Lore and Information on Blackmoor D20 Map Locations?

[Greg]

I am trying to compile canon information on all the places named on the Blackmoor D20 map. Thankfully, most of the locations are featured or mentioned in the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor D20 campaign setting book or various sources such as the First Fantasy Campaign and the DA series of modules. I have not read through all the MMRPG adventures and resources, but I have the list of Blackmoor MMRPG adventures by location, and that has been helpful with this project as well.

I am trying to put together a basic summary of each location in a glossography, but details for some locations remain elusive.

I am hoping that others here may have information from officially published materials or other canon sources to help me fill in any gaps. I have a long list of locations, but I would like to start with several of them to see if anyone has information on these places. If you have any information, please site the source and page number (e.g. DA1, p. 20).

Here are several locations as a starting point, and I will post more in the future:

Northeast Corner of D20 Map

• Buccaneer Bay
  Elkhorn Island
  Sinking Lands
  The Shoals
  The Glanes
  The Gremlin Forest
  The River of Sighs
  The Crab Coast
  The East Channel
  Ning's Channel
  Crofter's Fen
  Bramford Abbey [a discussion thread on this forum mentions that the abbey may be in ruins, but I cannot find any canon information on this place]

[Havard]

Most of these are described in DA1, but can be sort of hard to find. I can take a look later if noone beats me to it

-Havard

[Greg]

Most of these are described in DA1, but can be sort of hard to find.

I found many details about various map locations on pp. 42-45 of DA1. But the locations I listed above were not included in those pages. I have not read the entire adventure sections of the module, though. Are there references to these locations in other parts of DA1, or were you thinking of the pages I mentioned?

[Greg]

Most of these are described in DA1, but can be sort of hard to find.

I found many details about various map locations on pp. 42-45 of DA1. But the locations I listed above were not included in those pages. I have not read the entire adventure sections of the module, though. Are there references to these locations in other parts of DA1, or were you thinking of the pages I mentioned?

I am resurrecting this thread because I've recently discovered some canonical information about several locations that I was researching. John Bullough's Blackmoor Index was very helpful in helping me find references for two of these locations. But, if anyone is aware of official sources and information for any of the places that are still remaining, I would love to get your help. I'm working on finishing a Blackmoor Glossography that I began several years ago.


Bramford Abbey. The abbey was a monastery located in the Barony of Bramwald, but it was destroyed by persons unknown, and its monks disappeared. Bram Tagus, the Baron of Bramwald, suspected that the Regency Council may have engineered the affair, in order to weaken his people's loyalty to him. This nearly brought him into open conflict with the Council, which steadfastly denied any complicity in the attack. However, Garamond Bolitho, the Bishop of Blackmoor, performed an even-handed personal investigation of the affair, and he refused to condemn the Regency Council for the affair, which helped defuse the potentially dangerous situation (DA1, pp. 15, 48, 50).

The Crab Coast. This series of island land lasses forms the northeastern coastal boundary of Blackmoor. The town of Archlis is located at its southern end (BFC, p. 159).

The Gremlin Forest. "Before the Shallows sunk, the elven Redwood Forest used to span the isthmus. Now, most of
its majestic trees are either underwater or rotting away in the Glades [sic]. What remains of the northern Redwood has been subject to intense and irresponsible logging for the pirates of Bartertown. Recently, the northerners have stopped logging; now they shun the northern Redwood as the “Gremlin Forest.” The human population of Blackmoor has no clue if any elven settlements have survived, nor what a “gremlin” might be. They also wonder if the Egg is behind the strange sorceries to be found therein." (The Blackmoor Gazetteer - The North, citing JG p. 12. However, the JG page contains only a map and no other references to The Gremlin Forest. So, this information cannot yet be confirmed as canonical.)

Sinking Lands. When the Egg of Coot's magically created peninsula and dominion rose from the sea, the shifting of land masses caused major geographical changes, including the creation of The Shallows, where the neck of land north of the City of Maus sank into the sea. The areas submerged beneath the waves by the uplift of the Realm of the Egg are now known as the Sinking Lands (DA1, p. 42).


Here is the updated list of northeastern Blackmoor locations where I still do not have any information:

• Buccaneer Bay
  
• Crofter's Fen
  
• Elkhorn Island
  
• The East Channel
  
• The Glanes
  
• Ning's Channel
  
• The River of Sighs
  
• The Shoals
  

[Havard]

Here is the updated list of northeastern Blackmoor locations where I still do not have any information:

• Buccaneer Bay
  
• Crofter's Fen
  
• Elkhorn Island
  
• The East Channel
  
• The Glanes
  
• Ning's Channel
  
• The River of Sighs
  
• The Shoals
  

Thanks for reviving this topic Greg!

Buccanneer Bay: This area is connected to Bartertown detailed in DA1 p 42. Bartertown is a place where Skandaharians, Pirates and even cynical merchants from Maus meet in a neutral area. Slaves, captured sailors and loot from ships is sold here.

The Shallows: Also, mentioned in the same paragraph, the Shallows is the newly formed strait between Blackmoor and Buccaneer Bay. As you noted in your writeup of the Sinking Lands, this region was formerly land, but has been formed by the rise of the Egg of Coot. Interestingly, the term Sinking Lands also appears in the Fritz Leiber novels about Lankhmar. I assume the name means the waters here are fairly shallow and must be navigated with caution.

The Shoals/Elkhorn Island: I assume these were parts of the mainland before the Egg of Coot caused the seas to rise. I believe these lands were part of the much larger elven forest (Redwoods) when it once extended from Blackmoor to the Northern Lands, but as you say this concept comes mostly from fan speculation and interpretation of the older Blackmoor wilderness map from the FFC interior. Elkhorn has a funny shape so I could see where the name comes from. Fun facts: Elkhorn is the name of a city in Wisconsin. TSR game designer James Ward is from Elkhorn and was sometimes called by this nickname. Elkhorn is also the name of a D&D action toy from the 1980s (a dwarf).

East Channel/Ning's Channel: These are channels formed along the Crab Coast, leading south to Jackport and Archlis. The channels are mentioned, but not by name in DA1 p 44 near the sections on Jackport and Archlis. Skandaharians use these waterways to raid the coast, although it seems Archlis is more frequently attacked (and better defended) than Jackport. Ning's channel extends to Dirks Cove outside of Jackport. Just based on the names I always imagined Jackport to be a more pirate oriented town, but it seems it is not. Dirks Cove certainly sounds to me like a pirate place, but perhaps that was more true historically? The d20 line made Archlis larger than it is in DA1. The name Ning is interesting to me. I wonder who or what "Ning" is? The name of a famous ships captain?

Crofter's Fen: These marshlands are located along the Raiders Road leading south from Maus towards Blackmoor. The only details I can find are in DA1 p 44. It just says the fen has been unmapped and that the road continues through barrows, so it sounds like a dreary area. This coast is also where we find the abandoned Old Northwatch Tower which is secretly the home of the Wizard known as the Green Man.

The Glanes: I have not found antything on these coastal swamplands south of the Gremlin Forest. It is possible that these lands were more fertile before the Egg Rose. The name could mean something like river banks or coastal banks which would make sense.

The River of Sighs: Nothing on this one either, but the name is very evocative. Based on its location, it likely extends from the mountains of the Skandaharian lands to the North.


Hope this helps!

-Havard

[Greg]

Havard Wrote:

The name Ning is interesting to me. I wonder who or what "Ning" is? The name of a famous ships captain?

On p. 15 of DA1, in the description of casks and bottles in the wine cellar, some are said to be "distilled and bottled at Vestfold in the 12th year of the Reign of Ning." DA1 also says that these casks and bottles have been magically preserved in the Comeback Inn for thousands of years. So, Ning could be a past ruler who was possibly the earl or baron of Vestfold or even Blackmoor, and the channel might be named after him. The channel is far away from Vestfold, so if he was a local ruler of Vestfold, then it seems strange that a channel so far away would be named after him.

However, there was a discussion of Ning in this past thread, where LoZompatore's timeline had him as a future ruler of Blackmoor, in 3030 BC. But Ning's Channel is on the D20 map, so my interpretation is that he clearly had to be a past ruler and possibly was an earl or baron of Vestfold or one of the rulers of Blackmoor.

Thanks for contributing some of the information on the other locations. I am trying to use canonical sources wherever possible, but some of these places are only mentioned, and there does not appear to be any additional information about them. So, as in the case of Buccaneer Bay, we know about other nearby locations and what is happening there, but we don't seem to have any information about the bay itself. That's okay, though, since the DM/GM can develop those details. But, in trying to provide a complete glossography, I want to make sure that I'm not missing anything.

[Havard]

On p. 15 of DA1, in the description of casks and bottles in the wine cellar, some are said to be "distilled and bottled at Vestfold in the 12th year of the Reign of Ning." DA1 also says that these casks and bottles have been magically preserved in the Comeback Inn for thousands of years. So, Ning could be a past ruler who was possibly the earl or baron of Vestfold or even Blackmoor, and the channel might be named after him. The channel is far away from Vestfold, so if he was a local ruler of Vestfold, then it seems strange that a channel so far away would be named after him.

However, there was a discussion of Ning in this past thread, where LoZompatore's timeline had him as a future ruler of Blackmoor, in 3030 BC. But Ning's Channel is on the D20 map, so my interpretation is that he clearly had to be a past ruler and possibly was an earl or baron of Vestfold or one of the rulers of Blackmoor.

Ah yes!

Zompatore's information is based on details from DA1 which does detail Blackmoor's future history as well. So Ning I is canonically a future ruler of Blackmoor. However, as you say it makes no sense that a channel would be named after someone who hasn't been born yet. I can think of a few possible fixes for this:

1) As you suggest, there was a past ruler also named Ning. The future Ning could still be Ning I if the previous one had a different title than King.
2) Ning I was also a time traveller who used the Comeback Inn to go to the future and become king after first exploring the channel.

Okay, option 2 is a little bit silly, but not beyond the realm of what could happen in the world of Blackmoor

Thanks for contributing some of the information on the other locations. I am trying to use canonical sources wherever possible, but some of these places are only mentioned, and there does not appear to be any additional information about them. So, as in the case of Buccaneer Bay, we know about other nearby locations and what is happening there, but we don't seem to have any information about the bay itself. That's okay, though, since the DM/GM can develop those details. But, in trying to provide a complete glossography, I want to make sure that I'm not missing anything.

A complete glossary is a worthy project! Let me know if I can help more.

Some locations may not have information, or they are hinted at when looking at nearby places. Names are also sometimes quite evocative. Buccanneer Bay definitely puts some ideas in my head, but that's not going to be so useful for your project

Some locations, especially near the border of the later maps did not appear on the poster map from the FFC. I find it interesting that places like the Gremlin Wood and The Malfera Forest are named after monsters that appeared in the BECMI D&D ruleset that the DA modules were published for. Could it be that these were hints for the DM to put those monsters there?

-Havard

[aldarron]

On p. 15 of DA1, in the description of casks and bottles in the wine cellar, some are said to be "distilled and bottled at Vestfold in the 12th year of the Reign of Ning." DA1 also says that these casks and bottles have been magically preserved in the Comeback Inn for thousands of years. So, Ning could be a past ruler who was possibly the earl or baron of Vestfold or even Blackmoor, and the channel might be named after him. The channel is far away from Vestfold, so if he was a local ruler of Vestfold, then it seems strange that a channel so far away would be named after him.

However, there was a discussion of Ning in this past thread, where LoZompatore's timeline had him as a future ruler of Blackmoor, in 3030 BC. But Ning's Channel is on the D20 map, so my interpretation is that he clearly had to be a past ruler and possibly was an earl or baron of Vestfold or one of the rulers of Blackmoor.

Ah yes!

Zompatore's information is based on details from DA1 which does detail Blackmoor's future history as well. So Ning I is canonically a future ruler of Blackmoor. ...

Not necessarily.  There is no particular reason to think the wine bottle or the king list in the desk drawer is from a post-Uther  age. Actually there are several reasons to think otherwise.

First, the general description of the layout and contents of the Comeback Inn go back to Arneson. Yes TSR totally re-wrote it to fit the time travel narrative that allowed them to shoe-horn the setting into ancient Mystara, but the Inn was fleshed out to some extent by Arneson prior to turning over materials to TSR. So it's conceivable that Arneson came up with the name - maybe.

Second, the contents of the Inn regenerate every night. So a bottle of wine could be used endlessly and be quite old.

Third, the presence of the name on the map indicates that it was named after somebody named Ning, and that would suggest pretty strongly Ning I was a former king of Thonia. (or the Great Kingdom if going back to Arneson).

[Havard]

Not necessarily.  There is no particular reason to think the wine bottle or the king list in the desk drawer is from a post-Uther  age. Actually there are several reasons to think otherwise.

I had to go back to the source to check the details, but as I seemed to recall the information about the rulers goes back to DA1 p 20. This section lists all the rulers who reigned the Empire of Thonia during the last centuring before the Great Rain of Fire. Ning I is specifically mentioned as a ruler who reigned for 16 years and the timeframe matches Zompatore's timeline. The Wine bottle mentioned elsewhere could be a reference to the same ruler, but it could also be dedicated to a different person with the same name.

First, the general description of the layout and contents of the Comeback Inn go back to Arneson. Yes TSR totally re-wrote it to fit the time travel narrative that allowed them to shoe-horn the setting into ancient Mystara, but the Inn was fleshed out to some extent by Arneson prior to turning over materials to TSR. So it's conceivable that Arneson came up with the name - maybe.

We don't know exactly how the writing process between Ritchie and Arneson worked do we? But I would actually go farther than you do. I think most of the material in the DA modules did come from Arneson. Especially things like details on NPCs, their horses, the names of swords, interior of the Comeback Inn, various locations etc.

In any case, Arneson did give final approval of DA1-3 so IMO it all counts as his work.

I also think the overall framework of the DA modules, having them placed in the past etc could have been part of the legal negotiations between Arneson and TSR. The DA modules explicitly state "Dave Arneson was the co-creator of D&D" which is something Arneson likely asked for.

Ultimately, this is why I rate the DA modules as the epitome of Blackmoor material.


-Havard