The City and Dungeon of Tonisborg has long historic ties to Dave Arneson's Blackmoor. Greg Svenson, whom Dave has described as one of his most enthustiastic players, developed this area of map in Dave Arneson's Campain. When Dave added the city of Vestfold, named after a region in Norway, Greg made adjustments so that Tonnisborg became relocated on a small island that is part of the greater City of Vestfold, the largest city in the Kingdom of Blackmoor.

 People who want to learn more about Tonisborg are now in for a treat. As reported by the Secrets of Blackmoor Website, Greg Svenson is working with the producers of the documentary project "Secrets of Blackmoor". The plan seems to be that Tonninsborg will be a published adventure which will be a "thank you gift" to those who invest in the Kickstarter for the Documentary. Also involved with the Tonnisborg module are Dan Boggs (aka Aldarron), publisher of Champions of ZED and Dragons at Dawn and Bob Bledsaw II of Judges Guild.

 The whole "invest in Kickstarter for documentary to get a module" sounds a bit complicated to me and I think I would have preferred to have a separate Kickstarter for the Tonisborg project, but in any case I am really curious to see what this module will be all about. Having Aldarron on board with this project makes me even more optimistic as he is a talented game designer and someone with intimate knowledge of Blackmoor. If you are curious to see more of Greg Svenson's ideas for Blackmoor, make sure you get the free PDF booklets by Greg hosted at The Comeback Inn.





See more discussion of this article at the Comeback Inn here.


 -Havard

So much has happened over the course of this week I dont really know where to start. First there is the relevation that Arneson's personal library is to be sold on an auction. I am filled with a mix of joy that this material will be taken care of and a feeling of concern if these documents are to be locked into some vault, never to be seen again.

Then there is Aldarron's excellent analysis of another obscure Arneson document; the manuscript for  Beyond This Point Be Dragons. That Arneson had prepared a kind of alternate D&D that noone really knew about is pretty amazing. Aldarron has provided a great analysis of the work, but I am also wondering about the things not mentioned in that analysis. Could there be more lore about Blackmoor there?

Also from Aldarron, the Champions of ZED project is up on kickstarter with over 50 backers already. This "Zero edition" game will also incorporates elements from Beyond this Point Be Dragons. At the same time, poster RadagastTheBrown is working on another project for a system based on Arneson inspired combat.

On a less Blackmoor related note, Bruce Heard recently posted his long awaited treatsy on the Goatmen of Kavaja for the Mystara setting.

With all of this happening, I am so busy reading that I hardly have time to write! I promise you though, there will be more thoughts on all of these topics in the days to come!




Image source: http://www.thecollectorstrove.com/site-news/2012/4/29/the-big-announcement.html


-Havard

DHBogg's just announced the release of the first supplement for his Dave Arneson inspired game Dragons at Dawn. Named Supplement I: Twighlight, the description at Lulu reads:

Supplement 1 is a broad ranging expansion of the Dragons at Dawn retro-tribute fantasy role playing game honoring the first years of adventure role playing as envisioned by gaming pioneer Dave Arneson. The contents include character class variations, alternate combat tables, new spells and rules for governing magic, expanded information on skills, morale, wilderness adventuring and a whole lot more!

 Click here to order a hard copy or buy the pdf. You can talk about supplement I with other fans as well as the author at the Dragons at Dawn section of the OD&D74 forum, or at the new Arnesonian Rules Section of the Comeback Inn.



-Havard

Castle Blackmoor, site of the first RPG Dungeon in history. But the Castle is more than just the dungeon. What adventures can be found above ground level? Aldarron has started a project to flesh out the rooms of the Castle itself over at Dragonsfoot.You can participate by clicking on this link.

I was a little disappointed when the actual Castle was left out of the Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor Sourcebook. Maybe this project can help fill in the missing details?



-Havard

Return of the Prodigal Son, by Rembrandt

Okay, I am back from my little break! Those of you who know me from various forums will have seen that I havent been completely missing from the Internet Scene, but my access to computers have been too limited to contribute much here or elsewhere.

A few things have happened since my last post. Aldarron has started a project to develop the Outer Works of Castle Blackmoor. This looks like it is going to be really interesting.

Over at the Mule Abides, Tavis posted an interesting tale about Dungeon Mapping in the Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor.

Finally, game designer Jeff Quinn has returned to the Comeback Inn Forum.

What else did I miss? :)



-Havard

Real life has been keeping me away from my blog for a while, but I promise to make up for it! Just a quick note to let you all know that I finally got my copy of Dan Bogg's Dragons at Dawn, which I have mentioned earlier in this blog. It was so cool to finally read through a physical copy of this game. I will write more on it later.

Also, in the same package from Lulu, I got a copy of the hard cover version of Labyrinth Lord. As some of you will know, I am a big fan of Frank Mentzer's BECMI, which I consider to be as close to D&D perfection as you can get. From what I understand Labyinth Lord is based on Moldvay/Cook, but its close enough to BECMI to give me that warm and fuzzy feeling. I know what you're going to say, "what took you so long?" I know, I know.

Well, those are two sweet games from Lulu, which should keep me busy in between the two parties I have planned this weekend.






-Havard

Only a few days since Dragons at Dawn came out and people are already writing reviews. Here are some highlights:

From Sean Wills at Bite the Bulette:

"My 1st impressions is that Daniel has faithfully drawn on the discussions with those who played with Dave Arneson, as well as info from the man himself over the years, to recreate a very old old school experience. Have a look at the Lulu preview and you'll see what I mean. Combat has a big-ass chart, if you can dig that - DAD's for you.

It reads like a labour of love, it's audacious, a product of studious enthusiastic research and a fitting tribute to DA."

From Steelcaress at Roll 'Em:

"Overall: 4/5 (This is a neat game! Part of me wishes this had been published in '74 instead)"

From Geoffrey McKinney at the OD&D Board:

"This is a very cool, VERY old-school game. It’s as close as you can come to playing the game the way it was played when NOBODY in the whole world played it except for Dave Arneson and his buddies back in 1970-72. To my way of thinking, this game is 38 years overdue. We owe Dan Boggs a great debt of gratitude for all the hard work and research he devoted to re-creating the original role-playing game."

Although Old Schooler reviews tend to be positive towards old school material, all of these great reviews are making me optimistic about this Arnesonian game. And this is not all we can look forward to from the author. Dan Boggs has already announced that he is planning the release of the first expansion rules, Dragons at Twilight.




-Havard

The following was announced by aldarron at the Comeback Inn yesterday: 




A discussion of the game, can be found here. 










-Havard