HAWK & MOOR Book 2: The Dungeons Deep (5e Deluxe Edition)
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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 Two: The Dungeons Deep tells the tale of all that came after Blackmoor in the World of Greyhawk. Herein you will find the adventures of Robilar¸ Tenser¸ Terik¸ Murlynd¸ Lessnard¸ Quij¸ Otto¸ and Zagyg the Mad himself. Mysteries such as the Old Guard Kobolds¸ the orc hordes¸ the Thouls¸ the Black Dragon Labyrinth¸ the Great Stone Face¸ the demon lord Fraz-urb'luu¸ the Jeweled Man¸ the Nine Demigods¸ the Isle of the Ape¸ and the slide to Cathay are all explored as well.
HAWK & MOOR Book Two: The Dungeons Deep includes 86¸500 words on over 370 pages¸ supported by over 470 footnotes and annotations. The adventure continues as we delve into the sinister and wondrous dungeons beneath Castle Greyhawk. Prepare yourself¸ take up torch and sword. Come along and experience an unprecedented journey into the Golden Age!
Reader Praise for Hawk & Moor
* Cited in Michael Witwer's Selected Biography for Empire of Imagination (pg. 270)
* "In short... great job¸ fascinating story! You'd think I¸ of all people¸ would be familiar with the 'genesis narrative'¸ but I wasn't.... Thank you for the enormous amount of effort you put into this." (Foulfoot¸ Acaeum)
* "A really wonderful analysis of the origins of Dungeons & Dragons¸ with the best real attempt I have ever seen to reconstruct the contributions of Dave Arneson to the hobby." (5 stars¸ Amazon)
* "Much of this story has never been told before... the author gathered hundreds of forum posts¸ personal interviews¸ and other research into an easily-digestible narrative that entertains as it educates." (5 stars¸ Amazon)
* "If you are looking for a history of D&D this is the book. I am a second gen D&D player¸ cut my teeth on Chainmail and basic¸ had the privilege to meeting all the men in this book. Take it from me¸ I enjoyed and found it to be closest to the truth." (4 stars¸ Amazon)
* "I cannot recommend this series of books highly enough for anyone with a serious interest in the history of D&D in particular and RPGs in general." (5 stars¸ Amazon)
* "Weaves together scarce contemporary primary source material with conflicting thirty-odd year old recollections. It is never dry¸ never bogged down in the influences of the mechanics themselves." (4 stars¸ Goodreads)
* "A fun read that's a mix of historical fact around the business beginnings of TSR and descript