[Races] Gatormen

Also known as Broadgrin, the Gatormen are, as the name implies a cross between man and aligator. The Gatormen of Blackmoor make their home in the Barrier Swamp. This swamp marks the border between the Duchy of Ten and the Duchy of the Peaks. There have been many speculations to where this horrid race came from. One theory is that they were created by Lord Ran at the time when he controlled the Duchy of Ten. The Egg of Coot has been known to spawn a number of mosterous creatures, and Ran is reported to have stolen many of the Egg's secrets when he betrayed his former master. Although fellow swamp dwellers, Gatormen have no love for Froglin and are clearly not followers of the Frog God. Most likely they are followers of Demogorgon.

Behind the Curtain:
DA4 is the first recorded appearance of Gatormen, who later appeared in the D&D Creature Catalog. This means the race was invented by Dave Arneson or David Ritchie. They were later incorporated into the Red Steel Setting (Mystara) through Bruce Heard's excellent Voyage of the Princess Ark series. Red Steel offered no link to Blackmoor, but instead provided a much later creation date for when the race supposedly was created by a Wizard. It seems likely that this Wizard had discovered some old Blackmoorian scrolls which he used as a basis for his recreated race.


-Havard

Arneson & Ritchie

Recently there have been a lot of speculations to the nature of the Arneson Ritchie working relationship. As most of you will know David J Ritchie was the co-author of DA modules 1-3 and the only author listed for DA4. Over the years, some have questioned to what degree the DA modules could be considered Arneson’s work. Perhaps the credits on the covers were simply a nod to the original creator and nothing else? And why was Arneson’s name omitted from DA4? My attempts to reach David J Ritchie have so far been unsuccessful. Dustin Clingman has earlier stated that Arneson was consulted on the DA modules, but it has been unclear to what extent this consultation.

Greg Svenson clarifies:

“Dave Arneson worked with Dave Richie on DA1-3. His contract with TSR gave him the right to review all Blackmoor material before it was published, but DA4 was published before he was able to review. So, that was most of his problem with that module.”

Not only was Ritchie working based on notes submitted by Arneson over the years, but he was also able to review the modules with the exception of DA4. This confirms my suspicion that Arneson had significant influence over these products. In the case of DA4, there has been a lot of discussion to whether there were specific elements in that module that Arneson directly objected to, but Greg’s comment above does not seem to support this. In addition Greg reveals that:

“I am also sure that he objected to the fact that the Ran of Ah Foo, the leader of one one of Blackmoor's major enemies, was not even mentioned in the module. All the rest of this discussion […] is just speculation.”

The absence of the Ran of Ah Foo was indeed a surprise given the importance of this archvillain in the FFC. David Ross raised the question of Ran's disappearance in the Blackmoor Fan gazetteer and suggested that he might have died, but this explanation seemed less than satisfactory.It makes sense that this is something Arneson would have changed, had he been given time to review the module.




-Havard

[LFC] Skelfer Ard is the Ran of Ah Foo!

In the Last Fantasy Campaign, the game Rafael is running for us over at the Comeback Inn, a frightening revelation has just dawned on the heroes: Legendary wizard Skelfer Ard and Ran the Lich-King are one and the same!

Who are these guys again? Let's backtrack a little. Centuries ago, the magic users of the north were fighting over the Wild Magic that is so potent in the lands surrounding Blackmoor. Noone knows its true source, but many suspect it is tied to the very magical rock that Blackmoor Castle is built on. As these so-called mage wars raged on, Skelfer worked in his laboratory and came up with a way to control the wild magic, through the use of crystals. With his newly gained powers, he brought an end to the mage wars and set up an organization to keep magic under control in the future. This organization was called the Wizards Cabal. Once his work was done, Skelfer simply disappeared. Noone knows where he went off to, though the speculations have seemed without limit.

Lord Ran, or the Ran of Ah' Foo is another equally mysterious entity. He was believed to have started out as the puppet of the Egg of Coot, who then turned upon his master, seeking refuge in the west. For a while, he ran the Duchy of Ten, but this must have ended before the Afridhi invaded those lands.How could a good mage like Skelfer have been turned into a creature like Ran? Did he witness such dark things during the mage wars, that he could never go back to being truly good? Or did he fall under the spell of the Egg of Coot, just like Moorkok the Slayer?




-Havard

THE EGG OF COOT

[Image:Mock Cover module, by Havard]

The Egg of Coot is perhaps the most infamous of Blackmoor’s enemies. Dave Arneson describes the Egg, humorously in the First Fantasy Campaign.

The following is my own interpretation of what the Egg:

Nature of the Egg
The Origins of the Egg of Coot are a mystery. Some scholars believe that it is one of the remaining servitors of the Outer Beings. In the Age of Blackmoor, these servitors are referred to as Elder Demons, and once dominated the entire continent. The Egg appears as a huge globe of mossy gray flesh and eyeballs and mouths randomly scattered across the slimy surface. The Egg is buried deep under ground and almost never moves. Tunnels beneath the fortress known as the Egg’s Nest lead to the Chamber of the Egg which its most trusted servants use to contact their master. The Egg is the definition of Evil. It is highly intelligent and communicates with its fanatical followers through Telepathy.

The Egg has powerful magical powers. It is also a master of technomancy, but the technomancy used by the Egg is a different form of the art than what is practised at the University of Blackmoor. Fusing technology and necromancy allows the egg to created technologically enhanced zombies. Its highest ranking servants are technomantic Liches.

The Egg is also able to produce magical items including:

Juggernaut of Doom
This powerful War Machine is similar to regular Juggernauts and may travel through forested areas without any movement penalty due to huge cutting blades constantly swinging along its sides. Anyone approaching the juggernaut from the sides must save vs Dragon Breath or suffer 3d8 points of damage. The Juggernaut of Doom may carry up to 50 humanoids.

Wraith Blade
These wicked Bastard Swords are enchanted with the Vampiric Regeneration ability (the wielder heals Hit Points equal do damage dealt) which is usable once per day. However, points regenerated this way must be recorded. Once the total number of HP recovered from usage of this ability, the wielder becomes a Wraith himself.

Wraith Crossbow
These heavy Crossbows may fire once per round due to Repeting technology and magic. Long tubes reach from the Crossbow to the bolt quiver.

Wraith Mantle
These technomagical heavy mantles have the Etherealness ability similar to the potion of the same effect.

Potion of Poison
As the magical item of the same name.

Motivation
The goals of the Egg are difficult to grasp for mere mortal minds, but sages have some theories:

The Egg is Evil in a cosmological sense. It is the ultimate manifestation of selfishness at the expense of others and as such sees Blackmoor, a force of good, as a threat to its philosophy. Unlike the Afridhi, the Egg is not Chaotic, but perhaps closer to Lawful Evil, trying to force everyone and everything into submitting to its will. This is why someone like Marfeldt the Barbarian is willing to aid Blackmoor in the struggle against the Egg. It is also possible that the Egg through some precognition has recognized Blackmoor as a possible threat to its existance.

The Egg is interested in magic and technology. It may be what brought the Beagle to Blackmoor in the first place, but it has not been able to retrieve any technology from the City of the Gods itself. Rumours that the humans of Blackmoor have been able to retrieve artifacts from that City is of great interest to the Egg.

The Realm of the Egg
The Realm of the Egg is a place filled with sinister disorienting mists. Large towering structures can be seen surrounded by smaller ruined and abandoned buildings. Cities and towns appear desolate, although there are creatures lurking in the shadows. The land was raised from the sea and some of the structures seen were originally built by Merfolk

The Egg’s Nest is an impenetrable fortress. Colossal rocks enforced by rusting steel bars and huge iron doors are some of the most prominent features of the Nest. Going deeper underground, the halls are a mixture of metal rails, cold rock, mushy swamp like growths covering some of the walls and slime dripping from the ceilings.

Thralls of Coot
The Egg’s servants are known as the Thralls of Coot. They are fitted with a symbiote which make them completely under the control of the Egg. Under certain circumstances, the true nature of the Thralls can be seen. The Thralls get a bluish glow to their eyes and their faces become twisted. These features can be hidden, but become stronger when the Thralls are within the Realm of the Egg. The Champion of the Egg, known as Moorcock the Slayer is the ultimate Thrall of Coot. He was originally a Skandaharian Warrior, but now he has fallen under the control of the Egg. The loss of one of their greatest warriors has created enmity between the Skandarians and the Egg. The Ran of Ah’ Foo is another of the Egg’s creations, but one who betrayed its master and left for the Duchy of Ten. It is possible that the Egg

Egg and the Valley of the Ancients
Being a master of technomancy, the Egg is certainly interested in the artifacts coming out of the Valley of the Ancients. It is possible that it was in fact the Egg which caused the FSS Beagle to crash, drawing it as close as possible to its own realm for further studies.

The Spawn of Coot
The Egg is able to create miniature versions of itself known as Spawn of Coot. The Spawn is intimately tied to the Egg, and there is a telepathic bond between the Egg and the Spawn. At the early stages of the Spawn, the link extends to life force as well, so damaging the Egg will also hurt its spawn. Most likely this bond will be broken when the Spawn grows to a sufficient size. There are rumours that that the followers of Coot were preparing for the seeds of the Egg of Coot to be spread throughout the world.

Thanks to Rafael and others for suggestions and input on this one.

Sources
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=37535
http://blackmoor.mystara.us/Coot.html
http://mmrpg.zeitgeistgames.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=151
http://www.thepiazza.org.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=278&p=27385&hilit=Coot#p27385








Havard