Press Ink Bat To Publish D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson’s Final RPG Project

[Egg Embry]

STUDIO TO RELEASE THE LONG-AWAITED NEW EDITION OF BLACKMOOR, THE FIRST FANTASY CAMPAIGN SETTING

WASHINGTON, DC (03/12/24): Studio Ink Bat announced today that it will release the final tabletop roleplaying game sourcebook directly overseen by the late Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and the creator of Blackmoor, the fantasy setting in which the game was first incubated. Entitled Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf, the book is a fiction of ideas, taking the classic setting’s timeline and sending it centuries into the future.

The announcement was made by Denise Robinson, Art Director for Studio Ink Bat. “I had the chance to meet Dave Arneson,” said Robinson. “And as so many others did, I liked him immediately. When the opportunity arose to help release the last RPG project created by Dave’s own team, I knew we had to jump. The content is fantastic, too. If you aren’t a Blackmoor fan, yet, Age of the Wolf is sure to make a believer out of you.”

“After a fifteen-year wait, I could not be happier to see this project finally come to fruition,” added C.A. Suleiman, developer of Dave Arneson’s tabletop projects at the time of his passing in 2009. “With the 50th anniversary of D&D; the 20th anniversary of the launch of an independent Blackmoor line overseen by Dave, himself; and the 15th anniversary of the legend’s passing, the timing could scarcely be any more appropriate than it is right now.”

Back in 2009, the project was nearly complete and ready to be sent to the printer when Dave Arneson passed away suddenly. After that tragic turn of events, it didn’t seem right to release the book as planned originally, and so the project went into indefinite hibernation. “With the big anniversary year upon us,” Robinson concluded, “We feel the time is right to finally get this book into the hands of fans.”

Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is scheduled for release this August, 2024. As a supplemental edition for the setting, the book will be released system-neutral, allowing players of any edition or expression of the world’s greatest roleplaying game to make immediate use of it.

About Studio Ink Bat
Ink Bat is a content development studio dedicated to the art of making excellent games. Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf is Ink Bat’s first major release, but will surely not be its last. Ink Bat can be found online at Studio Ink Bat – Content development studio

About Dave Arneson
Dave Arneson is the late co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons. He is regarded the creator of the roleplaying game and innovator of the ‘dungeon adventure’ concept in tabletop gaming. Blackmoor is his original fantasy setting and the environment in which he and Gary Gygax incubated their legendary game. He passed away in 2009, but his profound legacy endures.

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UPDATED 2024-03-14 (Not part of the press release): Havard from the EN World Forum and Havard's Blackmoor Blog offered an update on the behind the scenes negotiations around this book. The contracts for Blackmoor: Age of the Wolf with the estate of Dave Arneson may not have been finalized before the press release was issued.

[Havard] just talked to a source within Ink Bat Studios. They have clarified that the Age of the Wolf Sourcebook was not written by Dave Arneson: "like all but one of the Blackmoor supplements during the 3e and 4e eras, Dave did not write any of the book. He simply oversaw and approved it. We're just trying to honor Dave's own wishes and make sure he's not forgotten." They also says that from their perspective, Ink Bat's contact with Fellowship of the Thing (Griffith Morgan and Chris Graves) was just established and that they were still trying to make a deal. They were surprised that Fellowship contacted myself and other bloggers before negtotiations were finalized.

Read Havard's post for more details.

 

[darjr]

Systemless sounds smart.

What else is needed as a base for this?

What does it supplement?

 

[aco175]

Systemless sounds smart.

What else is needed as a base for this?

What does it supplement?

If it is systemless, why are they getting on the 50th anniversary, other than name and brand recognition? I went to their website but it is pretty blank on things.

 

[havard]

Fascinating!

Some of us have been waiting for Age of the Wolf since 2009, or actually since Dave Arneson's associates started talking about it several years earlier.

-Havard

 

[Lidgar]

Systemless sounds smart.

What else is needed as a base for this?

What does it supplement?

I have these same questions. Is it a setting supplement? Maybe its a supplement for this: Dave Arneson's Blackmoor: The First Campaign (4E)

 

[Dextra]

We're going for the 50th anniversary because Dave Arneson was co-creator of D&D, and deserves to be celebrated. Blackmoor is the setting that gave birth to D&D. Its connection to the game is intrinsic and deep.

--Denise Robinson, Art Directrix
cheetah@ink-bat.com

 

[havard]

I am collecting details on this project on my blog and website. So cool to see a celebration of Dave Arenson's legacy

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

a fiction of ideas

What does this mean, @Dextra?

And centuries into the future, is Blackmoor a "modern" setting? Is it science fiction? Is it a magitech fantasy?

 

[darjr]

We're going for the 50th anniversary because Dave Arneson was co-creator of D&D, and deserves to be celebrated. Blackmoor is the setting that gave birth to D&D. Its connection to the game is intrinsic and deep.

--Denise Robinson, Art Directrix
cheetah@ink-bat.com

That’s cool.

@Whizbang Dustyboots it’s a “fantasy” setting of the old style where sci fi and fantasy blend together

And time travel is part of the lore.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If it is systemless, why are they getting on the 50th anniversary, other than name and brand recognition?

Because the anniversary doesn't belong to WotC and because, without Arneson, it's debatable whether there'd be more than a handful of people celebrating whatever it is that Tactical Studies Rules would have published without him.