Free Dave Arneson's Final Tabletop Book is Being Released for Free at Gen Con

[Dextra]

Yep, you read that right. Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf will have a price tag of $0.00. Drops on the first day of Gen Con (Aug. 1).
"In Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf, the world of Blackmoor gets a bold new look, dragging the setting into an age of intrigue, simmering conflict, and strife. Centuries have passed since the time of the original campaign, and the years have not been kind to the North. The Kingdom of Blackmoor collapsed, plunging the land into calamity and open war. In its wake, the nobility has fallen to infighting, festering resentments, and espionage. Magic and technology alike have run amok, raising the stakes on both the present and the future. In this time of dark uncertainty, what mark will your story make on the war-torn North?"

 

[Mannahnin]

Yep, you read that right. Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf will have a price tag of $0.00. Drops on the first day of Gen Con (Aug. 1).
"In Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf, the world of Blackmoor gets a bold new look, dragging the setting into an age of intrigue, simmering conflict, and strife. Centuries have passed since the time of the original campaign, and the years have not been kind to the North. The Kingdom of Blackmoor collapsed, plunging the land into calamity and open war. In its wake, the nobility has fallen to infighting, festering resentments, and espionage. Magic and technology alike have run amok, raising the stakes on both the present and the future. In this time of dark uncertainty, what mark will your story make on the war-torn North?"

"Dave Arneson's Final Tabletop Book"?

When did Dave work on this?!

Can you tell us the production story/background?

 

[Blackmoor_Film]

It's free, but the game sessions are listed on the Gencon site as 48 dollars - all 14 of them with 6 players each.

Estate of David Arneson | Press

www.arnesonestate.com

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

Advise anyone involved read the Arneson Estate's press release (linked above) on this subject in full. This may be fraud, and at the very least is unauthorized. That's over $4000 in event fees this "free" book of dubious provenance is earning so far.

 

[Mannahnin]

It's free, but the game sessions are listed on the Gencon site as 48 dollars - all 14 of them with 6 players each.

Estate of David Arneson | Press

www.arnesonestate.com

Do you know any more about this book? When Dave worked on it and its history?

 

[Blackmoor_Film]

There was a rumored unfinished project under Zeitgeist Games. There is also a very old Blackmoor setting from maybe 72 the Island of the Wolf,I have seen the map. But who knows what this is. It sounds like something made up from fragments of discussions, and not like an actual manuscript.

A copy of the module was requested. The estate was sent a sample. I was asked to look it over. I think it was 8 pages. It looked very much derived from other works to me, but all I saw were a few pages listing some gods. Well, those names could easily be taken from anything, so my assessment is that there is nothing novel within the pages which could be attributed to Dave Arneson.

Someone has suggested it may be a work created with AI.

I can't venture to say anything at this point because I do not know. Why would they refuse to demonstrate what it is before Gencon if they are giving it away anyway?

The initial discussion from Studio ink Bat was to see if Malia would go to GenCon. They offered to buy her dinner if she would come. No hotel or travel expenses covered by them. That initial offer was fairly ridiculous and ignored.

It seemed like they wanted to add a Blackmoor family persona to their event by offering to buy them dinner?

Some people's idea of buying you dinner could be Taco Bell.

 

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

Based on the Arneson Estate statements, sure sounds like fraud and IP infringement.

 

[Blackmoor_Film]

But the Estate is saying: Hey, talk to us and this can be official Blackmoor.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

But the Estate is saying: Hey, talk to us and this can be official Blackmoor.

Yes, they seem to be making a serious effort to resolve this amicably. Ink Bat's failure to respond to reasonable requests and failure to issue a statement of their own does not look very good from the outside.