Mark Rein-Hagen looking to revive Dave Arneson's Blackmoor

[havard]

Mark Rein-Hagen is looking to return Dave Arneson's Blackmoor to published form.

Blackmoor was arguably the first D&D Setting.

Mark Rein-Hage, creator of Vampire etc, says that his company, Make-Believe Games, are doing what they can to bring back the World of Blackmoor.

More http://blackmoormystara.blogspot.no/2015/05/blackmoor-to-be-revived-by-vampire.html

Moderators: Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Please move to appropriate forum.

-Havard

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I wonder why?

Was it ever actually popular?

 

[havard]

I wonder why?

Was it ever actually popular?

That is a great question, but the answer is pretty complicated.

In one way, you could also ask, was D&D ever popular? Many of the concepts first introduced in the Blackmoor campaign have become so fundamental to D&D gaming that we hardly think of where they came from.

In the 1970s and 80s, Blackmoor was not really given a real chance because of Arneson's falling out with TSR. On the other hand it did continue on as a realm in Greyhawk as well as an entire Civilization in the Mystara setting through the TSR era. The DA modules reintroduced classic adventure locations such as the Temple of the Frog and the City of the Gods.

The 3E/3.5E presented a way to finally bring justice to the setting with Dave Arneson's own company ZGG obtaining the lisence. Apparently the D20 Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Hardcover Sourcebook sold quite well. Unfortunately, some poor business decisions meant that the small company was not really able to follow up on their initial product as well as some of us hoped. They did have quite a bit of success with their Blackmoor MMRPG campaign though.

They were planning a new launch with Blackmoor 4E, but unfortunately, Dave Arneson's passing away and WotC's decision not to renew the lisence with ZGG meant that only the core book was released.

The question then is, what would Blackmoor offer to new editions? I don't know what plans Rein-Hagen & Co have for Blackmoor. However, it seems there has been a trend recently to try to unite fans of all editions and eras. Both 5E and Pathfinder appear to give nods to all of the history of the hobby. I for sure would love to explore the Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor in new editions as well



-Havard

 

[Scrivener of Doom]

I'm familiar with the history and have some of the old products but Blackmoor, other than the seminal role it played along with its creator, never seemed to offer a point of difference that would make it an attractive IP beyond its nostalgia value. That was really what was behind my questions and, indeed, still is.