TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Geoffrey · Feb 26, 2003

Gary, I have a two-fold question for you regarding the 1981 "Basic" and "Expert" D&D rulebooks:

1. How much say did you have on the contents of these books? I know that 1981 was when your influence at TSR unfortunately began to wane.

2. How pleased are you with these rulebooks? I've noticed that many gamers have mentioned on various boards they are abandoning 3E for the 1981 rules precisely because the latter are widely held to be the clearest and simplest of all the various incarnations of the D&D and AD&D games.

Col_Pladoh · Feb 26, 2003

Geoffrey said:
Gary, I have a two-fold question for you regarding the 1981 "Basic" and "Expert" D&D rulebooks:

1. How much say did you have on the contents of these books? I know that 1981 was when your influence at TSR unfortunately began to wane.

Hola, Geoffrey!

Right you are, and I was kept busy with lots of corporate work too. Fortunately, I had taken Frank Mentzer into my personal staff, so he was there to do the revision of the initial Basic Set. So Frank did the bulk of the work, and I reviewed and directed his efforts.

2. How pleased are you with these rulebooks? I've noticed that many gamers have mentioned on various boards they are abandoning 3E for the 1981 rules precisely because the latter are widely held to be the clearest and simplest of all the various incarnations of the D&D and AD&D games.

Well shucks! I was very pleased with them, or they wouldn't have gotten into print

I still had pretty firm creative control over the D&D and AD&D game systems proper. It was me who urger the completion of the series too, so Frank could go ahead and do that. however by then I was more removed from the creatibe process...

When I play OD&D O prefer to use the original little booklets, altering them with whatever seems right at the time, but not including thieves, I do give clerics a spell at 1st level usually, or else start that as 2nd level PCs. Fact is, i have a lot of fun just playing and "winging it." If the players aren't lost in known rules they tend to have more fun that way, and the sense of wonder comes back...FWIW.

Cheers,
Gary

ColonelHardisson · Feb 27, 2003

Aww, don't tell me I got put on the "ignore" list! I don't think my question was rude. I mean, I did buy The Hermit, so I must be kindly disposed towards ya, Gary.

Col_Pladoh · Feb 27, 2003

ColonelHardisson said:
Aww, don't tell me I got put on the "ignore" list! I don't think my question was rude. I mean, I did buy The Hermit, so I must be kindly disposed towards ya, Gary.

Hey!

I didn't get an email notice of your post, Colonel, and I missed in in scrolling down...until your last post gave me notice, and I re-checked. Sorry.

As I recall, and I don't have a copy of THE HERMIT on hand, the stat blocks for LA are extensive in a few instances because the information is for new creatures.

For a fair comparison look at the standard NACs stats and those for d20 NPCs. About a quarter of the latter at most.

Anyway, on a positive note, have you played the module? If so, I'd like to know how it went, and if the group had fun with the adventure.

Cheers,
Gary

Ulrick · Feb 27, 2003

Col_Pladoh said:
Great! I wish my memory for people was better, but it has never served me very well. I guess the space available is filled up mainly with "otyer stuff"

I've always been better with faces rather than names...its something I'm really working on to remedy.

Anyway, I did find out that Chief Standing Bear DID go by a different name. The problem is that the gamers I talked to yesterday didn't know what it was. However, when the Guild meets this Saturday, I'll have the chance of asking some of the people who knew him better.

I feel like sage or perhaps even an adventurer digging for obscure bits of lore for his next adventure! Ha!

Hopefully it won't lead to that infamous Tomb of Horrors...

I'll try to figure out his name though. I'll keep you posted.

And thanks again!

Ulrick

Mercule · Feb 27, 2003

And, from left field....

What RPGs have you played/do you play that are not some breed of D&D and not of your design? Which ones struck you favorably, and why?

Vampire, Shadowrun, Hero, GURPS, Paranoia, Castle Falkenstein, Amber, Aria, etc.?

Also, what genres, besides fantasy, do you enjoy gaming (incl. wargaming) in?

Bendris Noulg · Mar 5, 2003

Well, in addition to giving this a bump for Mercule's question, I'll ask one myself...

Recently, the SRD was updated and made entirely official. However, some creatures/races were removed and retained, presumably as Product Identity (i.e., no 3rd Party can use them short of special permissions, and word is that some have already obtained the "green light").

Might I ask, for the sake of curiosity, where the ideas for the following originated?

-Beholder
-Carrion Crawler
-Displacer Beast
-Kuo-toa
-Mind Flayer
-Slaad
-Umber Hulk
-Yuan-ti

I'm not trying to snub WotC, mind you. I'm just trying to figure out what makes these more PI than, say, owlbears and ropers.

S'mon · Mar 5, 2003

Bendris Noulg said:
Well, in addition to giving this a bump for Mercule's question, I'll ask one myself...

Recently, the SRD was updated and made entirely official. However, some creatures/races were removed and retained, presumably as Product Identity (i.e., no 3rd Party can use them short of special permissions, and word is that some have already obtained the "green light").

Might I ask, for the sake of curiosity, where the ideas for the following originated?

-Beholder
-Carrion Crawler
-Displacer Beast
-Kuo-toa
-Mind Flayer
-Slaad
-Umber Hulk
-Yuan-ti

I'm not trying to snub WotC, mind you. I'm just trying to figure out what makes these more PI than, say, owlbears and ropers.

Hm - so if I want Slaad in stuff I write I now theoretically (ie assuming WoTC has enforcable IP rights in the use of the current version of Slaad) have to base them off their original appearance in White Dwarf magazine, which was copyright to the original author... assuming he didn't object.

-S'mon, copyright law guy

Mark CMG · Mar 5, 2003

Happy GM's Day, Poppa G!

Mathew_Freeman · Mar 9, 2003

Not a question as such, but a continuation of thoughts on Gaxmoor...some spoilers ahead...
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That maze spell was nasty! But the final revelation that Trakhassa has been masquerading as the High Priest all along was fun...please feel free to congratulate the authors on a fun module on behalf of our group!

We're now moving on to other things in the campaign, but we got a lot out of that one city - excellent stuff. I'll let you know what happens with the statues in the future

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Geoffrey

First Post

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

ColonelHardisson

What? Me Worry?

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Ulrick

First Post

Mercule

Adventurer

Bendris Noulg

First Post

S'mon

Legend

Mark CMG

Creative Mountain Games

Mathew_Freeman

First Post

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