Frank Mentzer Announces New Company Temporal Studios

Just the other day, the Youtube Channel of Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo Organizer Ron Meischker had TSR game designer legend Frank Mentzer on their show. Frank made the announcement that he was setting up a new company that would be called Temporal Studios (link to website). The project sounds ambitious as there are plans to delve into gaming history, conducting interviews with other RPG legends (Frank name dropped a few in the interview) and print and PDF publication. 

Frank has previously worked for TSR, Gary Gygax' New Infinities and Eldritch Enterprises. In 2017 he unsuccessfully launched a Kickstarter for his D&D campaign Empyrea (also known as Aquaria).

In recent years, Frank has had some health problems, but in the youtube interview he seemed optimistic, saying that modern medicine had helped him avoid the fate of some of his good friends like Jim Ward. 

-Havard

The Piazza celebrated its 17th birthday this Weekend!

The Piazza website was created for fans who wanted to discuss the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. 17 years later, the forum is still going on strong! The forum is known for being open to all editions and settings as well as non D&D games. The forum is home to a number of dedicated fans as well as several game designers and is known for its friendly atmosphere. While the most popular D&D settings like the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk have vibrant fan discussions at The Piazza, you can also find very strong followings for less famous settings like Mystara and Spelljammer and many at The Piazza love digging up the most obscure D&D products they can find. The Piazza takes pride in having fans of the latest editions of D&D enjoying civil discussions with fans of the TSR era aditions. 

This Weekend, from May 30th - June 1st, The Piazza celebrated its birthday. The 17th Birthday Party was celebrated on Discord, both as a voice and text chat. The Discord was opened to non-members for the occasion. Former TSR designer Frank Mentzer dropped by to wish everyone a happy birthday. Thorf (from the Atlas of Mystara) and Ashtagon (creator of The Piazza) both had live streams where they did live fantasy map making. Aulddragon ran a Spelljammer adventure on Twitch where several party guests attended as audience members and players. 

As a special surprise, a new section of the Piazza forum was opened. This one dedicated to Minor D&D Worlds. A typical Piazza birthday party tradition is that a certain number of guests can choose new custom titles. There are more of those that have gone unclaimed this year, so its not too late! 

Overall a very successful online party. Thanks to everyone who came out to say hello. I look forward to many more! 

What are your favorite experiences with The Piazza?

-Havard

Someone made a miniature based on the D&D Master Set Cover

 Someone called Aaron Prati made a miniature that I want so badly. It is based on the cover of the D&D Master Set from the BECMI D&D line. Mr. Prati made this as a hobby project as a tribute to Larry Emore who did the painting for all the BECMI boxed sets.

There have been a lot of unofficial BECMI/Mystara miniatures over the years. This one is excellent. Go here for Aaron Prati's original post on Facebook.

-Havard

TSR's Skip Williams on the Origin of Pegataurs the Iconic D&D Monster

 

Pegataurs are an iconic creature from the D&D multiverse that is strangely underused. In the World of Mystara they are found in the Known World, the Empire of Alphatia, the City of Serraine and on the Savage Coast. Some are found living among elves or making their lairs in moutain sides, while others lend their services as mercenaries or trainers of Pegasi mounts to ground dwellers. 

 

Part Elf and part Pegasus, these magnificent D&D creatures first appeared in 1986 in the epic adventure Vengeance of Alphaks (M2) for the Classic D&D edition popularly known as BECMI. Pegataurs most recently made an appearance in the latest edition of D&D in the book Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms (2024) where the the character named Luphandi, a free thinking Pegataur who befriends the legendary Wizard Mordenkainen as they explore the World of Mystara.

Including a Pegataur character in Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms in that book's chapter on Mystara is perhaps not a coincidence as this legendary setting is where Vengeance of Alphaks was set, like most of the wonderful BECMI product line. It was Jeff Easley who brought the creatures to life in the spectacular painting shown above, gracing the cover of the adventure. 

Skip Williams was kind enough to share with me how the creatures came to be and how he worked with Jeff Easley to bring the creatures to life in the spectacular painting shown above, gracing the cover of the adventure.  

I created pegataurs for the adventure—flying sentries for a flying castle. TSR had me write an art order for the cover. I wrote something along the lines of "ramparts of a floating castle sticking up through clouds with a pegataur (think of a centaur with pegasus wings). Easley took it from there, choosing the composition, color palette, and making a single pegataur archer as the focus.

M2 Vengance of Alphaks continues the saga of Norwold, a region in Mystara fought over by two Empires; Thyatis and Alphatia. Here we follow the story of Alphaks one of the main villains of the Mystara setting as he rises to become a powerful demon. The Demon's main goal is to destroy the Empire of Alphatia.This is not the last time we see Pegataurs in D&D however. In 1989,  famous game designer and author Aaron Allston expanded on the backstory of Pegataurs and their connections to the Empire of Alphatia for the Mystara setting. 

That same year, Pegataurs went from being just a monster to be encountered to also becoming a playable race in PC2 Top Balista by Carl Sargent. This sourcebook for BECMI focused on flying creatures that could be used by players and DMs alike and also explored the Flying City of Serraine that travels across the skies of Mystara. The source book also expanded on the lore by Williams and Allston.

In 1994 Pegataurs appeared in the AD&D 2nd Edition in the AD&D Monstrous Compendium Mystara Appendix by John Nephew. Here we learn more about Pegataurs, their allies such as the Phanatons and their way of life.  

 Pegataur Bibliography

• M2 Vengeance of Alphaks (1986)
• AC9 Creature Catalogue (1986)
• DMR3 Creature Catalogue (1993)
• PC2 Top Balista  (1989)
• Dawn of the Emperors (1989)
• AD&D Trading Card R1 #722 1991
• AD&D 2ND EDITION AD&D Mystara Monstrous Compendium Appendix.  (1994)
• Monstrous Compendium Annual Volume Three  (1996)
• Orc's Head Peninsula Campaign Book
• Dungeons & Dragons: Worlds and Realms (2024)

A big thank you to Skip Williams for answering questions about this race and to the wonderful people of The Piazza D&D fan community who helped with researching Pegataurs in this topic.

Are you a fan of Pegataurs? How would you include Pegataurs in an adventure?

-Havard

Larry Elmore Red Box Cover 3D Rendition at Lucca Games & Comics 2024

 

The Italian Gaming Convention, Lucca Games & Comics has been steadily growing in popularity over the years. During this year's convention, a few weeks ago, a 3D sculpture based on Larry Elmore's Red Box Basic Set cover from the BECMI D&D edition was brought to life. The piece was painted live in front of Lucca attendees by artist Silvia Corso. 

The BECMI edition of D&D, created by Frank Mentzer (editor) and its associated setting, Mystara, is unusually popular in Italy and many other parts of Europe, so it is not surprising that this piece was selected to be presented at the Lucca Convention. 

This piece does not appear to be available for sale, but more details on how to commission work from the artist can be found at the BECMI Italia group on Facebook.

Photos by Elisabetta Giulivi 

-Havard

Morley the Wizard - Should This Early TSR Mascot Make a Comeback?

 

Back in the 1970s TSR created an iconic character that we don't see around much these days. Morley the Wizard was an early Mascot of D&D. He appeared in commercials aimed at children and younger gamers. He also appeared on the cover of the Fantasy Forest Board Game (1st printing). According to Screen Rant, the character may have been created in order to shift perceptions away from all the negative press given to D&D during the "Satanic Panic". 

Frank Mentzer told me that the character was created by Dave Dimery. Dimery was Vice President of Marketing at TSR at the time. "[Dimery was an]  old friend of Gary's (since childhood Chicago)" Frank told me. The image of Morley even appeared on some RPGA material during the time when Mentzer was in charge of that project. 

With WotC bringing back the cartoon characters as well as LJN toy characters like Warduke and Strongheart, will Morley be next?

Huge thanks to Frank Mentzer for providing additional information, images and documents for this article. 

-Havard

Aleena the Cleric Iconic D&D Legend Character Sheet Revealed

 

Aleena the Cleric was the legendary character introduced in the BECMI D&D Red Box introductory adventure. Her tragic death at the hands of the evil Wizard Bargle inspired thousands of players to go on adventures and seek justice for this innocent and brave hero. Aleena went in to become an NPC in the Mystara setting, appearing in Gaz1 The Grand Duchy of Karameikos and the the AD&D Boxed Set Karameikos: Kingdom of Magic. The introductory adventure also gave inspiration to the Kill Bargle phenomenon and was revisited several times in Dragon Magazine during the Paizo era. 

Frank Mentzer, editor of the TSR top selling D&D Red Box Basic Set and the rest of the BECMI line revealed the charcter sheet used for Aleena back in 2020 and shared it again now for the 50th anniversary of the D&D Gamenull. According to Frank, this character was rolled up in 1977 and the character sheet shows the character as she appeared in ca 1979. Aleena was played by Aileen Shea in Frank's campaign. As presented this character sheet presents Aleena as an 8th level Cleric wielding a +2 Mace of Disruption and a +1 Shield. She is dressed in plate armor. 

The character sheet also reveals some fantasic adventures that this character has lived through. She has retrieved a magical ring from a Type II Demon. These Frog-like demons were lated renamed Hezrou and also provided the inspiration for the Croaking Demons from the BECMI Immortal Set. What happened to this ring, I wonder?

Sadly, the character sheet also states that Aleena has been killed by the hands of a Mummy. Does this mean Bargle was an undead all along?

With WotC revisiting all kinds of obscure characters for their new 2024 Core Rulebooks, why aren't they using Bargle and Aleena?

Discuss this topic further on The Piazzaon The Piazza.

-Havard

David "Zeb" Cook and Frank Mentzer to Attend Italian Conventions in 2024

Two legends from the TSR era are coming to Italy this year as is being reported on  the dmmagazine blog:

David "Zeb" Cook will be a guest of honor at the Play Festival del Gioco in Modena, to be held in May, 17 to 19 in 2024. Frank Mentzer will be a host during Napoli ComiCon. This convention tales place in Naples from April 25 to 28 and is said to be one of Italy biggest pop culture events. Yet to be confirmed are rumours that Frank Mentzer will also attend to the Lucca convention, also in Italy. This convention takes place sometime in the fall.

Are you going to any Italian gaming conventions this year?

-Havard

Joe Manganiello is a Mystara fan

Actor Joe Manganiello (True Blood, Justice League) has made a name for himself as a D&D superfan over the last few years. He has appeared on numerous streaming shows talking about his passion for D&D and showing off his amazing gaming cellar. Most recently, his character, Arkhan the Cruel appeared in the D&D5E Adventure Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. 

I recall that in one of his videos, he mentioned that he started out with the Frank Mentzer edited BECMI Red Box D&D set, which gets him even more props in my book. However, last month I also learned that the man is a Mystara fan! Check out the twitter correspondence between The Piazza, Joe and myself: 

Joe refers to the setting as Thyatis rather than Mystara, but we all know what he is talking about! I started to suspect things when it was revealed that Arkhan the Cruel has a companion who is a Tortle. I wonder if Arkhan himself was a Mystara character?

We know that Joe likes Mystara. Will Mystara fans like Krull the Tortle Death Cleric?

Now, back to writing about Blackmoor Week!


-Havard

1983 Red Box Aleena Bargle Tribute Kickstarter from Failsquad Games in Trouble

Failsquad Games recently announced a new Kickstarter featurng a reimagined version of the legendary 1983 Red Box intro adventure featuring Bargle and Aleena. Labelled The Ruins of Mistemere (after the Red Box's Castle Mistamere), the adventure promised in the Kickstarter also included several of the characters from the dungeon with their names slightly altered. 

Now as some feared right from the start, this concept may have been a little too close to the original. At least Wizards of the Coast thought so and had the Kickstarter shut down. Kickstarter now only displays the following message: 

The Ruins of Mistemere - a 5E adventure is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and is currently unavailable.

If you are interested in this project, please check back later. Thanks for your patience.

The reason for seeking to get this project shut down by WotC is listed as follows:

Re: The Ruins of Mistemere - a 5E adventure
Description of copyrighted material: "The Ruins of Mistamere" was an adventure found in the classic Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Red Box - a starter set for D&D created in 1983.

Description of infringing material: This Kickstarter plans on recreating an "inspired by" version of our copyrighted material. It is derivative and not authorized. As you can see from their own description, anyone familiar with the original material would know what they are trying.

Castle Mistamere is an iconic dungeon and Frank Mentzer's tragic story about Aleena the Cleric and the evil Wizard Bargle have inspired generations of gamers. The characters made it into the Mystara setting with Gaz1 Grand Duchy of Karameikos and have been revisited since in the Kill Bargle adventure in Dungeon #150. It would be really nice to see this adventure reimagined for the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons. That said, Wizards of the Coast's objection in this case does not strike me as unreasonable. (Even if they called it the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Red Box... ;) ).

Lloyd Metcalf of Failsquad Games told me he understands WotC's position. He felt "they were in fair use territory", but stresses that FSG does not want to infringe on anyone's IP. It looks like that is the end for this product. The company is moving on to work on an Old School fanzine called "Maximum HP"

Lets hope Failsquad Games finds success with less problematic projects in the future!



-Havard

X5 Temple of Death One of the Best D&D Adventures Says 5E Designer Robert J Schwalb

The classic Dungeons & Dragons adventure X5 Temple of Death is getting renewed interest. Published in 1983 for the Frank Mentzer BECMI  "Red Box" edition of the world's most famous roleplaying game and set in the world of Mystara, this adventure was written by David "Zeb" Cook as a sequel to X4 Master of the Desert Nomads (Also by Cook). The series would later be concluded in X10 Red Arrow Black Shield by Michael S. Dobson. Beautifully illustrated by Timothy Truman, the module explored a mysterious temple in the lands of Sind and also introduced new monsters such as Dusanu, Genoid, Mujina, Malfera and Spectral Hounds.

Following a reacent discussion at The Piazza, which also spun into that RPG forum's Facebook Page, Robert J. Schwalb was among those giving the adventure praise:

In addition to being one of the designers on the team that created the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Schwalb is also the publishing his own RPG Shadow of the Demon Lord. Check it out! :)


As a fan of BECMI D&D and Mystara, it is always nice to see the adventures of that era get more recognition. I am looking foward to seeing X1 Isle of Dread (the original Mystara advenure) return in a collection from Goodman Games next year. Could we see the Desert Nomad Series  further down the line?



-Havard

No More Gygax Magazine.

I was excited from the moment I first heard of Gygax Magazine. Sadly, it was recently reported that Gary Gygax' sons were forced to leave Gygax Magazine due to legal action by Gail Carpenter Gygax, Gary's widow from his second marriage. Now Erik, over at Tenkar's Tavern reports that Gygax Magazine will no longer be published. TSR (The publisher of the magazine, not the original TSR) have stated that they will be focusing on publishing modules instead.

As I have mentioned in the past, I am very sad to see this happen. The Gygax brothers seem like excellent people and the way they and the people at GaryCon have been making an effort to involve everyone in the Old School Gaming movement, including Dave Arneson's original players and many others. It would be a shame if the Gygax brothers were prevented from contributing to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. I am glad we are still seeing the Hobby Shop Dungeon happening.

I am also interested in seeing what TSR is up to next. Apparently they plan on releasing a series of modules by Frank Mentzer and Merle Rasmussen. This is something I would love to see, being the huge BECMI fan that I am. At least there is some good news amidst all the sad news. I wish Luke and Ernie Gygax all the best and hope that there is some way to find a sollution that would allow them to participate in publishing game material as long as they want to. They deserve it and I'd like to think the gamers in this world deserves that too. :)



-Havard

RedBox30: WotC are reading my blog!

So last month, I started posting about how the Red Box, the best selling product in the history was published 30 years ago.  Yesterday I reported that the Frank Mentzer Basic Set (Red Box) was finally available as a PDF.

Today, WotC responds: The now have a 30 year anniversary offer at dndclassics.com for various classic era products along with the basic set.

Have they been reading my blog, or what? :D

Some more discussion about this special anniversary offer over at The Piazza.

Also, check out this 1984 vintage TV commercial for the Red Box and other TSR Games at the time.

-Havard

Red Box Basic Set Available!

As I was talking about a few weeks ago, this year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Mentzer Red Box Basic Set, the edition that made D&D into a world wide hobby. It has been surprisingly quiet from WotC over this occasion, but my friend TAD just made me aware of the fact that DriveThru has finally released the Basic Set (Red Box version) for sale in the PDF format.

I think it is awesome that new fans can finally get to experience this edition of D&D and play through the beginner adventure featuring the legendary Bargle and Aleena. Also, this is a great chance to pick up the BECMI rules for your tablet. Money-wise it may be cheaper just to get the RC pdf, but it depends on your preferences.

Some more concerned voices have mentioned that this could mean that the chances of seeing a BECMI/RC reprinted version (as they have now done with AD&D 1&2 and 3E). I hope this is not the case. BECMI deserves to get its reprinted edition and it is one D&D product that I will buy in a heartbeat, either in the RC version or in a different collected version of the BECMI boxes.

-Havard

30 Years of Red Box D&D!

While there hasn't been much talk about it over at wizards.com, this year marks 30 years of gaming with the legendary Red Box Basic Set! The red box with the iconic Larry Elmore Dragon was first published in May 1983. This was also the edition that marked the international launch of D&D, turning the game into a worldwide hobby with the box being translated to 44 different languages. With tens of millions of copies sold, the Red Box basic set marked what undoubtedly the best selling product throughout the history of TSR.

Written by Frank Mentzer (credited as editor, as policy was back then), this was the edition that included the legendary intro adventure featuring the tragic death of Aleena the Cleric at the hands of the evil Wizard Bargle. The Red Box was the first in a line of five boxes which would take characters from 1st level to 36th and beyond that into further adventures as Immortals.  Known later by hard core fans as the BECMI edition (Basic - Expert - Companion - Master - Immortals), this edition took the classic line of D&D (as opposed to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons line) to its full potential. The first two boxed sets, Basic and Expert, built heavily on the works of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, John Eric Holmes, Tom Moldvay and David Cook. From the Companion Rules and onwards, the series began to explore unknown territory allowing not only the traditional exploration of dungeons and wilderness, but also having your characters become rulers of kingdoms, control armies, explore the Outer Planes and eventually become god-like beings of legend.

Sometimes mistakenly  believed to be a "kids version" of  the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, the BECMI series in fact created an elegant balance between a ruleset that was easy to get into with the Red Box, but with an increasing complexity to rival that of AD&D as you progressed through the series. The series also offered a return to the Known World, previously introduced in the Moldvay/Cook B/X ruleset of 1981, which would eventually develop into the World of Mystara. BECMI would also later become the rule framework that would allow Blackmoor's return with the DA modules (Dave Arneson Series).

With the vast number of gamers introduced to the hobby of Roleplaying Games through the Red Box, 1983 was clearly a significant year in the history of gaming. Time to celebrate!



-Havard

Blackmoor Frog Monsters in the DDI?

Since they went electronic, I have stopped following the Dragon and Dungeon magazines. As I never got into 4E much, I don't subscribe to the DDI. However, I occationally browse those parts of the Wizards of the Coast Website that are accessible to everyone.

The cover of Dungeon #212 caught my attention! Could there be a Blackmoor article in an issue with a huge cool looking frog monster on the cover? Sadly we're not that lucky this time around. Undoubtedly the frog on the cover is a reference to the article The Village of Hommlet and the deadly Giant Frog encounter from Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer's module Temple of Elemental Evil.

This got me wondering if Gary got the idea of this particular encounter from Dave Arneson's Temple of the Frog. It seems very likely that this was a nod to Dave from Gygax. I was lucky enough to chat with Frank Mentzer about this module a couple of years ago, and he even brought up the Moathouse and the Frog Encounter, but for some reason I forgot to ask him about a connection between the two classic modules. In any case, the Dungeon #212 cover has a sweet Blackmoor wibe!




More discussion of this article at The Comeback Inn.


-Havard

Eldritch Ent Announces New Releases!

Entritch Ent., the new company owned by Frank Mentzer, James Ward, Tim Kask and Christopher Clark just announced some of their upcoming releases:

"Arriving next week at GaryCon: The FIRST FOUR releases from Eldritch Enterprises Ltd.: "Dark Outpost" SF adventure by Jim Ward and 3 Fantasy adventures: "Snakeriders of the Aradondo" by Tim Kask "Forest of Deceit" by Chris Clark "Lich Dungeon (Level One)" by Frank Mentzer. [...]
Eldritch products will all be sneaking out via the Usual Outlets, both Paper & PDF, in April 2012. Specific sales options (sites & costs) tba. We except something along these lines for paper versions: Dark Outpost /or/ Lich Dungeon Level 1: $20 (+ tax & shipping) Snakeriders /or/ Forest of Deceit: $15 (+ tax & shipping) Got more products abuilding, too. Keep an eye out for more info about the First Four and More from Eldritch Ent.">Arriving next week at GaryCon: The FIRST FOUR releases from Eldritch Enterprises Ltd.:

"Dark Outpost" SF adventure by Jim Ward

and 3 Fantasy adventures:

"Snakeriders of the Aradondo" by Tim Kask
"Forest of Deceit" by Chris Clark
"Lich Dungeon (Level One)" by Frank Mentzer
Jim and I did larger ones (80 pages or so); Tim's & Chris's are about 40 pages each.
(Tim has been tied up with the convention gigs, and Chris is doing double duty running his own company, Inner City Games.)
Eldritch products will all be sneaking out via the Usual Outlets, both Paper & PDF, in April 2012.
Specific sales options (sites & costs) tba.
We except something along these lines for paper versions:
Dark Outpost /or/ Lich Dungeon Level 1: $20 (+ tax & shipping)
Snakeriders /or/ Forest of Deceit: $15 (+ tax & shipping)
Got more products abuilding, too.
Keep an eye out for more info about the First Four and More from Eldritch Ent."

 I have been waiting a long time to see more material from Frank Mentzer especially and I am really curious to see what kind of products Endritch Ent. comes up with :

-Havard

Why Blackmoor ended up in Mystara

Mystara is a setting that grew out of the merging of various components such as the Known World, the Hollow World and Blackmoor. What these components had in common was that they were all linked to the Classic D&D rules instead of AD&D. But there was already a Blackmoor in the AD&D Greyhawk line. Why would TSR want to present another Blackmoor? In 2012 Frank Mentzer revealed the following:

"[...] We all remember the tussle between Gary and Dave :cry: and its effect on certain developments in the game, editions, etc. Once that was settled* (which was in the early '80s, during my time there), we discussed options. Since the World of Greyhawk included Blackmoor, should it go there (AD&D1e)? Or since I was drawing from OD&D & supplements, should Sup2 (Blackmoor) go there? Anyway, it ended up in BECM, as you know.


Once the executive decision for placement was made, tho, it was handled by others; I was too busy to do modules (except some RPGA tourneys on the side) or Gazetteers. Given the importance and nature of Blackmoor -- the first fantasy campaign, to some -- it got its own line, instead of being a 'mere' gazetteer.


* In actuality iirc 'settlements' were reached at 3 separate times -- late '70s, early '80s, and then later '80s with the PoG, post-Gary -- before Dave was finally happy with the whole shebang.


Time for my usual caveat, which I haven't offered for a while. All of these and other reminiscences are, and ever shall be, 'If I recall correctly', and I may be in error on various technical points, precise dates, and such.[...]

Apparently, Blackmoor's return was the result of Gary Gygax approaching Arneson. In spite of their differences, Gary must have realized the significance of Blackmoor and also likely believed it could have commerical value. The result were the DA modules.

The DA modules and later also the Gazetteers suggested that Blackmoor existed thousands of years ago. They were vague on its exact location, but seemed to suggest that it was located in the same region as the Known World would later appear. This was problematic from the beginning as locations didnt match up and was made further complicated when the Golden Khan of Ethengar suggested that the Steppes of Ethengar were the North Pole during the Blackmoor Era. Then the Hollow World Boxed Set came out and placed Blackmoor on Skothar, another continent. At the Piazza today, Bruce Heard explains why some of these decisions were made:

"I had to move it out of the Known World because of design contradictions and, basically, no good place to put it. It was relegated to Skothar which was essentially a blank area. Blackmoor was interesting but really not well integrated with Mystara. Management and marketing wanted to have Dave Arneson's material attached to Mystara because or their common connection to Basic and Expert rules, and so the non-negotiable "request" came down to accommodate Blackmoor. The whole thing was well-intentioned but terribly awkward. It should have been designed from day-one to fit Mystara and not pretty much slapped onto it."

Of course, us fans have been taking care of that last part. :)

-Havard

Megarry and Carr at Gary Con VI

I just learned from Paul Stromberg that two Original Blackmoor Players will be at Gary Con next month (March 22-25). Dave Megarry will be refreeing his board game Dungeon! and Mike Carr will be refreeing Dawn Patrol and Don't Give Up the Ship.

Other people who will be at the Convention include Frank Mentzer, Tim Kask, Jim Ward, Skip Williams, Tom Wham, Chris Clark, Harley Stroh, Ernie Gygax and quite a few other people that I would love to meet! Sadly I am stuck in Viking-land. If you go, make sure you send me reports and pictures!

More on this topic here.

-Havard

Complete Classic

Over the last couple of weeks I have finally gotten my hands on Holmes Basic, Cook/Marsh Basic and Moldvay/Cook Expert. Since the 1980s I have owned the complete BECMI D&D (along with the RC in the 90s), but it has been nice to add the other versions of Classic D&D to my collection. Frank Mentzer's BECMI remains my favorite version of D&D, but it is interesting to see the little variations in the previous versions. In general I prefer looking at all of these as pretty much the same game. Modules, supplements and other elements are easily used between all of them so having the whole collection really makes me feel proud to say that I am a fan of classic D&D.



-Havard