Geek victory

I really scored this weekend.

No, not like that! 😦 Get your minds out of the gutter!

This is almost as good, though(1). I managed to win the auction for a 1st-edition boxed set of Chaosium’s Stormbringer roleplaying game:

The game is based on the novels of Michael Moorcock, which are set in his “Million Spheres” multi-verse and which chronicle the adventures of Elric, last Emperor of Melniboné (which he destroys), as he travels around the world — which he destroys. (Really, if you ever meet Elric on the road, run.) The game’s title is the name of his soul-sucking demonic sword, which eventually destroys Elric.

Sounds like fun, no? 😀

I’ve always been a fan of Chaosium‘s (2) games (you can see the cover of my favorite, Call of Cthulhu, in the sidebar), and Stormbringer is no exception. The magic system is, for me, what makes it special, being based on the summoning and binding of demons, which, being creatures of Chaos, have an infinite and entertaining variety. Later editions included a “design-a-demon” system, so would-be planet-conquering sorcerers could “roll their own” and save the GM some work.

Sadly, while I own several editions of the game, I’ve never gotten to play; it’s a niche within the roleplaying game hobby, and I suspect those interested are few and far between.

But, back to the big purchase, I was happily surprised at what good shape it was in (as if new off the shelf) and that it was complete — even the original dice, it seems. It also included the first supplement, the Stormbringer Companion. I assume this was a bonus; I don’t think the boxed set ever included it.

Regardless, this is one of the better purchases I’ve made in a while, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

(1) Okay, not even close. But, what can I say? I’m a geek at heart. 🙂

(2) Sad to say, the company is a shadow of its former self.

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eBay proves that Barnum was right

There’s one born every minute. I mean, who else but a sucker collector would bid over $150 for Gary Gygax‘s cigar box?

His empty cigar box.

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Unfair

Nuts.

On eBay someone has offered a reasonably complete, good-condition copy of the first edition of Chaosium’s Stormbringer game. It’s a game I enjoyed and I’d like to collect the various editions of it, much as I would like to collect the various editions of Call of Cthulhu. So, I made what was for me a large offer and, for a couple of days, I was the only bidder.

This morning some rat outbid me. 😦

Okay, okay. I’m not owed anything.  It’s an open auction and anyone can bid, but I just hate it when someone comes along who either has deeper pockets or is less responsible with their money than I.

Yes, I’m pouting.

The question is, is this something I want to be irresponsible about, too? If it were a 1st edition Call of Cthulhu, probably yes. But, for Stormbringer, much as I liked it? Probably not.

Nuts.

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Well, phooey!

I thought I had scored a bargain on eBay: two almost-legendary adventure modules for D&D and other roleplaying games, Plague of Terror and Street of Gems, from an obscure Maine publisher called The Companions. Part of their Islandia campaign (a world designed by taking a topographic map of Maine and flooding it to the 500′ mark), these were eyeopening products for me: detailed settings, believable motives and plans for the non-player characters, and timelines of how things would proceed if they players didn’t interfere. Yet they didn’t restrict the players in any way: they were free to do what they wanted, and the world would go on around them.

So, when I saw good copies of these two up for auction, I knew I had to have them. Sure, I already had a copy of each, but I wanted more. And, fully admitting this just wasn’t rational, I bid $25 for each. I waited and prepared to curse myself, even as I quivered with anticipation. Yes, I now have some idea of how crack addicts must feel.

Then some reprobate outbid me for both. His madness was greater even than mine, paying over $40 for each.

Curse you! (Shakes fist at heavens)

Ah, well.  Probably for the best. I wonder how high he was willing to go?

Oh, and Happy New Year! (Hey, it’s still January, and this is the first post of 2010, after all.)

ADDENDUM: I forgot to mention, I did score a copy of Runequest II in good shape for what I thought was a reasonable price. I’d lost my own copy years before, so it wasn’t all bad on eBay. 🙂

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