So I've been doing a lot of reading over all the Blackmoor material. Hopping from thing to thing as I have just finished the script for the lore series first episode (now just gathering art). 

and I kind of found something odd. 

There is an adventure path that leads up to another episode called "Temple of the Frog". While I've not had the time to read this side by side of DA2. Are these meant to be the same adventure but updated for that edition of DnD? Or is this meant to be further down the TL? 

From my understanding if we are to try and fit the DA series into the ZTG timeline the DA series would happen around 1024-25. Meaning this adventure path would be before The Blackmoor Campaign setting adventure Ties That Bind which is in 1030. 

So where would this all place? How does the WoTC adventure of Return to The Temple of the Frog fit into all of this? 

Just trying to make sense of everything as I'm a lore junky and want to have things right. I know that the Temple of the Frog has been done many times over the years. from Supplement 2 to DA2 to MMRPG and to/from WoTC. So I'm just trying to understand if each adventure is supposed to be a different point in the timeline of Blackmoor or what.

So for those of you not familiar. There is a new OSR styled TTRPG called Shadowdark that takes a lot from older TTRPGs and also 5e. It's really cool and has a lot of stuff you might be familiar with. Like Carousing and such. No PC can have dark vision and torches matter! 
There are four core classes but more added. 
Wizard
Fighter
Priest
Thief. 

All of it's really cool and I feel like it'd adapt the old Blackmoor stuff real well.

What are you doing for Blackmoor week this year?

The weekend before I am at Northeast Tabletop Con (Newcastle UK) and the "end" weekend I am at Essen Spiel.

As every year we'll be running a 20% off everything on our webstore, but this year it will be both our new UK site and our classic Canadian site (both have 100 plus titles by about 50 publishers.)

I am thinking about something I could run for Northeast Tabletop

Just out of curiosity cause other DnD settings have it. 

Does Blackmoor have it's own alphabet unique to the setting or do the different races have their own unique alphabets?

So I know we have the forums and facebook group. But is there a chance we could make a Discord server dedicated to all things in the setting of Blackmoor?

Discord Servers are a good way to keep in touch and be able to discuss things freely without making new posts. 

If help is needed in making one id be more than happy to help.

Ive been doing some reading of the modules and came across in Ties that Bind in the ZTG book that in the adventure it says that Sorcerers are hunted down by the Wizard Cabal. Why is that? Why are they outlawed?

When I first discovered the Setting of Blackmoor I immediately took to looking at youtube to find information on the setting and what I found was very interesting history behind DnD and the Behind the Scenes creation of Blackmoor as a setting. All really interesting stuff to learn and I feel is important to still learn about. 

However, there was hardly anything talking about the lore of the setting. Stuff like Castle Blackmoor and it's leaders. What the setting of Blackmoor looks like. What's the people and culture like there?

So I've taken it upon myself to try and start writing up scripts discussing the different bits about the setting of Blackmoor so that way it can reach more people and it can be experienced by even more players of not just D&D but any TTRPG Player. 

I should also note that I've dropped some lore information on things that I found in discord servers I'm apart of and a lot of people have like what I shared. 

Stuff like how Nobles are mandated to adventure in their domain for at least five years before they can rule it.
How the Docrae were formed. 
The interesting fact on how The Wizard Cabal hunt down Sorcerers.
Not to mention the Egg of Coot! 


There is so much good stuff and I do not even know where I should begin with making this video. So I ask you all, where should I first introduce people to Dave Arneson's World of Blackmoor. 

(To note I'll be talking about all the adventure modules too in the videos as their own separate thing. Stuff like DA1-4. The ZTG books and MMRPG. To the Magazine adventures. I'll be leaving nothing unturned. Not even WoTC Return to The Temple of the Frog.)

I've recently begun a 5e campaign taking place in the Blackmoor setting but before we get into that I need to get into the changes I've done to my world. 

The world my players are playing on have had a majority of DnD settings made into continents or in Eberron's case. The moon. (The Radiant Citadel a floating crystal with it's own atmosphere in the planet's orbit). 

The next thing of note is I put Dave Arneson's Blackmoor where the Greyhawk Blackmoor is at. 
Since there was no official world map of Blackmoor I took the map from the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Campaign book and made it a bit different. (I have no finished map of this look yet but in future updates I'll post it. 

I've had my players start in Northern Blackmoor. North of Bartertown because there was no lore I could find on that region so it was the easiest for me to homebrew. To see the finished map of my Northern Blackmoor. Click here Cawme's Northern Blackmoor Map. 

As you can see there are a multitude of new areas here. The keen eyes will see that the Village of Hommlet, Nulb and most definitely The Temple of Elemental Evil is here. 

I decided to start my players off with that module along with a few generic adventures before we tackled the larger Blackmoor campaign as I figured this would be the best way to get my players acclimated to the area. I have no doubt they will want to go to Barttown to try and get better gear and loot eventually but for now they are there.

Feel free to ask me about other towns that I've placed there. Like the port town Jozan or the Dwarven City of Baylor against the edge of Mount Baylor. I'm sure some of you are curious about Faren's Rest too. 

Some of these cities and locations appear in official modules while some are only mentioned. The only true homebrew town is the port town of Jozan as that was mostly a starting point for my players. 

I plan to have the Egg of Coot's watchful eyes and servants keeping an eye on them eventually. 

I've started my players in the year of 1028. 2 years before the start  of the Ties that Bind adventure. 
I plan to run them through every single Blackmoor adventure module I've found on here. Which I have a majority of the official stuff. From the DA1-4 books to the MMRPG to all the ZTG modules. I plan to be able to exhaust this setting for all I can. 

eventually I plan take the party further south to Greyhawk itself and get them started on that. However, I know that is years out as I have so much planned for my group and I can't wait to take them on this historical journey where we all learn so much. 

I cant wait to plant the seeds for the Egg of Coot. Vecna. Pale Night and so much more not to mention hope one of them plays a sorcerer and they realize how different things were back then in this era of time compared to our current modern era. Cause sorcerers here are shunned and hunted by the Wizard's Cabal.

Download here. 

This map is made by Blackmoor fan Steven Quigley for his Blackmoor/Greyhawk campaign. He said I could post it here. 

What do you think?

-Havard

City of the Gods
Cover Blurb:
Deep in the heart of the harsh landscape of the Valley of the Ancients lies Blackmoors greatest mystery an accursed place the local desert tribes know only as the City of the Gods. One royal expedition to the site has already failed to return and now the heroes must traverse unforgiving wilds and dangers untold in search of truth and if they can survive the journey the glory of a lifetime. Whet your blades and ready your spells heroes for the greatest of trials awaits!

Welcome to City of the Gods one of the most infamous and enduring mysteries in the long and storied history of Dave Arnesons Blackmoor. Designed for four to six characters of 9th to 10th level this epic adventure is sure to challenge even the bravest heroes be they peasants or nobles warriors or wizards. Will you succeed where so many others have failed or will you too fall victim to the unearthly perils that lie in wait in the forgotten City of the Gods?

Title: City of the Gods
Author: Harley Stroh 
Executive Producers: Dave Arneson & Dustin Clingman
C.A. Suleiman
ISBN: N/A
Pages: 108
Publishers: Zeitgeist Games & Code Monkey Press (2008)




Purchase a copy at DrivethruRPG(currently for 3$) - This website does not use affiliate links.
Do you have a copy of this adventure? Have you adventured near the City of the Gods?


-Havard