Clerics and Druids of the Human Deities
Clerics and Druids of the Demihuman Deities

Not really Blackmoor related from what I have listened to so far, but still interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VUnNkOoasA

-Havard

I was revisiting the d20 module City of the Gods. One of the location in the adventure includes an encounter with Orcamen. They are detailed as HD9 Huge Animals, but they are noted to be able to use spears. No real description is given for them. 

ARE ORCAFOLK A BLACKMOOR RACE?
Note, the Orcamen in the adventure are found in a section of the City of the Gods that contains creatures and samples that have been captured by the Space Ship across multiple worlds. There are several creatures in this part of the ship that have been abducted from different parts of Blackmoor's world, but others are clearly more alien in nature. 

HOW CAN WE EXPAND UPON THE RACE?
I was thinking about the Darfellans from Stormwrack, another 3E book that could be used to expand on these creatures. I always like the Darfellans. In the adventure, tthe Orcamen are found near captured Skandaharians, so if they can be found in Blackmoor's world then it is possible that they live near those lands. 

Other ideas?


-Havard

AusJeb posted this over at The Piazza, but might as well repost here:

AusJeb Wrote:Justin Alexander has a blog post up on what he learned running Castle Blackmoor with an open table from 2018 - 2020:
https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/519...-blackmoor

In this post, he covers:
• Special Interest XP
• Stocking

He will continue in a future post.

His previous entry in this series was posted in November 2020(!).

AusJeb Wrote:One of the things he did for his campaign was draw a higher-resolution version of the Blackmoor village map after his players struggled to work with the original map.



https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/411...illage-map

I was working through the rules and didn't have a character sheet, so I created one. Note that the link will take you to my Github repository, I hope to add more reference sheets in the future. To download the Character Sheet, click the "Download Raw File" button on the top right hand side of the preview.

If anyone has suggestions on how to improve this sheet please don't hesitate to let me know.

https://github.com/sgalland/aif-referenc...0Sheet.pdf

Note: This is a fan creation by Havard.

Background
Some say it was the Egg of Coot that caused the waters around Blackmoor to rise and the land begun to sink. A few centuries ago, the Black Sea and the North Sea joined as lands north of Maus were flooded. The elven realm had already become divided a few centuries earlier, but now the elves living in the northern woods became separated from their cousins in the Redwood. Most of the northern elves sought refuge in the Winter Woods, north of the Gremlin Woods, stretching deep into the Skandaharian Jarldoms. Many of the elven groups living in the Winter Woods already had their own 

Description
Most Winter Elves are somewhat taller than their Redwood cousins. They are usually fair skinned with blonde to white hair and frosty blue eyes. They wear deerskin clothes and furs. They reach maturity at 100 years and can live up to 800 years or more. Few live that long however as the Winter Elves live in a region with harsh climate and many are killed in conflict or in the struggle to survive. 

Alignment
Winter Elves lean towards Neutral Good alignment, although may variations exist. 

Culture
Winter Elf culture is based around hunting. They travel often using dogsleds, showshoes or skis. They often gather around the fires and entertain eachother through song and dance. Many are pranksters, enjoying to play pranks on each other and on peoples from other cultures. 

Male Names
Thiordannar, Trudelithim, Niarlar, Niarlothim, Marlothar, Golithim, Grolithar, 

Female Names
Thiordanna, Thiorella, Truteldia, Grolithella

Lands of the Winter Elves
Most Winter Elves live in the lands north of the Black Sea. Most are found in the Winter Woods (north of the map) and the Gremlin Woods. The Winter Woods stretch deep into the lands of the Skandaharians. Most of the lands controlled by the Winter Elves are dominated by coniferous forests, but also includes lakes, hills and mountains. The most notable feature is perhaps the volcanic Mt. Fiumarra. The largest settlement is called Icehold which is the home of Lord Esthioran Windwalker, the de facto ruler of all the Winter Elves. Formally they still recognize Mendander Ithamis, even though contact between the two groups have dwindled.

Gods and Beliefs
Druids are highly respected among the Winter Elves. Gods commonly followed include Ferros (N), Hydros (N), Aeros (N), Fiumarra (CN), Dealth (CN), Faunus (CN) Sylvian (N), Ordana (NG), Terra (LN). They also follow Sacwynne whom they refer to as Skadi.

Allies and Enemies
The Winter Elves are allied with the Cumasti. They are also on civil terms with the Westryn whom they sometimes encounter in the Wolf Woods. Their relation to the Skandaharians is sometimes peaceful, but at other times they are in conflict. 

Trivia
In the Mystara cosmology, these Winter Elves could be among the ancestors of the Icevale Elves, although officially those elves lived farther to the west. 

-Havard

Quote:Happy 2025 - 50 Years of Published Blackmoor!





I hope everyone has had nice celebrations for the New Year and are ready for 2025 to begin. 50 years ago, TSR published the second supplement for D&D. This booklet bore the title Blackmoor and was written by D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson, edited by Tim Kask and included additional material by Steve Marsh, Brian Blume and others. It was based on the campaign Dave Arneson and his friends had been running for many years prior.

This will be as good a year as any to celebrate our favorite D&D campaign world! I hope the year will be a good one for all readers of this blog.





-Havard

Revisiting various blog articles:

Zenopus:
https://zenopusarchives.blogspot.com/201...m-map.html

Timrod:
https://unfrozencavemandicechucker.blogs...gging.html

https://unfrozencavemandicechucker.blogs...-keep.html

https://unfrozencavemandicechucker.blogs...endum.html


I find a lot of these locations and groups mentioned by Andre Norton quite fascinating. I wonder how much if it could go back to Dave Arneson's campaign?

-Havard

So, the deity named Elgath is one that I have been struggling with a bit. He is CN of alignment and the patron of beasts, hunters and archers. He also has this bad reputation surrounding him that the Egg of Coot is a manifestation of Elgath. The DAB book does not give us too much detail on this deity, but the BMPG gives us a bit more. 

According to the BMPG p 137, the followers of Elgath are split into various groups:

• Druids of Elgath: Lead by Archdruid Folmeran Proteus (based in a temple in the outskirts of Jackport)
  
• Hunters, Archers and Clerics: Lead by Talbert Haver (Cleric). Granted, the text could be interpreted that even this is not a single group, but just in order to not make things too complex I think it makes sense to consider them the same group. It is not clear to me what the Hunters and Archers disagree with the Druids about, but the Druids dislike Clerics being part of the order. Tablert Haver was a Ranger before he became a Cleric. Hunting in a proper and respectful way is important to this group, which has lead them into conflict with the followers of Sollus. 
  
• Paladins of Elgath: Lead by Justinus Folgarth, this small group call themselves the "Hunters of Elgath". Justinius was a Druid before he became the first Paladin of Elgath. They are based in the Wet Woods. This group works to keep magical beasts under control. They give me a Witcher-like vibe.
  
• The Howling Lords of the Midnight Hunt: This group is not detailed in the section about Churches, but in the chapter about organisations. More below:
  

Elemental Plane of Water
What is unique about the Plane of Water when it comes to Blackmoor? 

 
Gods
First, lets look at the gods of the Blackmoor pantheon. Several gods probably take a particular interest in the element of Water. Mwajin is a god of sailors. Hydros is the elven god of the element of water. Then there is the god behind the Temple of the Frog. I also think those swampy waters could have connections to the Elemental Plane of Water. 

 
Inhabitants and visitors
 
The Elemental Planes are home to all kinds of elemental creatures. Some resemble humanoids of all sizes. Others resemble animals. Others again, are of different forms and shapes. Water Elementals are the most common inhabitants of the plane. 


Naliseth are colossal sea serpents known to the Skandaharians. Some are seen near whirlpools that could lead to the Plane of Water. Could that be the source of origin of these creatures?

Elven Elementalists and elven Clerics of Hydros have been known to travel to the Elemental Plane of Water in order to expand their magical knowledge or seek out relics and magical items connected to that element. 

The Ordo Elementarum explored the Elemental Plane of Water early on. 

Frost Giants and Skandaharians may have travelled to the more icy regions of the Plane of Water.


 
On the Prime Plane of Blackmoor
Gates to the Plane of Water may exist in many places near Blackmoor. Whirlpools and underwater gateways may exist in the Black Sea and the North Sea as well as in lakes or rivers in the Dismal Swamp. 

The Sailors of Archlis may know secrets invoking elementals in order to give their ships more speed or protect them from storms. 

The monstrous Kraken could be linked to some sinister elemental power?

What other ideas do you have for the Elemental Plane of Water?

-Havard