The fantastic gaming worlds of Elric, Hawkmoon and Corum (and others) are of course based on the beloved novels of Michael Moorcock. This visionary of fantasy and science fiction wrote the epic adventures of these heroes over the span of decades, and even today, he continues to grow and develop the multiverse. These worlds form the basis of the games we all enjoy, and so below are summaries of these stories, as developed by the creators that know them best.
The History of the Runestaff
Read on brave adventurer...The following is a summary of the Dorian Hawkmoon Saga as provided in Mongoose Publishing’s Hawkmoon roleplaying game. Rather than rewriting Gareth Hanrahan excellent overview it is presented here with only minor changes.
An Overview
For a fuller accounting of these deeds, the reader should consult the four books collectively known as The History of the Runestaff: The Jewel in the Skull, The Mad God’s Amulet, The Sword of the Dawn and The Runestaff, as well as the Chronicles of Castle Brass: Count Brass, The Champion of Garathorm and The Quest for Tanalorn. Optionally, the tale of The White Wolf ’s Son is partially set in an alternate version of Hawkmoon’s world, although much of that tale is taken up with the deeds of Elric of Melnibone during his thousand-year dream. It is also illuminating and entertaining – though by no means necessary – to read all the books making up the Eternal Champion Cycle. For most adventures in Hawkmoon’s world, only the History of the Runestaff is relevant, as the later books concern events cosmic and otherworldly.The Stormbringer Saga
Read on brave adventurer...The following is a summary of the Stormbringer/Elric Saga of stories as published in Chaosium’s 5th Edition of the Stormbringer roleplaying game. Rather than rewriting this excellent overview it is presented here with only minor changes.
An Overview
The Elric Novels and short stories encompass approximately seven years of the albino emperor’s life. In order of events, the books are Elric of Melniboné, The Fortress of the Pearl, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, The Weird of the White Wolf, The Vanishing Tower, The Revenge of the Rose, The Bane of the Black Sword, and Stormbringer.
A ninth book, Elric at the End of Time, contains two Elric tales among the works collected in it, but need not be considered a vital part of the saga. Of these, one takes place after The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and the other fits between the last two stories in The Bane of the Black Sword.
A tenth (and similarly extraneous) book is Tales of the White Wolf, an anthology of Elric stories by various authors. It includes Moorcock’s short story “The White Wolf’s Song,” which takes place at an undefined time between the end of Elric of Melniboné and the beginning of The Sailor on the Seas of Fate. Finally, the Elric novel The Dreamthief’s Daughter was published in April 2001. This tale is not dealt with here.
