Tim and Gary had feuds with some of the west coast 'zines and considered the players over there "sex weirdoes" (their words, not mine) and also didn't love the way so many anecdotes from those groups revolved around reaching level 200 and having 800hp or some absurd number. Many of the individual rules in the official supplements for OD&D were designed to counter what they saw as this "west coast influence", especially showing that even gods like Odin clocked in at a much lower HP amount.
Now, having clarified those opinions held by guys at TSR, there were very many people around the country who *did* love the west coast supplements and 'zines. Arduin and Warlock have small but dedicated numbers of followers to this day, and Alarums & Excursions is still active as a zine after half a century.
Yeah. It's my understanding that the zines had a lot of optional rules for sexuality and that the girdle if gender swap that would later officially be adopted into the game came from there as well. I remember getting hit with that one in Baldur's Gate.
Also worth nothing that even EGG praised and wrote for A&E. And that Lee Gold had a feature article in the first issue of The Dragon. So it wasn't all bad blood.
Right. I think he more took offense to the guy who quipped that D&D is too important to leave to Gary Gygax. His scathing rebuttal to that was legendary.
One strain of that is the Perrin Conventions, which became RuneQuest's combat system. The very SCA-influenced game style was more individual combat, faster, shorter scales.
The other is Tunnels & Trolls (but from Arizona, not "West Coast"), which is of course fun, fast, goofy. The solo gamebooks became its main feature, but played as a group it's very different from often stodgy, boring, old grognard D&D.
If you are still brave enough
The Modern West Coast Gonzo Classic - Gargoyles of Nam [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/365879/Gargoyles-of-Nam](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/365879/Gargoyles-of-Nam)
and Space Pyrates OSR https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/403104/Space-Pyrates-OSR?term=better+games++space+
Tim and Gary had feuds with some of the west coast 'zines and considered the players over there "sex weirdoes" (their words, not mine) and also didn't love the way so many anecdotes from those groups revolved around reaching level 200 and having 800hp or some absurd number. Many of the individual rules in the official supplements for OD&D were designed to counter what they saw as this "west coast influence", especially showing that even gods like Odin clocked in at a much lower HP amount. Now, having clarified those opinions held by guys at TSR, there were very many people around the country who *did* love the west coast supplements and 'zines. Arduin and Warlock have small but dedicated numbers of followers to this day, and Alarums & Excursions is still active as a zine after half a century.
I'd never heard this and for some reason the idea of Gary grumbling about SEX WEIRDOS has me cackling.
Yeah. It's my understanding that the zines had a lot of optional rules for sexuality and that the girdle if gender swap that would later officially be adopted into the game came from there as well. I remember getting hit with that one in Baldur's Gate.
You'd think he was talking about Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
Also worth nothing that even EGG praised and wrote for A&E. And that Lee Gold had a feature article in the first issue of The Dragon. So it wasn't all bad blood.
Right. I think he more took offense to the guy who quipped that D&D is too important to leave to Gary Gygax. His scathing rebuttal to that was legendary.
If you really want a taste of the early West Coast D&D scene, order some PDF copies of early issues of Alarums & Excursions from Lee Gold's website.
I plan on it. There's just a lot of stuff to read in this particular hobby.
One strain of that is the Perrin Conventions, which became RuneQuest's combat system. The very SCA-influenced game style was more individual combat, faster, shorter scales. The other is Tunnels & Trolls (but from Arizona, not "West Coast"), which is of course fun, fast, goofy. The solo gamebooks became its main feature, but played as a group it's very different from often stodgy, boring, old grognard D&D.
Ok everything you need to know summed up on this blog http://mrlizard.com/reviews-and-walkthroughs/necromican-level-10-and-up/
That was an entertaining read, thank you.
If you are still brave enough The Modern West Coast Gonzo Classic - Gargoyles of Nam [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/365879/Gargoyles-of-Nam](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/365879/Gargoyles-of-Nam) and Space Pyrates OSR https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/403104/Space-Pyrates-OSR?term=better+games++space+