This is the multi-year Q&A sessions held by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax here at EN World, beginning in 2002 and running up until his sad pasing in 2008. Gary's username in the thread below is Col_Pladoh, and his first post in this long thread is Post #39.
TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax
This is the multi-year Q&A sessions held by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax here at EN World, beginning in 2002 and running up until his sad pasing in 2008. Gary's username in the thread below is Col_Pladoh, and his first post in this long thread is Post #39.
hero4hire
Explorer
Mr. Gygax,
1st of all thank you for making a great game, and inspiring so many adventures for 28 of my 35 years.
My long-term gamer buddies and I (all veterans of OD&D) all joke about going through those old modules and running past the bad guy to look for something in his treasure that would be sure to defeat him. While we overexagerrate this point for laughs it does have some truth to it.
Was this to get players to try to that very thing? Or perhaps some more sadistic purpouse? *smiles evilly*
1st of all thank you for making a great game, and inspiring so many adventures for 28 of my 35 years.
My long-term gamer buddies and I (all veterans of OD&D) all joke about going through those old modules and running past the bad guy to look for something in his treasure that would be sure to defeat him. While we overexagerrate this point for laughs it does have some truth to it.
Was this to get players to try to that very thing? Or perhaps some more sadistic purpouse? *smiles evilly*
mossfoot
First Post
Col_Pladoh said:Dude!
I'm on it so that notices of responses will be emailed to me
Cheers,
Gary
There is something immensely amusing about the thought of Gary saying "Dude!" I can imagine it now... Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson star in
"Dude, where's my game?"
Gary - I just named my cleric and he's awesome!
Dave - Same here, my ranger totally rocks!
Gary - What's his name?
Dave - DUDE! What's yours?
Gary - SWEET! So what you're ranger's name?
Dave - Dude!
Gary - Dude, what's his name?
Dave - DUDE!
(and so on and so forth...)
Virel
First Post
Orgins of the "Kewl" River
Gary, will you share the orgin of the the "Kewl River" on the Greyhawk map with us?
Reason I ask is the very first time I saw that word was on the Greyhawk maps. The "Kewl River" near the Gnarley Forest. This was way back in 1980. Does word Kewl have a history before GreyHawk?
Flip a few letters around and you get "Welk" as in Welkwood Forest also in Greyhawk. Is there some sort of anagram connection?
Or have I just spent too much time looking at Darlenes wonderful maps of your Greyhawk setting?
Gary, will you share the orgin of the the "Kewl River" on the Greyhawk map with us?
Reason I ask is the very first time I saw that word was on the Greyhawk maps. The "Kewl River" near the Gnarley Forest. This was way back in 1980. Does word Kewl have a history before GreyHawk?
Flip a few letters around and you get "Welk" as in Welkwood Forest also in Greyhawk. Is there some sort of anagram connection?
Or have I just spent too much time looking at Darlenes wonderful maps of your Greyhawk setting?
That's simple, the river is kewl and the forest is gnarly. Which means adventures in the area are bodacious.
(You don't spend 49+ years in California without learning some of the lingo. )
(You don't spend 49+ years in California without learning some of the lingo.
)
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
McDeath said:
Since the decline in my health I have been pretty scarce over there on the Dragonsfot boards...even the one regarding the LA game. I'll cruise by there in the near future and have a look
Cheers,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
Steverooo said:
Howdy Steveeroo!
First, I must say that Robilar was never anything other than a fighter.
The ranger's bonus of +1 damage per level was very annoying to me as the DM, but that encouraged the logical addition of damage for the big old giant class members, so that a couple of solid hits from a member of same could flatten the cheeky little ranger attacking him.
What the heck, though: clerics beat up on undead, rangers on giant class critters, and it's all in a day's adventuring. As should any DM, some of the kicked around thus will have special defenses and offenses devised to make life difficult for the bully PC
Cheers,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
MerricB said:Happy new thread, Gary! (wow, part 8... where does the time go?)
Gary, thanks to D&D you have introduced many of us - of not most of us - to an unforgettable experience:
The use of the d4 as a caltrop.
Many has been the time that I've got out of bed at night, only to suddenly feel something sharp and painful digging into my foot. If my mind worked faster at such times, I might have been calling down imprecations on your name, but as it doesn't the most I can normally manage is "Ow!" (or some choice swearing).
Could you please tell me if you had any idea what you were unleashing on the world when you included the d4 as part of the standard D&D game (and whether you've ever experienced this exquisite sensation yourself)?
Best wishes,
Merric
Hi Merric
As the real old timers know, I was always an active gamer since I discovered there were fanzines offering a forum for one's gaming thoughts, opinions, and play offerings. In short, I've been balbbering thus for about 40 years, so it's no wonder a lot of my fellows are familiar with my name.
The d4 was one of the five Platonic solids sold by the school supply company in California from which I obtained the first of the new milti-sided dice that were introduced in the first edition of the D&D game, I have indeed stepped with stocking feet on one of those yelow caltrops--also a d8, that being back in the early 1970s. Thereafter I made a point of picking up all of my dice and keeping them off the floor.
Cats seem to love to play dith d20s, BTW, and a few were lost that way to various felines that resided in my house.
When I'd leave my dog "Bowser" (a bull mastiff) alone he would get revenge that included shredding my dice bag and leaving a minefield of milti-sided dice in my bedroom and in the kitchen...the devil know where I was sure to go :\
Cheers,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
Gray Mouser said:
Allow me to answer in this manner:
When players began to announce their character's alignment to other participants I shuddered. I suggested that such information was not for broadcast, that the PCs might not actually think of themselves as categorized thus, and the alignment categories were meant more to guide the player in playing his character in the game.
As for alignment language, I assumed that it was akin to Latin in regard to use. Clerics would be fluent in their use of their alignment language, the devout and well-educated nearly as able, and at the middle and lower end of the spectrum only rudimentary communications could be managed.
Somehow I supposed that DMs would arrive at similar conclusions unaided.
The Lejendary Adventure game uses Repute, Dark Repute, and Disrepute as pubicaly known measures of the characters' reputation. These generally equate to honorable, shady, and wicked.
Cheerio,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
Gray Mouser said:
The gnome illusionist/thief is named Snurri "Sharpnose." He had a good deal of enjoyment swiping the gains pocked by a halfling magic-user/thief played by my youngest son Alex. (Durned if I can recall Alex's PC's name, and he isn't here to ask. Probably the character sheet is lost after several years of non-use.)
Other than that, the two were active in some rural adventures and thwarted many the vile plans of marauding humanoids and humans as well.
cheers,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
foehammerx said:
Mordenkainen did indeed manage to get the drop on Bigby, charm him. At the time bigby was a 3rd level NE dungeon dweller. By word and deen Mordie brought him around from NE to N, and thus Bigby became his apprentice. I got to roll the stats for that character after rob determined he was a loyal henchman of Mordenkainen.
Cheers,
Gary
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