This Guy Sucked – Gary Gygax (with Eric Silver)

Podcast: This Guy Sucked
Host: Dr. Claire Aubin
Guest: Eric Silver (Join the Party)
Release: October 16, 2025
Length: ~82 minutes

Overview

This episode takes a critical look at Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), exploring his role as both the “Big Bang” of tabletop roleplaying and as a deeply flawed figure responsible for many of the game’s enduring problems. Historian Dr. Claire Aubin and game master Eric Silver dig into Gygax’s legacy—from his creativity and the invention of an entire genre, to his business mismanagement, toxic gatekeeping, and bigoted views. Together, they examine how Gygax's personal failings shaped both the world of D&D and its business, culminating in a modern IP juggernaut detached from its venerated (if controversial) founder.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Gary Gygax? Establishing Credentials & Stakes

• Claire & Eric’s Expertise & Investment in D&D

  • Eric’s experience as a professional in tabletop RPG (TTRPG) media and Claire’s long history with the game and its culture anchor the discussion in both personal and scholarly insight. (08:56, 10:00)
  • “You can, like, work with and around someone and thinking about them...but that doesn’t mean you owe them your loyalty forever.” — Dr. Claire Aubin (04:58)

• Both panelists are fans and critics, believing that “veneration and love for the game doesn’t mean we shouldn’t question the guy who made it.” (05:41)

2. What Is a Tabletop RPG? Why Does D&D Matter?

• Eric concisely explains TTRPGs: “If you remember sitting around the campfire and having someone tell a story to you...but we can take a step forward and add little game mechanics so that players can participate.” (12:15)
• D&D’s revolutionary role in moving from war games to immersive storytelling and collaborative character creation is underlined. (16:58–18:18)

3. Gary Gygax: Context & Origins

• Background: Born 1938, died 2008. Co-created D&D with Dave Arneson out of a hobbyist wargaming tradition in the 1970s.
• Eric: “[Gygax] just happens to create something that has teeth and claws in a way he’s not expecting...this is not a guy who was built to do this." (20:32)
• The invention of D&D was a collaborative, evolving process, but Gygax quickly positioned himself as the sole “genius”. (18:18)

4. The Creation & Growth of D&D – Bad Business, Good PR

• Gygax’s company (TSR) was founded in a scramble after mainstream publishers rejected D&D.
• Early sales were niche, but TSR “blew up” in the 1980s—helped paradoxically by the Satanic Panic. National distribution started in 1980 via Random House, catapulting volume from 250K to 2M boxes in a couple years. (28:25)
  • “In 1981, they sold nearly 2 million copies.” — Eric (28:40)
• Start-up chaos: nepotism, “boys being boys,” wild spending, and mismanagement abounded. (25:34, 32:19)
  • Hilariously, “TSR bought a needlepoint company run by the Bloom’s cousin and raised a shipwreck just for kicks.” (32:45, 35:21)

5. Exploitation & Gatekeeping: Gygax’s Harmful Legacy

• Gygax exploited staff and co-creators, notably “screwing over” Dave Arneson on royalties for Advanced D&D. (24:25)
• He regularly failed to honor contracts, claimed other people’s work as his own, and sabotaged professional women at TSR. (33:27, 78:21)
• Sexism and Exclusion:
  • Gygax’s published, deeply misogynistic response to women in wargaming:
    “Damn right I am sexist...They can jolly well stay away from war gaming in droves for all I care. I’ve seen many a good wargamer spoiled thanks to the fair sex.” (38:41)
  • Gygax positioned D&D as male-exclusive, resisted any inclusiveness, and openly ridiculed those seeking change. (38:41–41:08)
  • “He wanted it to be for him...It’s a level of ego that I think is interesting here.” — Claire (57:05)

6. Gygax the Face—But Not the Mind—of D&D’s Success

• Gygax became a D&D “micro-celebrity,” inserting himself into rulebooks, adventures, and media appearances. (21:18)
• He distanced himself from negative business decisions but took credit for successes and creative innovations by others. (34:57–35:21)
• Ultimately, he ran TSR into heavy debt, was outmaneuvered by Lorraine Williams, and ousted from his own company in a “Succession-style” coup (44:24):
  • “He didn’t find out until the meeting he was chairing began and he got kicked out of his own company.” — Eric (45:14)

7. The Corporate Afterlife: Hasbro, IP, and Monolithic D&D

• After passing through several owners, D&D landed under Hasbro—now a prime “monetized” brand.
• The flood of D&D-branded consumer goods, a shift to digital “games as service,” and ever-more expensive player experience are outcomes Gygax likely would have embraced—so long as he got credit and royalties. (65:00, 69:49)
• Critical Open Gaming License controversy (2023): Hasbro tried to claw back rights from creators and influencers who made D&D popular—but was forced to retreat after massive backlash. (73:27–75:40)

8. The Gygax Myth: Veneration, Revisionism, Hagiography

• Even today, many defend Gygax as either “just a silly little joker” or a “rightful gatekeeper for nerd culture”—even using the same evidence to argue both sides. (41:08)
  • “People will use the exact same scenarios for how they defend him as they will use to say that he’s bad.” — Claire (41:08)
• Corporations and authors with a direct stake in D&D’s continuing profitability (e.g., Michael Witwer) have produced glowing biographies used to cement the Gygax myth. (71:15)
• Quotes such as “I think that has to do with the different thinking processes of men and women, first of all”—along with his open self-description as a “biological determinist”—are routinely downplayed or excused by defenders. (54:52–55:02)

9. Persistent Harm: Race, Antisemitism, and Problematic Content

• D&D settings and modules released under Gygax’s leadership (e.g., Ravenloft) included openly racist and antisemitic tropes, particularly toward Roma/Sinti populations, and continue to provoke criticism even in modern versions. (61:33–62:29)
• Gygax’s approach: “Just take religious shit and file off the barcodes.” (79:44)

10. Final Judgement: What Did Gygax Leave Us?

• Gygax created a revolutionary game but layered it with his prejudice and ego—then failed to steer it responsibly, losing it to corporate interests. (77:31)
  • “Now the thing he invented is a corporate weapon...something that hurts the people that love it. And he could have just not moved to LA and did cocaine for three years and dated a bunch of women, but instead he did.” — Eric (76:27)
• Modern D&D’s best advances come from creators and players breaking free of Gygaxian orthodoxy—not from honoring his legacy. “People are branching out into all kinds of other things...which I think is great.” — Claire (64:08)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “The only thing that Gary Gygax did for me was create the first edition...He was the big bang—how fundamental, really? Not that much.” – Eric Silver (05:41)
• “He’s a guy who started something wonderful, filled that thing with weird harmful shit that would do psychic damage to its players, and then steered that thing in directions that made it worse and less accessible.” — Dr. Claire Aubin (14:46)
• “Damn right I am sexist...They can jolly well stay away from wargaming in droves for all I care. I’ve seen many a good war game and war gamer spoiled thanks to the fair sex.” — Gary Gygax, Europa fanzine (38:41)
• “He wanted to make sure that the nerds who are involved in the game and who have power relative to the game should be people that look and think like him.” — Claire (57:05)
• “Gary Gygax sucked because he was a guy who made a very popular piece of art...and then he either didn’t know what was going on or he was negligent and kind of just let them do whatever...and now the thing he invented is a corporate weapon.” — Eric Silver (76:27)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 04:58 — Loving something doesn’t mean excusing its creator
• 12:15 — What is a tabletop RPG? (Eric explains)
• 20:32 — Gygax’s ill-suitedness for business stardom
• 24:25 — Gygax cuts out Dave Arneson
• 28:25 — Satanic Panic, Random House, D&D’s explosive growth
• 32:45 — Corporate malfeasance at TSR (“raising a shipwreck”)
• 38:41 — Gygax's public misogyny
• 44:24 — Gygax ousted from TSR by Lorraine Williams
• 54:52 — The rise of Gygax veneration, critics, and defenders
• 61:33 — Racism in D&D content (Ravenloft, Curse of Strahd)
• 65:00 — Hasbro’s “games as a service” model for D&D
• 73:27 — 2023 Open Gaming License backlash
• 76:27 — Final critique: Gygax's legacy as a corporate weapon

Tone & Takeaways

As with every episode of This Guy Sucked, the tone is irreverent, insightful, and often exasperated. Both Aubin and Silver are clearly fans, but their “certified hater” credentials shine through as they refuse to let affection soften their critique. Gygax, in their view, is a perfect example of a person who made something massive and important—then tainted it with egotism, bigotry, poor stewardship, and a legacy that corporations have bent to their own ends.

For listeners unfamiliar with D&D or Gygax:
You’ll leave with a clear sense of why he “matters,” why so many people love the game he helped create, and why the man and his mythology deserve every bit of criticism Aubin and Silver direct his way.

Further Reading

• Eric Silver’s article on antisemitism in D&D (linked in show notes)
• “Slaying the Dragon” by Ben Riggs
• “Empire of Imagination” by Michael Witwer (as an example of hagiography)

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a complete understanding of the episode without any need to endure the dicey legacy of Gary Gygax firsthand.