Editing TSR, Inc. (section)

====Expansion into other products====
Under Williams' direction, TSR solidified its expansion into other fields, such as magazines, paperback fiction, comic books, and collectible games. TSR's book division was a traditional powerhouse for the company, especially due to the comparatively low costs in producing novels compared to role-playing supplements which required commissioning art and play-testing. The most notably successful novel series of the era was [[R. A. Salvatore]]'s [[The Legend of Drizzt|Drizzt series]], set in the Forgotten Realms. Starting with ''[[The Crystal Shard]]'' in 1988, many of Salvatore's books would go on to reach the paperback bestseller lists.<ref>{{harvnb|Riggs|2022|pp=83–90}}</ref> TSR eventually moved into publishing hardcover novels as well with Salvatore's ''[[The Legacy (Forgotten Realms novel)|The Legacy]]'', published in 1992. It made the top of [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] weeks after its release.<ref name="history" />

The Dille Family Trust, of which Lorraine Williams was a part, held the rights to the [[Buck Rogers]] license. Williams personally encouraged TSR to produce Buck Rogers tie-in material. TSR would end up publishing Buck Rogers board games, novels, a comic book, and a role-playing game based on the ''AD&D'' 2nd Edition rules.<ref name="magicnmemories2"/> TSR's Buck Rogers projects were commercial failures.<ref>{{harvnb|Riggs|2022|pp=69–70; 108}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, TSR opened a new West Coast division in Southern California to develop various projects in the entertainment industry, similar to how Gygax had sought deals in Hollywood in the early 1980s. However, the efforts of the division would come to "less than nothing" according to TSR historian Ben Riggs, despite initial promise.<ref name="riggs103">{{harvnb|Riggs|2022|pp=103–123}}</ref> TSR had an arrangement with [[DC Comics]] to produce the comics ''[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (comic)|Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]]'' and ''[[Forgotten Realms (comics)|Forgotten Realms]]'', which sold well and were profitable for both DC and TSR. Sensing an opportunity, TSR decided to produce comics themselves as a stepping stool to television and film, as comics were cheaper to produce and start with. However, they had already sold the rights to their own A-list product in ''AD&D''. TSR attempted to not enrage DC Comics by calling their new product "comics modules" and including game-related material at the end of each issue; additionally, TSR largely sold the comics modules through bookshops rather than comic shops. The compromise failed in both directions: DC, feeling betrayed that their partner was moving to become a competitor, immediately stopped production of both the ''AD&D'' and ''Forgotten Realms'' comics, and canceled an in-production ''Ravenloft'' work. However, the changes to present the product as not a comic book caused the potential audience to either not know of its existence at all, or to be confused as to its nature. TSR West eventually published four comics modules: a Buck Rogers comic, a sci-fi comic ''Intruder'', a time travel comic ''Warhawks'', and a horror comic called ''R.I.P.'' They were not commercially successful.<ref name="riggs103"/> TSR West closed around 1991, although TSR would continue to work with Flint Dille on film-adjacent products made in California such as the introductory video for ''Dragonstrike''<ref name="riggs164"/> and a 1995 interactive video game series called ''Terror T.R.A.X.'' In 1994, TSR signed an agreement with Sweetpea Entertainment for rights to make a ''D&D'' movie. This would eventually result in the 2000 [[Dungeons & Dragons (2000 film)|''Dungeons & Dragons'' movie]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=Eriq|title=Hasbro Sues to Stop Warner Bros. 'Dungeons and Dragons' Film|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/hasbro-sues-stop-warner-bros-522262|access-date=August 8, 2015|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 14, 2013}}</ref>

TSR continued to own and operate the [[Gen Con]] role-playing game convention. Gen Con grew beyond its initial focus on ''D&D'' and wargames to role-playing fans in general. Gen Con was a growing and successful convention; in 1992, it broke every previous record for attendance to game conventions in the United States, with over 18,000 attendees.<ref name="history"/>{{better source needed|date=September 2022}}   

In 1993, [[Wizards of the Coast]] released the game ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' at Gen Con, which was an immediate smash hit that established the [[collectible card game]] (CCG) genre. TSR's Jim Ward led a development effort to create a ''Dungeons & Dragons''-themed CCG competitor that would be a response to ''Magic''. The result would be ''[[Spellfire]]'', released in April 1994. ''Spellfire'' was produced on a shoestring budget, and re-used art that TSR had already commissioned for other projects; Lorraine Williams was not a fan of the project. Its financial results are contested; some TSR insiders say that ''Spellfire'' sold well considering the constraints on it, while others indicate it sold poorly.<ref name="riggs211">{{harvnb|Riggs|2022|pp=211–214}}</ref><ref name=ODaM/> ''Spellfire'' was discontinued in 1996, although one final release occurred in late 1997.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Braid |first=Davi Nonato |date=April 4, 2021 |title=10 Card Games No One Remembers |url=https://www.thegamer.com/forgotten-card-games/ |access-date=June 4, 2024 |website=The Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Duelist-16">{{cite magazine |date=April 1997 |title=Game news & updates |magazine=[[The Duelist (magazine)|The Duelist]] |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |page=76 |issue=16}}</ref> Another collectible competitor to Wizards of the Coast that TSR produced was ''[[Dragon Dice]]'', which was released in 1995.<ref name="history" /><ref name=":2">{{harvnb|Appelcline|2011|p=29}}</ref> ''Dragon Dice'' was a collectible dice game where each player started with a random assortment of basic dice, and could improve their assortment by purchasing booster packs of more powerful dice. The first sets of ''Dragon Dice'' sold well at games stores, and TSR produced several expansion sets. However, interest in ''Dragon Dice'' was waning.<ref name="30years" />{{rp|216}} In addition, TSR tried to aggressively market ''Dragon Dice'' in mass-market book stores through [[Random House]]. However, the game did not catch on through the book trade.<ref name=":2" />

TSR's book division ran into troubles in the mid-1990s. TSR engaged in disputes with some of its most successful authors over terms and remuneration. Weis & Hickman had been driven off in the mid-1980s; a new dispute with [[R. A. Salvatore]] happened in 1994–1995.<ref>{{harvnb|Riggs|2022|pp=71–76; 177–184}}</ref> TSR suffered "the effects of overexpansion" in 1996 with an "expanded number of hardcover novels and a wide array of gaming accessories such as its ''Dragon Dice''".<ref name="arts-arcana" />{{rp|277}} Part of this overexpansion included publishing twelve hardcover novels up from the usual two novels per year.<ref>"TSR: 1973–1997" {{harvnb|Appelcline|2011|p=30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Meadows |first=Chris |date=August 8, 2014 |title=Review: Designers & Dragons Vol. 1: The ‘70s |url=http://teleread.com/review-designers-dragons-vol-1-the-70s/ |access-date=June 4, 2024 |website=TeleRead News |language=en}}</ref> Shannon Appelcline, in ''Designers & Dragons: The 90s'', commented that the books were sold at a loss and the "TSR warehouse" was "truckloads" full of ''Dragon Dice''.<ref>"The TSR Purchase: 1997", {{harvnb|Appelcline|2011|p=281}}</ref>