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Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons
By Ben Riggs
4 Aug, 2022
Roleplaying Games
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Ben Riggs’ 2022 Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons is an account of the rise and fall of TSR, publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as many related works.
Although there were precursors to table-top roleplaying games (including the Bronte siblings’ 19th century foreshadowingof the pastime), Dungeons and Dragons is generally acknowledged as the first modern roleplaying game. Having founded the field, publisher TSR dominated sales. Roleplaying fans and game merchants, therefore, were taken aback when in the mid-1990s TSR suddenly imploded. Only timely intervention by cash-rich Wizards of the Coast gave the game a new owner and new lease on life.
Perhaps the chief question addressed is “What went wrong?”
Having read the book, perhaps a better question is “how did nemesis take so long to catch up with TSR?”