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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 4088437" data-attributes="member: 3192">Dungeons & Dragons is Mr. Gary Gygax.  From about 1973 to 1985 it was not so much a game as a piece of art, a design and a writing style, and the way in which he ran his games - a storytelling raconteur with a penchant for grand gestures.  The infusion  of himself into the game made it more than another bland set of game rules. The class and race choices, the shades of chaos versus law, the inspiration of Jack Vance for the magic system, the baroque vocabulary, the wry and campy humor, the need for heroism and caution, the giddiness of expectatation.  The phenomenon of fantasy roleplaying, its' early tabletop success, may have been larger than D&D.  But the body of D&D, the work of it, its' flavor and description, its' design decisions, its' worlds and adventures, almost all come from the imagination of one person.  Sure, it's a beg, borrow, and steal of fantasy authors and some non-fantasy authors from all over the grid of 1970s culture.  But no matter the source, every one's inclusion in the game was from a singular personal taste.D&D stopped being D&D when Mr. Gygax left TSR.  That was the predominant opinion when it happened and second edition AD&D was announced and still my own opinion today.  Sure the game and some of the rules continue on with a smaller and smaller portion of him in them, but this seems only necessary to broaden the audience. I do not believe any one person's preference for fantasy roleplay is the "right way to play", but Dungeon and Dragons is not only the current published game.  Or the holder of the trademark.  Or a particular version of the system.  Or a particular playstyle thereof. It is a long standing community of players and fans who have enjoyed some portion, if not all, of the legacy of gaming from one man.I do not mean to be overly histrionic.  There have been problems with the game, with the people involved, and the history of the early company.  What rises above these human errancies and others unmentioned is the nature of the community.  The RPGers I know are an inclusive bunch.  We have our differences to be sure, but at the gaming table we set aside real world quarrels and come together. It is a cooperation game in the end. And from D&D we gain a taste of adventure, of challenge, enjoyment, and a little bit of edification.We might disagree on what particulars, a rule or a setting element, are or aren't explicitly embodied by Dungeons & Dragons.  I know I disagree with many of the current positionings.  But I believe the communal spirit that is D&D still exists and should very much still continue to exist.  That's the Dungeons & Dragons brand in my opinion.</blockquote>

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