Melissakainen is running Castle Blackmoor for 10$

 

Melissakainen is running an online Castle Blackmoor oneshot game. She will be using the OD&D rules. The event costs 10$ for those interested. 

Here's the description:

About the adventure At the very origin of Dungeons & Dragons lies Castle Blackmoor, the dungeon Dave Arneson started running in 1970. In 1980, Dave published a large portion of his campaign notes as The First Fantasy Campaign. I will be using that to take you on a short tour of the City, the Castle, and the Dungeon of Blackmoor. Although Castle Blackmoor predates D&D, I will be using the original D&D rules (1974 ed) to run it. Play careful, because your fighters, magic-users, and clerics are dead at 0 hit points!

Here are more detailHere are more details. 

Would you pay to play in Castle Blackmoor?

I am in no way affiliated with this game. This blog and all related sites have always been non-profit.

-Havard

New Blackmoor T shirt from WotC on Amazon (Fake Story

This story has been debunked. The WotC store did not link to this clothes store on Amazon. Hopefully someone takes care of this.  

A friend sent me a link to this long sleeve t shirt sold on Amazon. The store says the clothes are officially lisenced from Wizards of the Coast.

Officially Licensed Dungeons & Dragons Apparel for Women - Men - Boys - Girls - Toddler; D&D 50th Anniversary T-Shirts; Hasbro T-Shirts; Wizards of the Coast; RPG; Role Playing Game; Fantasy; Adventure; Monsters; Magic; 20 Sided Dice; Blackmoor; Vintage;

This is interesting given the discussion of ownership of the Blackmoor name and logo. 

I have to say I love the text on the shirt saying "It started with Blackmoor". 

For some reason, I am unable to  to click buy on this product. Does it mean the shirt is not available yet?

-Havard

Unique Blackmoor Map Signed by Dave Arneson Considered Sold at Gary Con 2022

Brent Chumley recently posted on Facebook about this wonderful map on Facebook. Chumley created this Blackmoor map based on Dave Arneson's maps for the Zeitgeist Games iteration of Blackmoor. The map was released in poster format with the Softcover Blackmoor Campaign Sourcebook from 2004. The big news now is that Chumley is in possession copy of this very map that he made that was signed by Dave Arneson. And he may be convinced to sell it off at the Gary Con auction. 

Here's what Chumley had to say about the map:

"As the Artist that created the Dave Arneson Blackmoor map for Zeitgeist Games back in 2005, I have the ONE AND ONLY copy of this map SIGNED by DAVE ARNESON himself for sale!!!! I am attaching photos of it along with pics of his signature and my cartography credit. I am interested to see if anyone is interested in this piece of history as it is the only one in existence!!! I WILL have this map with me at GaryCon. There is a room dedicated to Dave at GaryCon with a miniaturized version of this map that sits on the table just inside the entrance to the room. I am the artist that created this map and may try to put it in the Auction if there is interest. Direct Message me at the show or before for details if interested. Luke Gygax"

If anyone has an insane amount of money and are going to GaryCon, feel free to buy it and send it to me as a present. :D Just kidding of course, but I always loved this Blackmoor map. Gary Con is March 24-27

-Havard

New WotC Survey Has Questions About Dave Arneson

 Wizards of the Coast keep sending me these surveys and I am not sure if there is much point to me answering any of them since, even though I play 5th Edition (I play and enjoy all editions of D&D), I don't think they particularly care about my answers. 

Many of the questions this time around were, not surprisingly related to the Covid-19 situation and to virtual platforms/tools for gaming. However, I was surprised to see two questions related to famous D&D Game designers and see Dave Arneson's name listed as one of the possible answers!

The first questions was about what Game Designers you recognize and the second one was about what names would make you more likely to buy a product. 

Could this mean WotC are considering returning to Dave Arneson's Blackmoor? 

Wishful thinking for sure, but I made sure to click on Dave's name. 

The other names were a combination of current WotC designers and former WotC and TSR era designers. There were several names missing from the list than I would have liked to see on there, but I did like seeing Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Jeff Grubb and David Zeb Cook on the list. Again, it would be cool if this could mean something for Dragonlance, Spelljammer or even Taladas. 

Anyway, I am probably putting too much thought into this, but since I took the time completing the survey, I do think I should be getting something out of this! :D

Take the survey here (vote for Dave!)

-Havard 

Necromancer Games Modules + Blackmoor?

Over at the Comeback Inn, there has been some discussion about using Necromancer Games modules in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, including The Lost City of Barakus (2002).

Whenever I adapt other published material to Blackmoor, I like to incorporate some elements that ensure a Blackmooreque atmosphere. For instance, in the Vales Campaign, I used Frog Cultists and Cabal Wizards as recurring elements to emphasize the connection to Arneson's setting.

I have very little experience with Necromancer Games Products except for the excellent Wilderlands of High Fantasy Boxed Set and Player's Guide to the Wilderlands. Although not a NG product, I recently ordered City State of the Sea Kings by two prominent NG authors, Chris Bernhardt and Rob S. Conley.

Last year on this blog, I mentioned another module, the Tomb of Abysthor.I finally got my hands on this module. Turns out there is more Blackmoor related material here than I first assumed. An entire dungeon level is dedicated to the Frog God. In addition there is the new monster race, the Tsathar (pronounced "su-Thar"). Although similar to Blackmoor's Froglin, they are sexless and their origins suggest they are related to the Outer Planar Slaad.If anything they could be used as a Deep Froglin type race.

There are also a couple of references to Hel in the module, including with a magic item. The Goddess Hel is of course known as Hella in the D20 Blackmoor line. Overall, much goodness for Blackmoor fans in this 2002 module!


-Havard

Greyhawk goes to Blackmoor!

Greyhawk and Blackmoor. The connection between those two realms goes back to the home campaigns of Dave and Gary. However, when Greyhawk was reorganized in order to become a published setting, the name Blackmoor and was included without much thought to what Arneson's campaign actually had been like. Since that time, both Greyhawk and Blackmoor have changed and grown. This gives us a lot to talk about! For this reason, we have opened a Greyhawk Blackmoor Section at the Comeback Inn. We already have a few Greyhawk experts along with the diehard Blackmoor loonies like myself. Lets hope more join in the days ahead! :) -Havard

Why Blackmoor ended up in Mystara

Mystara is a setting that grew out of the merging of various components such as the Known World, the Hollow World and Blackmoor. What these components had in common was that they were all linked to the Classic D&D rules instead of AD&D. But there was already a Blackmoor in the AD&D Greyhawk line. Why would TSR want to present another Blackmoor? In 2012 Frank Mentzer revealed the following:

"[...] We all remember the tussle between Gary and Dave :cry: and its effect on certain developments in the game, editions, etc. Once that was settled* (which was in the early '80s, during my time there), we discussed options. Since the World of Greyhawk included Blackmoor, should it go there (AD&D1e)? Or since I was drawing from OD&D & supplements, should Sup2 (Blackmoor) go there? Anyway, it ended up in BECM, as you know.


Once the executive decision for placement was made, tho, it was handled by others; I was too busy to do modules (except some RPGA tourneys on the side) or Gazetteers. Given the importance and nature of Blackmoor -- the first fantasy campaign, to some -- it got its own line, instead of being a 'mere' gazetteer.


* In actuality iirc 'settlements' were reached at 3 separate times -- late '70s, early '80s, and then later '80s with the PoG, post-Gary -- before Dave was finally happy with the whole shebang.


Time for my usual caveat, which I haven't offered for a while. All of these and other reminiscences are, and ever shall be, 'If I recall correctly', and I may be in error on various technical points, precise dates, and such.[...]

Apparently, Blackmoor's return was the result of Gary Gygax approaching Arneson. In spite of their differences, Gary must have realized the significance of Blackmoor and also likely believed it could have commerical value. The result were the DA modules.

The DA modules and later also the Gazetteers suggested that Blackmoor existed thousands of years ago. They were vague on its exact location, but seemed to suggest that it was located in the same region as the Known World would later appear. This was problematic from the beginning as locations didnt match up and was made further complicated when the Golden Khan of Ethengar suggested that the Steppes of Ethengar were the North Pole during the Blackmoor Era. Then the Hollow World Boxed Set came out and placed Blackmoor on Skothar, another continent. At the Piazza today, Bruce Heard explains why some of these decisions were made:

"I had to move it out of the Known World because of design contradictions and, basically, no good place to put it. It was relegated to Skothar which was essentially a blank area. Blackmoor was interesting but really not well integrated with Mystara. Management and marketing wanted to have Dave Arneson's material attached to Mystara because or their common connection to Basic and Expert rules, and so the non-negotiable "request" came down to accommodate Blackmoor. The whole thing was well-intentioned but terribly awkward. It should have been designed from day-one to fit Mystara and not pretty much slapped onto it."

Of course, us fans have been taking care of that last part. :)

-Havard

Blackmoor Body Art?

Tattoos are becoming more and more popular. Over at his blog, Courtney Fettninger has posted various D&D inspired tattoos. So this makes me wonder what's next. Will some crazed Blackmoor fanatic get himself a tattoo with motifs from the world of Dave Arneson?

 

How drunk would you have to be to get one of these?;)



-Havard

Defining the setting

Philosopher over at the Piazza, challenged me to write a text defining Blackmoor in one or two paragraphs. Trying to pin down a setting in just a few paragraphs was trickier than I thought. Here's what I've got so far:

Blackmoor is a small Kingdom which until recently was the northernmost province of a decadent Empire. Unlike the Thonian Empire, Blackmoor embodies the ideals of justice and chivalry; a realm of light surrounded by corruption and evil. Blackmoor is in desperate need of heroes because it is surrounded by enemies. The Mordor-like realm of the Egg of Coot to the North. Viking-like Skandaharian raiders attack both its coastal lands. And an exotic demon-worshipping conqueror race army approaces from the west. 

Blackmoor is a classic fantasy setting with a twist: highly technological items can be found and used by heroes and villains alike. Mechanical warriors guard powerful wizards. The sages of the Blackmoor University are working with the dwarves to figure out how these items work, where they came from and how to use them. This could be the key to saving Blackmoor from its immediate destruction. Tragically however, it could also be what spells their doom, in the prophesied apocalypse, known as Great Rain of Fire.




-Havard

Hobbits as weaklings?

I have previously discussed the Tolkienesque nature of Dave Arneson's Halflings. In all early D&D, the connection to Tolkien was apparent. With the release of the third edition, however, the halflings were re-imagined in a way which grognards have described as "ninja Kender". The reason for this change was a view of the older edition D&D Halflings, not just among WotC employees, but I believe among many D&D players as a whole, that Halflings in D&D were a race of fat, weaklings, useless as PC option.

When ZGG began publishing Blackmoor in 2003, they announced that Blackmoor's Halflings would be a return to the Tolkienesque halflings, in the spirit of Dave Arneson's original fantasy campaign. However, what does that really mean? Is it true that Tolkien himself described Hobbits as weak, fat and useless? Not at all, of course!

Sam carries Frodo. Scene: Return of the King, 
Peter Jackson, Dir. 2003

When looking at Tolkien's Hobbits, I think it is useful to distinguish between Hobbit adventurers and regular folks. Much of the early day inspiration for D&D halflings seems to have been drawn from the first part of the novel The Hobbit. But the descriptions there refers to the non-adventurer Hobbits of the Shire. Bilbo is said to have been the first adventurer from the shire (though there are some references to previous heroes of the race elsewhere in Tolkien's writing). Still, Bilbo wasn't much of an adventurer when he was first dragged out of his hobbit hole by Gandalf and the dwarves.

Similarly Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry were completely unexperienced at the onset of the Lord of the Rings. Compare this to the same characters towards the end of the trilogy. The Hobbits have all become heroes in their own right. They have no problem disposing the stooges of Saruman who have been destroying the Shire in their absence. Similarly, Bilbo makes the trek from the Shire to Rivendell completely on his own, even though the distance he covered was known to be populated by Wights, Trolls and other evils.

One of the abilities most often overlooked in Hobbits is their resiliance. Gollum was able to keep the Ring for centuries. Still, he had retained enough of his "humanity" to give Frodo hope that he could be redeemed in Return of the King. Frodo was the only one who would be able to carry the Ring to Mordor, a task none of the heroes of the other races would have been able to accomplish. Sam was even able to give back the Ring to Frodo after "carrying it for a while" for his master.

Take a look at Sam carrying Frodo up the slope towards Mount Doom. Is that the work of a weakling? I think not! Hobbits can be tough heroes without the need of being turned into anorectic ninja elflings. Dave Arneson and his players were aware of this, as shown in the adventures of Mello and his companions.




-Havard

Aquaria gets its own Forum!

A few days ago, I wrote about Frank Mentzer's Aquaria Campaign, and how this setting was getting more attention, opening up to the possibility of getting the setting published. Thanks to the wonderful and hardworking Ashtagon, Aquaria now has its own forum on the Piazza. On this forum you can find Frank Mentzer himself talking about his setting and download free gaming material including a Player's Kit by Mentzer and Dave L's rendering of the Aquaria map. Later, I will reveal how I intend to steal this whole setting and place it within my own Blackmoor/Mystara campaign... :)




-Havard

The Gazetteer Line and Blackmoor

I was happy to see yesterday's Grognardia article feature the D&D Gazetteer line. Maliszewski speaks very well of these products, of which I was somewhat surprised given his general view of D&D products in this period, though I certainly agree on his judgement on this particular product line. I consider the Gazetteer Series the best line of setting material ever produced. Although the quality varies somewhat, the line has aged remarkably well.

I would like to direct your attention to the remarks made by Allen Varney in the comments section under the article and to which I completely agreee:

It would be appropriate here to praise Bruce Heard, TSR's ace Acquisitions Editor during the Known World's heyday. Bruce lavished attention on the Known World and the Gazetteer line as beloved children. You might also mention designer Aaron Allston, who did standout work on several Gazetteers and the Hollow World boxed set, as well as the massive D&D Rules Cyclopedia. More than a few fans still assert the Cyclopedia was the finest incarnation of the D&D/AD&D ruleset. 

Looking at the list of other authors involved with the series there is a surprising number of names of people who later became legends of their own in the industry in addition to Heard and Allston. According to Bruce Heard, most of those who worked at TSR had a soft spot for the setting which later came to be known as Mystara.

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor had been published in 1986 and the gazetteer line, beginning the very next year incorporated the background from the DA series into the history of the Known World. Blackmoor became a mythical prehistoric civilization that still had a significant impact on the setting described in the Gazetteer series. Gaz3 the Principalities of Glantri (by Bruce Heard) has several references to Blackmoor and even offers ways to connect the two settings through time travel. Gaz 7 The Brokenlands (also by Heard) also incorporated the legacy of Blackmoor's history into the setting. Gaz 13 the Shadowelves (by Carl Sergeant and Gary Thomas) featured among other things, Rafiel, an Immortal who could still remember Blackmooor. Most of the other Gazetteers also have some references to Blackmoor. The Gazetteer series did among other things helped keep the knowledge of Blackmoor alive among D&D gamers.


As Arneson's original D&D campaign, Blackmoor was already becoming legendary. In the Gazetteer line, Blackmoor became a sort of mythical land within the fantasy setting as well; a place from which everything originated.

Havard

More Maps!

When I posted about Dave L's maps the other day, some of those who commented expressed a dislike about the site hosting the maps. Now Dave L has made more Blackmoor hex maps and he has allowed me to upload them all to my site!

The maps can be downloaded here.

Discuss the maps with their creator at the Comeback Inn.



-Havard

Final Blackmoor Cover!

Jim pinto of Knightime studios just posted what would have been the final version of the Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf cover. I posted an article of an earlier version of this cover back in November. I think this final version looks really good. How about you?

Read more about it and see more pictures at the Knighttime Studio blog. From the various images used, I recognize Lee Smith's Herald of Thanatos, posted on this blog a few days ago. In the top left corner is part of the image used at the cover of the City of the Gods adventure (ZG version).







-Havard

Blackmoor Sale at Noble Knight Games

Are you missing some of the 3E/4E sourcebooks for Blackmoor? Reading over at the OD&D Forum, I was made aware of a sale at Noble Knight Games where you can get 7 books from the line at $69.95.The package includes:

• Dave Arneson's Blackmoor 4E
• Clock & Steam
• Player's Guide to Blackmoor
• Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor
• The Wizards Cabal
• Redwood Scar
• Dave Arneson's Blackmoor

Might be worth checking out to complete your collection? :)








-Havard

Nostalgia

This is the first advert ZGG posted on their site announcing that they were going to be publishing Dave Arneson's Blackmoor (D20). Not the copyright from 2002. 8 years passed already!









-Havard

Age of the Wolf Art Revealed!

The Age of the Wolf product line for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor was cancelled. Artist Lee Smith was comissioned to do some of the illustrations for the project. Above is one of the pieces he made. The cap for the illustration reads:

The Herald of Thanatos is a massive mechanical construct that roams the lands, in its wake the dead rise from their graves and follow the machine as a legion of undead warriors.

 It's really interesting to see this wonderful illustrastion. It gives us alot of room to speculate to what the Age of the Wolf was really about. Based on this illustration alone, I'm getting associations with the Iron Kingdoms, perhaps with a hint of post apocalypse? The challenge with such a setting would probably be how to preserve the Arnesonian touch to the setting. I hope to reveal more news on this topic in the coming months!






-Havard

Blackmoor Coat of Arms

Thanks Jeff's Gameblog, I learned about this great online program where you can make Coats of Arms. This is going to be extremely useful for Blackmoor:

 

For the Coat of Arms for Blackmoor, I decided to stay in line with Stefan Poang's concept with a plain tower on a black background. For Williamsfort, I wanted to use the Blue Rider. I am not sure if it has ever been stated that Williamsfort is named after Sir William of the Heath, but I always assumed it was.

-Havard

El Raja Key and Blackmoor

The more I dig into the stories of the early days of the Blackmoor Campaign, the more I see how much it is connected to the other campaign settings being created at the same time. In order to learn more about the Great Kingdom (which later became Thonia) of the C&C Setting, I have been doing some much needed reading up on Greyhawk. However, it seems like what I just as much should have been doing is to learn more about the worlds of Robert J Kunz.

Kuntz was kind enough to direct me to one of his own current projects: El Raja Key. In this upcoming book, Kuntz also details the impact a few adventures in Blackmoor had on the Greyhawk campaign:

"Within 4-6 weeks of our first adventure into Blackmoor Gary had a rough first draft of the new rules and several levels of the new dungeon, Greyhawk, to play-test these.  His daughters and Ernie were the first adventurers; the second one consisted of myself (Robilar), my brother Terry (Terik), Ernie Gygax (Tenser) and Elise Gygax (Ahlissa).  Within 4 weeks of this second adventure and the ones that followed on a daily and nightly basis, I crafted the first levels of El Raja Key, at first with the intent of only judging Gary therein, as he had been pulling double duty with writing the D&D rules as well as designing the levels beneath Greyhawk Castle.  After starting his PCs Yrag and Mordenkainen within it, Gary took his first step at making me the co-DM of the Greyhawk “Campaign” as then understood.  As the play-tests had been fast and furious,  many of the earliest PCs had grown very quickly in level and were moving to the outdoor.  I was allowed to DM these outdoor adventures just prior to completing my journey as Robilar to “China” (which earned me the co-DM mantle permanently and on all levels). ..."

 Robilar and Mordenkeinen may have been Greyhawk PCs, but as they also appeared in Arneson's campaign, they should also be considered part of the history of Blackmoor. It would not be inappropriate to use them as NPCS in Blackmoor along with the Wizard of the Woods, the Great Svenny and all those others.

-Havard

Harpies

I've never really regarded the Harpy as a particularly Blackmoorian creature, but on Friday, A Paladin in Citadel made me remember the legendary harpy illustration from Supplement II. I wonder to what extent the monster selection from Supplement II should be an indication of which creatures are the most common in Blackmoor. Based on who wrote what in that supplement, perhaps not so much, but then again, the book does have the Blackmoor label on the cover and Dave didnt seem to mind having it associated with himself even in later years.



-Havard