The von Bek Family Lineage for classic Stormbringer or Hawkmoon

"Warhound and the World's Pain," "City in the Autumn Stars," and "The Dragon in the Sword," are three of my favorite novels by Michael Moorcock.  Here are my rules for creating a member of the von Bek family for Stormbringer or Hawkmoon.

The von Beks are an ancient family with roots in Saxony and Russia.  The family line's military traditions run deep, and the von Beks have ever been respected and revered by their fellow Germans.

There is a bit of substantial legendry regarding the von Beks, as well-- rumors involving witchcraft, travel to other worlds, the Holy Grail, and even stories about an ancient familial pact with the devil (originating, no doubt, with the family's curious motto: Do You the Devil's Work). Most von Bek family members scoff at these persistent legends, dismissing them as fables.

As with most legends, however, these stories possess just a tiny bit of truth.  Here are some interesting facts about the von Bek family and its strange history:

1.  Since the first century, A.D., the von Beks have indeed been the chosen guardians and protectors of the Holy Grail. Even before the family settled in the Bek region from which it takes its name, the Grail had an odd affinity for this bloodline.  Among other things, this means that the Grail has had a strange way of seeking out a von Bek family member whenever it-- or whenever humanity itself-- has reached a moment of crisis.  This also means that only members of the von Bek family lineage may touch the Grail and live.

2.  The von Beks never made a pact with Satan, despite their odd motto and a variety of legends stating otherwise.  However, there have been many times when the family was called into service by the Holy Grail, and Lucifer's interests also happened to coincide with those of the Grail and of humanity itself.  The Devil, growing tired of his banishment from heaven, has in fact given up his rulership of earth-- freeing mankind to determine its own history. The Grail has long been a silent advocate for humanity, and this has led to an uneasy truce between the Grail's chosen guardians and the Devil himself.

3.  Certain members of the von Bek family have possessed a strange ability to travel to other planes of existence, simply by walking or riding out of our world!  Family legendry traces this ability to faerie ancestry, and even has a name for these bizarre worlds-- the MittelMarch, or Middle Marches.  Several family members have published accounts of their adventures within this realm or its neighboring lands, and certain occult texts refer to still more mystical voyages undertaken by von Bek kinsmen.

                                            Creating von Bek Characters

Von Bek characters are created using the same process used in Hawkmoon, as modified below.  For convenience, players may wish to begin with a blank Hawkmoon character sheet.

If the Gamemaster's campaign is going to take place on planet earth as we know it, step one below can probably be skipped; the character can automatically be from whatever century the game is going to be set in.  However, if the character is being created for a campaign about dimensional travel, or for a campaign set elsewhere amidst the multiverse, players will probably want to start by determining which earth century their character originates from.

1. Determine the year that the character was born by rolling [(1d20-1) + (1d100-1).  Keep the following points in mind:

• The family settled in Bek in the 1100's.  Characters from a time prior to 1100 A.D. won't be named 'von Bek.'
• Skill in "Biological Lore" cannot exceed the character's birth century plus ten (e.g., a character born in 1744 cannot have a "Biological Lore" skill rating higher than 28%, since they are from the eighteenth century, and eighteen plus ten is twenty-eight).
• Skill in "Chemical Lore" cannot exceed the character's birth century times five (e.g., a character born in 1102 cannot have a "Chemical Lore" skill rating which exceeds 60%, since they are from the twelfth century, and twelve times five is sixty).
• Skill in "Electrical Lore" cannot be acquired at all for characters born prior to 1650, and cannot exceed 60% for characters born prior to 1780.
• Skill in "Machine Lore" is limited as shown on the chart below:

               Birth Year               Maximum Skill Rating

                >1000 A.D.                        20%

              1001-1200 A.D.                   40%

              1201-1400 A.D.                   60%

              1401-1700 A.D.                   80%

              1701-1999 A.D.                  100%

• Characters born after 1870 may substitute "Drive Automobile" skill for "Ride" skill.
• "Pilot Ornithopter" skill is not available to von Becks born in any century, but in its place, "Pilot Airplane" skill may be developed by characters born after 1910.
• Any armor or weapon proficiencies selected must be consistent with the character's starting time period.

2.  The character's nationality is automatically "German."  (Treat this as "Germanian" under Hawkmoon rules-- add 1d4 to INT and CON).  Additionally, von Bek characters receive a special CHA bonus of 1d6, simulating the legendary von Bek family charm.

3.  All von Bek characters are automatically "Nobles."  If the character's INT permits a second profession (i.e., if it is 13 or more), determine that additional profession by rolling on the Hawkmoon profession table.  Replace rolls of 01-50 with "Warrior."

4.  Finish generating the character using normal Hawkmoon rules, referring any questions to your GM.

5.  As a von Bek family member, the character will have several unique abilities:

     Opening the MittelMarch:  The character can sometimes open a passage from earth (or wherever) into the Middle Marches.  This is purely a plot device for the GM, and will basically work at his or her discretion.  Sometimes the character may wind up in the Middle Marches without even trying to get there!  If the character is attempting to enter the Middle Marches, and the GM doesn't particularly care whether the attempt succeeds or fails, have the player attempt to roll his INT x 2 to successfully "slip into" the next world.

     Grail Affinity:  The von Beks can touch the Holy Grail without being burned (assume that it does 1d4 damage per round to any others who touch the holy chalice, although this damage could be doubled or tripled in the case of particularly vile or unworthy characters who attempt to handle it).  Furthermore, the Grail's fate is somehow linked with that of the von Bek family line, and it tends to cross paths with family members from time to time-- again, this will only occur at the GM's discretion.  The Grail represents healing, purity, unity, and transformation, and should occasionally demonstrate awesome powers reflecting those ideals.  There is some indication that the Grail is capable of changing its appearance, and it may not look the same every time that it is encountered.

     Satanic Alliance:  The Devil and the von Beks have an understanding of sorts: the two parties can work together whenever their interests converge.  Lucifer tends to seek out particularly self-deluded members of the von Bek family line for this purpose.  Players who don't want to play misled, soul-corrupted members of the von Bek family line need not apply these guidelines to their character, as they are purely optional.  The rules for this informal understanding are similar to the rules for "Elan" in Stormbringer, with some subtle differences:

• The character gains 1D6 points of Elan for every thoroughly evil act that he or she performs, provided that the character is able to rationalize or justify this deed as a necessity or tell themselves that they had no other choice (subject to GM verification).
• The character gains one point of Elan for every selfish act that he or she performs, provided that the character is able to explain this action away as being "for the greater good" (subject to GM verification).
• The character may trade fifty points of Elan for a permanent 1-point gain in INT.

Once the character's Elan totals 100, he or she will eventually encounter Lucifer face-to-face.  The Devil will make the character face his or her own self-deception (making further Elan gains impossible), probably causing the character to experience a great deal of emotional distress as he or she comes to terms with having led a wasted life of selfishness and self-delusion.  Lucifer will then offer some sort of quest or mission of redemption to the character.  In the course of this quest, the Devil may intervene from time to time to provide only minimal aid, although such aid will always be rendered just when it is needed the most. The ultimate object of the player character's quest may very well involve traveling through the MittelMarch or defending the Holy Grail-- something that the von Bek bloodline makes the character uniquely qualified for.  Much of this will have to be roleplayed between the player and the GM, although it can certainly involve the rest of the party; the personal, highly emotional nature of this quest (from the character's perspective) should probably be discussed in very general terms before the quest is undertaken.

Von Bek characters tend to serve the Cosmic Balance, whether they realize it or not.  More than one von Bek has been a manifestation of the Eternal Companion, appearing from nowhere to aid the Eternal Champion in his struggles.