One year ago today we lost the Father of Roleplaying. His memory lives on with each roll of the dice. Time flies when you’re having fun that is especially true with roleplaying games especially D&D. So take a moment to reflect on your gaming times and remember Gary, he would have appreciated that.

I would argue that he was the father of role-playing...as it had been around before him. He is the father of AD&D...and may he rot in the seventh plane of hell for his infernal crime.

Paul you are an idiot and a fool. Yes FOOL! Of all the impudence how dare you make such a comment about a person you do not know. I had the good fortune of personally knowing Gary and was able to call him my friend. What you do not know about the man would suprise you. He had a soft spot for children and gave to many charities for such things as clean drinking water in 3rd world countries. He sponsored children to have surgery here in the USA. He gave of his time and talents to groups like AA where he admitted his struggles with alcohol. Gary endevoured to leave this world a better place than when he found it. So for you to have the stupidity to write such comments only shows us what a fool you are.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_role-playing_games


[edit] The 1970s: The first RPGs

Dave Arneson (above) and Gary Gygax (below), authors of Dungeons & Dragons, the first role-playing game in history.The first commercially available role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), was published in 1974 by Gygax’s TSR. TSR marketed the game as a niche product. Gygax expected to sell about 50, 000 copies.[10] After establishing itself in boutique stores it developed a cult following.

The game’s growing success spawned cottage industries and a variety of peripheral products. In a few years other fantasy games appeared, some of which blatantly copied the look and feel of the original game (one of the earliest competitors was Tunnels and Trolls). Along with Dungeons & Dragons, early successes included Chivalry & Sorcery, Traveller, Space Opera and RuneQuest. Live-action groups such as dagorhir were started, and organized gaming conventions and publications such as Dragon Magazine catered to the growing hobby.

TSR launched Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) in the late seventies (retroactively renamed "AD&D 1st Edition" after the debut of AD&D 2nd Edition in 1989). This ambitious project expanded the rules to a small library of hardcover books. These covered such minutiae as the chance of finding a singing sword in a pile of loot or the odds of coaxing gossip from a tavern keeper. Optional modules in the form of small booklets offered prepared adventure settings. The first edition Dungeon Master’s Guide published in 1979 included a recommended reading list of twenty-five authors.


[edit] The 1980s: Growth and controversy
Literary and mythological references helped draw new fans to the game. Success became a mixed blessing for TSR: copyright infringement issues dogged the first edition Deities and Demigods rules book. A public controversy emerged (see below) that brought public attention and improved sales but also stigmatized the game. The company underwent dramatic growth, peaking at 300 employees in 1984.

Translations allowed the hobby to spread to other countries. Traveller was translated into Japanese in 1984, quickly followed by Dungeons & Dragons in 1985.[11] New games began to be produced outside America, such as Drakar och Demoner (1982) in Sweden, The Dark Eye (1983) in Germany, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (1986) in the United Kingdom, ANKH (1989) in Finland and Sword World RPG (1989) in Japan.

Role-playing games began to influence other media. A new genre of computer games arose from early mainframe computer imitations of RPGs, with Akalabeth and Rogue both published in 1980; the genre inherited many of the settings and game mechanics of RPGs as well as the name, and went on to have its own varied history. An animated television series based on Dungeons & Dragons was produced in 1983, also called Dungeons & Dragons.

The second edition of Dungeons & Dragons, launched in 1988, downplayed literary elements to reduce objections. Surviving artifacts of this heritage and its influence on the wider gaming community include widespread use of Tolkienesque character types and the persistence of the gaming term "vorpal." Borrowed from Lewis Carroll’s poem "Jabberwocky, " this was the first edition’s most powerful magic sword.

Up to this stage, each game had tied itself to a particular setting; If a player wanted to play in a science-fiction game and a fantasy game, they had to learn two game systems. Attempts were made in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons to allow cross-genre games using Gamma World and Boot Hill rules, but the obscure rules went largely unused. In 1986, seeking to produce a single, generic game which would meet every gamer’s needs, Steve Jackson Games released GURPS - the "Generic Universal Roleplaying System". GURPS emphasis on its "generic" aspect proved to be a successful marketing tactic; it remained the second-most popular role-playing game system into the 1990s.

GURPS and Champions also served to introduce game balance between player characters to role-playing games. Whereas in Dungeons & Dragons players created characters randomly using dice, newer games began to use a system whereby each player was given a number of character points to spend to get characteristics, skills, advantages, getting more points by accepting low characteristics, disadvantages etc.


[edit] The 1990s: Sophistication and decline
The game Ars Magica, originally published in 1988, emphasised characterisation and storytelling over game mechanics and combat. The game was acquired by White Wolf, Inc., who took the same approach to their 1991 game Vampire: The Masquerade, a gothic horror themed game whose setting appealed to the growing Goth subculture; the game was a huge success and spawned a huge number of spinoffs which were brought together as the World of Darkness. This style of storytelling game lent itself well to live-action role-playing games.

The fall of communism allowed the hobby to spread even further. A Polish RPG magazine, Magia i Miecz (Magic and Sword), was published, and soon several Polish role-playing games followed, with other post-communist countries soon joining in.

With advances in home computing, computer role-playing games increased in popularity. These games, which use settings and game-mechanics found in role-playing games, do not require a gamemaster or require a player to remain in-character. Although they helped to introduce new gamers to the hobby, the demands of time and money on players were split between the two.

In 1993, Peter Adkison and Richard Garfield, a doctoral candidate in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, released a competitive card collecting game with a fantasy setting reminiscent of fantasy role-playing games called Magic: The Gathering. The game was extremely successful, and its publishers Wizards of the Coast (WotC) experienced phenomenal growth; A new genre of collectible card games emerged. The sudden appearance and remarkable popularity of Magic took many gamers (and game publishing companies) by surprise, as they tried to keep pace with fads and changes in the public opinion.[12]

As printing technology improved, buyers’ expectations increased and the increased printing costs needed to meet them was passed on to the customer. TSR found itself involved in litigation against file sharers who were bootlegging RPGs. Many FTP sites and webpages that contained material relating to, but not directly copying any copyrighted material, were targeted and attacked by TSR, and some online fans of D&D and RPGs started to refer to TSR as "T$R".

With gamers’ time and money split three ways, the role-playing game industry declined. Articles appeared in Dragon Magazine and other industry magazines foretelling the "end of roleplaying", since face-to-face time was spent playing Magic. TSR’s attempts to become a publishing house further drained their reserves of cash, and the financially troubled company was eventually purchased by Wizards of the Coast in 1997. Needless to say, articles criticising WotC’s game in TSR’s magazine stopped. WotC became a division of Hasbro in 1998 for an estimated $325 million buyout.[5]

Meanwhile critical and theoretical reflection on role-playing game theory was developing. In 1994-95 Inter*Active, (later re-named Interactive Fiction) published a magazine devoted to the study of RPGs. In the late 90’s discussion on the nature of RPGs on rec.games.frp.advocacy generated the Threefold Model. The Scandinavian RPG scene saw several opposing ideological camps about the nature and function of RPGs emerge, which began having regular academic conferences called the knutepunkt conferences, which began in 1997 and continue to today.


[edit] The 2000s: Open gaming and Indie gaming
Frustrated that game supplements suffered far more diminished sales over time than the core books required to play the game, WotC’s Dungeons & Dragons brand manager Ryan Dancey introduced a policy whereby other companies could publish D&D-compatible games under the Open Gaming License. This would spread the cost of supplementing the game and would increase sales of the core books, which could only be published by Wizards of the Coast. The new D&D rules became known as the d20 system, and a System Reference Document was published, containing all the rules needed to write a supplement or run a one-off game, but lacking the character advancement rules necessary for long-term play. The open gaming movement enjoyed a great deal of success, although there was some criticism of the move, and a great many d20 System games have been released.

Meanwhile, self-defined "Indie role-playing" communities arose on the internet, studying role-playing and developing the GNS Theory of role-playing games. With the advent of print on demand and PDF publishing, it became possible for these individuals to produce games with tightly-focused designs, eschewing the mainstream trends of the industry.



So Paul where is your arguement Wikipedia recogonizes Gygax as the Co-Creator of the first RPG with Dave Arneson being the other Co-Creator. If these two were not the Fathers of Roleplaying pray tell who is?

Yes he created it, along with Dave. But 1st Edition D&D sucks and is not worth the time spent, 3.5 or 4E is the way to go.

Stoney wrote:
Paul you are an idiot and a fool. Yes FOOL! Of all the impudence how dare you make such a comment about a person you do not know. I had the good fortune of personally knowing Gary and was able to call him my friend. What you do not know about the man would suprise you. He had a soft spot for children and gave to many charities for such things as clean drinking water in 3rd world countries. He sponsored children to have surgery here in the USA. He gave of his time and talents to groups like AA where he admitted his struggles with alcohol. Gary endevoured to leave this world a better place than when he found it. So for you to have the stupidity to write such comments only shows us what a fool you are.

I do not know him. I know nothing about him bar the impression he left on the World via D&D.

I don’t like AD&D. I think it is an atrocity to role-play. So Gygax is a pivotal person of dislike for me as he caused those players to swarm and focus on bad role-play and power gaming which AD&D actually encourages. If Gygax hated what WoTC did with his system then he should have done something about it.

He may be have been a nice guy. However, as I said on the other forum I will have no pity for someone just cause they died if there was none there in the first place.

Though I have nothing against you...so I am sad for your loss.

Paul Bode wrote:




I do not know him. I know nothing about him bar the impression he left on the World via D&D.



I don’t like AD&D. I think it is an atrocity to role-play. So Gygax is a pivotal person of dislike for me as he caused those players to swarm and focus on bad role-play and power gaming which AD&D actually encourages. If Gygax hated what WoTC did with his system then he should have done something about it.



He may be have been a nice guy. However, as I said on the other forum I will have no pity for someone just cause they died if there was none there in the first place.



Though I have nothing against you...so I am sad for your loss.

Oh now Paul you can’t lay bad play at Gary’s feet. Its pretty much an individuals choice to be a dumbass. Most of the One True Way stuff he recanted in his later years-- niche protection isn’t just a function of character classes.

E-mail me any time or come join the 4th edition chat group.

Bog97th wrote:
E-mail me any time or come join the 4th edition chat group.

Nice... spam too.

Sam wrote:

Bog97th wrote:

E-mail me any time or come join the 4th edition chat group.

Nice... spam too.

I thought I smelled something rotting.... and no Paul I wasn’t referring to your sneakers.

I do believe they call’em "trainers" across the Water.

Sam wrote:
I do believe they call’em "trainers" across the Water.

They do indeed. I don’t wear them though as Converse are all the rave at the mo’. They are commonly known as ’Deck shoes’. Three guesses why?

Please see other post for reference to power-play and AD&D. I don’t want to just repeat myself here.

Paul Bode wrote:

Stoney wrote:

Paul you are an idiot and a fool. Yes FOOL! Of all the impudence how dare you make such a comment about a person you do not know. I had the good fortune of personally knowing Gary and was able to call him my friend. What you do not know about the man would suprise you. He had a soft spot for children and gave to many charities for such things as clean drinking water in 3rd world countries. He sponsored children to have surgery here in the USA. He gave of his time and talents to groups like AA where he admitted his struggles with alcohol. Gary endevoured to leave this world a better place than when he found it. So for you to have the stupidity to write such comments only shows us what a fool you are.

I do not know him. I know nothing about him bar the impression he left on the World via D&D.



I don’t like AD&D. I think it is an atrocity to role-play. So Gygax is a pivotal person of dislike for me as he caused those players to swarm and focus on bad role-play and power gaming which AD&D actually encourages. If Gygax hated what WoTC did with his system then he should have done something about it.



He may be have been a nice guy. However, as I said on the other forum I will have no pity for someone just cause they died if there was none there in the first place.



Though I have nothing against you...so I am sad for your loss.

OMG, I thought you were just joking at first, but now I see you are an idiot. There would be NO rpg’s at all without Gygax and AD&D. Old AD&D was an *awesome* game. I like the old boxes and 1st/2nd edition. I liked *some* of third, but 3.5 and 4th are just *so* awful I can’t stomach them. And Gygax was gone from TSR long before WOTC came along. He left before 2nd edition.

Seriously, you are an idiot and have no idea what you are talking about.

Red Jason wrote:
Yes he created it, along with Dave. But 1st Edition D&D sucks and is not worth the time spent, 3.5 or 4E is the way to go.

1st ed was AWESOME. 3.5 and 4 are the ones that suck, and suck royal they do!

I play Ars Magica nowadays anyway, pretty exclusively too. But AD&D (the "A" is important) is the source and origin of all RPG’s. Respect the grandfather.

Marko Markoko wrote:

Paul Bode wrote:

Stoney wrote:


Paul you are an idiot and a fool. Yes FOOL! Of all the impudence how dare you make such a comment about a person you do not know. I had the good fortune of personally knowing Gary and was able to call him my friend. What you do not know about the man would suprise you. He had a soft spot for children and gave to many charities for such things as clean drinking water in 3rd world countries. He sponsored children to have surgery here in the USA. He gave of his time and talents to groups like AA where he admitted his struggles with alcohol. Gary endevoured to leave this world a better place than when he found it. So for you to have the stupidity to write such comments only shows us what a fool you are.

I do not know him. I know nothing about him bar the impression he left on the World via D&D.





I don’t like AD&D. I think it is an atrocity to role-play. So Gygax is a pivotal person of dislike for me as he caused those players to swarm and focus on bad role-play and power gaming which AD&D actually encourages. If Gygax hated what WoTC did with his system then he should have done something about it.





He may be have been a nice guy. However, as I said on the other forum I will have no pity for someone just cause they died if there was none there in the first place.





Though I have nothing against you...so I am sad for your loss.

OMG, I thought you were just joking at first, but now I see you are an idiot. There would be NO rpg’s at all without Gygax and AD&D. Old AD&D was an *awesome* game. I like the old boxes and 1st/2nd edition. I liked *some* of third, but 3.5 and 4th are just *so* awful I can’t stomach them. And Gygax was gone from TSR long before WOTC came along. He left before 2nd edition.



Seriously, you are an idiot and have no idea what you are talking about.

Wow.

Well, just for your information there was other role-playing games about at the time of AD&D, namely the much better Tunnels and Trolls. As for knowledge, I have two degrees; have gamed for over 20 years, story-told and play-tested the original World of Darkness Werewolf for White Wolf. So I would argue I have got something to say on the matter.

So your poor attempt at slurring does not impress me in the slightest. Maybe you should go beyond the confines of D&D and look at some of the other things on the market. However if you are happy by the limits of AD&D and its old and tired stereotypes, then it is your prerogative.

As for the idiot, my god, look at your photo. Fuckwit. Get an education for real, do some reading, then come back and talk to me about the subject.

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Wow.



Well, just for your information there was other role-playing games about at the time of AD&D, namely the much better Tunnels and Trolls. As for knowledge, I have two degrees; have gamed for over 20 years, story-told and play-tested the original World of Darkness Werewolf for White Wolf. So I would argue I have got something to say on the matter.



So your poor attempt at slurring does not impress me in the slightest. Maybe you should go beyond the confines of D&D and look at some of the other things on the market. However if you are happy by the limits of AD&D and its old and tired stereotypes, then it is your prerogative.



As for the idiot, my god, look at your photo. Fuckwit. Get an education for real, do some reading, then come back and talk to me about the subject.

Have an education, a genius level IQ, and I look *awesome* I score plenty, thank you very much. Look, what has me upset is that you are consigning a good man to Hell because you didn’t like his game. And, Fuckwit, D&D came *before* Tunnels & Trolls. That’s where the name alliteration originates from. Also, mister Fuckwit, I have not touched D&D for ten years. The only game I play nowadays is Ars Magica. You may or may not know that Ars Magica is the source and origin of *all* White Wolf games. And if you think having anything to do with the World of Darkness is a mark of pride, you sir have attained the rank of Uber Fuckwit. White Wolf games are garbage. They drained and depleated what they could from Ars Magica and sold it. Ars Magica is now on its fifth edition, I contribute to it. It is rated much higher and outsels WW games.


Idiot.