Thread by @drskyskull

Time for some #OldSchoolDungeonsAndDragons, and a real treat: Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign, first published in 1977!

So, first things first: who was Dave Arneson (1947-2009)? Arneson was the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, along with Gary Gygax, and really the first person to introduce true fantasy wargaming.

Arneson had introduced fantasy campaigning in 1970 into his wargaming group, and drew upon fantasy elements from Gygax's "Chainmail" combat rules. Arneson met Gygax in 1972 and showed off his campaign setting, which led to the founding of D&D and TSR.

So, to clarify: Gygax had introduced fantasy elements into wargaming, but Arneson was the one who really first made a game out of fantasy storytelling. The fantasy world he built was Blackmoor, which ended up being one of the earliest D&D supplements, too!

So, that Blackmoor supplement, despite the name, didn't actually have much in the way of actual details about the world of Blackmoor, other than the first published RPG adventure: The Temple of the Frog, which later was made into a modern TSR release.

In 1976, Arneson and Gygax had a major falling out. Arneson left the company, and in 1977 TSR actually claimed it owed him no royalties! He ended up suing them, multiple times. Meanwhile, also in 1977, Arneson wrote up Blackmoor as a Judges Guild supplement: "First Fantasy."

First Fantasy is really an odd publication: it is really more of a historical document than a genuine gaming supplement, as it contains miscellaneous notes, tricks, and background that Arneson used in building the fictional world of Blackmoor.

But it is packed with ideas! Here's the table of contents.

The first sections of First Fantasy are really rules for extended wargaming campaigns between factions of Blackmoor. Not surprising, as fantasy RPGs, and Blackmoor itself, evolved from Arneson's (and Gygax's) original wargaming hobby.

We're also treated to a rough early map of some of the northern reaches of the campaign world.

Arneson's campaign is fascinating because (a) it didn't take itself too seriously and (b) lots of RPG tropes hadn't evolved yet. A main Blackmoor villain, "The Egg of Coot," is a weird multi-formed being that, yes, sometimes looks like an egg.

The details become more interesting the further one goes into the book. Important buildings in the town of Blackmoor are introduced, including the "Comeback Inn," which is the main adventure location for the later module DA1: Adventures in Blackmoor.

Castle Blackmoor is also described in some detail. It is now a haunted ruin, and the ghosts of every location are described.

... and, of course, the town of Blackmoor is mapped out. It seems quite small compared to the description in the much later DA1. Apparently Arneson evolved it into a major city by that time.

One of the highlights of the book, however, is a description of the original Castle Blackmoor dungeons, literally the first dungeon RPG adventure ever created! As you can see, the descriptions for the rooms were very, very, simple.

A really neat touch in the many, many levels given (I think there are nine?): the dungeons connect on multiple levels with the sewers of the town.

My favorite thing about the book, though, are plot-generating innovations that would not really be reinvented for years in RPGs. Arneson introduced random "fortune-telling" into his campaign, basically making things as unpredictable for him as for the players.

Note that he mentions "Chance Cards," in capital letters. He doesn't spell it out, but I'm wondering if he meant actual Chance Card from Monopoly? This would be a BRILLIANT way to generate new random craziness.

Bear with me, here: "Go directly to jail?" The PCs are falsely accused of a crime and sent to prison, where they must make a daring escape in order to prove their innocence.

"You have been elected chairman of the board?" One of the PCs is forced to become a public servant, and gets drawn into both mundane tasks as well as political corruption and intrigue.

If we expand to "Community Chest," then "Bank error in your favor" could represent the PCs accidentally coming into possession of a powerful magical artifact that is being sought by multiple sinister groups.

As I said, it's unclear if actual Monopoly cards are what Arneson was thinking about. He also includes a d100 table of events.

But the notion of using cards to drive the story in unexpected directions would return many years later, in my favorite RPG, Torg! In Torg, players can play subplot cards to add some spice to the adventure.

And, finally, I should mention the beautiful maps! First Fantasy comes, as many Judges Guild products did, with two maps: one annotated one for the DM, and another empty one for the players.

Incidentally, you might ask how Arneson managed to design a detailed fantasy campaign setting in that early era? He apparently used an old map of Holland, rotated, as an inspiration. Not easy to see, but one can imagine Blackmoor as sitting where Amsterdam is.

Arneson and Gygax did eventually reconcile, and this allowed Arneson to return to TSR in the mid-80s to pen three adventures set in Blackmoor, which we have discussed before!

And the setting has lived on! In 2004, an edition of the late Arneson's setting was published by Goodman Games. It makes me happy that Arneson's original ideas remain of interest and continue to return to print. /END