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What are some good resources for D&D history?

Started by Socratic-DM, December 06, 2023, 05:18:11 PM

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Socratic-DM

December 06, 2023, 05:18:11 PM
One of the areas I wish to educate myself in is the external history of D&D, as in it's conception and development.

I'm aware of the general outline from Napoleonic N, to chainmail, and D&D, the stories that came out of blackmoore and greyhawk, but the overall timeline and credits and series of events is generally hazy to me

So any good books, primary sources or interviews would be good, at least a north star to begin some research.
"When every star in the heavens grows cold, and when silence lies once more on the face of the deep, three things will endure: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."

- First Corinthians, chapter thirteen.

rytrasmi

#1
December 06, 2023, 05:24:41 PM
Playing at the World is very rich and detailed. I'm quite enjoying it. Out of print, however.

https://www.abebooks.com/9780615642048/Playing-World-History-Simulating-Wars-0615642047/plp
The worms crawl in and the worms crawl out
The ones that crawl in are lean and thin
The ones that crawl out are fat and stout
Your eyes fall in and your teeth fall out
Your brains come tumbling down your snout
Be merry my friends
Be merry

Socratic-DM

#2
December 06, 2023, 05:29:41 PM
Quote from: rytrasmi on December 06, 2023, 05:24:41 PM
Playing at the World is very rich and detailed. I'm quite enjoying it. Out of print, however.

https://www.abebooks.com/9780615642048/Playing-World-History-Simulating-Wars-0615642047/plp

Holy Cow that is an expensive paperback!
"When every star in the heavens grows cold, and when silence lies once more on the face of the deep, three things will endure: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."

- First Corinthians, chapter thirteen.

jhkim

#3
December 06, 2023, 05:33:39 PM
Quote from: Socratic-DM on December 06, 2023, 05:18:11 PM
One of the areas I wish to educate myself in is the external history of D&D, as in it's conception and development.

I'm aware of the general outline from Napoleonic N, to chainmail, and D&D, the stories that came out of blackmoore and greyhawk, but the overall timeline and credits and series of events is generally hazy to me

So any good books, primary sources or interviews would be good, at least a north star to begin some research.

I'm not sure what you mean by "external history". Are you looking more at how it was written or how it was played? For external view of how it was played, Gary Alan Fine wrote an excellent anthropological look at D&D players in 1983 in a book called "Shared Fantasy".

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/395345

For internal look at design, I'd presume that Gygax's writings, like his book "Master of the Game" would be notable. Shannon Applecline wrote a series of books on RPG history called "Designers & Dragons". The volume for the 1970s covers D&D development:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22876735-designers-dragons

There are some other more D&D specific histories, like "Of Dice and Men" and "Empire of Imagination", but I haven't read them.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803047-of-dice-and-men

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848482-empire-of-imagination

Socratic-DM

#4
December 06, 2023, 05:42:21 PM
Quote from: jhkim on December 06, 2023, 05:33:39 PM
Quote from: Socratic-DM on December 06, 2023, 05:18:11 PM
One of the areas I wish to educate myself in is the external history of D&D, as in it's conception and development.

I'm aware of the general outline from Napoleonic N, to chainmail, and D&D, the stories that came out of blackmoore and greyhawk, but the overall timeline and credits and series of events is generally hazy to me

So any good books, primary sources or interviews would be good, at least a north star to begin some research.

I'm not sure what you mean by "external history". Are you looking more at how it was written or how it was played? For external view of how it was played, Gary Alan Fine wrote an excellent anthropological look at D&D players in 1983 in a book called "Shared Fantasy".

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/395345

For internal look at design, I'd presume that Gygax's writings, like his book "Master of the Game" would be notable. Shannon Applecline wrote a series of books on RPG history called "Designers & Dragons". The volume for the 1970s covers D&D development:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22876735-designers-dragons

There are some other more D&D specific histories, like "Of Dice and Men" and "Empire of Imagination", but I haven't read them.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15803047-of-dice-and-men

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23848482-empire-of-imagination

By external history I meant the history of the game as it was played and designed, not say the D&D setting history, though I'm aware on some level those are interlinked such as with Greyhawk.
"When every star in the heavens grows cold, and when silence lies once more on the face of the deep, three things will endure: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love."

- First Corinthians, chapter thirteen.

BadApple

#5
December 06, 2023, 06:17:30 PM
Quote from: Socratic-DM on December 06, 2023, 05:42:21 PM
By external history I meant the history of the game as it was played and designed, not say the D&D setting history, though I'm aware on some level those are interlinked such as with Greyhawk.

If you mean how Gary, Dave, and other founders played it, then the best sources are the above listed.

If you mean how the regular tables around the country (and around the world) played, then there isn't a concise source for that.  What you will get is a few grognards that will occasionally tell an old war story from those days but no one recorded game play experience for those that weren't there.  I certainly didn't.
>Blade Runner RPG
Terrible idea, overwhelming majority of ttrpg players can't pass Voight-Kampff test.
    - Anonymous

jhkim

#6
December 06, 2023, 07:45:14 PM
Quote from: BadApple on December 06, 2023, 06:17:30 PM
Quote from: Socratic-DM on December 06, 2023, 05:42:21 PM
By external history I meant the history of the game as it was played and designed, not say the D&D setting history, though I'm aware on some level those are interlinked such as with Greyhawk.

If you mean how Gary, Dave, and other founders played it, then the best sources are the above listed.

If you mean how the regular tables around the country (and around the world) played, then there isn't a concise source for that.  What you will get is a few grognards that will occasionally tell an old war story from those days but no one recorded game play experience for those that weren't there.  I certainly didn't.

Gary Alan Fine's book is exactly that, researched around 1980 (published in 1983). He went out and documented what playing RPGs was like. At the time, a lot of people were mystified about D&D, and it was being roundly criticized, and Fine's book was an informed counterpart to that. As an anthropological study, it's looking more at the social context - who played and why they played, and less about nuances of game design.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/395345

Obviously he couldn't be anywhere, but he made an effort to join in different groups, talk to a lot of people, and document what he found.

grodog

#7
December 07, 2023, 09:52:06 PM
Other RPG histories to consider picking up include:

- J. Eric Holmes:  Fantasy Role Playing Games
- Robert Plamondon: Through Dungeons Deep
- Jon Peterson:  The Elusive Shift; Game Wizards; Art & Arcana
- Bill Owen:  Judges Guild's Bob & Bill: a Cautionary Tale
- Ian Livingston's with Steve Jackson:  Dice Men
- Robin Laws:  40 Years of GenCon

There have been a number of D&D documentary films too, but "Secrets of Blackmoor" is the only one I recall ever being finished.

Allan.
grodog
---
Allan Grohe
grodog@gmail.com
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html

Editor and Project Manager, Black Blade Publishing

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