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For what it's worth, Gygax answered the OP's question at length in The Dragon #33 (January 1980). For those without the hard copy or the handy-dandy Dragon Archive CD-Rom, an excerpt: The article further goes on to talk about the influence DeCamp & Pratt's "Harold Shea" stories had on 1e AD&D...

My answer to whether 4e (and 3e, for that matter) is D&D is to say that it is quite obviously D&D... It says so right on the front of the book. However, it's not the same game as the D&D I play. Like American football and Association football (soccer) are both obviously football, but not the...

I just don't particularly like WotC's D&D products. They're not making anything I like, and it would require an utter reversal of the direction they've taken D&D over the last 10 years to even get me to consider buying one of their new D&D products. That said, I still do buy Magic cards and...

You'll calling the fan-made add ons to Castle Zagyg, "competition?" "Competition" with what? Was Gary mad when I created a Cave of the Unknown, named all the npcs in the Keep, and added onto the wilderness map? Isn't the entire point of rpg products coming up with cool adventures and...

Many of you will probably recall that the Ring of Invisibility in 1e could be... problematic. My group had a well known protocol that the ring would be assumed to be taken off at the end of an encounter and would not be back on until specifically stated as such. Anyway, this particular group...

Music. Cheesy metal music from the 80's makes me nostalgic. I don't think it's very good. I don't listen to it, generally. But it does remind me of the times I had with my buddies, when I was a kid. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Rolling Stones I listen to all the time. I do so because I...

Neither does Dungeons & Dragons and yet... A new edition is safety in a storm for a new game. Rather than put a new name on the new game, the company assigns the old tried and true IP to the new game and says, "Meet the new apple... No, it's not a pear, it's the new apple. Exactly the same...

In thinking about this subject, I would tend to say that the more the module is simply presenting an adventuring locale, the more old school it is. The more the module is presenting a series of events, the less old school it is. This, to me, is the single most important consideration.

How is the love for 4e not at least partially related to the ephemeral draw of the new and shiny? I mean, there's nothing wrong with liking things just because they're new and shiny. Me saying that someone likes 4e only because it's the new, hot thing is in no way pejorative. Why should...

Those complainers, then, had no clue about sword and sorcery literature. Again, I believe this is a case where there's a "mid-school." 70's and early 80's D&D was very much in the weird fantasy tradition of Moorcock, Leiber, Vance, Lovecraft, and Howard, all of whom, at various times mixed...

A linear dungeon is not a railroad. It might be boring and not particular interesting. In fact I'd argue that linear dungeons are generally just that. However, as long as the party can turn around and walk out without the DM's campaign falling to pieces, it's not a railroad. S1 is quite...

I'd go about a year earlier to here as the end of the old school. It's not necessarily the beginning of the "new school." I'm a believer that there is one or more "mid schools."

I think the issue people take with Tolkien is the stance some seem to have that Tolkien was THE influence on D&D, rather than an influence on D&D. Personally, I think The Hobbit is about as "D&D" as fantasy stories get. It even has the ebb and flow of a D&D game...

In the original rules the only game effect that a high strength, intelligence or wisdom would give you is the bonus/penalty to experience. There was no other mechanical effect in the rules. It was how the game modeled a strong person being a better fighter, etc. All the ability bonuses and...

Yes. This right here. We, as fans, should worry about the survival of the hobby, which as far as I'm concerned isn't in any real doubt. The industry is only there to support the hobby. I think too often in discussions of these types, people get that reversed, and the tail wags the dog. I...

I'm sorry, this was posted a while ago, but... Jack Vance is obscure? 50+ published works, 2 Nebula awards, a Hugo award, an Edgar award, one of only 26 authors inducted as a Grand Master by the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writers Association, and he's obscure? Wow! If Jack Vance is obscure, who besides...

Yes. By pretty much any measure you want to use, it's healthier to drink three bottles of beer during the game session than three bottles of the sugary soda pop of your choice. Further, there's not enough alcohol in those beers to alter the behavior of anyone beyond the legal drinking age in...

This was foreshadowed, of course... Giant In the Playground Games

This. Right here is where I'm coming from. Almost literally - I'm only about 90 miles from Maddman.

Well, for me, it would come down to why the person didn't want gaming at their session... I don't want booze around my kids - perfectly reasonable. I'm an observant Mormon/Muslm/etc. and I don't want booze in my house - perfectly reasonable. Gaming is serious business and I don't want anyone to...