TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh · Mar 23, 2007

thedungeondelver said:
Gary:

Are you still in touch with Al Hammack? Can you tell us about his contributions to D&D?

Howdy,

I have not seen or heard from Al Hammack for at least 20 years. Al was one of the U of Alabama Wargaming Team, J.D. Webster amongst them, that first came to see us at TSR at a Winter Fantasy around 1978. They were a great bunch, and all of us took an immediate likeing to them.

As for Al's contributions to the D&D game, those are recorded, and I won't attempt to strain my recollection in that regard.

Cheers,
Gary

alan · Mar 23, 2007

J.D. Webster

Gary,

I'm not sure how many JD Websters there are out there, but the JD Webster I know associated with war-gaming is still in designing those games right now. In the 80s, he came out with Air Superiority / Air Strike, and now is probably most well known for his Fighting Wings series of tactical WWII air combat games. See http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/8521 for his latest release.

He's very active on the 'net, as most games are played via email and postscript / pdf maps (some use VASSAL or Cyberboard instead). We have several Yahoo! groups set up for various scenarios and larger scale operational games in progress.

Just FYI,
Alan

Col_Pladoh · Mar 23, 2007

alan said:
Gary,

I'm not sure how many JD Websters there are out there, but the JD Webster I know associated with war-gaming is still in designing those games right now. In the 80s, he came out with Air Superiority / Air Strike, and now is probably most well known for his Fighting Wings series of tactical WWII air combat games. See http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/8521 for his latest release.

He's very active on the 'net, as most games are played via email and postscript / pdf maps (some use VASSAL or Cyberboard instead). We have several Yahoo! groups set up for various scenarios and larger scale operational games in progress.

Just FYI,
Alan

Hi Alan,

If the JD Webster you refer to once wrote a comic strip, "Fineous Fingers," and then became a Naval pilot, it is the same chap. I saw him last when at a con on the east coast about 19 years ago. We ran into him away from the gaming event, BTW.

Cheers,
Gary

Thulcondar · Mar 23, 2007

Dear Mr. Gygax,

Another couple of niggling Greyhawk questions, if you don't mind spending the time. Thanks in advance if you are able to do so.

In the original folio edition of the WoG, in the timeline, there is a reference to the "Age of Great Sorrow" commencing in CY213. Can you give any insights as to what that refers to? Ditto the "turmoil between crowns" in CY437. Were these just tags to be elaborated upon at some later date, or did you have something already in mind?

Can you give any anecdotes about the role that the cities of Dyvers and Hardby played in the original campaign (or their possible analogues, given the changes from the "alternate North America" setting to the published "World of Greyhawk" setting)? As in, did any of the old-time players such as Robilar et al venture to them, or was the action mostly settled around the city of Greyhawk itself?

alan · Mar 24, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
If the JD Webster you refer to once wrote a comic strip, "Fineous Fingers," and then became a Naval pilot, it is the same chap. I saw him last when at a con on the east coast about 19 years ago. We ran into him away from the gaming event, BTW.

Gary,

No idea about the comic strip, but he was indeed a Naval aviator. Now he flies commercial jets and gets in game design on the side. He goes to Origins every year and runs several Fighting Wings events.

It's a small world after all, eh?
Alan

Moggthegob · Mar 24, 2007

Dear Gary,

I would first like to say I am a huge fan of your work. I started playing the game when iwas 6 and the Keep on the Borderlands is the most fun I have ever had. I actually can barely believe its really you.

Now that I got that out of the way, in the last Q&A you mentioned a board game called King of england vs king of france. IU was wondering, did that come out already? I am a huge 100 years war history buff and I got thoroughly excited when i saw that.
Thanks,
Mogg

Col_Pladoh · Mar 24, 2007

Thulcondar said:
Dear Mr. Gygax,

Another couple of niggling Greyhawk questions, if you don't mind spending the time. Thanks in advance if you are able to do so.

In the original folio edition of the WoG, in the timeline, there is a reference to the "Age of Great Sorrow" commencing in CY213. Can you give any insights as to what that refers to? Ditto the "turmoil between crowns" in CY437. Were these just tags to be elaborated upon at some later date, or did you have something already in mind?

Can you give any anecdotes about the role that the cities of Dyvers and Hardby played in the original campaign (or their possible analogues, given the changes from the "alternate North America" setting to the published "World of Greyhawk" setting)? As in, did any of the old-time players such as Robilar et al venture to them, or was the action mostly settled around the city of Greyhawk itself?

IIRR, the Age of great Sorrow was meant to be the time of the migrating tribes into the Flanaess, asthe Oeridians destroyed the older culture and society. U believe I meant the Turmoil Between Crowns to be the time when the Great Kingdom arose. As you likely suspected, those were hooks left for further development...that never got developed.

There was some adventuring in Dyvers, and in the pre-WoG campaign that city was the same as that detailed in the Greyhawk folio. that applies to Hardby as well...although the players avoided the place as they found the Amazonian-types running it as hot to their adventuring taste.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Mar 24, 2007

alan said:
Gary,

No idea about the comic strip, but he was indeed a Naval aviator. Now he flies commercial jets and gets in game design on the side. He goes to Origins every year and runs several Fighting Wings events.

It's a small world after all, eh?
Alan

Heh...

JD's cartoon strip, "Fineous Fingers, Fred & Charlie," was a favorite of Dragon Magazine readers for a goodly time. It ended as a feature only because JD stopped doing them.

If you happen to see JD at Origins, please give him my best regards.

Cheerio,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Mar 24, 2007

Moggthegob said:
Dear Gary,

I would first like to say I am a huge fan of your work. I started playing the game when iwas 6 and the Keep on the Borderlands is the most fun I have ever had. I actually can barely believe its really you.

Now that I got that out of the way, in the last Q&A you mentioned a board game called King of england vs king of france. IU was wondering, did that come out already? I am a huge 100 years war history buff and I got thoroughly excited when i saw that.
Thanks,
Mogg

Hi Mogg,

Thanks for the kind words...the same general sort that I have said to, amongst others, Orson Wells, Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber, and Bob Bloch when I met them :lol:

Troll Lord Games is currently working on the art and layout of the King of England - King of France card boardgame. I designed it about 20 years ago, play-tested it both with gamers and casual participants at my home, and took it to several cons and played it there. The work is indeed based on the 100 Years War, but it is not a wargame per se. Rarher it is a highly interactive strategic game where card trading with other "heads of state" is mandatory to win, players counter the tactical moves of their opponents, and not much fighting with armies takes place.

As an aside, I too am most interested in the 100 Years War. When I was a boy I happened to pick up and read my mother's college medieval history book. therein was a lovely little map of France and the nearby states. I spent a lot of time studying it, wanted to do a game based on that war and map. When I made my first pass at it, I discovered a conventional board wargame did not work, at least to my thinking, to reflect the struggle. That's why I switched to a multi-player card-boardgame. Because of the recent upsurge of interest in baordgames, I can at last have the work published

Anyway, to answer your question, the Trolls plan to release it at GenCon, or at worst in September of this year.

Cheers,
Gary

Hypersmurf · Mar 24, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
that applies to Hardby as well...although the players avoided the place as they found the Amazonian-types running it as hot to their adventuring taste.

A Freudian slip?

-Hyp.

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

alan

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Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Thulcondar

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alan

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Moggthegob

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Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

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Gary Gygax

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Gary Gygax

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