History of D&D speech

[Necro_Kinder]

Hello Gents. I am giving a speech (in speech class obviously) on the history of D&D. Anyone who knows of an good sources, published or on the web, help would be appreciated. And this isn't just because I am lazy or anything, it's because I figure you guys would know of some pretty good sources.

-Danke, Necro

 

[Asmor]

Hello Gents. I am giving a speech (in speech class obviously) on the history of D&D. Anyone who knows of an good sources, published or on the web, help would be appreciated. And this isn't just because I am lazy or anything, it's because I figure you guys would know of some pretty good sources.

-Danke, Necro

I assume you're already familiar with 30 Years of Adventure or whatever that coffee table book is.

You could always pester Col_Pladoh for an interview. Of course, there's no guarantee he wouldn't cast melf's acid arrow on you for the sheer audacity. So... do that at your own peril.

 

[tankschmidt]

Here's a firsthand account of part of the original Blackmoor game, written by Greg Svenson, one of Dave Arneson's players: http://home.tampabay.rr.com/gsvenson/svenny.html

Dave Arneson's site also has a few articles about the history of roleplaying: http://www.jovianclouds.com/blackmoor/ori.html

Someone posted these dates as a timeline of what was going with D&D in the seventies. That blog has since been deleted, but I did manage to recover the list for you. For your research, Blackmoor, Greyhawk, and El Raja Key are good places to start. Tons of later modules were pulled out of levels to those dungeons (Maure Castle, Dungeonland, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, etc)

1971
1. Castle Blackmoor (Dave Arneson’s campaign/Judges Guild accessory)

1972
2. Castle Greyhawk (Gary Gygax’s campaign)
3. El Raja Key (Rob Kuntz’s campaign)
4. City Greyhawk (G.G. campaign)
5. Lost City of the Elders (R.K. campaign)

1974
6. Lake Gloomey (D.A. campaign)
7. Temple of the Elder Gods (R.K. campaign)
8. The Orc Level (R.K. campaign)

1975
9. Temple of the Frog (scenario in TSR's Blackmoor supplement)
10. Tomb of Horrors (Origins I tournament/TSR module)
11. The Stalk (R.K. campaign)
12. Fomalhaut (R.K. campaign)
13. Fountains of Fire (R.K. campaign)
14. The Border God (R.K. campaign)
15. The Cult of Mandarin (R.K. campaign)

1976
16. Escape from Astigar's Lair (MichiCon V tournament/JG module)
17. Expedition to theBarrier Peaks (Origins II tournament/TSR module)
18. GENCON IX Dungeons (tournaments/JG module)
19. Lost Caverns of Tsojconth (WinterCon V tournament/Metro Detroit Games module/TSR module)
20. Palace of the Vampire Queen (Wee Warriors module)
21. Demonworld (R.K. campaign)
22. Dark Druids (R.K. campaign/Necromancer Games module)
23. Lair of the Pit Fiend (R.K. campaign)

1977
24. Dwarven Glory (WW module)
25. City State of the Invincible Overlord (JG accessory)
26. Tegel Manor (JG module)
27. Modron (JG module)
28. Of Skulls and Scrapfaggot Green (GenCon X tournament/JG module)

1978
29. Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (TSR module)
30. Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl (TSR module)
31. Hall of the Fire Giant King (TSR module)
32. Descent Into the Depths of the Earth (TSR module)
33. Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (TSR module)
34. Vault of the Drow (TSR module)
35. Tomb of Horrors (TSR module)
36. The Thieves of Fortress Badabaskor (JG module)
37. Citadel of Fire (JG module)
38. Frontier Forts of Kelnore (JG module)
39. The Dragon Crown (JG module)
40. Quest for the Fazzlewood (WinterCon VII tournament/Metro Detroit Games module/TSR module)

1979
41. The Village of Hommlet (TSR module)
42. White Plume Mountain (TSR module)
43. Pharoah (Day Star Media module/TSR module)
44. Rahasia (DSM module/TSR module)
45. Fortress Ellendar (Fantasy Productions module)
46. Lost Tomoachan: The Hidden Shrine of Lubaatum (Origins V tournament/TSR module)
47. The Ghost Tower of Inverness (WinterCon VIII tournament/TSR module)

And the rest, as they say, is history!

 

[el-remmen]

Wikipedia has a pretty good D&D page.

As an aside, I thought this thread was going to be about the History of Speech IN D&D - that is the jargon and discourse has changed over the years.

 

[Oryan77]

I thought this thread was going to be about the BBEGs monologue right before he attacks the PCs.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

I dunno, but if you don't write it out in boxed text, I'll be heartbroken.

 

[grodog]

Here are some other good sources, too:
- Victor Raymond's history of rpgs @ http://www.mage-page.com/index.php?pageid=17
- Shannon Appel's histories of rpg companies on rpg.net @ http://www.rpg.net/columns/list-column.phtml?colname=briefhistory

The Acaeum and Tome of Treasures are the best sources for details on the early D&D products:
- http://www.acaeum.com/
- http://www.tomeoftreasures.com/

Robin Laws' recent 40 Years of GenCon at http://www.amazon.com/Years-Gen-Con...d_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1195268361&sr=8-1 is a good summary of the early state of the hobby viz-a-viz GenCon's development. Instead of the 30 Years of Adventure book (which is very skimpy on the early years of the hobby), I recommend the "25 Years of TSR" from the Silver Anniversary Box Set (which you can often buy on eBay seperately from the box set, which is good since the full box usually sells for $100+).

 

[Nifft]

As an aside, I thought this thread was going to be about the History of Speech IN D&D - that is the jargon and discourse has changed over the years.

Me, too. Or at least a discussion regarding the origins of "the Common tongue" found in Tolkein.

Oh well, -- N

 

[TarionzCousin]

Here's a firsthand account of part of the original Blackmoor game, written by Greg Svenson, one of Dave Arneson's players: http://home.tampabay.rr.com/gsvenson/svenny.html

Dave Arneson's site also has a few articles about the history of roleplaying: http://www.jovianclouds.com/blackmoor/ori.html

Someone posted these dates as a timeline of what was going with D&D in the seventies. That blog has since been deleted, but I did manage to recover the list for you. For your research, Blackmoor, Greyhawk, and El Raja Key are good places to start. Tons of later modules were pulled out of levels to those dungeons (Maure Castle, Dungeonland, Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, etc)

Great info. Thanks, tankschmidt!