10-06-2019, 06:46 PM
Greg Wrote:Wow. It would be fascinating to know how Blackmoor would have played out and evolved as more of a sword and sorcery setting, without the influence of Chainmail and high fantasy.
Well, it seems that Arneson, all along until at least the final phase of his Blackmoor campaign, which started arguably around 1977, was happy to adapt any concepts that any of his more seasoned players presented. So, the question whether Arneson had a clear concept of what his take on the fantasy genre was supposed to look like might be somewhat debatable - except that he probably liked Poul Anderson, Zelazny*, and that he displays a clear taste for 50s sci-fi, namely "The Thing for Another World", and E. A. van Voigt. It seems to me, though, as if he had none, beyond that - which is good: That way, the game wasn't a replay of his favorite novels, apart from few more or less well-hidden Easter Eggs.
*I think Zelazny, rather than Howard, might be the source for Arneson's Conan borrowings; I even >> think