Ravenloft returns!

I just saw this news over at the Piazza. Ravenloft will be the next D&D setting to be revived by Wizards of the Coast in 2011. According to poster Dragonhelm, the following was announced at GenCon:

"Ravenloft RPG announced! Characters can play all sorts of stuff that goes bump in the night - ghosts, vampires, etc"

If the focus is on playing undead characters, the 4E version of Ravenloft is going to be a bit different from the 2e version where the main point was not to become killed by the Undead. Of course, as I remember alot of people did use Undead PCs in their RL campaigns back then too.






-Havard

Blood, Guts & Glory

I have earlier mentioned the BECMI D&D inspired RPG, Dark Dungeons. Now, the creator of the Dark Dungeons RPG, "Blacky the Blackball" has announced a new project called Blood, Guts & Glory. This time, both D&D and RoleMaster appear to be the two main sources of inspiration. The ideas for this game first began as posts by Blacky on the Piazza Forum.

You can follow the projects progress and download the first chapters here.










-Havard

Aquaria gets its own Forum!

A few days ago, I wrote about Frank Mentzer's Aquaria Campaign, and how this setting was getting more attention, opening up to the possibility of getting the setting published. Thanks to the wonderful and hardworking Ashtagon, Aquaria now has its own forum on the Piazza. On this forum you can find Frank Mentzer himself talking about his setting and download free gaming material including a Player's Kit by Mentzer and Dave L's rendering of the Aquaria map. Later, I will reveal how I intend to steal this whole setting and place it within my own Blackmoor/Mystara campaign... :)




-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

New Look for the Comeback Inn Forum

The Comeback Inn, our forum for Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, has gotten an overhaul thanks to our hard working admin, Angelo. Here's the result:

I am gradually adjusting to the new look of the forum and getting to know all the new features. Hopefully the new forum will be smoother and easier to manage. This work is still in progress and new stuff is added as we speak. I hope everyone will enjoy the final result!. :)

You can visit the forum here.


-Havard

Frank Mentzer's Aquaria

Aquaria is the name of BECMI D&D author, Frank Mentzer's, home campaign. For a while now, Frank has been talking about getting his setting published. Unfortunately, family affairs kept him busy over most of last year, but recent posts at Dragonsfoot and the Piazza have shown that he has not given up on this idea.

Recently, the Piazza in particular has seen alot of interest in the Aquaria setting, and rumours have it that the first ever Aquaria forum will be created at the Piazza in the near future. With the Piazza community getting interested in Aquaria, we are seeing alot of interesting discussions and creative input. Dave L is already in the process of making maps for the setting based on Thorf's hexes. This has all been done with Mr Mentzer's blessing.

Aquaria is of particular interest to me because of Frank's role in it ofcourse, but also the fact that he uses the cosmology he created for the BECMI system with his setting, including Immortals, 5 dimensional spaces, Dimensions etc. Like Blackmoor, Aquaria is nominally located within the Greyhawk Setting, though if it is published, it will probably be presented as an independent setting. This should be relatively unproblematic as the Greyhawk connection has perhaps not had such a strong impact on the Aquaria campaign in actual play.


Frank recieved alot of unfair criticism in the Blogosphere when he last made an annoucement on this subject, so I am hoping the sceptics will wait and see this time around, rather than attack something which might turn out to be the next really good thing for fans of Old School D&D and younger gamers alike.

A list of existing products tied to the Aquaria Campaign can be found here. 



-Havard

Get your downloads while you can!

Rumour is that WotC are working to remove many of their old free downloads. The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope has a list of the old school items that might soon disappear. Time to download them now.


-Havard