http://mmrpg.zeitgeistgames.com/index.p ... opic&t=369

Havard:
I'm looking for ideas for a Blackmoor campaign. Share your ideas, or experiences from gaming in Blackmoor, whether its right now, in the past or simply ideas for a campaign.

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grimwell:
I picked up Blackmoor at Gen Con as my big splurge. I haven't run a game in about three years and went to GC hoping to check a bunch of systems out. When I spotted Dave at the booth and learned that Blackmoor was republished, it was easy to make the decision to buy. Heck, even if I didn't like the book it was Dave Arneson in the flesh! How better to thank him than to buy it! Wink

After my read through of the sourcebook Blackmoor is definitely the setting for my next campaign. I really enjoyed it. Now to get on topic for you...

The first campaign hook/element that came to me from reading the book was that the Egg of Coot would want to topple the Wizards Cabal as they are reigning in wizards and effectively reducing the number of wizards/sorcerors that could be out there for the Egg to corrupt. With the Arcane Warriors as the enforcement arm of the Cabal's control in Blackmoor, they make great targets for the Egg's plans. Assassination attempts on major AW's, and a series of strikes that aren't necessarily physical -- but are done to stain the Arcane Warrior's prestige. This can be mixed up nicely with rebel wizards/sorcerers getting some 'red herring' blame by the Arcane Warriors and/or some of them actually just seizing the opportunity to strike at the Cabal in 'copy cat' attacks.

If done slowly this makes for some great murder mystery and conspiracy sub themes. If done on a grand scale it's good for absolute chaos and shaking the foundations of things. I'm going to go the first way since this is going to be my first Blackmoor campaign. Don't ant to shake the world too hard until I actually know it.
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-Havard

http://mmrpg.zeitgeistgames.com/index.p ... opic&t=342

Havard:



Just noticed this one:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20.../20060505a

Barrier Peaks isnt quite the Valley of the Ancients, but close enough. Maybe this could be used for those who want to venture into that valley using 3E?

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Tadkil:
I think Iorio has some plans for the Valley of the Ancients.

Tad
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zg_rorio:


tadkil wrote:
havard wrote:



Just noticed this one:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d2 ... /20060505a

Barrier Peaks isnt quite the Valley of the Ancients, but close enough. Maybe this could be used for those who want to venture into that valley using 3E?

HÃ¥vard


I think Iorio has some plans for the Valley of the Ancients.

Tad


I have a few ideas, some of which will be known soon.

Insert evil laugh in 3, 2, 1.

Richard

_________________
--

Richard Iorio II
Director of Traditional Games
Zeitgeist Games

richard.iorio@zeitgeistgames.com
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Havard:
Okay Richard, you gotta start torturing us like this Wink
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zg_riorio:
I would not be doing my job if I did not leave you all wanting more! Smile

Hi, friends!

Hope the second preview chills you to the bone!

The first new adventure of the Company of the Maiden is taking place in a Dreamscape.

This means, your characters are not as they appear in 'real life'.

Your stats change as follows:

"The skies of the world were always meant to have dragons.
When they are not there, humans miss them.

Some never think of them, of course.

But some children, from the time they are small,
they look up at a blue summer sky and watch for something that never comes.

Because they know.

Something that was supposed to be there faded and vanished.

Something that we must bring back, you and I."

- Robin Hobb, "Golden Fool"





Hi all,

Here, with the necessary brevity, I address a few questions an interested reader of this board might probably come up with!

WHAT BE... "The Last Fantasy Campaign"?

"The Last Fantasy Campaign", dedicated to the memory of Dave Arneson and Richard Snider, and consisting so far of "The Grim Winter", "The War of the Thieves", "The Road", and "The Promised Land" aims at bringing the tale of Blackmoor's struggle against it's many enemy, as begun by Dave Arneson and continued by many others, to a coherent ending. By the end of "The Company of the Maiden's" and their companions' adventures, the Blackmoor we have known for forty years will cease to exist. - At least in our campaign's own continuity... :wink:



HOW DO... Join campaign?

An invitation to join "The Last Fantasy Campaign" and "The Company of the Maiden" comes by personal invitation only. This is not because we would be a bunch of arrogant bastards, but because our group was established in 2005/2006, and the players have the same right as the DM to decide if someone new will join us, or who in particular. If there ever are free spots and we don't know whom to offer membership we will make a public rolecall.



HOW DO... Create character?

In 2005, this started as a d20 game, and remains so until today. Base for character creation is, essentially, everything ever published for D&D 3.5, by any company, as long as the character makes sense in our campaign environment. - Though I, as the DM, specifically encourage players to use either the material put out by Zeitgeist Games for Blackmoor, or by Necromancer Games, for Wilderlands of High Fantasy, for the creation and later, advancement of their PCs.



WHAT BE... "The Grim Winter"?

Started in December of 2005, and ended in March of 2009, "The Grim Winter" was the Company of the Maiden's first adventure and told the story of the Third War of Ten.
By the end of the campaign, the forces of Blackmoor had overthrown the evil Afridhi, albeit suffering great losses due to the treachery of the dread Bascom Ungulian. On the climax of the campaign, that later would have been called "The Battle of the Longest Day" by northern historians, King Uther, who had ruled and defended the Kingdom of Blackmoor since the days of the first war with the Egg of Coot, was said to have been severely wounded and to have later been abducted by the infamous lich-wizard Ran. The Company of the Maiden is said to have been among the last ones who saw Uther alive.



WHAT BE... "The War Of The Thieves"?

Starting in summer of 2006, and ending in spring of 2008, this was a side campaign to The Grim Winter, but advancing more slowly than the main game so players who couldn’t post as regularly as the rest didn’t have to quit our game.
The War of the Thieves essentially told the further adventures of the thief Rowell and his companions, a group of NPCs the party had met during the first chapters of The Grim Winter, and featured an adventuring party participating in the Coven’s (the Blackmoorian Thieves Guild’s) conquest of the abandoned city of Mondburgh (based on Ernie and Luke Gygax’ lost city of Gaxmoor for Troll Lord Games’ setting of Erde). Though relatively short and admittedly not very coherent, the game had a huge impact on the development of our campaign and touched some of the topics that will alter be detailed in The Promised Land.



WHAT BE... "The Road"?

No relation to the famous book and movie. Running from March 2009 until December of the same year, "The Road", previously called "The Road to the Promised Land", was a collaborative writing effort by the players of "The Company of the Maiden" and chronicled the years after the Third War of Ten, and until six months before the beginning of "The Promised Land".
On their quest to rebuild the war-ravaged lands of the Northern Marches, the split-up members of the "Maiden" survived a multitude of adventures, but ultimately could not prevent the second, and successful invasion by the Egg of Coot. By the end of this tale, many Blackmoorian cities had fallen to the enemy, while the Free People, led by Uther's and Risa Aleford's illegitimate son Mordred, had established to bring the front line to halt between Newgate and Vestfold.



WHAT BE... "The Promised Land"?

Our upcoming campaign, starting in February 2010, reuniting the old cast of characters, and set shortly after the events of The Road…, beginning with “the day on which Vestfold felll”… Word is that this will be the final stage, the last battle, and the end of days for the Kingdom of Blackmoor, as we know it…

The following documents contain information that form the basis for our game.
We of the Company of the Maiden hope you enjoy reading it and maybe even find it useful for your own games!



The Maiden's Blackmoor

A short written companion, containing information on our past games, on the concrete changes we made to our setting,
AND the big "Maiden's Timeline", the backbone of the setting we use, containing about all information about our game that we can spare.



The Grim Winter PbP Backup Files

The complete transcript of the "campaign that started it all", from December 2005 to April 2009. Docs come in txt and rtf format.

The following documents contain information that form the basis for our game.
We of the Company of the Maiden hope you enjoy reading it and maybe even find it useful for your own games!



The Maiden's Blackmoor

A short written companion, containing information on our past games, on the concrete changes we made to our setting,
AND the big "Maiden's Timeline", the backbone of the setting we use, containing about all information about our game that we can spare.



The Grim Winter PbP Backup Files

The complete transcript of the "campaign that started it all", from December 2005 to April 2009. Docs come in txt and rtf format.

What is the name of the Blackmoor equivalent of March?

Help me quickly, please!

http://mmrpg.zeitgeistgames.com/index.p ... opic&t=152

Havard:
The FFC and other Blackmoor sources suggest that Dinos are still alive and kicking in the Age of Blackmoor. I havent seen any references to them in the ZGG material though. Do you use dinosaurs in your Blackmoor campaigns?
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Spikey:
Only if it is a feindish dire vampire half-troll half-dragon t-rex of legend. With 5 rounds of buff spells applied first.
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Gsvenson:
I can recall battling T-Rex's several times in Blackmoor, including a recent encounter south of Kenville on an adventure a couple of years ago when I was playing as Svenny's son Sol.

Greg
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Rafe:
IMC, dinosaurs roam the upper Great Dismal Swamp. Also, since I located Caverns of Thracia in the North, reptiles of all kind are fairly common.
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Havard:
Thanks for your thoughts guys!

My own is something I've been thinking about alot of things with Roleplaying Settings these days. Either I include it or I dont. And If I do, it needs to be important. Blackmoor can be played as a dull standard run of the mill fantasy campaign, but if I want to bring in some of the elements that set Blackmoor apart from all the others, I want to do it in a big way. This goes for races, technology, monsters and all of it. If its not going to play a significant role in that campaign, I'll probably leave it out.

I liked how Mystaros' Blackmoor timeline created an almost Dino-wars like atmosphere at one point in Blackmoors future when the people of Blackmoor mounted gunpowder armed cavalry on dinosaurs fighting the Beastmen and Dragons. OTOH, I'm not sure if I want to go there IMC. And if not, perhaps I should just leave it alone?

Other ways to make dinos an important part of the campaign?
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Rafe:
Smile I would highly recommend you to check out Caverns of Thracia, in any case, for it simply presents the idea of an ancient reptile/snake empire that was defeated when beastmen and men began to settle in the region. Plus, JG deity Thanatos plays a big role, and Thanatos in the end is also a BM deity...

I am currently in the process of writing my own BM timeline, which will include all the modules I want to have included into the setting so far. When it's finished, I can detail you this a bit more. Wink
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Kythrian:
Hmmm... dinos + yuan-ti... interesting ideas for villains there. Maybe add a flame theme with salamanders too, do the whole fiery snake pit of Hell...

When I'm designing for a home game, I tend to say 'Canon? What canon, I AM canon!'
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Rafe:
As to yuan-ti, do you know about Ghostwalk? - That's indeed a scenery I might very well incorporate into my BM home game. The version presented there has much more flair than the FR stuff available for 3e, if you ask me, AND it works well with Thracia... Wink
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Kythrian:
Yes, I've got that book. My book library is rather... extensive, shall we say. The FR stuff I don't use for flavor but rather for stat ideas; mainly monsters and spells, some feats.

Ethereal flaming snake pit of Hell? I like it... (ghost salamanders and yuan-ti, oh my)
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Rafe:
Hehe, mine as well... Although I am proud to say I am more the real oldscholler and d20 Player, for the smallest number of my books really were published by WotC...

Although I have also fallen into shame and bought some FR d20 books this year - especially The unapproachable East works perfectly woth my BM stuff, as does *Lost Empires of Faerun* - sorry if the titles are inaccurate, btw. I use the Spanish editions... Very Happy
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Havard:
Interesting. I guess this could easily be linked to the Frog and the various denizens of the Great Dismal Swamp? I didn't know Thanatos was part of the JG setting. He is ofcourse one of the major players in the Mystara setting, so more the reason to mix it all together

Looking forward to seeing it!
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Rafe:
Either just after the holidays, or during carnival celebration, but I'll get this one done! Smile
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Havard:
umping this thread. In my upcoming campaign I have decided not to include Dinos, at least not on a regular basis.

Instead I have decided to go for Ancient Mammals, mainly Wooly Mamoths, Wooly Rhinos, Saber Toothed Tigers, Cave Bears and Great Eagles. I can easily see the Afridhi using some of these creatures as mounts, perhaps the Skandaharians do aswell.

The Great Dismal swamp IMC is more like a great north-European marshland, rather than a Louisiana-style swamp which was my first association with the region. Crocs and Gatormen probably won't make an appearance, though I am toying with giant salamanders. Froglin are definately in there, though I am considering portraying them almost like the Deep Ones from Cthulhu, giving them a really creepy feel.

Comments?
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Spikey:
No the Great Dismal is like the Louisiana, The Barrier Swamp is the European marsh land.
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Havard:
That is my impression too, from the way things are written. However, I decided to change it for the sake of internal consistency and being able to avoid the "Its Magic" explaination.

I'd like to know though, if people think this sort of conceptual thinking that I am doing is having any merit, or whether it just gets in the way of Maximum Gaming Fun. I am mostly concerned about creating a consistant feel for my campaign, and I also think it can provide me with some adventure ideas rather than get in the way of them.
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Spikey:
Well for the record Rotfoot is not a European marsh gnome. But how would making it magic turn it into a steamy swamp, it could all have to do with elevations and such. Or fire elemental cities under an illusionary territory of swamp heating up the rest of it.
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Havard:
All of those work. Another likely explaination could be the EGG, which has been known to cause climatic changes.

For my own campaign though, I want to emphasize the Blackmoor region as "The North" in all senses of the word, thus the change in the Dismal Swamp.

What do you think of making Lost World mammals commonplace?
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Spikey:
I actually like it, kind of makes it like when the last Ice Age hit during the dark ages. Albiet now it has big stompy bitey furballs.
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Tadkil:
Dinosaurs... The Egg.... Idea

Dude! You do not realize what you just unleashed on the MMRPG.

Twisted Evil Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha Twisted Evil
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Havard:

Hmmm...I kinda like the idea of having some influence over those things Wink

But then again I hope there won't be hordes of MMRPG players hunting me down because of it.... Rolling Eyes

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Spikey:
You SON OF A @#$!%!!!!!!!!
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Havard:
*hides in shadows* Wink
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-Havard

Aug 2006
http://mmrpg.zeitgeistgames.com/index.p ... opic&t=328

Sheridan:
The description of The Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor (Item# ZTG4505) in the Blackmoor Store says:
"Classic styled maps and artwork make this hardback a great nostalgia piece and an excellent tie in for new adventurers to Blackmoor! Take your party back to the birthplace of RPGs for an incredible adventure through The Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor! 304 Pages, Softcover"
So it is a hardback or a softcover? Of course, I already ordered it so it doesn't matter, but I was hoping to own a hardcover version of this classic!
Thanks,
-Scott Moore
*Sheridan
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Rafe:
I am sooo waiting for my gaming store to have this... Smile
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Christopher.Reed:
Greetings,

The Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor, like the Player's Guide to Blackmoor, is a softcover book.

Christopher Reed
Line Developer - Dave Arneson's Blackmoor
Zeitgeist Games, Inc.
christopher.reed@zeitgeistgames.com
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Rafe:
Thank you for the info! Smile
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-Havard

Tervola:
Do they get the chance to 'lose' and replace spells like sorcerers and bards can?
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Christopher.Reed:
No.
First, it is not specifically listed within the text of the Player's Guide to Blackmoor of the new base class. Secondly, the "unseen forces" would be most unhappy about being so easily discarded.
So you'll need to select your spells carefully from the beginning.

Christopher Reed
Line Developer - Dave Arneson's Blackmoor
Zeitgeist Games, Inc.
christopher.reed@zeitgeistgames.com
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-Havard