TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Sir Elton · Feb 27, 2007

Yaun-ti are really nasty things if used correctly. I used one in a horror vein last night. It really would have been really cool if I had some great background music.

I think Yaun-ti are underused. But you know what? I'm glad they are underused. It makes them all the much more scarier.

Col_Pladoh · Feb 27, 2007

Sir Elton said:
Yaun-ti are really nasty things if used correctly. I used one in a horror vein last night. It really would have been really cool if I had some great background music.

I think Yaun-ti are underused. But you know what? I'm glad they are underused. It makes them all the much more scarier.

Almost any creature that the party doesn't recognize or remember how to handle is sure to be scary for them. As a matter of fact a couple of years back I was playing one of my old OAD&D PCs in a campaign run by my son Ernie when a winf walker attacked. Even though I created the stats for the monster, damned if I could remember its suseptibilites, so my PC was not able to counter the critter. It could not have been metagaming, as he had confronted wind walkers before...so long before that he had forgotten

Cheers,
Gary

thedungeondelver · Feb 27, 2007

That last post by you brings up an interesting question Gary, particularly in LA...when running it as a pure fantasy setting, when the party encounters a critter that's fairly common do you just flat out say "It's four trolls" or do you describe it and let them guess? Something like "It's four gaunt, giant humanoid forms, with wiry black hair, elongate noses, and disgusting rubbery green skin. Pitiless black holes form their eyes."

John Drake · Feb 27, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
True and other, so both!

The GM is to provide the environment, the plot (mostly unrevealed initially) and backstory for it, including why the PC team is there. The GM also supplies and acts for all of the NPC, allowing the players to sort out the friends, neutrals, and antagonists. The players' PC then interact with the environment and the characters therein so as to create a story based on what they did or didn't do. The quality of the resulting tale, retold or not, is dependant on the information supplied by the GM and the actions of the player groups' characters interacting with the enviroment.

Cheers,
Gary

Hmm, that's very interesting. That sounds imho very similar to what, iirc, Aristotle more or less believed; Plot is character. Forget psychology, forget the insides of their heads, judge them by their actions. For example, if some guy was sleeping in a class room during class, one could assume based off that action, that he has no interest in what the professor has to say. A plot is constructed: he comes, he sleeps. Now, Aristotle would say the next question is not why he sleeps, but what is he going to do next?
I personally, think that type of construction can work quite well in a RP campaign, although it does generally mean a lot of work for the DM ahead of time, unless one is exceedingly good ad libbing stuff and doing it by the seat of one's pants (which I am not!). What do you think Gary? Incidentally, I was not trying to put words into your mouth, so to speak, so no offense intended. Thanks Gary!

Col_Pladoh · Feb 28, 2007

thedungeondelver said:
That last post by you brings up an interesting question Gary, particularly in LA...when running it as a pure fantasy setting, when the party encounters a critter that's fairly common do you just flat out say "It's four trolls" or do you describe it and let them guess? Something like "It's four gaunt, giant humanoid forms, with wiry black hair, elongate noses, and disgusting rubbery green skin. Pitiless black holes form their eyes."

The commonly encountered creatures, as well as those that are generally known to the party and nonsuches I usually name. Otherwise I give as vague a description as is appropriate considering familiarity, light, distance, and viewing time.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Feb 28, 2007

John Drake said:
Hmm, that's very interesting. That sounds imho very similar to what, iirc, Aristotle more or less believed; Plot is character. Forget psychology, forget the insides of their heads, judge them by their actions. For example, if some guy was sleeping in a class room during class, one could assume based off that action, that he has no interest in what the professor has to say. A plot is constructed: he comes, he sleeps. Now, Aristotle would say the next question is not why he sleeps, but what is he going to do next?
I personally, think that type of construction can work quite well in a RP campaign, although it does generally mean a lot of work for the DM ahead of time, unless one is exceedingly good ad libbing stuff and doing it by the seat of one's pants (which I am not!). What do you think Gary? Incidentally, I was not trying to put words into your mouth, so to speak, so no offense intended. Thanks Gary!

Not a problem the manner in which you phrased your question.

I do not believe it is all that difficult to manage if one is using a detailed campaign world and has crafter a reasonably detailed backstory and current situation for the PC group. Of course i am used to winging adventures for a few decades now. It is work when doing so, but it generally is a more enjoyable adventure experience for the players, as one can craft events directly from players' comments and the actions of their PCs.

Cheers,
Gary

RFisher · Feb 28, 2007

What if the PCs don't fall for the DM's hook? Should the DM just file what he's prepared & wing it? (Or break out the jokes & war stories.

) Do players have an obligation to follow a hook offered by the DM?

dcas · Feb 28, 2007

The GM could force the issue by having the BBEG send out some invisible stalkers (or other lackeys) against the PCs or whomever they're protecting. . . . As the PCs get more and more famous, bad guys want to take them out. That's how to hook the PCs.

Col_Pladoh · Feb 28, 2007

RFisher said:
What if the PCs don't fall for the DM's hook? Should the DM just file what he's prepared & wing it? (Or break out the jokes & war stories. ) Do players have an obligation to follow a hook offered by the DM?

Heh...

That calls to mind the KotDT strip where the players ignored the treasure map and spent their adventuring time searching a merchant ship's hold full of tropical fruit.

If players ignore the direction suggested by the GM, they are either not in the mood to play, subconsiously rejecting him, or else just plain dense.

When such a thing occurs, I suggest not playing, soing whatever seems better at the time, including telling the group to go home and come again when they are interested in playing an RPG.

Cheers,
Gary

Wolv0rine · Feb 28, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
Heh...

That calls to mind the KotDT strip where the players ignored the treasure map and spent their adventuring time searching a merchant ship's hold full of tropical fruit.

If players ignore the direction suggested by the GM, they are either not in the mood to play, subconsiously rejecting him, or else just plain dense.

When such a thing occurs, I suggest not playing, soing whatever seems better at the time, including telling the group to go home and come again when they are interested in playing an RPG.

Cheers,
Gary

Oh come on, Gary. I think you're just being grumpy there. You're leaving out the possibility that the players are simply not hooked by the DM's offered hook. Don't tell me you ('you' in the broad sense, not the specific) make a habit of going into games with only one hook to drop?
Heck, I've often pushed aside a not-quite-interesting plot hook hoping to find another behind it that was more interesting.

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Sir Elton

First Post

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

thedungeondelver

Adventurer

John Drake

First Post

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

RFisher

Explorer

dcas

First Post

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Wolv0rine

First Post

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