TSR merged with Games Workshop?

[AllisterH]

On unreason's great thread at rpg.net, someone pointed out that at one time, there was an intended merger between GW and TSR that was nixed by the Blume brothers.

I've been always interested in the history of TSR and this is a shock to me. So, I'm wondering, if TSR and GW HAD merged, what do you guys think the result would've been?

Personally, given GW's draconian presecence, I can see no good things although, TSR would've never been bought by WOTC as I don't think even now, WOTC could swallow GW.

 

[billd91]

On unreason's great thread at rpg.net, someone pointed out that at one time, there was an intended merger between GW and TSR that was nixed by the Blume brothers.

I've been always interested in the history of TSR and this is a shock to me. So, I'm wondering, if TSR and GW HAD merged, what do you guys think the result would've been?

Personally, given GW's draconian presecence, I can see no good things although, TSR would've never been bought by WOTC as I don't think even now, WOTC could swallow GW.

I think it's pretty likely it would have not made the decisions it made and probably wouldn't be as successful as it has been with the Warhammer lines.

 

[greatamericanfolkher]

I don’t think that the WHFRPG would be the same great game it is today, but the minis would be awesome!

 

[Lord Xtheth]

If GW bought TSR, the results would have been:

1. No 3.x as we know it, OH it would have been a new eddition, but it wouldn't be what we all know (and most of us loved).

2. D&D minis would have been made as blister packs, making for custom characters, but WAY more expensive.

3. WFRPG would have been made compatable, or D&D would have been made compatable with both systems.

4. D&D online might have been better.

5. No DDI at all, but no restrictions on 3rd party "play online" systems

Those are my guesses anyways.

 

[WayneLigon]

I guess that would have depended on who was on the board of directors. Without the poisonous business decisions of the Blumes, TSR would have remained a healthy company and Gary never would have been locked out of his own office.

I think:
We would have had a new edition of D&D sooner and 2E would likely have been more of a departure from 1E than it was, and likely there would be more diverse 'lines' of D&D. I think we'd have a 'historical' series of D&D lines for some reason; I'm not sure, but this just feels 'right' for some reason. We'd likely have had a bit more humor in some of the modules, for the same reason. I should do a 'reading White Dwarf' thread but I don't think I have all of them.

I think we'd have seen a third edition of D&D somewhere about 1995. and we'd have been playing fourth edition for three-four years now. At the least.

With the infusion of GW's design team, D&D would likely be somewhat 'further afield' than it got in the late 80s/early 90s. Without D&D staying as moribund as it did, there would have been not as great a desire for 'different stuff' in games in general. Without a sick TSR, likely 'Vampire' would not have happened, or gained as large a share of the gaming public as it did.

The design sensibilities of the GW folk might have kept D&D players from becoming so 'dogmatic' and restrictive. It might be perfectly natural that dwarves would have giant orange mohawks. It wouldn't have taken us 20 years to see something like Eberron. Certainly what we consider the state of the art in graphics design would have changed drastically. GW was producing beautiful town layouts and building designs that looked like people lived there while TSR produced cookie-cutter square keeps and cities that looked like they were designed by the Rubber Stamp People of Saturn. What we consider today as 'classic D&D fantasy art' would be very different. I don't think Elmore would have fared well in that environment.

D&D miniatures would have been part and parcel of the whole works for a long time, and we'd certainly have better ones. People nowadays think of GW as only a minis company but that wasn't true for a long time. The merger in fact probably would mean there never would be a massive Warhammer minis-based universe: with TSR's guidance and cash, they'd have stayed an RPG design house. D&D might well have some significant Warhammer elements in it, though; I'd look for 'Chaos' to have gradually become more important that 'Evil' in the D&D terminology. Instead of Greyhawk or The Realms, I think we'd have seen some sort of 'Fantasy Europa' setting, like a mashup of The Empire and Gygax's Lejendary Adventures setting.

 

[Shroomy]

I guess it would come down to who was buying out whom, and thus, whose corporate culture would have been in effect.

 

[Edgewood]

Dragon Magazine and White Dwarf would have been merged as well. Possibly under either Dragon or White Dwarf which would have reflected the amalgam. Dungeon would have continued as a perfect vehicle to continue with adventures. One wonders that if this had occurred, would Paizo have ever surfaced?

 

[ProfessorCirno]

in the grim darkness of the forgotten realms, there is only war.

 

[love.christine]

in the grim darkness of the forgotten realms, there is only war.

 

[WayneLigon]

Dragon Magazine and White Dwarf would have been merged as well. Possibly under either Dragon or White Dwarf which would have reflected the amalgam. Dungeon would have continued as a perfect vehicle to continue with adventures. One wonders that if this had occurred, would Paizo have ever surfaced?

They could have called it 'White Dragon' Given an infusion of White Dwarf's superior graphics style and art direction, I doubt their circulation would have ever dropped to the point of TSR saying 'let's spin this off to a seperate company'.