Wednesday, June 02, 2004
A meeting with the crusader...
In 1991, I got my first computer modem, a cheap US Robotics 2400 baud device that took me a week of frustration to install. I used to pick up copies of Toronto Computes specifically for the BBS list (I would eventually become the managing editor of TC for over a year-and-a-half near the end of the magazine's run -- I'm still quite happy about getting that chance, even if my departure from the company was unpleasant). From that BBS list, I discovered a BBS dedicated to roleplaying games called The Crystal Gryphon (named after a novel by someone -- I'm too lazy to look up the author right now, but I think it was Andre Norton). It was run by a guy in Scarborough named Norm McNearney, and just now thinking of TCG inspired a lot of fond memories about those days. It's where I first learned to play in and run games via message posts online, an aspect of the hobby that I have pursued off and on since then.
However, on that BBS, I discovered several essays and articles written by a local D&D crusader named Pierre Savoie. As a for instance, I'll point you to this letter from Savoie to Global TV about a program that had run that painted D&D in a fairly bleak light. After my own experiences with religious intolerance of roleplaying games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons, I dove into Savoie's work with a passion.
In college, I used my interest in roleplaying games and the controversy surrounding them to contact Savoie for an article for one of my reporting classes. On the phone, the man was quite simply paranoid. At first, he was convinced I was being sent by an enemy to talk to him and hurt him in some way. It took a fair bit of convincing on the phone before he'd agree to an interview. Then, one afternoon after class, I drove to Savoie's home (oddly enough, it was actually not far from Centennial College, where I went to school) and spent hours talking to him about D&D, the various accusations made by groups and individuals about the game and Savoie's own experiences and research. He lived alone in a basement apartment of a house at the time, and although he didn't trust me much when I arrived, I think he had at least given up on the idea that I was out to hurt him by the time I left four or five hours later.
Through talking with Savoie, I was able to start my own file of research on the problem with anti-D&D groups and the effect they've had. If I can find any of it, I'll post it at a future date. I'll also try to track down the college article I wrote on Savoie.
Savoie earned my respect. He was nothing short of a crusader for Dungeons & Dragons, and he wasn't afraid to speak out against those who would try to create their own truths about the game and what it was.
However, on that BBS, I discovered several essays and articles written by a local D&D crusader named Pierre Savoie. As a for instance, I'll point you to this letter from Savoie to Global TV about a program that had run that painted D&D in a fairly bleak light. After my own experiences with religious intolerance of roleplaying games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons, I dove into Savoie's work with a passion.
In college, I used my interest in roleplaying games and the controversy surrounding them to contact Savoie for an article for one of my reporting classes. On the phone, the man was quite simply paranoid. At first, he was convinced I was being sent by an enemy to talk to him and hurt him in some way. It took a fair bit of convincing on the phone before he'd agree to an interview. Then, one afternoon after class, I drove to Savoie's home (oddly enough, it was actually not far from Centennial College, where I went to school) and spent hours talking to him about D&D, the various accusations made by groups and individuals about the game and Savoie's own experiences and research. He lived alone in a basement apartment of a house at the time, and although he didn't trust me much when I arrived, I think he had at least given up on the idea that I was out to hurt him by the time I left four or five hours later.
Through talking with Savoie, I was able to start my own file of research on the problem with anti-D&D groups and the effect they've had. If I can find any of it, I'll post it at a future date. I'll also try to track down the college article I wrote on Savoie.
Savoie earned my respect. He was nothing short of a crusader for Dungeons & Dragons, and he wasn't afraid to speak out against those who would try to create their own truths about the game and what it was.
// posted by Chris @ 12:43 PM 
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