HAWK & MOOR Book 4: Of Demons and Fallen Idols (d20)
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THE CREATION of the world's preeminent Fantasy Role-Playing Game (FRPG)¸ Dungeons & Dragons¸ is one of the most fascinating tales to be told in all the shared histories of entertainment¸ play and game design. Two very different men¸ David Lance Arneson and Ernest Gary Gygax¸ undertook an unprecedented collaboration which gifted us - as their shared legacy - with one of the most intriguing games the world has yet experienced. Their game did not just simulate one isolate corner of reality; it dared to encompass the entirety of all realms of adventure¸ the consensual playground of the human imagination.
HAWK & MOOR tells the story of Dave and Gary¸ and the many other people whose efforts gave first life to the game we know and love today. Arneson had spectacular ideas¸ but Gygax knew how to refine them. Collaboration soon turned to conflict as Arneson believed his game was being taken from him¸ and Gygax crystallized systems where incomprehensible riddles had stood before. Both men were creative geniuses¸ but the game they created from Gygax's Chainmail (1971) was the end result not only of their teamwork¸ but also of their clashes and disagreements.
HAWK & MOOR Book IV: Of Demons and Fallen Idols tells the tale of 1976¸ when the Original D&D game reached its fullest form and the designs of both Basic D&D (with Dr. John Eric Holmes) and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (without Dave Arneson) finally began. This tome includes the last known tales of Lord Robilar¸ and features further adventures chronicling The Monk With No Name¸ the Striped Mage of Greyhawk¸ and Mordenkainen's journey with Robilar to the City of the Gods.
Other major events featured herein include: the opening of the Dungeon Hobby Shop; more chronicles of the Blackmoor campaign; Dave Arneson's time and tribulations with TSR; the publications of Eldritch Wizardry¸ Gods¸ Demi-Gods & Heroes¸ and Swords & Spells; the design and release of the Lankhmar game with Fritz Leiber and Harry Fischer (the Gray Mouser); the publication of Metamorphosis Alpha; the dawn of The Dragon; the celebrations of Gen Con IX and Origins II; the rise of Judge's Guild and the City State of the Invincible Overlord; and the classic dungeons featured in Palace of the Vampire Queen¸ Expedition to the Barrier Peaks¸ The Dungeoneer #1¸ and The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth. An elaborate chronology of these and many other events from 1976 is included as an appendix for easy reference as well.
HAWK & MOOR Book Four: Of Demons and Fallen Idols includes 70¸800 words on over 210 pages¸ supported by 458 footnotes and annotations. Prepare yourself¸ take up torch and sword. Come along and experience an unprecedented journey into the Golden Age!