Will all of you Ebberon-buyers become Blackmoor-buyers?

[reanjr]

http://www.goodman-games.com/4500preview.php


I mean, after developing in Arneson's head for thirty years, how could it possibly go wrong? We'll find out in a few weeks, I suppose.

LONG LIVE THE THOUL!!!!!!!

I don't really see the relation between Eberron and Blackmoor...

I bought Eberron. As far as I can tell Blackmoor is going to a dungeon-centric campaign setting. That's out of my ballpark and unless I am proven wrong (and the campaign setting is spectacular) I will not be buying it.

 

[reanjr]

Ah, I guess what I was getting at was along the lines of "will there be as much hype on these boards for Blackmoor as there currently is for Eberron"? Dunno why I failed to phrase it that way, though.

Oh. Guarenteed no. Eberron was WotC and Blackmoor is old.

 

[qstor]

Looks pretty good. When's the street date?

I'm not that old school that I have Supp. II so I'm not that familiar with Blackmoor.

Mike

 

[Davelozzi]

I have Eberron, and will look through Blackmoor when I see it in the store, but unless it overwhelms me in someway, I don't expect to purchase it. I find it difficult to get excited about this just because it's from the early days of D&D. As far as I'm concerned, Blackmoor is just a name. My feelings are that if it was that cool, Dave would've found a way to publish it before this.

To me, the fact that Dave was involved in the making of the game doesn't mean his current stuff is anything to be excited about. I mean I love plenty of Gary's classic work, but nothing he's done in recent years has wowed me. And Rob Kuntz's much touted Maze series was just about the worst d20 purchase I've made.

So I guess from me it's a big "eh..."

 

[Kanegrundar]

It looks somewhat interesting. However, it does have several factors working against my buying it.

1. It's a classic-style setting. I've been moving away from the classic D&D styled settings for a while now. In fact, the only settings that I buy that fit into that classic mold are FR and Everquest. Even then, it's just to mine some cool bits for use in my own games. Settings like Eberron and Iron Kingdoms are much more my speed these days.

2. Too many books. My gaming dollar is stretched to the limit already as is. With buying D20 Modern material (mostly pdf's from RPGShop), FR material, D&D minis, and the occasional 3rd-party D20 book I don't have much to spread around. In fact, there are several books that I would like to get that I just haven't found a way to yet. (Lone Wolf, the new CoC setting, and a couple EQ books are at the top of the list.) Blackmoor may very well sit on the list of books to buy once Tax Refund season rolls around again.

3. It's gotta wow me. This works into point 2, but it bears it's own portion. Campaign Settings have really got to wow me to plunk down the $30-$40 to get them. I'm interested in Blackmoor, but what I've seen so far doesn't just grab me and say "BUY ME!!!" the way Eberron and Iron Kingdoms did.

So I guess, I'll take the wait and see approach.

Kane

 

[Melan]

3. It's gotta wow me. This works into point 2, but it bears it's own portion. Campaign Settings have really got to wow me to plunk down the $30-$40 to get them. I'm interested in Blackmoor, but what I've seen so far doesn't just grab me and say "BUY ME!!!" the way Eberron and Iron Kingdoms did.

And here is the problem for me. I love Blackmoor for its fallen starships, weird arch-villains and technologico-magical mayhem (also, GIANT FROGS). And yet, Zeitgeist Games seems to be downplaying this very feature of the world, playing safe by releasing something that is closer to the expected norms. But BM isn't about that. It should be an insane and "woo-hoo!" kind of setting, not FR #15.

 

[D+1]

Though not an Eberron buyer, I'll buy Blackmoor sourcebook out of nostalgia. It's the least I could do to pay tribute to co-creator of D&D, Dave Arneson.

I'll largely echo that. I have Eberron, like it a lot, but have no plans at this time to run an exclusively Eberron campaign. I have an interest in Blackmoor as a setting in its own right, though I similarly would have no current plan to run a dedicated Blackmoor game. My interest in Blackmoor partly stems from an interest in RPG history as well - a "this is where it all began" sort of appeal. Call that nostalgia if you like though I never played/ran a dedicated Blackmoor game in the past either. And while Dave is almost a little too sanguine about it I think he got less than he deserved for his part in the creation of the game. I have no problem with paying him back just a little bit more by buying Blackmoor.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

... I love Blackmoor for its fallen starships, weird arch-villains and technologico-magical mayhem (also, GIANT FROGS). ..

Hey maybe I am interested in Blackmoor! Goodman games needs to do some education for current gamers if they expect to get anything besides nostagia buyers, which could be a pretty small audience for a non-WotC book. I started D&D in 79 and never was exposed to Blackmoor that I was aware of.

Ebberon had over a year of speculation and PR teasing. Blackmoor has had a few threads like this one where no one discusses content in a meaningful way to the uninitiated. Melan's post was the first I have seen that actually says anything about the setting/flavor itself.

 

[Kanegrundar]

I have to admit that I knew very little about Blackmoor before looking into it on Goodman Games' site. I didn't really know anything about any settings except for FR and a little about GH. Nostalgia settings for me are FR, Planescape, and other 2E settings!

That said, if they would include all the crazy stuff like laser swords, lightning guns, aliens, fallen spacecraft, and so forth, I would be REALLY interested in Blackmoor! As I've gotten older, I've gotten more into the frame of mind of wanting more weird and wild settings than the same old basic fantasy vien. (Hence my homebrew fantasy world that incorporates everything from ninjas to steam-powered warmachines to jedi knights.) If they would keep those elements in Blackmoor, Goodman could count me as a buyer sight unseen! Alas, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Kane

 

[DClingman]

Hi Everyone,

Good to see some discussion on the biggest forums in the D&D world, imo.

The main reason for not having a ton of "Look at me" posts is out of respect and disregard for overhyping stuff in the wrong forums. When I see that, I get annoyed and so I didn't want to be percieved as one of "those" guys.

I wanted to reply a bit to some of the points/ideas mentioned in the thread regarding Blackmoor.

1. Some people asked if there are going to be laser swords and big nuclear reactors... Before I can answer that question, I need to establish a baseline of discussion so you know just what our plans are.

Blackmoor is returning effectively to the point in time a bit before the module DA1 begins. We are not repeating history literally. That's good for everyone,imo because who would want to play the repeat of a module they had been through 20 years ago. The world has evolved and will continue to evolve. There are new races, new monsters, new plotlines and new villains. We have all the famous villains,heros and rascals from the old days alongside some new ones as well. If you are a classic player, it will feel like home, but with some happy rennovations. If you are a new player, the sky is the limit.

To answer the laser sword question directly, in time, yes. As for the current state of tech in Blackmoor we have limited steam and clocktech. There is a forthcoming supplement for next year that will detail how to build those items for the world.

2. Someone mentioned Blackmoor being a dungeon centric campaign.

That couldn't be farther from the truth. Politcal intrigue, frontier dangers and greed face Blackmoor on all fronts. Alliances are key to survival in the world. Are there dungeons? Of course! But the world is large and wide and is not a dungeon crawler world.

3. Why should you care?

Probably the most important question of them all! There are alot of books out/coming out/coming out soon. Why does Blackmoor have compared to those other options to deserve your dollar above or beyond others?

The world of Blackmoor has been in development for quite some time. It has continued to evolve and is very much a living campaign setting. It's not crusty, it's not old, and Dave's game design skills are remarkedly relevant and progressive. If you want to see D&D through his eyes again or for the first time, Blackmoor can take you there.

Blackmoor is unique, interesting world that contined to grow and present players with new challenges. The only thing I would ask of anyone is to pick it up, take a look inside and just give us a shot. No setting can be all things to all people. If you find us lacking in some way, or have suggestions for improvement, drop me a line at dustin@zeitgeistgames.com.

I would also be happy to answer any other questions about the setting, but I don't want it to drone on and get annoying. Lets just say that I will follow the EnWorld lead on that.

Dustin