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Jeff r. Leason raw uncut Facebook interview.
7 years ago
This is the first interview i could get. Its with Jeff r. leason a TSR employee from 1978 to 1986. He didn't answer all the questions. Hope you enjoy, let me know what i can do better.
DJ Snowfang: I have a few questions for you all rdy from my D20 page.
What was their favorite campaign.
is there anything they ever regretted not making it to being published?
How do they feel about the modern incarnation of the game [5e]
What was your favorite edition of the D&D and why?
What was your favorite class and why?http://www.furaffinity.net/
Funniest tabletop story.
_________________________
Jeff: I really only played in one campaign; that was Skip Wialliam's campaign. However, since the question isn't specific, I'd have to say mine. I had mainly TSR employees playing in it: Diesel, Dave Conant, Tim Jiardini, Neil Christiansen, with "guest appearences" by Jeff Dee, Bill Willingham, Jean Wells, Cory Koebernick, Tom Wham (once), and Jack Herman (when he came to visit Jeff Dee.
Then, when I went to work at Mayfair Games (in 1986, the year i was "let go" from TSR along with 149 others) I had most of the staff play in my campaign.
DJ Snowfang: nice
Jeff: I've only really played AD&D 1e, with bits of AD&D2e, but I hear that 5e is much like 1e.
I still run 1e at conventions.
DJ Snowfang: oh wow.
Jeff: AD&D1e is my favorite, as the DMG was the first book I was accredited in and the one I feel the most comfortable Dming.
DJ Snowfang: very nice.
How did you get roped into TSR?
Jeff: My favorite character type is the thief, but I really like the multi-class PC FI/MU/TH. I always got an extra share of treasure as (the original, but not famous) Melf the Elf, 'cause I was always taking the extra chances by finding/removing traps and climbing walls and hiding in Shadows.
DJ Snowfang: hehe great.
Jeff: I was in high school orchestra with ernie, and we got to be pretty good friends (he was/is a year older than me), so he told me that when I got out of high school I had a job at TSR. I was only 17 when I graduated hs, so I had to move to the Northwoods of Wisconsin (where I still reside), and help my parents finish building their house. We finished to house in July (my b.day being July 11th) and in August, I moved back to Lake Geneva and started working at TSR in the shipping department with Ernst. I was the 17th employee hired.
DJ Snowfang: cool
are you a writer by traide?
Jeff: Back then everybody, with few exceptions helped load and unload trucks. I was lucky enough to be asked, by Mike Carr (my best boss EVER), to help proof the DMG. Shortly thereafter I was working in the editorial dept.
All of my editorial and writing skills were self taught, as I never went to college or had any training.
I consider myself extremely lucky to be at the right place at the right time. In my case, it wasn't really what I knew, but who I knew.
when i get to talk to people such as your self, i feel very luck also.
luckey*
DJ Snowfang: Sometimes freelance journalism gets pushed aside or never responded to.
Jeff: My "heroes" bach then were the artists, Dave Sutherland, and Dave Trampier (my favorite artest, and Tom Wha, who still remains my favorite male person, as he has the most creative mind of anyone I've ever known. He and Ernie were also the guys who introduced me to pot, women, Monty Python, and all around fun having.
DJ Snowfang: LOL
this is the info ONLY one who was there will ever know or tell.
Jeff: Back then, we lived and breathed gaming. We worked in THE game company during the day and either wrote or played games with the other TSRers the rest of the time. When at TSR (from 1978 - 1986, I had 22 roomates (at different times) that were TSR employees. Gaming was our lives and it was fun pretty much constantly.
When I worked at Mayfair, the atmosphere was similar, but when we went home at night, we all went our seperate ways.
yeah. It shows how much TSR relay cared about games. You can see it in all the orginal books.
Yep. After a while, TSR was just pumping out products 'cause they knew that they would sell. The beginners set (started by Tom Molvay and later given the Frank Mentzer, who usually takes all the credit, as Tom wasn't/isn't around to tell the truth was one of those "throw away/puked out" products, in my opinion.
Gamers wanted/demanded more, so TSR gave it to them, even if the products were so-so.
I have set out to collect as many as possible, i doing great. lol
My favorite TSR/Dungeon Hobby SHop story is when a lady from a southern baptist church came into the Hobby shop and asked me where we kept the magic items and spell books. I explained how/what D&D really was and she finally understood what role-playig was. I tlked to Gary a bit later and he told me that I handled the situation perfectly. I was pretty proud of myself.
Back then, each TSR employee rec'd a free copy of of any product that came out, so I had a near complete collection of TSR products.
DJ Snowfang: oh wow!
Jeff: I purchased my first copy of D&D from Gary in the basement of his house.
DJ Snowfang: LOL
what kind of D&D set up di you have?
Jeff: I was only 14 or 15 at the time. My Mom thought D&D was "demon worshipping", but my Dad said that I was playing with friends (Skip Williams taught me in Boy Scouts) so I was able to buy a copy and play. If it weren't for my Dad, I'd be a completely different person.
The woodgrain boxed set.
I started DMing in 1976, the campaign I still use today.
DJ Snowfang: thats great!
djsnowfang
DJ Snowfang: I have a few questions for you all rdy from my D20 page.
What was their favorite campaign.
is there anything they ever regretted not making it to being published?
How do they feel about the modern incarnation of the game [5e]
What was your favorite edition of the D&D and why?
What was your favorite class and why?http://www.furaffinity.net/
Funniest tabletop story.
_________________________
Jeff: I really only played in one campaign; that was Skip Wialliam's campaign. However, since the question isn't specific, I'd have to say mine. I had mainly TSR employees playing in it: Diesel, Dave Conant, Tim Jiardini, Neil Christiansen, with "guest appearences" by Jeff Dee, Bill Willingham, Jean Wells, Cory Koebernick, Tom Wham (once), and Jack Herman (when he came to visit Jeff Dee.
Then, when I went to work at Mayfair Games (in 1986, the year i was "let go" from TSR along with 149 others) I had most of the staff play in my campaign.
DJ Snowfang: nice
Jeff: I've only really played AD&D 1e, with bits of AD&D2e, but I hear that 5e is much like 1e.
I still run 1e at conventions.
DJ Snowfang: oh wow.
Jeff: AD&D1e is my favorite, as the DMG was the first book I was accredited in and the one I feel the most comfortable Dming.
DJ Snowfang: very nice.
How did you get roped into TSR?
Jeff: My favorite character type is the thief, but I really like the multi-class PC FI/MU/TH. I always got an extra share of treasure as (the original, but not famous) Melf the Elf, 'cause I was always taking the extra chances by finding/removing traps and climbing walls and hiding in Shadows.
DJ Snowfang: hehe great.
Jeff: I was in high school orchestra with ernie, and we got to be pretty good friends (he was/is a year older than me), so he told me that when I got out of high school I had a job at TSR. I was only 17 when I graduated hs, so I had to move to the Northwoods of Wisconsin (where I still reside), and help my parents finish building their house. We finished to house in July (my b.day being July 11th) and in August, I moved back to Lake Geneva and started working at TSR in the shipping department with Ernst. I was the 17th employee hired.
DJ Snowfang: cool
are you a writer by traide?
Jeff: Back then everybody, with few exceptions helped load and unload trucks. I was lucky enough to be asked, by Mike Carr (my best boss EVER), to help proof the DMG. Shortly thereafter I was working in the editorial dept.
All of my editorial and writing skills were self taught, as I never went to college or had any training.
I consider myself extremely lucky to be at the right place at the right time. In my case, it wasn't really what I knew, but who I knew.
when i get to talk to people such as your self, i feel very luck also.
luckey*
DJ Snowfang: Sometimes freelance journalism gets pushed aside or never responded to.
Jeff: My "heroes" bach then were the artists, Dave Sutherland, and Dave Trampier (my favorite artest, and Tom Wha, who still remains my favorite male person, as he has the most creative mind of anyone I've ever known. He and Ernie were also the guys who introduced me to pot, women, Monty Python, and all around fun having.
DJ Snowfang: LOL
this is the info ONLY one who was there will ever know or tell.
Jeff: Back then, we lived and breathed gaming. We worked in THE game company during the day and either wrote or played games with the other TSRers the rest of the time. When at TSR (from 1978 - 1986, I had 22 roomates (at different times) that were TSR employees. Gaming was our lives and it was fun pretty much constantly.
When I worked at Mayfair, the atmosphere was similar, but when we went home at night, we all went our seperate ways.
yeah. It shows how much TSR relay cared about games. You can see it in all the orginal books.
Yep. After a while, TSR was just pumping out products 'cause they knew that they would sell. The beginners set (started by Tom Molvay and later given the Frank Mentzer, who usually takes all the credit, as Tom wasn't/isn't around to tell the truth was one of those "throw away/puked out" products, in my opinion.
Gamers wanted/demanded more, so TSR gave it to them, even if the products were so-so.
I have set out to collect as many as possible, i doing great. lol
My favorite TSR/Dungeon Hobby SHop story is when a lady from a southern baptist church came into the Hobby shop and asked me where we kept the magic items and spell books. I explained how/what D&D really was and she finally understood what role-playig was. I tlked to Gary a bit later and he told me that I handled the situation perfectly. I was pretty proud of myself.
Back then, each TSR employee rec'd a free copy of of any product that came out, so I had a near complete collection of TSR products.
DJ Snowfang: oh wow!
Jeff: I purchased my first copy of D&D from Gary in the basement of his house.
DJ Snowfang: LOL
what kind of D&D set up di you have?
Jeff: I was only 14 or 15 at the time. My Mom thought D&D was "demon worshipping", but my Dad said that I was playing with friends (Skip Williams taught me in Boy Scouts) so I was able to buy a copy and play. If it weren't for my Dad, I'd be a completely different person.
The woodgrain boxed set.
I started DMing in 1976, the campaign I still use today.
DJ Snowfang: thats great!
djsnowfang
^,=,^