D&D General I wish people would avoid name-dropping Gary Gygax

[Remathilis]

I mean, if one is trying to use Gary as some sort of "I win" button--other than to point out pure historical facts, I guess?--then they've made a self-defeating argument. It is trivially true that D&D is not exclusively what Gygax personally created, because so many versions of it have been written by other people. Gygax is no more the sole arbiter of what is or could be D&D than, say, H.P. Lovecraft is the sole arbiter of what is or could be Cthulhu stories and cosmic horror generally. Yes, the genre owes an enormous debt to him, but even during his lifetime other people were already writing stories about Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep, and he himself "borrowed" Hastur/The King in Yellow too.

He basically gets trotted out like one of those Original Intent/Strict Constructionist arguments. The way it was is the way it should be attempts to slow or stall change. Hence you see things like "as Gygax intended" or similar when arguing about how the game has moved on from the early playstyle. OS gamers will treat him as a patron saint or prophet in such arguments. He's mythologized as some font of ancient wisdom when he was a talented creator but certainly not the only one nor are his ideas immutable truths.

So yeah, I respect the man, but his way isn't any truer or more pure than any other

 

[Theory of Games]

What's weird is people falling into a sad coma over Gygax even being mentioned ... on a site that features discussion of tabletop rpgs.

 

[Sacrosanct]

So yeah, I respect the man, but his way isn't any truer or more pure than any other

Especially how he played his personal games with different rules than he wrote in the 1e books. I mean, who didn't, right? But it's flawed to treat the 1e books as Sacrosanct (no pun intended) when he himself would use house rules that differed from those rules.

 

[Joshua Randall]

When playing D&D, on every roll that doesn't go my way, I blame Gary Gygax, because it is his fault, personally, even though he's been dead for 17 years.

 

[TiQuinn]

What's weird is people falling into a sad coma over Gygax even being mentioned ... on a site that features discussion of tabletop rpgs.

I would say it's the rebound effect from decades of unexamined, uncritical idolization.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

My preferred gaming gods to invoke are Ken St. Andre, Michael Stackpole, Liz Danforth, Steve Perrin, Sandy Petersen and Marc Miller so I have no bone in this fight.

 

[MGibster]

I will sometimes describe a dungeon's design as Gygaxian but it's not a compliment. I've been playing D&D on and off now since around 1988, so for as long as I've been a player, Gary hasn't really been a part of D&D. I do appreciate his accomplishments and contributions, I think Greyhawk is great for example, but D&D went in a different direction once he left TSR. I don't really see a lot of people invoke the Gygax name as an authority on how D&D should be played today. Maybe I just don't hang around the right places.

By the way, I'm drinking an Orange-Cream Coca-Cola right now and it's delicious. I just wanted to share that with you.

 

[Distracted DM]

I will sometimes describe a dungeon's design as Gygaxian but it's not a compliment.

Perhaps, but when I see gygaxian language I thoroughly enjoy it.

 

[R_J_K75]

even though he's been dead for 17 years.

Been that long huh? Ironically, I found out he died while listening to the Jim Rome Show at work.

 

[Blue]

Here is how to talk about Gary Gygax.

His words, here, to us.