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Corum: Heroic Adventures Across the World of the Five Planes

Supplement for Stormbringer

by Geoff Gillan with Mark Angeli, Alex Hammond, Bill Routt, and Liam Routt

2001

Darcsyde Productions Pty. Ltd.

187 Whitehorse Road Balwyn, Victoria 3103 Australia

http://www.darcsyde.org/Corum/

Note: Wizard's Attic is the main seller of this game, and it can be ordered from the Wizard's Attic website. This is listed as ; however, at the moment I am typing this, I cannot actually reach the website.

166 pages, perfect bound

$24.95

ISBN 0-9578427-0-8

Grade A-

reviewed by Lisa Padol

Corum is a class act. The authors bring the setting of the first three Corum books to life and make it look simple. In this, they mimic Moorcock, who regularly crams far more into his books than one expects.

The introduction to Corum clearly spells out what is and is not covered in the game. The authors chose to focus on the Swords trilogy, leaving the next three books for a later day. After the introduction, the Encyclopedia Mechanica, as one might expect, covers game mechanics. It focuses on the differences between Corum's world and Elric's, and the authors say up front that a copy of the Stormbringer or Elric rules is needed. The supplement Sailing on the Seas of Fate is referenced enough that it would probably be a good idea to have a copy of it on hand.

The mechanics chapter ends with a section on chariots. This delighted me, probably because I read Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantium duology last year. The chariot mechanics can be lifted into any game using the BRPs system, and I find myself looking for an excuse to do just that.

Encyclopedia Cosmographia, which describes Corum's world, follows Encyclopedia Mechanica and nicely compliments it. Both gave me a feel for Corum's world, even though I read the books once, years ago, and forgot many of the details. Both sections are good about emphasizing how Corum's world is different from Elric's.

The longest part of Encyclopedia Cosmographia is the geography overview. Verbal descriptions are enhanced with adventure seeds and maps of selected cities. The section also has a short section on history and a good overview of religion. Religion permeates the world, and it is good to have some idea of how the religions of Law and Chaos affect daily life.

Encyclopedia Conjuratoria describes the various types of magic. The magic of Law involves utilizing the precepts of Contrivance to create or improve items and to give them plane shifting abilities. Another type of Law magic is the creation of elemental tattoos that generally improve skills concerning the sea. Chaos magic encompasses sorcery, summoning creatures and demons, and creating magical fetishes.

Chaos can be capricious, allowing GMs with poor memories and GMs who regret letting a player convince them to allow a particular spell an excuse when the spell fails to work the same way the next time. The magic of Law is consistent, but more limited. This combination creates a feel I appreciate after years of GMing for clever players who are good at rules hacking, though I found the rules themselves complicated. A second reading served to answer most of my questions, but the Stormbringer rules are definitely needed to clarify a couple of points about timing in sorcery effects and melds, which are combinations of effects.

I do not know how much time I would have to spend on bookkeeping for the fiddly bits of the magic system in practice. Nevertheless, the magic fits the feel of the source material.

The final chapter is Encyclopedia Masteria. It starts with advice about running Corum, giving a useful overview of different types of adventures and which ones need to be used most sparingly. Next, consideration is given to the mysterious race of Nhadragh. This is the sort of thing many games take in one of two directions. The first is to stat the Mysterious Race out, but to emphasize it is for NPCs only. The second is to make folks buy another product, one focusing on the race. Corum is one of the few games that gives full information on the race, providing an in-game reason for PC members -- and most NPC members -- to be low powered, yet have a way to get all the secret cool stuff, if and only if the GM wants it in the game. This should be a no-brainer, not something I need to single out for praise. But the authors of Corum do it right when most writers do not, and they are careful to explain that this section was invented from whole cloth, not taken from source material.

Encyclopedia Masteria also has sections covering the treasures and denizens of Corum's world, as well as tables for creating random planes of the multiverse, along with guidelines in the proper use of the tables. Cool though plane jaunting is, the authors point out that it should not be overused or done on a whim. There are also three scenarios, a condensed summary of the magic rules, a blank character sheet and a unlabelled map. This last is a useful prop to give to players while the GM uses the labeled version from the geography section. I appreciate this touch.

There is no index, although Darcsyde made one available on the website in both text and pdf format. The second printing of Corum will have the index, and should clean up typos and other errors as well.

Of the scenarios, my favorite is "The Prince Who Cried for Love". Perhaps I am just a romantic. But the scenario is well constructed and easily transplanted to other games. It has a reasonable plot, but no set resolution, and it allows the PCs freedom of action. The first scenario, "Jewelled Destinies", has a narrower focus, but is just as well detailed, with one point of confusion. Should the PCs fall into the hands of one of the villains after retrieving the scenario's mcguffin, the villain, unwilling to touch it, will try to chop off the hand of the person holding it, so that it falls into the jaws of a sea monster. However, the authors explain, this will not work, as the mcguffin will stay with its new owner. I'd like some clarification about what this means and what actually happens if the owner's hand is chopped off.

The final scenario, "The City that Is Not", involves the PCs finding a lost city of the Nhadragh. The concept is good, but this is the weakest of the scenarios.

In theory, the PCs will join forces with a friendly merchant and travel with her to the city in the title. The authors do make allowances for the PCs joining the raiders who menace the merchant instead, but do not explain how the PCs' reception in / invitation to the city will vary in that case. Also, one clue presumes the PCs all deliberately take simultaneous hold of an unusual and sharp artifact. I would not at all be surprised if paranoia set in and the PCs refused to have anything to do with the item or if they found a way to move it without getting cut.

Once the action reaches the Nhadragh city, the authors assume the GM can come up with sufficiently interesting things to keep the PCs occupied. This is not a safe assumption; running a tourist adventure is hard to do. Ultimately, however, the PCs are told that they some young Nhadragh wish to leave the city, their curiosity about the outside world piqued by the PCs. The PCs are told to decide whether the youngsters stay or go, and then to leave themselves, never to return. It does not seem to occur to the authors that the PCs might wish to stay in the Nhadragh city, a far more pleasant place than most of Corum's world.

The internal art is beautiful, capturing the mood of the world. Men as well as women are shown scantily clad, and some women appear in dynamic roles, like the woman driving a chariot on page 28. The only piece of art I found disappointing was the cover, where Corum looks like a mindless zombie.

The book could have used another proofreading check for typesetting problems. But on the whole, it is a fine product, and one I recommend.

Corum: Heroic Adventures Across the World of the Five Planes
Corum: Heroic Adventures Across the World of the Five Planes Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 23/03/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) This is a classy product, bringing the world of Moorcock's Swords Trilogy to life. It captures the feel and depth of the world, showing how Corum campaigns differ from regular Stormbringer campaigns. Product: Corum: Heroic Adventures Across the World of the Five Planes Author: by Geoff Gillan with Mark Angeli, Alex Hammond, Bill Routt, and Liam Routt Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Darcsyde Productions Pty. Ltd. Line: Stormbringer Cost: $24.95 Page count: 166 pages, perfect bound Year published: 2001 ISBN: ISBN 0-9578427-0-8 SKU: Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Lisa Padol on 23/03/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Horror Other	Corum: Heroic Adventures Across the World of the Five Planes Supplement for Stormbringer by Geoff Gillan with Mark Angeli, Alex Hammond, Bill Routt, and Liam Routt 2001 Darcsyde Productions Pty. Ltd. 187 Whitehorse Road Balwyn, Victoria 3103 Australia http://www.darcsyde.org/Corum/ Note: Wizard's Attic is the main seller of this game, and it can be ordered from the Wizard's Attic website. This is listed as ; however, at the moment I am typing this, I cannot actually reach the website. 166 pages, perfect bound $24.95 ISBN 0-9578427-0-8 Grade A- reviewed by Lisa Padol Corum is a class act. The authors bring the setting of the first three Corum books to life and make it look simple. In this, they mimic Moorcock, who regularly crams far more into his books than one expects. The introduction to Corum clearly spells out what is and is not covered in the game. The authors chose to focus on the Swords trilogy, leaving the next three books for a later day. After the introduction, the Encyclopedia Mechanica, as one might expect, covers game mechanics. It focuses on the differences between Corum's world and Elric's, and the authors say up front that a copy of the Stormbringer or Elric rules is needed. The supplement Sailing on the Seas of Fate is referenced enough that it would probably be a good idea to have a copy of it on hand. The mechanics chapter ends with a section on chariots. This delighted me, probably because I read Guy Gavriel Kay's Sarantium duology last year. The chariot mechanics can be lifted into any game using the BRPs system, and I find myself looking for an excuse to do just that. Encyclopedia Cosmographia, which describes Corum's world, follows Encyclopedia Mechanica and nicely compliments it. Both gave me a feel for Corum's world, even though I read the books once, years ago, and forgot many of the details. Both sections are good about emphasizing how Corum's world is different from Elric's. The longest part of Encyclopedia Cosmographia is the geography overview. Verbal descriptions are enhanced with adventure seeds and maps of selected cities. The section also has a short section on history and a good overview of religion. Religion permeates the world, and it is good to have some idea of how the religions of Law and Chaos affect daily life. Encyclopedia Conjuratoria describes the various types of magic. The magic of Law involves utilizing the precepts of Contrivance to create or improve items and to give them plane shifting abilities. Another type of Law magic is the creation of elemental tattoos that generally improve skills concerning the sea. Chaos magic encompasses sorcery, summoning creatures and demons, and creating magical fetishes. Chaos can be capricious, allowing GMs with poor memories and GMs who regret letting a player convince them to allow a particular spell an excuse when the spell fails to work the same way the next time. The magic of Law is consistent, but more limited. This combination creates a feel I appreciate after years of GMing for clever players who are good at rules hacking, though I found the rules themselves complicated. A second reading served to answer most of my questions, but the Stormbringer rules are definitely needed to clarify a couple of points about timing in sorcery effects and melds, which are combinations of effects. I do not know how much time I would have to spend on bookkeeping for the fiddly bits of the magic system in practice. Nevertheless, the magic fits the feel of the source material. The final chapter is Encyclopedia Masteria. It starts with advice about running Corum, giving a useful overview of different types of adventures and which ones need to be used most sparingly. Next, consideration is given to the mysterious race of Nhadragh. This is the sort of thing many games take in one of two directions. The first is to stat the Mysterious Race out, but to emphasize it is for NPCs only. The second is to make folks buy another product, one focusing on the race. Corum is one of the few games that gives full information on the race, providing an in-game reason for PC members -- and most NPC members -- to be low powered, yet have a way to get all the secret cool stuff, if and only if the GM wants it in the game. This should be a no-brainer, not something I need to single out for praise. But the authors of Corum do it right when most writers do not, and they are careful to explain that this section was invented from whole cloth, not taken from source material. Encyclopedia Masteria also has sections covering the treasures and denizens of Corum's world, as well as tables for creating random planes of the multiverse, along with guidelines in the proper use of the tables. Cool though plane jaunting is, the authors point out that it should not be overused or done on a whim. There are also three scenarios, a condensed summary of the magic rules, a blank character sheet and a unlabelled map. This last is a useful prop to give to players while the GM uses the labeled version from the geography section. I appreciate this touch. There is no index, although Darcsyde made one available on the website in both text and pdf format. The second printing of Corum will have the index, and should clean up typos and other errors as well. Of the scenarios, my favorite is "The Prince Who Cried for Love". Perhaps I am just a romantic. But the scenario is well constructed and easily transplanted to other games. It has a reasonable plot, but no set resolution, and it allows the PCs freedom of action. The first scenario, "Jewelled Destinies", has a narrower focus, but is just as well detailed, with one point of confusion. Should the PCs fall into the hands of one of the villains after retrieving the scenario's mcguffin, the villain, unwilling to touch it, will try to chop off the hand of the person holding it, so that it falls into the jaws of a sea monster. However, the authors explain, this will not work, as the mcguffin will stay with its new owner. I'd like some clarification about what this means and what actually happens if the owner's hand is chopped off. The final scenario, "The City that Is Not", involves the PCs finding a lost city of the Nhadragh. The concept is good, but this is the weakest of the scenarios. In theory, the PCs will join forces with a friendly merchant and travel with her to the city in the title. The authors do make allowances for the PCs joining the raiders who menace the merchant instead, but do not explain how the PCs' reception in / invitation to the city will vary in that case. Also, one clue presumes the PCs all deliberately take simultaneous hold of an unusual and sharp artifact. I would not at all be surprised if paranoia set in and the PCs refused to have anything to do with the item or if they found a way to move it without getting cut. Once the action reaches the Nhadragh city, the authors assume the GM can come up with sufficiently interesting things to keep the PCs occupied. This is not a safe assumption; running a tourist adventure is hard to do. Ultimately, however, the PCs are told that they some young Nhadragh wish to leave the city, their curiosity about the outside world piqued by the PCs. The PCs are told to decide whether the youngsters stay or go, and then to leave themselves, never to return. It does not seem to occur to the authors that the PCs might wish to stay in the Nhadragh city, a far more pleasant place than most of Corum's world. The internal art is beautiful, capturing the mood of the world. Men as well as women are shown scantily clad, and some women appear in dynamic roles, like the woman driving a chariot on page 28. The only piece of art I found disappointing was the cover, where Corum looks like a mindless zombie. The book could have used another proofreading check for typesetting problems. But on the whole, it is a fine product, and one I recommend.