Fred Funk has been mentioned before on this blog. He was one of Dave Arneson's players where he famously played Frederick, King of the Orcs from the Dungeon of Castle Blackmoor. Fred also created his own setting called Fred's World which is available at The Comeback Inn Forum.
This photo of Funk's OD&D ruleset was shared on X by Griff Morgan. According to Griff, Fred had erased Gary's name from his set. Perhaps something done in solidarity with Arneson at the time when he and Gary were not getting along so well? According to Morgan, this rulset is currently owned by another of the Blackmoor players, James Lafererrie. Lafferierre was the inspiration for the character Jallapierrie (Jal) who appeared in DA1 The Adventures of Blackmoor.
Have you used Fred the Orc King or Jallapierrie in any of your Blackmoor adventures?
-Havard
Pre-Orders Being Taken: Into The Wild Blue Yonder By Robert Kuntz An Official Blackmoor Setting, Into The Wild Blue Yonder was used as a convention adventure at Arnecon 2. World famous Greyhawk author, Robert Kuntz has created a module to honor his old friend, Dave Arneson. This is a historic adventure as Rob has never before written a module for Blackmoor. Extensively researched in order to evoke the essence of Arneson's Blackmoor campaign, adventurers set out on a quest into the Dark Realm of the unliving to discover the secrets behind a conspiracy that could lead to a great war.
An AD&D adventure for characters levels 10-12. Special ArneCon 2 Edition -Includes signed certificate from Robert J. Kuntz! (limited to the first 100 copies). Cover may change for the final release. Into the Wild Blue Yonder is a very grounded and straight forward quest related to a story line created by Dave Arneson in his original campaign and as fictionally extended by this author. This should not of itself stop capable DMs from utilizing what is presented here in their own campaign settings. In other cases this adventure is suitable as a one-off type played out over several sessions. It also contains a lot of new source material that can be integrated into any campaign. The adventure is designed for 8 PCs of 10-12th level. DMs can substitute their own PCs for the 8 pre-generated PCs included herein while taking note of the balance in spells and items the latter possess. The action takes place in the Dark Realm (land of the dead) beneath the Goblin Hills in the Egg of Coot. It is quest oriented and centers upon the party retrieving knowledge that will eliminate a brewing revolt in the Duchy of Bulgryn, the latter which could draw adjacent Duchies into a War of the Roses scale conflict. Into the Wild Blue Yonder can either be placed in a land comparable to Oerth or it can be easily adapted to any campaign. It is connected in no small way to the lands comprising Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor & environs. A portion of the information contained herein has been derived from Dave’s Blackmoor campaign for the express purpose of continuing a legendary story line he composed concerning Marfeldt the Barbarian. Just as important was the need to recognize Pete Gaylord’s Wizard of the Wood character; and out of respect for the first wizard of RPGs I was eager to include him in the story’s plot. You’ll discover venerable histories herein which I have adapted for crafting this adventure as part of the legendary saga of Blackmoor, the first fantasy RPG campaign.
It is also nice to see photos of Morgan hanging out with Vic Dorso of DaveCon. It seems that any rivalry that may have existed between the two conventions is now ancient history and Morgan stated that he plans to attend at DaveCon next year.
I know that some announced guests did end up not showing up and a few events may not have occurred according to the program, but it looks like they had more than enough games and activities to keep the attendees busy. Some of the games were live streamed and can be viewed here. Among the Blackmoor Bunch who were present were Dave Wesely, Ross Maker, Dave Megarry, Bill Hoyt and possibly others.
In particular, I have to say I found Rob Kuntz adventure particularly interesting, involving legendary Blackmoor characters like Marfeldt and the Wizard of the Woods as well as reference to places like the Duchy of the Peaks and the Realm of the Egg of Coot.
Did you attend the convention? I would love to hear from you!
More discussion about this article at The Comeback Inn.
-Havard
Photo by: Marianne Wong
I wish the organizers and guests a wonderful weekend!
Are you going to ArneCon? Let me know about your experiences!
-Havard
Blackmoor Week is over. Dave Arneson Game Day is today! On October 1st, we celebrate the love for our hobby on the birthday of the D&D Co-Creator.
So many things related to Blackmoor and Dave Arneson have been happening these past days and the activity is still going on!
I really like that we are seeing fans of the early editions and fans of the most recent editions of D&D all joining in to celebrate together. Gaming should bring people together, not divide us. We have too much of that going on in the world.
Let's look at some highlights so far:
Let us add to this list as the day continues!
-Havard
We have been getting messages from fans all week and it has been great! I can't believe tomorrow is October 1st, the birthday of D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson!
I hope you are ready to join in the massive celebrations of our hobby that are taking place world wide, like every year. You can sign up for the Facebook Event here.
Just today, I was told about this post over at the Gnomish Embassy Blog with a brand new character profile for Blackmoor Week, an Aarakocra no less! Yesterday with Dragonborn and today with Aarakocra, I can hear some say. Heresy? But lets remember that there is no right or wrong way to play D&D as long as everyone is having fun around the table. Younger gamers are discovering Blackmoor and that can only be a good thing. I am sure Dave Arneson would enjoy knowing that the game he helped bring into the world will bring joy for decades to come.
What are you doing for Dave Arneson Game Day? Its a party, so everyone is invited! As long as you love gaming that is.
-Havard
The Italian Gaming Convention, Lucca Games & Comics has been steadily growing in popularity over the years. During this year's con...
