The Piazza Phenomenon

In May 2008, someone at Wizards of the Coast decided they wanted to reorganize their forums. An unfortunate consequence of this was the decision to merge all of the "Other Worlds" forums, that is forums dedicated to settings no longer supported by WotC. Some of these forums were quite dead, but several including Dark Sun, Dragonlance and Mystara were highly active. Others, like the Spelljammer Forum had their small group of loyal fans. The forums were focal points for fan communities of varying sizes. A merger of the forums would result in everything being thrown into one big pot, it would be difficult to find topics you were interested in etc etc. Furthermore, the fans were not warned of this, but a few days in advance and there was seemingly no way of reversing the process either. Frustration lead to action. Fans of different settings, all now found themselves without a "home". Joining forces, these fans set up a forum of their own, which they named The Piazza.

There were other D&D fan forums out there, most dedicated to one setting or to specific editions of D&D. The Piazza's focus was on multiple settings independent of preferred ruleset. It was a huge success! Roughly a year and a half later, the community now has over 500 members and extremely active forums. Moreover, the site is characterized by a highly friendly atmosphere. This might be surprising since the group might have reason to feel bitter about their treatment by WotC. However, the focus has not been complaining about the past, but rather about building somthing new. Lately, the forum has also attracted several prominent game designers, such as Monte Cook, Tim Beach, Colin McComb, Allen Varney, Trampas Whiteman, Andrew Steven Harris, James Mishler, Geoff Gander, Robert S Conley, Aaron Infante-Levy, Adam Miller and others.

In May 2009, Ashtagon, The Piazza's highly dedicated webmaster, made the Blackmoor forum (which had started out as a subforum for Mystara and Greyhawk) into a fully independent forum alongside that of the other worlds. At this point, almost 700 posts have been made in the Blackmoor forum alone. If you havent done so already, go and check it out! :)










Havard

Blackmoor Themes

Here are some themes which the Blackmoor Setting lends itself well to explore:

Hope and Despair
Blackmoor is surrounded by enemies. These all seek to destroy the young kingdom, hating all its values. Together they could easily crush Blackmoor. However, the enemies of Blackmoor are not allies among themselves. This is what gives Blackmoor a fighting chance. It is important then, that Blackmoor is something worth fighting for. A realm of justice, honor and valour, in a world of corruption, greed and deceit. And there is hope, that perhaps Blackmoor could defeat its enemies, one at a time, and thus make the world a better place.

Heroes
Blackmoor is known for its legendary characters. The North is a place where young men and women come to prove their worth and seek out fortune and glory. One day some of them may even be counted among the King's Companions.

Sword & Sorcery
Unlike the later TSR settings which sort of grew into a genre of its own, Blackmoor is closer to the Sword & Sorcery genre started by authors like RE Howards and which was still widespread in the 1970s. I will get back what some of that means further down.

Importance of Humans
Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Docrae and other races exist in Blackmoor, but humans play a dominant role in this setting. The demihumans only have minor realms in the area, while there are many human kingdoms. Some of Blackmoor's most dangerous enemies such as the Thonians, Skandaharians and the Afridhi are also human.

Chaos vs. Order – Cities vs. Wilderness
Whereas Good vs Evil a central theme in Tolkien's Middle Earth an many of the worlds inspired by it, Sword & Sorcery settings often focus on other concepts such as Chaos vs. Order. In the world of Conan, Cities represent decay and corruption, lies and deceit. It is the wild and barbaric where one finds the truly noble qualities. Blackmoor also represents order, while surrounded by The decandent Great Kingdom of Thonia to the south, the fanatic Afridhi to the west and the bloodthirsty Skandahar to the North. You also have the extreme form of decadence with the Duchy of the Peaks and Chaos made manifest in the Egg of Coot. Similarly you have idealized barbarians in the form of the Peshwa as well as Marfeldt the Barbarian who is a friend of Blackmoor.

Cthulhu Mythos – R.E. Howard style
While this isn't clearly expressed in Blackmoor, there are hints of darkness remaining from an older age, just like in REH's Conan writings. Dark Gods and sinister cults may be found in the deep corners of the world. The Egg of Coot is a prime example of this. The cult of the Frog is an example of the many evil cults that may be encountered. In Lovecraft's visions, the horrors drive men insane. In REH's works, they exist mainly to be defeated. Chaos and Evil can destroy the weak, but the strong and noble can defeat these forces. This is ofcourse at the center of Blackmoor.

Ancient World
Another trait shared with Conan, Blackmoor is appears more as an ancient world than a medieval one. Thonia seems similar to Rome or the early Byzantine empire. The Afridhi also have traits borrowed from the ancient Persians. Creatures of the Lost World may still be encountered here, such as great lizards or creatures from the Ice Age.

The North
The region of Blackmoor is known as the North. This should have significance. In my campaign, I made the climate more like that of northern Europe, and did the same with the fauna. Since Blackmoor also has an Ancient World feel, Wooly Mammoths, Wooly Rhinos, Saber-Toothed Tigers and Great Eagles are some of the creatures that may be encountered in this setting. This works even better if you use the assumption that Blackmoor is set in Mystara's past.

Technology
Technology is another feature of Blackmoor that is not so often seen in traditional fantasy settings. It is mostly linked to wizards. They create Golem-like warriors and clockwork body parts. Other such wonders stem from the Valley of the Ancients. The Egg of Coot may be a source of technology as well. Its technology is a dark one though, combining technomancy with necromancy, thus enhancing its undead servants.










-Havard

Hobbits of Blackmoor

"...we could call [Mello] a Hobbit back in those days, before the Tolkien family objected)." -Greg Svenson

Like most D&D worlds, Blackmoor has its share of halflings. In the D20 line there are two races of Halflings, one type simply called halflings and the second, the Docrae. The regular Halflings are, true to the source quite similar to those found in Tolkien.

Dustin Clingman has the following to add:

"Well they are much more prone to travelling than Tolkien's hobbits. In fact, some of the largest distributors in Blackmoor are owned and operated by halflings. That doesn't jive with Tolkien. I would also suggest that they are more prone to a 'larger view' of the world rather than just focusing on Booh and South Pim."

The main halfling settlement, Booh, is a Large Town of 2700 inhabitants. The town is dwarfed by the huge and ancient watch tower which gives the town its name. The town is a typical halfling one, with beautiful gardens and in no short of foodstuffs and fermented beverages. A large system of caves is found beneath Booh, used by the Halflings to store food and for military purposes. The largest population of Docrae has also settled there. Ramshead is another Halfling Town (pop 1000), where Philo is Sherrif. South Pim has also been reported to have halfling inhabitants. IMC Kenville is also a Halfling town, just because the name sounds a bit Halfling-ish.

The most famous Halflings are Philo Holbytyn, Mello Feathertoes and Timothy Curlytop. Mello, originally played by Rick Johnson, is described by Greg Svenson as the "mightiest of halflings". Known as the worlds tallest halfling, he worked closely with the Blue Rider (played by Bill Heaton) and the two worked hard to prevent Nichol's merchant Mafia from taking over Blackmoor Town in their days.

Currently, there is an ongoing discussion about Blackmoor's halflings in this Piazza thread.








(Illustration by ballerinakgurl)

-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

GETTING REVIEWS!

My German friend Moritz (aka glgnfz), of old shool and Dragonsfoot fame, is now among the followers of this blog. He has been kind enough to make a very nice review of my blog in his own blog, Von der Seifenkiste. Moritz writes:

Gibt's ja nicht! Da schreibt mein norwegischer "Buddy" Havard einene Blog und ich weiß nix davon. Neben dieser Lese-Empfehlung werde ich den Blog natürlich auch in meiner Blogroll ergänzen müssen, denn Havard ist ohne Frage DER Experte für alle Dinge, die die alten TSR-Settings MYSTARA und ganz besonders BLACKMOOR angehen. Der Blog landet direkt auf meiner Leseliste.

Da kann mein Fazit nur lauten: LESEN! LESEN!! LESEN!!!

Thanks alot Moritz! :)

Havard

Obituary: Richard Leonard Snider

Greg Svenson was kind enough to provide me with Richard Snider's Obituary:

Richard Leonard Snider
Mr. Snider, age 56, of Mint Hill, died Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at his home. Born August 29, 1953 in Albuquerque, NM, he was a son of the late Leonard Alfred Snider and Elizabeth Moody Snider. Mr. Snider was a self-employed landscaper.

A prayer service will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, November 21, 2009 at St. Luke's Catholic Church.

Survivors include his wife of six years, Najwa; and eight siblings, Paul, John, Clare, Richard, Kathy, Mary, Tom and George. In addition to his parents, Mr. Snider was preceded in death by a brother, Peter.

You may join in celebrating the life of Richard Leonard Snider by visiting his memorial at www.MeM.com. Through the personal Guest Book on this site, you are invited to share your thoughts and memories with his family. Arrangements by McEwen Funeral Service - Mint Hill Chapel, 7428 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Charlotte, NC 28227 (704-545-4864).

Published in Charlotte Observer on November 20, 2009








Havard

Richard L. Snider Has Passed Away

I am sad to have learned that Richard L. Snider passed away earlier this week, on the 17th of November. Cancer is believed to be the cause of death. Richard and his brother John were members of the Midwest Military Simulation Association in the 1970s and the Sniders became two of the original Blackmoor players. In Dave Arneson's campaign, Richard played the Cleric who became known as the Flying Monk. Richard was also active in making other contributions to the campaign and an entire section in Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign is dedicated to Richard's additions to the game.

Richard also ventured into game design himself. Together with Dave Arneson, he co-authored Adventures in Fantasy(1978). In 1983, Richard created the game Powers & Perils.Richard was also a Sci-Fi author, having written about 35 novels, although only one, The Leather Rose, was actually published.

In recent years, Richard still expressed an interest in publishing RPGs, though attempts to bring back Powers & Perils on a commercial basis were blocked by Wizards of the Coast. In a post on the Wayfarer's Inn in 2007, Richard stated that he would be interested in bringing his creative ideas to the computer scene in "a computer mega-opus".


May He Rest in Peace.






Havard
(Thanks to Greg Svenson and Bob Meyer for providing additional information for this entry)