Clock & Steam (2007) - A Sourcebook for ZGG's Dave Arneson's Blackmoor D20 Line

Clock & Steam (2007) was published by Zeitgeist Games and focused on adding various forms of technology such as clockwork and steam technology mixed with a bit of magic to the d20 Dave Arneson's Blackmoor product line. 

This was one of the last books that were published for D&D 3E by Zeitgeist Games before their team up with Code Monkey Press. Written by Rodney Thompson, the book introduced a new Inventor Class that would later be revisited in the sadly short lived 4E update of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor. The sourcebook produced game statistics for a number of technological items, including original Blackmoor campaign items like the Warhorse and Armor belonging to the Blue Rider.  Interestingly the book states that the material within is not official Blackmoor material.

Clock & Steam 

Blackmoor Creator: Dave Arneson 

Executive Producers: Dave Arneson and Dustin Clingman 

Writer and Designer: Rodney Thompson 

Blackmoor Line Developer: C.A. Suleiman 

Cover Artist: John Donahue 

Interior Artists: Dan Bryce, Jon Hodgson, Doug Kovacs, Britt Martin, and Beth Trott 

Cartographer: Ed Bourelle 

Art Director: jim pinto 

 Once viewed as the idle pursuit of low races, the development of clockwork and steam power has since swept across the lands of the North like a wildfire. High Thonians now boast the bravest and most innovative advances in these arts, and the call for the fruits of their labors grows louder with each passing day. But every new order threatens the old, and resistance to the march of progress grows, as well. What stand will you take in the name of science? Harness the Power of Invention ! Welcome to Clock and Steam, the comprehensive guide to "gadgetech" for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor. This long-awaited sourcebook reveals the ways in which clockwork and steam-powered devices have shaped the lands of Blackmoor, and adds new dimensions of play to any fantasy campaign. Now players can step into the role of creator, with a new base class-the inventor-and prestige classes such as the clock mage, the infuser, and the warmaker! 

 Publisher : Zeitgeist Games (January 1, 2008) 

ISBN-10 : 0978576152 ISBN-13 : 978-0978576158 

Item Weight : 12.6 ounces 

By the PDF from DrivethruRPG (not an affiliated ID link)

Read more about this sourcebook at The Comeback Inn

Do you own this book? How would you use it in a campaign?

-Havard

Return to the Temple of the Frog, WotC 2007

 In 2007, Wizards of the Coast decided to revisit one of the most iconic locations in Blackmoor. Return to the Temple of the Frog was published and released as a free PDF on the Wizards of the Coast Website. This was quite surprising since Dave Arneson's company Zeitgeist Games were publishing Blackmoor at the time as well. Dave Arneson is surprisingly not credited for the adventure even though it is clearly based on his original designs and concepts. The PDF does credit Dave Arneson as one of the creators of D&D however. The Temple of the Frog has gone through many iterations and I detailed a history of the adventure over at my website. 

Return to the Temple of the Frog takes place more than twenty years after the original adventure and the defeat of the Temple. Known to his followers only as Saint Stephen, D&D's first arch villain has somehow managed to rebuilt the temple with newly gained abilities. New adventurer's are needed and will be put up against mutated apes, cyborgs and an enormous mutated frog before they finally can confront Saint Stephen and his nefarious allies. 

The adventure provides updated maps of the original Temple of the Frog and presents players with 3E rules for sci fi weaponry and equipment as well as stats for some of the classic opponents found in the Temple. In many ways this adventure is a replay of the 1987 version (DA2) of the adventure, although with much of the surrounding framework removed or changed. 

The introduction provided on the website at the time was as follows: 

"The Order of the Frog was led by a man of resource and ambition. High Priest Saint Stephen and four companions appeared out of nowhere and took over the order twenty five years ago. Though Stephen and his companions seemed normal enough (except for the slight greenish cast of their skin), they were quite literally not of this world. They were aliens, members of a scientific expedition that crash landed on this planet some years ago. Temple of the Frog was first published in the 1975 D&D Supplement II Blackmoor. It was later republished in 1986 as module DA2, Temple of the Frog. In the original adventure, the PCs were hired to find a missing person (Rissa Aleford, Baroness of the Lakes) and investigate a strange cult based on the worship of frogs. Return to the Temple of the Frog picks up the adventure decades later. During an adventuring party's assault on the temple over twenty years ago, Saint Stephen escaped the conflict and hid in the swamp until the adventurers departed. Having completed their raid, rescued the prisoner they had come for, and hurriedly looted the temple, the heroes left the area and never looked back. Saint Stephen entered the temple hoping to salvage anything that he could. The Order of the Frog was done for, all his fellow aliens were slain, and his frog cultists had fled or were put to the sword. He only wanted enough to allow him to flee the swamp and find a new hiding place. He found more than he had counted on...."

Title: Return to the Temple of the Frog

Year Published (2007, Wizards of the Coast)

Format: PDF

Pages: 36

Author: Ted Albert

Have you played Return to the Temple of the Frog? What did you think about it? What is your favorite version of this adventure location?

• More discussion of this adventure at The Comeback Inn. 

-Havard

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

Riders of Hak (2007) for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor

 

Riders of Hak 

A sourcebook for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor 

Riders of Hak details the human culture known as the Peshwah. The Peshwah are an important nation living near the Kingdom of Blackmoor in Dave Arneson's campaign setting. I have always been fascinated with the Peshwah. In the First Fantasy Campaign, this group of horsemen were referred to simply as nomads, while the DA modules used the name Peshwah and DA3 The City of the Gods gave much additional detail on these tribes.  I also wrote about the Peshwah tribes in this article. 

Looking back at this book now in 2024, my favorite parts of the book are definitely the expansions on Peshwah culture and their history in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor setting. Like many of the books in this series and other D&D products at the time, I feel that they suffer a bit from the idea that every 3rd Edition sourcebook needed to include a number of new feats, prestigue classes and the like. While having such rules definitely can be useful for fans running a 3E game in Blackmoor, it does some times come at the expense of other things that I would have liked to see more of in the book. 

Here is a review at The Comeback Inn that I wrote some years ago. 

The Back Cover reads: 

Children of the horsegod Hak, the Peshwah believe they are a chosen people. Birthed to protect Hak's sacred lands and guide Hak's sacred horses, they are brothers and sisters of his divine spirit, and feel they hold a particular destiny and a special place in this, their land. From the rocky peaks of the High Hak to the dusty floor of the Valley of the Ancients, the tribes of the Peshwah roam. Horseman, nomad, prophet, merchant, warrior... each is a face of the Peshwah. Welcome to Riders of Hak, the definitive sourcebook on the Peshwah for Dave Arneson

Written By: David Brainard and Tad Kilgore. With additional material by C.A.Suleiman. 

Format: Softcover, PDF 

Publisher: Code Monkey Publishing / Zeitgeist Games 

Year: 2008 (interior says 2007) 

Product Code: CMP4508 ISBN-10: 0978576160 ISBN-13: 9780978576165 

83 pages 

Size: Letter 

Riders of Hak can be purchased from DrivethruRPG for only 5$ (US) in PDF format. 

More details about Riders of Hak at the Comeback Inn, including input from the book's author.

-Havard

Blackmoor Age of the Wolf to be Published by Studio Ink Bat

Looks like 2024 and the 50th Anniversary of D&D will have a lot of great things in store for fans of the creations of Dave Arneson. Loyal followers of this blog will be familiar with the Age of the Wolf which was supposed to be released just before Dave Arneson passed away. Now it seems like the original designers of that book have joined up with Studio Ink Bat to make sure the fans finally get to see what this was all about. 

INK BAT TO PUBLISH D&D CO-CREATOR DAVE ARNESON’S FINAL RPG PROJECT

STUDIO TO RELEASE THE LONG-AWAITED NEW EDITION OF BLACKMOOR, THE FIRST FANTASY CAMPAIGN SETTING

WASHINGTON, DC (03/12/24): Studio Ink Bat announced today that it will release the final tabletop roleplaying game sourcebook directly overseen by the late Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and the creator of Blackmoor, the fantasy setting in which the game was first incubated. Entitled Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf, the book is a fiction of ideas, taking the classic setting’s timeline and sending it centuries into the future.

The announcement was made by Denise Robinson, Art Director for Studio Ink Bat. “I had the chance to meet Dave Arneson,” said Robinson. “And as so many others did, I liked him immediately. When the opportunity arose to help release the last RPG project created by Dave’s own team, I knew we had to jump. The content is fantastic, too. If you aren’t a Blackmoor fan, yet, Age of the Wolf is sure to make a believer out of you.”

“After a fifteen-year wait, I could not be happier to see this project finally come to fruition,” added C.A. Suleiman, developer of Dave Arneson’s tabletop projects at the time of his passing in 2009. “With the 50th anniversary of D&D; the 20th anniversary of the launch of an independent Blackmoor line overseen by Dave, himself; and the 15th anniversary of the legend’s passing, the timing could scarcely be any more appropriate than it is right now.”

Back in 2009, the project was nearly complete and ready to be sent to the printer when Dave Arneson passed away suddenly. After that tragic turn of events, it didn’t seem right to release the book as planned originally, and so the project went into indefinite hibernation. “With the big anniversary year upon us,” Robinson concluded, “We feel the time is right to finally get this book into the hands of fans.”

Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is scheduled for release this August, 2024. As a supplemental edition for the setting, the book will be released system-neutral,  allowing players of any edition or expression of the world’s greatest roleplaying game to make immediate use of it.

About Studio Ink Bat

Ink Bat is a content development studio dedicated to the art of making excellent games. Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is Ink Bat’s first major release, but will surely not be its last. Ink Bat can be found online at http://ink-bat.com

About Dave Arneson

Dave Arneson is the late co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons. He is regarded the creator of the roleplaying game and innovator of the ‘dungeon adventure’ concept in tabletop gaming. Blackmoor is his original fantasy setting and the environment in which he and Gary Gygax incubated their legendary game. He passed away in 2009, but his profound legacy endures.

Are you excited about this news? What do you think this book will contain? 

More details at the Comeback Inn

Ink Bat Studios Press Release

-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

Exploring the Valley of the Ancients MMRPG style

Over four seasons of D&D adventures, Blackmoor the MMRPG has explored most of the plotlines ever detailed in the setting. It is not surprising that it would also have its own take on perhaps the deadliest of all of the adventure locations from Dave Arneson's campaign. I wrote about the early adventures Dave Arneson ran with the City of the Gods here.

Although hints to the City of the Gods go back to Supplement II's Temple of the Frog and the references to the Valley of the Ancients in the First Fantasy Campaign, this region was first explored in published form with DA3 City of the Gods. When Dave Arneson's company Zeitgeist Games got the lisence to do Blackmoor for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, they published a new version of the City of the Gods for that edition. The MMPRG also served to promote the Zeitgeist Games product line so it is not surprising that the time would eventually come for the Valley of the Ancients. This way players could bring their charaters from the MMRPG campaign into this famous adventure location. Over at the Comeback Inn, we are soon approaching the re-release of the last episodes of the MMRPG. Episode 90-L is available now as a free download.

Go here to download the MMRPG adventure!

Let me know what you think! Are you ready to see the remaining adventures of season 4 as well? :)


-Havard

Blackmoor Artists: Allen Alegado

One of the things I have wanted to do is to take a look at the artists who have been involved in illustrating Blackmoor over the year. One of the artists who was involved during the time when Zeitgeist Games was publishing Blackmoor was Allen Alegado. This artist based on Orlando, Florida has been working with illustrations for more than 15 years. I think some of these illustrations are really great and help bring to life aspects of the world of Dave Arneson that we have never seen before.

Allan created interior illustrations for several Blackmoor products, including the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Campaign Guide and also the cover art for Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor.

If you like Alegado's art, visit his website here.



Who is your favorite Blackmoor artist across the eras?




More discussion of this article.


-Havard

Death of the ZGG Forum

The MMRPG Forum over at ZGG's Website is gone and has been so, it seems since mid October. I have yet to get confirmation that this is a permanent removal of the forum, but at this point I would be very surprised if we ever get to see it back up. So what, you ask? The forum has not seen much activity for years, true. Unfortunately, many of the threads at that forum were pure gold. They had loads of setting ideas and tales from the original campaign. Many posts were made by the original Blackmoor players and contained unique information. Fortunately, most of this information has been saved at the Wood of the Revenant over at our Comeback Inn Forum. Still it is sad to see the Forum disappear. This is was a worry that I discussed with a few hard core Blackmoor fans, already when we first learned that the lisence would come to an end, and this was one of the reasons why we set up our own Blackmoor Forum.

Second Time Around
Sadly, this is not the first time for the ZGG forum to be removed. When the original ZGG Forum was "merged" with the MMRPG Forum, the original threads from the ZGG forum were lost. The lessons learned then allowed us to make the backups I mentioned above. I particularly miss the discussions with poster Ecthelion at the original Forum back in 2004. Unfortunately forum threads are not archived through the Wayback Machine, reminding us that Internet information is indeed temporary in nature.

Get Your Downloads While You Can
While I don't want to sound too alarming, I would not be surprised if we will see a complete removal of Blackmoor Content from the ZGG site in the near future. ZGG have not had the lisence to use Blackmoor since the beginning of this year, so there is no reason why they should keep all the freebies occupying their hard drives. Better safe than sorry. Download what you can now.

-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

The Dwarven Area 51

Reading some of the interesting stuff about the dwarves and gnomes of the Dwimmermount campaign posted on Grognardia a few weeks back made me want to write something similar for Blackmoor. However, I then realized that something has has been bothering me for a while.

While the Dwarves of Blackmoor are mostly standard dwarves with not much to differentiate them from dwarves of any other D&D setting, the one thing that perhaps makes them stand out a little is their creation of huge mechanical devices. Not that this doesnt occur in other settings too of course, but since technology is such an important theme in the Blackmoor setting, the fact that dwarves are building such equipment suggests that it is a more prominent feature for the dwarves too, than in other worlds where it could be just one of many schticks.

But yeah, something has been bothering me about all of this. As I mentioned in the article about the movie Outlander; once you introduce a Space Ship into the campaign, it ought to mean something. In my opinion, the origin of all technology (beyond medieval level) should be the City of the Gods.

I was hoping that ZG would follow this pattern and was a little disappointed when, looking through the Clock & Steam has no mention of City of the Gods, but rather traces Clockwork technology back to Gnome inventors like Galen Lato (inventor of the first telescope) and Artigan (Inventor of the first clockwork construct). A dwarf, Borgrim Stonehammer, was responsible for the first use of  Steam Power.

However, the question that remains unanswered is; what triggered the whole thing? Perhaps Gnome clock makers had been experimenting a little on their own for centuries, but something must have sparked ideas that triggered a sort of Industrial Revolution? It then occurred to me; the dwarves must have had access to a major find from the City of the Gods. Some sort of Area 51. I could see the dwarves, taking in a few selected gnome Alchemists into the deepest of caves under Mount Uberstar. What does this dwarven Area 51 contain? Perhaps an explorer type vessel used by one of of St. Stephen's allies, possibly even a kidnapped alien? Or simply various technological artifacts stolen from the Temple of the Frog, and collected for studies? Whatever it is, it must be something that had a serious impact on Dwarven society. Something that made the Dwarven and Gnomish sages make leaps in their technological advances that they would never have without it.

Recently, the Dwarven alliance between King Uther and Regent Oberstar Kazakhum (played by Walter Oberstar) meant that the clever minds of the Blackmoor University got some insight into dwarven secrets. While the Dwarves undoubtedly still keep some things to themselves, this cooperation holds promises of an even more incredible development for the future.





-Havard

Code Monkey Press Forum is back up

But the Monkeys weren't dead. Code Monkey Publishing suffered some hard blows at the end of 2009, with both the Blackmoor lisence expiring, and the announcement that their cooperation with Zeitgeist Games was coming to an end in early 2010.

At this time, the CMP forum had been down even longer, since being attacked by hackers, apparently.

However, now the forum is back up and it looks like they have plans to get back to business as usual. It is unclear whether this will have any relevance for fans of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, now that the lisence from WotC is ancient history, but it seems like CMP executive Robert Reed has not given up his plans for a New Lands Setting.

We are discussing this development in greater detail over at the Comeback Inn.







-Havard

Nostalgia part II

This the second teaser for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, posted on the ZGG website back in 2002. The first teaser poster featured a Gnoll or a Beastman. This one, features a sinister looking woman. She is exotic in appearance and wears a kind of crown. Most likely, this is supposed to be Toska Rusa, the leader of the Afridhi.




-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

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

Well, they're still here...

Well, they are still here! In the beginning of December I suggested there might only be one month left to buy Blackmoor products. I guess I was wrong! Code Monkey Publishing (CMP) did say the lisence would end early 2010 which is a fairly vague phrase.

Having hear no word on the matter from either ZGG or CMP this year, I figured checking the online stores would be a good way of finding out if anything is happening to the situation.

 RPGNow/Drivethru have the best offers for pdfs that I have seen so far. If you have some money left after Christmas, I guess you still have a chance to complete your collection.

Edit: Paizo offers print copies of the Blackmoor: First Campaign (4E) sourcebook.






-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

One Month Left?

According to the recent press releases from CMP/ZGG, the lisence agreement with WotC expires at the end of the year or early next years. This could mean there's less than a month left for those of you who are interested in getting legal Blackmoor pdfs and havent done so yet. Code Monkey's Website has been problematic for ages and today I couldnt even access their store. You can get most of the pdfs in stores like drivethru.com, rpgnow.com or paizo.com. Drivethru/RPGnow seems to have lower prices than paizo does for this line of products. Robert Reed mentioned that there would be a 20% discount at some of the stores.

 

 

 

 

 

Havard

THE NEW LANDS - THE FUTURE OF BLACKMOOR?

In the Code Monkey Publishing press release of November 16th, Robert Reed mentioned a contingency plan CMP has had in place for the last two years should the WotC lisence not be renewed.

That backup plan is 'The New Lands', a new setting with ties to Blackmoor. Apparently, seeds to the setting have been planted in earlier products and the MMRPG.

What do we know about this new setting? the CMP Press Release suggests it will contain various material produced for Blackmoor during the ZGG era which does not belong to WotC. Robert Reed mentioned Classes, the Docrae Race, and Skelfer Ard the magician of legend.


Fan discussions since then have raised concerns about splitting the campaign between two settings. Also the name "New Lands" has been criticized for being too generic.

Furthermore, ZGG's subsequent press release revealed that things were a bit more complicated. What is owned by WotC and what is owned by ZGG is not clear at the moment it seems. Also, relations between ZGG and CMP are unclear as their agreements also expire early next year.

Will the New Lands setting be the future of Blackmoor? Will it ever see the light of day? Only time will tell!













Havard