Blackmoor Week Day VII

The First Fantasy Campaign has been looked at a little here and there over the years, but I want to call your attention to the best and most extensive review that I am aware of. To do that we have to call back to the year 2009 at one of the better blogs, in fact if I would going to rate blogs it would be in my top five and it is Rob Conley's Bat in the Attic blog. He wrote his review in four parts.

Into the First Fantasy Campaign Part 1 as an aside in the comments there is a link to a relevant blog post Original Blackmoor Maps, but back to the review.

History remembers Statesmen, Philosophers, Kings, and Conquerors. Dave Arneson was none of those. He merely figured out a cool way to have fun that wasn't seen before. Yet in the last quarter of the 20th century and continued into the 21st century his legacy has impacted millions and ignited fires of imagination that still burns today. And it started in a place that only existed in Dave's mind, a place called Blackmoor.

All so very true.

Then we come across a hand sketch by Dave of countryside around Blackmoor. He also make a note that in redrawing this for the map in First Fantasy Campaign that he redrew it to line up with Wilderlands of High Fantasy. The southwest corner of Blackmoor lines up with the northern border of the Valley of the Ancients.

The whole book is full of these kinds of gems and nuggets of gold.

Into the First Fantasy Campaign Part 2 

Also there two illustrations; one of the Comeback Inn, and the other of the Main Gate to Blackmoor Castle. The town maps is one of the better early maps I seen. The most unusual feature is that the town plan is drawn 45 degrees to the grid.

Next we start reading about Blackmoor Castle, the Haunted Rooms, the Catacombs, the Tower, and then a more detailed list of the Haunted Rooms. The map shows the castle from the basement to the 5th floor. Again much of it drawn 45 degrees to the grid. This unusual mapping technique persists throughout many of the map shown in FFC.

Into the First Fantasy Campaign Part 3

You remember how in OD&D Outdoor Survival is listed as one of the resources to run D&D with? Well here is where that came from.

We first start off with a little tidbit that they started using the Outdoor Survival Board after the first year but it wasn't until the third year of play they moved into it. He is goes on to describe the change to the game that resulted because of increasing wandering outdoors.

Then this mysterious statement

Next comes a section called "Magic" Protection Point. Now for a long time this section and the sparseness of the following entries didn't make much sense. It wasn't until I was reading the various old school blogs that I finally had a good guess at what happening.

Yes, you will have to go to his blog to find out what he surmised.

Into the First Fantasy Campaign Part 4 

The next section after the dungeons is Magic Swords & Matrix. Here Dave Arneson give a pair of tables to generate magic swords. The first 'Magic Swords Personality Matrix "Blackmoor" is a bit confusing. At the beginning there is are a list of entries.

Then we get to the Matrix which generates Magic Swords through a series of tables using percentile dice. Interesting that we have Holy Swords, Fighter's Swords, AND Magician's Sword. I guess we know how Dave dealt with the issue of Gandalf wielding a sword.

Yes, that is correct, it really is old school for a Magic-User to use a magic sword.

He closes with this thought

Tomorrow concluding thoughts.

That turned into three weeks later and then he posted this.

Reflections on the First Fantasy Campaign (and First Dungeons) 

My appreciation of the First Fantasy Campaign (my review in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4) didn't really strike until a decade after I bought it. While I like the "window" it opened on the early days, as practical product it left a lot to be desired. But then after a few years of GMing I found myself with same collection of jumbled notes for the Majestic Wilderlands. They meander through different topics, most incomplete and sadly holes from lost fragments. After that realization I appreciated the First Fantasy Campaign a lot more.

The next paragraph is gold, you really do want to read it. 

I wanted to highlight this series of blog posts and encourage Rob Conley to compile it into a pdf and distribute it. This review needs to be out in peoples hands.

Blackmoor Week Day VI

OK, just finished a fun game and getting ready for dinner and when that is over, we'll watch OSU hopefully destroy Penn State. Hope that you got some gaming in today and I also hope you are a football fan. 

So hopefully tomorrow I will find the energy to tell you about our game today. So I'm out of here, time for food and football.

Oh and if you did not get to game this today, then make plans to do so soon. Raise a glass to the memory of Dave Arneson and Blackmoor.


Update: Ohio State escapes Penn State with a win 27-26 when Penn State on 4th and 5 makes a bad call and doesn't put the ball in the hands of their quarterback who gained 175 yards rushing. That mistake gave OSU the win. I never would have thought OSU could play that bad and walk away with a win. 

Blackmoor Week Day V

It's that time of year and Blackmoor Week is here! What are you doing this year to celebrate Blackmoor week and Dave Arneson's Birthday?

As for me, I'm getting with some friends and plan to spend Saturday gaming. We're doing it like Dave Arneson, a fully home brewed world and the game never slows down it just keeps moving fast and free. A pure sandbox, with thousands of hooks, a living world, no tracks, no scripts, real D&D. The players decisions move the game in any direction they want to go.

I admit, I am spoiled, I have no decision challenged players. If your players are decision challenged? If they dither and debate? If hours pass and they are still trying to make a decision, it is your fault as the referee. Wandering monsters and TPK's are a beautiful thing. Your players will learn that when you make decisions in seconds in real time, when the game moves at a breakneck pace, when both players and the ref are pushed to your limits, then you can find the magic that takes immersion deeper and deeper and makes the game come alive.

Your players have to learn to follow their instincts, learn not to over think things, learn not to react, but to take the initiative and act. In sports the aggressor has an advantage, when playing D&D the aggressor has an advantage. I am not talking about killing everything in sight, none of that murderhobo garbage, no I am talking about being proactive instead of waiting for things to happen. He who hesitates, loses. Don't be a loser, be proactive and decisive and survive and thrive.

Play like Dave Arneson, survive and thrive!

Blackmoor Week Day IV

Another place that has some Blackmoor/First Fantasy Campaign/Dave Arneson discussion is at this link. This area of the forum is young, but we are interested in fleshing it out with some good discussion.

The current topics that have been started are

Rules to the Game of Dungeon (1974)

Blackmoor what edition?

Arneson initiative

Does the new timeline downplay Arneson's contributions?

Theory Location the real Blackmoor in Greyhawk

Lost Tonisborg

Arnesoniana

An Overview of the First Fantasy Campaign

Family rules?

Should we call historians to account for distorting Arneson?

Did Gygax actually prefer Arneson's Spell Point system?

Have you used the FFC?

First Fantasy Campaign

Who is a Blackmoor Fan?

Maybe you have a topic of your own or some comments to add.

Blackmoor Week Day III

As you get ready to game this week to celebrate Blackmoor Week and Dave Arneson Day, take a look at Dave Arneson's Website which is still mostly up. (when you go to the site it will download a sound file which you can accept or refuse - your choice)

More importantly at this page you can download

The original Campaign World!BlackmoorClick of the map to the side for a downloadable map for printing on a 8x11 sheet at 300 dpi. 

 and you can download

The Original Campaign Books by once published by TSR, Copywrite by Dave Arneson, all rights reserved. Download is for personal use only and no rights given.Originally it was the campaign Dave created and had for all his role-playing games that evolved into what we know as D&D. This world then was ready to publish and was to help launch the new era. But the new president of TSR just finished creating his own world and in fashion the company published his works first. You can see the dates inside the cover point out Blackmoor was first even in the Copyrights. Greyhawk was produced later despite the label Supplement 1, and Blackmoor with its earlier date points out that it really is Supplement 1.More information coming on examples and proofs.Click on Blackmoor campaign book image to download the PDF version of the original books.

Blackmoor Week Day II

To properly celebrate Dave Arneson's Birthday and Blackmoor week just follow one or more of these links

The Official Blog 

 

One of several forums with Blackmoor Discussion 

Visit the Facebook Group 

 

Celebrate Dave Arneson Game Day on October 1st (many sites)

Blackmoor Week Day I

It is that time of year again and Blackmoor Week and celebrating Dave Arneson's Birthday is upon us. 

To get in the mood go here to see a Blackmoor Tribute painting by Kevin Mayle

Update on Misattribution in a Signature over on the Troll Lords forums

I posted back in 2015 about the Misattribution in a Signature over on the Troll Lords forums of one of my quotes and since I don't go to the Troll Lords forums, I assumed that it would be fixed, since it is such a minor thing and sieg posts under the name sieg lots of places in current use.

To recap, sieg, claims in his signature that Tim Kask said this

Always remember, as a first principle of all D&D: playing BtB is not now, never was and never will be old school.

But that is not true, it is a quote of mine that I had in my signature for a long time preceding the linked posting with Tim Kask in the linked thread at Dragonsfoot. 

So I checked the other day and to my surprise this was never corrected.

So I went to Troll Lords forums and created an account, which I didn't really want to do since they don't produce any products that I have any interest in, since none of them are what I would consider old school or even to have old school roots.

So I posted in this thread and requested that it be fixed. I laid my case out and I closed with this statement

Seeing as how @sieg has not logged in here in about 8 years, I don't suppose there is anyway to get his signature corrected, but it would be nice if it could be.
Thank you for your time, Crimhthan The Great

I was a model of civility in my post, so the response I got was to be mocked by several posters, including sieg who now goes by DMMike.  The last response in the thread I saw was dated Monday August 27, 2018 at 9:15PM. If anyone responded after that I am now unable to see the thread or the forum.

I originally said back in 2015

Sieg was also posting in that DF thread, but I am not sure why he misattributed the quote, but if anyone is currently a member of DF and/or Troll Lords and knows Sieg please bring it to his attention. Please note that I do not think it was deliberate. 

Given my treatment in the thread, I no longer believe that it was not deliberate. 

So I will state that I object to the theft of my IP and I will post about this from time to time to set the record straight and remind people that that IP is mine and not Tim Kask's. I am curious about how Tim Kask feels having my IP attributed to him, but I will probably never know since I do not share any forum memberships with him anymore. He of course is not responsible for any of this.

On top of that, Troll Lords took the step of banning me without any warning or contact at all. You can imagine what my opinion of Troll Lords is at this point.

I emailed their Admin, but he did not reply to my email. Somehow I am not surprised.

Update 9/23/18: Still no reply and still no correction. Shame on them.

Update 10/25/18: sieg aka dmmike claims that 

Partially true, though I'd wanted to move beyond the sieg persona for a while. 

Uh-huh, he wants to move beyond  the sieg persona so much that he still posts over at http://odd74.proboards.com and at https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/ under the sieg persona having not bothered to create a second account under the dmmike name at either forum. They have still not corrected the misinformation, so at this point I must assume that all of it is deliberate and that there is no legitimate reason why he can not login to that account and change the signature.