Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
When D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson Asked WotC For A Job!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Le Noir Faineant" data-source="post: 8753738" data-attributes="member: 30898"><p>The vitriol in this thread, surprising. To say the least.</p><p></p><p>Now, let's sort this out: The letter, bizarre, but... Remember the times, folks. 1997 was well before LinkedIn. Arneson was handing in an unsolicited application, sure, and a pretty bizarre one, on top of that. But was he wrong to do so? Like, completely out of line? The last person in the entire world that should have considered sending in an application? - Probably not, or not entirely.</p><p></p><p>Like, Arneson, compared to the other first-hour D&D pioneers, has one of the more respected overall careers. After TSR, he worked on selected projects that he liked, including running what might qualify as "Tekumel 2e", and later became a teacher for game design at one of the first universities that taught the subject. - And as to his skill as a manager of traditional RPG brands, well, in the 2000s, he oversaw the Blackmoor d20 line - ten-something books, and a RPGA-style campaign with 100-something episodes. So, it's probably not like he didn't know at all what he was doing, or ordering others to do. - Does that make him a likely candidate to run a billion-dollar company. Naaah. Is he anything worse than a fool, here, though? Probably not. Not more than when Frank Mentzer did his Kickstarter, for example.</p><p></p><p>Which brings me to the next point: Whom are we comparing Arneson to? MAR "I did nazi that coming" Barker? Rob "Technically, I didn't breach the contract" Kuntz? Gary "Castle Zagyg will release in 2005" Gygax?</p><p></p><p>This idea to paint Arneson as an imbecile, it's not just insulting, it's factually wrong. The difference between Arneson and, lamentably, most of the other older first-hour TSR folks is, simply, he wasn't an ever-raging sellout with all the traits of a narcissistic personality disorder. After his time in the gaming industry, he retired to work as a church minister, IIRC. He didn't move to Cali, leave his wife and kids, and engage on a years-long hookers-coke-binge like a certain Mr Gygax did. (As per the Gygax biography, "Empire of the Imagination".) - Just asking, how is he possibly, imaginably the bad one in the story of TSR, at least to some?</p><p></p><p>And as to the inevitable, "bUt hE wOn tHe LaWsUiT" - yeah, some freelance nobody had to trade legal blows with the fastest rising company in the entire world of the year 1981. And he still won - no "settlement", he won, with the mall lawyers he could afford. Legal papers available online to this day, by the way, for those who fancy a read. So, who is he - an imbecile who couldn't even type right, OR a weasel who played 4D chess? Like, is he the Joker AND the Riddler?</p><p></p><p>What a sad conversation to have, in the first place.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Le Noir Faineant, post: 8753738, member: 30898"] The vitriol in this thread, surprising. To say the least. Now, let's sort this out: The letter, bizarre, but... Remember the times, folks. 1997 was well before LinkedIn. Arneson was handing in an unsolicited application, sure, and a pretty bizarre one, on top of that. But was he wrong to do so? Like, completely out of line? The last person in the entire world that should have considered sending in an application? - Probably not, or not entirely. Like, Arneson, compared to the other first-hour D&D pioneers, has one of the more respected overall careers. After TSR, he worked on selected projects that he liked, including running what might qualify as "Tekumel 2e", and later became a teacher for game design at one of the first universities that taught the subject. - And as to his skill as a manager of traditional RPG brands, well, in the 2000s, he oversaw the Blackmoor d20 line - ten-something books, and a RPGA-style campaign with 100-something episodes. So, it's probably not like he didn't know at all what he was doing, or ordering others to do. - Does that make him a likely candidate to run a billion-dollar company. Naaah. Is he anything worse than a fool, here, though? Probably not. Not more than when Frank Mentzer did his Kickstarter, for example. Which brings me to the next point: Whom are we comparing Arneson to? MAR "I did nazi that coming" Barker? Rob "Technically, I didn't breach the contract" Kuntz? Gary "Castle Zagyg will release in 2005" Gygax? This idea to paint Arneson as an imbecile, it's not just insulting, it's factually wrong. The difference between Arneson and, lamentably, most of the other older first-hour TSR folks is, simply, he wasn't an ever-raging sellout with all the traits of a narcissistic personality disorder. After his time in the gaming industry, he retired to work as a church minister, IIRC. He didn't move to Cali, leave his wife and kids, and engage on a years-long hookers-coke-binge like a certain Mr Gygax did. (As per the Gygax biography, "Empire of the Imagination".) - Just asking, how is he possibly, imaginably the bad one in the story of TSR, at least to some? And as to the inevitable, "bUt hE wOn tHe LaWsUiT" - yeah, some freelance nobody had to trade legal blows with the fastest rising company in the entire world of the year 1981. And he still won - no "settlement", he won, with the mall lawyers he could afford. Legal papers available online to this day, by the way, for those who fancy a read. So, who is he - an imbecile who couldn't even type right, OR a weasel who played 4D chess? Like, is he the Joker AND the Riddler? What a sad conversation to have, in the first place. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
When D&D Co-Creator Dave Arneson Asked WotC For A Job!
Top