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.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

I didn't want to do this, but its sooooo simple and yet sooooo argued about:

In this thread, we've been discussing using Magic Missile against opponents using Mirror Image. I'm sure this issue has come up in countless other threads and campaigns as well.

Magic Missile Vs Mirror Image

Technically, Magic Missile (targets creatures) should not be able to target Mirror Images (because they are figments). Yet many of us have played that they do, and have so for many years- unaware of the technicality.

When it came up in your games, how was that conflict adjudicated? Do you allow spells that "target creatures" to target illusions of creatures? What about things the caster erroneouslybelieves to be creatures?

Nowhere does it say that a magic missile can't be sent against an illusion as its target.

The ability to cast a magic missile doesn't make the one so doing able to determine if a target is illusory, partly non-material, a reflection in a mirror, or for that matter protected by some magical device that absorbs the energy of the magic missile. The missile unerringly hits the target desired to be struck by the caster as the caster perceives that target. If there are mirror images, the migic missiles will dispell those illusions when they hit them, make the real target apparent if there suffieient missiles being sent forth.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Deogolf]

Then where is Mina Harker?


Gary

Mina? MINA!! Oh, @#$%!!

(Quickly slinks away to avoid being beaten!!)

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Mina? MINA!! Oh, @#$%!!

(Quickly slinks away to avoid being beaten!!)

Don't be frightened...

Aside: It reminds me of the broken battlements of my own home in transylvania.

..they are creatures of the night, count on it.

Heh,
Gary

 

[dcollins]

Water long passed over the dam. No point in commenting on it now, although I will say that the high road from Greyhawk to Verbobonc does not go past the temple and through Nulb.

Gary, thanks for the response.

As a follow-up, I'll send out a "thank you" as I'm just now finishing up a few months of playing your "Isle of the Ape" adventure, and it's been a lot of fun. (Got to use several of my old dinosaur models and a to-scale King Kong toy along the way.)

One question: I know lots of current players who strongly dislike the very concept of "random wandering monsters". It seems like few designers use them nowadays; there was a recent cartoon about how every wilderness expedition has exactly one encounter on the way for dramatic purposes, regardless of distance traveled. ( http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=145 )

When you were running classic D&D adventures, did to stick precisely to the time and probability of random encounters as written? Or did you free-hand it more, for dramatic and narrative effect?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary, thanks for the response.

As a follow-up, I'll send out a "thank you" as I'm just now finishing up a few months of playing your "Isle of the Ape" adventure, and it's been a lot of fun. (Got to use several of my old dinosaur models and a to-scale King Kong toy along the way.)

One question: I know lots of current players who strongly dislike the very concept of "random wandering monsters". It seems like few designers use them nowadays; there was a recent cartoon about how every wilderness expedition has exactly one encounter on the way for dramatic purposes, regardless of distance traveled. ( http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=145 )

When you were running classic D&D adventures, did to stick precisely to the time and probability of random encounters as written? Or did you free-hand it more, for dramatic and narrative effect?

Fie upon the girlie-men that are averse to having encounters with random monsters! No wonder the current generation of RPGers die in droves when faced with real challenges in adventure scenarios A bunnch of coddled PC wimps expecting to power-game over everything.

Whenever time passed, players were dilatory in acting for their PCs, or they persisted in doing something both time-wasting and pointless we would check for a wandering monster encounter. That at least gave something interesting for the DM to do and entertained the less sedentary PCs of players desiring something active to do

The short answer is indeed we always employed random encounters, and I still do.

Pfui!
Gary

 

[dcollins]

Fie upon the girlie-men that are averse to having encounters with random monsters! No wonder the current generation of RPGers die in droves when faced with real challenges in adventure scenarios A bunnch of coddled PC wimps expecting to power-game over everything.

Well, in fact my players did die on the "Isle of the Ape". (Lost to madness & imprisonment in the "Spheres of Thought", actually.)

Here's a follow-up to my follow-up question, now that I'm cogitating about this adventure. I'm not sure if you actually ever ran it in its published configuration (search for the Crook of Rao), but when I ran it I did wonder about the following:

- How did you ever deal with the initial combat with some ~300 barbarians of varying high levels in AD&D? (Personally, I had to jury-rig a set of mass-combat rules to handle it.)

- What was your expectation for how PCs would succeed at the adventure? (My players never got any clues about the 3-part ritual, and to my surprise were led by the map handout directly to the "Spheres of Thought" after battling the initial natives.)

 

[Infernal Teddy]

Hi Gary, greets from Germany! I know this has probably been asked before, but I hope you'll still answer this short question...

In Dragon 315 Jim Ward talks about the origins of the Greyhawk setting, and is quoted as having said: "He had the whole world mapped out". Does this mean you have material about the rest of Oerth hidden in your basement? if yes, is there any chance in hell of us seeing this material?

Yours, The Infernal Teddy

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Well, in fact my players did die on the "Isle of the Ape". (Lost to madness & imprisonment in the "Spheres of Thought", actually.)

Here's a follow-up to my follow-up question, now that I'm cogitating about this adventure. I'm not sure if you actually ever ran it in its published configuration (search for the Crook of Rao), but when I ran it I did wonder about the following:

- How did you ever deal with the initial combat with some ~300 barbarians of varying high levels in AD&D? (Personally, I had to jury-rig a set of mass-combat rules to handle it.)

- What was your expectation for how PCs would succeed at the adventure? (My players never got any clues about the 3-part ritual, and to my surprise were led by the map handout directly to the "Spheres of Thought" after battling the initial natives.)

Actually, IIRR the PCs from my campaign popped in, surprised the natives, and offed the main leaders quickly, so the mass fled from them. Then the lads ventured past the wall, got a look at things, and got out of there. I don't recall how they managed it, but they left, returned to attack the shaman and his guards, and eventually some of them faced Oonga...one getting trashed thus and the others escaping. Again, they knew they were seeking an artifact, but damned if i can remember if I had defined it as the Crook of Rao then. The module was published about three years after the last excursion by any PCs from my campaign, but the fellows at TSR play-tested it before it went to the printers.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hi Gary, greets from Germany! I know this has probably been asked before, but I hope you'll still answer this short question...

In Dragon 315 Jim Ward talks about the origins of the Greyhawk setting, and is quoted as having said: "He had the whole world mapped out". Does this mean you have material about the rest of Oerth hidden in your basement? if yes, is there any chance in hell of us seeing this material?

Yours, The Infernal Teddy

Yes, I had a sketch map of the remainder of the globe, to the east, west, north and south of Oerik. I had planned to have Len Lakofka and Francois Marcela Froideval do parts of the entire world, but that was coming after 1985.

So as far as things now stand, there is no remainder of the WoG beyond the original two maps i did.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks for your time and thought, Gary!