jere7my | Wanted: 1200 people to bow to my whims

I've been digging through old issues of Dragon magazine, and finding nuggets like the first appearances of the bulette, remorhaz, and anhkheg; the early barely-pro doodlings of Dave Sutherland and Erol Otus; and a snarky letter from Lew Pulsipher (creator of Britannia) in issue 3 complaining (at great length) about errors in an article about Tolkien's elves. But this letter from issue 5 takes the prize for sheer ballsiness:

I would like to tell you about the massive campaign that I have been working on. It is situated on the hypothetical world of Loera, a world of infinite possibility in fantastic adventure. Although it is not our own Earth, it is only about eleven light years from our world, and therefore most of the culture is a parallel of our ancient cultures.

However, the scope and size of the campaign is so much that I cannot create and run it all. Theremore, I am putting it on a national basis so as to get the entire campaign running. I need fifty-five DungeonMasters with time, and good judgment, who are willing to run an area about 600 by 600 miles. Each DM would gather up about twenty players, fill in any needed terrain and dungeons, and run that section, sending me monthly reports to keep the campaign up to date. Those who are interested, write to this address: Keith Abbott, 5305 Lake Harbor Road, Muskegon, MI 49441.

And, in the "The More Things Change..." department, this letter from issue 3 (October 1976):

Dear Sirs,

A couple of weeks ago I wrote to you asking for permission to xerox some of your tables. I had taken them and cut them out, laid them out differently to provide a compact set of all important tables for GMs. I wanted to sell them to a few friends at cost (no profit). I received a short, curt reply, stating: “Dear Sir: In response to your question, no, you may not reprint anything.”

I don’t know whether this is going to become your standard policy; I don’t know whether this is your blanket response to all inquiries. If it is, however, I would like to lodge a protest. Those with a background in many different fandoms have some knowledge of the results of a company oppressing an infant hobby with this type of policy — comic fandom, for instance, was stunted, and nearly ruined, by comics companies’ refusal to allow amateurs to use pro characters in their fanzines. It’s also interesting to note the route Star Trek Fandom has gone with the allowance by Paramount of fan activity. I might also point out that an active and prosperous D & D fandom is as much, if not more, to your benefit than to anyone else’s. The existence of a hard-core group that buys all TAE D & D-related products can only help your business.

It therefore distresses me to see a restrictive policy adopted. If I and those like me were setting ourselves up in competition with already-available TSR products I might more readily understand your qualms. Unfortunately, real D & D fans are well aware that the supply of playing aids for TSR is, sadly, pitiful. THE CHARACTER ARCHAIC is unmentionably useless. No convenient complete set of tables exists.

I therefore find it hard to swallow or understand your attitude. Not only would I not be competing with an extant TSR product, I would not even be seeking or making a profit. I would only be trying to make the like of people who already bought all your products easier. And, although I’m not a lawyer, I have some doubts of the legality of your preventing photocopying of your material in a different form for non-profit purposes. I believe Congress has, or is in the process of, modifying the copyright laws to take into account the “Xerox revolution.” I would not try to sell my tables over your objections on such grounds, however, since — despite my dissatisfaction with this stance— I still have great respect for your company.