Where did OUR game come from – History of D&D by Luke Gygax August 23, 2018Zoltar <br /> hi everyone welcome to founders and<br /> legends day here on twitch.tv slash D&D<br /> I’m your host Satine Phoenix and I’m<br /> here with the founder of founders and<br /> legends day Luke Gygax<br /> and Mike Murrells the creative director<br /> of is there more to that<br /> it’s like franchise creative director of<br /> Dungeons & Dragons franchise the world<br /> that gets the flourish yes there is like<br /> a Tildy in there somewhere<br /> I am honored to be here and host this<br /> momentous occasion and before I tell you<br /> what’s about to happen today because I’m<br /> so excited and I literally cannot sit<br /> still until we do this we at D and E<br /> have a present for Luke Gygax even<br /> though it yesterday was his dad’s 80th<br /> birthday the presents for you awesome<br /> thank you the presenting of the presents<br /> I’m excited I love giving presents so<br /> what we have here is a Dungeons &<br /> Dragons ampersand branded wormwood box<br /> in Purple Heart nice thank you so much<br /> appreciate yeah we we love everything<br /> that you do I know that Mike and I go to<br /> Gary Cohn every single year and it<br /> happens to be like one of my favorite<br /> conventions in the whole world but more<br /> than it just being a gaming convention<br /> you have brought you and your family<br /> have brought together people from all<br /> over the world to create what feels like<br /> playing Dungeons & Dragons at the table<br /> into a convention setting meaning you<br /> know you’ve got all these game designers<br /> that come out and fans of the games to<br /> come out and play together and as<br /> somebody who’s all over the place and<br /> does lots of shows and I’m sure you get<br /> this experience or you have this<br /> experience too where you’re just doing a<br /> lot of things and people seem to<br /> recognize you Gary Cohn is a safe place<br /> for people like us and I just want to<br /> thank you and everyone that works on at<br /> Gary Cohn for all<br /> wonderful things that you do thank you<br /> guys and you guys are huge supporters<br /> and I appreciate it and I just want to<br /> put out a word to everyone out there<br /> that Gary conseils Gary Cohn badge sales<br /> are now open today right now as well so<br /> if you want your badge for Gary Cohn go<br /> to Gary con-com and get get your badges<br /> now before they before they sell out<br /> especially one of the gold badges are<br /> above those are going to go probably in<br /> minutes and yeah it’s about it’s about<br /> camaraderie and that’s how I grew up<br /> playing and socializing was primarily<br /> around the gaming table and so that’s<br /> totally natural and it’s what I enjoyed<br /> and so when my dad passed away I thought<br /> what better way to remember him then to<br /> get together and shake dice swap stories<br /> create new stories and do what we do<br /> around the gaming table so it’s a really<br /> fitting tribute and I have a lot of help<br /> from my family of course and some really<br /> talented folks who are making sure the<br /> badge tails are going on right now so<br /> shout out to the Greek on staff thank<br /> you and we’ll talk more about growing up<br /> in inside of Dungeons & Dragons later<br /> but I want you guys to know what you’re<br /> getting yourselves into this is – this<br /> entire thing is a 12 hour adventure with<br /> a bunch of the people that make games<br /> and make supplements for games and<br /> create shows and products inspired by<br /> games so we have here is an hour of<br /> interviews and footage pre-recorded<br /> footage by a Todd kenric and his amazing<br /> eye and then we have a three hour game<br /> and the first one is an ad indie game by<br /> Stefan Portnoy from gorvan Forge and<br /> that’s going to be really cool it’s a<br /> low level game and then we have another<br /> set of interviews after that three-hour<br /> game and that goes for an hour following<br /> that oh yeah I’m dungeon mastering I’m<br /> dungeon mastering a maze Arcana ever on<br /> game and that’s three hours and then and<br /> the next hour is another set of<br /> interviews with a bunch of more people<br /> who are totally amazing and then the<br /> last one is Mike morels dungeon<br /> mastering the level 18 game<br /> with a bunch of people who I think the<br /> minimum height is like six foot one<br /> that’s for players not done the dungeon<br /> master is exactly at six out and then<br /> yeah and that will close out our 12 hour<br /> adventure here at founders and legends<br /> day and you guys you don’t have to just<br /> sit and watch you can participate by<br /> donating so today is the inaugural<br /> launch of extra life raising funds for<br /> extra life so if you want to donate to<br /> the Children’s Hospitals go to extra –<br /> life.org<br /> / team / dandy and you can donate I know<br /> that you have a page Mazer kana has a<br /> page I think most of us on the D&D team<br /> have a page so ya go to the there donate<br /> to the there it’s for a good cause and<br /> we’re basically doing that for the whole<br /> day yeah yeah actually we’re doing that<br /> for the whole a lot you want to talk<br /> about that a little bit yeah so extra<br /> life this year we’re starting early this<br /> is our inaugural event it’s kind of our<br /> kickoff that would be a nice thing to go<br /> hand in hand with founders legends day<br /> you know everyone celebrating the<br /> origins of Dungeons & Dragons that feel<br /> like a good time for kickoff so a lot of<br /> us have pages that are live now on my<br /> page if you go to the web address that<br /> satine mentioned you can also go to D&D<br /> Wizards calm / extra life and that has<br /> an information about our schedule we’re<br /> starting here at founders and legends<br /> then we’re to me at game Hulk on in<br /> November in Madison Wisconsin that’s<br /> where we were to be wrapping up our sort<br /> of official events but you can donate at<br /> any time throughout the year we won’t<br /> say no to money donated to help the<br /> Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals so<br /> yes yeah<br /> and we’re doing things exactly making<br /> thing I’m making things so if you go to<br /> the DD team page you should be the<br /> navigate and find my page so I’m<br /> offering a few things right now I’m<br /> gonna add stuff as we go we’ll see like<br /> how ambitious I get the so to start with<br /> if you want a custom built subclass for<br /> your D&D 5th edition character building<br /> those I’ve already offering six I’ve<br /> already had one go so there’s five left<br /> and the I’m also going to build custom<br /> em screens one of my little DM kit I<br /> have these little miniature DM screens<br /> IV Elstad a hand made with stickers and<br /> stuff and I’ll get the do you need team<br /> to sign them so that’s up for one of the<br /> things I’m offering and then I’ll also<br /> those are both pretty high-end things<br /> like if kind of like last year had the<br /> subclass of 2500 bucks and they still<br /> all went so I kept it there so it’s kind<br /> of like play the long game they want to<br /> panic and drop prices it’s for a good<br /> cause and then for a few hundred dollars<br /> you can get one of the custom DM screens<br /> and then 450 I will sign a book plate<br /> and mail it to you if you want to slap<br /> it in one of your Dean ebooks and make<br /> it officially signed by me so and I so<br /> will be adding things throughout the<br /> year you know as bids come in for those<br /> I’ll backfill a few other things and at<br /> events we’ll also have additional things<br /> we’ll be offering and everyone so<br /> basically the great things extra life to<br /> is if you’re listening to that and<br /> thinking well I don’t know if I can<br /> necessarily throw some money at that you<br /> can also create your own page and create<br /> your own fundraising opportunity and the<br /> great thing with extra life is you can<br /> link that to your local Children’s<br /> Hospital so I live up in Seattle so<br /> that’s the hospital I’m supporting but<br /> you can pick your local one you can pick<br /> anything where you grew up whatever you<br /> know so it’s it’s a really great way to<br /> get involved and if you create your own<br /> page and start fundraising you can also<br /> join the DD team and take part in our<br /> that are greater overall fundraising and<br /> it’s not it’s tabletop games video games<br /> it’s it’s tons of fun<br /> so we’ll be streaming here and then see<br /> we have a game whole con will be<br /> streaming games so you’ll get a chance<br /> to see us there I’m learning a game<br /> there too<br /> and are you running a game hole I think<br /> so okay at least one or two we also have<br /> the official wattsy Day which is<br /> November 3rd yeah that’s the official<br /> number 3rd yes November 3rd that’s like<br /> the sort of official extra life day they<br /> were with an event like this it’s great<br /> to try to get everyone like them as many<br /> people taking part at once as possible<br /> so that’s kinda like the highlight day<br /> of the year but like I said you can you<br /> can organize something next week we’re<br /> never gonna say no to donations if they<br /> come in earlier late it’s it’s all good<br /> yeah and another I know we’ve we’re<br /> sitting here we’re talking about all the<br /> ways that you can participate if you<br /> want we also have founders and legends<br /> day shirts so go to founders and legends<br /> Threadless comm you can get some super<br /> cool shirts I know he always makes<br /> really awesome Gary con shirts<br /> and yeah that one’s really cool it says<br /> game master you can’t see it on the<br /> bottom oh there you go the game master<br /> it’s a special game master edition but I<br /> think I got one last year yeah so you<br /> can participate by that we also are<br /> opening up questions the end of this<br /> hour so go ahead and put your question<br /> in the chat room and we will have our<br /> moderators moderate them and then get<br /> them to us at the end of this hour so go<br /> ahead and do that I think it’s like type<br /> in question in all caps and then and ask<br /> your question because I can imagine<br /> things are going a little crazy in the<br /> chat room but thank you all for watching<br /> and thank you all for being a part of<br /> this freaking amazing day so that is<br /> what is going to happen and we’re gonna<br /> start right now yeah let’s do this okay<br /> so um you are the son of Gary Gygax I am<br /> you grew up with Dungeons & Dragons I<br /> did ever since I can remember I’ve been<br /> playing Dungeons & Dragons and so was my<br /> family you know I’m uh I’m the the<br /> youngest of my father’s children with my<br /> mom Mary and then of course I have my<br /> younger my younger brother Alex as well<br /> but he’s like 15 years younger than me<br /> but I’m the baby amongst amongst my fit<br /> my immediate siblings and so I was<br /> literally gosh I was 2 years old I think<br /> when my dad wrote Dungeons & Dragons and<br /> I was 3 when it was published the first<br /> year was published so my earliest<br /> memories are really around the gaming<br /> table and you know probably trying him<br /> not keeping the dice away for I don’t<br /> swallow but yeah as much as I remembers<br /> shaking dice and having a great time and<br /> I still see that today on Facebook<br /> somebody had posted up their kid playing<br /> with the dice and he was rolling his<br /> dice and he’s going I was just watching<br /> I was like yeah I totally did that too<br /> soon and we’re gonna do that later on<br /> today pretty much but just is growing<br /> the grown-up style that’s cool I’m in<br /> Van Norman I babysat his kid before and<br /> that well he runs around saying dice<br /> dice and just got his bags dice dice<br /> don’t expect so growing up in that<br /> household<br /> you got to basically grow up with the<br /> founders of Dungeons and Dragons I did I<br /> saw a lot of those people and although I<br /> was I was very young and I may not have<br /> recognized because that’s just how I<br /> grew up you know that was that was<br /> normal you know my I consider guys like<br /> you know Jim Ward the guy who invented<br /> metamorphosis sofa he was I’ve known him<br /> since I was just a little boy so he<br /> calls me a little Leuchars still but<br /> he’s like my uncle you know Tom wom<br /> who’s involved with in guidon Games way<br /> back in the you know late 60s early 70s<br /> and made great schnitz games and draws<br /> all the cartoons and stuff he’s like an<br /> uncle to me<br /> you know Tim Cask was there the first<br /> editor it’s like those guys are sort of<br /> like my my uncle’s but they feel like<br /> like family and they all actually come<br /> to Gary Condit my dad’s friends and<br /> stuff so those are the folks that I grew<br /> up around yo Rob Koontz was just a<br /> neighborhood kids Kip Williams a<br /> neighborhood kid with my dad so these<br /> are the people who were just hanging out<br /> and gaming and and so that’s guy didn’t<br /> really recognize that but since my<br /> father passed away 10 years ago I got to<br /> a new appreciation for it as I held Gary<br /> Cohn I got to learn a lot more about the<br /> foundation of of the game because as a<br /> boy you know you maybe you know you<br /> haven’t studied that you don’t realize<br /> those things that are going on and it’s<br /> really it’s a really a wonderful story<br /> and I think it should be told in in some<br /> way like there you know this DD<br /> documentary or whatever one of these<br /> needs to already do it myself<br /> we need to tell the story because<br /> there’s a beautiful story of the<br /> creation of Dungeons and Dragons<br /> and also on a personal side my family my<br /> mom and dad and all those things going<br /> that I think is really wonderful<br /> but Founders Day for me founders and<br /> legends day is just a way for me to talk<br /> to and all of us to talk to these the<br /> folks who are out there in watch streams<br /> and remind you know it’s kind of give<br /> them a little bit of information on the<br /> foundation of the game of the roots in<br /> the history that’s there because we’re<br /> seeing just a fantastic influx of new<br /> players and young players who you know<br /> 1970s probably sounds like yeah that’s<br /> again ancient history<br /> you know<br /> 1970 does a long time ago but yes it was<br /> written in 1973 and published in 1974 by<br /> my dad Gary Gygax and there’s a lot of<br /> players that went into creating kind of<br /> the zeitgeist that was out there so<br /> there was various really important<br /> ingredients but what I’ve learned or<br /> what I’ve seen is that my dad was the<br /> guy with the with who recognized that<br /> this was a revolutionary game this style<br /> of play was revolutionary and he put it<br /> all together and then he went to pitch<br /> it to the big game companies a time<br /> guide on games not very big was really<br /> run out of someone’s house but that was<br /> the big publishing and Avalon Hill which<br /> had done Gettysburg and some other war<br /> games and those that was like the big<br /> company at the time neither one of them<br /> were interested in that so he had five<br /> five children he was working as a shoe<br /> repairman<br /> out of a basement of a house in lakes<br /> near Wisconsin a small town 3:30 center<br /> street and he talked to my mom and he<br /> said hey I think I can do this are you<br /> willing to support Mary willing to you<br /> know for me to give it a shot at this<br /> this gaming thing and she said well you<br /> know I can tell that’s your passion yeah<br /> let’s do it<br /> and then of course she reminded him to<br /> keep going you should brought into the<br /> right direction but we’re very poor<br /> we’re on food stamps my mom gardened and<br /> subsisted to take care of families this<br /> was a this was a huge undertaking and he<br /> got my dad got his best friend Don Kay<br /> to take a loan against his life<br /> insurance policy in order to get the<br /> money to start tactical studies rules<br /> which is what TSR event that’s where the<br /> letters TSR came from was tactical study<br /> Studies rules and there was just this<br /> great story in there and I encourage you<br /> the stories is told in a couple<br /> different books excuse my reach over<br /> here but if you want a a read about<br /> about my dad I would I would just<br /> encourage empire of imagination it’s a<br /> great book and that’s by Michael Witt<br /> work and I’ll have to bring him to to<br /> stream and talk about that he comes to<br /> Gary Cohn and then if you want to get<br /> into a PhD level delve into gaming and<br /> working and you want to be able to<br /> impress all your friends with lots of<br /> really cool facts<br /> I suggest playing at the world by John<br /> Peterson<br /> very very knowledgeable guy and he will<br /> dig deep into the smallest details and<br /> bring him to you so highly encouraged<br /> very thick book this is very good this<br /> book awesome book a little bit more<br /> readable but packed with information as<br /> well like you can you can read this one<br /> it’s sort of more of an easier read and<br /> playing at the world is more like a<br /> collegiate level collegiate level but if<br /> you look at if you if you read those<br /> those books and you talk to me you find<br /> out that there was kind of zeitgeist<br /> building the late 70s and sorry late 60s<br /> and early 70s and there was probably<br /> what I would trace back where I’d want<br /> to start talking is a game called<br /> Bronstein by Dave Wesley who was in the<br /> Minnesota Twin Cities area of Minnesota<br /> and he was a he was still a military<br /> officer he might just have been retired<br /> but basically he had the concept of I he<br /> had the scenario and he was the referee<br /> and each person at the table played one<br /> one role they didn’t have a unit they<br /> weren’t planning unit military you they<br /> were playing one role and it wasn’t<br /> necessarily the commander of a unit or<br /> something might be somebody who’s in the<br /> resistance the mayor of the town and<br /> there was this you know French invasion<br /> coming and they you know there was a<br /> bunch of intrigue going on they all had<br /> different motivations and they would<br /> communicate by pen and paper they would<br /> just take a index card and they would<br /> write on there what was going on and<br /> then they’d give it to the referee and<br /> he’d give it to the person and so<br /> there’s all these communique is going on<br /> and you know who exactly was talking to<br /> whom I think that came out of played by<br /> male gaming probably that style but that<br /> was your kind of a faster play by male<br /> you were all there in person and you’re<br /> doing this it was complex you know 10 12<br /> players so that was kind of the idea of<br /> wool playing I think or that what we<br /> call roping was just somebody doing this<br /> no didn’t know was role playing at that<br /> point in time but I think that idea tied<br /> to a game one cared that’s very<br /> important a dave wesley that’s something<br /> i learned i wasn’t aware that that was<br /> you came out of it from from Dave and I<br /> have a great appreciation for that and I<br /> told him so and I’d like to you know<br /> think people should know who Dave Wesley<br /> is well my my dad about that time saw CG<br /> Bowden Berg because my father we<br /> I loved wargaming and he would stay up<br /> all night you know writing new rules<br /> variants and you know typing up on a<br /> computer and printing him you know on a<br /> mimeograph water wasn’t mailing them out<br /> to people so that was his love it was<br /> his passion and he started a convention<br /> so to bring more gamers together and he<br /> was so stoked in 68 that he got a<br /> hundred war gamers here there’s like a<br /> huge amount of people all together<br /> playing war games and of course we lived<br /> in Lake Geneva Wisconsin so where they<br /> were gonna call to of Lake Geneva you<br /> know war game convention well if they<br /> abbreviate that it’s the Geneva<br /> Convention Gen Con which we have today<br /> the timing of this is apropos because<br /> yesterday was my would have been my<br /> father’s 80th birthday and I he’s<br /> clearly won a very important person the<br /> foundation of our industry and dungeon<br /> creation of Dungeons and Dragons and<br /> then next week we have Gen Con which is<br /> a vehicle that he created to bring<br /> gamers together so you get to play more<br /> war games and then it has become this<br /> huge phenomenon and and now 60-plus how<br /> was in people 70,000 you think of from a<br /> hundred people to be lucky I get a<br /> hundred people then the 75 taking over<br /> the entire city of Indianapolis yes yes<br /> so I think Gen Con came about because my<br /> mom said no more filling my living room<br /> with war gamer is sleeping on the floor<br /> and sleeping bags and waking my keep my<br /> kids up all night so they had to find<br /> somewhere else to do it so that’s how<br /> Gen Con came about so we could say your<br /> mom founded Gen Con I think yeah like<br /> your dad’s passion and your family’s<br /> passion is so charitable<br /> and giving and and literally about<br /> bringing people together to work<br /> together and that’s different we’ve had<br /> video games for a long time and other<br /> you have board games which are highly<br /> competitive yes so yeah I mean and<br /> that’s where that’s where my dad started<br /> Alexander it was one of it is one of the<br /> games that he did and all sorts of<br /> variants so I mean he was a war game<br /> writer that’s what he did and he fell in<br /> love with medieval miniatures through<br /> siege it Bowden burg which is another<br /> game that goes 1960s because now he saw<br /> that and there was these really cool<br /> last Toulon miniatures which I played<br /> with and broke<br /> sorry they were really cool and just<br /> just amazing lots of fun as a kid oh man<br /> it was really amazing and lots of fun it<br /> for grownups too yeah and my dad loved<br /> he loved those miniatures in the in the<br /> sieve so he got into that and he was a<br /> member of the International Federation<br /> of war gamers and then he said well you<br /> know they’re very much into historical<br /> war gaming he said what about you know<br /> no one’s really paying attention to the<br /> Mieville parts they started the castles<br /> and crusade society and and they focus<br /> more on medieval war gaming was just not<br /> very popular right that was a little<br /> less known and out of that out of that<br /> he wrote rules called chainmail with a<br /> guy named Jeff Perrin whose birthday was<br /> earlier this week as well he’s 71 yeah<br /> and he is still alive he comes to Gary<br /> Khan yeah of course<br /> so in there there is rules for not only<br /> unit combats but man-to-man combat so<br /> we’re seeing the the focus shrink down<br /> to a more individual level and then<br /> there’s the fantasy supplement the<br /> fantasy puts up in there where you could<br /> be a wizard who would throw spells or a<br /> hero and there’s just some different<br /> rules in there so it’s that yes so it’s<br /> the idea of it’s the idea of fantasy<br /> coming in one-to-one battles so that’s<br /> going on that’s that’s in the mix and so<br /> a guy named Dave Arneson who lived in<br /> the Minneapolis area and was a big war<br /> gamer as well he saw the Bronstein’s and<br /> he thought wow this is pretty neat and<br /> then he saw a medieval stuff going he’s<br /> like maybe we could do a medieval<br /> Bronstein and he would have people play<br /> themselves in a medieval setting and<br /> then he would string the adventures<br /> together so there was the concept now he<br /> didn’t have like rules necessarily I<br /> think he kept it all on his head but<br /> that was kind of where the he was tied<br /> together oh you have brains you know how<br /> smart are you yeah buddy your brains<br /> there how healthy are you and he had<br /> like some categories news write on a<br /> piece of paper and not everyone had the<br /> same stats but you you might get a +1<br /> from doing something I would carry to<br /> the next game so this idea of carrying<br /> on and having one character came out as<br /> medieval Bronstein which became<br /> Blackmore which was<br /> you know his campaign setting and he<br /> also you know there was a castle sit but<br /> you get to go in the dungeon go<br /> underground and that was that was pretty<br /> important another key component of what<br /> would become Dungeons & Dragons and of<br /> course another very important Dave who<br /> is in the mid Minnesota Twin Cities area<br /> yeah the three days<br /> Dave Wesley Dave McGarry endeavors and<br /> well Dave McGarry loved playing<br /> Blackmore and he loved going down and<br /> adventuring but he didn’t want to be a<br /> referee the word Dungeon Master didn’t<br /> exist yet he didn’t want a referee a<br /> game and Dave Arneson was too busy to be<br /> doing it as much as he wanted so he’s<br /> like him what can I do well I know what<br /> I’ll do I’ll make a game called dungeon<br /> which will have a map a board map of a<br /> dungeon and you can play like an elf<br /> adora for hero or wizard and you go and<br /> there’s lower there’s tiny little cards<br /> oh my goodness so there’s little cards<br /> and there’s no way you can probably see<br /> this but yeah they’re little tiny cards<br /> that you would stick in the rooms and<br /> there’d be a monster card a treasure<br /> card the monster and if you defeated the<br /> monster then you got the treasure card<br /> and the goal was to get so much treasure<br /> and then get out of the dungeon without<br /> somebody ambushing you no pawns yeah and<br /> just you know six sided dice because<br /> other kinds of dice weren’t very popular<br /> although the idea of other than six<br /> sided dice was out there since track<br /> –tx which is another game my dad did<br /> with Mike Reiss I believe and but that<br /> was very historical crunchy crunchy<br /> gaming so we have dungeon which actually<br /> preceded the invention of Dungeons &<br /> Dragons which I didn’t know until I<br /> talked to Dave McGarrett he showed me<br /> all those letters and stuff and of<br /> course no one want to publish his game<br /> either so it had some fantastic game it<br /> was really again one of those<br /> revolutionary things so out of this we<br /> have all these ingredients together and<br /> my dad kind of pulled it together and so<br /> he had to gamble everything because he<br /> thought this rule book these three rule<br /> books at the time three volumes said you<br /> know man and magic and everything and<br /> there wasn’t even a name for it what<br /> they call it rules for fantastic<br /> medieval war games campaigns playable<br /> with pencil and paper but with paper and<br /> pencil and miniature figures<br /> so I think D&D rolls off the tongue a<br /> little bit better yes then you know then<br /> all that but yeah so these from these<br /> three little books it all it all started<br /> and all those guys had part but you know<br /> I certainly see it from what I’ve what<br /> I’ve done and what I know my dad just<br /> had the drive he recognized that this<br /> was cool and this was different<br /> and this this was gonna change gaming he<br /> thought it could sell 10,000 copies he<br /> thought I could sell 10,000 copies which<br /> was astronomical but they only had<br /> enough money they made a thousand copies<br /> in the woodgrain with a label stuck on<br /> it constructed in the basement of our<br /> house right and put together and that<br /> that came from from those humble roots<br /> we now have this juggernaut of Dungeons<br /> and Dragons you know just a huge vastly<br /> popular and now it’s from going from<br /> having a hundred people in a room you<br /> have tens of thousands who gather and<br /> millions who play and share so I just<br /> think that’s really fantastic and I just<br /> wanted folks to remember record remember<br /> or know about where the roots are the<br /> history working from where did our game<br /> come from it’s really important that you<br /> know the history of the things that you<br /> are in love with because stuff like this<br /> I know that we came out with a 40th<br /> anniversary edition of that I can<br /> reproduce beautiful redwood box it’s<br /> absolutely gorgeous and that is that yes<br /> you guys can’t see it but there’s a pile<br /> of amazing down here that are all<br /> collector items like that right there<br /> I who starting to sweat over here<br /> because it’s so amazing Todd Kenrick<br /> from DMV beyond went to Joe Manganiello<br /> house to film him and his eageriy Gygax<br /> memorial dungeon so we’re gonna cut to<br /> some footage of Todd interviewing Joe in<br /> his home which he calls the Gary Gygax<br /> memorial dungeon we are in what are we<br /> in right now what is this place welcome<br /> to the Gary Gygax memorial dungeon in<br /> Beverly Hills in the basement of my<br /> house and now now I named it that years<br /> before ever meeting Luke Gygax because I<br /> used to play in a group with a Warner<br /> Brothers executive a couple Upright<br /> Citizens Brigade comedians and my<br /> brother we’ve had this like home group<br /> going and we played Tomb of Horrors<br /> actually and which is apropos to this<br /> conversation that was the first that we<br /> played a couple homebrew adventures and<br /> then we all wanted to do too much for us<br /> because we had never done it and and so<br /> my friends would come over and they<br /> walked into the fourier of my house<br /> upstairs which is you know big they<br /> looked up and went man this is just the<br /> way Gary would have wanted it and I said<br /> come on man like come downstairs and I<br /> showed him this dungeon room which was a<br /> wine cellar it was the only room in the<br /> house that we didn’t renovate when we<br /> moved in I sold my I sold my bachelor<br /> pad I had a house in the hills that I<br /> sold my wife got rid of her condo and<br /> when we got married we moved in together<br /> here and and we she wanted to turn this<br /> into like I’d like a like a Pilates<br /> dance room with like a you know bars on<br /> the side and and was getting ready to do<br /> that with like the wood panel floors and<br /> I started playing Dungeons & Dragons<br /> again after 20 25 year hiatus and I said<br /> no you can’t do that yet please like<br /> I’ll build you a dance studio somewhere<br /> else like I will destroy the backyard<br /> and build you a dance studio I have to<br /> keep this room it’s perfect I started<br /> playing Dungeons & Dragons again and and<br /> I need this room we could we got I got I<br /> have to keep this room intact and as you<br /> can see over the course of the next few<br /> years the dragon heads and beholders and<br /> mine flare plaques started moving in on<br /> the mini you started moving in and a<br /> library and<br /> dwarf in forge and flight combat tears<br /> and you know gifts from people you know<br /> hey man I saw this hand of Vecna at a<br /> store I want to mail it to you work in a<br /> penalty you hey I painted you this big<br /> undead red dragon working her son that<br /> so this thing just got built out and<br /> became my it became my mancave if you<br /> will what in fact has Gary Gygax had on<br /> you and your childhood and beyond that<br /> even pop culture in general man I mean<br /> there’s there there are several ways<br /> that Gary Gygax impacted me on a<br /> personal level because I am an I am a<br /> professional artist in the storyteller<br /> and long before drama school was<br /> available<br /> long before screenwriting classes were<br /> available for a kid I had an outlet for<br /> all of those talents so you know growing<br /> up I I practiced and did my forget<br /> 10,000 hours I mean we’re talking twenty<br /> thirty thousand hours of just writing<br /> stories creating characters writing<br /> backstories for the characters<br /> connecting them I was working my brain<br /> in a way to understand like episodic<br /> storytelling like over time how to how<br /> to introduce a character introduce a<br /> little event that would later than<br /> blossom eight episodes down the line how<br /> to out of sneak plot lines and and<br /> threads and Owen and story arcs and<br /> character arcs and I was working all<br /> that out before I even knew that that<br /> was a job and and so for me this was<br /> this was this weird bizarre game this<br /> way of working that part of my<br /> imagination as a kid and somehow you<br /> know it found me I found it whatever it<br /> was but I was my my brain was perfectly<br /> compatible with the tabletop<br /> role-playing which is attributed to Gary<br /> because prior to Dungeons & Dragons it<br /> was it was wargames<br /> you were you were in control of an army<br /> and you were trying to beat this other<br /> person’s army or you were re-enacting<br /> battles from you know from from history<br /> and what Gary said was okay well here’s<br /> the big army but what would it be like<br /> to be one of the soldiers and what would<br /> it be like to build that character that<br /> soldier character out and then<br /> furthermore I don’t want to do battle<br /> reenactments I want to have monsters and<br /> a fantasy setting and these were really<br /> revolutionary thoughts so for me a kid<br /> that grew up with the Hobbit and The<br /> Lord of the Rings to be able to find a<br /> way to create an avatar for myself and<br /> insert that in a game with my friends<br /> who were playing versions of themselves<br /> avatars of themselves it was<br /> revolutionary because when I run into<br /> those kids nowadays as adults we don’t<br /> say hey remember that one time we played<br /> that game where we went into that<br /> dungeon and then our characters fought<br /> the boss no we say hey remember that<br /> time we were in that jungle and we went<br /> across that rope bridge and he fell off<br /> but you grabbed him and we made it<br /> across and then we fought those trolls<br /> and we found that ancient temple and we<br /> went inside and we beat that Manticore<br /> like we say we we did it in our minds we<br /> were actually doing it which is what I<br /> do as a performing artist every day and<br /> and Gary figured out a way to to create<br /> an infinite sandbox to plan my wife<br /> surprised me on my birthday this past<br /> year I since I’ve started playing D&D<br /> again I play as<br /> Arkon the cruel who’s an Oathbreaker<br /> paladin of Tiamat and she knew I was<br /> like obsessed with these Dragonlance<br /> books and she knew that I was flying<br /> around the world to go hang out with the<br /> the authors of these Dragonlance books<br /> that I loved and and so unbeknownst to<br /> me she got in touch with one of the<br /> great Dragonlance<br /> artists also one of the great D&D or a<br /> D&D module artists Jeff easily<br /> unbeknownst to me and one day I came<br /> home and she said oh do you want your<br /> birthday present early I said yeah I<br /> said well do you want to give it to me<br /> early and we were going on vacation she<br /> said yeah I should open it now you can<br /> enjoy it alright so I opened this<br /> package and inside of it was a an<br /> original Jeff easily oil painting of my<br /> character arc on the cruel in<br /> Dragonlance like book cover style and it<br /> just blew my mind I mean that’s I mean<br /> it’s it’s just it’s it’s it’s crazy to I<br /> mean it’s crazy that my entire<br /> generation of D&D and tabletop<br /> role-playing game players are playing<br /> again that we’re all we’re all playing<br /> again as an entire generation we’re all<br /> playing again they’re at games all over<br /> Los Angeles were all playing because we<br /> all moved to LA with the hopes of<br /> working in entertainment as an extension<br /> of these games that we played as kids<br /> whether consciously or subconsciously<br /> and to think that that Jeff was still<br /> around and still an unbelievable painter<br /> and that I would have a character that<br /> was you know painted by him it just<br /> blows my mind thank you Joe for being on<br /> D&D beyond I’m talking York your host<br /> thank you for watching<br /> you<br /> hello again thank you for watching<br /> founders and legends day here on<br /> twitch.tv slash D&D Thank You Todd he’s<br /> in the background for doing that that<br /> was awesome<br /> Joe has a super sweet pad and his<br /> memorial dungeon is really awesome we<br /> are gonna come back to the conversation<br /> speaking of collectibles and really cool<br /> things Luke brought some minis I did I<br /> just felt the table looked empty without<br /> some minis on it so these are all custom<br /> sculpts for Gary Cohn throughout the<br /> throughout the years I’ve been very<br /> blessed with some people helping me out<br /> Nick Genovese helped sculpt a bunch of<br /> these and then John Hopson did probably<br /> my favorite one which was from last year<br /> and it’s super awesome it’s it’s a I<br /> guess would be a planet or or solar<br /> would be what we’d want to refer to that<br /> is the with the wings and the flaming<br /> sword obviously very good creature<br /> battling a lich and the the planet our<br /> character sort of looks like my dad did<br /> in the 70s with the hair and the beard<br /> and that sort of stuff yeah yeah I kind<br /> of I kind of decided that was<br /> automatically that was Gary you know my<br /> father his memory living on and<br /> defeating death through Gary Cohn and<br /> all of you guys playing D&D and<br /> remembering the roots and then there’s<br /> this neat eager Magi that’s beaten up an<br /> adventurer and that’s from the blade<br /> lands to the Tower of acababa I I raped<br /> I do some writing but I pretty much have<br /> just kept it to Gary Khan I haven’t<br /> distributed widely because my motivation<br /> for writing was more my dad wanted me to<br /> do it and I only did a few a few always<br /> did a few things before you say to you<br /> yeah it’s just I had other things going<br /> on and it was hard and honestly you know<br /> my dad was Gary Gygax like oh man do I<br /> want to write what if it sucks make it<br /> mine you know right so there’s a little<br /> bit of that but you know city of GAX<br /> more velocity of GAX morris was really<br /> was so much fun and i got to cooperate<br /> with my dad and do that and that was<br /> that was loads of fun that I was like in<br /> 2000 but I realized hey Gary Khan<br /> you know what my dad would have wanted<br /> me to do that so I’m gonna carry that<br /> tradition on so I just write some<br /> modules there for<br /> for a Dungeons & Dragons tournament that<br /> we do that’s from the tower of acababa<br /> then this one is from Plan B the fighter<br /> giant the main bad guy in there<br /> Malkovich and then of course we just<br /> recreated the Paladin paladin and he’ll<br /> with a demagogue on fighting oh yeah<br /> that’s cool skip Williams actually<br /> painted that put that paired together<br /> for me so that was really really neat so<br /> that’s one of the side Benny’s of having<br /> great friends who can paint because I’m<br /> terrible I can’t paint but yeah so this<br /> is just so much fun I get to do all<br /> these fun things at Gary Khan<br /> but I realized I was working you know I<br /> was working so hard at Gary Khan I<br /> didn’t get a chance to play so today I’m<br /> gonna play in all three games so I get<br /> to play some dandy finally not be<br /> working out last time yeah a good time<br /> so quiet over there how long have you<br /> been playing so I started playing back<br /> into him in 1981 so the my brother had<br /> the there was the basic set that came<br /> out in 1978 which think that the the the<br /> genesis of that genesis of that was<br /> basically Jay Eric Holmes who was a<br /> professor of like neurology USC yeah I<br /> called my mom this morning to talk to<br /> her because I was like hey mom I’m doing<br /> this thing a little nervous she said<br /> you’re gonna do great but she said you<br /> know you should mention Jay Eric Holmes<br /> in who’s the neurologist I think you see<br /> UCLA or I remember a USC and she said<br /> yeah the reason they did that is because<br /> the original three booklets were little<br /> they were hard to read through you had<br /> to refer back and forth there’s a lot of<br /> references back and forth and so he sort<br /> of volunteered to clean that up and that<br /> became basic D&D so it was a little bit<br /> more orderly and that’s where I started<br /> but what I always thought was really<br /> interesting because I would have been<br /> like six right was reading food there’s<br /> the the intro was pulled from the<br /> original set so talked about the castles<br /> and crusade in society and it talked<br /> about Blackmore and stuff so it always<br /> always had the sense of the game’s<br /> history and that it wasn’t just a game<br /> like say Monopoly or it’s like oh here’s<br /> the game it was written in someone’s<br /> voice there was like you know Jerry<br /> Combs has like in the intro I think he<br /> it’s an intro he wrote with his name and<br /> like the date and things like that and<br /> so that’s kind of what put me down on<br /> the path of thinking of game design to<br /> something you could do because it was<br /> this idea that someone made this game<br /> and and because it required you know DD<br /> requires you to create and that’s what I<br /> remember I was telling the story last<br /> night I had a copy of keeping the<br /> borderlands but no map so you know it<br /> didn’t the map gatefold modules used to<br /> come in like it was little like that the<br /> the cover would not be attached and<br /> that’s where the map would be so you<br /> could lay it out and so when my brother<br /> gave me the set it didn’t have neither<br /> book had their covers<br /> he was boy scout they’d bring did the DD<br /> set camping and so of course gets a<br /> little destroyed so I remember taking my<br /> parents were wallpapering one of the<br /> rooms in the house and we’d have these<br /> big long scraps of wallpaper and I just<br /> started drawing my first dungeon on that<br /> I just started unrolling I like a scroll<br /> and adding more and more rooms like I’d<br /> read the written description and I draw<br /> it on the map and put it in this day<br /> yeah there we go there’s my map cuz I<br /> didn’t have a map so so that was kind of<br /> my first game design was building I were<br /> doing that and then I member designing<br /> video games I would do the same thing<br /> I’d say here’s the first board and I<br /> Drive and I draw the next board and roll<br /> it out and draw each board successfully<br /> that you’d go through and now one thing<br /> led to another yeah yeah yeah franchise<br /> like it’s really neat though that we’re<br /> talking about the history because the<br /> common thread is people who have despite<br /> logic have followed their passions and<br /> have done things that you know aren’t<br /> along the normal path of how you should<br /> live your life and it has created<br /> happiness straight-up happiness and<br /> conflicts and drama and just excitement<br /> in people’s lives where you know you<br /> don’t have to go across the world and<br /> adventure even though some of us do you<br /> can have these wild adventures in your<br /> home you know and one of the things that<br /> Rudy and I do is we do a lot of research<br /> on the effects of Dungeons and Dragons<br /> on people right so he and I both have<br /> really severe PTSD and so I’ve been<br /> playing since 1988 and having the trauma<br /> happened then<br /> and having D&D move with me through my<br /> life it’s really fascinating cuz it’s<br /> not something that<br /> you actively think about while you’re<br /> playing D&D however through my research<br /> I have found that the therapy for PTSD<br /> is cooperative playing they actually<br /> recommend like stage theatre where you<br /> can work with a group of people to<br /> accomplish a goal and here we are what<br /> once twice three times a week if we’re<br /> lucky getting together making all these<br /> new memories what are other effects that<br /> you guys have seen D&D and in our world<br /> well you know it’s interesting because<br /> I’ve read I read somewhere it’s someone<br /> kind of thought of video games as being<br /> a space where like it’s safe to fail<br /> like you’re playing by yourself if<br /> you’re playing a single-player game like<br /> Legend of Zelda breadth of the wild or<br /> wherever you can afford to try things<br /> and if they fail you just go back to<br /> your save point right and so you think<br /> well that in life often like if we’re in<br /> school you can’t you can’t take your<br /> math test than decide hey I’m gonna try<br /> a different way to solve this oh now I<br /> got a deal right and I think I think<br /> that this part of games you know it<br /> gives you the sense overall that you can<br /> you have space to fail you can<br /> experiment you can do trial and error<br /> and I think Dungeons & Dragons because<br /> it’s so social role-playing games in<br /> general extend that to a social space<br /> where rather than in a game I might play<br /> by myself and I have kind of okay no<br /> one’s worth watching me you can kind of<br /> do what I want in D&D I think it takes<br /> that and extends it to something’s a bit<br /> more social or I’m talking people I’m<br /> coordinating I mean I think back when I<br /> was running D&D when I was in sixth<br /> grade I had to coordinate multiple<br /> schedules who’s free on Tuesday I had to<br /> lead people like hey this is where we’re<br /> gonna meet we’ll meet at the library at<br /> 3 o’clock and this is and then this is<br /> the rules of the campaign like its<br /> managers designer and I’m in the<br /> military so I look at this and I go wow<br /> you know what is dungeon dragons<br /> teaching and I had this conversation I<br /> was in Indiana just a couple days ago in<br /> exercise and one of the civilians<br /> working there was a retired Army officer<br /> his name was Tim Tim Dench him and he’s<br /> now runs a little game company and stuff<br /> but he was time he was like yeah I<br /> realized that I was kind of the quiet<br /> guy you know I was smart quiet but you<br /> know when I got in the army I thought I<br /> was a little bit a little bit more<br /> surprised I had a lot of skill sets that<br /> I had honed our<br /> the D&D table or not I was like yeah I<br /> recognized that too you know it came to<br /> me a little bit later but it realize but<br /> what are we doing if your dungeon<br /> mastering your you were coordinating<br /> several different people you’re trying<br /> to analyze where they’re go where<br /> they’re taking the story right stay one<br /> step ahead um you’re anticipating right<br /> you’re improvising you’re adapting<br /> that’s they teach you in the army adapt<br /> improvise overcome right those are all<br /> leadership skills yes absolutely so cuz<br /> you don’t know if the enemy’s gonna do<br /> right so you got to be able to react to<br /> you know stay alive so all all those<br /> things are definitely leadership skills<br /> and then of course all the tying stories<br /> together you know taking time to set<br /> aside time and make it happen to<br /> coordinate schedules you said all those<br /> things are fantastic you’re you’re<br /> really getting those leadership skills<br /> so I wonder you know you look back prior<br /> to Dungeons and Dragons who who is<br /> typically who do we think of as being<br /> the in-charge or kind of people leading<br /> society that’s kind of a jock that<br /> cabinet football team whatever now I<br /> think we’ve seen through for several<br /> other things and it may be partially<br /> because maybe a lot of these guys who<br /> maybe were not as upfront before didn’t<br /> have those leadership skills sharpened<br /> since teenagers they’ve been practicing<br /> leadership yes they have a big advantage<br /> when they get into the workforce they<br /> know they’re they can lead that meeting<br /> they can bring up these points they’re<br /> agile they’ve met you know their mental<br /> agility that’s another project for<br /> people which is the scariest thing still<br /> is but yeah one of the things that makes<br /> me proud as a dungeon master is when<br /> everyone works together yeah and it’s<br /> hard at first and everyone’s trying to<br /> find their own footing for things but<br /> when they all work together it’s like<br /> the best feeling you’re like my children<br /> I succeeded in ways will never<br /> understand we don’t have much more time<br /> in this conversation so we thank you<br /> folks at home who have asked us<br /> questions we’re gonna zip zing zoom<br /> right through them okay okay first<br /> question and this is fast you’re playing<br /> it loose and fast well not so loose<br /> because we’re on a tight schedule okay<br /> Luke do your children participate in D&D<br /> like your father exposed you to the game<br /> yes my children play Miriam my oldest<br /> she’s 11 she loves to play so she has a<br /> ranger<br /> he’s third level I think now the problem<br /> is I’m so busy doing stuff that is hard<br /> to make that time but we still get<br /> together and we’ll shake days even if<br /> it’s around just some really cool<br /> dwarven Forge tiles and miniatures that<br /> I have thanks to my buddy Mike know at<br /> iron wind metals for casting all these<br /> managers by the way yeah he did all the<br /> all of my miniatures yeah Mike he’ll be<br /> in Game one with us too so sure I’ll<br /> come there but ya know they’re all in it<br /> and my youngest ones only 5 she’s not as<br /> much into it and my seven-year-old is<br /> more of a princess so I was like what<br /> kind of character do you want to be<br /> she’s like I want to be a dragon<br /> princess I was like okay there you go<br /> okay Mike<br /> ever see a gray Hawk support in 5ee oh I<br /> love to and actually you know we just<br /> announced the rabbika product so the<br /> first Dini magic crossover so that’s one<br /> setting being brought to D&D and then we<br /> also announced the wayfinders guide to<br /> ever on which was a Keith Baker the<br /> creator of Eberron<br /> helped drive that so we’re definitely a<br /> look at how that plays out because the<br /> one of the great things on the wayfinder<br /> is that approach is it lets us get a<br /> setting out there very quickly but also<br /> way that’s really connected to the in<br /> this case Keith who’s behind the setting<br /> but you know a way maybe connect someone<br /> who is attached to a setting in a way<br /> that could be interesting we’ll see I<br /> don’t want to like say anything or get<br /> put you know do think that but it’s<br /> something some more thinking of and I<br /> would love to do something with Greg so<br /> the next question and I you know I was i<br /> I should have expected this I was hoping<br /> you wouldn’t notice the question is<br /> where are my ears now is real fears and<br /> I could only find one of them this<br /> morning it is the saddest but they’re<br /> they’re here in spirit<br /> everyone here the questions to all of us<br /> are any of us going to PAX West that is<br /> I am Not sure can you go with me I’m<br /> going I’m actually coming up for the<br /> that week so the trick is that’s during<br /> labor day weekend I know holidays cuz<br /> let my wife’s work schedule and then my<br /> daughter’s schedule because she’s with<br /> preschool and stuff so I know holidays<br /> we’ll see I might definitely a bunch of<br /> people through the anything will be<br /> there there’s a knock out of Seattle<br /> you’ll be there the I do not have any<br /> plans to be there bud came I could you<br /> never know maybe we’ll see who can go<br /> and well I post it on the internet<br /> somewhere<br /> maybe just on my personal Twitter or not<br /> I don’t know<br /> but it’ll be in the ether very soon okay<br /> a message to Luke mom and I are here<br /> listening Luke moving from birth yeah<br /> it’s my sister Cindy Thanks okay yeah<br /> I’m sorry it came out really awkwardly<br /> okay Luke what if anything do you want<br /> people to know about your father that<br /> you think most people didn’t realize wow<br /> that’s a huge question I could probably<br /> we can come back to that too<br /> well we have a whole day I would I would<br /> say my dad loved all kinds of games he<br /> was pretty much a kid at heart and some<br /> of the fun stories that I have from him<br /> are just stuff that you wouldn’t<br /> wouldn’t expect even would get the<br /> lawnmowers out we had bought a house and<br /> there was an old lawnmower and the new<br /> lawnmower that we’d bought so we’re<br /> gonna mow the lawn we pulled him out he<br /> said which one goes faster so we based<br /> around their circular driveway I mean he<br /> was still a kid at heart and that and I<br /> think he really thought of himself as<br /> just one of the guys just a gamer you<br /> know someone’s like Oh what does it feel<br /> like you know you’re the inventor of<br /> role-playing games he’s like no I’m not<br /> is that ever since kids have been alive<br /> you know playing cops and robbers or<br /> cowboys and Indians or whatever it may<br /> be their role playing and there’s acting<br /> he said I just you know made this game<br /> and I’m just you know I’m a gamer I’m<br /> just got really lucky and I just want to<br /> play games and have fun so that’s one<br /> thing that came to mind nice okay last<br /> question before we go a stephane is<br /> going is preparing his game as players I<br /> believe or in those seats<br /> the question is I’ll be playing D&D at<br /> Gen Con for the first time in 30 years<br /> what can I expect from the game now oh<br /> so I think the what I hope he feels the<br /> game feels very similar and you know<br /> that in terms of the bishop the players<br /> the dungeon master that’s still<br /> consistent but I think the one thing you<br /> might find is just there’s a lot more<br /> people playing you know there’s gonna be<br /> a lot you might kind of be surprised by<br /> the the variety of people who are<br /> sitting down just the game has grown so<br /> much and and I think the one thing I<br /> would say the one thing that has changed<br /> often mechanically I played a TV last<br /> night<br /> is you can take more risks at first<br /> level you don’t have to worry so much<br /> that’s something we’ve learned outside<br /> video games earlier right like I can try<br /> this tonight<br /> oh I die I’ll just go back to my safe<br /> point that’s kind of part of modern<br /> gaming is this idea of unless you’re<br /> playing like there are games that cater<br /> to that but yes you could probably<br /> afford to be a little more heroic at<br /> first level then maybe you could have<br /> back at 30 years ago and if you haven’t<br /> been to a gaming convention in 30 years<br /> and this is you coming back into it it<br /> has changed yes there is a way more<br /> people playing of diverse backgrounds a<br /> lot more women playing beautiful and<br /> it’s not you know it’s really beautiful<br /> it’s become so part of our culture it’s<br /> not stigmatized anymore because think<br /> about it<br /> well idea for candy was cool that’s<br /> funny you say that because I was the<br /> school nerd and people would throw food<br /> at me and throw me in garbage cans but<br /> I’ve come so far it is one of the things<br /> that I feel has changed is especially<br /> through the additions I feel like in<br /> fifth edition it’s more about the table<br /> versus the actual literal translation of<br /> rules and actually you taught me that at<br /> the very first time we were on stream of<br /> annihilation and I I was sweating and I<br /> think I started crying I was like I did<br /> it wrong I couldn’t remember this and<br /> you’re like it was it did you have fun<br /> as long as everyone’s having fun you<br /> know you can you can maneuver the rules<br /> as long as they’re consistent and that<br /> is one of the things that I thought I<br /> think is amazing can go to a convention<br /> at every table is special every table<br /> has a dungeon master who’s going to run<br /> that table generally you know the rules<br /> are very are the rules are generally the<br /> same but each table each game master has<br /> that Flair that makes it their own and<br /> each table even if they run the same<br /> adventure is going to have a different a<br /> different experience so that is where<br /> you’re going to end this round of<br /> interviews if you guys haven’t already<br /> go to extra – life.org / team / D&D and<br /> donate there is another website it is<br /> dandy dot Wizards dot DD Wizards com /<br /> extra life and that’s where you can find<br /> an overview of our<br /> vents and some links start individual<br /> pages and details on today’s event and<br /> some of our future fundraising if you<br /> want some cool swag I’m gonna plug it do<br /> it<br /> founders and legends dot Threadless calm<br /> you can get your own coffee mug t-shirts<br /> coffee beach towels that’s you can get<br /> everything you need with the founders<br /> and legends dragon on it or the cool<br /> founders and legends coat of arms so<br /> next up we have Stephane Portnoy you may<br /> know if you don’t know him you should he<br /> is the founder of dwarven forge pretty<br /> much the terrain that we all owe that I<br /> use because it’s so cool very intricate<br /> he is running an ad indie game I believe<br /> there level three<br /> I didn’t hear a no so there level 3 we<br /> have ELISA Teague who is a longtime game<br /> designer and puzzle Queen we have Kelly<br /> Lynn D’Angelo who is the dungeon master<br /> of Girl Scouts glory here on twitch TV<br /> slash D&D Kyle Newman who’s a filmmaker<br /> and the co-creator of art and Arcana a<br /> book that is who talked about collectors<br /> it’s the history of the art in D&D we<br /> have this guy Luke Gygax and Mike know<br /> who owns iron wind medals and minis and<br /> yeah so we’re going to take a little<br /> moment to transition everything with<br /> another wonderful video from Todd<br /> Kenrick with our friends over at Wizards<br /> of the coast they changed pop culture I<br /> spoke with Mike Merle’s and Jerry<br /> Crawford about the impact of D&D in<br /> terms of game design I mean obviously<br /> any game that uses levels owes a huge<br /> debt to essentially what I think it was<br /> the big breakthrough of Dungeons &<br /> Dragons there are two there first one<br /> being a game that really isn’t a game<br /> it’s more framework for a shared<br /> narrative and this idea that you have a<br /> character who will change by through<br /> success in the game the scenario though<br /> the story or whatever that’s put in<br /> front of you if you succeed you<br /> gain something from that for your<br /> character that carries over to the next<br /> game and I don’t think a game had ever<br /> done that before Gary Gygax and Dave<br /> Arneson and their group of friends who<br /> helped develop D&D originally it really<br /> was in many ways one of those lightning<br /> strikes in popular culture where this<br /> thing arose this tabletop role-playing<br /> game where there really was nothing like<br /> it before<br /> elements of it certainly existed before<br /> all of us have played make-believe<br /> without needing rules to do so and as<br /> far as we can tell<br /> humans have played make-believe as long<br /> as the species has been around so that<br /> D&D certainly didn’t make up<br /> make-believe early D&D often used<br /> miniatures and had a grid that came from<br /> wargaming so D&D didn’t invent that<br /> either I think it really comes from this<br /> fusion he had of being such a creative<br /> person being such a storyteller and then<br /> being having a mind for war games at the<br /> time of you know games that simulated<br /> historical battles or theoretical<br /> battles in the future you know this is<br /> the 60s the 70s where the Cold War’s in<br /> full swing<br /> and so I think he was really the first<br /> person to bring those two things<br /> together to say rather than just rely on<br /> history as her guide point right rather<br /> than going back and saying well you know<br /> what was the effectiveness of a t-72<br /> tank versus different weapons that NATO<br /> might fire at it and say well let’s set<br /> aside his history books and let’s<br /> instead grab for its libraries and say<br /> that’s our reference book now what kind<br /> of reality would we build from that and<br /> it’s just amazing to think that’s<br /> essentially what the mash up he did was<br /> take a wargaming approach to creating a<br /> fictional reality a reality space that<br /> your games going to take place in and<br /> then what are the rules of this reality<br /> because you think of games up to that<br /> point and to war games were invented I<br /> think it was Charles Roberts who really<br /> kind of created the first modern war<br /> game<br /> games were just the tools for teaching<br /> military officers games people played<br /> were typically abstract like chess right<br /> they weren’t trying to capture really a<br /> reality it was an abstract version of<br /> reality and so bringing those two things<br /> together I mean that’s enormous that<br /> that’s modern gaming but it was the<br /> fusion of those elements along with the<br /> world building and the creation of<br /> various Pantheon’s all of that all of<br /> that coming together that alchemy that’s<br /> the special thing that Gary and Dave and<br /> the other founders of D&D did it it’s<br /> like they they mixed these elements up<br /> in a cauldron and I’m not even sure they<br /> knew really how special this thing was<br /> when they first did it because it I mean<br /> of course fairly on early on when it<br /> when it became popular and started<br /> spreading like wildfire well then they<br /> certainly saw some something special was<br /> happening but I get the feeling that<br /> early on there was just you know they<br /> were like so many of us experimenting<br /> with something that appealed to them and<br /> then the you know the experiment led<br /> from one thing to the next and suddenly<br /> we have this game that we’re playing<br /> over 40 years later I met Gary I had one<br /> time I met him beyond just seeing him at<br /> the game convention and that was back<br /> and I think it was 2003 the since closed<br /> Higgins armory museum in Worcester<br /> Massachusetts hosted an event where Gary<br /> came in and gave a lecture on medieval<br /> weaponry and I think maybe it may even<br /> have been focused on polearms<br /> which if you’re not familiar with the<br /> early days of D&D Advanced Dungeons and<br /> Dragons was infamous for the extensive<br /> catalogue of all the different types of<br /> long pointy weapons that medieval<br /> Europeans used at one time or another<br /> and so there was this lecture you could<br /> pay to go to I being cheap didn’t want<br /> to pay for the lecture but there was a<br /> free book signing that took place<br /> afterward and so I got to meet him there<br /> and I think what happened was if you<br /> were a big D&D fan you paid for the<br /> lecture and you got like an entire day<br /> to hang out with<br /> Gary and asking questions and talk about<br /> you know games and medieval weapons and<br /> so we showed up for the book signing<br /> there’s nobody there for like the first<br /> thirty minutes because I think like I<br /> said if you were really wanted to show<br /> up if you’re the type of person like me<br /> who would show up early to get there<br /> like just as it starts you probably just<br /> went whole hog and paid prior like<br /> whatever the nominal fee to go to<br /> lecture so my friends and I had a chance<br /> to just kind of chat with him for a<br /> while and it was really cool he was very<br /> like in a lot of ways when I think of<br /> how I try to interact with gamers today<br /> I tried to think of that afternoon where<br /> he put up with us he answered all our<br /> questions he was very gracious he signed<br /> all our products and he really took the<br /> time to try to give us thoughtful<br /> answers to the questions we had and we<br /> asked him a bunch of questions about why<br /> did it work this way in a D&D and stuff<br /> so he was very patient with us I know<br /> from years ago when I met both Dave and<br /> Gary even when they had moved on they no<br /> longer we’re at TSR they were no longer<br /> working officially on D&D when I talked<br /> with both of them which was a great<br /> great honor to be able to do so years<br /> ago it was clear that D&D still had a<br /> special place in their hearts even<br /> though they had moved on<br /> they knew still this this game was<br /> momentous and again that’s something we<br /> take seriously all these years later<br /> that this is a very special thing it<br /> inspires other role-playing games to<br /> this day it inspires computer games<br /> board games and so forth that create a<br /> fire that that occurred all those years<br /> ago it’s still blazing thank you Mike<br /> Merle’s and Jimmy Crawford for talking<br /> about the impact of D&D I’m talking to<br /> your hosts thank you for watching<br /> you<br /> Share this:TweetWhatsAppTelegramEmail
