Odd question, Dave Arneson.

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Silverlion

Silverlion

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I had an odd question about Dave Arneson, I could have sworn he was working on or had released a game of his own with Dragon in the title, not abnormal for fantasy, but I can't seem to find mention of it. Has anyone heard of such a thing, another RPG by Arneson?
 
Oh, okay, I don't know then. I had Adventures In Fantasy once but I didn't hang on to it.
 
Silverlion said:
I had an odd question about Dave Arneson, I could have sworn he was working on or had released a game of his own with Dragon in the title, not abnormal for fantasy, but I can't seem to find mention of it. Has anyone heard of such a thing, another RPG by Arneson?
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You are probably thinking of Dragons at Dawn which was not written by Dave Arneson but claimed to recreate closely the system he used prior to the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons. The basic methodology used by D.H. Boggs was to take all the collective anecdotes scattered around the various old school forums along with the few sources we have like First Fantasy Campaign. Then create a RPG from that material.

As for how accurate it is?

Mmmmm.... if you think OD&D has a lot of guesswork, then extant knowledge of Dave' rules prior to Gygax writing OD&D is an order of magnitude worst.

For example this comment by Jon Peterson who wrote Playing at the World

1612069203786.png

What definitely known that Dave had a binder, and the contents of that binder morphed over the years. Took a radical turn after OD&D was released but Dave still ran Blackmoor in the same free-from style he did prior to OD&D releases. The specifics depend on when the person you are asking played with Dave.

If you want to run a campaign the way Dave did it, create a setting, sketch out a system for yourself that will handle your setting, pitch a campaign based on that setting, ask the players what kind of character they want to play. Based on that have them make some rolls and write up as much as they need to know about any mechanics or background. Then start playing. If something comes up that wasn't in your sketched out system, make a ruling and make a note of what you ruled. If you get a better idea later, change it.

And on that point everybody pretty much who remembers playing with Dave is consistent on.
 

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robertsconley said:
You are probably thinking of Dragons at Dawn which was not written by Dave Arneson but claimed to recreate closely the system he used prior to the introduction of Dungeons & Dragons. The basic methodology used by D.H. Boggs was to take all the collective anecdotes scattered around the various old school forums along with the few sources we have like First Fantasy Campaign. Then create a RPG from that material.

As for how accurate it is?

Mmmmm.... if you think OD&D has a lot of guesswork, then extant knowledge of Dave' rules prior to Gygax writing OD&D is an order of magnitude worst.

For example this comment by Jon Peterson who wrote Playing at the World

View attachment 26206

What definitely known that Dave had a binder, and the contents of that binder morphed over the years. Took a radical turn after OD&D was released but Dave still ran Blackmoor in the same free-from style he did prior to OD&D releases. The specifics depend on when the person you are asking played with Dave.

If you want to run a campaign the way Dave did it, create a setting, sketch out a system for yourself that will handle your setting, pitch a campaign based on that setting, ask the players what kind of character they want to play. Based on that have them make some rolls and write up as much as they need to know about any mechanics or background. Then start playing. If something comes up that wasn't in your sketched out system, make a ruling and make a note of what you ruled. If you get a better idea later, change it.

And on that point everybody pretty much who remembers playing with Dave is consistent on.
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That wasn't posted in Dragonsfoot, right?
 
The guy who the Blackmoor documentary is selling a dungeon that's supposed to have a set of old rules from included. I was under the impression that they were the Blackmoor rules, but don't quite me on that.
 
Gringnr said:
The guy who the Blackmoor documentary is selling a dungeon that's supposed to have a set of old rules from included. I was under the impression that they were the Blackmoor rules, but don't quite me on that.
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Woah - look at the price !

' It's a one of a kind first printing. Find another dungeon from 1973 that has never been published. Tonisborg Referees is an elite club. There is even a secret forum for Tonisborg Referees. '

' A set of historically accurate game rules have been included that are ideal for developing an original style adventure campaign. '
 
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Gringnr said:
The guy who the Blackmoor documentary is selling a dungeon that's supposed to have a set of old rules from included. I was under the impression that they were the Blackmoor rules, but don't quite me on that.
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Greg Svenson was one of the original players. From past interactions he is fun to interact with and easy to talk too. I have no doubt this project is everybody's best effort at recreating what Greg did on his own at the time.
 
I found a copy of the book, I recall seeing; it is pretty much a "rewrite" of Dragons at Dawn, and notes, how Dave's rules were kept in a binder and modified regularly.
 
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