Tonisborg Creator Greg Svenson Excited to Attend ArneCon 2023 (Blackmoor Week Day 2)

 

Greg Svenson, best known as one of the Original Blackmoor Players and co-author of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg, will attend ArneCon later this year where he will be one of the guests of honor. Greg is looking forward to being reunited with friends he has not seen in a long time.

It should be fun to see the old gang again! I believe that it has been over 9 years since I have been with the old gang. Not since the Secrets of Blackmoor interview and reunion game with Bob Meyer. I think that was in April of 2014.

Greg has been a supporter of my Internet projects for years and we have worked together on  several PDFs that are available at the Comeback Inn. I have even been lucky enough to have Greg as my player in one of my online Blackmoor campaigns. I hope to return to that one some day. If you see Greg at ArneCon, please say hi to him from me!

We are celebrating Blackmoor Week. Come back every day for more Blackmoor content!

-Havard

Blackmoor Week 2023 Day 1

 

Dear friends! 

Once again, Dave Arneson Game Day is approaching and loyal fans world wide are getting ready to celebrate Blackmoor Week as the week leading up to October 1st, Dave Arneson's birthday. 

Dave Arneson Game Day is a world wide event. It is a celebration of the D&D Co-Creator, Dave Arneson, his gaming group, and of our love of Tabletop Gaming in general. As this is the Internet, it is important to stress that this event is only about love and passion and should never be used to attack or belittle others.

This year's event will among other places be celebrated on:

• Havard's Blackmoor Blog (This site)
• The Comeback Inn - The Ultimate Blackmoor Fan Website
• The Piazza - The D&D Worlds Forum
• OD&D74 - The Original D&D Forum
• Blackmoor Fans Facebook Group 

Also, make sure to sign up for the Facebook Event:

• Dave Arneson Game Day 2023 Facebook Event

What are you doing in gaming this week and on October 1st specifically? Share your stories with us!

-Havard

Bruce Heard's World of Calidar Comes to an End After 10 Years

Game designer Bruce Heard should be well known to fans of TSR era Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. In particular, he is known for his work on the Classic D&D (BECMI) game and the World of Mystara, including his role in creating the Gazetteer series and the Voyage of the Princess Ark. He was the Product Manager of the Classic D&D line and eventually became Product Manager of TSR before the company was acquired by WotC. 

When he returned to game design after a hiatus, Bruce attempted to gain permission from WotC to produce 3rd party content for Mystara, but when those negotiations failed, he decided to create his fantasy own world. That world is the World of Calidar. 

Sadly, fans learned yesterday that the Calidar series have come to an end. When asked about future Calidar books, Bruce Heard responded the following in the Calidar Facebook Chat Group:

Given the limited sales of the last series, I can't find the energy to launch another. These books represent a major amount of work, and I'm not getting any younger. It's a heartbreaking decision, but in the face of the apparent lack of activity after the latest Kickstarter and little or no ensuing feedback, I'm not comfortable pursuing the Calidar project.

The first Calidar Kickstarter was launched in 2013 and it has been an amazing ride since then. The World of Calidar is a unique fantasy universe spanning many worlds with their own unique atmosphere, brought to life by the writing of Bruce Heard with additional contribution from other collaborators, most notably Thorfinn Tait.

Following the adventures of the sky ship Star Phoenix in its exploration of the World of Calidar and its universe has been an amazing ride over the last decade. I am greatly thankful to Bruce Heard for the books and gaming material he has provided for us during 10 year run. You can follow Bruce Heard via his blog. If you want to show your thanks to Bruce, now is the time to buy Calidar books!

Get Your Calidar Books from DrivethruRPG (Not an Affiliated Link)

 -Havard

Megarry, Wesely, Maker and Others to Run Events at ArneCon 2023

David Megarry and David Wesely are among those announced to organize events at this year's ArneCon. 

The events announced so far include:

Arnecon Featured Gaming Events

RPGs:

Braunstein, the first non military RPG David Wesely will referee a very large 22 player game. Set in a small Prussian town at the time of the French revolution, this character driven RPG is the very game which portends the invention of fantasy role-playing games.

Banania, a Braunstein Variant

Set in a fictitious south American country of the same name, where political upheaval has created a power vacuum and numerous factions vie for power. See if you can become the next ruler of the republic. Also refereed by David Wesely.

Castle Blackmoor

Paul Stormberg will be running a session of Blackmoor based on unpublished adventure design notes by David Arneson.

Castle Greyhawk A deep dive in this nefarious dungeon using early design maps by Gary Gygax and original D&D rules with referee Paul Stormberg

Even more Blackmoor See what it was like to play an RPG in the time right before the publication of D&D, in a dungeon that was created in 1973 by Greg Sven. Game Masters D. H. Boggs or Griffith Morgan, co-authors of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg adventure book. Board Games:

Dungeon! Fantasy Board Game

The game which helped formulate the dungeon adventure concept as seen in Dungeons & Dragons. David Megarry will give a presentation of his seminal game design that has sold millions of copies worldwide.

War Games:

Strategos N

Based on the game by the same name from 1880, yet converted for use with napoleonic miniatures, this is the war game which inspires the creation of further developments in the RPG genre. Ross Maker is preparing a large scenario with which to demonstrate the house war game of the Blackmoor Bunch.

Chainmail

We would be remiss if we did not include this medieval miniatures war game at the convention. A rule set by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren that played an important role in the development of Dungeons & Dragons.

Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame

A WWII naval battle using 1/1200 scale lead war ship models. The game is considered by many to be the inspiration for hit points in Dungeons & Dragons. Game Master: Griffith Morgan More to come!!

Source.

It is always nice to see the original Blackmoor group run and play games. Are you going to ArneCon? Would love to hear from you.

-Havard 

Dave Arneson Game Day 2023 in One Month

 Dave Arneson Game Day organized by fans worldwide is celebrated every year on Dave Arneson's birthday, October 1st. We are doing this to celebrate our love for RPGs and honor the legacy of Dave Arneson and his players. We always discuss these events on this blog and at the ultimate Dave Arneson Fan Website, the Comeback Inn. 

What are you doing in gaming for Dave Arneson Game Day this year?

-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

Why ArneCon Moved Dates to October 22-23

 As mentioned in my update yesterday, ArneCon 2023 has moved dates to October 22-23. This had the unfortunate side effect of taking place at the same time as another gaming convention, Gamehole Con (Oct 19-22) based in Madison WI. Not only that, but five other conventions are apparently taking place in the Twin Cities that weekend. ArneCon Organizer Griffith Morgan clarified why ArneCon was forced to move to this date rather than the original plans for late September:

Obviously this sort of thing happens and one will just have to make the best of the situation. Hopefully, having multiple conventions during the same weekend won't hurt either event as much as some fans fear. 

Are you going to ArneCon this year? I would love to hear from you! :)

-Havard