Blackmoor

Supplement II Blackmoor
Blackmoor, what a great name for a campaign. In homage my own campaign is called Dreadmoor. Blackmoor is the second official supplement to the White Box, but the first dungeon adventure campaign, or so the legend goes. Dave Arneson, co-author of the White Box rules, authored the material contained in this supplement and gave it the name of his campaign. There is a nice illustration (of castle Blackmoor?) on the cover and together with the name, this supplement always had a more ominous feel to it for me. Supplement II is organized along the same lines as Supplement I, that is to say it mimics the organization of the White Box. There are three sections, Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure and Underworld & Wilderness Adventures. Under Men & Magic two new character classes are described, the monk and assassin. From what I understand Mr. Arneson liked to experiment with more detailed combat mechanics and in Blackmoor he gives us a taste of this with his hit location percentile mechanic which includes adjustments for height differences and weapon reach. Monsters & Treasure introduces several giant animals, some dinosaurs and undersea creatures such as mermen and sahuagin. New treasures include some magic items directed at underwater adventuring. The Underworld & Wilderness adventure section includes rules for underwater adventures, disease and an adventure from the Loch Gloomen part of Blackmoor, The Temple of the Frog, which I believe is the first published adventure for the game. Temple of the Frog takes up about half of the 60 page book and includes background story, maps and descriptions of various rooms, above and below ground and the treasures and baddies that are present therein. The Temple gives us a brief peek into the world of Blackmoor specifically and by example into the world of limitless imagination that is possible.