Publisher Blurb:
Within the pages of this book, you will find maps and writings by David Arneson as he recounts the events and people in his Blackmoor, a living game environment that gamers are still experiencing over 50 years later.
With the emergence of more historical documents, it's undeniable that Dave Arneson pioneered the play methods used in every role-playing game since the birth of Blackmoor in 1971.
His invention is both a new kind of game like no other in history and a complex imaginary world that has come to be known as the first fantasy campaign.
Blackmoor Foundations is the most comprehensive collection of ephemera from the early years of Arneson's Blackmoor ever published. It's a treasure trove of gaming history.
Covering a period from 1971 to 1985, these documents reveal how Arneson's Blackmoor campaign arose from a few simple referee notes and maps to evolve into an extensive imaginary world with multiple referees and over a hundred active player personas.
Each set of document reproductions comes with commentary by Griffith M. Morgan III, co-director and writer of the documentary film Secrets of Blackmoor. He guides you through the complexity of Arneson's creation, including its game history and world lore.
This collection, much of which has only recently been discovered, is an astounding glimpse into the historical writings that remain from Arneson's life. Yet, it can also be a guide to creating your own version of Blackmoor for you and your friends to play in.
Blackmoor Foundations is a must-have reference book for your games library, whether you are a historian, a gamer, or both.
Table of Contents:
“All Roads Lead to Blackmoor” 1
The Blackmoor Campaign Overview 3
Blackmoor Cartography 6
Blackmoor Rough Sketch Map 7
Blackmoor and Environs Map 9
Blackmoor Mimeo Map 11
The Mimeo Map with Borders and Domain Names 13 Blackmoor Town Map 15
The Southern Frontiers Map 17
The Fletcher Rendering of Blackmoor Town 19
Blackmoor Surrounding Landscape Map 21
Blackmoor Isometric Maps 23
The Notices from Corner of the Table Top 32
The Spanish Royals Character Matrix 37
New Discoveries from the Fletcher Collection: The Blackmoor Sagas 40
The Fletcher Sagas 41
Return to Black Moor 43
The Dungeons of Black Moore Castle 61
Into the Depths of Blackmoor Dungeons and Back 67
The Blackmoor Gazette and Rumor Monger & The Lock Gloomen Reports 76
Gertie Has Kiddies 77
“Castle Burned While Heros Away” 79
The Loch Gloomen Report 81
Later Writing About Blackmoor 84
General Improvements to Blackmoor Castle 85
Dateline Blackmoor 89
Myth and Mythos 93
Arneson Showed the World a Whole New Way to Play Games 103