Mermaids: Not what they used to be!

Just watched Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides the other day. One of my favorite things in the film were the Mermaids. Not just for the obvious eye candy, but the movie really turned them into creatures to be feared and respected.

It made me think about the underwater races of Blackmoor. From Supplement II to the Voyage of Captain Castagere's Blossom in Module DA4, Underwater or Sea Based Adventures have always been a part of the Blackmoor Setting. Blackmoor is home to many Sea Monsters. Perhaps Mermaids should claim their rightful place among them?

-Havard

[Art] Mystaran Immortals Illustrated Part II

I have returned to my pet project of finding images of all the Immortals of Mystara and coloring them in Photoshop. Today I present three humanoid Immortals:

Jammudaru, aka Vaprak the Destroyer, Patron of Ogres, Trolls and Giants:

The original image appeared in Deities & Demigods for AD&D1E


Karaash, patron of Orcs and Warfare:

The original image appeared in an old issue of Dragon Magazine.


Bartziluth, Patron of Bugbears:

The original image appeared in Deities & Demigods for AD&D1E


-Havard

The Piazza is 3 Years!

What is it about D&D Forums being established in May? It is really a pleasure to see how the Piazza has developed over these last few years. In 2008 there were people who thought noone was really interested in talking about those D&D Worlds that WotC no longer "supported". Man were they wrong! A few years ago, I described the Piazza as a unique phenonemon where it comes to RPG Web Forums.

The last few months have seen some technical challenges for the Forum, but with a dedicated Admin, Ashtagon, and a team of dedicated moderators, willing to spend time and money on keeping this forum up and running, free for its members, there is no challenge that cannot be overcome.

Now at 84578 posts and 814 members, including notables such as Adam Black, Cam Banks Monte Cook, Colin McComb, Tim Beach, Mike Brealt, Colin McComb, Allen Varney, Trampas Whiteman, Andrew Steven Harris, Tim Kask, Frank Mentzer, James Mishler, Geoff Gander, Robert S Conley, Aaron Infante-Levy, Adam Miller and several others it is clear that the Piazza is still going strong!




-Havard

Dragonsfoot is 9 Years!

The Dragonsfoot Forum is 9 years old. Founded in 2002, Dragonsfoot is probably the best known forum for discussion of TSR era D&D rules. During the time when Edition Wars were raging all across the the Internet, Dragonsfoot became the shelter for people who did not want to move into WotC's (then) brand new version of the game. While sometimes being accused of being a haven of paranoid grognards, it is an amazing source of information about the early days of gaming and the older rulesets. You might have to develop tough skin to participate in the most heated discussions there, but all in all I am glad that a place like that exists! :)

For one this is where I met some of the key people involved with the Comeback Inn!


-Havard

[Villains] Mistress Ibis Shatn

One of the most powerful wizards in the Thonian Rand, the part of Thonia bordering to Blackmoor, is Mistress Ibis Shatn. Ibis is the Warren (Baron) of New Bril, and one of the vassals of Duke Markovic. A force of 200 Imperial Constables defent her stronghold. These forces supported the Iron Duke in his military repression of the Peshwah. She is noted for her cruelty as well as her hunger for magical power. Unfortunately, one of her less than competent hirelings accidentally caused one of her most powerful magical items to magically disappear. She is now completely dedicated to finding the item again as it contains a part of her life essence. Should she be able to reclaim it, she will once again become a powerful asset for Duke Markovic in his quest to reclaim Blackmoor in the name of the Thonian Empire.

Read more about this fascinating character and her magical items here.






Image Source

-Havard

You haven't heard of the Well of Souls?

Although the one who made this image probably didnt have Blackmoor's Well of Souls in mind, I smiled when I came across it.

Image Source: http://cheezburger.com/View/4593260544

-Havard

The Piazza is back! (again)

Just a quick message to let everyone know that the Piazza is back up again. I know everyone is growing tired of this back and forth stuff on the forum, but hopefully a more permanent sollution to the problem can be found. If Ashtagon is right, it looks like the only way to handle this is by switching to another Internet provider. At least I am now getting some relief after a weekend of abstinence....

Image source

-Havard