Lords of Chaos! Free League also producing a Stormbringer game?

Well this is a bit confusing. Just two days ago I mentioned that Goodman Games announced that they will be producing material based upon Michael Moorcock’s “Elric” novels for the Dungeon Crawl Classics and 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons role-playing games.

Now it looks like the Free League also will be getting in on the Eternal Champion multiverse action, with Legends of Stormbringer, based upon their Dragonbane system. (Hat tip to Todd S for alerting me to this in his comment on my previous post.)

“Today, we are thrilled to announce Legends of Stormbringer, a new officially licensed tabletop roleplaying game based on the iconic fantasy works of Michael Moorcock, planned for release in 2027.

Legends of Stormbringer will carry you into the Young Kingdoms – a world of dying empires, warring gods, and doomed heroes – and bring Moorcock’s richly imagined setting to the tabletop using rules mechanics based on our award-winning Dragonbane RPG. The game will feature the same accessible, dynamic, and deadly approach that has made Dragonbane one of our most celebrated titles.

Returning to the Young Kingdoms as setting writer is Richard Watts, whose work on previous Stormbringer RPGs helped define how generations of roleplayers have experienced Moorcock’s world.”

This announcement is a lot more interesting and appealing to me than the one from Goodman Games, given Watts’s involvement and the use of Dragonbane instead of DCC or 5e D&D. I have yet to actually play Dragonbane, but I own and have read it. My overall impression of the game is quite positive. Moreover, since Dragonbane is descended from the Basic Roleplaying System – just as were Chaosium’s various editions of Stormbringer – there is greater continuity here with previous Eternal Champion role-playing material than there is with Good Games’ projects. This continuity is reinforced with Watts’s involvement.  

But I have to confess that I’m a bit confused by these multiple announcements! Given the setting in question, though, I suppose that this kind of Chaos is appropriate. 

By Arioch!

The return of Elric?

It looks like the multiverse of the Eternal Champion Elric will be returning to the world of in-print role-playing games thanks to Goodman Games:

“Goodman Games is thrilled to announce a licensing agreement to publish official tabletop role-playing material based on Elric of Melniboné, the iconic sword & sorcery character and setting created by legendary author Michael Moorcock! 

The Classic Era of Elric will include a line of sourcebooks, adventures, maps, and additional supplements, all designed for compatibility with both Fifth Edition and Dungeon Crawl Classics role-playing game systems. The project is scheduled to launch via crowdfunding in 2027. Products will be released following the successful campaign and will be available at game stores worldwide.”

Despite the influence that the early Elric stories had on me (and I remain fond of them to this day), I have to confess that I’m not all that excited about this. One reason is that the setting will use 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons and Dungeon Crawl Classics – two systems about which I have decidedly cool feelings. DCC was a poor fit for another cherished fictional setting – Jack Vance’s Dying Earth – and I doubt that it will be appropriate for Elric (at least not without some heavy reworking). 

A second – more decisive – reason is that I already own a lot of "Elric" role-playing books: three editions of Chaosium’s Stormbringer (including Elric!, which is the same system as 5th edition Stormbringer), and a lot of supplemental books for those editions, as well as all the Elric of Melniboné books that were published for Mongoose’s Runequest II (MRQII) system. (MRQII, as many readers no doubt know, eventually evolved into Mythras.) So I already have more than enough Elric material – as well as some Hawkmoon and Corum material – to run multiple campaigns, all using RPG systems that I much prefer to both 5e D&D and DCC.

But who knows – maybe the new material will be good! Time (and funds) permitting, I may check out what Goodman Games produces for everyone’s favourite melancholy albino. 

Top 10 Science Fiction Films

In honour of "May Fourth" ("May the Force Be With You") -- and even though "Star Wars" is not "science fiction" (but rather "science fantasy") -- here are my top 10 sci fi films:

Blade Runner

The Thing

Alien

Children of Men

Aliens

The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2)

Fury Road (Mad Max 4)

12 Monkeys

2001

Looper

Honourable mention: Dune 1 and Dune 2.

(Perhaps I would end up with a slightly different list if I thought about this for a few hours -- but I'm sure that nothing in the "top 5" would change.)

As for Star Wars, my favourite two films are The Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One. I regard the "Andor" series -- Andor seasons one and two, and Rogue One -- to be the best thing out of the Star Wars universe (and not really like anything else in it).

Have a good May 4th!

Thanks for your replies!

I can’t believe that two months have passed since my last post! I’ve been insanely busy at work – and, sadly, mostly with various soul-crushing “admin” tasks. But I really shouldn’t complain, as I like my job overall. And while I have a stack of tasks to get through over the next few months, my schedule will be a bit more flexible over the summer.  

Anyhow, I wanted to thank those of you who took the time to post replies to my questions: “What roleplaying games are you playing now? What games do you want to play?” I enjoyed reading them all.

I was especially impressed by the wide variety of games mentioned. (And I was heartened to learn that there is a MERP campaign going!) 

The replies reminded me that I would like to try Ars Magica someday. One of the guys in my “large” group has run it before and has expressed interest in running it again sometime in the future, so hopefully this will happen at some point. 

What roleplaying games are you playing now? What games do you want to play?

I've been writing this blog for almost seventeen years now. Yet I've rarely addressed any questions to you, the human beings who look at these posts from time to time. But I'm curious about who actually visits this place (aside from the bots). I'm interested to know what game(s) you play. 

As I explained in my previous post, the roleplaying games that I've been playing have shifted over the past two decades. Early on, I was focused primarily on "Old School Renaissance" games like Swords and Wizardry (and developed some house rules for it, many of which were later integrated into Crypts & Things, which I also played back in the day) and 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons/OSRIC. I also occasionally ran Call of Cthulhu. 

Then, in spring 2011, I started playing in a "Young Kingdoms campaign" that used the Runequest II (MRQII) rules. (How could I refuse? The Gamemaster was one of the co-authors of the system!) This started a long period -- continuing to this day with Lyonesse -- of playing versions of the game that is now called Mythras (MRQII and Runequest 6 were the immediate ancestors of Mythras -- all written by Lawrence Whitaker and Pete Nash). I also continued to run Call of Cthulhu from time to time (winding up a sporadic campaign in 2017). And in 2017-2018 I ran an Adventures in Middle-earth campaign.

For a few years I ran a campaign using Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition in the "Gygax version" of the World of Greyhawk. (I eventually switched to the 5e-based Into the Unknown system, but ItU is close enough to 5e that I regard the whole campaign as my "5e" one.) I wanted to properly "try out" the current version of D&D and we ended up continuing until the characters reached 6th level. While that campaign was fun, I realized by the end of it that I had no desire to ever run 5e D&D again, at least for an extended period of time (I did run a couple of sessions of 5e for some kids last fall -- one of my few "charitable acts" as a RPGer).

Over the past few years, as GM, I've primarily run Against the Darkmaster. One campaign, set in Middle-earth, wrapped up a few months ago (although I have a "epilogue" set of adventures planned for the same characters sometime in the future). The other, set in my homebrew world of "Ukrasia," is still going strong. 

So these days, I mainly GM Against the Darkmaster and I mainly play Mythras (I'm leaving out various "one shots" of different systems here). I would like to try out Dragonbane sometime, as it strikes me as similar to Mythras in many ways but is much "lighter" in terms of both rules and tone (the similarity shouldn't be that surprising, since both games are descendants of the "Basic Roleplaying" system created by Chaosium almost five decades ago). 

What about you? What games do you play these days, either as GM or player? What game(s) do you want to play?

There and Back Again: My Circular Role-playing Journey

I’ve talked about my personal history with the ‘Old School Renaissance’ or ‘Old School Revival’ (OSR) in the past at this blog (e.g., see this post from 2022). But some reflection on the games that I’ve been playing in recent years has prompted me to scribble some further thoughts. (My apologies for being a bit self-indulgent here …)

[Saruman by Angus McBride]

It’s been an interesting journey. I was ‘floating around’ at various role-playing games fora during the early days of the OSR over two decades ago. Disappointment with 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons – and nostalgia for my early days of gaming – led me to dig out (and in some cases repurchase) my old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons, Rules Cyclopaedia D&D, and other out-of-print RPG books. I was excited – and later disappointed – by Castles & Crusades in its early days. (I wrote positive reviews at RPG.net of both the C&C box set and Players’ Handbook, but eventually came to find the atrocious editing by Troll Lord Games intolerable.)  

I started this blog in 2009 in order to post some rules ideas for Swords & Wizardry (S&W). Some of my ‘swords and sorcery’ house rules for S&W appeared in early issues of Fight On! and Knockspell. Eventually, many of those rules were incorporated into Crypts and Things. So I guess that I contributed – albeit in a small way – to the creation of OSR “stuff,” at least early on. 

But I haven’t really been that engaged with the OSR for about a decade now. I still follow it to some extent. I mean, I have Dolmenwood and Shadowdark, as well as the more recent versions of S&W, and a few other things. I’ve backed the forthcoming ‘3rd edition’ of OSRIC (the original “retro-clone,” in this case of 1980 AD&D). While I regret some of my purchases, overall I find that there are still interesting things being produced. But I don’t really use any OSR (by which I mean here ‘TSR D&D-derived’) systems anymore, and haven’t for years. They just don’t appeal to me that much these days. I think that, given my tastes, there are superior alternatives available. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by this. I sort of thought the same thing about AD&D/D&D around 1985.

Almost all my gaming these days involve either Mythras or Against the Darkmaster (but sometimes my groups will play ‘one shots’ of other things, e.g., Mothership or Delta Green, and I’d like to run some Dragonbane someday). I find these systems more satisfying overall than any version of D&D (TSR, OSR, 3e, 5e, whatever). I guess I’m not a ‘rules lite’ person after all. In retrospect, I think that I thought that about myself only because I found running 3e D&D to be such a tedious chore. 

Of course, both Mythras and Against the Darkmaster are descendants of other ‘old school’ systems: Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying (Runequest, Stormbringer, and the like) in the case of Mythras, and Iron Crown Enterprise’s Middle-earth Roleplaying (itself a simplified version of 2nd edition Rolemaster), in the case of Against the Darkmaster. So, I guess they're kind of ‘OSR’ systems as well (but not if we adhere to the “OSR = derived from TSR AD&D/D&D” definition). 

I can’t help but be struck by the extent to which my personal gaming history has repeated itself: dissatisfaction with AD&D/D&D led me to move to Middle-earth Roleplaying (MERP) and Basic Roleplaying (BRP), including Call of Cthulhu, Hawkmoon, and Stormbringer, in the mid-late 1980s. And about three decades later the same thing happened with OSR D&D and 5e D&D. Hopefully I've learned my lesson and won’t go through this cycle again.

As an aside, one thing that makes me think of the old MERP campaign modules as "old school" in nature is that – whatever their other faults – they were effectively “sandboxes” (as I explain here). They described a number of locations, some in detail, and provided advice for GMs on how to provide "hooks" for players. There were a few “adventure modules” for MERP – books with 3 adventures (usually aimed at levels, 1, 3, and 5) – but even those were pretty loose for the most part (generally they provided a setting and a situation), not “railroad” adventures. So, after my first several years with AD&D, a lot of my GMing involved using and running Middle-earth “sandbox” campaigns, although of course that term was not used in those days (at least to my knowledge). Indeed, I vividly recall comparing my MERP modules to TSR's Dragonlance series around 1986 or 1987, and noting how little room for improvisation or player freedom the latter allowed.

Anyhow, to the extent I was still involved in the hobby during the 1990s, the games I followed were those that came out earlier, especially MERP and Stormbringer (the latter revised and renamed Elric! during that decade). I remember visiting gaming stores in the 1990s and being a bit baffled and even put off by all the “goth” stuff. I never got into Vampire and the like (just as I never got into the Magic craze.) When D&D 3e came out, I was excited by it because it seemed to “improve” D&D by including certain things from other systems that I liked (e.g., skills). In play, though, I came to loathe the system after two year-long campaigns, and so was primed for the OSR when it happened.

Of course, had I been sensible, I would’ve just kept playing MERP, Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, and similar older games – and just ignored the hype around 3e D&D and the “d20” universe in the early 2000s. These days, for the most part, I’m happy to stick with my “d100” games, Mythras and Against the Darkmaster. Wisdom, I hope, comes with age.

May the Dice be Kind to You in 2026

Me, when some of my graduate students tell me that they are into role-playing games:

Me, when it becomes clear that by "role-playing games" they mean exclusively "5th edition Dungeons and Dragons":

Anyhow, 2025 was a pretty garbage year overall, but RPG-wise, it was quite a good one for me. I wrapped up my "Against the Witch-King" campaign in a satisfying way (at least for now; it hopefully will be resumed in the future), my "Against the Court of Urdor" campaign continues to be a blast, and I just started playing in a wonderfully entertaining Lyonesse campaign.

I hope you all have an excellent 2026!

An Old School Warhammer Against the Darkmaster in 2026

I thought I would mention here that the guys at Open Ended Games have posted a short (~23 minutes) end-of-year "Questions & Answers" video on Youtube.

The most noteworthy piece of news to come out of the Q&A, in my opinion, is that in 2026 we will see a VsD city adventure -- Trouble in Greyport -- from legendary game designer Graeme Davis (who is most famous for his work on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, but has written for many other systems as well). I'm really looking forward to reading this module and hope that it will have a little of that old school "grim and perilous" Warhammer flavour!

Also coming out is an adventure set in some "badlands" or wastes for higher level characters (levels 7-10) by Gabe Dybing (whose previous VsD module is The Crown of Castle Cynehelm). I look forward to checking this out as well, especially given that there is not much available for VsD in this level range (probably only the latter part of the epic Secrets of the Golden Throne campaign).

Some kind of supplement for higher-level (10+) characters is in the works but is unlikely to come out in 2026.

Overall, the wheels keep turning for VsD. I liked both of the adventures that came out in 2025: The Crown of Castle Cynehelm and the dwarf-focused The Mines of Kor-Khazan. Both have a (more or less) "sandbox" (or "setting" + "situation") structure to them, with the course of action very much in the hands of the players. But I do wish that the maps in OEG's adventures would include proper scales!

[From the cover of The Mines of Kor-Khazan]

The Sorrows of Young Efric (Lyonesse RPG)

As I mentioned recently, I’ve started playing in a Lyonesse campaign. I’m quite excited about this, as Jack Vance’s Lyonesse trilogy is among my all-time favourites. Also, I'm a bit burnt out from running two campaigns. While I enjoy being a GM, I prefer to focus on one campaign at a time (my "Against the Court of Urdor" campaign is still going strong), and it’s a pleasant change of pace to alternate between playing and gamemastering. 

In case anyone is interested in what a Lyonesse player character looks like – perhaps to get a sense of the rules and setting – allow me to introduce my character: Efric ‘the Rational’.

I’ll begin with his brief backstory, generated in part by using the wonderful Lyonesse “Background Events” table. I tried to construct something suitably “Vancian” in flavour…

The Tale of Efric (so far):

Efric was born during an eclipse – along with his younger sister and brother – some eighteen years ago within the walled town of Sardilla in the realm of Caduz. It was an ominous sign. All the rats within his father’s tavern turned white that night.

The first twelve years of the triplets’ lives were uneventful. Efric and his brother learned how to play the lute and performed on occasion in the tavern. His sister loved to sing to their music. During those days the three “children of the eclipse” loved each other’s company.

But one day the legendary mage Tamurello chanced upon the trio whilst visiting the town. He sensed great magical potential within them and offered to take them on as his apprentices. Efric’s parents refused, and with a gracious smile the great mage departed.

A few months later, Efric’s parents died in a freak accident involve a runaway flaming cart filled with screaming cats. Whispers spoke of the involvement of the “Black Adder,” the mysterious spymaster of Caduz. Others suggested that magic was involved. In any case, Efric’s grandfather was overwhelmed by his new childcare duties. When Tamurello suspiciously reappeared in the town a month later, Efric’s grandfather was guiltily relieved to agree to let the mage take his three grandchildren as apprentices.

For six years Efric and his siblings studied at Tamurello’s manor Faroli in the Kingdom of Pomperol, at the edge of the Forest of Tantrevelles. The most talented of the triplets, Efric’s sister and brother eventually allied against him. Encouraged by Tamurello for his amusement (or so Efric suspected), his siblings became increasingly antagonistic towards him. Finally, unable to tolerate the miserable situation any further, Efric fled Faroli for Lyonesse Town.

Efric took his brother’s lute, a gift from Tamurello, when he fled. The lute was crafted by the famous Fairy Luthier, Fendair, and is greatly prized by all who know and understand the artistry of the lute and its music. Given his brother’s paltry skill at playing the instrument, Efric deemed it just that he should “liberate” it. 

The pale young mage now tries to earn a living playing melancholy tunes on his faerie lute at the Sad Cathay. His favourite song is “How Soon is Now?”, which should be unsurprising given his bleak demeanor and chonomantic skills. 

EFRIC “the Rational”

Homeland: Caduz.

Career: Magician

Age: 18

Social Class: Freeman (Affluence: 64).

Culture: Hybras.

Fashion Statement: “I wear black on the outside, because black is how I feel on the inside.”

Background Event: Magically gifted (trained by a mage).

Strength: 9.

Constitution: 7.

Size: 12.

Dexterity: 12.

Intelligence: 17.

Power: 15

Charisma: 15.

Action Points: 3

Damage Modifier: 0.

Experience Modifier: +1.

Healing Rate: 2

Initiative Modifier: 15.

Movement Rate: 6.

Luck Points: 3.

Magic Points: 15.

Passions:

Hate Brother and sister: 70.

Find one true love: 60.

Defend the honour of Caduz against Lyonesse condescension: 50.

Compulsion: Bathing (60).

After using Sandestin magic, Efric must take a proper bath that same day – failure to do so results in him being weary (unless he rolls over 60). This is because his Sandestin insists on cleanliness.

Standard Skills

Athletics: 21.

Boating: 16.

Common Tongue (Hybraic): 100.

Conceal: 32.

Customs: 74.

Dance: 27.

Eloquence: 35.

Endurance: 29.

First Aid: 29.

Folk Lore: 40.

Influence: 65.

Insight: 65.

Perception: 62.

Ride: 27.

Singe: 30.

Stealth: 30.

Swim: 16.

Unarmed: 21

Willpower: 70.

Professional Skills

Courtesy: 37

Lore (History of the Elder Isles): 40.

Music (strings – lute): 40 (55 when using Fairy lute).

Literacy: 99.

Fairy Magic: 50 (65 when using Fairy lute).

Sandestin Coercion: 62.

Sandestin Invocation: 64.

Research: 40.

Combat Style:

Citizen Militia (mace and shield): 51.

Trait: Cautious Fighter.

Fairy Magic: 50 (65 when using Fairy lute).

“Far-flung Whisper-song” (projects the voice of the target).

“Irudo’s Immortal Bulldog” (creates an alarm in the form of an illusory dog).

“Willowisp werelight” (creates magical light).

“Shiel’s Anonalous Key” (fastens/unfastens locks and bars).

“The Four-Fold Spell” (increases movement rate).

Sandestin Coercion: 62.

Known Axiom: Chronomancy.

6 Sandestin Coercion Points.

Sandestin Invocation: 64.

“Cunctation” (stops time around caster).

“Interpellation” (grants target  +1 action point for non-attack actions during combat).

“Prorogation” (suspends aging for a number of years equal to Invocation skill).

“Restoration” (healing spell).

“Sustenation” (permits survival without food, water, air, or warmth).   

Noteworthy Equipment

Lute made by famous Fairy luthier Fendair (+15 to Music & Fairy Magic when used).

Soaps and oils for proper bathing.

Two sets of decent clothing (all black).

Mace and shield.

Scraps of armour (2 armour points – covers 4 locations).

Fight On! Issue 17 now available

As noted months ago here, the Old School Renaissance fanzine Fight On! has experienced its own renaissance. After spending a decade in a magically induced slumber, it awoke with an impressive new issue, number 15, during spring 2024.

Thankfully, that was not a one-off event. Since them, issue 16 has been published. And just this past Friday, issue 17 was unleashed onto the world.

Issue 17 features a rather nice cover illustration by the talented Peter Mullen:

Like every issue, issue 17 is available in PDF and print formats.