Mr Welch's Video on DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor

[Havard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC_IF3D ... iurb4-2kkE

Worth a watch. Gives a nice overview of the module itself. He also briefly mentions some of the stories about Dave Arneson's involvement with TSR and the DA modules. There is some mention about the module's connection to Mystara.

I disagree where he says the rights to Blackmoor have been muddled over the years. As I see it, it is pretty simple. Blackmoor is owned by WotC. If they want Blackmoor to return, they can. However, they do not own the rights to the FFC and the ZGG books so they would likely not be allowed to reprint those. That's not really something that would get in their way of making a 5E Blackmoor Hardback should WotC desire to do so however.

This is part of a series Mr Welch / Glen Welch has been making called Welcome to Mystara where he looks at all the Mystara products. This is the first video to tackle a Blackmoor related item however AFAIK.

-Havard

[RobJN]

I was just about to post something about this, but I see as ever, you've snuck in and done so while I was sleeping.

Not a bad broad-brush rundown, though some of the historical stuff could have used some... refinement?

I'll agree that DA1 is more sourcebook than adventure (and delightfully so). It was well worth the $$ I dropped on ebay all those years ago to finally get my hands on a copy.

And, I think when Mr. Welch mentions "muddy," it could be in reference to there being the JG/FFC version of Blackmoor vs. the TSR/Wizbro Greyhawk/Mystara and by extension, the licensed Zeitgeist material from the "modern" era.

The FFC material wasn't licensed by JG, was it, but a direct collaboration? As such, it would make untangling of some bits-and-pieces a bit of a snarl to anything derivative of the JG stuff, if it were to stray off the garden path of what has been previously published by TSR/WotC. Although, really... since WotC owns the name, and the bulk of the history, and the major NPCs.... it should be a no-brainer.

[Havard]

I was just about to post something about this, but I see as ever, you've snuck in and done so while I was sleeping.

Not a bad broad-brush rundown, though some of the historical stuff could have used some... refinement?

Well, that is our job here isn't it?

I'll agree that DA1 is more sourcebook than adventure (and delightfully so). It was well worth the $$ I dropped on ebay all those years ago to finally get my hands on a copy.

I think this is true for alot of CM level modules. But even modules like X1 the Isle of Dread or B2 Keep on the Borderlands have a similar setup where the adventure is less streamlined and more like a setting. But yeah it is a fair description of DA1 and another reason why I keep coming back to it.

And, I think when Mr. Welch mentions "muddy," it could be in reference to there being the JG/FFC version of Blackmoor vs. the TSR/Wizbro Greyhawk/Mystara and by extension, the licensed Zeitgeist material from the "modern" era.

Yep, that is true.

The FFC material wasn't licensed by JG, was it, but a direct collaboration? As such, it would make untangling of some bits-and-pieces a bit of a snarl to anything derivative of the JG stuff, if it were to stray off the garden path of what has been previously published by TSR/WotC. Although, really... since WotC owns the name, and the bulk of the history, and the major NPCs.... it should be a no-brainer.

I think the FFC follows a similar logic as that Living Greyhawk Campaign book that caused some controversy. I forget the title? In any case, WotC allowed it to be published by a 3rd party individual because it wasn't a game supplement, but merely a chroncile of the games they had organized. The FFC similarly chronicles Dave Arneson's campaign, but isn't really written as a proper D&D sourcebook, even by the standards of 1977.

While WotC could get into trouble by say including the dungeon maps for Castle Blackmoor from the FFC, the more obvious route would be to base everything off the materials from Supplement II and the DA modules. That gives you a whole lot of Blackmoor right there. And if they really wanted to use some of the other material, I am sure they could afford to buy out any other involved parties...

-Havard