For my campaign I have toyed with the idea of an ”ultimate” Blackmoor. Ultimate should be read in the sense of Marvel Comics’s Ultimate series, where the most unusual and interesting features are exaggerated.
Sword & Sorcery
I wanted to make this campaign as different from the campaigns I have ran as possible. Making it more Sword and Sorcery and less Tolkienesque was an obvious way to go. Many of the entries below fit within this category.
Humans
Part of reducing the Tolkienesque element of the setting was reducing the importance of demihumans. Elves, dwarves and halflings still exist in the setting, but they don’t play an important role. This allows me to put more emphasis on the human cultures of the North, which are IMO perhaps the most interesting ones.
Chaos vs. Order – Cities vs. Wilderness
This typical Sword & Sorcery theme is already apparent in Blackmoor. The conflict between Blackmoor and its northern barbarian neighbours on the one hand, and the decadence of Thonia and the Duchy of the Peaks on the other. The idealized barbarian is represented through Marfelt, though a dark version of Chaos is also clearly present through the Afridhi, the Skandaharians and the Egg.
The Peshwa are another example of the idealized barbarians. Although they have yet to make their appearance IMC, I plan on using them as a parallel to the Fremen from the Dune series. A sort of noble folk of the wilderness.
The North
The region of Blackmoor is known as the North, and I wanted to make that mean something. I made the climate more like that of northern Europe, and did the same with the fauna. The biggest consequence of this decision was the reimagining of the Dismal Swamp as a great northern marshland, rather than a classical Louisiana-style swampland as I had originally imagined it to be. Aligators and Gatormen are also generally out, but Frogs of all sizes and shapes as well as Salamanders works well. Lizardmen become Salamandermen.
Furthermore, I decided that dinosaurs were out. I still wanted to keep the ancient world feel, but since this was the North, Ice Age style creatures seemed more appropriate: Wooly Mammoths, Wooly Rhinos, Saber-toothed Tigers and Great Eagles are all present in the campaign.
Cthulhu Mythos – R.E. Howard style
The imagery of the Cthulhu Mythos has always been fascinating, though I had no interest in running a CoC campaign. Rather, I wanted to present the Cthulhu Mythos as seen in R.E. Howard’s Conan stories. Dark Gods and gloomy cults exist, but mainly to be defeated. The Cult of the Swamp God (Frog) and the Sphere of Qo’uth (Egg of Coot) are reimagined through this imagery.
Technology
Technology is another feature of Blackmoor that is not so often seen in traditional fantasy settings. At the same time, I knew there was no way I could pull off introducing Star Trek style technology the way it was done in the DA series. Technology here became a representation of magic. Wizards were the ones creating Golem-like warriors and other technology, and as far as mortals know, the wonders of Valley of the Ancients were created by long dead wizards.
Another source of technology in my Blackmoor is the Egg of Coot, or as it is known here; the Dark Sphere or the Sphere of Q’uath. The Technology of Q’uath is a sinister and dark form of technology crossed with black magic and necromancy. Technologically enhanced undead is the most common form seen of the Technology of Q’uath.
Mystara’s past
I have been back and forth about how much Mystara can add to a Blackmoor campaign and vice versa. At the moment I feel that they do in fact add something, especially if the players know and love both settings. Since my players were familiar with Mystara, I decided to emphasize that this was Mystara as it had been in ancient times. Again, adding pre-historic creatures helped, and while I usually present Mystara as a Renaissance setting. Blackmoor was clearly an Ancient World/Dark Ages mix.
I have also decided to replace Orcs, Goblins, Trolls and the like with Beastmen. I still use the game statistics of the above, but change their descriptions making it clear that these are the ancestors of the creatures usually seen in other campaign settings.
Mystara’s past
I have also decided to replace Orcs, Goblins, Trolls and the like with Beastmen. I still use the game statistics of the above, but change their descriptions making it clear that these are the ancestors of the creatures usually seen in other campaign settings.
This sounds like a really good idea in general for Mystara's ancient past. I have to say I like all these suggestions quite a bit. Looks like its going to be a great campaign.
I have to ask one question that has been bugging me for a long time. I have heard about it over and over again but what exactly is the Egg of Coot?
This sounds like a really good idea in general for Mystara's ancient past. I have to say I like all these suggestions quite a bit. Looks like its going to be a great campaign.
Thanks! There are arguments to be considered that Orcs, Goblins and the like could already have begun developing at the time of Blackmoor, but one of the things I wanted to do was to create a sense of Blackmoor being different, and having only hints of what will become Mystara.
Blackmoor itself is a sort of Camelot, in many ways more advanced than the surrounding world, which has more of an ancient world feel to it.
The Campaign has already started actually. We have ran a few sessions, dealing with the Skandaharian threat so far. I am planning on taking them into the swamps next...
I have to ask one question that has been bugging me for a long time. I have heard about it over and over again but what exactly is the Egg of Coot?
Very little is revealed on the Egg of Coot in Arneson's own writings and later products have made sure to keep the details a mystery. What we do know is that the Egg is probably the most powerful of Blackmoor's enemies. A being of great magical power with fanatical followers.
IMC the Egg is a Cthulhuesque Demi-God. Probably one of the servitors of the Outer Beings. Arneson mentions how the Egg is know to be able to create magical items. IMC I made this power into a technomantic one, giving the servants of the Egg dark technomantic items or even weird cyberware-like enhancements. The technology is not true science though, but imagine zombies with wires protuding from their necks and jagged blades grafted to their hands. That sort of thing...
Havard
The alien ship made of gold in the Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker - which is top notch sword-and-sorcery with buried, unthinkably ancient sci-fi elements underneath - would also be excellent inspiration.
I imagine the Egg of Coot as an H.R. Giger style biomechanical horror. Maybe this one or this one or this or this or this or this.
The alien ship made of gold in the Prince of Nothing trilogy by R. Scott Bakker - which is top notch sword-and-sorcery with buried, unthinkably ancient sci-fi elements underneath - would also be excellent inspiration.
Thanks for posting these images Rip!
I agree that the Gigeresque feel is appropriate. I would make it more as Giger appears in the Aliens movies though; that is making things more organic, added slime, goo and smoke, and making things a bit darker than in the images you provided. Still, you have definately got something going there.
I think I will check out that R. Scott Bakker trilogy you mention. Sounds like a place where I can steal some ideas...
IMC the Egg is definately Egg shaped, and quite large, though the lower parts are hidden by its throne-like entrenchment in the ground. A large number of biomechanical hands protude from the throne and are controlled by the Egg, though probably not attached to its body.
It communicates mentally only, and all of its servants are "mentally conditioned" into becoming fanatically loyal to the Egg.
The most powerful servant of the Egg is Lord Ran (aka The Ran of Ah Foo), a techno lich who was somehow able to resist the Eggs mind control enough to escape and has later taken over the Duchy of Ten.
Another servant is Lord Maroch (aka Moorcock the Slayer), a Technologically enhanced Blackguard Paladin/Avenger often seen outside the lands of the Egg. He is really a hands-on kind of badguy.
Havard