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]

Cheers to your continued good health, Gary. Glad to see you around again.

My question concerns the owlbear. Where did the inspiration come from for this monster?

Heh!

The owlbear came from a plastic toy, one of a bag of "monsters" that also inspired the bulette and rust monster.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

On television: Over a year ago we got rid of our cable and never bothered to hook up an antenna. Consequently our TV has become a "movie machine", capable of showing only three things:

1. DVDs
2. videos
3. snow

We've never come even close to missing having TV. The swill they serve up on there is truly awful.

On paladins: I definitely like violent paladins. Remember that in Rob Kuntz's first Maze module one of the PCs is assumed to be a paladin on a mission to assassinate the king! (Puts me in mind of Aquinas's and the Jesuit's justification of killing unjust kings.) My favorite model for a paladin is R. E. Howard's Solomon Kane. No Nancy-boy, he!

Actually of one watches non-network channels there is a fair amount of decent programming on cable or dish these days...including football for those that love that game...me, for example.

I quite concur in regards paladins. Charlemagne's paladins fought the Saracens without mercy.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[dcas]

Then cut out the seeming concern for PC speech and, worse, PC thinking! Attempts at mind control should be exposed and rejected vigorously

Ah, but I am using "modern" as a term of derision.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Ah, but I am using "modern" as a term of derision.

:\

There goes my using you as a straw man, eh? Now I have drop the vaguely political matter


Gary

 

[thedungeondelver]

Hey, Gary, in case you didn't get my email yet: count me in for that module!

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Don't you DARE beat me to it, Bill.

 

[Jdvn1]

Hiya, Gary.

I started playing with 3e, but am interested in OD&D (I'm trying to decipher the Rules Cyclopedia, though that's a more updated version of the original rules--but that's something for later).

What (hopefully, non-mechanical) aspects of OD&D do you think most contributed to the "feel" of OD&D?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Don't you DARE beat me to it, Bill.

I have three emails in now on the project, so I am going to close the window. I will report the earliest email in, and the two following to serve as standby designers if agreeable.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[thedungeondelver]

Don't you DARE beat me to it, Bill.

Stuart I am SO OWNING YOU

 

[Jdvn1]

Hiya, Gary.

I started playing with 3e, but am interested in OD&D (I'm trying to decipher the Rules Cyclopedia, though that's a more updated version of the original rules--but that's something for later).

What (hopefully, non-mechanical) aspects of OD&D do you think most contributed to the "feel" of OD&D?

Was this too open-ended a question?