibone (Adam Justin Thornton) ELRIC!
Errata: Melnibone (Chaosium) ELRIC!
A Patron of Chaos (Shannon Appel) ELRIC!
--------------------
From: Adam Justin Thornton <adam@owlnet.rice.edu>
Subject: Review: Melnibone
System: Elric!
The first, and (at least by me) eagerly awaited, supplement for
Chaosium's _Elric!_ has appeared: _Melnibone': Dragon Isle and
Dreaming City_. The encapsulated review is simply this: it is an
excellent supplement, superior to the _Elric!_ rules and possibly one
of my favorite Chaosium products ever. I don't remember being this
excited about any supplement since first edition _Dreamlands_.
The book is mostly the work of Richard Watts, with Geoff Gillian,
Penelope Love, and Mark Morrison. The first section is "History and
Geography," and it seems to be a good recap of the history presented
in Moorcock's books. The book is putatively set the year before
_Elric of Melnibone'_ begins, although it could certainly be used with
minor changes up through the sack of Imyrr. A handy timeline is
provided for this purpose. Great emphasis (perhaps too much) is
placed on the decadence of the Bright Empire vis-a-vis the Young
Kingdoms. The geography is fairly uninspired, but, one assumes,
necessary if one wishes to run a scenario set outside the walls of
Imyrr. The overall effect is, however, nicely surreal: imagine the
Dreamlands with teeth. The surrealism, as is appropriate, only gets
more intense in the description of Imyrr itself; the "Places of Note"
are especially evocative.
The second chapter describes the "Culture and Traditions of
Melnibone'ans"; it's well-done, although I feel that too much emphasis
is placed on the constantly stoned state of the Melnibone'ans and
their slaves. Sure, the denizens of the Dreaming City are probably
usually high, and their slaves doubtless have their wills sapped by
the perfidious diet of pharmaceuticals they are fed. Nonetheless, it
gets tiresome to read about. Perhaps a view of other forms of
decadence, such as outre' sexual practices, descriptions of Dr. Jest's
elaborate tortures and mass sacrifices to dark gods, would have been
more interesting. I don't remember "garbleweed" being so obviously
everyone's favorite Wacky Weed Of Wonder in the Elric series, but I
was young and innocent when last I read the books; the drugs are
nicely sinister for the most part, but my jaded tastes demand more.
The "Personalities" section contains those whom you'd expect
(including Elric before he gets his runesword) to find here. The
"Theology and Cosmology" section is a brief gloss and contains nothing
of substance not found in _Elric!_.
The remainder of the background is "Encounters on Melnibone'" and
"Melnibone'an Digest". These are excellent. I suspect that I discern
the editorial hand of Mark Morrison in the "Digest" (although it was
written by Richard Watts and "Divers Hands"). It reads a lot like the
Dream-Zagreb scenario in _Orient Express_ (which was, for my money,
the best part of _OE_). We find soldiers, dragons, nobles, sorcerors,
scholars, dreamers, slaves and demons. Many of these, with a little
fleshing out, would make fantastic general NPCs. One of my favorites
is the Visionary Artist: "She is the city's artist, its sculptor. She
walks inside her greatest work, making final adjustments before
presenting her work to the emperor. That building needs some lattice,
this wolfhound must be blue, that adventurer's nose simply will not
do."
The rest of the book is taken up with three scenarios: "The
Sojourner's Guide To Melnibone'", "The Suffer Glass", and "The Ghost
of Cities". The first two are by Geoff Gillian and the third by
Penelope Love.
"The Soujourner's Guide" casts the players as cartographers for the
Disordered Scribes Of The League Of Tumultous Erudition, a bunch of
chaotic scholars (with the marvellous quirk of long, varnished hair
spikes to impale papers on) searching for one of their number who
disappeared on the Dragon Isle. The scenario is actually pretty
standard: the players land on the isle, meet various and sundry
people, and eventually find their lost cartographer, whom they can
recover by amusing a bunch of jaded dilletantes. The plot is not the
high point. The high point is Nokdoxtor, the demon scribe they are
assigned, who is among the most obnoxious and most entertaining NPCs
I've met in a while. Its need (demons in _Elric!_ have "needs"; these
can range from "rub a piece of yellow silk constantly" to "bathe in
the blood of a virgin daily") is, quite simply, to make the worst
possible comment at the worst possible time. Each of the locations is
illustrated with Nokdoxtor's quip, to give GMs a good idea of his
personality. It's dreadful, and GMs ought to have a great time
playing him. The various locations are interesting, but not very
deep, and should present little challenge to a good party; some of the
encounters (D'Bravad and the snizzbings, for instance, a bit of grue
that would feel right at home in CoC's nastier moments, or the
encounter with the Lawful counterparts to the League of Tumultuous
Erudition) ought to be entertaining. More interesting is the
criterion for winning the scribe's freedom: the Melnibone'ans want to
be amused. If the players can amuse the GM, the characters win. This
has the potential to be dreadful, although Gillian's admonishment,
"appropriate skill rolls may assist. In this situation a fumble is of
as much interest as a critical," might make it more fun. If your
players are good, this may well be genuinely amusing.
The second scenario is Gillian's "The Suffer Glass"; this is an
excellently-detailed time travel scenario in which the characters
assume the forms of Melnibone'ans in the ancient battle between Law
and Chaos for control of the Dragon Isle. Their task, set by the
sinister Doctor Qua, is to prevent the destruction of the Suffer
Glass, a chaotic artifact of great power, at the battle of Castle
Crow. To make things better, the adventurers discover they are Dragon
Riders, and are quickly pressed into a battle with the Army of the
Wind; opportunity for plenty of entertaining, over-the-top high
fantasy roleplaying exists here. After their triumphant (or grim,
depending on the outcome of the battle) return to Castle Crow, the
characters finally get to see, and experience the delights of, the
Suffer Glass. The siege of the castle allows more heroics, and
somewhere during it, the characters will either prevent or witness the
destruction of the glass. The scenario is, of course, more
interesting if they do succeed in their original mission; returning to
the present, they find that a world ruled by Chaos is not all Dr. Qua
had imagined, and he sends them back again, this time to destroy the
Glass. This must be effected by a journey into the nightmare universe
inside the glass itself. This last bit is terribly simple, an
excellent test of your players' ingenuity, and contains one absolutely
execrable joke. Assuming the characters survive this last
tribulation, they must again deal with the Dr. Qua who originally sent
them into the past, who now thinks they have failed their mission.
(Devious GM's will, of course, note the possibility that they are sent
back to the very beginning of the scenario: Dr. Qua wishes to send
them back to preserve the glass again. If you like the idea of
recurring nightmares, this could be a great deal of fun.) I have no
idea how well the scenario as a whole would play. I intend at some
point to steal the world inside the Suffer Glass, and maybe the
bizarre Battle Effects Table for my games, but not, probably, to play
the whole scenario.
The third scenario is Penelope Love's "The Ghost Of Cities". It
involves the forced rescue of a Melnibone'an noble from a very odd
city that exists only as a dream, inhabited solely by dreamers and
ghosts. The nobleman's wife, one Klo'astra Yn, hires them; before
they even enter the dream-city, the adventurers must run the gauntlet
of Klo'astra's vapid daughter Mariad, Theese Ax'af, the ennui-ridden
lover of both Klo'astra and Mariad, and Klo'astra's horrid son A'Ary
and his pet demon Fidelak; the standard nuclear Melnibone'an family,
one assumes. The adventures in the city itself seem fairly pointless;
the fact that the nobleman, Jaxoon, is obsessed with "phantom roses"
and has no desire to return home should come as no surprise to anyone
by now. The challenge comes from Embol Krang, a once-mightly Pan
Tangian sorceror who is trying to claw his way back to the land of the
living by imprisoning the souls of the ghosts and dreamers wandering
through the Ghost of Cities, maintaining an army of zombies, and being
generally unfriendly; he has also angered the Spirit of the Ghost of
Cities and, during the course of the adventure, will seek to imprison
both Jaxoon and Mariad. Foiling him doesn't seem particularly
difficult, given that Krang's chief slave is the still-loyal house
slave of Jaxoon, and once the adventurers discover this, they are home
free, although at least one will almost certainly die while destroying
Krang. Unless this is their very first _Elric!_ adventure, something
I would recommend against, that should come as little or no shock.
It's not a bad adventure, but "The Ghost Of Cities" is the weakest of
the three; the Shadow Tower and the phantom roses are neat, and the
setting has possibilities, but it doesn't seem as if it would be
terribly fun.
Overall, the supplement is excellent. The proofreading is much better
than in _Elric!_, the setting is charmingly decadent (I would strongly
recommend reading Moorcock's End of Time series as well as the Elric
books, for that _fin-de-siecle_ feel), the generic NPCs are well
presented, the background is well-written and the scenarios are
enjoyable and possibly useful. At $20.95, it's a bit pricey, but I
feel it's worth it. I only hope that the Pan Tang supplement arrives
soon.
Adam
--------------------
From: chaosium@netcom.com (Chaosium)
Subject: Errata: Melnibone
System: Elric!
Here is the errata for Chaosium's new Melnibone supplement for the
Elric roleplaying game.
Most importantly, the notes on Melnibonean character generation were
left out. There are also a couple of conflicts with the writeup for
dragons in the rulesbook.
1. The character sheet skill list includes the 30 percentile bonuses
for being Melnibonean noted in the rulesbook, but the weapons and
attacks do not, since they are a matter of choice and mostly not
printed on the sheet. Taking a weapon, add 30 percentiles to the base
chance.
2. The +20 beneath the Chaos box on the adventurer sheet means that
every Melnibonean character starts with allegiance to Chaos. Spells
and demons come free of allegiance points.
3. Demons chosen must be reasonably capable of being bound by the
character. +3 POW or less, as a guideline.
4. The Repair/Devise skill was omitted for Melnibonean characters.
This lowly skill is unworthy of a Melnibonean, whose slaves should be
performing such tasks.
5. Melnibonean adventurers can come equipped with any and all weapons,
gear, mounts, drugs, jewelry, silver, slaves, etc., that could
reasonably be brought on an expedition. The adventurer gets no armed
retinue, though, since that would distort play.
6. The skill Dragon Song is summarized on pages 87-88 as
"Communicating with Dragons." It has a base chance of zero, since it
is knowledge restricted to the warrior elite of the Bright Empire. The
Dragon Lays are particular songs sung using Dragon Song, and they seem
to have magical components, though they do not seem to be formal
spells. At the gamemaster's option, the adventurers in "The Suffer
Glass" can pick up 1D6 points of this skill, or it may be that the
crystal disks were the vital component and that the adventurers
remember nothing of value so far as the skill is concerned.
7. To endow the skill Ride Dragon, give the adventurer half of his or
her Ride skill. Darned few adventurers will be highly skilled dragon
riders, since every ride is precious and must be one into battle.
8. In the scenarios, the dragons' armor stats should mostly be 2D8+8.
Any fixed values are incorrect.
9. Dragon Bite damage is as per the rulesbook, 3D8. There are at
least two conflicting values for it in the Melnibone book.
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu (Shannon Appel)
Subject: A Patron of Chaos
System: Elric!
This article presents the third of three patrons. Like the others, he
is meant to be someone who could help guide a group of PCs, although
he'd make an equally good NPC opponent. The other two Patrons, of the
Balance and Law, are in V3.2 and V4.5 of the Digest.
Saraten Quicksword, Agent of Xiombarg
Originally a warrior of Ilmiora, Saraten was once a simple mercenery,
travelling where the money was good and the work simple. In his
journeys, Saraten chanced across worshippers of Chaos, present even in
the lawful lands of Ilmiora.
At first, Saraten recoiled, for everything that he had ever been
taught spoke of the evil of the Dukes of Entropy. Eventually, though,
he was seduced by the great power which the worshippers of chaos
promised. Saraten pledged his allegiance to Chaos, and since has
moved quickly through the ranks.
On occasion, Saraten still has his doubts, especially when he thinks
of his family, which still worships the White Lords. These doubts are
infrequent though, and for the most part, he is quite strong in his
belief in the constant flux of chaos.
When Saraten first meets the adventurers, he will be seeking subtle
agents to help him in his quest to strengthen Chaos in the Young
Kingdoms. He will offer great rewards, including money, spells and
demon weaponry and armor. To those who serve him well, he will be a
friend.
Chaos 93, Balance 34, Law 41
STR 15 CON 14 SIZ 12 INT 14 POW 16
DEX 14 APP 15 HP 13
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Weapons:
Broadsword 143%, damage 1D8+1+1D4
Demon Dirk (off-hand) 121%, damage 1D4+2+1D4+1D8
Armor: 1D8(no helm)+1D8 Half Plate demon armor
Spells: Brazier of Power(4), Demon's Ear(1), Heal(2), Hell's
Armor(1-4), Hell's Razor(1-4), Liken Shape(4), Muddle (1), Rat Vision
(1), Speed of Vezhan (1-3), Summon Demon(1), Tread of Cran Liret(1-4),
Visae of Arioch(1-3)
Skills: Art(Conversation) 65%, Art(Courtly Manners) 73%, Common 70%,
Conceal Object 53%, Evaluate 71%, Hide 88%, Insight 73%, Million
Spheres 02%, Move Quietly 77%, Natural World 40%, Oratory 101%, Ride
82%, Scribe 10%, Unknown Kingdoms 02%, Young Kingdoms 31%
Appearance:
Saraten is an aristocratic looking young man. He often dresses in the
finest of silks. Still, his weapons are never far from him, usually
in finely decorated scabbards at his belt. Saraten's light skin is
unblemished, and his blond hair always neatly groomed.
Demeanor:
Saraten is almost always friendly and good-natured. If any of his
employees were ever to find themselves in trouble, Saraten would do
what he could to help them out. The only time that Saraten's careful
composure is ever broken is when he is betrayed. If one of his
employees were to turn against him, Saraten would do whatever he could
to revenge himself upon them.
Story Ideas for Saraten's Agents:
* (campaign idea) An campaign could be built about the corruption of
Ilmiora. Currently, it is a bastion of the White Lords, although that
control is not total, as Saraten's own conversion shows. Still, there
is much work to be done. This corruption might involve the removal of
important officials of law from Ilmiora, the infiltration of Ilmiora's
Council of Senators and the creation of secret temples of Chaos within
Ilmiora.
* Saraten still has one tie to the world of law, his family of old.
Saraten's superiors in the church of Chaos want to remove this tie
once and for all. Thus, they commision the players to assasinate the
family, and so utterly tie Saraten to the world of Chaos.
* The theocrats of Pan Tang have tried to take control of the chaos
hierarchy hidden within Ilmiora. The players are sent to seek out the
Pan Tangians who are moving against the Ilmiorans, and remove them.
Unfortunately, this task is made more difficult by the fact that the
Pan Tangians are willing to expose the chaotic Ilmiorans if they can
not wrest control from them. Subtle machinations will be required.
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's
Games. To submit an article, mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu. The
old digests are archived on soda.berkeley.edu in the directory
/pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP. The runeswords are not
what they seem.
