Treebore said:
Gary Gygax has made it abundantly clear that he only does what he wants to do. Being paid doesn't change that, and is a little bit insulting to indicate that it does.
I said: -As for Gygax and his association with C&C, my understanding is that he is payed for his association, and in return the Troll Lords get the benefit of his name associated with their product.-
Gygax is paid by TLG, that is a fact. Would he support C&C on its own merits? I have no reason to think otherwise. Is he good friends with the Trolls, again, I think he is. Would he work for something he didn't believe in for money...from what I know of the man, NO.
But none of that was my point. My point was that the Trolls are benefiting from his name and association by tying C&C to AD&D and OD&D (the games he created and co-created).
It might appear to some unfamiliar with the game (given Gygax's involvement) that C&C is the natural progression of Gygaxian D&D, and I don't think it is (no more then 3E or 2E).
The fact that Gary is paid by the Trolls was not a slam on Gygax or a question of his character, it was simply a statement of fact (infact I'm very happy for him and his family, its great he's able to continue working in the field he created, and bravo for the Trolls for helping him do so. I believe Gygax hangs his shingle with TLG and C&C for all the reasons Gideon mentioned, but money likely comes into play as well (if for no other reason than thats his publishing base). Its not known if Gygax would have gone whole hog into using C&C as his system of choice for publishing if he wasn't financially tied to TLG (personaly I doubt it, he'd likely continue with LA).
Another question I posed was this: Would C&C have sold as many books as it did without Gygax's name involved, I doubt it. Gygax's name added alot to their creds.
Peter, the Trolls have been saying they will be releasing a revamped LA for many years now. Any idea when we will see it?