Orc King of Blackmoor

The realm of Blackmoor has many enemies. Four major Orc Tribes each control their own corner of the North. The rise of the Orcs followed the destruction of the Temple of Id. Although chaotic in nature, all Orcs follow a single king. King Funk III. Plotting the destruction of Uther's Realm from the depth of the 10th level of the dungeons below Blackmoor, the Orc King is an ally of the Egg of Coot. Although Blackmoor is an important enemy, the Orc King also displays particular hatred towards the race of Dwarves. Through their history, six wars have been fought between Orcs and Dwarves, the sixth is still ongoing.

Under King Funk's rule, the Orcs have greatly expanded on the Blackmoor Dungeon, creating the dangerous path called the Orcian Way. Unfortunately, the Orc population of the Dungeon has taken a heavy toll against adventurers from Blackmoor. One such hero who has caused severe annoyance to the Orcs is the Great Svenny who gained the name Orcsbane from his heroic battles in the dungeons. This has resulted in King Funk placing a a hefty ransom on Svenny's head, though none have yet to collect this reward.


In the original campaign, the Orc King was played by Frederick (Freddy) Funk who sadly passed away in 2011. As with many of his players, Dave allowed Freddy to bring his creativity to the world of Blackmoor. He expanded the dungeon with areas such as the Orcian Way where one could hear God Save the Queen played backwards. Freddy also created his own fantasy world known now as Fred's World sharing some traits with Blackmoor.


What is more formidable than an Orc King with ideas?








Thanks to purple purple purple purple for reminding me of the music heard in the Orcian Way.

Image Source
Forum discussion of this article



-Havard

Fred Funk's World

Hard core Blackmoor fans and followers of my blog will know that Fred Funk played the Orc King in Dave Areson's original game. As I have previously reported, Fred sadly passed away in January. Over the last few days, many of Fred's friends have joined the Comeback Inn sharing stories of Fred and also of the game he DMed.

Interestingly, Fred ran his own D&D game, set in a world of his own creation, which he even had a Player's Guide created for. The setting is uniquely imaginative and clearly shows Fred's roots in the Minnesota Gamers group. You can read more about Fred and his world here.





-Havard

The King of Orcs Has Passed Away

I just learned from Greg Svenson that Frederick "Fred" Paul Funk III passed away January 21, 2011. Fred Funk was part of Dave Arneson's original Blackmoor group. Not to be confused with the professional golfer, Funk played the Orc King, controlling the 10th level of the Blackmoor Dungeon. He is the first known player to have played an Orc in an RPG, but later the Half-Orc would become a popular race in D&D.

A friend of Greg Svenson since junior high school, it was Svenson who introduced Funk to Arneson's group. Later Fred Funk would also run his own Blackmoor games. Fred Funk worked as a police officer and later went into security management in Minnesota.

Frederick Funk  was born on May 12, 1950 and passed away on Friday, January 21, 2011. He was 60 years old.  Frederick was a resident of Albert Lea, Minnesota.


May he Rest in Peace.


Edit:
A discussion of the memories of Fred Funk can be found here. (Comeback Inn registration required)
A discussion of Fred's World can be found here. (Comeback Inn registration required)


-Havard

[Characters] The Great Svenny

Today the Blackmoor Blog celebrates the legendary Blackmoor character known as the Great Svenny. Svenny is the character played by original Blackmoor player Greg Svenson ever since he first joined Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor game perhaps as early as in 1970. He played the character actively in Dave's campaign between 1970-1975 and later for a convention in 1976 and a reunion game in 1991.

The Baron of Newgate has a history of countless adventures in the lands of Blackmoor. In an interview at Sham’s Gameblog earlier this year, Greg Svenson revealed that:

 “I participated in literally hundreds of adventures between early 1971 and 1975… I hardly even remember the famous Temple of the Frog and Valley of the Ancients adventures. I know I was there, but they were not as memorable for me.”

Two adventures do stand out in Greg’s memory though: Surviving the first dungeon adventure and the raid on the lair of Fred Funk’s Orc tribe on the 10th level of Blackmoor dungeon.

Today the Great Svenny is the Lord High Regent of the Regency Council of the Kingdom of Blackmoor.

Svenny is currently the Lord High Regent of the Regency Council of the Kingdom of Blackmoor:

“When I started gaming with Dave again in Orlando in 1999, I played Svenny’s son, Sol, although I called him Svenny Junior at first, until I put together Svenny's family history. I am currently playing Sol in an online play by post game (the Tomb of Rahotep in honor of Gary Gygax on the Wayfarer's Inn website). I have also been playing one of his grandchildren, Sven, in [The Grim Winter Campaign]...”

(Discuss the Great Svenny here)




-Havard