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Hello!

Looking for opinions and reviews of Mongoose's Elric and Hawkmoon RPGs.

Are both currently still 'living', in print and getting new materials?

I'm a BIG fan of these universes, but have NO experience with Mongoose's RPGs at all.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Ouch!

Well, I guess the sound of silence in this thread is an answer of sorts!

Chaosium did an RPG of Elric in the mid to late 1980s.

It was a variation of the RuneQuest system and the title was Stormbringer.

Games Workshop published an edition in the UK.

The Mongoose game seems to be an update/variation of the Chaosium game, according to this thread.

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=42216&sid=8a0862da32d4cd69db4224598868fa40

I had and played the original Chaosium game. It played like RuneQuest with a different magic system. Combat was bloodier thanks to a parry and riposte mechanic.

The background material was very authentic.

It sounds like you could do worse than get the Mongoose version. They are already talking about a new edition to be based on RQII.

I am not convinced the RQ rules were improved by the revisions however you could take the stuff you wanted out of both editions and combine it.

Any idea if the these now 'old edition' expansions (Elric and Hawkmoon) will be compatible with Runequest II?

They probably will be OK. The core rules on character stats and skills didn't change really change, it was things like the magic system.

Which changed for Stormbringer (and Call of Cthulhu, etc.) anyway. The magic system is basically a bolt-on module to match the fluff.

Basic RQ is a pretty good adaptable system.

I'm over on the official forums asking questions as we speak.

It looks as if RUNEQUEST II will be REQUIRED this time around, as the Elric and Hawkmoon expansions will be just that, settings without many of the 'general' rules.

Can't be sure yet, but that's how it looks...

I have Stormbringer (the 80s one, in hardcover, though with sadly poor binding), and the fluff and art are awesome. I'm not a huge fan of the system; RQ mechanics (or the generic core, called BRP or "Basic Roleplay" by Chaosium, IIRC) are bloody and lethal, which is great for a more "realistic" / low-combat game like Call of Cthulhu, but not my first preference for swashbuckling adventure / swords & sorcery.

They've supposedly addressed that in RQII, but I can be sure until I read up on it!

Which, I'll probably do as they've got Elric, Hawkmoon AND Corum books in the works!

Mannahnin wrote:I have Stormbringer (the 80s one, in hardcover, though with sadly poor binding), and the fluff and art are awesome. I'm not a huge fan of the system; RQ mechanics (or the generic core, called BRP or "Basic Roleplay" by Chaosium, IIRC) are bloody and lethal, which is great for a more "realistic" / low-combat game like Call of Cthulhu, but not my first preference for swashbuckling adventure / swords & sorcery.

That was my main objection to Stormbringer. After one fight we were left blind crippled and insane and that was pretty much the end of our party. Who plays a game called Stormbringer to avoid combat?

I didn't own the games so I can't speak to the fluff or the art.

I've heard this quite a bit - and so have the developers, I think!

They have taken care of it.

Or, they've said they have!

Proof's in the pudding, as always.

The Hero Points system sounds a bit like the James Bond RPG by Victory Games. I always liked it as a game mechanism.

RQ combat is generally more lethal than old style D&D because instead of gradually losing hit points with no penalty you can actually get your arm chopped off or something like that.

In original RQ it was balanced by easy availability of "battle magic" healing.

Bushido -- an RPG about feudal Japan -- had a nice idea where the enemy forces would mostly consist of "extras" -- NPCs with 1 hit point each -- whose role was to be the sword fodder mown down in droves by the heroes in all the best 'chanbara' samurai dramas.

Kilkrazy wrote:The Hero Points system sounds a bit like the James Bond RPG by Victory Games. I always liked it as a game mechanism.

RQ combat is generally more lethal than old style D&D because instead of gradually losing hit points with no penalty you can actually get your arm chopped off or something like that.

In original RQ it was balanced by easy availability of "battle magic" healing.

Bushido -- an RPG about feudal Japan -- had a nice idea where the enemy forces would mostly consist of "extras" -- NPCs with 1 hit point each -- whose role was to be the sword fodder mown down in droves by the heroes in all the best 'chanbara' samurai dramas.

That does sound interesting!

Anyway...

I think I'll order RQII from Amazon and give it a shot.

I'll post a review in a bit...