Well, I wasn't going to post in this thread again, but I guess I just gotta address some points, otherwise people will think I am ducking them.
3 years ago, I sat down at a table with Dave Arneson after a gaming session and told him that he really needed to get Blackmoor out to the public again. He told me that he had already been working on it, but could use a hand. Zeitgeist Games, was born. On the day we signed the paperwork, He had mentioned how editing had gone on the last TSR projects he had worked on and that they had thouroughly distorted Blackmoor to his dislike. I promised Dave that any release that had his name on it would have to be personally approved by him before it would be published.
I spent days and days listening to the old stories of Blackmoor. Hearing about the Comeback Inn, the Egg of Coot and other interested tales from the impetus of D&D and the role playing industry. I took copious notes. I learned alot.
From there we began to work on the project. At every step of the way, we worked with a two fold mission. First, Rejuvinate Blackmoor in a form that would be accessible for both old and new players. Second, Correct and complete the world as best as was possible in 240 pages.
We released just that book at GenCon. The book has Dave's full endorsement and support. He was active in writing a healthy portion of the work. Blackmoor is back, better than ever.
To specifically address a couple of points made so far in this thread.
1. "There's Limited Access to high tech/laser swords." - Those of you who already own the book will have seen the timeline of Blackmoor's history. Some of you who have done research will recognize that the timeline puts Blackmoor about 30 years before the module DA1: Adventures in Blackmoor. This is the starting point of the campaign. Nostalgic players who are familiar with things like the Temple of the Frog and the City of the Gods will have to understand that those events have not occurred yet. Most of the events in DA1-4 will be occurring, but they will probably be a bit different.
2. Some have said "Blackmoor is whitewashed and won't be able to compete with settings like Eberron, etc." - Those of you who have read the book will notice that there is plenty that sets Blackmoor apart from other settings. Different Magic rules, Cool enemies, lots of diversity. Everything you could want from the setting that gave birth to those other setting mentioned earlier is around.
3. "This is just a plot to sell more books!" - Hmmm. I won't apologize for selling products. Zeitgeist Games is a game company after all. I think the book is a value compared to many other settings. $34.99 for 240 pages, hardback. Look around and find other books. That being said, the steam and tech rules are slated to be published in the middle of next year as a 128 page supplement. We just couldn't do it justice in the pages we had. If that's not a good enough explanation,sorry. Decisions have to be made and I made that one myself after a long talk with Dave. The 6 PrCs are actually verrrry relevant to the world as it unfolds and they needed to be in the core book per our determination.
4 "The new Blackmoor doesn't have..." - I knew this would be tough for some people to take, but you have to understand things from a perspective of the marketplace. Blackmoor is not a fantasy hearbreak. It's not D&D done right, it's just Blackmoor. A solid campaign that is over 34 years old and continuing on to this day. Most of the people who will buy the core book will not know anything about Blackmoor. Those who did know about it and buy it will enjoy it. Either way, you can't cram 34 years into 240 pages. Thats 7 measly page for each year. Its just not possible.
As a side note, Blackmoor also does not have the Nazis or Confederacy either. Dave told me that they used to adventure all through history and time when they played "back in the day". I hope you guys are not disappointed about that part too.
The reason its called Dave Arneson's Blackmoor is not because its a vanity setting, in fact, it's contractual. This setting represents alot of work and while not perfect, we hope that enough people will take the time to give us a look and a fair shake. I just saw the preview of the d20 Filtered. It points out our errors nicely, but gives us a pretty good score, imo.
Do me a favor folks, read the book, then decide if you want to buy it. The people who posted after actually have read through it had generally good comments. We have wide distribution, it should be in your FLGS. It's not shrinkwrapped. Take a gander, thats all I ask.
I will look to hold a chat session in the next 2 weeks. I will post online so you guys can come by.
Dustin
