TSR Rob Kuntz Recounts The Origins Of D&D

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In this interesting article from Kotaku, Rob Kuntz relates a history of early TSR that differs somewhat from the narrative we usually hear. It delves into the relationship between Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (D&D's co-creators) and the actual development of the game, which dates back to Arneson in 1971.

Dungeons & Deceptions: The First D&D Players Push Back On The Legend Of Gary Gygax

Everybody calls Rob Kuntz last, he says. Those who want to know about the history of Dungeons & Dragons start with co-creator Gary Gygax’s kids, one of Gygax’s biographers, or D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast. As they’re wrapping things up, they might get around to dialing up Kuntz, a...

kotaku.com

 

[David Howery]

Interesting article. But what struck me most was nothing about D&D, but the writer's seeming confusion over Afrika Korps and military miniatures gaming. AK, of course, is a standard 'counter and hex board' game. Historical miniature games are loads of fun (when I used to go to Gencon regularly, I always signed up for one or two), and are undoubtedly a precursor to D&D, and I own a couple of rules sets for them....

 

[lowkey13]

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[lowkey13]

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[Rob Kuntz]

Interesting article. But what struck me most was nothing about D&D, but the writer's seeming confusion over Afrika Korps and military miniatures gaming. AK, of course, is a standard 'counter and hex board' game. Historical miniature games are loads of fun (when I used to go to Gencon regularly, I always signed up for one or two), and are undoubtedly a precursor to D&D, and I own a couple of rules sets for them....

Yep. She never copied me on the final draft and never sent me a link, I found out about it two days after publication. Or I would have corrected her many mistakes therein. It was rather haphazard in spots, rushed.

 

[David Howery]

Yep. She never copied me on the final draft and never sent me a link, I found out about it two days after publication. Or I would have corrected her many mistakes therein. It was rather haphazard in spots, rushed.

makes sense. Like a lot of people back in the day, I was into AH/SPI type board wargames before I discovered D&D (around 1980). Military miniatures weren't a thing for me (try finding that kind of stuff in rural MT) until a lot later... mainly when I started going to Gencon regularly....

 

[Rob Kuntz]

This is an anecdote that I have shared.

For a very long time, I had this recollection of playing a game with friends. And I can recall playing it, and going through it, and I know for a fact that we played B4 (the Lost City) and were using the PHB.

Except that the Lost City was released in 1982, and I know that this occurred before 1982. I didn't realize this until I looked it up a few years ago. And yet, despite the fact that I know with 100% certainty that I have a false memory, I still have the distinct recollection of this event (which I know happened!) ... and I don't know what was played, because memory can play tricks on you.

That's something I know an unfortunate bit about in my profession, too. Maybe it's just being jaded, I don't know. But that's why I find that it is best, when there are conflicts in narratives, to try and determine what the agreements are, and how they can be proven up with contemporaneous documents.

Except that play session in 1972 WAS documented in Wargames #1 (1977), "The History of D&D: Past, Present and Future" by myself as author. It was also retold dozens of times in person and on board posts between then and now; and is fully recounted in "A Tale of Two Daves, Two Gygax's & Two Kuntz's" forthcoming through my firm.

 

[lowkey13]

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[Rob Kuntz]

Just to be clear, your recounting of it five years later is a little different than a contemporaneous account; in addition, your account is slightly different than that of others who were there. That doesn't mean you're wrong, or right, just that people can have slightly different perceptions of the same event.

Just like, for example, your perception and that of Kask re: Arneson and his time at TSR are going to be slightly different. Or, for that matter, Gygax's perception at the time, as opposed to 30 years later.

There were six people there as noted. Now living, that is, Ernie Gygax, Terry Kuntz (my brother's PC died from a fireball in that adventure with Arneson throwing lots of dice behind the screen to determine that), David Megarry and myself, Gary and Dave are gone. None of the remaining would refute what I say, because that is what happened, They did not refute it when that article was published either, nor when I retold it in person or published it online when Dave and Gary still lived. Sorry. It happened, it's recorded, it's been told countless times with scads of opportunities for refutation and none have occurred nor will they occur.

 

[lowkey13]

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[Rob Kuntz]

Um, okay. You know that people disagree with you, right? I'm not going to argue with you about your memories, but the great amount of extrapolation you are doing has been disagreed with. Take care!

Um, okay. You know that people disagree with you, right? I'm not going to argue with you about your memories, but the great amount of extrapolation you are doing has been disagreed with. Take care!

ad hominem. Who disagrees? There were only 6 people there. 2 are dead who never disagreed with me. My brother's PC was the only death and he remembers it well as he sat out the remaining part of the adventure until he could play in Dungeon, afterwards. Ernie sat to my right and was a fighter and battled the troll and the ogres and balrogs like the rest of us did. Will he disagree? Will Megarry who lead the adventure and still retains his maps and notes from it disagree, our leader who suggested we flee to the outdoor to escape from the wizard who fireballed Terry's PC and who was in hot pursuit of us as we fled Blackmoor Castle? So. Who are all of these mysterious people who were not there who will now disagree?