History of the game

[gamecat]

Who thought of the Mind Flayer? It doesn't seem mythological to me, and this question has been burning me for a while.

 

[adndgamer]

Good question. I *think* it may have come from Call of Cthulu (Cthuluesque?).

 

[dreamthief]

I think it might have been the result of looking at a squid dinner too long.. but that's my take.

 

[mmadsen]

Who thought of the Mind Flayer? It doesn't seem mythological to me, and this question has been burning me for a while.

I suspect Gygax made it up, but it's most certainly Cthulhu inspired.

Now I want to know where the heck the Gnoll came from. Hyena men? Is there some famous fantasy classic with hyena men?

 

[Grazzt]

Gygax or Arneson did the mind flayer. It first appeared way back in the small booklets (early-to-mid 1970's) that were eventually to become D&D as the OD&D and 1e players knew it. There is no mythological equal that I know of...

 

[Geoffrey]

Actually, the very first appearance of the mind flayer was in The Strategic Review #1 (the precursor to Dragon magazine), way back in 1975. It doesn't have a by-line, but most of the stuff in those early days that didn't list its author was by Gary Gygax.

Mind flayers are not in any H. P. Lovecraft fiction, but they certainly seem "inspired" by Cthulhu.

 

[Grazzt]

Actually, the very first appearance of the mind flayer was in The Strategic Review #1 (the precursor to Dragon magazine), way back in 1975. It doesn't have a by-line, but most of the stuff in those early days that didn't list its author was by Gary Gygax.

Hmm- I thought the flayer first appeared before the Strategic review was out. Perhaps I am mistaken. I remember Orcus and Demogorgon and a few other monsters being out before SR hit the stands.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Re: Re: History of the game

Now I want to know where the heck the Gnoll came from. Hyena men? Is there some famous fantasy classic with hyena men?

Well there's a short story by someone (dunno who) called "The Man Who Sold Rope To the Gnolls", though I can't recall what the "gnolls" looked like.