Aaron Allston (December 8, 1960 – February 27, 2014)

I just found out via this thread in the The Piazza Mystara Forum this morning that Aaron Allston had passed away. Although he was probably best known as a novelist, especially for his Star Wars novels, he was also a great game designer.

Allston had a great impact on my childhood due to his works on Dungeons & Dragons (the BECMI edition), in particular the role he played in writing defining supplements and sourcebooks for the World of Mystara.

In an interview in the Tome of Mystara fanzine he is introduced in this way:

To Mystara fans, the mention of the name "Aaron Allston" brings to mind gaming on a grand scale, world-shattering events, empires of staggering power. As well it should: Austin, Texas-based Allston can be considered the "Father of Mystara." His contributions include: 

 Skarda's Mirror
Grand Duchy of Karameikos
The Dwarves of Rockhome
Dawn of the Emperors
The Hollow World
Wrath of the Immortals
Poor Wizard's Almanac (I)
Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure
Mark of Amber
D&D Rules Cyclopedia

Bruce Heard, who was Product Manager for the "Classic" D&D (And Mystara) line at the time worked closely with Allston. Bruce also writes about his friend Allston on his blog today.



Rest In Peace. And thank you so much for the work that has given me so much joy and inspiration!


Image Source: Wikipedia.

-Havard

Greyhawk and Michigan

This map was just posted in the Flanaess Geographical Society group on Facebook. Although this should be well known by most readers of this blog, I think it illustrates well the fact that the C&C Society World Map was based on central parts of the USA.


-Havard

First Fantasy Campaign at Comeback Inn!

If you haven't visited The Comeback Inn Boards lately, you've been missing out. A new forum has just been opened for discussions about Dave Arneson's Original Blackmoor Campaign. This is the place to talk about the original Twin Cities Gaming group and the 1971(?)-1975 campaign that was later documented in the Judges Guild publshed book, the First Fantasy Campaign (FFC) by Dave Arneson.

If you are interested in the FFC, Supplement II: Blackmoor or the stories from the Original Blackmoor players, you should check out the forum. More importantly, join the discussion! The more people we have asking questions or showing interest in Blackmoor related topics, the more reason the rest of us feel we have to keep up our work.

Come join us! :)

-Havard

Return to the Vales of Blackmoor

This week, my PbP campaign started up again this week after a long break. We are now on the third chapter of the Vales Saga. Set in the lands to the west of the Duchy of Ten, Chapter 3 is called Legends of the Vales.

 After such a long break, I was really happy to see that so many from the old group of players were excited to rejoin the campaign. In addition, this chapter sees two new participants as well, making a total of nine players. When I started chapter 1, I was worried about how many players I could handle, but I have found that it is much easier to handle a large number of players in this type of game than say if we were sitting around the same table. For my face-to-face campaigns these days I prefer four players and one Dungeon Master.

 In this chapter, the PCs have been asked to investigate closer the curse that has been placed on the forests of the region. The curse was put there by cultists of the Frog God, and the ritual they used involved the ritual sacrifice of a local druid. In addition to looking for a way to finally rid the Vales of this curse, a powerful rogue magic-user is at large. Will they encounter him again? Well don't ask me what happens next. My players have been known to surprise me, so how this chapter will evolve from here is far too early to even ponder on at this point!




 -Havard

The Great Kingdom (Documentary)

The Great Kingdom (Trailer) from The Great Kingdom on Vimeo.

Check out this trailer! The Great Kingdom is a documentary put together by Chris Haifley, James Sprattley and Andrew Pascal depicting the origins of D&D and the early days of TSR. Jon Peterson (Playing at the World), Paul Stormberg (The Treasure Trove) and Michael Mornard are also among those involved.

One thing I liked about the trailer is the point made by Stormberg that the real tragedy of the history of TSR is that both Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax ended up on the outside and their creation, Dungeons & Dragons was left in the hands of others.

For those wanting to find out more, the Great Kingdom Facebook Page is a good place to stay updated on this project. I am certainly looking forward to seeing the completed film!





-Havard

Arneson's 1970 Medieval Braunstein

Dave Wesely's Braunstein games were among the first to introduce roleplaying methods into the wargaming hobby. Dave Arneson and Dave Wesely belonged to the same group and Blackmoor is said to have started out as a Medieval Braunstein run by Arneson.

Dave Arneson had played in the original Braunstein Game, another Braunstein game (Brainstein 4) set in a Central American Republic (where he won). In yesterday's Q&A session, Jon Peterson revealed some more details on another Braunstein Game set in the Old West:

"Well, don't sell short Duane Jenkin's "Brownstone," the pre-D&D Western RPG were Arneson played the evil bandit "El Pauncho," and Dave Fant was the lawman "Marshall Fant." All of these activities informed the development of role-playing and the idea of simulating people."

In Blackmoor, Dave Wesely played the treacherous "Weasel", David Fant controlled Blackmoor and Duane Jenkins eventually became a Vampire Knight. I originally believed that Blackmoor was Dave Arneson's first medieval Braunstein. However, in his History of D&D in 12 Treasures Video, Peterson mentions several medieval Braunsteins run by Arneson. The first such game was run as early as 1970.

Dave Arneson Started Experimenting with a Medieval Braunstein as early as 1970 Jon Peterson says.

Peterson describes how this game dealt with a battle between one player controlling a defending Castle and two players controlling an invading army. In addition there are other players controlling rebellious peasants, a band of vikings looking for plunder and two mercenary bands.

Arneson's Medieval Braunstein featured invading forces attacking a Castle. Sounds familiar FFC readers?

Peasant Forces also took part in the battle.

Although Peterson makes it clear that this is a different game than Blackmoor, it is hard not to notice the Blackmoor-like elements. A Castle being invaded by attacking forces sounds like it comes straight out of the First Fantasy Campaign (FFC). The FFC also has peasant rebellions, of course. And Vikings, though they were later referred to as Skandaharians, as more layers of mythology were added to those. Summing up things, it would, in my opinion, be difficult to argue that the 1970 Medieval Braunstein was anything but a first step towards Blackmoor.

Its a bit difficult to read...does this one say Rescue Forces?

Image Source: Beowulf, by Marcgabbana



-Havard

Happy 40th birthday D&D!

2014 marks 40 years of Dungeons and Dragons. As pointed out by the author of Playing at the World, today could very well be considered the birthday of D&D. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson created a game that changed the world in more ways than we can grasp.

Most importantly, the game has given countless hours of joy to us all.


Happy Birthday Dungeons & Dragons!

Image Source


-Havard