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

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I'm curious if Dave Arneson ever spent any time as a player. Gary, yes (obviously), but from everything I've seen Dave seems to have always been behind the screen, so to speak.

 

[reelo]

On a related note, I'm also curious about Bilarro, of whom the iron bands are named after. (...) Was Bilarro always Robilar's evil twin from a parallel dimension, or was that invented for the 2007 Expedition adventure?

At least as far as the name is concerned I think I can guess how it came about (but I might be wrong)

Superman has Bizarro
Robilar has Bilarro

Did I guess right?

 

[Rob Kuntz]

I'm actually rather curious about that, since the Wikipedia entry makes it sound like Gary Gygax invented the name whole-cloth.

On a related note, I'm also curious about Bilarro, of whom the iron bands are named after. As I recall, the 2007 adventure Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk revealed that Bilarro was Robilar's evil (or at least, more evil) twin from Uerth, and had replaced Robilar quite a few years ago; that it was in fact he, not Robilar, who had helped Rary betray the Circle of Eight. All of which is fascinating (since I'm aware that you've long held that Robilar would never have turned on his comrade Mordenkainen like that), but the iron bands that gave us Bilarro's name predate that adventure by a long period of time; was Bilarro always Robilar's evil twin from a parallel dimension, or was that invented for the 2007 Expedition adventure?

Ok. I will write a comprehensive short history of Robilar for my column, here--perhaps including a timeline, as I have been time-lining a lot lately--rather than going into such matter in a hashed out, piece-meal, give-n-take. I had already written, at my Lord of the Green Dragons Blog, and some time back, a lesser article, "Will the Real Robilar Please Stand Up," in 2009 or 2010? Thanks for the prod along the avenue of articles I'm sculpting for Morrus.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

At least as far as the name is concerned I think I can guess how it came about (but I might be wrong)

Superman has Bizarro
Robilar has Bilarro

Did I guess right?

Somewhat as Mona had understood from me and by referencing the UA, "Iron Bands of Bilarro" and other info. dating back to the Greyhawk-L Serve days (1996), then even farther back to pre-TSR times. All will be explained in an upcoming column, here.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

I'm curious if Dave Arneson ever spent any time as a player. Gary, yes (obviously), but from everything I've seen Dave seems to have always been behind the screen, so to speak.

A good question better asked of the Minnesota Players like David Megarry, Greg Svenson, Bill Hoyt, et al.
Good starting point for that: Secrets of Blackmoor - A Dungeons & Dragons Documentary Gary DMed Dave once with the latter playing a Monk and it was a solo City of Greyhawk adventure.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

That does not make much sense, he was clearly Rob's character. ROBilar kind of says everything about who played him.

Edit: Did not notice the part in the article where it says that Gary suggested the name.

Gary did invent the name as a tribute to me. The full story will be told via a future, upcoming column here. One more thing added to my burgeoning list...

 

[Oldtimer]

Kuntz, then still a teenager, wanted to be a designer. Instead he was titled a “chairman” of the company, but said that functionally he was the director of shipping.

That explains why the enclosed letter I got with my D&D set was signed by Rob Kuntz. I imagine there wasn't a whole lot of D&D being sent to Sweden in the fall of '74. I hope that it wasn't too inconvenient for you Rob and that the extra $10 I sent covered the shipping. Or maybe I still owe you for that.

 

[Rob Kuntz]

That explains why the enclosed letter I got with my D&D set was signed by Rob Kuntz. I imagine there wasn't a whole lot of D&D being sent to Sweden in the fall of '74. I hope that it wasn't too inconvenient for you Rob and that the extra $10 I sent covered the shipping. Or maybe I still owe you for that.

Well by 1974/75 I was 19/20 years, a young adult and had two publishing credits (Greyhawk, an article in 1973 w/Gary for THE GENERAL 'zine) and was on my way to Gods, Demi-Gods and Heroes and had been Gary's DM, co-DM and had designed World of Kalibruhn (top down) and Castle El Raja Key the latter used in the playtests of D&D. Playtesting credits of other games goes off the list--I was absorbing concepts like a thirsty sponge.==then two years running GENCON 75/76 and Winter Fantasy 1 after my departure in 1976 and the articles for SR and Dragon Magazine on the near horizon. Many hats worn by me, as all of us were doing. It was a team effort, a group thing.

Shipping was very demanding even when Brian Blume and I were handling it out of Gary's basement prior to moving to the Williams and Marshall street location.

Do you still have that letter? I'd love to see a copy of it for posterity and historical purposes if you do!

Thanks galore for being an Old Timer, nothing due, all paid up it seems.

 

[reelo]

I wonder when (if any at all) the first D&D products officially made it to Luxembourg. The "earliest" products I remember buying (and still have) are the FR "Grey Box" and the Basic adventure "Dymrak's Dread". But both are in German, so that must have been during 2E times.

 

[havard]

I look on it as Dave was an ideas man but Gary could produce something.

A lot of people hold this belief, but is there really any basis for this? In the early 70s, Dave wrote a series of articles submitted to Gary's fan magazine, the Domesday Book. Dave published the game Don't Give Up The Ship (co-written with Mike Carr and Gary Gygax) and later went on to publish RPGs like Adventures in Fantasy and Trapman as well as adventures for Shadowrun and various other RPGs.

As Rob Kuntz mentions in this thread, Dave clearly had the intent of getting his Blackmoor game published.

Would a game by Dave without Gary have been as good or as successful? That is a different question and we will never know the answer to that one.

I am definitely not disputing Gary's contributions to the game. But I think we shouldn't dismiss Dave as simply a man with ideas either.



-Havard