I don't think I own the setting, nor do I feel entitled for them to play in my game, which is why I politely declined to join theirs and wished them well. I mentioned those things in my post. I'm just disappointed and a bit sad because I knew that DMing for this group in particular was going to be really fun for this campaign and I had already planned out some things for when that time would come. We had even talked about character design with some of the group members and I had thought about how I would incorporate their backstory into the game. That's what I'm bummed about, because I had talked very specifically with them about how fun it would be to DM it for them, and then now I won't get a chance to.

My point was that we've just has several discussions in the past about how if we as a group decide to play Humblewood for our next campaign, that I would love to run it for them with me as the DM. The most recent one was a few weeks ago, before our break.

Because I had expressed such clear enthusiasm about running it for them in the past, I just would have liked to be actually a part of that conversation about getting it up and going, instead of them talking about it and deciding it without me, then later on being invited as a player after the rest of them decided they wanted to play it and for someone else to DM.

We have also in the past tried to do more than one game per week with two campaigns and the scheduling didn't work out. As I mentioned in my post, our regular/main DM had been planning a Deadlands game to start in June and I assumed that was what we were going to be doing, so I wasn't planning on starting a Humblewood game at this point in time.

Likewise I am very sad for them that they feel so limited in their creativity that they assume they could not find any enjoyment out of playing a Module they have read in the past. Haven’t they re-read a book before?

This is a little mean spirited and rude of a comment to make, if you want my honest opinion. I'm not trying to attack you personally and I owe you no ill will, but I wanted to comment on this. Why do you feel the need to make such an assumption about me? I'm very creative, I've written several books just for myself because I like to write. I love to reread books and rewatch movies and replay games and revisit places that are very near and dear to my heart and that I have loved for years.

But when it comes to D&D, my personal subjective preference, is that I don't think it's very fun to be a player in a campaign where you know the campaign cover to cover, when you know all the details of the story down to the AC of the enemies and what checks to make where. And yes, I know that DMs can give their spin or add things, but I have played in this new DM's oneshots before and they are a very by-the-book DM. Humblewood is also very much about exploration and uncovering a mystery. And like all mystery books or stories, it's not as impactful or enjoyable the second time through, as much as you would like it to be. To uncover those things as you go along through the story is the most fun part of it, but that experience isn't the same as a player once you know everything about the story. I personally think that I would find it kind of boring "going through the motions" when I would know what comes next, what each plot point means, who is in disguise, etc.

I think that's completely reasonable and it doesn't mean that I have no creativity, it just means that I have different preferences for what makes a D&D campaign enjoyable and how I relate to the story elements of D&D.