General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
I forsee a party of 20 or so...shades of DMing in my basement back in 1973-4. I'll ask son Alex to assist with the monster attacks, as he loves to be on the delivery end of slings and arrows. Back to character sheets done on 3c5 index cards for the lot of you!
Gary
20 is optimal.
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OMG! The SKY IS FALLING! --JoeGKushner
Myself, I plan to masturbate less -- der_kluge
I know that I've never really liked d20. I think it was designed by a bunch of hacks --- Monte Cook
I am sickened beyond belief. The half-orc wizard is obviously the best possible PC, and I only had to read 10 pages of the book to figure it out. D&D is dead to me! -- Mike Mearls
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you happen to say that 4E reminds you of the reasons you decided against a career as a special-Ed teacher--noted rpg author Darrin Drader
Rob and I ran tables of 10 for the Bottle City and Warlocks Walk events at GenCon, and went well, overall, but I can't imagine doing so without a co-DM. And to think that I ran groups of up to 15 players BITD without blinking: I must be losing my touch
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Allan Grohe
Editor and Project Manager Black Blade Publishing
If you're going to play pure OD&D, don't limit your racial choices to dwarf, elf, hobbit . . . ask Gary if you can play a dragon or goblin or lizard man or some such, as suggested in the rules themselves.
Sure, and I'll personally select the encounter area where the remainder of the party of PCs will run into such a character. Ptherwise, the unusual PC can join the group and likely provide some early XPs for them!
Parenthetically, photostat copies of the manuscript rules were made, and when the commercial game was published, fans not willing or financially unable to expend the princely sum of $10 for the product did likewise, copying the material on school (mainly college/university) machines. We were well aware of this, and many gamers who had spent their hard-earned money to buy the game were more irate than we were. In all, though, the 'pirate' material was more helpful that not. Many new fans were made by DMs who were using such copies to run their games. - Gary Gygax
The d20 to hit, d6 for damage, and THAC0 to make it easy to determine if a number rolled hit the AC of the target.
Cheerio,
Gary
Thanks for answering my question, Gary.
I've been scouring the web at many fine sites dedicated to "old school D&D" with regards to combat. It's a treat to find people dedicated to discussing their interpretation of those rules, providing insights and examples of combat from Chainmail, Swords and Spells, and even the AD&D round by round combat example posted on this board.
But it's not only the rules - it's the ideas behind the development, history, and implementation that I find most fascinating.
Best regards and thanks for sharing here and elsewhere,
Crossroads
Last edited by Crossroads; 29th August 2007 at 12:52 AM..
As soon as I heard about Gary's passing, I had two emotions. One was sadness, because he helped so many people discover worlds that never existed before. The second was joy, because of the look on all of our faces when you told (and told) (and re-told) this story last year. I never had the fortune to meet him, but what I've seen and read of him, this is exactly the sort of stories he would enjoy.
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"We create joy." - Pirate Cat, 2006 ENnies
"...the worse thing that can happen to players is not to have their characters die. The worst thing that can happen is to have a boring game." - Mike Mearls
I found myself coming here again during GenCon week.
I feel very sad that this campaign couldn't be continued this year.
I am very greatful however that Gary got to meet the ENWorld Mods and play a kick-ass game with them. It turned out to be a very good opportunity.
"Natural 20 Baby" indeed!
I'm just now home from GenCon and this is the very first post I am responding to.
It was bittersweet reflecting on this game and Gary's absense this year. While he is sorely missed I couldn't help but smile at watching all the fun people were having (myself included) and considering that none of us would be there together were it not for Gary.
I thought that the posthumous lifetime achievement ENnie was a fitting tribute and I think I got a little something in my eye when we gave him a standing ovation. I was glad to see Dave Arneson get his award while he is still around to accept it.
It amazes me just how many people have been influenced, knowingly or otherwise, by EGG and his marvelous creation in the last 30+ years or so. There are the obvious people who play D&D or some variant, but then there's HORDES of computer and video game nerds who owe Gary a big debt. Basically any RPG in any format owes Gary some royalties.
I know that my life would be very different were it not for my brush with D&D at the age of 10 (thanks, Kat!). My imagination continues to thrive to this day because of this game. Some of my greatest memories are of fictional characters created by my brother and I or some of our friends and the absurdity that ensued.
I'm sitting here missing Gary, and remembering this game. I'm glad he knew how much fun he inspired!
But I'm still pissed about my mule.
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Currently editing the 4e War of the Burning Sky adventure path. Support EN Publishing, get excellent modules!
He was a lot of fun. I was fortunate enough to game with him one time in the seventies at a Gencon. It's a long time ago, and I was very young, but I recall their were a lot of character deaths.
This Friday night I'm running the AD&D Tomb of Horrors at a local gaming convention. I'm doing this partly out of remembrance of Gary, partly because I want younger players to experience an old school module that isn't based on combat, but mostly because I want to hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth as one PC dies after another. However, I told the players that they would receive certified bragging rights if they beat the module.
This module is a classic! Part of Gary's legacy and an inspiration to all ratbastard DMs!
__________________ "Farewell, Friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!"
--Stormbringer
I thought that the posthumous lifetime achievement ENnie was a fitting tribute and I think I got a little something in my eye when we gave him a standing ovation. I was glad to see Dave Arneson get his award while he is still around to accept it.
Prescient words, my friend. Unfortunately.
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