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I've met Dave several times, during the course of the work I did on the 3E and 4E updates of Blackmoor, including (briefly) sharing a booth with him at GenCon. While I'm not sure he appreciated my sense of humor, he was always exceedingly friendly and polite, and he really struck me as enjoying his interaction with the fans. Even when his health first took a turn for the worse, he made every effort to attend GenCon in order to remain a part of the community.
I hope things improve for him.
Did I miss something? 4e updates of Blackmoor? Has there been an announcement or am I imagining things? Or is it just too early monday morning and I just made a thread for nothing?
Mouse?
__________________
360 hours played
Gnoguh, human fighter/cleric (kensei->adamantine soldier)
Carric, elf cleric/ranger (radiant servant->saint)
Torn, tiefling wizard/cleric (divine oracle->sages of ages)
Truxas, human feylock/bard (feytouched->feyliege)
Tagron, human rogue (daggermaster->deadly trickster) 22nd level Musings of an Epic Virgin
Last edited by Jack99; 6th April 2009 at 06:28 AM..
Reason: Title
I picked this up today at the local FLGS. I have not read the book yet but I have skimmed it several times. It has a Black soft bound cover with a 4e compatability logo on the front. It is a 260 page B&W book. It is layed out in a style similar to the 4e PHB. The start of each chapter is a 2 page spread with a column of text and the rest of the space devoted to a large picture just like most WotC 4e books.
The book starts with a short fiction story and an intro by Arneson. The first chapter is Characters and covers races, classes, paragon paths and feats. The book intoduces 1 new race and 6 new classes. Each of the new classes has a full 30 levels of powers. It also introduces the Spiritual power source for some of the new classes. The new race is the Docrae, sort your old school halflings. Each of the new classes also have paragon paths. Many of the feats are themed for the setting.
The next chapter is Magic of the Realm which details wizard organizations, New magic items, rituals and artifacts.
The third chapter is The Kingdom of Blackmoor which details the Blackmoor setting. It talks about the political structure of Blackmoor as well as the society, calender, trade and Technology of Blackmoor. It also covers some of the regions of Blackmoor.
Chapter 4 is The Lands Beyond and details such places as the Duchy of Ten, The Elflands, The Hak, The Lands of the Regent of the Mines and the Valley of the Ancients.
Chapter 5, Religions of the North details the Blackmoor pantheon.
Chapter 6 is Regents and Rascals and is a collection of creatures.
Chapter 7 is Creatures of Blackmoor and it details 14 creatures specific to the Blackmoor setting.
I don't even play 4e but just seeing that cover made me tear up a little
__________________ Remember kids whisky will not put out flaming mages ,but it will confuse the deathknight
"The Soul of D&D? It's rolling a natural 20 when you're down to 3 hit points and the cleric's on the floor and you're staring that sunnavabitch bugbear right in his bloodshot eye and holding the line just long enough to let the wizard unleash a fireball at the guards who are on their way, because they're all that stands between you, the Foozle and Glory." - WizarDru
Thank you Gary Gygax, for everything.
"Rock on, Paizo, for you rock mightily".- dragonlordofpoondari
I picked this up today at the local FLGS. I have not read the book yet but I have skimmed it several times. It has a Black soft bound cover with a 4e compatability logo on the front. It is a 260 page B&W book. It is layed out in a style similar to the 4e PHB. The start of each chapter is a 2 page spread with a column of text and the rest of the space devoted to a large picture just like most WotC 4e books.
Wow, its great that this book is out! Thanks for sharing these details TirionAnthion. Do you have any of the 3E Blackmoor material? How does this book compare to the 3E Blackmoor "core" book?
Which races and classes are included? Are Docrae included for instance, or have they been abandoned?
Wow, its great that this book is out! Thanks for sharing these details TirionAnthion. Do you have any of the 3E Blackmoor material? How does this book compare to the 3E Blackmoor "core" book?
Which races and classes are included? Are Docrae included for instance, or have they been abandoned?
Havard
I did not pick up any of the 3e Blackmoor books, so I cannot compare it to those. I have the old DA series of modules from the BECMI days. I always loved the setting when I was younger. Once I read a bit more of the book I will be better able to compare it to those.
As for races, the Docrae are the only new race, although the book discusses the various races from the PHB and how they fit into the setting. I glanced at the tiefling write up and found it interesting. They appear human (Thonian) but the younger generations have begun to show small horns and yellow eyes.
As for classes, the book has 6 new base classes:
Arcane Warrior - Arcane Defender - a kind of magical policeman
Elderkin - Divine Controller - communes with the spirits of the dead
Idolater - Spiritial Controller - sort of like a witch doctor
Mystic - Spiritual Defender - sage/warriors and precogs, stong monk vibe
Noble - Martial Leader - Bearers of royal blood that inspire others
Wokan - Primal Hybrid - guides, herbalists and mouthpieces of nature
Each class has a full 30 levels of powers and 4 to 5 paragon paths. The book also has some generic paragon paths not tied to specific classes. The book has around 37 new feats, several of these being channel divinity feats for the new gods in the book.
I don't even play 4e but just seeing that cover made me tear up a little
Aww, thanks, Hunter. I felt the same. And it's strange, because we decided on the classic black with silver lettering long before Dave passed. But once he did, it only seemed all the more appropriate.
But yes, 4E Blackmoor is now out, and I couldn't be more proud. Just to answer a couple of the questions I've seen:
1) Pay no mind to what it says on the CMP online store (which is still in partial transition). We're beyond pre-order now (obviously, since it's in stores).
2) Of course we didn't ditch the Docrae! In fact, a friend is going to start running 4E Blackmoor for me, and in the game I'll be playing a Docrae Mystic.
3) Yes, you read that right: SIX entire 4E base classes, covering every core role and introducing a new power source.
Thanks for giving it a look, fellas. I know Dave would be thrilled to see it.
Aww, thanks, Hunter. I felt the same. And it's strange, because we decided on the classic black with silver lettering long before Dave passed. But once he did, it only seemed all the more appropriate.
CAS
Your welcome . 4E is not a system I enjoy but many do . So I want to thank you for giving them blackmoor to enjoy. Dave Arneson never got the credit Gary Gygax did, but he will always have my thanks.
__________________ Remember kids whisky will not put out flaming mages ,but it will confuse the deathknight
"The Soul of D&D? It's rolling a natural 20 when you're down to 3 hit points and the cleric's on the floor and you're staring that sunnavabitch bugbear right in his bloodshot eye and holding the line just long enough to let the wizard unleash a fireball at the guards who are on their way, because they're all that stands between you, the Foozle and Glory." - WizarDru
Thank you Gary Gygax, for everything.
"Rock on, Paizo, for you rock mightily".- dragonlordofpoondari
I did not pick up any of the 3e Blackmoor books, so I cannot compare it to those.
That's okay. Your description of the chapters earlier on made it seem like this book is fairly close to the structure and contents of the 3E book which makes sense I guess
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I have the old DA series of modules from the BECMI days. I always loved the setting when I was younger. Once I read a bit more of the book I will be better able to compare it to those.
Very cool. I am also a fan of BECMI and the DA modules. It seems to me like DA1 has been the most influental since it covers much of the basics of the setting.
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As for races, the Docrae are the only new race, although the book discusses the various races from the PHB and how they fit into the setting. I glanced at the tiefling write up and found it interesting. They appear human (Thonian) but the younger generations have begun to show small horns and yellow eyes.
Good to see the Docrae being kept. I am still trying to make them more different from standard halflings, though I am wondering if the 4E book has done anything to push them even further towards being an independent race.
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As for classes, the book has 6 new base classes:
Arcane Warrior - Arcane Defender - a kind of magical policeman
Elderkin - Divine Controller - communes with the spirits of the dead
Idolater - Spiritial Controller - sort of like a witch doctor
Mystic - Spiritual Defender - sage/warriors and precogs, stong monk vibe
Noble - Martial Leader - Bearers of royal blood that inspire others
Wokan - Primal Hybrid - guides, herbalists and mouthpieces of nature
Quite interesting. These all appeared in some form or other in various 3E products, though they might work even better under 4E. Arcane Warrior, Mystic and Wokan are all at some level tributes to BECMI btw.
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Each class has a full 30 levels of powers and 4 to 5 paragon paths. The book also has some generic paragon paths not tied to specific classes. The book has around 37 new feats, several of these being channel divinity feats for the new gods in the book.
I am not really sold on 4E yet so my biggest worry is that these books are going to be all crunch and of little value to those of us who are mainly fans of Blackmoor, rather than a specific edition. I will ofcourse buy this book in any case though
Aww, thanks, Hunter. I felt the same. And it's strange, because we decided on the classic black with silver lettering long before Dave passed. But once he did, it only seemed all the more appropriate.
I agree. The cover is awesome
It would be cool if you for later products would use some re-renderings of the covers from the FCC (the Fire Elemental) and Supplement II. Just an idea
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But yes, 4E Blackmoor is now out, and I couldn't be more proud.
Very good. You need to get the word out though. There are plenty of people wanting to buy this book that dont know about it yet
Quote:
Just to answer a couple of the questions I've seen:
1) Pay no mind to what it says on the CMP online store (which is still in partial transition). We're beyond pre-order now (obviously, since it's in stores).
Will this book be available through major internet retailers like amazon? That would make it easier to get it overseas. We are really looking forward to seeing the CMP forum get back though. The MMORPG forum is also fairly quiet.
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2) Of course we didn't ditch the Docrae! In fact, a friend is going to start running 4E Blackmoor for me, and in the game I'll be playing a Docrae Mystic.
Looks like they ship to Europe. Before ordering this, could someone who has it tell me (us) how many pages the fluff chapters cover? (I believe that would be mostly chapter 3, 4 and 5, but please correct me if I am wrong).
Cheers
__________________
360 hours played
Gnoguh, human fighter/cleric (kensei->adamantine soldier)
Carric, elf cleric/ranger (radiant servant->saint)
Torn, tiefling wizard/cleric (divine oracle->sages of ages)
Truxas, human feylock/bard (feytouched->feyliege)
Tagron, human rogue (daggermaster->deadly trickster) 22nd level Musings of an Epic Virgin
Your welcome . 4E is not a system I enjoy but many do . So I want to thank you for giving them blackmoor to enjoy. Dave Arneson never got the credit Gary Gygax did, but he will always have my thanks.
Also, just want give a huge thumbs up (and some xp) to Hunter, we need to see more of this on the forums
Looks like they ship to Europe. Before ordering this, could someone who has it tell me (us) how many pages the fluff chapters cover? (I believe that would be mostly chapter 3, 4 and 5, but please correct me if I am wrong).
Cheers
The character chapter that has the new races, classes, paragon paths and feats runs from pages 12 to 125. The Magic chapter runs from 126 to 145 with first ten pages being fluff and the last nine being crunch (items and artifacts). Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are all fluff and run from page 146 to page 207. Chapters 6 and 7 are crunch and run from pages 208 to 255. The book has an epilogue which is a little bit of fluff to finish the book at the end.
So out of 260 pages, roughly 169 pages of crunch and about 91 pages of fluff. A bit lighter on the fluff side, but for 4e fans, this book has a lot of crunchy goodness that can easily be plucked and used in any campaign. This book definately makes me want to break out DA1 and convert it to 4e as a fun hook to pull heroes into Blackmoor.
Welcome out of lurkerdom, TirionAnthion! 
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