I've been gaming before most of you was born. I started out with OD&D in 1977 and attended almost every single Gen Con since then. Now the glory days was back in the late 70s and early 80s, I tell you what. Hell, I remember the excitement of cracking open the good DL modules, and running some of the classic Gygax dungeon crawls. Ain't no computer that's going to let you get the same feeling of crowding round the game table in the dining room on a quiet, balmy Texas evening, slinging dice, drinking Four Roses, and shooting the shit with the guys. These days an old grognard like me needs to go down to the Dallas Eagle or the Ripcord down Dallas way to check up on old friends and talk about the good times. Their numbers are thinning out every year, the grognards I mean, but there's still a good time to be had. Dallas Eagle has some mighty fine American beer and good ribs and onion rings. I recommend it.
Anyway, this brings me to the time I was asked by Dragon Magazine to run an interview with Tracy Hickman. Now before I start my story, folks, I'll fess up that I ain't much of a writer. I'm a tradesman. I worked electricity back in Fort Worth, and then got a job running the IT system at a textile mill in Amarillo in 1981, good pay and good hours. So I did some freelance editing work for some wargaming magazines on the side. I knew Anthony Pryor at TSR - we used to hit the steam room at the Ripcord pretty regular - he got me a slot to interview Tracy Hickman.
So I drove up in my Winnebago all the way to Lake Geneva, where Tracy was working at TSR. I still remember I stopped over in Indy and spent the night at a motel 6, watching cable and eating pork and beans. This was the summer of '86. It was good to see him again. We went down to the local game store and played through most of Ravenloft - the old I6 module. They were about getting ready for closing up by around seven, and I hadn't even started the interview. So we decided to get us some dinner. We drove to a burger shack out near La Grange. We had Italian beef and sausage and ribs and we drank a fifth and a half of Wild Turkey I'd brought up from Lone Star.
After we'd done eating, the night was hot and I was sweating in my chaps, cowboy boots, and flannel shirt. Tracy complained that Laura wasn't giving him any nomore and goddammit a man needs more than missionary sometimes. Best cooze in the world ain't gonna get you off if you're only hitting it one way. So we turned the Winnebago back down towards Waukegan, looking for hustlers. I was pretty damned chubbed by then. Tracy wanted to get done, and I wanted to be up in the saddle, so we couldn't settle on no punks to spend our twenty bucks. I remember there was this Chicano boy who looked like a young Keanu Reeves. I was full mast by then and Tracy was getting antsy. I drove down to a public park. Parked. Got out, and Tracy was loosening the belt on his jeans. You see, sometimes when dudes get together, stuff happens. It don't make no one queer. Nobody needs to know how you get done. You just pump, dump and leave and no one has to know anything about it. That night we didn't have no Crisco, so it was spit, elbow, grease and patience. That paid off and I got up inside him, put in a few dozen good thrusts, and then my boy went off. I helped Tracy finish off. We drank the rest of the second fifth of Wild Turkey in the car with seats pulled back, before driving back down to Lake Geneva.
Never got that interview, but it was the best damn roadtrip I ever took.
Even Bob Monkhouse changed his routine every now and then.
Just picked up a permaban on awfulpurple looks like, guess we're the 'lucky' site now?
what did i just read
Fuck it, I laughed.
Seriously, just ignore it. There's no comment one can make that doesn't feed it.
Welcome to the RPGSite!
You sound like AnimalBraksy from AnimalBall, you should feel right at home.
Pfft. Noob.
????
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;945659Pfft. Noob.
Yep.
'Scuse me, I'm off to the shop to get my walker looked at; the left caster is sticking. Back later.
I'm not sure why he bothered. This site is basically troll proof - a great advantage of a social contract where no one gives a flying fuck what you say.
Quote from: chirine ba kal;945683Yep.
'Scuse me, I'm off to the shop to get my walker looked at; the left caster is sticking. Back later.
Your starboard photon torpedo launcher is shooting a little to the left, too. Ask the platoon armorer to have a look at it.
Quote from: The Butcher;945614Fuck it, I laughed.
[raises hand]
(https://i.imgur.com/gTOJH0E.jpg)
*Places archers at every exit, sets fire to thread*
From those who knew Tracy and the glory days of TSR of the mid to late 80s, this shouldn't be news. Those days were pretty wild, and Tracy could be a real horndawg away from home, especially after he got into the bourbon. For my part I did a lot of hanging out with Anthony Pryor. He's a great writer, and taught me a lot of things. Tracy was the best when he got down to it. The man had a beautiful mind for game design. Hell, he wrote most of the DL modules singlehanded. Now he and I will both agree that Marge Weis was better at sketching out characters, but when it came to structure and design it had to be Tracy. He was an idea man and had great self-discipline and work ethic. He kept some of the best OD&D modules going. Compared to Gary and Dave, he was that much more focused and commercial. But all the work caused him a whole heap of stress. Laura was raising revolution 'cause she hardly got to see him and when they did, the maritals just wasn't right. Most of us grognards got challenged in the '80s by being pulled in all directions, and then some. I remember Doug Niles had a breakdown in a Lake Geneva bar once. He just bawled his eyes out all night long. It was nothing a couple of fifths of Seagram's couldn't solve, but he was really under the gun.
Annnnnnd, another for the ignore list (is there a "hyper-ignore" button?)
Quote from: cranebump;945787Annnnnnd, another for the ignore list (is there a "hyper-ignore" button?)
Boy, I was slinging dice before you knowed how to read.
Quote from: Larsdangly;945688I'm not sure why he bothered. This site is basically troll proof - a great advantage of a social contract where no one gives a flying fuck what you say.
He's got off to a rookie start. Now, we expect more story, rather than the typical troll blathering.
Wake me up when he figures out that "80s" and "OD&D" have nothing to do with each other.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;945813Wake me up when he figures out that "80s" and "OD&D" have nothing to do with each other.
Yeah, Tracy Hickman "Kept some of the best OD&D modules going." Uh, yeah.
The riff could be entertaining, but it's obviously someone too ignorant to know the topic, and too bitter to really deliver biting satire.
Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;945813Wake me up when he figures out that "80s" and "OD&D" have nothing to do with each other.
Im pretty sure some people were still playing OD&D in the 80s? :cool:
Now "Interview with Vampire" gets a whole new meaning. Although some would say that was part of the movie since the beginning.
The unresolved question is, why should we care whether you fucked your old gaming buddy, even if we were to assume you actually knew him?
Heh. I chuckled. Reminded me of that old song by the Bloodhound Gang about the trucker.
I've reread this twice and I can't stop laughing. I actually teared up from laughing. Oh man.
Quote from: CRKrueger;945821Yeah, Tracy Hickman "Kept some of the best OD&D modules going." Uh, yeah.
The riff could be entertaining, but it's obviously someone too ignorant to know the topic, and too bitter to really deliver biting satire.
Boy, Tracy was a standard bearer for the spirit of OD&D I tell you what. He defended the dungeon crawl over hell and high water when that boy Ed Greenwood thought that he could have his own way with just about any franchise. You see, Ed was a pervert. The moment you showed him a piece of strange, he'd get chubbed and need to go take care of hisself. Tracy always hated Forgotten Realms - he thought it was a crock of shit. He got roped into writing the DL modules for the mass market, but he was just about the best damn DM out there for a grognard. You see, you gotta separate a man's professional life from his personal preferences. Anthony Pryor who's still a good friend of mine - we hit up from time to time at the Ripcord down Dallas way - always used to say that Tracy had a grognard's soul. Now if you weathered hardcore grogs really want to catch up with the folks who've been slinging dice since the 70s, you need to get down to the Dallas Eagle. They do mighty good ribs and onion rings.
I guess some are easily amused. This doesn't even make much sense as satire as Hickman and Pryor are hardly the epitome of grognards.
Quote from: AsenRG;945832Now "Interview with Vampire" gets a whole new meaning. Although some would say that was part of the movie since the beginning.
The unresolved question is, why should we care whether you fucked your old gaming buddy, even if we were to assume you actually knew him?
Boy, this is gaming history. Do you know how match strange you could get in the Gen Con jakes back in the early 80s? Lots of spotty, nervous, nerdy dudes looking for any which way to bust a nut. You just brought your own Crisco, and there was a good time to be had between gaming and eating ribs.
Welcome home, Brasky.
Needs a soundtrack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x90pxCwlIGo
Quote from: Settembrini;945913Welcome home, Brasky.
Who or what is a Brasky?
Quote from: Marleycat;945966Who or what is a Brasky?
Wasnt that the term admin used to have for ban collectors?
Quote from: Omega;945968Wasnt that the term admin used to have for ban collectors?
Well.... after some quick Google-Fu...
1. It's a reference to Bill Brasky and a group of skits he did on SNL in the 1970's
2. It's slang for some guy pissing in a women's asshole while drunk/high during sex
Thanks guys how gross. I now remember why I love this place. You can be an asshole if you wish just be the right kind of asshole.;)
Quote from: everloss;945889Heh. I chuckled. Reminded me of that old song by the Bloodhound Gang about the trucker.
Said song is quite likely the inspiration of the OP, methinks;).
Quote from: GrognardFightingMan;945904Boy, this is gaming history. Do you know how match strange you could get in the Gen Con jakes back in the early 80s?
Since I've been in the early years of my life in the early 80ies, I neither know nor care:)!
(For that matter, I wouldn't have been able to visit, being on another continent and not speaking English yet. I started my foreign language-learning with French, roughly at the same time you mention:D).
QuoteLots of spotty, nervous, nerdy dudes looking for any which way to bust a nut.
The description can also double as an explanation for their condition;).
QuoteYou just brought your own Crisco, and there was a good time to be had between gaming and eating ribs.
If you swing that way, I guess. I don't, so it doesn't interest me, whether true or not:). (And in your OP, you said you hadn't brought your Crisco, so I guess there were exceptions:D!)
Mind, it's fine that you swung that way, but once again - why did you decide your personal memories in this case are of interest to the wider forum community? That's about the first time I see Tracy Hickman mentioned on this forum, if we don't count the mentions of "the railroads from hell that the Dragonlance modules were";)!
There was an rpg forum, once. That was slightly more inane than this here site and filled with tons of in-jokes, as well as a special sub-board for drunken posting.
It was called AnimalBall, and the biggest chaotic-neutral mischievious of the whole bunch was called AnimalBrasky.
They also produced some RPGs.
It is known.
ADD: Such an elaborate OP is not just a mere troll, so I felt reminded of the more convoluted, if tasteless, schemes that Brasky and his buddies liked to further.
Quote from: Settembrini;945999They also produced some RPGs.
Fatal???
I know the man who made the infamous FATAL and he says that he did up as a loving tribute to OD&D.
Quote from: GrognardFightingMan;946024I know the man who made the infamous FATAL and he says that he did up as a loving tribute to OD&D.
Well, this thread is definitely good for expanding your Anal Circumference.
JG
Like Timecube, only legible and not so fake-design-geek focused.
Who really reads grognard interviews anyway.
Still trying to figure out how this has anything to do with roleplaying games.
edit
For discussion of traditional pen-and-paper roleplaying games and anything related to their game mechanics and settings, as well as industry events and gossip. See "Other Games" forum below for story-games.
My bad guess this falls under gossip.
To be gossip the OP would have to at least pretend to be serious. It is a joke, poorly told.
Quote from: Sommerjon;946156Still trying to figure out how this has anything to do with roleplaying games.
edit
For discussion of traditional pen-and-paper roleplaying games and anything related to their game mechanics and settings, as well as industry events and gossip. See "Other Games" forum below for story-games.
My bad guess this falls under gossip.
Yep I expected it to be relocated immediately, but nope?
Apparently doing a really shitty Hunter S. Thompson imitation is okay as long as it's vaguely about gaming.
On the other hand, nobody's making us read it.
Quote from: Voros;946179To be gossip the OP would have to at least pretend to be serious. It is a joke, poorly told.
Boy, if you don't believe this old grognard, I've got proof. Everybody finds it so damn hard to believe that Tracy the clean-cut Mormon would give cookies to a heavy, bearded Texan like me with a BO problem. But like I said folks, sometimes guys get together and stuff happens. It don't make no one gay, let's be clear. Tracy went home and barrelrolled Laura good. But you know, sometimes there's that special moment dudes share. And no one's got to know anything about it.
Quote from: GrognardFightingMan;946235Boy, if you don't believe this old grognard, I've got proof. Everybody finds it so damn hard to believe that Tracy the clean-cut Mormon would give cookies to a heavy, bearded Texan like me with a BO problem. But like I said folks, sometimes guys get together and stuff happens. It don't make no one gay, let's be clear. Tracy went home and barrelrolled Laura good. But you know, sometimes there's that special moment dudes share. And no one's got to know anything about it.
Hey boy, how about stop calling everyone boy? It's not working for you given you're not anywhere near above 20 and I'm just one of many women on this site. You bore me and are starting to piss me off. Hope you stick around enough to entertain me but that's up to you. Post something of value or just watch me disrespect you at every turn. This isn't TBP so I can and will give you the EXACT treatment you deserve if you insist on keeping the bullshit up.
Definitely not main forum material.
Also its dancing borderline in the slander zone.
Quote from: GrognardFightingMan;946235Boy, if you don't believe this old grognard, I've got proof.
Excellent! Provide your proof.
Quote from: Marleycat;946241and I'm just one of many women on this site.
She is! And we do have many female gamers who post and lurk here.
I think, at the very least, GrognardFightingMan's motives are questionable and the story is in bad taste. I'm not sure calling someone gay is slanderous in these progressive times. But why tell this particular story here, and I would assume on rpgnet? Why now? If it had been Ed Greenwood and not Tracy Hickman I don't think anyone would bat an eye. It's Hickman's professed faith that this story calls into question. I realize that an electrician who worked at TSR isn't going to be a name people recognize but it's an embarrassing story told from a position of anonymity and that makes me wonder.
Quote from: David Johansen;946252I'm not sure calling someone gay is slanderous in these progressive times.
It's not the allegation of Hickman being gay that's slanderous.
GFM claims to (a) not be gay and (b) have engaged in sex with Tracy Hickman who is married.
Marriage is a legal contract with significant financial penalties for divorce.
Perhaps the story is true and Hickman's wife is aware and accepts this behavior.
Perhaps the story is true and Hickman's wife is not aware and would not accept this behavior.
Perhaps the story is false and Hickman's marriage would be affected by the public slander...
That's where I am seeing the issue. The sexual orientation of any of the parties is not the issue.
Quote from: David Johansen;946252I think, at the very least, GrognardFightingMan's motives are questionable and the story is in bad taste.
There's no "thinking" about the story being in bad taste. It's an objective fact.
And GFM said it himself: If it happens, it's something nobody knows about.
So how comes he's "coming out" with this on a public forum?
QuoteI'm not sure calling someone gay is slanderous in these progressive times. But why tell this particular story here, and I would assume on rpgnet? Why now?
I suspect this is why he (or his latest account) got permabanned.
QuoteIf it had been Ed Greenwood and not Tracy Hickman I don't think anyone would bat an eye. It's Hickman's professed faith that this story calls into question.
In these times of controversies, anyone bats an eye at "people with religious convictions don't always follow on their letter"? Unless Mr. Hickman is an official in his Temple, I wouldn't bat an eye, either.
QuoteI realize that an electrician who worked at TSR isn't going to be a name people recognize but it's an embarrassing story told from a position of anonymity and that makes me wonder.
Makes us wonder.
Quote from: Spinachcat;946255It's not the allegation of Hickman being gay that's slanderous.
GFM claims to (a) not be gay and (b) have engaged in sex with Tracy Hickman who is married.
Marriage is a legal contract with significant financial penalties for divorce.
Perhaps the story is true and Hickman's wife is aware and accepts this behavior.
Perhaps the story is true and Hickman's wife is not aware and would not accept this behavior.
Perhaps the story is false and Hickman's marriage would be affected by the public slander...
That's where I am seeing the issue. The sexual orientation of any of the parties is not the issue.
Obviously GFM wouldn't be gay, if he's had relationships with women, too (something we assume to be true in the case of Mr. Hickman, because we know he's married - but we know nothing about GFM). He would be bi or bi-curious, not gay;).
And personally, I think the most likely effect would be "the story is false and Hickman's wife wouldn't care about what happened over 30 years ago even if she would ever hear about it, which she probably won't":D!
And yes, I also think that has nothing to do with gaming, except they played a game before going out and getting wasted (and supposedly getting boners, too). But I'm not a mod.
I never thought for the tiniest moment it was true, I thought the poster was making an incredibly lame attempt at humor.
And brother, when I call your humor lame, you are in ROUGH shape.
Yeah, that anyone took it remotely seriously is rather mystifying.
This is one of the funniest things I've read for a while.
Quote from: Marleycat;946241Hey boy, how about stop calling everyone boy? It's not working for you given you're not anywhere near above 20 and I'm just one of many women on this site. You bore me and are starting to piss me off. Hope you stick around enough to entertain me but that's up to you. Post something of value or just watch me disrespect you at every turn. This isn't TBP so I can and will give you the EXACT treatment you deserve if you insist on keeping the bullshit up.
Reactions like this will encourage more of the same type of drivel. Please stop feeding the trolls and and have a nice day. :cool:
Let's just say it's a sensitive enough thing that I chose my words carefully.