Exclusive: Robert J. Kuntz Reveals the Untold Origins of D&D

Robert J. Kuntz was one of the early architects of tabletop role-playing. A member of TSR, the Lake Geneva game publisher that originally published Dungeons & Dragons, he worked alongside Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson during the game’s formative years. As Gygax’s co-Dungeon Master, Kuntz helped shape the original World of Greyhawk and contributed to Supplement I: Greyhawk, Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and Maure Castle. He later created the World of Kalibruhn, the Maze of Zayene series, and the award-winning board game Kings & Things. He is also known for playing Sir Robilar, whose exploits included becoming the first player to conquer Gary Gygax’s notoriously lethal Tomb of Horrors. Rob, thanks for this interview. For readers who may only know the broad strokes, could you walk us through how a teenager in Lake Geneva first connected with Gary Gygax and ended up becoming one of the core people at the birth of Dungeons & Dragons? That’s actually a VERY complex story which is too long to recount here. Condensed, I was looking for a Milton Bradley game, Dogfight (WW1 aerial combat), which was part of their American Heritage series. I already ...