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Designers & Dragons: The '70s
- A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Designers & Dragons: The ’70s is a comprehensive picture of the beginnings of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 50,000 new words to this volume alone. Learn about the colorful history of TSR and the wave of D&D inspired games (and gaming companies) to follow, and dip your toes into war gaming trivia. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic Reviews
2015 Gold ENnie Award Winner - Best RPG Related Product
"I could have easily finished everything in one go…and is, by definition, a must-buy for every role-player out there." (RPG.net)
"The book is impeccably researched and highly detailed, and author Shannon Appelcline has a knack for turning the history of each company and its people into a compelling narrative." (teleread.com)
What listeners say about Designers & Dragons: The '70s
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- RAW-ATX
- 01-02-22
the forgotten realm of where RPGs arize
Listened with joy. The creative process in groups is on full display. this book teaches how to aim and hit the cultural spirit of the times. it shows how the dungeon crawl of papers and pay checks supports the underground RPG industrial complex.it is both campaign and seduction.
2 people found this helpful
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- 0
- 06-27-22
A Missed Opportunity
Surely there's a better way to render the story of such a dynamic hobby than as a series of bullet points, delivered in a lifeless monotone? I had to give up after about an hour as it felt like I was listening to Alexa reciting our shopping list back to us.
Where were the anecdotes, the exciting recollections of early games and breakthrough discoveries? Instead, all I heard was "this happened, then this happened, then this happened" with all the gusto and excitement of a maths text book.
This had come highly recommended and I must say I found it a major disappointment and a wasted opportunity to tell an important story about the growth of one of the most important hobbies in the 21st Century.
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- Richard Bat Brewster
- 03-23-21
Informative and detailed history of RPGs
The numerous interesting stories about the RPG hobby and industry. Great to have old stories confirmed, clarified, or revealed to be untrue, I learned lots of new things. For those that want a detailed overview, then I recommend this. I appreciate the information being placed into specific company histories with linked recommendations at the chapter end to make for a great approach. It also makes it easier to find information later, as opposed to being like say a history put in to a story/biography style. A high rating because it delivers on its goal and what I wanted. Clear audio, good pacing, a great performance.
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- By: Michael Witwer
- Narrated by: Sam Witwer
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The life story of Gary Gygax, godfather of all fantasy adventure games, has been told only in bits and pieces. Michael Witwer has written a dynamic, dramatized biography of Gygax from his childhood in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to his untimely death in 2008. Gygax's magnum opus, Dungeons & Dragons, would explode in popularity throughout the 1970s and '80s and irreversibly alter the world of gaming. D&D is the best-known, best-selling role-playing game of all time, and it boasts an elite class of alumni.
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A Story of Bittersweet Successes
- By Sam on 11-16-16
By: Michael Witwer
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Designers & Dragons: The 90s
- By: Shannon Appelcline
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Designers & Dragons: The 90s is a comprehensive picture of the heyday of the RPG industry. This 2nd edition expands the original single book into a series of four—beginning with the ’70s and ending with the ’00s—and we’ve added over 10,000 new words to this volume alone. In this volume, we profile an RPG titan—Wizards of the Coast—and cover the rise of storytelling RPG settings like White Wolf’s World of Darkness. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
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Of Dice and Men
- The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
- By: David M. Ewalt
- Narrated by: David M. Ewalt, Mikael Naramore
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In Of Dice and Men, David Ewalt recounts the development of Dungeons & Dragons from the game’s roots on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, to its apotheosis as father of the modern video-game industry. As he chronicles the surprising history of the game’s origins (a history largely unknown even to hardcore players) and examines D&D’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences.
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Interesting Topic, but Terrible Execution.
- By Diebold on 02-11-14
By: David M. Ewalt
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Sly Flourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master
- By: Michael E. Shea
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.
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Helpful tips for Dungeon Masters
- By Goblin Town on 05-02-16
By: Michael E. Shea
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Sly Flourish's Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- By: Michael E Shea
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master, updating that book with five years of new experiences, new approaches, and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs. This new book is a completely self-contained work, which does not require anyone to have previously heard the Lazy Dungeon Master. Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games.
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A fantastic resource for all GM's
- By Alex on 04-01-19
By: Michael E Shea
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How to Play Dungeons & Dragons
- Step by Step Guide for Beginners
- By: Charles Goodwill
- Narrated by: Katy Paulson
- Length: 3 hrs
- Unabridged
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In many ways, there has never been a better time to get into Dungeons & Dragons. More people are playing the game now than ever before, and along with that expanded player base has come a wealth of new ideas and content that, thanks to the internet, can be easily disseminated amongst the player base. It excites me to see so many people I would never have expected to have an interest in this incredibly nerdy hobby not only give it a try, but find that it can be more than a fun pastime, and can actually add value and meaning to their life and relationships.
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A good primer
- By Ken Gagne on 10-18-22
By: Charles Goodwill
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Sly Flourish's Fantastic Locations
- Twenty Fantastic Locations for Your Fantasy Roleplaying Games
- By: Michael E Shea
- Narrated by: Rudy Basso
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the hardest parts of game mastering is coming up with interesting adventure locations for our characters to explore. These locations need to be fantastic, detailed places that capture the minds of our players every session we run. Sly Flourish's Fantastic Locations is an audiobook of 20 system-agnostic locations you can drop into your favorite fantasy role-playing game. Each location builds on a fantastic theme, such as a mysterious ancient structure under the ice, a cursed castle of a mad king, or a fallen celestial fortress.
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A Great Idea!
- By Vegveg on 07-26-18
By: Michael E Shea
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Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Dungeons & Dragons
- One Woman's Quest to Trade Self-Help for Elf-Help
- By: Shelly Mazzanoble
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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With tongue-in-cheek humor, the creator of the award-winning Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress takes on the self-help section, proving that the benefits of the Dungeons & Dragons game goes far beyond simple entertainment.
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A Different Take On Things
- By Ronn McCarrick on 07-13-18
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Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering
- By: Robin D. Laws
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Has your game got the blahs? Are your players spending more time thumbing through your book collection than hunting down clues, more energy heckling one another than in crushing their cruel foes? Never fear, o beleaguered Game Masters, for Robin D. Laws, noted game designer (Feng Shui, Hero Wars, Dying Earth, Rune) and columnist for Dragon magazine is here to help. Know your players! Analyze your system! Build your campaign! Design adventures! Prepare to be spontaneous, and improvise like a fiend!
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Good stuff for simi experienced GMs
- By Anonymous User on 12-20-19
By: Robin D. Laws
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MOAR! Monsters Know What They're Doing
- By: Keith Ammann
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes a follow-up strategy guide with MOAR! monster tactics for Dungeon Masters playing fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.
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Did you like the first one? You’ll love this
- By brian on 01-04-22
By: Keith Ammann
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Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding
- By: Scott Hungerford, Jeff Grubb, Michael A. Stackpole, and others
- Narrated by: Ray Greenley
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The essential elements for building a world. Roleplaying games and fantasy fiction are filled with rich and fascinating worlds: the Forgotten Realms, Glorantha, Narnia, R'lyeh, Middle-earth, Barsoom, and so many more. It took startling leaps of imagination as well as careful thought and planning to create places like these: places that readers and players want to come back to again and again.
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A must read for World Builders
- By John Koehler on 10-26-18
By: Scott Hungerford, and others
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The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters
- The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, Book 1
- By: Keith Ammann
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Monsters Know What They're Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM's burden by helping you understand your monsters' abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don't whip out their field manuals for the first time when they're already under fire, a DM shouldn't wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat.
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Audible Got this RIGHT - Chapters have names!
- By Lego Man on 02-13-20
By: Keith Ammann
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Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventures for 5e: Ten Short Adventures for Your Fifth Edition Fantasy Roleplaying Game
- By: Michael E Shea
- Narrated by: Rudy Basso
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the audiobook for Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventure, a book of 10 short adventures for the fifth edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game. This audiobook helps the listener bring these adventures into their head and is intended to be used along with the print copy of the book for use at the actual gaming table. Listening to these adventures helps prime your DM mind with the material you need to run the game at the table.
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The Future of Adventure Formats!!
- By Timothy W. Smyth on 08-17-19
By: Michael E Shea