D&D General Extra Credits: The History of D&D Hasbro Refused to Learn

[CleverNickName]

"The History of D&D Hasbro Refused to Learn From" is a riveting exploration of the legal battles that have influenced the evolution of Dungeons & Dragons and the entire RPG industry. We will take you on a time-traveling journey through the origins of D&D, the rise of third-party publishers, the licensing agreements, and the subsequent lawsuits that changed the game's trajectory. Discover how legal disputes and fan discontent have shaped the game we know and love today, and get a glimpse into the future of this iconic tabletop RPG. Prepare for an epic dive into the decades-long drama of D&D's legal and fan challenges!

Sources and additional reading:
*Game Wizards, by Jon Peterson: https://a.co/d/i2cxXJ6
*Designers & Dragons, The 70s, by Shannon Appelcline: https://bit.ly/EvilhatDnD
*Slaying the Dragon, by Ben Riggs: https://a.co/d/4limcn9

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:00 - The "Odd Pattern" of D&D Editions, and History Repeating Itself
01:57 - First time travel gag (the O.G. Time Machine)
02:27 - 1974 and the origins of D&D: Gary and Dave
03:06 - TSR is born
04:30 - The creation of the Judges Guild and "City State of the Invincible Overlord"
05:06 - The creation of Games Workshop
05:28 - The creation of Mayfair Games
06:00 - Tragedy strikes (Death of Don K.)
06:29 - Second time travel gag (Doc's Delorean)
06:57 - 1982 and the Two D&Ds (Basic and Advanced)
08:09 - TSR becomes litigious, forming the gaming industry we have today.
09:03 - Creation of new RPGs
09:23 - Third time travel gag (Bill & Ted's phone booth)
09:47 - 1991 and the TSR bankruptcy
10:30 - The role of Lorraine Williams
11:19 - TSR becomes even more litigious, giving rise to "T$R"
12:47 - The role of Magic: the Gathering in the decline of TSR
13:21 - Wizards of the Coast buys TSR
13:33 - Fourth time travel gag (Futurama)
13:53 - 2000 and Hasbro buy Wizards of the Coast for $325M
14:01 - 3rd Edition Rules, the d20 System, the OGL, and Ryan Dancey
15:27 - "The D20 Boom"
15:26 - Fifth time travel gag
16:01 - 2005 and pop culture becomes mainstream
16:17 - Hasbro wants D&D to be a "big brand", riffing on the pre-2023 D&D movies
16:40 - 4th Edition Rules, the GSL, and the revocation of the OGL/d20 System
17:31 - Paizo and the Pathfinder game
18:28 - Hasbro releases final revised GSL, but the damage had been done.
18:47 - Pathfinder outsells D&D
19:22 - Sixth time travel gag (nerd rage opens a wormhole)
19:42 - 2016, the 5th Edition Rules, and the return of the OGL
20:08 - 5E is the best selling edition to date, more than all other editions combined
20:31 - Critical Role cameo
20:50 - Seventh time travel gag (Hot Tub Time Machine)
20:56 - 2023 and the repeated mistakes of Hasbro
21:42 - Promising steps, course corrections, and an optimistic future
22:23 - Outro
22:48 - Nebula ad
24:53 - Ending credits

 

[overgeeked]

I tried to watch that but they flubbed the basic history of the creation of the game.

 

[CleverNickName]

I tried to watch that but they flubbed the basic history of the creation of the game.

It's pretty obvious that they had to skip large portions of "the full and glorious history of TSR" to keep the episode under the time limit. The emphasis is more on the legal history of D&D, not so much the game's origin.

What flub(s) are you referring to? Cuz I spotted two or three.

 

[overgeeked]

It's pretty obvious that they had to skip large portions of "the full and glorious history of TSR" to keep the episode under the time limit.

Shave the 7 time travel gags and they could have included an extra sentence or two to get things right. What time limit? Critical Role posts 4-5 hour long videos.

The emphasis is more on the legal history of D&D, not so much the game's origin.

Clearly, because that's what they flubbed.

What flub(s) are you referring to?

Gary and Dave didn't get an idea. David Wesley got an idea and shared it with Dave Arneson, who ran games with that idea for years before running a game for Gary Gygax. Gary got Dave's notes, changed them a bunch with little to no input from Dave, then published that as D&D. It's like perpetuating the myth the Musk invented the Tesla. He didn't.

 

[TerraDave]

....

Gary and Dave didn't get an idea. David Wesley got an idea and shared it with Dave Arneson, who ran games with that idea for years before running a game for Gary Gygax. Gary got Dave's notes, changed them a bunch with little to no input from Dave, then published that as D&D. It's like perpetuating the myth the Musk invented the Tesla. He didn't.

I think Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax had many ideas. Some of which actually worked.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'll say this much about the EC video: they got the litigious history of TSR right. (At least, what I can remember of it anyway. I was just a teen at the time.)

 

[Vaalingrade]

Shave the 7 time travel gags and they could have included an extra sentence or two to get things right.

Way more entertaining this way though.

 

[darjr]

I was going to say that the facts in the video were serviceable for the creators overall point but then he said Lorrain Williams declared TSR bankruptcy in 1997. Which is absolutely not correct.

Still it isn’t his main point but dangit that is glaring.

 

[CleverNickName]

I was going to say that the facts in the video were serviceable for the creators overall point but then he said Lorrain Williams declared TSR bankruptcy in 1997. Which is absolutely not correct.

Still it isn’t his main point but dangit that is glaring.

Yep, she sold the company in 1997 to Wizards of the Coast. TSR never declared bankruptcy, at least not that I recall.

 

[darjr]

So I think, mostly, the facts he flubs are not important to his overall point and that it is a sheer ton of history to cover. While I think those flubs are glaring to me and impacts their credibility to a degree, I’m not sure it ruins it completely and they make a valid overall point.

But I think most folks get that point already. And those that didn’t, who I presume are the target audience, also won’t know how badly some of the facts get flubbed. So… eh.

I won’t be recommending the video.