The First Fantasy Campaign: History of the Points of Interest

"History of the Points of Interest" reprints the second part of Dave Arneson's article "Points of Interest in Black Moor".  Although intended for Domesday Book #14, this was never published (see The Acaeum for details on the single copy known to exist).

Five notable locations are briefly discussed:

Blackmoor Castle:

A short paragraph describing the recent history of Blackmoor Castle, covered in greater depth in a subsequent section "The Blackmoor Castle's History".

The Pits:

A number of seemingly bottomless pits, located near the city walls, occasionally releasing smoke and sulfurous fumes, and rumored to connect with the netherworld.

Large lizard-like creatures and snakes can emerge from the Pits to attack the town or feed on nearby herds (a great opportunity for beginning adventurers to distinguish themselves).

These may correspond to the Chasm depicted on the Town of Blackmoor map.

The Ruins:

Jewel with the Temple of the Id.  Illustration by Ken Simpson, presumably based on the original by Dave Arneson.

The remains of an old temple, devoted to "the Dark Lords of the Egg of Coot", constructed above a network of underground tunnels.  Razed to the ground by the forces of Law centuries ago, except for a small amphitheater with a great Orange Jewel mounted upon a black pedestal.

Additional details are provided in the next section, describing the Town of Blackmoor map.

Wolf's Head Pass:

Situated "some five miles to the northeast of the Castle along the only road that leads to the southern confines of the Egg of Coot" and marking the northern boundary of the Great Kingdom.

Previously mentioned in "The Country" in the section "Facts About Blackmoor".

The Comeback Inn:

"Ye Olde Comeback Inn".  The gallows in front of the Inn are depicted on maps of the Town of Blackmoor.

The opening scene in the seminal game run in November, 1972, by Arneson for Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, in which David Megarry also participated.  Kuntz recalls:

“Arneson described a typical medieval inn and an affable innkeeper who served us; and he also warned us from starting any trouble in his establishment as its patrons were a quiet and simple folk. We all had drinks and checked out the surroundings. A little into this I informed Arneson that my character (we had no names, so it was Garyʼs character, Robʼs, etc.) was stepping outside to get some air.”

“Arneson said, ‘Okay. You come back in.’ I was confused while thinking that he had understood that I stepped out and got air and then, later, came back in. I questioned this and he clarified by noting that when I stepped through the entryway that I indeed found myself walking back into the inn. Magic! I had never exited the inn. We all caught onto the problem at once. We were trapped! Megarry and Arneson either smiled or snickered as we realized what ‘Come Back Inn’ really meant.”

Eventually, the group figured out how to escape the Come Back Inn. Kuntz went on to describe how the adventure continued, with Megarry playing guide, leading them into a castle, an encounter with some humorous magical elves, and then a battle with a troll.

From "Dungeons & Deceptions" in Kotaku, August, 2019

The Comeback Inn figures prominently in DA1 "Adventures in Blackmoor".  (I still remember the expressions on my players' faces when their predicament dawned upon them...)

Blackmoor's Comeback Inn was apparently based on a real-world establishment in Melrose Park, Illinois, frequented by Arneson.  Unfortunately, the pub shut its doors, back in 2004.