Arneson Estate Responds to Ink Bat's Age of the Wolf

Over the past few months we have reported on this blog about Age of the Wolf after Ink Bat announced that they were bringing this project back for a GenCon release. 

Here is the official  response from the Arneson Estate:

 For Immediate Release (07/28/2024): 

Is The Age of the Wolf an actual work by Dave Arneson or even a Blackmoor setting? 

 

 The Arneson Estate believes it to be a fake. ​

The Estate of David Arneson comprises his much-cherished family, Malia, Luke, and Dave's grandchildren. Dave's family is very perplexed regarding the publication of Studio Ink Bat's "Age Of The Wolf" book. This manuscript is purported to be Dave Arneson's last major work which Studio Ink Bat plans to distribute during events at GenCon 2024. ​

 

One would think someone wanting to publish an original work by Dave Arneson, or even a work derived from Dave's ideas, would be excited to collaborate with the family of Dave Arneson for the published work to have authenticity.

 

This is far from what has transpired thus far. Studio Ink Bat's attitude and actions leave the Arneson family utterly baffled. Studio Ink Bat (aka Denise Robinson & C.A. Suleiman) show no respect to the family's legal right to control intellectual properties created by Dave Arneson and properties derived from his works. Additionally, Studio Ink Bat has wholly disregarded the family's feelings in matters which are very much a family decision. This leads the Arneson family to believe that Studio Ink Bat's publication, "The Age of the Wolf," is a counterfeit — which cannot be attributed in any way to Dave Arneson. Furthermore, the Estate emphasizes this publication violates their trademark and naming rights.

 

​ I want to emphasize here that we have not received any documentation proving the work is anything but a counterfeit. We are still very open to seeing anything that could disprove our current assessment, which could be forthcoming from Studio Ink Bat. ​

 

Studio Ink Bat's behavior is puzzling to us, as it was Studio Ink Bat who initially approached the Arneson Estate asking for the Estate's blessing on the "Age of the Wolf" book. At first, they claimed David Arneson had contributed to the manuscript before his untimely death in 2009. Since email exchanges with the Arneson Estate, they are now walking that back and saying he was leading a team producing this adventure. They also said they were publishing it to honor Arneson, the co-creator of D&D, and planned on giving 100 copies away for free at GenCon 2024 (the 50th anniversary of D&D). Sounds nice enough, and it could have been simple. We exchanged pleasantries back and forth and requested they provide the Estate with three things to move the process forward:

 

​ 1. We asked Studio Ink Bat multiple times to show us any documentation they have (e.g., notes, correspondence, or a contract) that shows Dave Arneson worked on this project or granted any rights to his intellectual property (his name or the Blackmoor name).

 

2. We asked Studio Ink Bat multiple times to send us the manuscript so the Arneson family could review it to determine if it is something the Blackmoor trademark could be attached to (e.g., would the family license the Blackmoor name to Studio Ink Bat based solely on the quality of the content). We received only a tiny sample which contained elements easily copied from previously published material.

 

3. We asked Studio Ink Bat to temporarily remove any public notices about the project until points 1 and 2 have been addressed. This would protect them from potential liability and was a first step for Studio Ink Bat to demonstrate an appreciation for Dave Arneson and his creations. Immediate action would also have shown respect to his family members.

 

These are things that any reasonable person would ask for to protect the legacy of a late and much-beloved father - none of the above requests were ever fully met. ​ Since Studio Ink Bat told us this event was a one-time small, free distribution, we thought any license fee could be as meager as a dollar. The Arneson Estate is in the business of licensing the Blackmoor trademark, and the distribution of an actual, unseen, unpublished Dave Arneson work could only be a good thing.

 

Not long after, it became obvious to us they did not understand how IP law works, when Studio Ink Bat replied "Well, since we're giving the book away for free we don't need your permission" to paraphrase. However, this is wrong on two points - they do not appear to be giving the book away for free, and IP rights infringement involves publication, and not money (see below).

 

Despite the situation clearly being a misunderstanding we continued to reach out, while at the same time making it known we were very open to coming to an agreement with Studio Ink Bat. ​

 

Yet, they have refused to show us any proof that Dave Arneson worked on it (instead, they told us they had no documentation and we should "look it up"). They have refused to show us the entire manuscript. And let’s not forget the phone conversation where they called the Estate “stupid”. We need time to examine the manuscript to determine if it contains anything of Arneson's work or style. Time is also needed to distribute copies to numerous scholars for expert assessments of the work and its validity.

 

Instead, they offered to send us money, possibly give us the rights to the book after GenCon, and other things — anything but fulfilling our simple requests. The issue is that without knowing the content or seeing any evidence that Arneson worked on it, we can't simply give them a license to make claims as to the attribution and or validity of this work. Hence, their offers of money and publishing rights are not pertinent. We informed them of this, and our requests to see the manuscript continued to be ignored. ​

 

Furthermore, from the small sample Studio Ink Bat sent, from other content on their website, and their apparent limited knowledge of IP law gathered from our correspondence, we believe the book could contain violations of other publishers' and authors' IP rights, which would make the book difficult or impossible to distribute — again, unless we can review the full content we can't make any determination as to who can make claims to this content. Additionally, the family doesn't want to attach Dave Arneson's name to a product without providing proper credit to any other creators of the content, as has often been done to work Dave produced. We'd still be more than happy to examine the manuscript. We are in a quandary, as once the book is distributed, it will likely be too late to resolve this issue in a friendly way. ​

 

Studio Ink Bat's seeming desire to force our hand in this manner leads to more confusion, as we would rather offer a handshake and be friends than do otherwise.

 

​ Even as a derived work bearing a Blackmoor trademark, which the Estate is in the business of licensing, we would still need to see the manuscript they have refused to provide. How can we issue a license to use the trademark without seeing it? We need to know what kind of content this book presents. Does the content meet the Arneson family's standards for a fun adventure book meant for general distribution, or is this book aimed at an adult audience? Would you license your father's legacy to something you knew little about, or worse, something which could lead to negative public opinion? We would've liked to get the whole picture, but they have yet to provide it.

 

And — we discovered they are not giving the "Age of the Wolf" away for free, but instead "shadow selling" their book at GenCon 2024. The admission fee for their 14 paid events at GenCon is $48 per person and comes with a "free Age of the Wolf book." Do you think an unknown company's first publication could sell out all 14 events at GenCon for $48 a head if they weren't using Dave Arneson's name and the Blackmoor trademark to promote it? We don't believe so. They are using the Arneson and Blackmoor names to sell a publication we can only believe is a fake.

 

Even if they were giving the copies away at a free admission event or simply handing them out gratis to people on the street, it still infringes on the Arneson family's rights. Infringement does not have to involve money changing hands — the law is about publication and distribution. One would think that in this situation, ethics demand transparency and cooperation at the very least.

 

The Estate of David Arneson's goal is to promote and protect the legacy of the co-creator of the game that has changed so many lives for the better — and help that legacy continue into the future for all gamers, David's children, and his grandchildren. Studio Ink Bat claims they are honoring Dave's legacy but are instead doing the same thing to Dave Arneson in death as many did to him in life by exploiting properties that are not theirs (Blackmoor and Arneson's name).

 

For those going to Gencon, who have paid up front to play in an actual Dave Arneson adventure, our advice is simple: Buyer Beware! It is up to you as individuals to decide if attending a NOT BLACKMOOR event has value to you.

 

Again, the Estate and the Arneson family are excited to discover a new Arneson Blackmoor setting - assuming it is real. Thus, we are more than happy to review the manuscript, but Studio Ink Bat has chosen to be unethical in our estimation.

 

Chris Graves Authorized Representative and Bridge Troll for the Estate of David Arneson, LLC © 2024 Estate of David Arneson, LLC.

Stay tuned for future updates.

-Havard 

The Design Team Behind Blackmoor Age of the Wolf

We are now learning more about the people behind the upcoming Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Age of the Wolf.  As I reported back in March, this 15 years in the making project is finally being released at GenCon 2024 and will become available in a free digital format. An exclusive interview with the lead designer was posted on this blog last month, but we now have more information:

(Illustration taken from lead designer C.A.Suleiman's website)

The credits presented for the book will be the following:

Dave Arneson's Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf

Publisher: Studio Ink Bat

Developer and Project Lead: C.A. Suleiman 

Writers: Jamie Chambers, George Holland, Rhiannon Louve, Ari Marmell, Harley Stroh, and C.A. Suleiman 

Art Director: Denise Robinson

That is a pretty talent specked list of people. I am not familiar with all of them, but Jamie Chambers is perhaps best known as former vice president of Sovereign Press and Margaret Weis Press, having done considerable game design on Dragonlance, The Serenity RPG and much more. 

Ari Marmell is a well known fantasy author and game designer and he has worked on multiple projects with C.A. Suleiman. Most notably the two worked on Blackmoor in the time before Zeigtgeist Games (ZGG) lost the license to publish Blackmoor from WotC, right before Age of the Wolf was to be published 15 years ago. 

Harley Stroh is another name that should be familiar to Blackmoor fans, making several contribitions to the d20 Blackmoor line including the ZGG version of City of the Gods. He later went on to become a widely published by companies like Wizards of the Coast and Goodman Games. 

Rhiannon Louve has multiple credits for design and translation work for White Wolf, including the Scarred Lands Setting. 

George Holland is a game desgner who has done game design work for  RPGs such as Overlight, Mothership and Cy_Borg. 

C.A Suleiman, the project lead, is  another well known name in the industry, having done considerable game design work for Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf and many other publishers. He is credited for six d20 Blackmoor books, including the upcoming Age of the Wolf sourcebook. See full credits here.

With this team, I have great hopes for the Age of the Wolf sourcebook finally seeing the light of day after all this time. It is such a shame when completed manuscripts end up never being shared with the fans, like Jeff Grubb's Mystara sourcebook for AD&D 2nd Edition. I am very happy that Age of the Wolf will become available to fans this August. 

Dave Arneson's Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf will be published under a lisence from Wizards of the Coast. 

Note: I have written this article, not based on a press release, but on my own research, so I apologise that the information is incomplete. No disrespected intended towards anyone mentioned. I will expand on the article as I learn more about each designer!

Discuss this article on The Comeback Inn

-Havard

Exclusive Interview with Blackmoor Age of the Wolf Designer C.A. Suleiman

 

Interview with C.A. Suleiman 

June 17, 2024 

By Havard

Readers may know or recall C.A. Suleiman as the developer Dave Arneson trusted to shepherd new material for Blackmoor, the first fantasy campaign, into the 3rd and 4th editions of D&D. He’s also the developer of the last tabletop project with which Dave Arneson was directly involved prior to his passing in 2009, a setting update for Blackmoor called Age of the Wolf. 

What was it like working with Dave Arneson?

 In some ways, it was the opportunity of a lifetime for a lifelong gamer like me. Dave’s creative mind is what drew me not just to roleplaying, but to really exploring the limits of my imagination. Getting to sort of channel a guy like that through your own work, which is what being his developer was like, is like taking a guided tour through the halls of another creator’s imagination. Beyond being a legendary figure, Dave was like a kindred spirit to me. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a number of high-profile projects for some well known companies, but there is no substitute for having the father of the roleplaying game put his trust and endorsement in you when it came to developing material for him. Dave could have empowered any one of a number of worthy designers, and he chose to put his faith in me. Words fall for short for describing how that made me feel back then, and how it still makes me feel today. 

What is Age of the Wolf like and what can we expect from the new release? 

Well, maybe the most important aspect of the book is going to be its cost to fans: I’m pleased to be able to announce here, for the first time, that Age of the Wolf is going to be absolutely free to pick up, starting the first day of its release. Here in the U.S., the price tag is going to be $0.00. 

Wow. What prompted you to push for a no-cost price for the new book? 

A number of considerations, chief among them the desire to create an inclusive offering for people to celebrate on the 50th anniversary of the biggest RPG. Sadly, there aren’t a lot of releases or events dedicated to Dave and his legacy on the industry slate this year, and that means that whatever projects are in the offing, should really be given their due. Waiting 15 years to get the book seemed enough of a barrier. No sense complicating matters any further. 

How does Age of the Wolf differ from previous Blackmoor offerings? 

The biggest difference is that Age of the Wolf isn’t strictly a game book. It’s a world guide for a new a vision of Blackmoor and a creative tribute to the man who started it all. The book has no game mechanics for any specific edition or iteration of any game, but rather focuses on setting, mood, and hopefully doing justice to the legacy and memory of Dave Arneson. In that regard, it’s fair to say that Age of the Wolf is a book that’s intended to be enjoyed by all. 

    Apart from how it’s being rolled out, the biggest difference between Age of the Wolf and previous Blackmoor material is the timeline. The entire concept for the book is a big “What if?” — in this case, what if the Kingdom of Blackmoor fell and the land was put through centuries of turmoils and upheavals both magical and mundane? As a result, the political situation, most of the active characters, and even the underlying themes are all written to suit this specific vision. The classic Blackmoor setting is about a land united by a singular king and his attempts to bring ordered civilization to a dangerous part of the world. In Age of the Wolf, that king and his works are long gone, and the land he fought to unite is now being fought over by those who remain. 

Would it be difficult for those running classic Blackmoor campaigns to bring their characters into an Age of the Wolf campaign? 

Since the book advances the Blackmoor timeline 270 years, it’s fair to say that only characters who were young elves or dwarves in the classic setting (or otherwise trapped out of time, or the like; always a possibility in a Blackmoor story) would still be around come the new setting. 

Will Age of the Wolf cover the same geographic area as did previous Blackmoor offerings? 

While the timeline may be different in the new book, the geography is still more or less the same as it was in the classic setting. A lot has changed, but it has changed the face of the same North we know and love, not moved the setting to a different geographic region in the same world. This book is set for a 2024 Gen Con release. 

What will be available for Gen Con attendees? Will some of this material become available for fans who are not able to attend? 

As mentioned, the digital edition will be free to download starting the first day of Gen Con, and that offer will be good for everyone, whether they attend Gen Con or not, for as long as Ink Bat publishes the book. Those who attend Ink Bat’s ticketed events will also receive a limited edition print copy, as well as a free high-quality metal miniature courtesy of Paizo Publishing, but Ink  Bat has no plans to distribute a print edition of the book through general distribution thereafter. This project is primarily about seeing the last tabletop book Dave was involved with finally released to the fans, and in the process, celebrating the 50th anniversary of his greatest work. Many Blackmoor fans have been waiting 15 years for this book to be published and are excited that it is finally coming to fruition. 

Besides the shift to new rules, have other changes been made to the original product? 

Originally, I intended Age of the Wolf to be compatible with 4e, since that was the new hotness at the time and since Dave’s approach had been to release Blackmoor support right on the heels of the release of new rules, as we’d done with 3e and 3.5e. After 50 years, though, there are a lot of fans enjoying Blackmoor through a number of different rulesets, so I decided a more system-neutral book, a world and tonal guide, was the most accessible approach for the whole community. Dave’s genius wasn’t rooted in any one rules design, and his genius is for everyone. 

You have worked in the RPG industry for decades. What are some products that you are especially proud of outside of Blackmoor? 

I’m grateful for both the opportunities I’ve been given in my career and for the way most of those projects turned out. I’m especially proud to have created Hamunaptra, the first expressly ancient Egyptian setting for the great game, but the other books I’ve written for D&D stand out, as well, including Heroes of Horror and Cityscape, both of which continue to have their fan followings long after the edition of the game for which they were written wrapped. I’m also proud of the work I’ve done for the World of Darkness, especially Mummy: The Curse, which I created, and Vampire: The Requiem, which I wrote with my friend Ari Marmell, and which remains the biggest-selling RPG White Wolf ever published. 

Is Ink Bat working with WotC or the Arneson estate for this product, or is it a completely independent launch? 

Ink Bat approached Wizards of the Coast about its plans for the book, and WotC proved just as excited to see Age of the Wolf finally released to the community as the fans seem to be, so they gave their blessing for publication to proceed. And of course, the project predates the Arneson estate, so neither the estate nor WotC were involved in the creation of the content of the book. 

Can we expect more Age of the Wolf content in the future? What other projects are in the works from Ink Bat?

 To my knowledge, there are no current plans to produce support specifically for Age of the Wolf beyond this one book, though of course we all hope the book will live on at the tables and in the stories of Dave’s fans. Ink Bat is just getting started, though. Look for a teaser for their next big project at Gen Con in August.

More discussion of this topic at The Comeback Inn

-Havard

Blackmoor - Age of the Wolf goes to GenCon 2024!

 

Dave Arneson's Blackmoor - Age of the Wolf is to be presented at GenCon 2024 with gaming events and panel presentations. Age of the Wolf was the last Blackmoor project Dave Arneson was involved with before his passing and fans have been asking for it ever since. It was a surprise to most when I reported with much excitement back in March that the publisher Ink Bat announced that they were to bring back the project that was completed in 2008 but never released. 

As summer approches, Ink Bat has made a new announcement:

Last of the Zah 

Come and play in the first-ever adventure set in the new edition of Blackmoor, Age of the Wolf, and do it in style in one of the luxury boxes at Lucas Oil Stadium! In this scenario, you play a member of a bold company tasked with escorting an important young woman into the very heart of darkness. Should you fail, she fails, and if she fails, all hope for life in the North may be lost! 

 Every ticketed player in this event receives a limited edition print copy of Age of the Wolf absolutely free! 

In addition, everyone who plays a session receives a free miniature, courtesy of Paizo Publishing. Length: 3.5 hours 

Where: Event Suite at Lucas Oil Stadium 

When: Every 4 hours until midnight, starting at 8am 

 

 Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf Panel 

 The last tabletop project of D&D co-creator Dave Arneson is finally released! Join Ink Bat’s team of creatives for a discussion of the new book, Age of the Wolf, the 50th anniversary of the great game, and all things Dave.
Length: 1 hour 

 Where: JW Marriott — Room 203 

 When: Thursday at 8pm

See you at GenCon

See original announcement.

Are you excited about this news? Are you going to GenCon? 

Read more at the Comeback Inn!

-Havard

Age of the Wolf not Sanctioned by Estate Morgan Says

Edit: I just talked to a source within Ink Bat Studios. They have clarified that the Age of the Wolf Sourcebook was not written by Dave Arneson: "like all but one of the Blackmoor supplements during the 3e and 4e eras, Dave did not write any of the book. He simply oversaw and approved it. We're just trying to honor Dave's own wishes and make sure he's not forgotten." They also says that from their perspective, Ink Bat's contact with Fellowship of the Thing (Griffith Morgan and Chris Graves) was just established and that they were still trying to make a deal. They were surprised that Fellowship contacted myself and other bloggers before negtotiations were finalized. Lets hope this is all just a misunderstanding and that things can be cleared up!

Yesterday we were excited to report that the legendary sourcebook Blackmoor Age of the Wolf will be released by Ink Bat Studio this August. The Age of the Wolf sourcebook was a project started during the 3E and 4E eras when Dave Arneson's company Zeitgeist Games and later their partners Code Monkey Press wanted to develop a new subsetting for Blackmoor. The manuscript along with a lot of illustrations were completed when Dave passed away and WotC announced that the Blackmoor lisence had been rewoked. This marked the end of Zeitgeist Games venturing into RPG publishing. 

What happened to the Age of the Wolf manuscript since then is not yet known, but I have confirmation that some of those working on Age of the Wolf are currently involved with Ink Bat Studios. Some of the designers involved have a long list of credits working in the industry and the final Blackmoor sourcebook, dubbed Blackmoor: The First Campaign was highly acclaimed by fans of newer and older editions. It is possible that they have spent all these years seeking to find a way to get the manuscript published. 

According to Griffith Morgan from the company Fellowship of the Thing (Secrets of Blackmoor Documentary, Tonisborg Sourcebook), Ink Bat Studios will not be allowed to publish Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf. "It is not sanctioned by the Estate", Morgan says. "If this is Arneson material it belongs to [Arneson's daughter]. They cannot use the Blackmoor Trade [Mark]. Wthout the family's permission, they cannot put Dave Arneson's name on it." I have not yet been able to get confirmation from the family, but Morgan says his company are operating under a lisence from the Estate.

Griffith Morgan as he appeared on Wandering DM's Youtube Channel three years ago. 

Morgan says Ink Bat Studios have been in contact with both the Estate and Fellowship of the Thing. Morgan says his company would love to publish the manuscript, but according to Morgan, no agreement was reached. 

Legalities about Blackmoor have always been complicated. Although I am no expert on these matters It is important to realize that Trade Marks and IP are two separate issues. An entity called the Arneson Estate LLC has made claim to the Blackmoor Trademark, but the Trademark registry status is still listed as pending, although an extension was granted on Feb 1. 2024. WotC also claim to own the Blackmoor Trademark through continued publication of PDF and Print material. 

When it comes to Blackmoor IP, things are even more complicated as multiple parties have supported Blackmoor across the years. 

For the sake of fans, many of us have been waiting for this source book since we first heard about the concept in the early 2000s, let us hope that some solution can be found so that we can finally see what this book was about. Before we know more, it is dangerous to speculate too much.

-Havard

Blackmoor Age of the Wolf to be Published by Studio Ink Bat

Looks like 2024 and the 50th Anniversary of D&D will have a lot of great things in store for fans of the creations of Dave Arneson. Loyal followers of this blog will be familiar with the Age of the Wolf which was supposed to be released just before Dave Arneson passed away. Now it seems like the original designers of that book have joined up with Studio Ink Bat to make sure the fans finally get to see what this was all about. 

INK BAT TO PUBLISH D&D CO-CREATOR DAVE ARNESON’S FINAL RPG PROJECT

STUDIO TO RELEASE THE LONG-AWAITED NEW EDITION OF BLACKMOOR, THE FIRST FANTASY CAMPAIGN SETTING

WASHINGTON, DC (03/12/24): Studio Ink Bat announced today that it will release the final tabletop roleplaying game sourcebook directly overseen by the late Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and the creator of Blackmoor, the fantasy setting in which the game was first incubated. Entitled Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf, the book is a fiction of ideas, taking the classic setting’s timeline and sending it centuries into the future.

The announcement was made by Denise Robinson, Art Director for Studio Ink Bat. “I had the chance to meet Dave Arneson,” said Robinson. “And as so many others did, I liked him immediately. When the opportunity arose to help release the last RPG project created by Dave’s own team, I knew we had to jump. The content is fantastic, too. If you aren’t a Blackmoor fan, yet, Age of the Wolf is sure to make a believer out of you.”

“After a fifteen-year wait, I could not be happier to see this project finally come to fruition,” added C.A. Suleiman, developer of Dave Arneson’s tabletop projects at the time of his passing in 2009. “With the 50th anniversary of D&D; the 20th anniversary of the launch of an independent Blackmoor line overseen by Dave, himself; and the 15th anniversary of the legend’s passing, the timing could scarcely be any more appropriate than it is right now.”

Back in 2009, the project was nearly complete and ready to be sent to the printer when Dave Arneson passed away suddenly. After that tragic turn of events, it didn’t seem right to release the book as planned originally, and so the project went into indefinite hibernation. “With the big anniversary year upon us,” Robinson concluded, “We feel the time is right to finally get this book into the hands of fans.”

Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is scheduled for release this August, 2024. As a supplemental edition for the setting, the book will be released system-neutral,  allowing players of any edition or expression of the world’s greatest roleplaying game to make immediate use of it.

About Studio Ink Bat

Ink Bat is a content development studio dedicated to the art of making excellent games. Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is Ink Bat’s first major release, but will surely not be its last. Ink Bat can be found online at http://ink-bat.com

About Dave Arneson

Dave Arneson is the late co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons. He is regarded the creator of the roleplaying game and innovator of the ‘dungeon adventure’ concept in tabletop gaming. Blackmoor is his original fantasy setting and the environment in which he and Gary Gygax incubated their legendary game. He passed away in 2009, but his profound legacy endures.

Are you excited about this news? What do you think this book will contain? 

More details at the Comeback Inn

Ink Bat Studios Press Release

-Havard

Dwarves! (Blackmoor Week 2020 Day 2)

 Are you ready for more Blackmoor Goodness? Its great to see more and more D&D fans joining in the celebration of Blackmoor Week as we keep moving towards Dave Arneson Game Day. My friend Dungeon Delver mentioned that he will be re-reading Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign. That is a book that deserves being re-read at least once per year and what better day to read it than today? OD&D superfan Finarvyn is running a Blackmoor campaign with laser wielding frog miniatures that he borrowed from a board game. Are you doing anything with Blackmoor this year?

TODAY's FEATURED ARTICLES

• Boddynock at the Gnomish Embassy follows up with another article today for Blackmoor and D&D 5th edition, this time with a a rules conversion for Blacmoor Dwarves along with an NPC and an organization called the Hearthguard. Check it out here.
• At The Piazza, Zeromaru X has expanded his article on the City of Rodhin from last year's Dave Arneson Game Day.

FREE STUFF FROM THE COMEBACK INN

• The Age of the Wolf DM's Guide to Meta Orgs for Blackmoor 4E is now available as a free download 
• 3 issues of the Blackmoor Rampart Newsletter for the D&D 3E Blackmoor MMRPG. #9, #10 and #11 are now available. 

Get Your Free Downloads here

For more details on what's going on, don't forget to visit the following places on the Internet:

• The Comeback Inn Blackmoor Week Preparation Thread
• The Piazza Blackmoor Week Preparation Thread
• Blackmoor Fans on Facebook

WHY DON'T YOU JOIN US?

Anyone can participate in Dave Arneson Game Day. If you have written something that I haven't noticed, ran a game and posted some pictures or a game report, let me know by posting in one of the forum links above. 

Also, make sure to sign up for this year's Dave Arneson Game Day!

What are you doing in gaming this week? What would you like to see over the next or for future events?

-Havard

Final Blackmoor Pen and Paper MMRPG Adventure Now Available

Its been a long time since I started uploading the Blackmoor adventures from the MMRPG series to the Comeback Inn Website. While they were considered unofficial, they were organized by Dave Arneson's company while they were publishing Blackmoor for the D20 line and eventually for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition and ran all the way untill the lisence was discontinued by Wizards of the Coast after Dave's passing.

And here we are. The final episode of the series:

 Ep. 4002 - No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

 By Robert Reed

"In 1299, a new age is dawning, and the Peshwah Nation is in need of aid. Unsure of who to blame for their horses disappearing from the Plains of Hak, they are seeking the help of outsiders. Can you discover the thieves, return the horses of the Peshwah and identify the culprits?" 

A Dave Arneson's Blackmoor adventure for heroic level characters. 

 Set in in the Age of the Wolf era of Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, this is the second adventure written for D&D 4th Edition and the final adventure ever written for the Blackmoor tabletop MMRPG line.

 Is that the end then? Have no fear. We have more MMRPG related goodness that will be revealed here at The Comeback Inn in the coming months, although we are getting close to sharing what we have uncovered from the vaults now.

Also, there will be more unofficial Blackmoor 5E adventures released as well. Make sure you have all the previous MMRPG adventures downloaded safely on your HDs.

But first, enjoy this last adventure of the ZGG/CMP era.

Download here

Image source: https://www.deviantart.com/werewolves0791/art/indian-horse-172452880

-Havard

Blackmoor MMRPG Inventor Class!

Things have been a bit busy for me these past six months, but its all good kinds of busy. Still, it has left many of my Blackmoor projects on hold. Thankfully good people like Zeromaru X, Tim Baker, Yaztromo, RobJN and others have been pestering me at The Piazza and the Comeback Inn to put up more Blackmoor MMRPG material. Feedback like this is what makes what we are doing at this blog and at the Comeback Inn meaningful, so I definitely wanted to share something this week.

While you will have to wait a few more days before the next MMRPG adventure episode will be released, I hope you like what I just uploaded. This Inventor Class originally appeared in Clock & Steam, but was updated for the Blackmoor 4E MMRPG and the Age of the Wolf Setting.

If you like this booklet, make sure you download the older 3E and 4E MMRPG material too. The adventures are easy to adapt to any edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder etc.

If you want me to keep providing these things, please send me a word here on this blog or at the forums!

Download the PDF here.

-Havard

Blackmoor 4E MMRPG is Here! (Blackmoor Week Day 6)

Like I mentioned yesterday, we have obtained the files and adventures that were created for the D&D 4E version of the Blackmoor MMRPG. Now, we are making those available as free downloads at The Comeback Inn. We are starting with the first adventure, labelled Episode 4001: Brightest Day, Blackest Night.

"In 1299, a new age is dawning, diplomacy happens and you are part of it. Or at least delivering it for those in leadership positions of the great city states that are part of it. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems, with danger and treachery lurking everywhere, even In Brightest day, In Blackest Night… A Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor adventure for heroic level characters."

That's right. These adventures are set in the fabled Age of the Wolf, centuries after the previous iterations of Blackmoor. This is really exciting since so little is known about what was planned for this era of Blackmoor's history.

Download the Adventure for free here

Not a fan of D&D 4th Edition? It isn't really that difficult to convert these adventures to other editions. Also, you should make sure to get all four seasons of the 3E adventures from the MMRPG, all availalable for free at the Comeback Inn.

Also in Blackmoor Week Day 6

Are you all caught up with the Blackmoor news from earlier this week? Did you get the D&D 5E adventure? What are your favorite things about Blackmoor Week so far?





-Havard

Blackmoor to be Revived by Vampire: The Masquerade Creator

Totally manipulated photo. :D

It has been fairly quiet on the Blackmoor front for a while, and then last night, May 11 2015, the following was announced via the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Facebook Page:

" BREAKING NEWS: Gaming icon Mark Rein-Hagen (creator of the World of Darkness, Ars Magica) is returning to roleplaying games, and has expressed interest in putting out the first new Blackmoor material in years! "

Mark Rein-Hagen should be a well known name to anyone who is interested in the gaming industry. He started out co-designing the classic RPG Ars Magica and later went on to create Vampire the Masquerade at the World of Darkness Setting. His influence reached way beyond the  world or RPG design, with the World of Darkness influencing Tru Blood, the Underworld movies and beyond.

Ever since Dave Arneson passed away 2008, there has been alot of speculation on the possibilities of seeing Blackmoor back in print. Many have suggested that it would be legally difficult to make this happen. However, Rein-Hagen is certainly serious about his intent to get Blackmoor back into published form as he made this comment for the Blackmoor Blog:

"I am a huge fan [of Blackmoor] and always have been. Was fortunate enough to meet him when I was a kid. We are going to do everything we can to bring his world back into publication."

Also involved in the project is CA Suleiman and the rest of the team at Mark Rein-Hagen's company Make-Believe Games. In addition to being a well-known game designer for White Wolf's World of Darkness games and the Scarred Lands (Sword & Sorcery Imprint), Suleiman was also heavily involved in the design of the previous iteration of Blackmoor, including the never released Age of the Wolf subsetting.



More details here.



-Havard

Earthshakers of Blackmoor!

In 1985, TSR published a D&D module by David "Zeb" Cook bearing the title CM4 Earthshaker! It featured a gigantic humanoid steel construct, which had been revived by Gnomes who had discovered it. Considered one of the great wonders of the world, the Earthshaker was believed to be unstoppable, causing endless havoc in his wake.

Interestingly, this was not the last (or first?) appearance of the Earthshaker. In CM4, David Cook provides only a few clues to the origins of the Earthshaker

"Milos doesn't know who built the Eartshaker, but he knows that it was built at least 3000 years ago, probably by a race of evil gods with skill similar to that of gnomes or dwarves" -CM4 page 10.

3000 years ago? Well, that does place us firmly in the classic Age of Blackmoor. Another clue appeared three years later in the module DA3 City of the Gods:

Notice that humanoid figure to the right of the panel? Could it be the same figure? Granted it does look smaller than the Eartshaker, which is said to be taller than the Empire State building. However the design certainly looks similar. Giant Metallic Automatons as part of the Blackmoor mythos seem to be well established. They also appear to have been instrumental in the design of the Age of the Wolf setting, featuring such unique gigantic constructs as the Herald of Thanatos.

Recently the topic of the Earthshaker reappeared in a discussion over at the Piazza, where a project led by Chimpman has been initiated to develop a historical version of the legendary City of Urzud.





-Havard

Age of the Wolf art part 3

Here's more art by Lee Smith, originally intended to grace the pages of the Age of the Wolf book. Thanks to Lee, I am proud to be able to share this with you. These images give us an even better idea of where the designers were planning to take Blackmoor:

Beastman

"The Beastman is a type of humanoid unique to Blackmoor. The beastmen of Blackmoor come in many different colors and varieties, but they all share some basic physical characteristics: All beastmen are a little larger than a large human, with long coarse fur and yellow-gold eyes. They have powerful, barrel-like chests and muscular arms that are almost long enough to drag on the ground. Each beastman’s head type is random, even within family units and clans."

 Its good to see the Beastmen having a role in Age of the Wolf. I have often found them more interesting than Orcs which feature in every setting.

The Hills Have Eyes:

"A pair of unlucky adventurers encounter a band of Mutated Ash Goblins on a rocky ridge. Soon they will be overwhelmed by these vile creatures and taken to the Brood Mother to decide their fate." 

Ash Goblins were introduced in the D20 line, but they just seemed to be an arbitrary monster included in the 3E Sourcebook and I could never figure out why they had used them instead of various other monsters from the DA series for instance. However it seems like they had more ideas planned for this race to be revealed in the Age of the Wolf Sourcebook. 

Brood Mother

" The Brood Mother of the Korkak tribe of mutated ash goblins is a repulsive form that remains only vaguely humanoid. She is a hideously obese and over-sized goblin, wrapped in roll upon roll of loose, flabby flesh. A tiny head with greasy hair stares with maddened eyes from above, while vestigial arms and legs flail and twitch without purpose. Various vermin crawl from between the folds of skin. Incapable of movement, bereft of any prehensile dexterity, the brood mother is utterly reliant upon her tribemates to survive."

Okay, that is gross! This is a new addition to the Ash Goblin ecology. Seems like a pretty interesting idea for a creature and it also makes the Ash Goblins more different from regular Goblins. This is a good thing. In the 3E version just seemed like Goblins with a few modifications and I was wondering if it was really worth it. Now that they were developing their society and ecology more, I am beginning to see the sense of including this creature. You know, in spite of the gross nature of these ladies...


Dragonborn Bombardier

 From the all-dragonborn city-state of Rodhin, he is part of a secret group, called the Bombardiers of Rodhin that serves the dragonborn king. Originally, the bombardiers were archers. Since Rodhin started developing greater technological prowess, they have replaced their bows with mechanical bolt-throwers powered by explosive steam power.

 I've been wondering about Rodhin since I noticed it on the Age of the Wolf map! From the 4E sourcebook on, we knew that they would be giving more room to the new 4E races. Not sure how interesting this would be to long time Blackmoor fans, but if you are going to include Dragonborn it makes sense to have their city in the Dragon Hills. It is also interesting to see that they were planning to introduce what appears to be gun powder weapons into the Age of the Wolf.

Revelation Death Priest

 "The Revelation Deathpriests are part of a crazy cult obsessed with the act of re-animation, and have been driven mad by their desire to reconcile the gulf between science and magic. The cult’s activities involve tinkering with life and death, and result in the creation of rather a lot of tech-infused undead."

 Another disturbing image. These remind me of the Necrotech I suggested for the Egg of Coot. I have no idea if this cult is linked to the Egg, but it would make sense in my opinion.

Finally, I would like to take another opportunity to thank Lee Smith for finnishing these wonderful paintings even though the project has been cancelled. At least we can get another glimpse at what this product line was intended to be like, even though it never saw the light of day. I hope you guys enjoy seeing these as much as I do!







-Havard

More lost Age of the Wolf art!

Last month, I shared a painting that artist Lee Smith was comissioned to do for the now abandoned Age of the Wolf line for Blackmoor. Here's more!

Inventor:

The artist's comment:

"A Character class illustration for a project that was cancelled. This guy is an inventor, able to piece together artefacts or powerful weapons from various components. I like to think of him as a 'fantasy MacGyver'"

The inventor class first appeared in Blackmoor Clock & Steam and it has long been known that it would be converted to 4E in the Age of the Wolf sourcebook. This further suggests that the rise of technology was going to be a prominent theme in this Blackmoor subsetting.


Tiefling Relic Hunter:

The artist's comment:

A character illustration for a cancelled project, this is a Tiefling Relic Hunter. He is employed to track down arcane artefacts.

Not all fans will be happy to see  Tieflings in Blackmoor. The Blackmoor: First Campaign Sourcebook (4E) introduced this 4E core race. The race description in that book did hint that this race would become more important in the future, so having them appear in AoW is no big surprise.


Gravesworn:

The artist's comment:

Illustration from a cancelled project, this is a type of undead that are animated not by the will of power-hungry necromancers, nor by the tragedy of their death, but by a force called arcane pollution -- their souls killed by wanton use of arcane magic, and then returned to animation by the same forces. 

This last one is perhaps the most interesting painting. The concept of arcane pollution and the idea that this can create undead is pretty fascinating. This is perhaps the explanation for the legion of undead following the Herald of Thanatos?

I like all of these paintings. They are very well done, and its hard to pick a favorite. I would like to thank Lee for sharing them with us!










-Havard

Final Blackmoor Cover!

Jim pinto of Knightime studios just posted what would have been the final version of the Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf cover. I posted an article of an earlier version of this cover back in November. I think this final version looks really good. How about you?

Read more about it and see more pictures at the Knighttime Studio blog. From the various images used, I recognize Lee Smith's Herald of Thanatos, posted on this blog a few days ago. In the top left corner is part of the image used at the cover of the City of the Gods adventure (ZG version).







-Havard

Age of the Wolf Art Revealed!

The Age of the Wolf product line for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor was cancelled. Artist Lee Smith was comissioned to do some of the illustrations for the project. Above is one of the pieces he made. The cap for the illustration reads:

The Herald of Thanatos is a massive mechanical construct that roams the lands, in its wake the dead rise from their graves and follow the machine as a legion of undead warriors.

 It's really interesting to see this wonderful illustrastion. It gives us alot of room to speculate to what the Age of the Wolf was really about. Based on this illustration alone, I'm getting associations with the Iron Kingdoms, perhaps with a hint of post apocalypse? The challenge with such a setting would probably be how to preserve the Arnesonian touch to the setting. I hope to reveal more news on this topic in the coming months!






-Havard

The End - Officially?

Last year, we learned that the Blackmoor lisence agreement between WotC and ZG was ending by the end of 2009. There were hints of possibilties of negotiating a continuation of the agreement, though given WotC's changed attitude towards lisencing out its property and the fact that Arneson was no longer in the picture made the chances seem slim.

Other speculations included the possibilities of ZG's partner, Code Monkey Publishing launching a new, but related setting, sometimes referred to as the New Lands. However, this hope was reduced when ZG announced that their relationship with CMP would also come to an end in early 2010. An announcement at CMP's website of coming changes to their site was announced in early january, but as of now, the site can still be considered Out of Order.

A few days ago, the president of ZG (now IMI labs) made the following statement at the Comeback Inn:

"Age of the Wolf is a CMP project, but both Dave [Arneson] and I were involved in the early framing of the effort. CMP handled the oversight for the development.  AoW is not planned for release at this time in any format. IMI has no business relationship with CMP at this time nor are there any immediate plans."

 I interpret this as the closest thing we are going to get as an official statement that ZG and CMP's involvement with Blackmoor have come to an end. Barring a dramatic change in attitude from WotC towards lisencing out their property, any chance of seeing published Blackmoor material in the future would have to come from WotC themselves. Given the wide range of trademarks owned by WotC, that might not be too likely either, but who knows?





-Havard

A New Year!

Since we are now in 2010, I would like to take a look at the past year and the things that have happened concerning Blackmoor. 2009 has been a year of Great Losses, a year of Hopes and Disappoinments an a year where we need to ask wherein the future of Blackmoor lies.

GREAT LOSSES
Overshadowing everything else, 2009 will no doubt be remembered for the passing of Dave Arneson on the 7th of April after two years of battling cancer. On the 17th of November, Richard Snider also passed away. More than anything else happening last year, the loss of those two gentlemen will be remembered.


HOPES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

On the publishers' side of  things, 2009 saw the release of Blackmoor: The First Campaign in June, bringing Blackmoor over to the 4th Edition of D&D. This was a pleasant surprise as things had been so quiet around Blackmoor that many of us had given up hope that we'd ever see more Blackmoor Products. Blackmoor had now been placed among very few 3rd party settings to be supported for the new edition.

Blackmoor fans were further excited to learn of the planned launch of the Age of the Wolf setting which was to be released over the months of the fall of 2009. Unfortunately, those hopes were stiffled as it was announced that the Blackmoor lisence from WotC was coming to an end, with the chance of seeing any future Blackmoor products looking slim.

THE FANS MARCH ON

Not all that happened in 2009 was gloomy though. This year also saw the end of the Grim Winter Campaign. Grim Winter is Rafael San Miguel's long lasting Play by Post Campaign, one of the biggest gaming events in recent Blackmoor history. We are pleased to learn that a new chapter in this saga, the Promised Land will begin later this year.

2009 was also the second year of the Piazza. This D&D World forum is staying vibrant and steadily attracting more followers, with Blackmoor having its own top level subforum on those boards. Finarvyn's OD&D Forum has also been a great resource for learning about Blackmoor's early days and Arneson's way of gaming.

Finally, 2009 was the year when this Blog was born. Getting into the blogosphere has been a very interesting experience for me. Along with my website at blackmoor.mystara.us, it has been a good way for me to organize and collect my thoughts on Blackmoor. I have been humbled to see it attract so many great followers, many of whom help out with very interesting comments and feedback. Several people have contacted me, expressing a desire to see more things happen with Blackmoor even if we can no longer get official material. More than anything else, this blog has convinced me that the Blackmoor fans are a force to be reconned with. I belive that Blackmoor is now in the hands of its fans. 2010 will be the year when those of us who love the setting will have to step up and make sure that Arneson's creation does not disappear into oblivion, but instead lives on! 

I wish you a Happy New Year!






-Havard

Age of the Wolf Map!

 Looking at the cover for Age of the Wolf, you may have noticed this part of a beautifully rendered map for the Age of the Wolf campaign setting.  As you may remember, Age of the Wolf is set 269 years into Blackmoor's future. A lot has changed during the years that have passed, apparently. From the map alone we can learn that the City of Blackmoor has been destroyed. Boggy Bottom is also marked off as ruins. What has happened to these places? Is it the Afridhi? Or the Egg of Coot? Notice also a new city, Rodhin located in the Spine of the Dragon. I don't recognize it from any of the older maps. You will also notivce that Glendover is misspelled on this map, but I assume that is only a typo. Back to the Ruins of Blackmoor, we already know that Blackmoor would be destroyed in the Age of the Wolf since the announcement of the product called Ruins of Blackmoor. What disaster caused all this destruction to our beloved realm? Hopefully, some day someone will share with us what they had planned for this setting.

-Havard

New Look!

Today I am proud to present the new look of the blog! Much is the same ofcourse, but we have a new logo in the style of the could-have-been Age of the Wolf line for Blackmoor 4E. This doesnt mean the contents of the blog will shift towards more D20 oriented entries though. I intend to continue trying to keep the blog balanced between old school and new school material. Also, so you wont forget the old logo:

 

Have a nice day!

-Havard