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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 9669987" data-attributes="member: 6799660">Honestly, I think it is the wrong question. I think we* are too in love with the idea of geniuses (we as a culture, but even moreso nerddom fandom and those who show up in forums like this). There's something to be said for someone who sees a good idea and then just plain puts in the work. The amount of playtesting that went into oD&D is genuinely astounding. Some of the adventures Gary wrote, similarly, clearly have lots and lots of effort behind them. The places that get the most critique in oD&D  (the editing and organization) and AD&D (the organization, some clearly untested subsystems), are the places where they look genuinely incomplete. Much of the later material like Unearthed Arcana that we generally consider of poorer quality is likewise Gary going through the motions or trying to cut corners. Going past Gary to this board, effort clearly matters. Is our own beloved Snarf a genius? I have no idea. I can tell you though, they put in ten times more effort on their columns alone than I spend thinking about TTRPGs in total, and it pays off. Mind you, if you don't start with a good idea, you are unlikely to come up with a good product (and that seems to define post TSR Gary).From context (has a fantasy supplement), I assume you mean <s>oD&D</s>Chainmail. Greyhawk was mostly Gary's (and Kuntze's) own work (although occasionally others ideas, as in the case of those new character classes).I find cross-forum drama unseemly, so take this with a grain of salt. However, I've found the culture at DF has vacillated over the years. Like anywhere else without an entrance requirement and unextreme ban policy, it's just anyone who chooses to be there. That said, it's been not remarkably better or worse than anywhere else.</blockquote>

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