Northern Marches Kickstarter from Robert S. Conley (Funded)

 Game designer Robert S. Conley just launched a new Kickstarter called Into the Majestic Fantasy Realms: The Northern Marches and it has already reached its funding goal. Rob is a long time Blackmoor fan and I first got in contact with him when he was doing an incredible series of articles on his Bat in the Attic Blog where he analysed Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign. Furthernmore, Rob has always been supportive of my work. This post is not sponsored (as is nothing on this blog), but rather I am doing this because I believe in what Rob is doing.

He later released the Blackmarsh setting which while its clearly Rob's own original creation, bears heavy inspiration from the sources that he loves and admires from the 1970s era D&D. The new Northern Marches Kickstarter promises to be an expansion on Blackmarsh. Again, we will get to see amazing hex maps and interesting locations to explore. 

The Living Sandbox concept also sounds interesting with techniques that promise to create a world that feels lived in. I am curious to learn more about this.

Check out the Kickstarter.

-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

Combining Worlds

Some like to create their own RPG settings from scratch. Others like to use premade settings. A third group likes using elements from many different settings, combining them into a campaign world of your own. A world like Dave Arneson's Blackmoor lends itself very well to combining with other settings. It has rich detail on a small region of the world, but is very vague on what lies beyond the regional map of the North.

There are different approaches to combining settings. Some try to include everything from every setting they have ever heard of. Others pick the elements they like from each setting and combine those features instead. Robert Fisher's World of Kulan is an example of this latter approach.

My own approach is slightly more complicated. I want to use settings that have a connection to oneanother. So when choosing a setting for giving my Blackmoor a framework I chose Mystara. Almost every single Mystara sourcebook refers to Blackmoor as an era long gone. The Hollow World Boxed Set (for Mystara) gives a world map of that ancient era. However, not much in the Mystara material gives detail on what is found on the continent where Blackmoor is located. This is why I looked to the Wilderlands. The Wilderlands are also connected to Blackmoor through the FFC publication and the region called the Valley of the Ancients.

So instead of just picking elements at random, there is a system at work here. Maybe I am just a complicated fellow. In any case, we have opened up a forum for discussing Mystara's Blackmoor over at the Comeback Inn. If you are interested in this topic, please come and join our discussion! The Comeback Inn is also seeing other activity these days and more MMRPG files have just been uploaded to the Coot's Nest section.

Have you incorporated Blackmoor into your campaign setting?


-Havard

Necro's Clark Peterson to do Pathfinder

Clark Peterson formerly of Necromancer Games has announced his return to the gaming industry. Peterson gets mentioned in the Blackmoor blog because of his involvement with the Wilderlands of High Fantasy. On Monday he wrote the following:

I'm up to something. Not ready to say just what it is yet. But Paizo will be the first to know.
And it will be Pathfinder. Pathfinder is the game that has the soul of what D&D was coupled with proper changes for the modern game. That is what I want to support. Plus, I love all the people at Paizo and I love what they are all about. And the community here is just second to none.
You'll be hearing from me...

Judging based on his previous work, this is great news for the gaming industry. Now if we only could get him to work with Judges Guild and do more for the Wilderlands. Not quite Blackmoor, but almost the second best thing? :)


-Havard

Adventure Games Publishing Closing

The Blackmoor Blog is sad to learn that James Mishler's company, Adventure Games Publishing is closing. James posted the following at the Piazza today:

"It is with great regret that I announce the closure of Adventure Games Publishing. Print product sales end immediately. PDF products remain available on the AGP DriveThruRPG site through the end of March, then migrate to either the Judges Guild or Troll Lord Games sites on DriveThruRPG (those of you who already purchased them will continue to be able to download them). After that date, Judges Guild and/or Troll Lord Games might continue to make print versions of these products available or not; that is their call, not mine. As all the details about the  transfer of properties are still being worked out, please do not inquire after them about these items for several weeks after the transfer."

More information can be found in the link provided above. I have been a fan of James' writing since the late 90s, so I am disappointed to learn about this. It will also mean less Wilderlands material available in the future. I wish James the best of luck and hope to see him return to the gaming industry in the future.







-Havard

Supplement VI: The Majestic Wilderlands

It's been all over the blogosphere these last few days, but I wanted to mention it as well. Written by Robert S. Conley, this supplement brings the Wilderlands to the Swords and Wizardry system. As Moritz mentions in his blog, it should be easy to convert to any pre-D20 D&D edition. Blackmoor first saw print as Supplement II for OD&D. Having The Majestic Wilderlands be marked as Supplement VI makes for a nice connection between the two worlds. The connection between Blackmoor and the Wilderlands goes back to the First Fantasy Campaign in which Blackmoor was linked with Judges Guild's house setting through the Valley of the Ancients.


Edit: Conley has started a discussion of this product here.

Havard

WELCOME

Welcome to the Blackmoor Blog! Its been 7 years now that I have been running the blackmoor.mystara.us website. Imagine that! The website will still be going on ofcourse, but there are some things a blog might be more suitable for. For instance, the news section of my website has been sadly neglected. I hope to be commenting on both current and historical sides of Blackmoor in this blog. Without a doubt there will also be posts on Mystara here and perhaps also the other worlds related to Blackmoor such as Greyhawk and the Wilderlands.

Stay tuned for more as soon as I get more used to this format.

Havard