[net.games.frp] Gygax fired

nielsen@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/28/85)

     This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?

cc100jr@gitpyr.UUCP (Joel M. Rives) (10/30/85)

In article <6700005@uiucdcsp> nielsen@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
>
>     This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
>I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
>president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
>Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
>the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?

I would like to hear more about this. Can anyone substantiate this claim?
As for how this will effect the gaming industry ... I'll wait until the report
is official before I comment on that one.

				    stumblin' o'er the timelines ag'in
				    the ever-lovin' whisper spirit

"So long and thanks for all the fish!" < Dolphins >

showard@udenva.UUCP (showard) (11/02/85)

> 
>      This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
> I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
> president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
> Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
> the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?

   IF it's true, it will mean that we'll no longer be subject to Gygax's
torture of English grammar, his smarmy "Gentle Readers," "Kindly Editor"
writing style, his use of long, obscure words that don't really mean what
he thinks they mean, and his endless tinkering with the AD&D game.
   Oh, did I forget to mention his superior attitude and unbelievable tirades
against his competition?

   --Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die
   --aka Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard
   --"If you knew Suzie like I knew Suzie,
      You'd want to know Suzie again." --G.D. Giddens

dunbar@glasgow.glasgow.UUCP (Neil Dunbar) (11/04/85)

> > 
> >      This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
> > I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
> > president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
> > Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
> > the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?
> 
>    IF it's true, it will mean that we'll no longer be subject to Gygax's
> torture of English grammar, his smarmy "Gentle Readers," "Kindly Editor"
> writing style, his use of long, obscure words that don't really mean what
> he thinks they mean, and his endless tinkering with the AD&D game.
>    Oh, did I forget to mention his superior attitude and unbelievable tirades
> against his competition?
> 
>    --Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die
>    --aka Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard
>    --"If you knew Suzie like I knew Suzie,
>       You'd want to know Suzie again." --G.D. Giddens

If Mr. Gygax has been released, then it might also mean the end of the
high level Greyhawk modules. For a DM who has never ran such a campaign,
refereeing such high levels provides one hell of a challenge, especially
when they just about reach the Protection From Rules stage. Gary's
(no familiarity intended toward someone who found LotR "boring") high
level modules do provide a fine intro. to advanced AD&D play.
Also, the Greyhawk world, a fine basis for play, which could well do
with some revamping (especially these god-awful weather rules) might
be deprived of the attention that it could do with.

 I for one think that, no matter his attitude or partisan taste in 
literature, Mr. Gygax is still the best module writer, and would be sorry
to see the back of him.

                                Suas leis Gygax!

dorettas@iddic.UUCP (Doretta Schrock) (11/07/85)

> > 
> >      This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
> > I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
> > president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
> > Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
> > the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?
> 
>    IF it's true, it will mean that we'll no longer be subject to Gygax's
> torture of English grammar, his smarmy "Gentle Readers," "Kindly Editor"
> writing style, his use of long, obscure words that don't really mean what
> he thinks they mean, and his endless tinkering with the AD&D game.
>    Oh, did I forget to mention his superior attitude and unbelievable tirades
> against his competition?
> 
>    --Mr. Blore, the DJ who would not die
>    --aka Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard
>    --"If you knew Suzie like I knew Suzie,
>       You'd want to know Suzie again." --G.D. Giddens

  Sorry for the repitition, folks.  I thought the first (>>) message
deserved to be repeated, if only for its presumtive value.  Much as some
fanatics would like to believe it, the gaming (even frp gaming) industry 
does *NOT* revolve around his Royal Officialness (a.k.a., EGG).  The second 
message I repeated for its pure aesthetic value.  I could not have said it 
better myself, and know few who could.  The only problem is, even with himself 
gone (if, praise be to Buddha, it be true), I wonder if the character of TSR
will change... will they still have their lawyers descend upon folks who
(gasp) take the name of AD&D (tm, registered, copywrite, etc. ad nauseum)
in vain, or worse, make puns out of monster names like "beholder" (this
actually happened to SJG)?  I am afraid, especially with the impending
release of the 2ND EDITION (!?) of the AD&D rules, that nothing has really
changed at all.  Besides which, this could all be a ruse to get us to talk 
about AD&D.

		Long live the homebrew FRPGs, &
		send those flames to /dev/null!

		Mike Sellers <--note the name difference from above

P.S.
  Did anyone (those of you who are still reading) watch 60 Minutes after
the show they did on D&D&D (Death&Dungeons&Dragons)?  I have stopped watching
the network news (MacNeil & Lehrer seem to do a much better job on PBS), and
I was wondering if any of our outrage reached them and/or got on the tube
during their mail-reading spot.  Anyone know?

scifi@ukc.UUCP (I.L.Sewell) (11/09/85)

In article <2280@iddic.UUCP> dorettas@iddic.UUCP ( Mike Sellers) writes:


>...............  Besides which, this could all be a ruse to get us to talk
>about AD&D.

 As far as I can see this news group does nothing but.
 
 How about a name change to net.games.D&D ?

nielsen@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU (11/11/85)

> If Mr. Gygax has been released, then it might also mean the end of the
> high level Greyhawk modules. For a DM who has never ran such a campaign,
> refereeing such high levels provides one hell of a challenge, especially
> when they just about reach the Protection From Rules stage. Gary's
> (no familiarity intended toward someone who found LotR "boring") high
> level modules do provide a fine intro. to advanced AD&D play.
> Also, the Greyhawk world, a fine basis for play, which could well do
> with some revamping (especially these god-awful weather rules) might
> be deprived of the attention that it could do with.
> 
>  I for one think that, no matter his attitude or partisan taste in 
> literature, Mr. Gygax is still the best module writer, and would be sorry
> to see the back of him.
> 
>                                 Suas leis Gygax!


     Gygax will continue to write high level modules.  How does 28 - 32 level
grab you?  One encounter that was rejected from this module was a vampiric
monk.  With six attacks per round and draining two levels per hit, it was
rejected because monks are lawful and vampires are chaotic.  "There's a big
munchkin market out there," is almost an exact quote of the justification.

fox@daemen.UUCP (Merlin) (11/13/85)

 In article <6700005@uiucdcsp> nielsen@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU writes:
 >
 >     This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
 >I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
 >president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
 >Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
 >the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?

      What I had heard was that Gygax "voluntarly" stepped down from 
his presidency at TSR.  Wether this is true or not I don't know.
As for the effect on the Gaming industry I see little change except for possibly
an improvement in quality.

showard@udenva.UUCP (showard) (11/19/85)

>      This last weekend at a Halloween party with some former TSR employees
> I heard that Gary Gygax has been released (fired) from his position as
> president and chairman of the board of TSR.  This occured October 20.
> Due to some recent financial difficulties he lost majority control of
> the company stock.  How do you think this will affect the gaming industry?

  Well, having already told you what it would mean IF it were true, I might
as well let you know that it isn't, at least according to the best information
I have.  The November _Dragon_ has a profile of Gygax which includes his future
plans, etc.  Also, TSR is doing very well financially.  These two pieces of 
evidence (although I know the November _Dragon_ was put together long before
10/20--they still had time to pull the one-page feature) suggest that this was
just another silly rumor, as most of us suspected all along.

--Mr. Blore, the DM who would not die
--Steve Howard, ...udenva!showard
--"Look over there, a dry ice factory. Good place to get some thinking done"