02-05-2022, 06:52 PM
I grew up playing BECMI in Mystara (thanks to Bruce Heard's amazing gazetteers), so I did a bit like RobJN
When I started being interested by Blackmoor, I already decided that the D&D rulesets that at the time were most popular at the time (3.5, d20, Pathfinder...) were not suitable anymore for me. At the time (and not it's not much different, to be honest) I needed way simpler rulesets, without classes and levels, with very quick character generation, so I used mostly Advanced Fighting Fantasy, a simple and very quickstart 2d6 ruleset that reminded me the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks that I used to play even before I heard about D&D).
Eventually, I settled on a fan made view of Blackmoor (http://www.chimerae.it/download/CHBLW0en.zip) and I made the most of the (fantastic!) MMRPG campaign modules available on this very website, converting them on the fly from D&D 3.5 to AFF2 (it's quick and easy even for me, that I'm a very slow learner).
This worked very well for me, providing everything that I needed: a very quick start ruleset (you can roll a character, learn the ruleset and start playing in about 5 minutes - 10 minutes absolute worst, so you can swiftly enrol any guest) and a number of one-off modules that are loosely related, but the group can change with no real problem for the overarching campaign from session to session, allowing me to run the most appropriate format for my current situation / lifestyle and players' preference.
By the way, the quick start ruleset for AFF2 is free (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1080...t_filtered), the above mentioned "setting hack" is free and all the adventure modules are free. All aspects of the campaign that are easy to enrol some friend of one-night guest for a one-ff session.... and then they can decide if they want to come back or not.
Of course, this is what during last few years works better for me.
Maybe you have a life situation and likely players that are similar to mine and you can make the most of my suggestions, maybe not.
Ultimately, running Blackmoor is my (very humble) way to remember and honour Dave Arneson, a person that helped me having countless hours of fun and good social interactions. A person that I admire for what he gave me.
Perhaps you have similar feeling and you want to check out the (free) documents that I mentioned above. I hope they will be useful for you.
RobJN Wrote:I came to Blackmoor via the "Mystara's distant past" references in the various Gazetteers in the late 80s and early 90s.I came to Blackmoor even later than RobJN, just for curiosity through a website called ThePiazza and then through the Comeback Inn, and the setting swiftly conquered my imagination. I like it because it has a long story behind it, but also because it is "open", i.e. it's not all fully described, but there are important stories and threads that you are free to interpret and describe as you like.
When I started being interested by Blackmoor, I already decided that the D&D rulesets that at the time were most popular at the time (3.5, d20, Pathfinder...) were not suitable anymore for me. At the time (and not it's not much different, to be honest) I needed way simpler rulesets, without classes and levels, with very quick character generation, so I used mostly Advanced Fighting Fantasy, a simple and very quickstart 2d6 ruleset that reminded me the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks that I used to play even before I heard about D&D).
Eventually, I settled on a fan made view of Blackmoor (http://www.chimerae.it/download/CHBLW0en.zip) and I made the most of the (fantastic!) MMRPG campaign modules available on this very website, converting them on the fly from D&D 3.5 to AFF2 (it's quick and easy even for me, that I'm a very slow learner).
This worked very well for me, providing everything that I needed: a very quick start ruleset (you can roll a character, learn the ruleset and start playing in about 5 minutes - 10 minutes absolute worst, so you can swiftly enrol any guest) and a number of one-off modules that are loosely related, but the group can change with no real problem for the overarching campaign from session to session, allowing me to run the most appropriate format for my current situation / lifestyle and players' preference.
By the way, the quick start ruleset for AFF2 is free (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1080...t_filtered), the above mentioned "setting hack" is free and all the adventure modules are free. All aspects of the campaign that are easy to enrol some friend of one-night guest for a one-ff session.... and then they can decide if they want to come back or not.
Of course, this is what during last few years works better for me.
Maybe you have a life situation and likely players that are similar to mine and you can make the most of my suggestions, maybe not.
Ultimately, running Blackmoor is my (very humble) way to remember and honour Dave Arneson, a person that helped me having countless hours of fun and good social interactions. A person that I admire for what he gave me.
Perhaps you have similar feeling and you want to check out the (free) documents that I mentioned above. I hope they will be useful for you.
He's a real Nowhere man, sitting in his Nowhere land,
making all his Nowhere plans for Nobody.
making all his Nowhere plans for Nobody.