The Id Monster Revealed!

Some time ago my friend Rafael suggested to me that I try to track down the novel the Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E. Van Vogt. "The Space Beagle" part of the title itself suggests a connection to Blackmoor of course, but I was even more surprised to see the appearance of a creature, the Coeurl, feeding on the "id" of local creatures. The Coeurl originally appeared in the novel Black Destroyer, also by Van Vogt, but that entire story was incorporated into the Voyage of the Space Beagle.

I have seen discussions about the Coeurl on D&D related forums in the past, as the same creature is also the inspiration for the iconic D&D monster, the Displacer Beast. I never made the connection to Blackmoor though, before I saw the passage about the creature feeding on "id".

The First Fantasy Campaign describes the Temple of Id, ancient ruins, where a creature known as the Id Monster, lurks, though a proper description of the creature was never provided. Untill now. I'd like to think of Arneson's Id Monster as a kind of mother of all Displacer Beasts, perhaps being the one from which all other Displacer Beasts were spawned. In our PbP Blackmoor campaign, we are in the midst of a fight with such creatures right now.





Thanks to Bobjester for providing additional information and links to this article!

-Havard

Orcs of Blackmoor

The Temple of Id was destroyed roughly five centuries after the foundation of Blackmoor. With the destruction of the Temple, many hoped that the North would not see such foul manifestations of pure evil. They were wrong. The Gods of Evil had felt cheated it seemed, for they sent a new race of evil to terrorize the lands of Blackmoor. The Thonians would call them Orcs, or Goblins, but they were not like Orcs and Goblins found in other realms. Beastmen, some would call them for pure chaos ran in their veins. This would manifest itself physically causing the Blackmoorian Orcs to take on many grotesque forms. All humanoids, they would wary in size. Most have hairy bodies and some even have horns protuding from their beast-like heads.

Over the centuries, the Blackmoorian Orcs split into many different tribes. They had come from beyond the lands of the Skandaharians, and while many continued on southwards, five major tribes remained in the North.  One tribe, the Crimson Orcs, settled near Ohmfet, which would later become part of the Realm of the Egg. These Orcs worship Thanatos, Patron of Death. The second tribe, the Steel Orcs, settled in the Dismal Swamp. They worship Volketh, Patron of Murder. The third tribe, the Orcs of the Black Hand follow Hella, Queen of the Underworld. These settled in caves deep beneath the lands of Blackmoor. The fourth tribe were the Stormkiller Orcs, settling in the mountains which gave them their name. They follow Tyrhm, Patron of War, and they reign terror on their neighbouring races from their Black Castle.The last tribe are the Death Orcs. They settled in the far west, in the mountains later called Goblin Kush. There they were enslaved by the Afridhi and joined the cult of Zugzul. Recently they have began to return in the service of their former masters.

While split into tribes, all Orcs follow a single King. When the Egg of Coot rose, the King of all Orcs swore allegiance to the Egg. While a chaotic lot, the Orcs always answer when the Egg requests their aid. Many a time, the Orcs of the North have been part of the Egg's offences against Blackmoor. From the Egg, the Orc Shamans learned to summon demons, and demons would even interbreed with Orcs. This resulted in the so-called Baleborn Orcs, who make up the generals of Orc armies. The Egg gives these demon-breed Orcs special weapons and armor and they are feared among their own kin.

 The biggest enemy of the Orcs remain the Dwarves of Blackmoor. Since their arrival in the North, the two races have been almost continuously at war. The sixth war started recently when the Orcs of the Black Hand managed to abduct the Dwarven King! The dwarves have desperately attempted to free King Khazhakhum, but to no avail. The war continues and the Orcs have in that way removed the Dwarves from Uther's list of available allies. The Dwarven race is slowly being wiped out, and the Orcs dream of the day when they will feast on the skulls of the last of the mountain people.



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Image Source: Orc

-Havard

Legend of Uhlmar the Elf-King

Elves believe that they were created by Ordana, thousands of years ago. In the early days, they lived in a paradise-like state, protected by the spirits of the forest. As the elves began exploring the world outside the woods, they encountered other races. Only the Fey Lords still maintained the relationship with the forest spirits that all elves had at one time enjoyed. At the time when the first Thonians settled in the North, King Uhlmar was the ruler of the Northern Elves. King Uhlmar sought to befriend the Thonians and for centuries the two races prospered from this good relationship.

INNOCENCE LOST
It was at this time that a great evil rose in the North. A dark cult, worshipping the deity known as Thanatos, threatened both the Thonian and Elven way of life. This dark army had constructed a stronghold upon the site where the God Temrin was said to have been murdered. The Stronghold was known as the Temple of Id.

King Uhlmar had seen many Thonian Kings be born and die since he first encountered this race. He now proposed an alliance of Elves and Thonians against the Cult of Id. The elf Aquassiru, who was Uhlmar’s friend and General of the elven armies warned the king. Thonian attitudes had changed and the current ruler was not as honorable as his predecessors. However, Uhlmar was confident that the humans would do their part. However as the elven army marched on the forces of Id, the Thonians pulled out, leaving the Elves to fend for themselves. General Aquassiru realized that his worst fears had come true. He had to make a hard choice. Drawing his sword, he bravely charged the enemy, demonstrating such courage that all his elven warriors were inspired. The elves came out victorious and the Temple of Id was destroyed. The enemy was defeated, but the victory had taken its toll on the elves. Many elves were dead. General Aquassiru had suffered a fatal wound. Upon his death bed, the General asked that his soul was to be transferred into his sword, so that he might serve future generations of elves as an advisor. The sword would be known as Tel’Aquassiru, or Feyhold.

DECLINE OF THE ELVES
The aging king, Uhlmar, was gravely saddened by the loss of his friend. Many elves now turned against the king, blaming Uhlmar for putting too much trust in the humans. The king was even more deeply hurt to learn that the leader of these elves was his own daughter, Princess Ceridrone. The princess declared herself ruler of the elves of the west. Her followers called themselves the Westryn and wowed never to trust humans again. Uhlmar was dying of extreme old age. As a young prince, he had been one of the elves to first venture outside the forests. At the end of his reign, he was now seeing the decline of the elven race. On his death bed he cursed his daughter and the elves of Westryn, a curse that would lay on this race until this day.

King Uhlmar’s successor was his son, Noris Ithamis, whose wife had recently given birth to their young son, Menander. King Noris became the leader of those elves who had remained loyal to Uhlmar, from now on known as the Cumasti. King Noris did not however, wear the True Crown of the Elves, as it had been lost with Uhlmar. It has been said that this Crown might hold the secrets of restoring the elven race, but many young elves dismiss this as a mere legend.

Ceridrone, now known only as the Black Queen of the Westryn was the ruler of a Cursed Race. She let dark things crawl into her withering forest realm, losing all care for life. Spirits of the dead began to haunt her halls. Today the paths to the City of the Black Queen are all but forgotten.





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-Havard