The Piazza celebrated its 17th birthday this Weekend!

The Piazza website was created for fans who wanted to discuss the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. 17 years later, the forum is still going on strong! The forum is known for being open to all editions and settings as well as non D&D games. The forum is home to a number of dedicated fans as well as several game designers and is known for its friendly atmosphere. While the most popular D&D settings like the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk have vibrant fan discussions at The Piazza, you can also find very strong followings for less famous settings like Mystara and Spelljammer and many at The Piazza love digging up the most obscure D&D products they can find. The Piazza takes pride in having fans of the latest editions of D&D enjoying civil discussions with fans of the TSR era aditions. 

This Weekend, from May 30th - June 1st, The Piazza celebrated its birthday. The 17th Birthday Party was celebrated on Discord, both as a voice and text chat. The Discord was opened to non-members for the occasion. Former TSR designer Frank Mentzer dropped by to wish everyone a happy birthday. Thorf (from the Atlas of Mystara) and Ashtagon (creator of The Piazza) both had live streams where they did live fantasy map making. Aulddragon ran a Spelljammer adventure on Twitch where several party guests attended as audience members and players. 

As a special surprise, a new section of the Piazza forum was opened. This one dedicated to Minor D&D Worlds. A typical Piazza birthday party tradition is that a certain number of guests can choose new custom titles. There are more of those that have gone unclaimed this year, so its not too late! 

Overall a very successful online party. Thanks to everyone who came out to say hello. I look forward to many more! 

What are your favorite experiences with The Piazza?

-Havard

World of Greyhawk Gazetteer Revised on DMsGuild is Amazing and Free!

This excellent sourcebook was recently released on the DMsGuild from Cannibaal Press. The PDF can be bought for 0 USD or more if you like the book. Also, we just learned that the DMsGuild has promised that they will allow for a Print on Demand version of this book just based on the quality of the product. It is a very professionally presented book that gives a great overview of the setting. 

I came across news of this sourcebook in a discussion over at The Piazza. From what I understand, this book is aimed at new fans who want to learn about Greyhawk, though it is definitely also a very useful reference for older fans. I personally love that both Arn and Blackmoor are used to reference the region so that people who have learned about Arn from the DMG will be able to find their way to the works of Dave Arneson. 

It is also great seeing so many people across the fandom having helped contribute to the book. I am not a hard core Greyhawk fan, but it is always wonderful to see the amazing maps of Anna Meyer along with many familiar names on the list of contributors for art, writing and other aspects. Seeing my good friend David "Big Mac" Shepheard (From The Piazza!) having written a Spelljammer related section for Greyspace was also very nice. 

This is not a sponsored review. The PDF is free from the DM's Guild. My blog has always been and will remain a non-commercial, non profit fan undertaking. I do appreciate feedback and comments though. Have you downloaded this sourcebook yet? If not, I recommend you check it out. And let me know what you think! :)

Click Here to Download the World of Greyhawk Gazetteer Revised

More discussion of this article at The Comeback Inn,

-Havard

Dragonborn of Blackmoor: Free Fan Sourcebook by Jon Gómez (Blackmoor Week Day 6)

 I love that Blackmoor Week can inspire fans to add their creativity to the world of Blackmoor. Over at The Piazza,  Jon Gómez (aka Zeromaru X) has created a fan sourcebook called Dragonborn of Blackmoor.

Jon has been working on this project for years and he has really put his soul into this fan sourcebook. He has even added his own hand drawn illustrations which is pretty amazing. This is a 27 page document packed with information. 

You can download this document for free here.

What is Blackmoor Week and how can you join in? Glad you asked!

-Havard

Threshold #34 The Mystara Magazine is out

 

Threshold Magazine, the Mystara fan magazine that I helped start has another issues out! 

 Issue 34 is called Future and Alternate Mystaras. Download this free 256 page PDF and use it's thirteen articles it in your Mystara games!

It is produced for fans by fans in association with the Vaults of Pandius and The Piazza. 

Download for free!

-Havard

WotC removes Blackmoor from Greyhawk in 2024

Wizards of the Coast has produced a new map of Greyhawk where Blackmoor has been removed. I first learned about this when I saw a post by my friend Big Mac at the Piazza the Piazza D&D Worlds forum where he discusses the lastest youtube video from Greyhawk Grognard video from Greyhawk Grognard going through the new WotC produced map. 

The map in question is the Greyhawk map that is going to appear in WotC's upcoming 2024 D&D Dungeon Master's Guide. Greyhawk is from what I understand going to be used as a default setting in the new D&D core rulebooks. The new map looks somewhat reminiscent of the beloved map made by Darlene back in the days, but there are some interesting changes. Greyhawk Grognard's excellent video goes through these changes and speculates to reasons why these changes have been made and what might be possible consequences of the large and small changes. 

The change that will likely be of most interest to the readers of this blog is probably the removal of Blackmoor. Removal may be a strong term. Rather, Blackmoor has been renamed Arn. Now Arn is a name that could be familiar to hard core Blackmoor fans as it also appears in several of Dave Arneson's writings. 

Why has this change been made? Could it be linked to rights issues? Could it be to reduce confusion with the other Blackmoor product lines available that are less compatible with Greyhawk? Could it be linked to this map detailing a different part of Greyhawk's timeline?  Or is there another reason? 

In any case, the original intent of paying homage to Dave Arneson is retained in the new name.

What do you think of this new Greyhawk map and the changes made?

-Havard

The Piazza - D&D Worlds Forum Celebrates 16 Years!

 

One of my favourite places to talk about D&D is The Piazza. I can't belive its been 16 years since fans created that forum. People keep saying discussion forums are going away, but here we are still very much alive and kicking. Since its inception, The Piazza has been known for its friendly atmosphere and immense creativity. 

Piazza Birthday Event on Facebook

-Havard

Map by Ashtagon of Blackmoor is Complete

Last week, I talked about how  Ashtagon was making maps of Blackmoor based on the maps from the DA modules.The map hs now complete:

What was particularly fascinating was that fans could follow the map making process live as Ashtagon was creating the map. The process was live streamed on Discord via the Piazza Discord Server. The final version of the map is being offered for free.

Go here for the final results!

What would you like to see Ashtagon tackle next? If you like Blackmoor maps, also check out the maps we have offered for free at the Blackmoor Archives, companion site to the Comeback Inn!

-Havard

Live Map Making from Ashtagon for Blackmoor This Sunday

A follow up from a post from earlier this week when Asthagon, the founder of the D&D Worlds Fan forum known as The Piazza started making Blackmoor maps to share with other fans. The map she made at the time was a replica of the map from DA3 City of the Gods which shows the southern lands of Blackmoor with the Valley of the Ancients in the center. 

The question was, would this be Ashtagon's only venture into Blackmoor map making? Fortunately, she just announced that she will be doing another map. Moreover, this will be done live on the Piazza Discord Channel to demonstrate the process. It is not clear what map she will be tackling next, but only that it is related to Blackmoor. The live mapping process can be watched this Sunday afternoon GMT time. 

Find out how you can join the Piazza Discord Channel here. (its all free, fan organized). 

-Havard

Blackmoor Replica Maps Made by Piazza Founder

Ashtagon, the founder of the D&D Worlds Fan Forum known as The Piazza has been making Blackmoor maps based on those found in the DA series. 

The map making process was demonstrated on The Piazza's Discord channel before posted at The Forum. The current map is based on the map from DA3 City of the Gods and shows the Valley of the Ancients and its surrounding areas. 

Lets hope Ashtagon will make more Blackmoor maps in the future! :)

Grab your free copy of the map today. Visit Blackmoor at The Piazza here.

If you love fan made Blackmoor maps, you may also check out the maps available at my website the Blackmoor Archives, where you can find maps by myself as well as other very talented artists. All for free of course! 

Do you prefer hex maps or other styles when it comes to D&D maps?

-Havard

Jeff Grubb's Lost Mystara Sourcebook To Be Released to the Fans at Pandius

Edit: It has since been made clear that this announcement was a bit premature. The Vaults of Pandius are still awaiting the green light from WotC. Fingers crossed!

It was just announced that Wizards of the Coast have given their approval for a long lost manuscript written by legendary D&D Game Designer Jeff Grubb to be released for free to the fans at The Vaults of Pandius. 

The Mystara Sourcebook was comissioned by TSR in 1990s and was to be part of the companies relaunch of the Classic D&D setting under the AD&D 2nd Edition rules. Mystara first appeared in published form in 1980 with the release of the adventure X1 Isle of Dread and was from that point on the default setting of the B/X and BECMI D&D line which also incorporated Blackmoor. 

Sadly, the nearly completed book that Jeff Grubb had written was never published as curious reversals of decisions within TSR's management and sales department at the time suddenly decided that instead of a book presenting all of Mystara to AD&D 2nd Ed fans, they instead wanted a product focusing only on the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. These behind the scenes workings which would eventually lead to a gradual death of Mystara even resulted in Jeff Grubb leaving TSR. He describes the story better himself at his blog.

As rumours that this manuscript existed in a nearly complete form, fans became hopeful that it would one day become available for them to read and enjoy. One fan, Travis Henry, even started a petition with more than 800 signatures. Jeff Grubb said that he would love for this work to become available as he was always a fan of the setting since the days of the Known World.

This week, Shawn Stanley who has been managing the Vaults of Pandius website for almost 25 years announced at The Piazza that the book will now finally be released later this year for the website's anniversary. The website was made into the official fan website by Wizards of the Coast in the early 2000s and remains the best resource website for the Mystara fan community. It is very fitting that this book will now find a home there.

-Havard

The Piazza D&D Worlds Forum Turns Eleven!

One of my main hangouts, The Piazza turns 11 years old today!

I wasn't able to go all the way to London to attend to the real life birthday party today, but we have spent the entire weekend at the Piazza discord chat, talking about games and all kinds of geeky things.

Pretty amazing how far we have come since we started that place that Ashtagon created for various displaced D&D fan communities. Its been a fun ride and I am looking forward to many new discussions and friendly debates there in the coming years!

Happy birthday to The Piazza!


-Havard

Happy 10th Anniversary to The Piazza - D&D Worlds Discussion Forum!

I can't believe 10 years have passed since fans began abandoning the D&D message board forums at Wizards of the Coast. A series of attempts at upgrading the site had been highly unpopular with fans. WotC's decision to eventually shut down the forums a few years later came as no surprise. At the time I had tons of posts there and it was a vast source of resources for D&D fans. More importantly it was a community where friendships were being made and ideas exchanged. Many were worried that all this would be lost.

Fortunately Ashtagon came along and set up The Piazza to be a home for fans of all the D&D Worlds. I wrote more about the Piazza Phenomenon back in 2009. The Piazza is still alive and kicking today!

Happy 10th Anniversary! I hope to see more of you joining us in the future as well!

Oh, and if you want to join the party, check out this information here:

The Piazza's 10th Birthday Chat (May 26th)

The Piazza's 10th Birthday London Party (May 27th)


-Havard

WotC Spokesperson Apologizes to Mystara fans

The following was posted at The Piazza on May 13th:

If you have missed the drama today, it started when a Mystara fan discovered a WotC produced video from january this year where the hosts answer a question about what happened to Mystara. A link to the video was posted on the Mystara Reborn group on Facebook. The response given in the interview angered many Mystara and Spelljammer fans, as well as Mystara Godfather, Bruce Heard, who wrote an article about it on his blog pointing out the problems with the video with regards to Mystara.

 Anyway, Matt Sernett of WotC did appologize both to Bruce Heard and Mystara fans out there. We all make mistakes and it does show character to admit it and appologize. Did Mystara fans overreact to comments made in the video? I think it would have been easier to accept this type of comments if Mystara had not been mostly overlooked for more than 20 years. Many Mystara fans still remember when bringing back the Hollow World was presented as an April's Fool's Joke on WotC's website many years ago.

Most of us dream of Mystara being brought back to life. While that might never happen, it would be nice if the reason for it being ignored for another 20 years is that the people at WotC really haven't bothered to understand what Mystara was about beyond not liking the CDs and the art in the 2nd Ed Mystara Monstrous Manual. Let's hope that at least one person at WotC now sits down and reads some gazetteers! :)

 -Havard

Threshold #5 Mystara Fan Magazine is Out: Focus on Davania

Another great thing that happened on Dave Arneson Game Day yesterday was the release of the 5th issue of Threshold, the fan magazine for the D&D World of Mystara. With an editorial group working out of The Piazza and working with the Vaults of Pandius, this fan project has moved from being a great idea to proving to the gamer community that this is a magazine that has come to stay.

As in the past, the current issue is professionally laid out with high quality illustrations and well written articles and beautiful maps. #5 focuses on Mystara's southern continent of Davania, a place that never got much detailed coverage in official material.

Go here to download!


-Havard

Bruce Heard's New Fantasy Setting Revealed!

Back in April, I mentioned on this blog that former TSR designer, Mystara Guru and author of the Voyage of the Princess Ark, Bruce Heard had decided to create his own fantasy world for publishing. Bruce Heard has often been described as to Mystara what Ed Greenwood is to the Forgotten Realms. He originally intended to return to writing new stories for the ever popular Voyage of the Princess Ark series which were published in Dragon Magazine from #153-188, with a final installment in #344. However, since this option was not something WotC were interested in at this time, Bruce instead decided he would move towards creating a brand new world via kickstarter:

"Time has come for me to set sail across stranger skies. I think there's plenty of room out there for another ship, another crew, and new adventures unbound by darkness. Although stories would take place in another world, in spirit one might think this is the Princess Ark reborn. "

Although not much of this project remains a mystery, new clues appeared in the new Mystara fanzine, Threshold, discussed on this blog earlier this week. In the exclusive interview in Threshold #1 Bruce Heard revealed the name of the setting the first time: Calidar.

Threshold #1 reveals exclusive news on the new fantasy setting.

Fans of Mystara, BECMI D&D and the Voyage of the Princess Ark are already getting excited about this. A recent discussion at The Piazza seems to be the place to go for whatever other information on the World of Calidar may exist so far.

Stay tuned for more updates!

-Havard

Arneson Gameday: "Threshold": New Mystara Fan Magazine!

Arneson Gameday appears to be full of game related news this year!

Earlier today, the following was reported on The Piazza by my good friend Agathokles:

Dear all, I'm glad to announce the release of the first issue of Threshold, the new magazine for Mystara! I must say it has been a great time editing this issue, and I hope you'll enjoy our magazine, and I look forward to see your comments, as well as to Issue 2, Vaults of Pandius special, which will be shepherded by Cthulhudrew. Thanks to everybody who participated in this effort, which led to 180 pages of pure Mystara goodness! So, without further ado, here is the first issue of Threshold!

Within you will find a large collection of Mystara related articles as well as an exclusive interview with Bruce Heard. I will have to admit that I have also contributed to a couple of the articles. Blackmoor fans, keep an eye out for future issues of Threshold. I will not be surprised if Blackmoor related articles will appear in future installments!



-Havard

The Piazza is back!

The Piazza went down this Weekend, and for a while it looked like the site had run into some serious problems. Fortunately, due to swift action from its webmaster, the site is back up again fully intact today.

Although there are many great web forums for D&D fans, The Piazza is still the best forum focusing on multiple D&D settings. The Mystara and Spelljammer communities are the most active there, but many other worlds are also being discussed. The list of settings with their own forum there was greatly expanded for the 5 year anniversary earlier this year. Thanks to Ashtagon for the hard work in maintaining this site over so many years now.

Go over there now! :)



-Havard

D&D at GenCon 2013

Unlike previous years, I havent heard much exciting news from this year's GenCon. At least not for D&D. Since I wasn't able to go there myself, I started a thread at The Piazza, which provided me with some details and links at least. All the new Pathfinder material, Shadowrun 5th Edition, Monte Cook's Numenera and 13th Age are all things I want to check out eventually, but what about D&D?

Obviously the main reason why D&D got such small exposure on GenCon this year is because they are holding off D&DNext for next year. My friend Adrian (aka True Atlantean) pointed me to this GenCon video of a presentation with Mike Mearls where he is talking about D&DNext, The Sundering, iOS Waterdeep, Kree-O D&D and more.

My favorite bit from the video was where he talks about Chronicles of Mystara. "This is actually a personal favorite of mine" says Mearls. "The Chronicles of Mystara from Capcom. These are two games, Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara. This is a classic 90s 2d beat-em-up. [...] I am personally very excited about that."

I also came across this GenCon2013 Interview with Will Wheaton, where he again mentions getting into gaming with the Mentzer Red Box. I wrote about Wheaton's adventures in Mystara back in May. The Red Box is 30 years this year, so it was nice of Wheaton to mention it, even if WotC seem to have missed the opportunity of making an event out of this on GenCon.

Was there anything coming out of GenCon that made you guys excited?



-Havard

Win Stuff!

There is a contest at The Piazza. TAD is giving away modules. All you have to do is follow some simple rules and you may win 3E modules, such as the Sunless Citadel. TAD is even willing to ship internationally.

The modules include:
- The Sunless Citadel
- The Forge of Fury
- The Speaker in Dreams
- The Standing Stone
- Heart of the Nightfang Spire
- Deep Horizon
- Lord of the Iron Fortress
- Bastion of Broken Souls


Find out how here!



-Havard

Mystara Chronicles for X-Box/PC/PS3

And just the other day I was writing about how 2013 was looking like it was going to be a great year for Mystara fans. Now it gets even better! Remember the classic arcade games Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara? Well they are back! Or will be in June, that is! Both games were set in the Known World of Mystara, focusing on a plotline to defeat Deimos the Lich and his master Synn. Synn should be familiar as she was also the nemesis of Prince Haldemar and his crew in Bruce Heard's Voyage of the Princess Ark series.

This is especially exciting since this is the first mention of Mystara from Wizards of the Coast in a very long time. I also really like the new logo, although it is not as nice as Thorf's logo found on The Piazza. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara will be available for Xbox Live Arcade, PS3, Wii U and PC in June for $14.99.

I am wondering if this will be the end of it or if this could spawn more products? A comic book adaptation would be great, or perhaps even a third installment in the game series? Based on the Poor Wizards Almanac Series? Yes, as you can see I am already dreaming. I have posted some more thoughts in this thread at The Piazza. Here is the video teaser for the game:




-Havard