Arduin

Arduin is a fantasy role-playing game created in the mid to late 1970s by the late David A. Hargrave.

Decades ago, Arduin broke the kind of ground that today is touted as "cutting edge," and was perhaps the first "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama. His work was, however, based principally upon the traditional (and not so traditional) medieval fantasy genre.

Arduin included aspects of high fantasy, science fiction and horror, and became so popular that Hargrave was inspired to publish his material.

Brief history
Arduin was one of the earliest challengers to TSR's Dungeons & Dragons. The Arduin suite of supplements, dungeon modules, and gaming aids were initially self-published, but were then later produced by Grimoire Games, and then Dragon Tree Press, and currently by both Dragon Tree Press and Emperor's Choice Games and Miniatures.

The Arduin Trilogy
The first three Arduin tomes are known officially as The Arduin Trilogy (The Arduin Grimoire, Welcome to Skull Tower, and The Runes Of Doom). They were intended as supplements to Dungeons & Dragons and not especially as a stand alone system.

The Arduin Trilogy contained unique new spells and character classes, new monsters, and etc., all of which expanded on the presumed core of D&D as it existed in the late 1970s. For example, there were "new cleric spells" but no core cleric class defined in the books; readers were assumed to be using the TSR cleric class and allowing it access to the new spells.

It was only with the publication of The Arduin Adventure that a true standalone system began to evolve.

Overall, the The Arduin Trilogy demonstrates a slow evolution from "House Rules" for D&D to a truly separate gaming system (especially evident with the publication of Compleat Arduin, Books 1 and 2, by David A. Hargrave, edited by Mark Schynert and published by Grimoire Games.

Erol Otus
The first printings of The Arduin Grimoire (The Arduin Trilogy, Vol. 1) contained artwork by Erol Otus, who would later become internationally acclaimed for his illustrations appearing in TSR's Dungeons and Dragons supplements. Erol Otus' artwork was later removed from subsequent printings of The Arduin Grimoire.

Arduin publications

 * 'Arduin Grimoire (Arduin Grimoire Volume I), 1977. At least two different editions of this volume exist. These editions differ via cover artwork and some internal artwork (p. 79, among others).
 * 'Welcome to Skull Tower (Arduin Grimoire Volume II), 1978.
 * 'The Runes of Doom (Arduin Grimoire Volume III), 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, 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, 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), 1984
 * 'Dark Dreams (Arduin Grimoire Volume V), 1985
 * 'The House of the Rising Sun (Arduin Grimoire Volume VI), 1986
 * 'Shadow Lands (Arduin Grimoire Volume VII), 1987
 * 'Winds of Chance (Arduin Grimoire Volume VIII), 1988
 * Compleat Arduin, Book One; The Rules, 1992
 * Compleat Arduin, Book Two; Resources, 1992
 * 'End War (Arduin Grimoire Vol IX), 2002

NOTE: Reprints and revisions of these volumes are 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).

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

Arduin Dungeon Modules

 * 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.

NOTE: These items are available from Emperor's Choice Games and Miniatures.

Miscellaneous
A partial list of adventure areas left behind by David A. Hargrave includes (but is not limited to):


 * The Book of the Shining Land, December/January, 1980-81. Dedication and signature inside front cover. This is a complete campaign area, designed as a generic adventure campaign suitable for insertion into any RPG, written by David for his friend, writer Paul Mosher. It comprises 118 handwritten pages of 10 1/4 x 7 7/8 quad ruled paper in a composition style notebook. It includes a Master Map of the area (approximately 100 miles square) and 59 "keyed" adventure area maps all cross-referenced off of the Master Map.


 * The Book of Dreams of Lost Sardath, October, 1981. Similar in size and concept to The Book of the Shining Land, this work comprises 158 handwritten pages of 10 x 7 7/8 quad ruled paper in a composition style notebook. Includes a Master Map of an area approximately 100 miles square. This work was written by David for his friend, writer Paul Mosher. It comprises a "lost" island kingdom containing 136 villages/towns/cities cross referenced off the Master Map as well as 79 adventure area maps, of which 31 are "keyed".

The above two works comprise what are probably the largest unpublished works penned by David A. Hargrave either individually or collectively.


 * Hive Home, May 1982. A fully functioning Phraint Hive, comprising 4 hand drawn maps of 8 1/2 x 11 architectural paper and 22 pages of handwritten information. Written for his friend, writer Paul Mosher, this is believed to be the only example of a Phraint Hive ever completed by their creator David A. Hargrave.


 * Lancer's Rest by David A. Hargrave, c. October 1987. One of the last game-related items created by Hargrave before his death in 1988. "Lancer's Rest" was designed as an elaborate dungeon/crypt in honor of his friend, writer Lance Mazmanian. Hand-drawn on 8 1/2" x 11" architectural paper. Signed and endorsed with dedication on the back. The dungeon adventure itself was a trap and "Hell Spiral"-filled journey to gain life-prolonging treasure while avoiding Mazmanian's wandering avatar.