[NEWS] Mark Rein-Hagen to revive Blackmoor?

[Havard]

This just in, via the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Facebook Page:

BREAKING NEWS: Gaming icon Mark Rein-Hagen (creator of the World of Darkness, Ars Magica) is returning to roleplaying games, and has expressed interest in putting out the first new Blackmoor material in years!

Posted May 11 2015

With WotC's current policy towards lisencing out their properties, it does seem unlikely that an actual new Blackmoor product could become a reality by a third-party publisher. However, that does not mean that nothing could come out of this. The fact that a prominent figure in the gaming industry has expressed an interest in Blackmoor is great news. I have reached out to Mr Rein-Hagen for further comments. It should be added that Rein-Hagen "liking" the facebook statement suggests that he confirms the statement.

For the record, does anyone know who currently runs the Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Facebook Page? Dustin?


-Havard

[Havard]

More news and confirmation from Mark Rein-Hagen! 8) 8)

http://blackmoormystara.blogspot.no/201 ... mpire.html

-Havard

[Yaztromo]

Interesting!!!

[Neko Princex]

I'm not on Facebook, was there any info there that wasn't covered by Havard's blog?

[RobJN]

Nothing new yet.

[Rafael]

Pretty sweet, if true - but where does the confirming quote come from?

:twisted: Do you know more than what you're telling, Havard?


I, for my part, would be truly thrilled, simply because the man is, well, who he is: Not a maverick, not an up-and-comer, but quite simply, one of the single most distinguished roleplaying designers in the world. Whatever he brings to the project, it will be worth something.

Now, the unkind question is - what is this going to be?

- BM, as licensed by Wizbro? (Which would be awesometastic, but completely surprising, and contrary to their prior IP policy: If Bruce Heard can't have Mystara back, why can MRH have BM?)

- FFC Blackmoor, as licensed by JG?

- Or, rather, something Blackmoor-ish, perhaps based on previously unreleased material?


I would be fine, either way, but, of course, even with people as distinguished as Mark, there's a difference between the expression of an intent, and the report of an event already in action.

My personal guess is that this story will turn out as false, or, at least, precipitated, in the end. Though I certainly hope it will not.

[Havard]

Pretty sweet, if true - but where does the confirming quote come from?

:twisted: Do you know more than what you're telling, Havard?

Not much, but I got this confirmed by Mark Rein-Hagen himself (Blackmoor Blog exclusive ). I have also talked to the lead designer (Suleiman) about it. If I can get more details out of them, I will share it

I would be fine, either way, but, of course, even with people as distinguished as Mark, there's a difference between the expression of an intent, and the report of an event already in action.

This correct. So far we only have a statement of intent. But would they come out with this if they had not even talked to WotC about the possibility? As you say, I would have been much less excited about this if there was some lesser known industry figure involved. But ultimately, we still do not know what the chances are of this becoming a reality. Fingers crossed!


BTW, I didnt quote your speculation on what we might see, but those are definitely interesting possibilites.

-Havard

[Rafael]

Thanks for the insights, brother.

Personally, I can't really say anything you haven't mentioned yet:

This guy is one of the most reputable designers on the planet, and perhaps one of the few real movers of the hobby not directly associated with a major publisher. If he says he wants to work with Blackmoor, chances are exponentially higher that he'll find a way to do so than virtually anybody else.

I am not holding my breath, though - "a spiritual successor", or something exclusively based on the d20 material would likel not be something I'd be too interested in. But if MRH could free the original IP somehow, ooooh, that could well be glorious.

[Havard]

More news has surfaced on this on this threads sister thread at The Piazza:

A friend on Facebook, called Jack, was kind enough to pass on a request for more information for me:

Hey, Mark, I have a question regarding the Blackmoor stuff you're planning. Or, actually, I've got an acquaintance here on Facebook who posted an article about you and Blackmoor and accompanied it with his question, and I figured I'd pass the question along.

Anyway, the question: will it be compatible with the 3E/Pathfinder stuff, or are you going strictly 4E/5E?

Our plan is to make it mostly system independent other than some material for 5th edition, and maybe other games with stretch goals. Its really early to say, a lot will depend on the license agreement.

I can say this, we plan to include in the book along with the maps a authentic looking grimoire/travel guide kept by a wizard using a magic quill (also included) which is something the Dungeon Master can give the players early on in the campaign. They can then use this to figure out which adventures they want to go on text, and clue to help them on those adventure. I've wanted to do something like this for year, and am very excited I may get to do it with Blackmoor.

This gives us two important new facts:

1) They want to make it 5E/Generic
2) They are planning to do a Kickstarter.

What do you guys think of the quill/Wizard's Journal idea?



-Havard

[Rafael]

Hate to be *that* guy, and bring out the Stewie Griffin part of my personality, but it would be disingenuous not to address it:

MRH doing another Kickstarter, really? That's the plan? Because fans were so pleased with the last one he did? Because the last one got so much positive attention by nearly all related media? Because when people talked about trashing and burning his prior books and games, they surely meant, ¨for celebration¨?! :wink:


I am joking, of course, and I am also aware that it's usually not the designer's, but the manufacturer's fault when there are delays in crowdfunded production. And I will go on record again, any time, and state that MRH is one of the greatest living game designers, even over personal favorites of mine, like Roger Moore, Greg Stafford, or Robert Schwalb. BUT let's face it, his credit with his audiences and with his readership is likely very damaged in this particular regard.

I sincerely hope MRH and his team overthink their strategy for financiation, because I very much want to see this project become a reality. But I am not being overly negative when I say, as a crowdfunding project, the chances seem pretty narrow as of right now.