Had my games sunday and friday, and decided to point out too the Tiefling that Gygax would be turning in his grave at the thought of a fiendish neutral Paladin. Then most of the group almost in unison asked who was GG? One of the gals did recall the name but said he was just another old creepy white guy (but all old white guys are creepy so thats a given lol) I thought I would impart this story to you all for some laughs.
I mean, yeah dude. 5e has brought in many new people to the game and WotC has owned D&D since 1997 and Gygax hadn't been part of TSR for 10 years before that. If you're just coming into the hobby or you came into in the 2000's I really wouldn't be surprised. I know the origin of the game gets mythologized a lot by players but I don't think I'd expect most players to know or care about the early days of the game.
I think if I made a game that was so widespread and loved 50 years later that many of the players hadn't even heard of me, I would feel pretty good about that. We live on through what we leave behind, and if your name is of little renown compared to your deeds I'd say you lived well.
Working at a University, I'm constantly reminded that current students (even the grad students) have no frame of reference for most meaningful things in my life. Songs. Movies. Quotes. And so I'm not surprised that even though so many of them are suddenly playing D&D (over the last 5 years or so), that they would be baffled by some of the greats. And I doubt any of them know what TSR was. Most of the ones that played for more than five years and even knew who Gary Gygax was probably don't know the name Dave Arneson or have any kind of concept of calculating THAC0. Heck, I was stoked to see Larry Dixon in Twitch Chat at GaryCon cause I remember some of his black and white drawings in the Books of Yore and some of his writings...
I realize this is a D&D forum and all that but not knowing who Gary Gygax was is pretty mundane. I don't know who made Risk or Monopoly. And, yea, that probably isn't a fair comparison because those games were probably written by a committee but still ...
These folks new to D&D don't know what the Berlin Wall is either or a whole lot of more important stuff.
So let's try and help them understand how novel and special THIS game is compared to the other TTRPGs.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Very true about the Berlin Wall... Tiananmen Square... seems like yesterday... and yet so far away. And just to be clear, I'm not hating on any of that... I just find myself referencing something often these days that the current College generation has little to no frame of reference to that is meaningful to their day to day lives. Also, to be fair, most of the players in my games are in their 20s to early 30s. I'm a Relic... and I'm ok with that... it's just so easy to forget the things that have come before. And the Wheel keeps turning...
Very true about the Berlin Wall... Tiananmen Square... seems like yesterday... and yet so far away.
Hello. I'm a new(ish) player to D&D. 5e was very much my first edition, and I was born less than 3 weeks after 9/11. I personally know quite a bit about this kind of stuff, definitely know a bit about Gary Gygax, know about the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square, and that last part seems like a Beatles quote (Yesterday?).
I've been playing D&D for about 3 years now, but I'm not sure if many people I play with or even used to go to school with know anything at all about those subjects, but I know that I specifically did learn about them on my own.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I teach at a college. I have students who can't tell me who was president before George W. Bush... Who think that Martin Luther King and Abe Lincoln were contemporaries (I kid you not)... and who can't tell you who was president during World War II (or heck, when World War II even happened). Given that these kids don't know important people in history, it's no surprise that many players would not know who Gary Gygax is.
I teach at a college. I have students who can't tell me who was president before George W. Bush... Who think that Martin Luther King and Abe Lincoln were contemporaries (I kid you not)... and who can't tell you who was president during World War II (or heck, when World War II even happened). Given that these kids don't know important people in history, it's no surprise that many players would not know who Gary Gygax is.
Yeah. I'm probably younger than most people you teach at college, maybe the same age as the younger ones. I, for one, had to look up the word contemporary, but knew all of the historic events you listed above. (Bill Clinton, MLK died more than 100 years after Lincoln, and FDR and from the late 1930's to 1945)
I don't assume most my players would know who Gary Gygax is, but if they ask about Tomb of Horrors, or how White Plume Mountain made its way into the game, I will definitely give them some D&D historical trivia related to those questions.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
The thing about Gygax is that he's someone who hasn't actually mattered as far as D&D is concerned in over 30 years. It's cool if someone knows who he is, but it's more likely that they'd remember his appearances on That 70s Show or Futurama than anything he did regarding the game. Heck, by the time I got into D&D in the 90s, his role was reduced to just writing a column that generally consisted of stories about old D&D games he'd run for Dragon Magazine.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I started playing AD&D 2nd Edition in the midth of the 90s... I did not care at all for the authors of the books back then. Started getting more into that then in the 2000 years with D&D 3.5
So, I would absolutely not judge anyone nowadays, who has not started 30+ years ago, that does not know Mr. GG.
Those who says ( nowadays ) on the chats the GG, it's because they wanted to say Good Game, instead of Gary Gygax. Although, I know something about Gary G. and his work, Terry Pratchett too, and also Luis Royo. Yes, the drawer who is specialized in Fantasy portraits, scenarios, and anything related to D&D.
Very true about the Berlin Wall... Tiananmen Square... seems like yesterday... and yet so far away. And just to be clear, I'm not hating on any of that... I just find myself referencing something often these days that the current College generation has little to no frame of reference to that is meaningful to their day to day lives. Also, to be fair, most of the players in my games are in their 20s to early 30s. I'm a Relic... and I'm ok with that... it's just so easy to forget the things that have come before. And the Wheel keeps turning...
To be fair, I was schooled in the late 80's - 90's and I from what I remember everything after WWII was like 1 chapter of material. It was about one week that went something like Rosa Parks - Moon Landing - Vietnam/Korea - Cold War. Basically just noting those things happened but we never really got into any of it. Basically if I wanted to know about anything after 1950, I had to learn it myself. I was missing a whole chunk of history that directly shaped my world and the events in it. Tough to blame kids for an education system that failed them.
(but all old white guys are creepy so thats a given lol)
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I am aware that as a new player (1 year experience), I am a minority in knowing about Gygax, Chainmail, and the rest of D&D's history. Here is a test for others:
Do you know what early D&D thing I am referring to with each of these?
The real shame is that while most older RPG nerds know who Gary Gygax is, very few remember the name Dave Arneson, despite the fact that whole transition from tabletop wargaming to tabletop RPG was his idea and based on his rules.
Had my games sunday and friday, and decided to point out too the Tiefling that Gygax would be turning in his grave at the thought of a fiendish neutral Paladin. Then most of the group almost in unison asked who was GG? One of the gals did recall the name but said he was just another old creepy white guy (but all old white guys are creepy so thats a given lol) I thought I would impart this story to you all for some laughs.
I mean, yeah dude. 5e has brought in many new people to the game and WotC has owned D&D since 1997 and Gygax hadn't been part of TSR for 10 years before that. If you're just coming into the hobby or you came into in the 2000's I really wouldn't be surprised. I know the origin of the game gets mythologized a lot by players but I don't think I'd expect most players to know or care about the early days of the game.
I think if I made a game that was so widespread and loved 50 years later that many of the players hadn't even heard of me, I would feel pretty good about that. We live on through what we leave behind, and if your name is of little renown compared to your deeds I'd say you lived well.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Working at a University, I'm constantly reminded that current students (even the grad students) have no frame of reference for most meaningful things in my life. Songs. Movies. Quotes. And so I'm not surprised that even though so many of them are suddenly playing D&D (over the last 5 years or so), that they would be baffled by some of the greats. And I doubt any of them know what TSR was. Most of the ones that played for more than five years and even knew who Gary Gygax was probably don't know the name Dave Arneson or have any kind of concept of calculating THAC0. Heck, I was stoked to see Larry Dixon in Twitch Chat at GaryCon cause I remember some of his black and white drawings in the Books of Yore and some of his writings...
I realize this is a D&D forum and all that but not knowing who Gary Gygax was is pretty mundane. I don't know who made Risk or Monopoly. And, yea, that probably isn't a fair comparison because those games were probably written by a committee but still ...
These folks new to D&D don't know what the Berlin Wall is either or a whole lot of more important stuff.
So let's try and help them understand how novel and special THIS game is compared to the other TTRPGs.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Very true about the Berlin Wall... Tiananmen Square... seems like yesterday... and yet so far away. And just to be clear, I'm not hating on any of that... I just find myself referencing something often these days that the current College generation has little to no frame of reference to that is meaningful to their day to day lives. Also, to be fair, most of the players in my games are in their 20s to early 30s. I'm a Relic... and I'm ok with that... it's just so easy to forget the things that have come before. And the Wheel keeps turning...
Hello. I'm a new(ish) player to D&D. 5e was very much my first edition, and I was born less than 3 weeks after 9/11. I personally know quite a bit about this kind of stuff, definitely know a bit about Gary Gygax, know about the Berlin Wall, Tiananmen Square, and that last part seems like a Beatles quote (Yesterday?).
I've been playing D&D for about 3 years now, but I'm not sure if many people I play with or even used to go to school with know anything at all about those subjects, but I know that I specifically did learn about them on my own.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I teach at a college. I have students who can't tell me who was president before George W. Bush... Who think that Martin Luther King and Abe Lincoln were contemporaries (I kid you not)... and who can't tell you who was president during World War II (or heck, when World War II even happened). Given that these kids don't know important people in history, it's no surprise that many players would not know who Gary Gygax is.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Yeah. I'm probably younger than most people you teach at college, maybe the same age as the younger ones. I, for one, had to look up the word contemporary, but knew all of the historic events you listed above. (Bill Clinton, MLK died more than 100 years after Lincoln, and FDR and from the late 1930's to 1945)
I don't assume most my players would know who Gary Gygax is, but if they ask about Tomb of Horrors, or how White Plume Mountain made its way into the game, I will definitely give them some D&D historical trivia related to those questions.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
The thing about Gygax is that he's someone who hasn't actually mattered as far as D&D is concerned in over 30 years. It's cool if someone knows who he is, but it's more likely that they'd remember his appearances on That 70s Show or Futurama than anything he did regarding the game. Heck, by the time I got into D&D in the 90s, his role was reduced to just writing a column that generally consisted of stories about old D&D games he'd run for Dragon Magazine.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I started playing AD&D 2nd Edition in the midth of the 90s... I did not care at all for the authors of the books back then. Started getting more into that then in the 2000 years with D&D 3.5
So, I would absolutely not judge anyone nowadays, who has not started 30+ years ago, that does not know Mr. GG.
Those who says ( nowadays ) on the chats the GG, it's because they wanted to say Good Game, instead of Gary Gygax. Although, I know something about Gary G. and his work, Terry Pratchett too, and also Luis Royo. Yes, the drawer who is specialized in Fantasy portraits, scenarios, and anything related to D&D.
My Ready-to-rock&roll chars:
Dertinus Tristany // Amilcar Barca // Vicenç Sacrarius // Oriol Deulofeu // Grovtuk
Nice to know for spell casters:
Mordekainen was played by Gary, Melf was a Male Elf played by his son and Bigby was an NPC
playing since 1986
So we’re just skipping the ageism and sexism of this “gal”?
To me it sound like she needs educating on more than just who is the “father” of D&D
To be fair, I was schooled in the late 80's - 90's and I from what I remember everything after WWII was like 1 chapter of material. It was about one week that went something like Rosa Parks - Moon Landing - Vietnam/Korea - Cold War. Basically just noting those things happened but we never really got into any of it. Basically if I wanted to know about anything after 1950, I had to learn it myself. I was missing a whole chunk of history that directly shaped my world and the events in it. Tough to blame kids for an education system that failed them.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Gygax was a cranky grognard by the late 80s. "Creepy" and "old" are both perfectly serviceable adjectives for him.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think they're referring to this:
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I am aware that as a new player (1 year experience), I am a minority in knowing about Gygax, Chainmail, and the rest of D&D's history. Here is a test for others:
Do you know what early D&D thing I am referring to with each of these?
1. Chainmail
2. The all-father of gaming
3. AD&D
4. 1e bard
5. infravision
6. Unearthed arcana
7. AC of -5
8. Tenser
I can post more and answers...later
Proud poster on the Create a World thread
The real shame is that while most older RPG nerds know who Gary Gygax is, very few remember the name Dave Arneson, despite the fact that whole transition from tabletop wargaming to tabletop RPG was his idea and based on his rules.
Knowing who Gary Gygax was isn’t a prerequisite for playing good D&D, and if you think it is, you’re an *******.