Thoughts After Listening: "Slaying the Dragon"
Some interesting reading into the history of D&D and TSR
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Introduction
I recently completed listening to “Slaying the Dragon”(Affiliate Link) on Audible. Written by Ben Riggs and Narrated by Sean Patrick Hopkins clocking in at about 10.5 hours of listening time. This book is the story of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) the company created to birth Dungeons and Dragons, stories from interviews with people making up the company over different time periods, and analysis based on records up to the ultimate demise and sale of the company to Wizards of the Coast in April of 1997.
What’s the Story
Slaying the Dragon had a broad approach that dove into painting the picture of the early days of working at TSR from different perspectives that the author was able to get via first hand interviews.
The interview style seemed to make it more difficult to string a common narrative on a common timeline and to me did not have as much of a strong pull in the beginning of the book. I found it much more interesting later in the book when there were direct insights into the decline of the company and I think that was just due to the exact persons that were interviewed. I do think if Gary Gygax was alive to be interviewed, this style would have really pulled in the beginning of the book as well.
The breakdown of book is in four major parts:
Part 1: The rise and fall of Gary Gygax
Part 2: The Williams Era
Part 3: Slapping a Band-Aid on Failures
Part 4: The Preacher’s Son Performs a Resurrection
Much of the introduction is tidbits that any fan would know. Gary and Fred and TSR created D&D and Gencon and a new market was created in the selling of Dungeons and Dragons.
Sidebar
I want to mention at this point there is another book that is on the same topic but with very different execution called “Of Dice and Men”(Affiliate Link) which is certainly interesting reading for anyone who would read “Slaying the Dragon”.
Of Dice and Men goes in to gory detail regarding the formation, rivalries, and issues between Gary, Fred, the Blooms, and the Avalon Hill board game conventions happening in the industry at the time.
Slaying the Dragon goes much farther in the timeline and provides a wider swath of perspectives, but Of Dice and Men had more pull for me in many parts of its execution.
Back to Slaying
The rise and fall of Gary Gygax has alot of the story that I feel people think they know about why TSR would have had the kinds of problems it did. Gary was a bombastic personality that caught lighting in a bottle and then seemed to resent Fred Arneson’s contribution after the fact.
The high drama that involves the takeover of Lorraine Dille Williams and the ouster of Gary is not as delved into in Slaying the Dragon, but this era is fleshed out to much greater degree.
I will say this book tries to keep it’s footing neutral. Many blame Lorraine Williams for the ultimate demise of TSR and I am one of those people that thinks non-gamer business types don’t tend to make decisions that benefit the lovers of the products more than the bottom line, but that’s American business.
The third part is about the long slow decline and some bad managerial decisions that keep focus on the wrong things for a company that wants to grow. A cycle of pushing out talent and choosing IP over people is common in these bad decisions. This ultimately leads to the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast, which ironically was started by someone who loved playing D&D before creating the game Magic the Gathering.
Reasons to Read
I think both Slaying the Dragon and Of Dice and Men offer excellent reads if the subject matter is interesting to you.
This story serves as a “not to do” for anyone looking to be in business in the tabletop roleplaying industry, and even has lessons for your everyday business person.
Looking at the past, it is simple to see how we got where we are today and how some how we’re making the same mistakes (looking at you Hasbro), but I am always comforted in the fact that the more I research and learn about tabletop roleplaying and gaming as a hobby, the more it proves to be a cultural touchstone that is resilient to the machinations of corporate suits who don’t respect it.
We are gamers, we make the rules. Ignore at your peril.
What I Am Up To
TTRPG Reading: Death In Space, Crown and Skull
TTRPG Production: Almanac of Abomination System Neutral TTRPG Zine is on sale now!
Audiobook: The Graveyard Book, The Hunger of the Gods - Bloodsword trilogy is super good!
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