TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

DeadlyUematsu · Feb 14, 2005

Gary, if you're willing to answer a question about console/computer games, could you enlighten us on what you think western (i.e. Baldur's Gate) and eastern (i.e. Final Fantasy) game developers really dropped the ball on when translating the D&D mechanics (which the majority of RPGs are based on) to the computer medium?

francisca · Feb 14, 2005

Col_Pladoh said:
Of course I would drop some names, add others. A pair of rather glaring omission IMO are the names of Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

Agreed, with Fritz Leiber thrown in for good measure.

Gray Mouser · Feb 14, 2005

Col_Pladoh said:
Of course I would drop some names, add others. A pair of rather glaring omission IMO are the names of Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft.

Cheers,
Gary

Gah! And no Fritz Leiber???? What gives?!

Gray Mouser

Gray Mouser · Feb 14, 2005

Col_Pladoh said:
You should see my Metamorphosis Alpha PCs--all either PSH or human mutant. the one with triple life leech is great fun when his "brothers" (Ernie's and Luke's similar PCs) are with him. there aren't even any vermin alive in an area after that trio hes been operating

Isn't "life leech" a power from Gamma World? I've never played MA (although it sounds pretty cool from what you and others have said). Also, I assume PSH stands for "pure strain human", which, iirc, was also a GW race. Was there overlap between these games?

I know you designed a module for Gamma World, did you do any for MA? (I'm not even aware if there were any published scenarios!)

Oh, and if you want to share your PC character sheets for MA (or GW) feel free

(re: "You should see my Metamorphosis Alpha PCs.."

).

While I love sashimi, I don't care much for suchi because the rice and seaweed detract from the seafood IMO. My wife Gail agrees with you...

Cheerio,
Gary

Man, she's smart

BTW, if you really want to enjoy sashimi or sushi I suggest getting a top quality sake to go with it. Brings out the flavor. A good Japanese beer will also do

BOZ · Feb 14, 2005

Col_Pladoh said:
I had a great half-orc cleric/assassin

astounding!

i think i will make one of those for the next PC i make.

BOZ · Feb 14, 2005

Gray Mouser said:
Gah! And no Fritz Leiber???? What gives?!

Gray Mouser

has he done any sci-fi?

and yes, HPL missing from that list is certainly astonishing.

nerfherder · Feb 14, 2005

BOZ said:
has he done any sci-fi?

and yes, HPL missing from that list is certainly astonishing.

That's the fun of these lists, though - to discuss who they got wrong

The first name that sprung to my mind was John Wyndham.

To be honest, I was surprised to see Gary's name on the list. Not because I thought he didn't deserve to be, but because I didn't think that many people appreciated the influence he has had. Kudos to SFX!

Cheers,
Liam

Col_Pladoh · Feb 14, 2005

eyebeams said:
Hi Gary,

It's great to read about the rules you're using in your personal D&D game (and in fact, I hope some enterprising fellow with web skills I don't have compiles them -- I'd like to try them out!).

My question is: How do you handle non-theiving, non-combat tasks? Do characters have an AD&D style trade profession, or has it just not come up?

Heh...

When most of the play is action-based, there isn't much need to check on non-cmbat tasks. When needed, though, I do have a chack made against a stat, with such modification as I deem appropriate for the circumstances.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Feb 14, 2005

Geoffrey said:
Gary, I've noticed that Lejendary Adventure avatars start off more powerful than do AD&D characters, and the avatars don't accumulate as much power over time as do AD&D characters. How would the orders in LA, which all have 12 ranks, compare in terms of power to AD&D character levels? For example:

12th rank avatars roughly equal X-level AD&D characters
11th rank avatars roughly equal y-level AD&D characters
etc.

Howdy Geoffrey,

that's a good question, and by that I mean a tough one. As an Avatar in the Lejendary Adventure game starts with about all the Health (hit points) he is ever goint to have, the only real comparison can be in success probability for an action. Even there, activations (spell casting) is not certain in the LA game. The addition od new skill bundles automatically or by choice also makes it difficult to equate one with the other. Without actual parallels in many places such a comparison must bE very general. Okay, I've hedged sufficiently to CMA

12th Rank = 4th level AD&D PC
11th Rank = 5th
10th Rank = 6th
9th Rank = 7th
8th Rank = 8th
7th Rank = 9th
6th Rank = 10th-11th
5th Rank = 12th-13th
4th Rank = 14th-15th
3rd Rank = 16th-17th
2nd Rank = 18th-19th
1st Rank = 20th +

Cheerio,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Feb 14, 2005

DeadlyUematsu said:
Gary, if you're willing to answer a question about console/computer games, could you enlighten us on what you think western (i.e. Baldur's Gate) and eastern (i.e. Final Fantasy) game developers really dropped the ball on when translating the D&D mechanics (which the majority of RPGs are based on) to the computer medium?

Well Durn!

Seems I am not able to comment because I don't play any cmputer games. Before you or anyone else not familiar with why that's so asks, it is not because I don't enjoy them. It is because it is that I love them too much. If i start playing I will do nothing else for days and weeks, and I need to be productive. My youngest son, Alex, is my resident expert in regards computer and arcade games

Cheers,
Gary

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

DeadlyUematsu

Explorer

francisca

I got dice older than you.

Gray Mouser

First Post

Gray Mouser

First Post

BOZ

Creature Cataloguer

BOZ

Creature Cataloguer

nerfherder

Explorer

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Similar Threads

Related Articles

Latest threads

AD6_gamerati_skyscraper

Recent & Upcoming Releases