Mike Carr's Quasqueton

I have previously talked about game designer Mike Carr on this blog, as he is one of the people who played in Dave Arneson's original Blackmoor group. I did an interview with Mike Carr last year which is available here. When it comes to D&D, Mike Carr is perhaps most famous for B1 In Search of the Unknown.
Just the other day, the Grognardia Blog revealed that there's a 1904 novel called In Search of the Unknown by Robert Chambers, who also wrote proto-Cthulhu stories in the King in Yellow.

 As most of you will know this legendary adventure module tells the tales of the dubious characters Roghan and Zelligar and is set in a place called Quasqueton. Quasqueton, as it turns out is also a place in Iowa:

This factoid and more lore that has appeared on the internet over the years has just been collected by D&D researcher Paleologos in a pdf document called the B1 In Search of the Unknown Sourcebook. The pdf also contains new material by Paleologos and is available through the Zenopus Archives.

If you take another look at the map above, consider the fact that the original C&C Society World was based on a map of North America. Blackmoor was located somewhere in Minnesota. Greyhawk was the equivalent of Chicago. It would not be unreasonable to assume that Quasqueton would exist as Mike Carr's realm in this proto-setting? According to Carr himself, the module is not based on any actual campaign however. Further speculations of B1's connections to Blackmoor may be found here.

It was recently revealed that The Tomb of Horrors was written with both Greyhawk and Blackmoor in mind as possible locations for that adventure. It is now accompanied by B1 as two early era adventures not written by Dave Arneson with close ties to Blackmoor.

-Havard

The Gazetteer Line and Blackmoor

I was happy to see yesterday's Grognardia article feature the D&D Gazetteer line. Maliszewski speaks very well of these products, of which I was somewhat surprised given his general view of D&D products in this period, though I certainly agree on his judgement on this particular product line. I consider the Gazetteer Series the best line of setting material ever produced. Although the quality varies somewhat, the line has aged remarkably well.

I would like to direct your attention to the remarks made by Allen Varney in the comments section under the article and to which I completely agreee:

It would be appropriate here to praise Bruce Heard, TSR's ace Acquisitions Editor during the Known World's heyday. Bruce lavished attention on the Known World and the Gazetteer line as beloved children. You might also mention designer Aaron Allston, who did standout work on several Gazetteers and the Hollow World boxed set, as well as the massive D&D Rules Cyclopedia. More than a few fans still assert the Cyclopedia was the finest incarnation of the D&D/AD&D ruleset. 

Looking at the list of other authors involved with the series there is a surprising number of names of people who later became legends of their own in the industry in addition to Heard and Allston. According to Bruce Heard, most of those who worked at TSR had a soft spot for the setting which later came to be known as Mystara.

DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor had been published in 1986 and the gazetteer line, beginning the very next year incorporated the background from the DA series into the history of the Known World. Blackmoor became a mythical prehistoric civilization that still had a significant impact on the setting described in the Gazetteer series. Gaz3 the Principalities of Glantri (by Bruce Heard) has several references to Blackmoor and even offers ways to connect the two settings through time travel. Gaz 7 The Brokenlands (also by Heard) also incorporated the legacy of Blackmoor's history into the setting. Gaz 13 the Shadowelves (by Carl Sergeant and Gary Thomas) featured among other things, Rafiel, an Immortal who could still remember Blackmooor. Most of the other Gazetteers also have some references to Blackmoor. The Gazetteer series did among other things helped keep the knowledge of Blackmoor alive among D&D gamers.


As Arneson's original D&D campaign, Blackmoor was already becoming legendary. In the Gazetteer line, Blackmoor became a sort of mythical land within the fantasy setting as well; a place from which everything originated.

Havard

[Races] Dwarves of Blackmoor

After reading the innovative articles about Dwarves and Gnomes of the Dwimmermount Setting, over at Grognardia, I wanted to write something about the Dwarves of Blackmoor. Dwarves in the Blackmoor Campaign are perhaps of a more traditional kind, but still fairly interesting:


The Dwarves of Blackmoor are a dying race. 500 years ago things were different. Under the leadership of dwarven hero Uberstar Kazakhum, the dwarves began exploring the north in search of minerals. Was it simple green that drove them? Was it simple market economics; The Thonian Empire was in need of minerals and the dwarves sought new sources to fill that market? Or did the dwarves, like other groups after them, actively seen to leave the lands of Thonia. Regardless, it is clear that the dwarves have little love for the Empire. Oberstar has been a staunch supporter of Uther since his break with the Emperor and the current dwarven leader, Lortz Kharnundrhum, has followed the policy of his predecessor managing to overcome his people’s suspicions towards Uther’s alliance with the Elves of The Redwood.

The dwarven colonization of the North at first seemed promising. The dwarven settlement of North Delving expanded from the original settlement in the Crystal Peak Mountains to include the Black Hills, the Iron Hills, the Dragon Hills and the Stormkiller Mountains. The magically fused minerals of Blackmoor were of particular interest to the Wizards of the region, something which lead to great wealth for the dwarves. Their main competitor in providing minerals is the Duchy of the Peaks, but the unstable nature of that Duchy meant that they didn’t make for much of a financial threat to the position of the dwarves.

However, life in the North has not been kind to the dwarves. After over 500 years, the great dwarven settlement has been reduced to fewer than 10.000 individuals. 6 consecutive wars with the Orcs have taken a dramatic toll on the dwarves.  Desperation could be another reason for them deciding to ally with Blackmoor. The Empire never really cared about the North, until they realized they could not have it anymore. The realization of the fact that the dwarves are losing to the Orcs have also lead the dwarves to exploring other means of fighting. Ventures into new technology in order to create war machines are not just a curious past-time to the dwarves. It is a question of the survival of their entire race.

The strange inventions which have appeared over the recent decades in Northern Delving have lead to speculation of some unknown source of technological lore hidden deep in the dwarven lands (As discussed in this blog article). The infusion of Gnomes into the dwarven population about 200 years ago also lead to great progress in the field of technology. The dwarves had the resources and much of the base technology in place, but the Gnomes could provide precision, given their long tradition as clockmakers. Finally, Uthers establishing of the University of Blackmoor could lend the dwarves the expertise they would need In order to take their knowledge to a whole new level. However, the latest war with the Orcs is going in the wrong direction and prevents further cooperation with the humans until it is resolved. Heroes are needed!

My Dwarven Timeline can be found at the Comeback Inn: http://blackmoor.mystara.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=528


Image source: http://images.elfwood.com/art/k/o/kozienko/dwarf_axeman.jpg





-Havard

Remembering Dave Arneson

David L. Arneson (October 1, 1947 - April 7, 2009)

"Gone, but not forgotten," says today's Grognardia article. A year has passed, but today the blogosphere and various forums are honoring Dave. Gaming events are being arranged as a tribute to him. My previous entry here detailed the game Dragon's at Dawn as another example of how Dave Arneson is being remembered by the many fans of his ideas.






-Havard

A bit of TSR History

The more I dig into the older D&D material, the more interested I get in getting to know the people behind the game products that form the basis of our beloved hoby. Fortunately, I don't have to do all the research myself.
Grognardia is running an interview with Jean Wells, the original author of B3: Palace of the Silver Princess (Read part II of the interview here). A few weeks back, Steve Winter also wrote an interesting article on his blog with pictures of the old days at TSR. Both are recommended reading if you are interested in these things, just as I am!

(Mark Acres, Harold Johnson, Tom Moldvay and Mike Price)

(Picture shamelessly stolen from Steve Winter)

-Havard