GaryCon2024 - Bob Meyer to Run Blackmoor!

Bob Meyer  who played the legendary wizard Robert the Bald in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign, should be relatively well known to readers of this blog. As one of the original Blackmoor players, Bob has always been supportive of my work here on this blog and at the Comeback Inn Forum and has always been helpful in providing answers when I have been struggling with my research of D&D history. 

I was talking to Bob the other day when he told me that he would be running Blackmoor at this year's Gary Con which will take place on March 21-24. 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the merging of the brilliant minds of Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson produced the revolutionary game of Dungeons & Dragons. The process of developing this game had begun much earlier of course, but 1974 was the year that D&D was published and that is worth celebrating! What better way to commemorate this than having Blackmoor at GaryCon?

Bob Meyer, the legendary wizard
(Screenshot from Secrets of Blackmoor documentary)

Bob told me he will be going to the convention with a crew of two helpers and two GMs who will be "carrying on Blackmoor". Bob and the other two GMs will be running a total of six Blackmoor games over three days. In addition to that, Bob will also be holding seminars on the same days. 

Blackmoor fans who attend GaryCon will also have the chance of running into other Blackmoor players like Ross Maker, Mike Carr, Michael Mornard and David Wesely. Brent Chumley, the artist who made the Blackmoor hex world map for the d20 version of Blackmoor is also listed as a guest at GaryCon. 

Will you be at GaryCon this year? If so, I would love to hear what you are looking the most forward to. Looks like Blackmoor fans who attend this year will have a blast! 

-Havard

Jennell Jaquays 1956-2024 Rest in Peace

 

I was saddened to learn of the passing of Jennell Jaquays. She was a pioneer in our gaming industry, both in game design and as an artist and was devoted to the hobby until the very end. 

In addition to being a fan of her work, I was lucky enough to be one of many friends of hers on Facebook and we interracted a few times. She even helped with some information for a few articles on this very blog. 

I reported on Jennel's medical issues and the fundraiser to cover her expenses back in October. If you haven't donated yet, it might be worth taking another look now as her wife likely has been left with many expenses.

May she rest in peace. 

-Havard

Professor Dungeon Master as Special Guest for DaveCon 2024

 

DaveCon 2024 has been announced for April 26.- April 28. This will be the third time DaveCon is organized, still with Victor Dorso at the helm. Dan Masters, known as Professor Dungeon Master, from his Youtube channel Dungeon Craft will be among one of the special guests this year. I have long enjoyed his videos where he promotes our hobby, often with a focus on older editions. 

Other special guests include Blackmoor and Dave Arneson Alumni such as David Wesely, Mike Carr, Dave Megarry, Ken Fletcher and William Hoyt. As with previous years it is great to see the original players and associates of Dave support this convention. I believe that Victor Dorso has shown that he is interested in making this convention a true celebration of Dave's legacy and the origins of Dungeons & Dragons, the game that Dave created with Gary Gygax. 

Are you going to DaveCon 2024? If you were going, what would you be most interested in experiencing there? 

 Read more about DaveCon 2024 

Sign up for the Facebook event

See more discussions of this topic at the Comeback Inn.

-Havard

Game Designer Jamie Chambers' Meeting with Dave Arneson

Jamie Chambers with Felicia Day (left)

 Game Designer Jamie Chambers is perhaps best known for creating the Cortex RPG system for Margaret Weis Press (MWP) and for his other work with MWP including Sovereign Stone, Serentiy RPG, Dragonlance etc. 

Jamie only met Dave Arneson once in the mid 2000s at RockCon in Rockford, Illinois, but it did leave an impression. Jamie was one of the organizers of the small convention at the time. He wasn't sure about the exact year but it would have been 2006 or 2007:

I got to meet Dave Arneson just the once when I was helping manage a little convention in Rockford, Illinois. It was the last con season he was up for traveling. Nothing earthshaking was revealed, but I remember being jealous I couldn't go back and experience what it was like during those early days as wargaming evolved in to tabletop RPGs and we understand them today.

Source.

I think Jamie's comments well reflect how many of us feel when learning about Dave Arneson and his players. This hobby means so much to all of us and the talking to the people who were there at the beginning feels like being in direct contact with history. Understanding where the hobby came from can also help us gain a deeper understanding of what the game has developed into today. Extremely useful for those who are interested  in game design!

RockCon is still a successful convention today and takes place Nov 3.-5. This year will mark the 50th anniversary of the convention and TSR's Harold Johnson will be among the honored guests. 

-Havard

Fundraiser for Jennell Jaquays

 

Jennell Jaquays shoudl be a well known name to most readers of the blog, both as a highly influential game designer and artist of the industry since the early days. I found out about her health situation at The Piazza. You can read more about this and the fund raiser organized by her wife here or go straight to the fundraiser here. 

I tend not to post about fundraisers on this blog, but Jennell deserves our support.

I take no responsiblity for any money you donate, but as this was posted on the facebook page of Jennell's wife it seems pretty trustworthy. 

-Havard

ArneCon 2023 Reports are in!

 ArneCon 1 took place this weekend and reports are coming in. I have made several posts about ArneCon this fall talking about the announced program and the guests of honor which included many of the original Blackmoor players and other alumni. 

I snatched a bunch of these photos from the ArneCon Facebook page. As announced, it looks like this was a nice and intimate convention which makes sense since it was the first convention organized by the creators of the Secrets of Blackmoor documentary. 

It looks like everyone is having a great time and it was especially nice to see Dave Arneson's daughter present along with the original Blackmoor players. These nice people have always been helpful and supportive of my blog and the Comeback Inn website. Also nice to see Paul Stormberg and Dan H Boggs present. In addition to being co-author of  Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg, Boggs is also a friend of the Comeback Inn. 

Did you attend ArneCon 2023? I would love to hear your war stories and photos you might want to share!

-Havard

Dave Arneson Game Day 2023

 Dave Arneson Game Day is today!

Please join in our celebrations! This is what Blackmoor Week 2023 has been leading up to

Dave Arneson Game Day Partners

• Havard's Blackmoor Blog
• The Comeback Inn
• Blackmoor Fans Facebook Group
• The Piazza
• OD&D 74 Fan Forum
• And Many Other Places

What Dave Arneson Game Day is:

• October 1st is Dave Arneson's birthday. Every year we invite fans of tabletop gaming, D&D, Blackmoor and Dave Arneson to join in celebration worldwide to celebrate the hobby that we all feel so passionate about. 

What Dave Arneson Game Day is not:

• It is not a commercial activity. If gaming stores, game producers, artists and others want to attach themselves to this day, that is great. But the main organizers are fans who have no commercial interest in any of the activity that goes on on this day
• It is not an opportunity to dig up old grudges. This is not a day to take stabs at corporations or individuals that you don't like and somehow use Dave Arneson's legacy to that effect. This day is about love and passion.

Already reports of various activities have been coming in. I will add these to the Comeback Inn discussion found here.

Official Comeback Inn Dave Arneson Game Day Discussion

-Havard