Games - Arduin

	Games - Arduin

Arduin is a role-playing game set in the mythical world created by the late David A. Hargrave in the mid to late 1970s. Hargrave's ideas included aspects of high fantasy, science fiction and horror, and became so popular that Hargrave was inspired to publish his material. Hargrave's work broke ground 30 years ago that is being touted as cutting edge today; everything from interstellar war to cybernetic enhancements, superhero powers, horror and fantasy were all (and still are) found in his games and game systems.

Arduin was one of the earliest challengers to TSR's Dungeons & Dragons
and through various publishers and incarnations remains as viable today as at its inception as a self published game. Initially self-published, his early world of Arduin works were later published by Grimoire Games. In the later years of his life, Hargrave produced 5 more Arduin titles. The Arduin publications listed in this article are now owned and published by Emperor’s Choice Games and Miniatures.

The first three Arduin books (The Arduin Grimoire, Welcome to Skull Tower, and The Runes Of Doom) contained spells, classes, monsters, etc, which expanded on a presumed core of roleplaying as it existed in the late 1970s. With the publication of "The Arduin Adventure" a true standalone system began to evolve. The Arduin books also had the "look and feel" of early roleplay supplements as tan-colored digest-sized publications. The later books (from "The Lost Grimoire" forward) deviated much more from standard concepts and assumptions. Overall, the books show the evolution from 'house rules' to a truly separate set of roleplay rules. This latter came to fruition with the publication of Compleat Arduin, books 1 and 2 by Dave Hargrave, edited by Mark Schynert and published by Grimoire Games.

Arduin publications

Arduin Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire Volume I) (c)1977. At least two different editions of this volume exist. These editions differ via cover artwork.
Welcome to Skull Tower (Arduin Grimoire Volume II) (c)1978.
The Runes of Doom (Arduin Grimoire Volume III) (c)1978. The first printings of the first three books were self published by Dave Hargrave.
The Arduin Trilogy is a box set containing the first three Arduin Grimoires and published by Grimoire Games.
The Arduin Adventure (c)1980. Arduin introductory boxed set, with the Arduin Adventure book (which also was available separately), plus a few sheets of magical items, three character sheets and 2 d20.
Revised Arduin: A Primer - by David A. Hargrave, (c)1984. It is a short (11 page) booklet that outlines the "battle factor" system featured in Compleat Arduin.
The Lost Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire Volume IV) (c)1984
Dark Dreams (Arduin Grimoire Volume V) (c)1985
The House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire Volume VI) (c)1986
Shadow Lands (Arduin Grimoire Volume VII) (c)1987
Winds of Chance (Arduin Grimoire Volume VIII) (c)1988
Compleat Arduin, Book One; The Rules, (c)1992
Compleat Arduin, Book Two; Resources, (c)1992
End War (Arduin Grimoire Vol IX) (c)2002

NOTE: Reprints and revisions of these volumes are copyrighted and available from Emperor's Choice Games and Miniatures (excepting "End War," which is not a reprint or revision).

Cardstock Items Published by Grimoire Games

Monsters from Arduin (24 monster cards)
Magic Weapons from Arduin (24 weapon cards)
Magic Artifacts from Arduin (24 Artifact cards)
Arduin Character Pak (illustrated character sheets). Also is listed as "Arduin Character Sheets Combined Pack" elsewhere. This is a set of 24 character sheets for different Arduin races / character classes. Each sheet has a unique illustration.
Arduin Treasure Pack (a combination of the three items above).

Reprints of the Arduin Treasure Pack are available through Emperor's Choice Games and Miniatures).

Arduin Dungeons

Arduin Dungeon No. 1: Caliban (mid level adventure)
Arduin Dungeon No. 2: The Howling Tower (low-level adventure)
Arduin Dungeon No. 3: The Citadel of Thunder
Arduin Dungeon No. 4: Death Heart (high-level wilderness and dungeon adventures)

Recent Arduin Publications

The Map of Arduin; A 2' x 3' four color poster-sized map of the Country of Arduin printed on parchment complete with legend and scale.
The World of Khaas: The Legendary Lands of Arduin; A world guide to the country of Arduin and the world and continent upon which it rests. 865 pages of world/campaign material. Unique for size and the absence of any game mechanics.
SWORDS AND DRAGONS Fantasy Card Game; Fantasy themed card game from the world of Arduin.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Arduin ]

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