A small chat with Jeff Quinn

Last week, I had a small chat with Jeff Quinn. Jeff was one of the main writers involved with the Blackmoor D20 line. He contributed to the D20 Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor Sourcebook and wrote the Redwood Scar. He is also known for his work for Goodman Games. Jeff fondly remembers the days of working with Dave Arneson:

“Dave was a great guy and was so full of ideas for everything he did. Blackmoor was the jewel in my career, and my designs and gaming life are richer for knowing both Dave and Blackmoor”

Jeff Quinn is currently the owner of Dolmen Creative, which is in the process of publishing new RPGs using the D6 Open system. One of the projects Dolmen Creative are working in is Destiny6 RPG. Previously in this blog, I have mentioned how Jeff pays homage to Blackmoor in the Destiny6 Fantasy Setting.
How much of Blackmoor’s heritage will be seen in the final Destiny6 Rulebook?

“Consider this my take on Blackmoor (though I can't use the name) after the Afridhi invasion was repelled and the Egg was defeated... close to 200 years past the d20 version “

Jeff also showed me a few pictures of from the upcoming book. One picture shows a dwarf fighting a strange dragon. The dwarf is armed with twin flint lock pistols. The other picture shows a group of adventurers sitting around a table. One of the adventurers looks like a….Panda Samurai?

“Yes, that's an oriental panda warrior. In the second picture, the dwarf is fighting an evolved dragon. i love dragons... but I wanted Destiny6 to feel unique in its take on dragons... the typical western and eastern style dragons are banished to the monster books as fire-breathing treasure vaults... these guys, on the other hand, will evoke a bit more fear... they are smaller, hunters, and can come right into your home to get you.”

Bearfolk also made a small appearance in the Blackmoor Setting. They first appeared in Rafael’s Last Fantasy Campaign where the Bearman Hrrd was played by the legendary Rizak.

 Jeff Quinn also has a Q&A thread over at the Comeback Inn Forum and drops by regularly to answer questions.









-Havard

Blackmoor Homage in Destiny6 RPG

Destiny6 is the upcoming RPG from Dolmen Creative. Destiny is a fantasy RPG which uses a variant of the good old D6 system of Star Wars D6 fame. What does this have to do with Blackmoor? Well, Dolmen Creative is owned by Jeff Quinn, who was heavily involved in the D20 Blackmoor line. Being a Blackmoor fan, Jeff snuck in some references to our favorite setting into his new game, including a section of the world map which should be familiar to most of you.

You can download the entire map (10Mb file) using this link. Jeff also promises a series of adventures in the style of the classic adventures he wrote for the Blackmoor line (Ties that Bind, Redwood Scar) and Goodman Games (Idylls of the Rat King) in an upcoming D6 Magazine.

Download the Quick Start Rules for Destiny6 RPG here.  (Recommended!)







-Havard

I'm Back!

Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt

Okay, I am back from my little break! Those of you who know me from various forums will have seen that I havent been completely missing from the Internet Scene, but my access to computers have been too limited to contribute much here or elsewhere.

A few things have happened since my last post. Aldarron has started a project to develop the Outer Works of Castle Blackmoor. This looks like it is going to be really interesting.

Over at the Mule Abides, Tavis posted an interesting tale about Dungeon Mapping in the Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor.

Finally, game designer Jeff Quinn has returned to the Comeback Inn Forum.

What else did I miss? :)



-Havard

Redwood Scar

Redwood Scar (2003) was the first adventure to be published for Blackmoor since 1987. Written by Jeffrey Quinn, Luke Johnson and Christopher Reed, the adventure was set in the elven realms of Redwood northwest of Blackmoor Town.

The adventure revolves around the forrest itself, along with its inhabitants being slowly corrupted by a magical abomination; a scar on reality itself. A great mystery to many Blackmoor fans was the origins and true nature of this scar. In a recent discussion over at the Comeback Inn, Jeff Quinn reveals a few new details on this matter:

What "is" the Scar? As described, it is a choke point or eruption of the fabric of magic and reality caused by the huge release of energy during the Mage Wars, the "birth" of sorcerers, and the downfall of the Westrin princess. These events culminate in "festering wounds of malice and evil" on the land itself. To use a more modern 4e approach, the Scar is to Blackmoor as the spellplague is to the Realms.

 Previous theories include some connections to the Valley of the Ancients. In my own campaign, I attributed the scar to the machinations of the Egg of Coot who has reason to bear particular grudge against the elves who contributed significantly to the Egg's forces being driven out of Blackmoor during the last invasion.

A review of the module, giving it the rating A- can be read here. 







-Havard

The Grim Winter Campaign: Behind the scenes!

Back in 2005 began what would become the longest running Blackmoor PbP Campaign in history. After 5 years of play, the game is still not over. It's sequel, Road to the Promised Land was announce last year.  The players are a group of highly dedicated and creative gamers, including original Blackmoor player Greg Svenson. Blackmoor author Jeff Quinn also took part in the game for a while.Other Blackmoor fans and game designers are avid readers of the game.

Back in 2006, the following add was posted for the campaign:

A Grim Winter has fallen over the lands of the Bitter North, as valiant heroes and vile foes fight for the control over the once so beautiful lands called the Duchy of Ten! While the troops of Blackmoor and Vestfold march on against the cannibal Afridhi, two small bands of rogues and mercenaries travel through the battered lands of the West, following their quests that might come to determine the outcome of this lethal conflict... If you want to come to the rescue of poor Ten's helpless citizens, and join our brave heroes in their perilous attempts to free the lands of men from Toska Russa's iron grip, then read on carefully...

Today. Grim Winter DM, Rafael, revealed some of his secrets over at Dragonsfoot:

What I would suggest new DMs, or DMs unhappy with the course of their games:

1. Keep a slow pace. Daily updates are difficult to manage for most people, but updates two or three times a week are doable. The better you adjust to the gaming rythm to your players,
the more probable is it that you can go playing on the long hand.

2. Don't write a novel. Or, well, do. In any case, keep the measure of the game modest.  This is the most important thing I think many DMs don't understand, IMO. The way I run PbPs, even the standard 32-page adventures by TSR would take more than a year to complete. So, my suggestion would be to have a DM script of, say ten pages, which you can complete in just a few months.

- And then, revaluate if the game has potential for successful continuation. That way, you will get less frustrated, should the group lose interest in the game, than if you go on and prepare a monster project.

 I have been fortunate enough to participate with a small role as the hardened soldier Harwan, who started out as a Sergeant, but has now become promoted to the rank of General. I am looking forward to the sequel and I know the core players are doing the same!





-Havard