While tattered and worn copies of the 1st edition Stormbringer box set are not too hard to find, many gamers have been confused as to what actually constitutes 1st Edition and what exactly came in the box.

The following information has been collected from The Acaeum, a website and forum dedicated to the collection of Dungeons & Dragons material (and other RPGs, of course), as well as Wayne’s Books (a great place to get your second hand gems!).

Notes on the early editions of Stormbringer

Stormbringer was first published by Chaosium in 1981 and was written by Ken St Andre and Steve Perrin. It was reprinted a numerous times, with changes between each printing (including depth of box, colour of map and the move from a single rulebook to three manuals).

The revised and updated 2nd Edition Box set saw many presentation changes from 1st, while remaining essentially the same in detail. More information about the various print runs and versions of this edition can be found at Wayne’s Books and Old School Games (where Wayne has put considerable effort and time in collating details of the editions).

Quick Reference

CHA 2006-X        Stormbringer 1E 1p        2″        red book, no errata
CHA 2006-X        Stormbringer 1E 2p        2″        green book, errata
CHA 2006-X        Stormbringer 1E 3p        1″        red book, errata
CHA 2101-X        Stormbringer 1E 4p        1″        red book, errata
CHA 2101-X        Stormbringer 2E 1p        1″        three books

Detailed Editions

First (July, 1981)
  • Red box with a picture of Elric. Box lid states: “STORMBRINGER: Fantasy Role Playing in the World of Elric. Created by MICHAEL MOORCOCK in his Novels. By Ken St. Andre & Steve Perrin.”
  • No ™ over the last R in Stormbringer.
  • Stock number 2006-X on the side and back.
  • 2″ deep box (5 cm).
  • One 144 page red rulesbook, without errata inside the front cover.
  • Large map (brown/tan, 22×28″), reference sheets, cardstock silhouettes, sample character sheets, and six polyhedral dice (one 4-sided, one 8-sided, one 20-sided, and three 6-sided).
  • Box sides are red.
  • Box bottom: white box descriptions with blue text, over a blue on blue map.

Linked from Wayne’s Books this image shows the differences in the print run boxes.

http://www.waynesbooks.com/images/graphics/stormbringer1stedboxsets.jpg

First+ (1981?)
  • Red box with a picture of Elric. Box lid states: “STORMBRINGER: Fantasy Role Playing in the World of Elric. Created by MICHAEL MOORCOCK in his Novels. By Ken St. Andre & Steve Perrin.”
  • No ™ over the last R in Stormbringer.
  • Stock number 2006-X on the side and back.
  • 2″ deep box (5 cm).
  • One 144 page green (or possibly red) rulesbook with errata inside the front cover.
  • Large map (brown/tan, 22×28″), reference sheets, cardstock silhouettes, sample character sheets, and six polyhedral dice (one 4-sided, one 8-sided, one 20-sided, and three 6-sided).
  • Box sides are red.
  • Box bottom: white box descriptions with blue text, over a blue on blue map.
  • This print is a hybrid: The box and contents are identical to the 1st print, however the rulesbook with errata is clearly a second print.
Second (Unknown, box bottom dated, 1981)
  • Black box with a picture of Elric. Box lid states: “Michael Moorcock’s STORMBRINGER: Fantasy Role Playing in the World of Elric. Created by MICHAEL MOORCOCK in his Novels. By Ken St. Andre & Steve Perrin.”
  • ™ over the last R in Stormbringer.
  • Stock number 2101-X on the sides and back.
  • 1″ shallow box (2.5 cm).
  • One 144 page red (or possibly green) rulesbook with errata inside the front cover.
  • Large map (red, 22×28″), reference sheets, cardstock silhouettes, sample character sheets, and six dice (see below).
  • Box sides are black.
  • No ISBN on box bottom above, ”Printed in the USA.”
  • Box Bottom is black with white text, and has a black and white illustration: “Grome and the Ship of Land and Sea.”
  • The boxed description on the box bottom states:

INCLUDED IN THIS BOX–Stormbringer Rulesbook (art by Frank Brunner, welcome to the Young Kingdoms, character generation, weapons & combat, skills, sorcery, cults, creatures, hints for the game master, statistics for the characters from the novels, sample summonings, game tables & charts, introductory scenario). Map of the Young Kingdom (22×28″), Playaids (eight major character forms, sixteen minor character forms, eight demon forms, eight page reference booklet, twenty-five character & creature silhouettes), six polyhedral dice ( one 4-sided, three 6-sided, one 8-sided, one 20-sided).

Second Edition (1985)
  • * Black box with a picture of Elric. Box lid states: “Michael Moorcock’s STORMBRINGER: Fantasy Role Playing in the World of Elric. Created by MICHAEL MOORCOCK in his Novels. By Ken St. Andre & Steve Perrin.”
  • ™ over the last R in Stormbringer.
  • Stock number 2101-X on the sides and back.
  • 1″ shallow box (2.5 cm)
  • Three rulebooks, map (17×22″), reference sheets, character sheets, and three dice.
  • Box sides are black.
  • ISBN on box bottom left, above ‘Printed in the USA.”
  • Box Bottom is black with white text, and has a black and white illustration: “Grome and the Ship of Land and Sea.”
  • The boxed description on the box bottom states:

INCLUDED IN THIS BOX–Players Book (welcome to the Young Kingdoms, character generation, movement, weapons & combat, skills, poisons, etc.). Magic book (sorcery, lesser demons, elementals, Beast Lords, cults of Chaos, cults of Law). Gamemaster book (hints for the gamester, a complete short adventure, statistics for characters from the novels.). Map of the Young Kingdoms (17×22″). Reference Booklet (explanation of the box contents, character sheets, 8 pages of reference tables, prices, etc. Three polyhedral dice (1D6, 1D8, 1D20) are included, enough to play the game.