The Dreams in Gary's Basement is Finished!

First and foremost..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIK!!!

Kind of interesting Sunday post as I'm starting off celebrating the birth of one gamer while reviewing the life of another.

The Dreams in Gary's Basement (Kickstarter Link) documentary came out this weekend from the Dorks of Yore (Youtube Channel Link). I backed the Kickstarter for $100 which gets my "name" in the credits as well as a digital download (I haven't figured out how to download yet) and some goodies including an extra copy of the DVD/Blu-Ray which I have already promised to Erik a few years ago......so simultaneously an early and belated birthday gift(?). Probably beats the $5 I've been sending him to buy himself a beer.....

The film has been a long time coming, but the Dorks of Yore have been doing a good job communicating the status of the film for the last five years. The documentary is really more about the man and not the game, but the two are appropriately intertwined and I highly recommend seeing this if you appreciate the history of either. I have a few books on the subject and have a copy of Dave Arneson's documentary. I think The Dreams in Gary's Basement did a really good job. There were a few times graphics were repeated and pretty sure one bit of repeated video, but overall I think it was worth the wait.

Oh, and so I can geek out a bit:

Rewatching The Secrets of Blackmoor - The True History of Dungeons & Dragons

Griffith Morgan was kind enough to gift me with a copy of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg. (a more detailed review of Tonisborg is in the works) It's a book that simply reeks with gaming history, and I've been enjoying my time traveling experience. It has, however, put the documentary - The Secrets of Blackmoor, back into the forefront of my thoughts. I decided today, it was time to rewatch it.

I am literally watching as I type this post.

To put it simply, I had forgotten how good The Secrets of Blackmoor was, not just as a gamer and a History Major, but simply for the pure enjoyment of an amazingly well done documentary. I may need to watch this again with Rach. I think she'll enjoy it.

You can rent The Secrets of Blackmoor on Amazon for less than 4 bucks, or own it in digital for less than 11 bucks.

What if everything you knew about the history of Dungeons & Dragons was wrong?

6 Years, 12 Cities, 200 Hours of Interviews, 20,000 Documents and Photos: An unprecedented investigation into the history of D&D - the game that spurred a multi-billion dollar industry.

Be among the first to know the Secrets of Blackmoor.

Blackmoor is the name of a fictional world created by David Arneson. It is also the prototype of Dungeons & Dragons, the first published role playing game. Unlike other fantasy worlds, such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, Blackmoor is a living world that is being explored to this day. Secrets of Blackmoor investigates the origins of the role playing game, through candid interviews, archival footage, and newly discovered artifacts.

In 1963, David Wesely becomes a founding member of a club that includes history buffs, model makers, and miniature collectors. Hiding within the group, however, are a bunch of college students who are interested in war gaming. Within a year, the gamers meet a high school kid named Dave Arneson who is playing war games with his friends in his parents' basement.

These gamers have no idea that they will change the face of this hobby forever. Their only concern for now, is how to simulate the reality of war, and above all, they just want to have fun. Their voracious hunt for new rules and knowledge leads them to the University of Minnesota Library where they discover an old manuscript, Strategos; the American Game of War. Within the dense pages are a few sentences that inspire them.

The influence of Strategos changes how they play their war games. But are they really following these old rules, or have they stumbled onto something truly unique by misinterpreting what it says? Should a game be constrained by rules, like Monopoly, or should there be no boundaries at all, like a game of make believe?

One thing is very clear--something magical was going on in the Twin Cities.

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My Brief Run-In with Dave Arneson

 

Although I've been a big volunteer for a game company squaring-away the "big" convention tournaments, I've only attended GenCon two or three times. I've always been much more a Origins fan.....far more "bang for my buck" and GenCon is just too much, well for me......"too much".

Regardless, I have attended a few times and most importantly for the purposes of today's post, I attended in 2008. I managed to be able to stay after the con closed and helped KenzerCo tear down their booth, something I was able to do quite a few times at Origins. The lead-in pic is from the Steve Jackson Games guys letting me try on the Munchkin head.....despite several extremely poignant warnings and attempts to dissuade me from doing so. It was as hot, sweaty, and post-con nasty as you'd expect a big mascot head to be.....but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me.

That wasn't the only once-in-a-lifetime opportunity during that convention.

Now I'm not sure how many Tavern patrons are aware, but last week (April 7th) was the anniversary of the passing of Dave Arneson. We all seem to remember Gary Gygax's passing, but we have his children running a memorial game convention every year that helps all of us remember.....

Anyway, GenCon 2008 was Dave Arneson's last GenCon with us and I briefly got to meet him at the KenzerCo booth. He was being pushed around in a wheelchair and it just seemed he knew it was his last big con. That seems sad, it did in the moment, but at the same time I have to give the man credit 'cause he was (literally) rolling with it. He was going around giving other game designers/artists these little baggies with d20's and a note in them. I was gifted one of these and they were two Gamescience d20's and the note was on a Westin Hotel sticky notepad:

"Rubbed in the hair of a live game designer

-Dave Arneson"

I've never rolled the dice and being a KoDT/HackMaster fan, the whole "fame rub" on a game designer (there is a long story arc about this in the comic) makes this a special memento in a couple of ways.

Now while I have seen The Secrets of Blackmoor, but I personally don't think I quite "get" Arneson's full contribution to this hobby we all share. I know there are some books I probably should pick up someday that might help, but I already have a few "history" books on the early days of this hobby I haven't gotten around to reading yet as it is.

A Brief (?) Snapshot of my Gaming History-Storytime

Still not Erik, BUT word is that he'll be back today/tomorrow so this might be my last guest post here at the Tavern. I'd tell you to go follow me at my blog(s), but one is secret, one is not about gaming, and one is well, I really need to get back on it. The remaining is Frugal GM, but I don't do stories, rants, or stupid stuff there.

Ok, let's be honest here, I do stupid stuff wherever I am. I really shouldn't kid you guys or myself there.

Like probably everyone reading this blog & post, I'm a gamer. Sure, you can call me a dork, geek, nerd....you wouldn't be the 1st, but "gamer" fits.....dweeb is right out though. These days most folks, ok single women I try to chat up, tend to equate "gamer" with some guy who sits around playing Xbox all day. You think that's bad, wait until you explain you'd rather spend your weekend at a convention sitting around a table rolling dice and pretending to be a Dwarf!

Dueling Dungeons & Dragons Documentaries Lawsuit "Discontinued with Prejudice"

Definition: In the formal legal world a court case that is dismissed with prejudice means that it is dismissed permanently. A case dismissed with prejudice is over and done with, once and for all, and can't be brought back to court.

Remember the dueling D&D documentaries that turned into an expensive lawsuit? I'm not even referring to the dollars involved - it cost the gaming community a true gem or two. Now, hopefully, these gems will see the light of day.

You can read some articles on the original dispute at The NY Times and The Verge

Article @ Reason.com - The Radical Freedom of Dungeons & Dragons

I always enjoy articles that look at the history of Dungeons & Dragons, as they come from differing perspectives. Even the same historical events are seen in a different light. Reason.com's The Radical Freedom of Dungeons & Dragons article is no different.

You might not recognize the name Gary Gygax. But even if you've never rolled a critical fail on a d20, you have almost certainly consumed some movie, TV show, book, comic, computer game, or music influenced by Gygax's most famous creation: Dungeons & Dragons, the world's first and most popular role-playing game. 

The FBI certainly knew who he was. Between 1980 and 1995, agents compiled a dossier on the gaming company TSR Inc. and Gygax, its founder. In 1980, a note on TSR stationary about an assassination plot drew the FBI's attention, leading to a search of the company's offices in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The note turned out to be materials for an upcoming espionage game. 

In 1983, an FBI field report about an investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring in Lake Geneva cryptically references Gygax—but whatever his alleged role was, it has since been heavily redacted by the Bureau. 

The company appears again in FBI reports from 1995, as part of the agency's sprawling investigation into the Unabomber. The FBI was apparently looking into a possible tie between the string of then-unsolved bombings and a bitter legal dispute between TSR and a rival gaming company in Fresno, California. 

In an FBI field report describing the convoluted history of TSR, one source at the company describes the father of role-playing games as "eccentric and frightening," a "drug abuser" who is "known to carry a weapon and was proud of his record of personally answering any letter coming from a prisoner." He would be extremely uncooperative if the FBI tried to interview him, the source warned. 

The report also claims Gygax set up a Liberian holding company to avoid paying taxes and "is known to be a member of the Libertarian Party."

The above is only a small sample of the article linked above.

As for the unnamed source in the FBI field report, I think most anyone with a basic history of Gary's departure from TSR could make an educated guess ;)

BBC News has a 3 Minute Video on the Beginnings of Games Workshop

One of The Tavern's Discord members shared the link to a recent BBC News story on the beginnings of Games Workshop. It clocks in at just under 3 minutes so it won't keep you from doing your usual responsibilities, like writing bills or cleaning the cat's pan ;)

Seriously, its 3 minutes well spent.

Here's the link to the video.

Enjoy.

Wherein ENWorld Makes the Same Faux Pas I Was (Rightfully ) Accused of Years Ago

The release of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia in Print is a big deal. I covered it yesterday. ENWorld posted about it over night.

A few years back, when WotC started releasing (or re-releasing) the classic TSR titles in PDF on RPGNow, I was excited and started posting their releases here at The Tavern nearly in realtime. As I do with reviews, I included the publisher's boilerplate. I also was including Shannon Appelcline's historical pieces that were attached after the boilerplate. I truly don't recall if I gave Shannon credit or not - but as his credit line is the last paragraph of each of the entries, I probably did. I'm an asshole if I didn't.

I was, however, accused of "stealing content" from OneBookShelf in a thread at ENWorld at the time and they were right. The boilerplate is legit, its the product description, but the historical summary? That's wasn't mine to copy the whole cloth of. Quote a few sentences perhaps, but refer back to the source for the rest.

I guess such social graces don't apply to ENWorld. Funniest part? They use the whole historical piece EXCEPT for the author's credit:

Here's the bottom part of the same article on RPGNow:

Oh, and I guess they no longer worry about mentioning articles with affiliate links have such links:

Notice the line just over the posts here at The Tavern?

Its not hard to do. And I mention it again on posts that have affiliate links.

I am far from perfect. I do, however, admit my mistakes and try to not repeat them. I find it amusing to see others commit the exact same mistakes they rightfully called me out on prior.

Jon Peterson Tracks Down Gary Gygax Interview from "Tomorrow" with Tom Snyder (1979) - Audio

When Jon Peterson strikes gold, the man strikes it by the pound.

Yesterday Jon shared the sound file of a TV interview from "Tomorrow" with Tom Snyder from back in 1979 in which Snyder interviews Gary Gygax. It is simply an amazing piece of history that probably hasnt been heard in 38 years.

While you can grab the file directly from Soundcloud I strongly recommend you go to Jon's site - Playing at the World - where he has published a full transcript of the interview.

Good stuff!

Tip of the hat to +Zach H for bringing this to my attention.

Bundle of Holding - Designers. Dragons & More

Yep, this is for the gaming historian in you - Designers, Dragons & More.

Designers & Dragons is probably the best history of RPGs that you can find, and this is coming from a guy who has his BA in History. I'm a history buff, but this is enjoyable reading even if you aren't.

8 bucks gets your the first volume of four of Designers & Dragons: The 70's. Its an amazing read. Can't personally speak for the other two offerings at the 8 buck level, but I'll be checking it out.

For about $18.50 you get the next three volumes of Designers & Dragons as well as Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Again, can't speak about the Hobby Games title, but the next three volumes of Designers & Dragons are an excellent read.

Really, you can't go wrong.

Jon Peterson Comments Upon the Previously Unreleased Syndicated Radio D&D Pilot

You have to give +Jon Peterson a huge amount of credit. When he goes deep into the history of Dungeons & Dragons and into it's dark, forgotten corners he often comes out with D&D Gold. This time, I'd say he hit Platinum.

You can read a bit about the previously unreleased Syndicated Radio D&D Pilot at Jon's Playing at the World blog or even better yet, listen to it and Jon's commentary on Youtube. It's worth the time to listen.

Hawk & Moor - Initial Impressions (D&D History)

I'm not far enough into Hawk & Moor to give a review (10% into the Trilogy according to the Kindle app), but I can give me initial impressions.

- It's approachable and an easy read. In some ways, it reminds me like a Time-Life book, but with abundant footnotes.

- The author admits to connecting the dots and filling in gaps. Not necessarily in a bad way, but with sometimes conflicting source material there are times one needs to make a best guess. There are a number of direct quotes, which is very helpful.

- It succeeds at "paining a picture", as I find myself visualizing certain scenes in my head.

Is it as true to it's source material as Playing at the World? I don't, but Hawk & Moor seems to give more opinions or rather, interpretations, whereas Playing at the World is a drier read with an impartial author's voice.

In any case, I'm thoroughly enjoying Hawk & Moor. At this rate, I'll probably have a review ready (and the trilogy finished) in another week to ten days.

Checking Out "Hawk & Moor" (D&D History)

I have my BA in History (which I am sure uniquely qualified me for my career in law enforcement) and I love reading up on the history of RPGs in general and Dungeons & Dragons in particular. We are talking the history of my hobby, and finding out new bits and pieces I hadn't know prior is like opening a Christmas present early on Christmas morning when you are 8 years old. Simply magic.

Regretfully, Jon Peterson's Playing at the World is a bit to scholarly for me to read with any consistency. I always return to it, but I've been doing that for 6 months and I'm not even halfway thru it. His appearances on the Save or Die Podcast are some of their best episodes, but I can only digest Jon's writing in small doses.

Designer's & Dragons was a very informative and entertaining read the first time thru, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the expanded, four volume set that is being released on Kickstarter. I'm currently plowing my way through the second volume of that series on my Kindle app.

Last night I found Hawk & Moor on Amazon in the Kindle store. I'm not even sure how I found the series. Probably during my search for RPGs that Amazon sells at a discount with Prime shipping. In any case, I found Hawk & Moor, obviously a play on "Greyhawk" and "Blackmoor".

THE CREATION of the world’s preeminent Fantasy Role-Playing Game (FRPG), Dungeons & Dragons, is one of the most fascinating tales to be told in all the shared histories of entertainment, play and game design. Two very different men, David Lance Arneson and Ernest Gary Gygax, undertook an unprecedented collaboration which gifted us — as their shared legacy — with one of the most intriguing games the world has yet experienced. Their game did not just simulate one isolate corner of reality; it dared to encompass the entirety of all realms of adventure, the consensual playground of the human imagination.  

HAWK & MOOR tells the story of Dave and Gary, and the many other people whose efforts gave first life to the game we know and love today. Arneson had spectacular ideas, but Gygax knew how to refine them. Collaboration soon turned to conflict as Arneson believed his game was being taken from him, and Gygax crystallized systems where incomprehensible riddles had stood before. Both men were creative geniuses, but the game they created from Gygax’s Chainmail (1971) was the end result not only of their teamwork, but also of their clashes and disagreements.  

The HAWK & MOOR series chronicles that first legendary game to arise from the Golden Age of Fantasy Role-Playing. This is a special trilogy edition, featuring the full texts of Books One, Two and Three in a single comprehensive volume.  

The tale begins with HAWK & MOOR Book One, The Dragon Rises. Herein you will find Gary’s life story, the history of Gen Con and the Castle & Crusade Society, and details concerning the conception of Castle Greyhawk. This first book also includes new revelations pertaining to Arneson’s Blackmoor and its influences; tales from the Blackmoor Dungeons and Loch Gloomen; details on Gary’s first dungeon adventure; an exploration of the links between H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and the earliest underworld adventures; the secrets of the asylum which inspired Castle Greyhawk; and much more.  

HAWK & MOOR Book Two: The Dungeons Deep tells the tale of all that came after Blackmoor in the World of Greyhawk. Herein you will find the adventures of Robilar, Tenser, Terik, Murlynd, Lessnard, Quij, Otto, and Zagyg the Mad himself. Mysteries such as the Old Guard Kobolds, the orc hordes, the Thouls, the Black Dragon Labyrinth, the Great Stone Face, the demon lord Fraz-urb’luu, the Jeweled Man, the Nine Demigods, the Isle of the Ape, and the slide to Cathay are all explored as well.  

HAWK & MOOR Book III: Lands and Worlds Afar spans the years 1973 through 1975, when TSR surged forth to conquer the wargaming industry and to spread the hobby of fantasy role-playing far and wide. A tragedy in January 1975 forced the reformation of TSR, planting the seeds which would cause E. Gary Gygax to lose control of the company in the even wilder years to come. This devastating loss was worsened by aggressive legal challenges brought forth by the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Nevertheless and through it all, TSR soldiered on. This book is not just a compendium of business maneuvers, however; it is a chronicle of adventure. The dread domains of the Tomb of Horrors, Castle Greyhawk, the Temple of Elemental Evil, Dungeonland and the Temple of the Frog are all unveiled herein through the eyes of Ayelerach, Bigby, Burne, Erac, Erac’s Cousin, Jaroo, Mordenkainen, Robilar, Rufus, Tenser, Terik, Yrag and many other heroes of the Greyhawk campaign.  

Together, these volumes comprise 202,300 words on over 500 pages, supported by over 1,300 footnotes and annotations. 

From what I can see it is only available in Kindle format. $3.99 a volume or $9.99 for the trilogy. Free if you have the Kindle Unlimited package for $9.99 a month.

I was surprised to see that Hawk & Moor: The Steam Tunnel Incident is free for everyone in the Kindle store. Maybe I should have started with this one, as I could have gotten a feel for the author's writing style without having to lay out cash and find out the history of this infamous incident in the early years of the hobby.

I'll follow up with a review as I get deeper into the series, as I just scratched the surface last night. It does look promising.