THIS DAY IN FANTASY HISTORY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1937 On this day in 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was first published. Thirty-seven years later, Dungeons & Dragons arrived, and Tolkien’s fingerprints were all over the early game. Early D&D used hobbits, ents, and balrogs before those names were changed to halflings, treants, and balors. And in 1979, Tolkien appeared in Gary Gygax’s legendary Appendix N list of inspirational reading in the Dungeon Masters Guide. From: “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…” to: “You meet at the inn…” …there’s a pretty clear road leading toward the dungeon. 🐉⚔️ Happy publication day to The Hobbit. Which edition of The Hobbit did you grow up with?