City of the Gods (2008) for the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor d20 Line

 

The oldest published reference to the City of the Gods is in the First Fantasy Campaign. This adventure proved deadly to many of the player characters from Dave Arneson's campaign and was probably played out shortly after the publication of Dungeons & Dragons. Another group of players who realised the dangers of this fabled location were none other than Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, as chronicled by Rob Kuntz in Oerth Journal #6. It was clear at the time that Gary wanted to explore the idea of combining fantasy and science fiction. In 1980, TSR published the adventure Expedition to Barrier Peaks. Written by Gary Gygax, it was a different, but similar concept. It was the 1987 TSR module DA3 City of the Gods (Dave Arneson & David Ritchie) that would finally make the adventure available to D&D players worldwide. 

In 2008, Dave Arneson's company Zeitgeit Games decided to revisit the adventure. Written by Harley Stroh, the d20 version is not a mere rehash of the 1987 module, but explores other parts of the crashed spaceship that is at the heart of the adventure. It also expands the lands surrounding the City of the Gods greatly. To me this will remain one of the highlights of the d20 Blackmoor line. 

The back cover reads:

Deep in the heart of the harsh landscape of the Valley of the Ancients lies Blackmoors greatest mystery an accursed place the local desert tribes know only as the City of the Gods. One royal expedition to the site has already failed to return and now the heroes must traverse unforgiving wilds and dangers untold in search of truth and if they can survive the journey the glory of a lifetime. Whet your blades and ready your spells heroes for the greatest of trials awaits! Welcome to City of the Gods one of the most infamous and enduring mysteries in the long and storied history of Dave Arnesons Blackmoor. Designed for four to six characters of 9th to 10th level this epic adventure is sure to challenge even the bravest heroes be they peasants or nobles warriors or wizards. Will you succeed where so many others have failed or will you too fall victim to the unearthly perils that lie in wait in the forgotten City of the Gods?

Title: City of the Gods

Author: Harley Stroh 

Executive Producers: Dave Arneson & Dustin Clingman

Editor: C.A. Suleiman

ISBN: N/A

Pages: 108

Publishers: Zeitgeist Games & Code Monkey Press (2008)

Purchase a copy at DrivethruRPG (currently for 3$) - This blog does not use affiliate links.

Do you have a copy of this adventure? Have you adventured near the City of the Gods?

Read more about City of the Gods at The Comeback Inn,

-Havard

The End - Officially?

Last year, we learned that the Blackmoor lisence agreement between WotC and ZG was ending by the end of 2009. There were hints of possibilties of negotiating a continuation of the agreement, though given WotC's changed attitude towards lisencing out its property and the fact that Arneson was no longer in the picture made the chances seem slim.

Other speculations included the possibilities of ZG's partner, Code Monkey Publishing launching a new, but related setting, sometimes referred to as the New Lands. However, this hope was reduced when ZG announced that their relationship with CMP would also come to an end in early 2010. An announcement at CMP's website of coming changes to their site was announced in early january, but as of now, the site can still be considered Out of Order.

A few days ago, the president of ZG (now IMI labs) made the following statement at the Comeback Inn:

"Age of the Wolf is a CMP project, but both Dave [Arneson] and I were involved in the early framing of the effort. CMP handled the oversight for the development.  AoW is not planned for release at this time in any format. IMI has no business relationship with CMP at this time nor are there any immediate plans."

 I interpret this as the closest thing we are going to get as an official statement that ZG and CMP's involvement with Blackmoor have come to an end. Barring a dramatic change in attitude from WotC towards lisencing out their property, any chance of seeing published Blackmoor material in the future would have to come from WotC themselves. Given the wide range of trademarks owned by WotC, that might not be too likely either, but who knows?





-Havard

The Blackmoor Archives

I first set up my Blackmoor Website back in 2002. I had just heard that a new company called Zeitgeist Games had obtained the lisence to release new Blackmoor products. I really wanted the company to succeed in putting out a line of Blackmoor supplements and I wanted to to my part. The idea was to set up a website collecting various fan produced material from across the web, collecting links an so on. My initial plan was to try to have an update each month, so that it would be clear that this was a vibrant site, not just a static collection of information.

Having the site also increased my love for Blackmoor. I got a deeper understanding of the setting because I had to process all of the material I was uploading to my site. In 2003, I went to GenCon where I ran into Dustin Clingman. I was really proud when he introduced me to Dave Arneson and Joseph Goodman, stating that I was the keeper of the best Blackmoor fansite on the Internet.

This year the Fansite saw its biggest expansion to this day, with the grand opening of the Comback Inn; a forum connected to the site. This weekend I have gone over the site again, renaming it the Blackmoor Archives! Links have been updated and new articles and downloads have been added. I have many other interesting plans for the website in the coming decade.






-Havard

Who owns Zeitgeist Games?

"My name is Dustin. I am the CEO of IMI Labs, LLC, a virtual world development studio and parent company of Zee Gee Games. I was previously the CEO of Zeitgeist Games, Inc, which I sold in 2008"

The above quote is taken from Dustin Clingman's website. I was a bit surprised by this. Granted, Clingman has not been taking part in the promotion of Blackmoor products for a long time. His last post on the MMRPG forum was made on March 10th, 2008, a little over a month after the announcement of the publishing agreement with Code Monkey Press:

"Oviedo Florida -- Zeitgeist Games announced today that it has completed a publishing agreement with Code Monkey Publishing, LLC to assume production of it's existing and future role playing gaming products. "We're very excited to be working with Code Monkey" said Zeitgeist Games President Dustin Clingman. "We've had an outstanding relationship with CMP for years and this is a very natural progression. They're going to be able to give all of our products and customers the proper attention that they deserve -- these are exciting days!"
Clingman further detailed the publishing plans going forward saying that existing products in the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor line would go to print in rapid succession and that the company had already begun work on a revision of the Core Campaign materials for D&D 4th edition while it continues to support its existing d20 products."

One question that arises is what happened to Arneson's shares in the company. From what I understand, Arneson was also a part owner of Zeitgeist Games, something which most likely was what made the publishing of Blackmoor possible in the first place. Had Arneson previously sold his shares to Clingman? CEO or not, Clingman introduced himself as President of Zeitgeist Games as late as November 2009.

While the quote from Clingman's website states that he sold ZGG, but is the owner of Zee Gee Games, the Zee Gee Games Website states that this is the same company that simply changed name:

"Introducing ZeeGee Games!
07/08/2009

Zeitgeist Games becomes ZeeGee Games. Same great people, new easier to pronounce name! Check back for more information!"

 I guess the gaming industry is a complicated place!





-Havard

ZEITGEIST STRIKES BACK?

Seems like the final word has not been said concerning the Blackmoor lisence. Today, Zeitgeist Games made the following announcement:

Given the ruckus this original mail triggered, I think a bit of clarification is in order.

At this point, Zeitgeist has been in negotiations for a renewal for quite some time. It's been radio silence for a while and it's not prudent from a business standpoint for anyone to wait around for the chance that a renewal will come through. In the end, if Zeitgeist is able to secure a renewal, we'll determine how to proceed from there.

So, from the factual department we have the following:

1. Blackmoor still has the best fans of any campaign setting
2. The Co-publishing agreement between CMP and ZG is expiring in early 2010
3. The future of Blackmoor RPG publication remains uncertain, but ZG is still pursuing and interested in renewing the license with WotC.
4. Blackmoor is a trademark of WoTC and the majority of the proper references within the 3rd and 4th Edition are the property of Wizards of the Coast.

Beyond that Zeitgeist Games would like to express it's thanks to CMP, the writers of books and episodes and of course, the fans for helping to keep Dave Arneson's world and legacy alive.

Sincerely,
Zeitgeist Games,Inc,
Dustin Clingman, President

What does this mean for the future of Blackmoor? WotC has not shown much interest in continuing any of their lisenced properties over the last few years. I wish Zeitgeist Games the best of luck in their efforts, but I would think that they would need a pretty big ace up their sleave to be able to get anything out of WotC. Still, if any part of the settlement between WotC and Arneson has been transferred to ZG or the Arneson Estate, anything is possible.

I also wonder if the statement regarding the future cooperation between ZG and Code Monkey Publishing will affect CMP's recently announced plans about the New Lands setting...


Stay tuned for more!



Havard

WHO OWNS BLACKMOOR?

Yesterday's announcement that WotC will not renew their contract with Zeitgeist Games over the Blackmoor lisence, preventing any future Blackmoor products from Zeitgeist Games/Code Monkey Press has created quite a buzz on various gaming forums.

One question many have asked is the question of who really owns the Blackmoor lisence. I might not be the final authority on this subject, but this is what I have found out so far:

Dave Arneson's Estate:
Dave stated that he owned the First Fantasy Campaign (FCC). This booklet was published by The Judges Guild, but Bob Bledsaw later transferred the rights back to Arneson. The FFC contain the early documentation of the setting, including early maps etc. Arneson has also for many years distributed D&D Supplement II on his website and has apparently been allowed to do so by WotC, though it is hard to tell whether this was a friendly gesture, ignorance on the behalf of WotC, or if it was part of some agreement between the two parties.

Wizards of the Coast:
WotC own the rights to the Blackmoor Trademark. I believe they also own the contents of the DA Modules, although what the ruling is on the material which exists in both the DA series and the FFC is anyones guess.

Zeitgeist Games/Dustin Clingman:
According to CMP's Robert Reed (Mynex), Clingman owns the rights to various elements that were added to Blackmoor during the 3E/4E era (2003-2009). This includes the halfing subrace called Docrae, the mysterious wizard Skelfer Aard, the 3E classes and probably other rules specific items. Code Monkey Press announced that they intend to make use of this in a future project labeled The New Lands. It is perhaps surprising that none of these additions were not retained by the Arneson estate.

Whether this division of ownership will be a disadvantage for Blackmoor in the future is hard to say. The biggest factor in such a future will most likely be WotC. It is possible that they could be interested in publishing modules based on the classic Blackmoor locations, though their disinclination to renew the lisence can also be seen as a continuation of a similar treatment of the Dragon, Dungeon, Ravenloft and Dragonlance lisences.






-Havard