West End Games Founder Scott Palter Has Passed

I just learned via Greg Gorden that Daniel Scott Palter has passed away. Scott was the founder of West End Games and was president of this games publisher as they published RPGs such as Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Paranoia, TORG and Shatterzone as well as classic board games like Junta.

As a personal note, I connected with Scott via various social media and we interracted quite a bit over the last decade. We talked about gaming history, gaming, and real world issues and although we did not always agree, he was always respectful and thoughtful in his responses.

My thoughts go to his family and friends.


-Havard

Christopher Tolkien Has Passed Away at 95 years old

As reported on Reddit, JRR Tolkien's youngest son Chrisopher Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 15 January 2020) has passed away.

He will be remembered as a great preserver of his father's legacy and an editor of his father's unfinished works. He also drew many of the wonderful maps of Middle-earth. I am thankful for what he did to bring those works to the public.


Rest in Peace.


-Havard

Happy Yuletide from Blackmoor

Spring marks the beginning of adventuring season, but now its time to relax with friends and family in front of the fireplace in Castle Blackmoor. I wish you all a merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at the Comeback Inn forum, the Blackmoor Fans Facebook Page and this Blog.

I will probably make some RPG posts here or on the other sites during the holiday week too, so stay tuned if you feel like getting some gaming on in the next few days :)



-Havard

Gary Gygax and D&D Exhibit at Lake Geneva Museum

Yesterday it was announced that the Lake Geneva Museum would open a new exhibit called A Legacy of Imagination: Gary Gygax & the creatuon of a Culture.

It is nice to see our beloved hobby get recognition at this museum. Gygax is referred to as D&D Co-creator, but there is no mention of Dave Arneson, so presumably that would be beyond the scope of this exhibition. It is nice to see that Paul Stormberg of the Collector's Trove is involved in this project.

Some eyebrows have been raied over the fact that the exhibition will be financed in part by a Kickstarter campaign. It would have been nice to see something like this happen without the need to pull on the support from generous fans worldwide. I wish the project luck!

If anyone goes to visit the museum after this exhibition has been opened, please let me know about your experiences.

-Havard

New Blackmoor AFF Adventure, Greetings from Wesely and More (Dave Arneson Game Day Part 3)

More free Blackmoor adventure has been released! In part 2, we announced the publication of the sourcebook The Noble House of Zvenzen. Blackmoor Living World Bartertown Deathtrap Part II is an adventure written for the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG and released by the Chimerae Group. It is a sequel to Bartertown Deathtrap Part 1 and explores the lands north of Blackmoor.

  Download this adventure here.

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Greetings from David Wesely

David A. Wesely, creator of the Braunstein Game and player in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Campaign left a message on this blog for us:

Well, it is now 21:30 on 1OCT19, and my computer is finally connecting me to the Dave Arneson Game Day event. I have seen announcements that it would be happening today for several weeks, but I have never been able to get connected until now, when it is pretty-well over. While I have been having nothing but trouble getting connected, it looks like you guys had a good time today. Best wishes to you all. Maybe next year I can find a local group with which to celebrate. This year I spent picking apples and carrying concrete blocks - fun, fun, fun! Happy Birthday, DLA !

 Wesely's role in the history of RPGs is so significant some credit him as the true inventor of the genre, so having his support is incredibly encouraging for the work we are doing here! :)

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And More Dave Arneson Game Day News

• Our friend imredave has written a very cool article about Blackmoor at the Forgotten Runes Blog. Check it out!
• The Crew behind the Secrets of Blackmoor Documentary tease the possibility of releasing a compilation of Dave Arneson's Fanzine, Corner of the Table Top. Secrets of Blackmoor Vol. 2 just started filming.
• Make sure you are caught up on the news from Part 1 and Part 2 of the Dave Arneson Game Day News!

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And Thanks!

Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who voiced their support and posted comments on Twitter, Facebook, The Comeback Inn, The Piazza, OD&D74, ENWorld, Dragonsfoot and elswhere. A big thank you to all of Dave Arneson's friends and family for your  support. This is why we keep doing this!



-Havard

Greg Svenson's Noble House of Zvenzen Sourcebook Out Now! - Dave Arneson Game Day Part 2

As mentioned in my previous post, today is Dave Arneson Day! Finally, as promised, the new sourcebook by Original Blackmoor Player Greg Svenson is out. This is the fourth book in the series and is titled GS4 - The Noble House of Zvenzen. It has been great working as an editor for Greg on his sourcebook and Greg has been very patient with me during this process. It was Greg's suggestion that we release this book on October 1st and I think it was a great idea.

This book also includes a "Poem Transcript" about the Baron of Newgate written by Dave Arneson. This material did at one point appear in Greg's personal website, but when the website crashed, Greg thought it was lost. Untill he realized that I had downloaded all of the Blackmoor relevant material there. I am glad to present it in a proper context.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed working on it. Greg and I have more material in the works so any feedback will help encouraging us to release it early. Also make sure you check out the previous titles in the series.

Download GS4 - The Noble House of Zvenzen Now (Free!)

In other Dave Arneson Game Day News...

David Wesely returns to Braunstein. Before Blackmoor it was Braunstein. Braunstein creator and original Blackmoor Player David Wesely will be running a new Braunstein game on December 7th. This was just announced today. I will bring you more information on this later.

Friend of the Comeback Inn, Boddynock, has a new Dave Arneson Game Day articleat the Gnomish Embassy, presenting a really interesting character you can encounter in the Blackmoorian town of Jackport. Read all about it here.

Another friend of the Comeback Inn, Yaztromo is runing a Blackmoor Game tonight using the Living Blackmoor adventures.

At The Piazza, you can read about Dave Arneson ideas not found in D&D, Blackmoor's greater world and how to use Arnesonian elements in your games in new and original ways.

Also check out the following:

• Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 Facebook Event
• Official Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 discussion at The Comeback Inn
• Official Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 discussion at The Piazza 
• Official Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 discussion at OD&D74

Have I missed anything? Please let me know so I can post about all activies here on the blog!

Stay tuned for more!

-Havard

Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 is Today - Part 1: Welcome to the Party!

Dave Arneson Game Day 2019 is today! This is what we have been working towards all week! We have some great things in store today. Make sure you sign up to our Facebook Event.

Also, keep up to date with our discussion at The Comeback Inn with the Official Dave Arneson GameDay Thread.

What is Dave Arneson Game Day?

Dave Arneson Game Day is celebrated on Dave Arneson's birthday, October 1st every year. This tradition started after the D&D Co-Creator passed away in 2009. It started with gaming events run by Dave's friends in Minnesota and groups of fans in New York and elsewhere in the USA. Gradually it grew into a world wide event.

Dave Arneson Game Day is a celebration of D&D, the love for gaming that Dave Arneson stood for and everything that the hobby we share

Do We Need Dave Arneson Game Day?

Are you kidding me? If you love gaming, do you need an excuse to celebrate our passion?

What Dave Arneson Game Day is Not

This is a day where we show our love for the hobby. It is not about using the legacy of Dave Arneson to attack other game designers or fans or airing grievances. It is also not about telling people they are playing the wrong edition or playing the game in the wrong way. Let us come together as gamers and focus on what we have in common instead of the things that divide us. I think it is what Dave would have liked.

How do You Participate?

Check out the links above. Run games for your friends. Post online about gaming. Make sure you share what you do with us here!


Are you up to date with everything from Blackmoor Week 2019? This is what we have done so far:

• Blackmoor Week Day 1 - Introduction of Blackmoor Week 2019
• Blackmoor Week Day 2 - Plans for the Week Announced
• Blackmoor Week Day 3 - Major releases announced
• Blackmoor Week Day 4 The Shattered Empires Campaign
• Blackmoor Week Day 5 - More 5E Files, Greg Svenson Book Preview
• Blackmoor Week Day 6 - The D&D 4E Blackmoor MMRPG
• Blackmoor Week Day 7 - Final preparations for the big day!

I will be making more posts later today, so keep visiting this blog for more!

-Havard