Kali the Anarch - Slayer of Prophets (Blackmoor Week)

 

Kali the Anarch

The deep magic of Blackmoor has always been coveted by the forces of evil, whether it is the Afridhi, the Egg of Coot or others. Among the Peshwa, one group closely connected to the magic of the land was known as the Twelve Prophets. 

Kali, an evil priestess of Calelrin, coveted the power of the Prophets. Some say she had help from outsiders or perhaps even Time Travellers. Regardless, she and her followers plotted to perform a ritual that would drain magic from ground itself, destroying the Prophets in the process.  

Fortunately, the plot was thwarted by two heroes Swahi and Hasha who themselves perished.The ritual was never finished and instead of becoming a source of evil, the magic resulted in the creation of a new deity, Yoosef. [You can read an excellent version of what happened to Yoosef by my friend Ripvanwormer here].

But the story of Kali does not end there. Calelrin saw what his servant had accomplished, even in her failure. He raised Kali from the dead and turned her into an Anarch, a dark Saint for to lead his cultists in centuries to follow. 

How to use in a Campaign

Kali can be used in any campaign. She will rarely work alone, preferring to contact cultists of Calelrin including her own living relatives. These will worship her as if she were a deity and be very loyal (Morale 10-11). 

Stats (BECMI/OSR)

• Chaotic (Evil) Peshwa Anarch, follower of Calelrin
• Use stats as Peshwa Anarch
• Kali can also cast spells as a 7th level Cleric (Monstrous Spellcaster Shaman)

Thanks to Tad Kilgore and Ripvanwormer for background for this article

Shaman by Kaewyn La Renarde

-Havard

Peshwa Anarchs (Fallen Saints) - Blackmoor Week

Peshwa Anarch (Fallen Saints)

Black Saints, Dark Ancestors, Calelrin's Fallen

STATS (BECMI)	Anarch
Armor Class	3
Hit Dice	7**(M)
Move	120' (40')
Attacks	2 daggers or 2 arrows
Damage	1d10+ poison or 2d6+paralysis
No. Appearing	1(1)
Save As	F7
Morale	12
Treasure Type	E
Intelligence	10
Alignment	Chaotic
XP Value	1250

TYPE: Planar (Very Rare) 

Peshwa Anarchs are corrupted ancestors of the Peshwa horsemen culture of Blackmoor. Once mortal champions of evil, these creatures have been promoted by the evil patrons of their people into a demon like status. When they are sent to the Prime Material Plane, they will often contact some of their living descendants or other corrupted individual mortals that they will direct to accomplish their goals. Anarchs are often mounted on skeleton horses or Nightmares (See AC9). 

 In combat, Anarchs will often use their mounts to try to keep at a distance from foes and will fire their bows. They can shoot two arrows per round and may fire at no penalties while mounted. Targets hit by an arrow must save vs. Paralysis or be paralysed for 1d6 rounds. Elves are immune to this effect. In close combat, the Anarch will attack with its poisonous dagger doing 1d0 points of damage. Targets hit must save vs poison or die. 

 Anarchs may be Cleric Spellcasters and advance up to 7th level using the monstrous spellcaster rules. 

 Terrain: Planar, Ruins, Plains 

Trivia: "Peshwa" Saints were introduced in the sourcebook Riders of Hak by Tad Kilgore and Dave Brainard for the d20 Dave Arneson's Blackmoor product line, but the book never really defined what these Saints were like. The above is my attempt to provide a game mechanical representation that can be brought into any game based on those ideas.

Illustration by IceWingsArt

Thanks to RobJN and the CBI Team for sparring with ideas and overall support.

-Havard

Blackmoor Week 2026 is here and Dave Arneson Game Day Approaching!

 

It is now less than a week until Dave Arneson Game Day 2026! If you have something planned for the week, now is the time to put your creative and gaming efforts into gear! Check out the Facebook Event as well! 

A quick reminder: 

• Dave Arneson Game Day is not anti Gary Gygax or anti anything. It is a celebration of the TTRPG hobby, similar to Gary Gygax Day. Because two days is better than just one! 
• Dave Arneson Game Day is run by the fans for the fans, all across the globe! No matter where you live and where you are from, you are invited to join in the celebrations! It is a non-commerical celebration, not owned by any private entity. 
• Anything related to gaming counts for joining the party! Run a game, write about games, draw a map or post online about your passion for gaming! But please, let me know what you are doing so we can share the joy!
• In a less pleasant world, we need such things more than ever! Gaming is something that unites us rather than divide us! 

-Havard

Dave Arneson Game Day 2026 Approaching!

 

As usual, we are celebrating Dave Arneson Game Day on Dave Arneson's birthday, October 1st. The week leading up to Dave Arneson Game Day is often called Blackmoor Week. During this time we encourage fans of Blackmoor, D&D or just TTRPGs in general to show the love of our hobby wherever you live and share it with fellow fans across the world! 

With the world we live in changing we need this more than ever. A common passion uniting us across borders and across continents. 

Havards Blackmoor Blog, The Comeback Inn and The Piazza are taking the lead as always in this celebration. 

Do you have any plans for Dave Arneson Game Day or Blackmoor Week? Please share in the comments!

-Havard

New Blackmoor RPG Sourcebook in the works from TFotF

 

Over the past few weeks, the various social media accounts associated with TFotF, the company working under lisence of the Arneson Estate have been posting images teasing a new Blackmoor project the company is working on. 

These great illustrations by artist Phil Stone will aparently be part of a new RPG Sourcebook the company is producing as official Blackmoor (TM) material. It has also recently been revealed that Dan Boggs is involved in writing the book. Boggs (Dragons at Dawn, Champions of Zed) should be well known to the readers of this blog and is a long time Blackmoor fan. 

Some interesting terminology is also accompanying these images. Baldraug is apparently Dan Bogg's new name of Balrogs, known from the original Blackmoor campaign, but problematic when it comes to copyright. The Red Coven is known from older Arneson maps and has been expanded upon in different ways by different fan groups in the past, so it will be interesting to see what this new take will involve. Duraven Forbears is another term that I have not seen before, but the image shows dwarves, so could be linked to their origins which was explored to some extent in the D20 Dave Arneson Blackmoor line. 

This new sourcebook seems to be a departure for TFotT whose previous RPG work has been strongly tied to the visions of Dave Arneson (Blackmoor Foundations) and that of his players (Tonnisborg), but this time it looks like they are allowing new creators to develop Blackmoor further. 

So far no release date or book title has been released. 

Personally, I think these illustrations look great. What do you think?

-Havard

Mystara Could Return Says WotC's Bilsland

 

In a recent interview with Ted from NerdImmersion, WotC's head of D&D Greg Bilsland was asked about whether WotC would consider to publish more of the classic D&D settings. This discussion arose with the GenCon announcements of Joe Mangianello leading WotC's ICONS program to bring back classic D&D creatives like R.A Salvatore, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman and Luke Gygax as well as Greyhawk, Eberron and Ravenloft getting 3rd party support over the next couple of years. 

Although it was Ted from NerdImmersion who brought up Mystara as an example in his question, Bilsland did use that setting when answering saying that it would be very possible for the setting to return under the right circumstances, including fan support and creatives who would be interested in working on the setting. 

WotC has not completely ignored Mystara with a few name drops here and there over the past decades, but most notably an entire chapter in the D&D Worlds & Realms book that was published back in 2024. This interview sparked quite a bit of excitement over at the main Mystara fan community at The Piazza here. 

What is Rob Kuntz up to?

 

Rob J Kuntz and Three Lines Studios are still active it seems, announcing something that could pass for a book cover? A game supplement or a novel? Will WotC be happy that he is using the Robilar character?

In any case, Rob Kuntz has always been kind to me and I wish him well! 

This second image is credited to Richard Whitters, who will also appear at ArneCon this year. 

Do you know more about any of this? Let me know.

-Havard