Gary Gygax Q&A: Part X

Tuzenbach · 10th May 2006, 04:23 AM

Sure, there've been tons of threads started in the last 5 months that we'll never see again, but I think I can arrive at a general concensus that the saddest casuality of the site crash was the "Gary Gygax: Part X" thread.

Who's with me?

grodog · 10th May 2006, 05:40 AM

Damn. I didn't make the time to print that thread yet, simply because it was going to take a million years to do so. Sigh....

BOZ · 10th May 2006, 05:44 AM

well, the new one wasn't around very long, but the previous one lost a fair number of posts. regardless, time to start over...

Kryndal Levik · 10th May 2006, 06:04 AM

Well, you can get at least part of it through Google...

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1

I didn't check (not familiar with the content of the thread), but I'm pretty sure that all pages will show up...

Tuzenbach · 10th May 2006, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryndal Levik

Well, you can get at least part of it through Google...

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1

I didn't check (not familiar with the content of the thread), but I'm pretty sure that all pages will show up...

Really? That's good news!

I was actually wondering if it'd be possible to attempt a reconstruction of the thread. Many many times, a thread response will be copied to my hotmail inbox. Sadly, I delete most of them. However, I'll bet there are those of us who do not delete ANY of them!

Worth a try?

Tuzenbach · 10th May 2006, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuzenbach

I was actually wondering if it'd be possible to attempt a reconstruction of the thread. Many many times, a thread response will be copied to my hotmail inbox. Sadly, I delete most of them. However, I'll bet there are those of us who do not delete ANY of them!

See, THIS is what I'm talkin' about:

Quote:

Col_Pladoh has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled -
General - Gary Gygax Q&A, Part IX - in the General RPG Discussion forum of EN
World - Morrus' D&D / d20 News & Reviews Site.

This thread is located at:
Gary Gygax Q&A, Part IX

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Howdy!

Actually, the CZY work is quite adaptable to the AD&D game, so of course
Hackmaster should serve.

I am coordinating some 20 freelance writers in their efforts to detail the
town's 19 sectors as well as five suburban areas. Three town districts are
completed now, one accepted for publication and two in process of content
editing. When the whole shebang is completed the place should be ideal for urban
adventuring and PC enterprises in town, in its outskirts, as well as throughout
the whole of the Eastmark.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · 10th May 2006, 05:25 PM

All the material on Google is sans text...lost in the crash I assume.

Haakon1 was the last poster that I know of, but that too is lost.

Such is life on the internet :\

Cheers,
Gary

Ottergame · 10th May 2006, 05:40 PM

Confucious once say; "Wise man backs up often".

Cest la ve.

Infiniti2000 · 10th May 2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Col_Pladoh

All the material on Google is sans text...lost in the crash I assume.

Try to "select" the text. I noticed in some other threads that I was interested in, the text was black for some reason (in the cache). I could select the text (for the opposite contrast), to read it. Or, copy/paste into an unformatted editor.

**Henry** · 10th May 2006, 06:25 PM

Let's not completely give up on it yet. There is some background discussion of a newer copy of the d-base, so we may yet have most of the discussion. I'd hold off on Cataclysmic revelations until the database situation is completely 100% settled, first.

Have faith, hope, patience, and a couple of prayers handy, and we'll let you know if there's more to be said.

Infiniti2000 · 10th May 2006, 07:09 PM

Henry, your .sig got reset to those two excellent quotes.

grodog · 10th May 2006, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry

Let's not completely give up on it yet. There is some background discussion of a newer copy of the d-base, so we may yet have most of the discussion. I'd hold off on Cataclysmic revelations until the database situation is completely 100% settled, first.

Have faith, hope, patience, and a couple of prayers handy, and we'll let you know if there's more to be said.

Ah, that's good to hear Henry: I wasn't aware that everything hadn't been confirmed at 100% lost. Have you guys looked at contacting the ezboards technical team to see about how they were able to try to recover lost content in their sem-recent-ish big crash? IIRC, they hit google cache, as well as the internet archive to try to recreate/recover as much content as possible.

Kryndal Levik · 10th May 2006, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Col_Pladoh

All the material on Google is sans text...lost in the crash I assume.

Haakon1 was the last poster that I know of, but that too is lost.

Such is life on the internet :\

Cheers,
Gary

Actually, it's not- click on "Cached" and you get the full post. I tried it with several, and it worked like a charm.

Col_Pladoh · 10th May 2006, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kryndal Levik

Actually, it's not- click on "Cached" and you get the full post. I tried it with several, and it worked like a charm.

Oh good!

I didn't do more than glance at the blank spaces and assumed the worst

Now all the text appears normally...and I notice that there I am at 3233 posts, so a bunch must have been lost, temprrarily perhaps, from here.

Cheers,
Gary

Tuzenbach · 12th May 2006, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Col_Pladoh

Such is life on the internet :\

Cheers,
Gary

Gary,

In that you possess astute, sage-like abilities, this question struck me the other day as being highly "askable": When you were forumulating D&D in the early 70's, did the concept of "The Internet" ever become something you foresaw?

Col_Pladoh · 13th May 2006, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuzenbach

Gary,

In that you possess astute, sage-like abilities, this question struck me the other day as being highly "askable": When you were forumulating D&D in the early 70's, did the concept of "The Internet" ever become something you foresaw?

Heh...

Would I were so astute :\

About the best I can claim is to have recognized in 1978 that computer games were going to be important in the future, and urge my fellows at TSR to get the company into the field immediately. That was done, but not logically, and soon TSR was out of the field even as computer fantasy games were becoming really popular.

Cheers,
Gary

Geoffrey · 13th May 2006, 01:00 AM

Gary, what are your views on giving gaming stats to deities, and to avatars/player characters killing deities? Have your views on god stats and god killing changed over the last 30 years? I understand that you are hard at work on Lejendary Pantheons for Lejendary Adventure. How will the deities be presented in that work? (And when can I buy a copy?

)

ColonelHardisson · 13th May 2006, 02:13 AM

Gary, I hope you're doing well. I know this question has been put to you before, but for the life of me I can't recall your answer (someday I hope someone sifts through all the various "Ask Gary" threads here and elsewhere and collates your answers so you don't have to keep answering the same things over and over). So pardon this re-asking: what was the inspiration for the D&D gorgon? The gorgon of Greek myth is what ended up being the medusa in D&D. Was there a mythological critter like the bull-like, petrification-breathing monster in the 1e Monster Manual?

Col_Pladoh · 13th May 2006, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoffrey

Gary, what are your views on giving gaming stats to deities, and to avatars/player characters killing deities? Have your views on god stats and god killing changed over the last 30 years? I understand that you are hard at work on Lejendary Pantheons for Lejendary Adventure. How will the deities be presented in that work? (And when can I buy a copy?

)

Deitial types are placed into 15 ranks in my LE world pantheons. those that are in the highest ranks are not really deities but quasi ones such as minor demons, so indeed a powerful character could kill one of 15th rank or even of 14th or 13th, after that the power of deities becomes much greater. At the minor deity level it is about impossible for any mortal to harm them, and above that, in the major and higher ranks, the most potent human is akin to a mosquito.

Messing with even a minor deity is most likely to end up very badly for a PC...

I give suggested stat spreads for all 15 ranks of deities, including Health (hit points) and protection as well as special powers likely. It is up to the GM to manage the rest.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · 13th May 2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColonelHardisson

Gary, I hope you're doing well. I know this question has been put to you before, but for the life of me I can't recall your answer (someday I hope someone sifts through all the various "Ask Gary" threads here and elsewhere and collates your answers so you don't have to keep answering the same things over and over). So pardon this re-asking: what was the inspiration for the D&D gorgon? The gorgon of Greek myth is what ended up being the medusa in D&D. Was there a mythological critter like the bull-like, petrification-breathing monster in the 1e Monster Manual?

Hi Colonel!

Not a problem at all. Indeed, that question has been put to me before, but I am not sure if that was here on this website. Anyway...

The scale-mailed bull model of a gorgon came directly from a copy of a medieval bestiary, the title of which I do not recall, but it was and probably still is in the local (Lake Geneva) public library. I was happy to use that model, for it added another fearsome monster to the roster for DM use

Cheers,
Gary