Pig-bombs, priests in daisy dukes, dressing down the Theocrat of Pan Tang and getting torn apart by dogs are just some of the highlights as I’m joined in D&Ts once again by Steve Round to talk Stormbringer gaming and this time he’s brought the whole damn party.
The wandering beer table returns and, as a reward to the gang, we debut an all-new lazily assembled table of rubbish demon-bound quest goodies.
So join Steve, Chloe, Sara, Roddy, Jay, Richie and Ceirun as we board the Merciful Servant and reflect on what it takes to save the Young Kingdoms from the overbearing and stagnant forces of Law!
Content warning: The Void campaign is Moorcockian and therefore spicy. And Steve tries a smoked beer. Horrific!
You can find the full write-ups of The Void campaign and more on Steve’s blog – Cruising For a Musing
Simon Perrins joins me in Derry and Toms to discuss Moorcock, art, comics, Tolkien, TV adaptations, role-playing games, tortured poet musicians we adored in our youths and generally go totally fugazi.
Simon is the man behind our banner art, logo, Gerard Arthur Connelly portraits and pretty much our entire visual identity. Follow him on Twitter and check out his store.
Listen to BITR Breakfast in the Ruins Radio on Radio Garden.
Imagery and stuff we discuss along the way:
White Dwarf #57
Thrud and Eric of Boneymaloney – Carl Critchlow
Fighting Fantasy Book 9 – Caverns of the Snow Witch
Imagine Magazine January 1985 – Cover by Rodney Matthews
The Nomad of Time – Grafton Edition – Cover by Melvyn
The Tolkien Bestiary – David Day – Illustration of The Fall of Numenor by Ian Miller
In the third and final part of our Moorcockian RPG triptych Rob (aka OldShabbyGamer), host of the Confessions of a Wee Tim’rous Bushi podcast, joins me at Derry & Toms to talk Moorcock, D&D, when a beer is not a beer, and Tolkien!
Graham, Neil and Norman also drop by to talk Stormbringer 3e, ploons, shit sailors & what would make our own ideal Moorcockian RPG. It’s a really Deep Fix. No prizes for guessing who provides the soundtrack!
Moorcock RPGs and the Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly
Phil, Loz and I celebrate an all too brief interlude in lockdown life to drink weird porters and muse upon Moorcock’s treatment at the hands of tabletop role-playing games.
Phil taunts us with her syrupy beer avoidance skills, two-man canoes get far too many mentions and Loz gatekeeps Moorcock RPG play (the rotter).
Also, The Journal of Gerard Arthur Connelly debuts with chapter one. There are 5 more to come (and if I don’t get pelted with rottent tomatoes I may write more).
Loz is back with me at Derry and Tom’s as we dive into Straasha’s ocean depths to prize open the mysteries below and discuss (most of) Book Two of Elric of Melniboné. Elric is full of pith and vinegar for a change and we get a good look at him from a different perspective.
One of the twitter gang tipped me off a few weeks ago that December 18th is Michael Moorcock’s birthday. It took a while for the penny to drop, but when it did and my brain was penetrated by the copper and grub of ten thousand grasping fingers, I was taken aback for a second.
December 18th is also my brilliant and long-suffering partner Phil’s birthday!
Sweet, sweet synchronicity.
This presented an opportunity to celebrate both birthdays with a special, festive episode recorded in a four poster suite in the ancient 16th century Bagdale Hall Hotel in Whitby, the salt-bitten harboured, red-roofed jewel in Yorkshire’s Crown.
What’s more, some fine friends of the show sent along their messages to MM for inclusion.
So thanks Rob, Michael, Fred, Anthony, Asako Soh, David and The Pastor for your contributions. I’d like to think that in some cycle of existence MM may hear your words and feel the love.
The Pastor went the extra mile and sent a video of his salutation. As I could only keep the audio for the episode, here is his contribution in all its heavenly glory!
Thanks again Pastor!
So, many happy returns of the day to Phil, to Michael Moorcock, to anyone else who shares this day and anyone who just happens to listen to this on their birthday at any point in the future, from Earth 01 to Earth 16 or anywhere in the multiverse!
Finally, my gratitude to new patrons Malpertius and David, who join Fred and Norman in the ranks of Chaos Engineers. I’m always humbled that anyone would offer up their own sheckles to support this podcast. I hope I can repay your confidence.
Anyway, I hear the Song of the Swords. A transition approaches so… I’ll see you on the Moonbeam Roads!
Natasha and I discuss Book One of The Jewel in the Skull. It’s got it all!
Moorcock discussion? Check!
Moorcroft? Sure, why not!
Bagging small English towns? Check!
Dogs wagging tails? Check and check!
NOW IN THC SOUND!
Thanks are once again due to Neil for his ace moral and technical support.
Note: The bulk of this was recorded before Episode One, so we’re already entering into the true spirit of Moorcock by complicating our own internal chronology.
Thanks to a great sugestion from a fellow traveller (@walfseo, you know who you are), I’ll now be posting in good time to let you know what we’ll be covering next.
So, with that in mind, dust off your copy of The Jewel in the Skull and get reading.
In epsiode 02 Natasha and I will be discussing Book One of The Jewel in the Skull (pages 7 to 39) and having a few tugs of Angostura Rum and some delicious Trinidadian cuisine!
If you can get your thoughts to me by Sunday 28th October I’ll include them in the outro!
Join Loz and I as we discuss the first published Elric story, The Dreaming City.
Loz is an old friend and fellow traveller of the moonbeam roads and will be a regular contributor.
In this, the first full-blooded episode of Breakfast in the Ruins we take a look at the first published story featuring (arguably) Michael Moorcock’s most enduring creation, the moody albino warrior-sorcerer-emperor-wanderer Elric.
Breakfast in the Ruins Podcast 