D&D General Dave Arneson’s Pitch for the future of TSR and D&D in ‘97 to Peter Adkison

Following his 1997 application for a job at WotC, D&D co-creator Dave Arneson wrote a second letter to WoTC founder Peter Adkison and made a pitch about how he'd run TSR and D&D.

D&D General - When D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson Asked WotC For A Job!

Back in 1997, after WotC had purchased the failing TSR (and D&D), and just prior to the launch of D&D 3E, Dave Arneson -- who co-created D&D in the 1970s along with Gary Gygax -- wrote to WotC president Peter Adkison asking to be put in charge of TSR. Ben Riggs -- author of Slaying the...

www.enworld.org

Despite his excitement his plans seem underwhelming.

My heart already bleeds for Arneson. The man has never received his due as D&D’s co-creator. He never made CEO. He wasn’t on Futurama. TSR and Gary Gygax did him dirty. (This has been explored in my prior post and in Game Wizards by Jon Peterson.)

This letter is Arneson’s moment. If he wants to make D&D for a living again, he has to put points on the board, and he has to do it with this letter. Now. But he hasn’t even bothered to check his punctuation!

Six pages of his research and plans follow. Here’s a summary, but I’m pasting the letter below if you want to thrill to every misspelled word.

In the main, Arneson’s thoughts are nothing you wouldn’t have heard hanging around a game store in the spring of 1997. He said that all of TSR’s projects were “dead in the water,” which the whole world knew as the company hadn’t published anything for months.

See Ben Riggs article for the full letter and more of his observations.

Why D&D’s Co-Creator Didn’t Get Hired by Wizards of the Coast — Ben Riggs

Unfortunately Dave Arneson’s Plans for Dungeons & Dragons in 1997 Were Not Great

www.writerbenriggs.com

 

[Alzrius]

Jack Kirby is a "prolific comic book artist" in the same way Pablo Picasso is a "well-known painter."

I mean, you're not wrong and all, but all I can think about is exactly who it was that just liked your post.

EDIT: Didn't realize Snarf has apparently been back for a few days now. Still good to see, though!

 

[Mannahnin]

My copy of Flint's book did arrive a couple of days ago, though I haven't had time to get into it. A few other books are ahead of it in the queue, including The Satanic Verses, recently started.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Better link for Sagard the Barbarian books (including some reviews) at Demian's Gamebook Web Page.

 

[Shardstone]

I still don't understand why people think Arneson was a victim in all this. The guy couldn't finish a project to save his life. You need more than one good idea you let other people bring to fruition in order to be considered a creator. Gygax was a self aggrandizing jerk with control issues, for sure, but at least he produced the work.

How callousn