MELNIBONEDRAGON ISLE AND DREAMING CITY

"SHINING LIKE DIAMONDS, OR LIKE THE SPARKLE OF

SUNLIGHTUPON THE WAVES, WERE THE CITIES OF THE

BRIGHT EMPIRE.AND LIKE THE WAVES, THE 10,000 YEARS

OF MELNIBONE'S REIGN UPON THE WORLD WERE DRAWN

BACK BY THE TIDE OF TIME.”

- THE CHRONICLE OFTHE BLACH SWORD

MELNIBONE

COVER PAINTING FRANK BRUNNER

INTERIOR I LLUSTRATIONS GUSTAF BJBRKSTEN, JOHN BORKOWKI,

ALAIN GASSNER, MARK HILL, CHRIS JOHNSTON, MICHAEL KIRKBRIDE

MAPS PHIL ANDERSON, GUSTAF BJBRKSTEN, AND IAN HARRISON

PROJECT AND EDITORIAL MARK MORRISON

COPYREADING AND EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE ALLEN VARNEY AND RICHARD WATTS

EVEN FURTHER NlGGLlNG EDITORIAL LYNN WlLLlS

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND LAYOUT LES BROOKS

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE PETRA PINO

COVER DESIGN CHARLIE KRANK

BY

RICHARD WATTSWITH

MARK MORRISONCEOFF CILLAN PENELOPE LOVE

BAIED UPON THE SOJOURNER'S GUIDE TO MELNIBONE, AS COMPILED BY

THE DISORDERED SCRIBES OF THE LEAGUE OF TUMULTUOUS ERUDITION.

1993

CHAOSIUM INC.

DEDICATED WITH LOVE TO MY MOTHER, WHO SHOWED ME NEW WORLDS.

- RICHARD WATTS

Playtestem: David Bland, Rhonda Gillan, Rebecca Heath, Martin Liedke, Trent Moses, Darrel Munro, David Munro, and Jason Rowlands.

Thanks to Ian Harrison, the Northcote Lounge Room Set (that nebulous, hedonistic bunch),Justin K. Weaver 8, Mary Jane,Garry Fay, Nick Hagger, Lawrence Whitaker, Allen Vamey, and Penelope Love.

MELNIBONE is published by Chaosium Inc.MELNIBONE is copyright ©1993 by Chaosium Inc.; all rights reserved.

Elricae trademark applied for by Chaosium Inc. MELNIBONE is a supplement intended for the Elric game.

Similarities between characters in MELNIBONE and persons living or dead are strictly coincidental.Michael Moorcock's works Elric of Melnibone, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, The Weird of the White Wolf, The Vanishing Tower. The Bane of the

Black Sword, Stombringer. The Fortress of the Pearl, Elric at the End of Time, and The Revenge of the Rose are respectively copyright ©1963.1964,1965,1967,1970,1972,1976,1977,1984,1989,1991 by Michael Moorcock. Quotes have been made for purposes of illustration.

The cover painting for MELNIBONE is ©1993 by John Brunner; all rights reserved.It shows dragon-riders above a portion of the Dreaming City.

Except in this publication and related advertising, or unless otherwise agreed to, artwork original to Melnibonb remains the property of the artists,and is copyright by them under their separate copyrights.

The reproduction of material from within this book for the purposes of personal or corporate profit, by photographic, electronic,or other methods of storage and retrieval, is prohibited.

Please mail questions and comments concerning this book, as well as requests for free notices of Chaosium publications, toChaosium Inc., 950-A 56th Street, Oakland CA 94608-3129, USA

Please do not phone in game questions; the quickest answer is often not the best answer.

ISBN 0-933635494.Chaosium Publication 2901. Published in Septembert, 1993. For ages 14 and up.

Printed in the United States of America

INTRODUCTION

FOR 10,000 YEARS the Bright Empire of Melnibonk ruled the world. The folk of Melnibonk are not human, and their race is far older than humanity. They are powerful sotcerers, and magic comes to them

as easy as breathing. In their heyday they forged unthinkable pacts with Demon Gods, shaped the elements and the lands to their liking, and tamed dragons and rode them to conquest across many worlds. Old age has dulled the Bright Empire, tarnished its proud beauty, and weakened its people; now the Dragon Princes of Melnibonke conquer only in their drug-induced dreams, as their Empire rots from within. Even reduced to this crumbling introspection, they remain a great power among the upstart human nations which have sprung up around them in their dotage. Soon a new Emperor will come to the Ruby Throne. Whether he will bring the Bright Empire to glory or extinction is unknown, even in dreams.

Melnibone, Dragon Isle and Dreaming City contains background information for players and gamemasters alike, as well as scenarios for the gamemaster's eyes only. This book is an evocation of the moods and images of Melnibone, but does not claim to be an exhaustive rendering of every detail of the land. The Dragon Isle contains too much of marvel and wonder to ever be described so completely. Close attention has been paid to continuity with the books of Michael Moorcock. The author hopes that only in cases where Mr. Moorcock is himself contradictory will readers discover any anomaly with references as they appear in the Elric saga.

The chapter “Melnibone” presents the history of Melnibonens upon the world of the Young Kingdoms world, describing the great island of Melnibonk and other places of note. Likewise the city of Imnyr, last bastion of the Bright Empire's glory, is presented historically and physically. Creatures living only on the Dragon Isle are also &tailed in this chapter. The second chapter, “Melnibone”, concerns the culture and traditions of that non-human race. Topics such as clothing and drugs are covered, as well as additional information for creating Melnibone adventurers. Descriptions and statistics for important residents of the Dreaming City occur in this chapter; these last differ in details from the rulesbook, where such characters appear at their most powerful or at their most representative to the Elric saga.

“Religion” explores Melnibonean theology. The chapter discusses their beliefs concerning Chaos, the Balance, Law, the Elemental Rulers, and the Plant- and Beast-Lords.

Encounter tables for Imrryr and for Melnibone as a whole are found in “Encounters on Melnibone”.

The “Melnibone Digest” contains a complete roster of statistics for Melnibone charactem and creatms, large and small.

Following this background come three scenarios, “The Sojourner's Guide to Melnibone”, which sets the adventurers loose on the Isle, exploring it at the behest of a league of Chaos

scholars; “The Suffer Glass”, which allows the adventurers to be present at a pivotal point in the Bright Empire's ancient history, and to take actions that will change that history; and

“The Ghost of Cities”, which involves the adventurers in a Melnibonean's search for her father, who is missing in spirit but not in body. SADRIC THE EIGHTY-SIXTH,

DYING EMPEROR OF MELNIBONE.