If there’s one thing that the “old school” revolution has taught us, it’s that history is important to us as gamers. Our roots matter. But how much do we actually know — or remember — of the origins of this hobby of ours?
Enter Designers & Dragons. In this four-volume, decade-by-decade series from Evil Hat, author and game historian Shannon Appelcline will dig deep into the lore of our forty-year-old hobby, uncovering the forgotten facts and hidden stories behind the biggest and most influential names in roleplaying games.
Whether you’re new to RPGs and wonder where they came from, a “grognard” of the most ancient order looking to dust off some treasured nostalgia, or a tried-and-true gamer looking to explore the field of what is and what was, you’ll find something in Designers & Dragons for you!
If you’re already familiar with the single-volume first edition of Designers & Dragons from Mongoose, in this new edition you’ll find updated and expanded material, an improved page and book design oriented on attractive readability, and new information to fill some of the gaps in what came before.
DESIGNERS & DRAGONS SNEAK PEAK
Want to get a taste of what Designers & Dragons is like? We’re releasing our entire TSR chapter — over 100 pages of material, about 25% of the 1970s book — for your perusal. Download it here!
Really really looking forward to this! I missed the Mongoose edition and now I’d have to mortgage my house to buy it on Amazon.
I create and run a series of video reviews of RPG products and I am interested in getting a reviewer copy of Designers & Dragons. Is it available for an e-reader?
It’s not laid out or published yet. We will be making it available in various ereader formats.
Any ETA for when this will be published?
The 1970s one will probably come close to the end of the year.
Excellent!
Any way for me to be contacted when it’s ready to be ordered?
🙂
Yup — sign up for our mailing list (link on the front page of this website). 🙂
How is it that someone from a place so hostile to D&D (RPG.net, where they briefly called the D&D forum, the “rollplaying forum, yuk yuk) did a history of D&D? It would be like Richard Dawkins doing a biography of Jesus
Shannon is one of the founders of RPG.net. That’s not the same as holding the opinions of the masses who spend time there. 🙂
I’m not a founder of RPGnet: that was Emma Antunes, with help from Sandy. I have, however, been editor-in-chiefing it at various levels for the last decade.
In any case, as Fred said, the site isn’t homogenous. I also don’t think the site is hostile to D&D. I set up a D&D/d20 specific forum a few years ago now and it’s done gangbusters, giving us lots of great D&D discussion. (And if you look at my APs on the site, they speak for themselves as to what I’ve had fun running over the last decades … and it’s largely D&D.)
Shannon, you forgot fandom. You mention Lee Gold and Alarums & Excursions, but other than that I saw nothing on fandom’s influence on the industry.
Just finished reading the free preview of the TSR/1970’s volume; what an enlightening, exhaustive and absorbing read! Truly a labour of love I’m sure, but this makes compelling reading for fans of the games who are curious about the in’s and out’s of the industry and its evolution. I’ll definitely be acquiring the full versions when they’re released – will this be in digital format only, or will there be a hard copies available to buy?
Neill — It’ll definitely be in print! We’re still sorting out the schedule. A Kickstarter may appear on the horizon. 🙂
When will Designers & Dragons be published?
Thanks.
Keith: January 2015.
Hi Evil Hat,
Thanks for Designers and Dragons, since the 80’s role-playing games, have been part of my life. So it is very interesting for me, to read about the whole industry in your book series.
The big question is, will you release a fifth book in the series, covering the era 2010 – 2019?
That’s an excellent question not worth asking any time before 2022 or so.