The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock

Leaving his cousin Yyrkoon to sit on the Ruby Throne of Melnibone, Elric leaves his home to travel the Young Kingdoms. He tells his lover (and cousin) Cymoril that he will be back in one year. Of course, Melniboneans are not very well received in the Young Kingdoms and this makes Elric's travels tough.
At the beginning of the book, Elric is picked up by a ghostly ship that sails along waters between the worlds. The ship is bound for Tanelorn and Elric soon finds that his fate is tied with other manifestations of the Eternal Champion. Together they fight and conquer Agak and Gagak, two powerful sorcerers that are also brother and sister. This part of the book is the same adventure as that told in The Quest for Tanelorn from the Chronicles of Count Brass series but is told from Elric's point of view rather than Hawkmoon's.
After the battle against Agak and Gagak, Elric decides to re-board the ship. He is later told that there is a portal to his world near an island and is taken there. As the island nears, there are corpses floating in the water and a terrible moaning in the air. Elric is hesitant but is told that if he doesn't go, he may be stuck on the ship forever...so he goes.
Once on the island, Elric encounters a group of pirates that seem to be from all different places and eras of history. They attack him and, with the help of their prisoner Smiorgan Baldhead, he defeats them. Together, Smiorgan and Elric search for the Crimson Gate, a portal back to their own world. Along the way, they find a woman, Vassliss, and are hunted down by Earl Saxif D'Aan of Melnibone who believes the woman to be his lost love, Gratyesha, Princess of Fwem-Omeyo.
Once through the Crimson Gate and back into their own world, Elric and Smiorgan are found floating in the sea by Duke Avan who is on a quest to find the ancient city of R'lin K'ren A'a beyond the Boiling Sea. Since this city is supposedly where the Melniboneans came from, Elric decides to join the quest. The events that follow set off the great struggle of the Upper Worlds.
This book was full of action and I didn't find myself bored for one minute. If you're an RPG gamer, there is also lots of great inspiration within this story.

More Stormbringer RPG

I have been looking online for a decent physical copy of Stormbringer 1st edition but every copy I found seemed to be way overpriced. I finally came across a copy at $20 and was thrilled. It's missing the map but I'm fine with that. I can always pick up a copy at a later time (or print one) if I need it.
As you can see in the pic, I was also able to get copies of the 1st and 2nd companions. Normally these are quite expensive as well but I was able to pick these up for $17 each. Still a bit pricey but nowhere near the prices I've seen Demon Magic up for on Ebay ($125+). I will never understand why people put stuff up for so much on Ebay when it never sells for that high of a price. I guess they don't really want to sell it.
I've already read the rules from a PDF but am really happy to have a physical copy. I can't wait to game next weekend. We could use another player or two so if you're in southeast Michigan and want to play, shoot me a message (or comment). My only rule is a common one...no assholes. Also, we tend to drink beer and have a good time so if you're way too serious of a gamer, you probably won't enjoy it (or maybe you'll loosen up and have a good time). It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with the rules. None of us really are yet so there will be mistakes, rules made up on the fly, etc. I would rather keep the game flowing than continually argue about and look up rules (to a point anyway).
I plan to post about our gaming exploits after the game sometime.

Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Elric of Melnibone is the 1st book in the Elric Saga. There are different versions but the one I have was published by DAW in 1977. It tells the story of how Elric acquired his sword Stormbringer.
I read this book about 32 or 33 years ago but I honestly did not remember any of the story other than Elric being an albino and an emperor. It was great to sit down and read it again.
Elric is the emperor of Melnibone. His cousin Yyrkoon covets the throne and plots against him. Yyrkoon's sister, Cymoril, is Elric's lover.
Not far into the story, spies are captured in the city of Imyrryr. The spies are taken to Elric's inquisitor, Doctor Jest, and it is discovered that a barbarian fleet is planning to attack the city. With this information in hand, Elric orders Melnibonean ships to sit in waiting in the sea maze leading to the city.
The Melnibonean ships hide in the maze until all of the barbarian ships enter and then attack. During the battle, Elric is wounded and Yyrkoon uses this and the confusion of the battle to dump Elric overboard. As Elric is sinking, he summons Straasha, Lord of the Water Elementals. Straasha saves Elric and takes him back to Imrryr to deal with Yyrkoon (who has now claimed the throne).
Rather than executing Yyrkoon on the spot, Elric decides to imprison him until later. During this time, Yyrkoon is able to escape and kidnap Cymoril using his own sorcerous abilities. The remainder of the book is the story of Elric searching for Yyrkoon and Cymoril.
During the story, we meet Arioch (one of the Dukes of Hell) and find out how Elric acquires Stormbringer. This is such a great story and one that I highly recommend.
Now that I've written a bit about the story itself, let's discuss a few other things. First, the pronunciation of Melnibone. My whole life I think I've only heard it pronounced Mel-ni-bone (with a long o and silent e) but if you look at it on the cover of this book, there is an accent on the e. I started poking around the internet and found two different pronunciations. One is Mel-ni-bo-nay and the other is Mel-nib-o-nay. I have no clue which is correct but I prefer the latter...so that's what I'm going to use.
The second thing I want to discuss is the chronological order of the stories. With some of the reprints, etc. it can be tough to figure out what order the Elric Saga stories/books should be read in. Over at the Multiverse, I found this FAQ post. It was written by a Multiverse member named Whiskers and was really helpful to me. Just in case something ever happens to that site (although I'm sure it will be around forever), here is the post in its entirety (not the exact same formatting - having trouble with that - sorry):

As Mike himself says:

There isn't any particular order you HAVE to read the books in, because I didn't write them in chronological order. They've been published in chronological order most recently, but you wouldn't have read them like that when they were originally appearing. It's best to begin with Elric of Melniboné (or even the [Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer] comic, which predates Elric of Melniboné) and end with Stormbringer, but what you do in between is entirely a matter of taste or circumstance.

That said, there are a number of ways in which the Elric Saga can be 'correctly' read:

The 'Core' Saga*:

1. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
2. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
3. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
4. The Vanishing Tower (1971) (aka The Sleeping Sorceress)
5. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
6. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*Presents the stories in the revised sequence published by DAW Books.

The 'Expanded' Saga*:

1. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
2. The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
3. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
4. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
5. The Vanishing Tower (1971)
6. The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
7. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
8. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*Presents the stories in the omnibus sequences published by Orion (Millennium)/White Wolf.

The 'Enhanced Expanded' Saga*:

1. Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2007)
2. Elric of Melniboné (1972)
3. The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
4. The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
5. The Weird of the White Wolf (1977)
6. The Vanishing Tower (1971)
7. The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
8. The Bane of the Black Sword (1977)
9. Stormbringer (rev. 1978)

*As the 'Expanded' Series above but with the graphic novel Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer added as a 'prologue'.

The 'Del Rey' Series*:

1. Elric: The Stealer of Souls
2. Elric: To Rescue Tanelorn...
3. Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress
4. Elric: Duke Elric
5. Elric in the Dream Realms
6. Elric: Swords and Roses

*Presents the Elric stories in 'roughly' order of publication, together with other supplementary material.

The 'Chronological' Sequence:

• 'The Dream of Earl Aubec' aka 'Master of Chaos'
• The Skrayling Tree dreamquest assumed to occur here
• Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer
• Elric's first Dream of a Thousand Years assumed to occur here - see The Metatemporal Detective collection
• The Black Blade of the Barbary Coast dreamquest assumed to take place here
• Elric of Melniboné
• The Fortress of the Pearl
• Elric: The Return to Melniboné assumed to take place here
• 'The Black Blade's Song' aka 'The Black Blade’s Summoning' aka 'The White Wolf's Song'
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate
• 'Elric at the End of Time'
• 'The Dreaming City'
• 'A Portrait in Ivory'
• 'While the Gods Laugh'
• 'Black Petals'
• 'Red Pearls'
• The Singing Citadel'
• The Sleeping Sorceress aka The Vanishing Tower
• The Revenge of the Rose
• 'The Stealer of Souls'
• 'Kings in Darkness'
• 'The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams' aka The Flame Bringers'
• The Dreamthief's Daughter dreamquest assumed to occur here
• 'The Last Enchantment'
• 'Dead God's Homecoming' - Stormbringer Book One
• 'To Rescue Tanelorn...' - A Rackhir story that takes place concurrently with 'Dead God's Homecoming' occurs here
• 'Black Blade's Brothers' - Stormbringer Book Two - Elric's second Dream of a Thousand Years occurs during this story
• Dreamquests described in Duke Elric, The Skrayling Tree, and The White Wolf's Son assumed to occur here
• 'Sad Giant's Shield' - Stormbringer Book Three
• 'Doomed Lord's Passing' - Stormbringer Book Four

The 'Publication Order' Sequence:

• 'The Dreaming City' (Jun. 1961)
• 'While the Gods Laugh' (Oct. 1961)
• 'The Last Enchantment' (c.1962) aka Jesting with Chaos
• 'The Stealer of Souls' (Feb. 1962)
• 'Kings in Darkness' (Aug 1962)
• 'The Flame Bringers' (Oct 1962) aka The Caravan of Forgotten Dreams
• 'To Rescue Tanelorn...' (Dec 1962)
• 'Dead God's Homecoming' (Jun 1963)
• 'Black Sword’s Brothers' (Oct 1963)
• 'Sad Giant's Shield' (Feb 1964)
• 'Doomed Lord's Passing' (Apr 1964)
• 'Master of Chaos' (May 1964) aka The Dream of Earl Aubec
• 'The Singing Citadel' (1967)
• The Sleeping Sorceress (1971)
• A Sword Called Stormbringer (Mar 1972) in Conan the Barbarian #14
• The Green Empress of Melniboné (May 1972) in Conan the Barbarian #15
• Elric of Melniboné (1972)
• The Jade Man's Eyes (1973)
• Elric: The Return to Melniboné (1973)
• The Sailor on the Seas of Fate (1976)
• 'Dream of a Doomed Lord' (Spring 1980)
• 'Elric at the End of Time' (1981)
• The Fortress of the Pearl (1989)
• The Revenge of the Rose (1991)
• 'The White Wolf's Song' (1994) aka The Black Blade's Summoning aka The Black Blade's Song
• Duke Elric (1999)
• The Dreamthief's Daughter (2001)
• The Skrayling Tree (2003)
• The White Wolf's Son (2005)
• Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2007)
• 'The Roaming Forest' (2007)
• 'A Portrait in Ivory' (2007)
• 'Black Petals' (March/April 2008)
• 'Red Pearls' (2010) in Swords and Dark Magic (ed. Lou Anders)
• 'White Steel' (in preparation)

Now if I could only find my Sailor on the Seas of Fate book...

Stormbringer RPG

Stormbringer is an RPG that was written by Ken St. Andre and Steve Perrin and published by Chaosium back in the early 80s. It has seen many incarnations since and I've never played it. With all of the Moorcock I've been reading, my interest was piqued and I decided to pick up the rules and check it out.
As a kid and young adult, I played a lot of D&D. Then I took a break from RPGs altogether until a few years back when I picked up Pathfinder to give that a try. I found the system way too complex. I know that a lot of people love it but it just wasn't for me. When I was about to give up on RPGs again, DCC (Dungeon Crawl Classics) was released. I absolutely LOVE that system. It's minimal enough to allow good flow but the rules are also great. I love that magic can be dangerous and magic items should be rare. I also love the plethora of tables in DCC and the random nature of the game. The 0-level funnels have been some of my favorite role-playing experiences. This is especially true on the DM side of things because for some reason I find it hilarious to watch players die.
Much like DCC, Stormbringer has a lot of qualities that I'm falling in love with. Magic can be dangerous because it is typically done by summoning and binding demons. There is some randomness involved here and if things go bad...goodbye character. I like this. Like DCC, magic is something that should be revered. You shouldn't just use it because you can. You have to weigh out the possible consequences.
Character generation in Stormbringer is not as random as in DCC. I like this but it will take a little longer than DCC to get a new party together to begin a campaign. This isn't a problem as it still should take a hell of a lot less time than it does to create a character for games like Pathfinder. However, if your players are accustomed to just showing up to a new campaign and being handed a random set of characters, they could be disappointed. In my own game that I will be running, I may do the random work up front but it will depend on what the players want to do. I could also just roll up a bunch of characters and let them blindly choose, roll a die to choose, etc. I haven't decided yet.
As for adventures, I'm working on this. I wanted to read through the rules first and get a feel for how things worked. Now that I have at least a bit of a handle on game mechanics, I'm starting to plan out what will happen in my game. It will most likely be a mix of my own ideas and some of the printed scenarios that are available. I'm not sure yet if I want to strictly adhere to all of the history and mythology of the Young Kingdoms. I like the thought of being able to come up with my own towns, mythologies, legends, etc. and insert these into the campaign. I suppose I could always have the players discover a portal to another universe if I really want things to be different.
I plan to blog about playing this game as we go although it isn't slated to start for a bit yet so stay tuned.