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]

Howdy Anson,

The short answer is:

Run the adventure as you think best.

About all I can reasonably comment on is do not make all useful spells non-functional. Invisibility to Animals is one I would allow, for sound will give away PCs if they attempt to use it for anything other than saving themselves from death.

All the rest is strictly your call.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary Gygax loves Gelatinous Cubes. Especially with Cool Whip.

Actually I prefer real whipped cream!

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Gentlegamer]

When the universe ends, Gary Gygax will be there, ready to play Dungeons & Dragons for eternity.

 

[Anson Caralya]

Howdy Anson,

The short answer is:

Run the adventure as you think best.

About all I can reasonably comment on is do not make all useful spells non-functional. Invisibility to Animals is one I would allow, for sound will give away PCs if they attempt to use it for anything other than saving themselves from death.

All the rest is strictly your call.

Thanks Gary, will do.

 

[Leontodon]

First of all i want to stick with many other posters here and thank you Mr. Gygax for inventing a game that is simply awesome and campaign worlds (Greyhawk) I love.

But now to my question.
As the son of a swiss immigrant do you happen to speak german or to have some ties to the german language? I just asked this myself, because as a german player one happens to find that many names in the Greyhawk setting sound very german. Additionally there's this Troll Lord Setting called "Erde" which is just the german translation of earth (for users that are not familiar with the german language).

Examples in the Greyhawk setting include: the Drachensgrab Hills, Guldenberg, Schwartzenbruin (sounds Austrian ) and Kalstrand.

Edit: Sorry it was Aihrde, but the sound is the one of the german word.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

First of all i want to stick with many other posters here and thank you Mr. Gygax for inventing a game that is simply awesome and campaign worlds (Greyhawk) I love.

But now to my question.
As the son of a swiss immigrant do you happen to speak german or to have some ties to the german language? I just asked this myself, because as a german player one happens to find that many names in the Greyhawk setting sound very german. Additionally there's this Troll Lord Setting called "Erde" which is just the german translation of earth (for users that are not familiar with the german language).

Examples in the Greyhawk setting include: the Drachensgrab Hills, Guldenberg, Schwartzenbruin (sounds Austrian ) and Kalstrand.

Edit: Sorry it was Aihrde, but the sound is the one of the german word.

Thank you for the compliment.

As a matter of fact when I was a little boy and lived in Chicago I would go upstairs to the flat above ours almost every evening with my father. There my Aunt Elsis and Uncle Ed Hohensee lived with my grandmother Elise Zumkher Gygax. I would sit on Mumpsy's lap and join in the conversation conducted in Switzer Deutsch. I retain a child's very limited vocabulary now.

As a teenageer here is Lake Geneva I had a German friend, a recent immigrant from what was then East Germany. He and my father used to speak in German, and he laughingly told me that father had "the worst Swiss accent" he had ever heard.

When we were in Nurenberg for the Toy Show many years ago my wife Gail and I went out for dinner, and the waitress spoke to us in German. I could barely understand what she said, but was able to make a brief translation for Gail. The waitress than spoke to her in perfect English, explaining what was on the menu, then went back to Deutsch with me

Of course my spelling is German is atriocious, and I am not at all sure of the proper gender articles to use.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[gideon_thorne]

Additionally there's this Troll Lord Setting called "Erde" which is just the german translation of earth (for users that are not familiar with the german language).

Edit: Sorry it was Aihrde, but the sound is the one of the german word.

The names in the Troll Lord Games Aihrde (formerly Erde) setting are easy enough to explain. Both the Chenault's who run Troll Lord Games were in the military and spent a number of years stationed, and as I recall, educated in, Germany. All that rich history in the german landscape is bound to have an influence.

 

[Leontodon]

Thank you for your answer Mr. Gygax.
Its interesting to hear that you actually are capable of speaking german.
In diesem Sinne, alles Gute!

Concerning Aihrde and US military personnel. I always knew they own.
Im playing lacrosse here in Germany and the US Soldiers I am playing with actually start to translate the English terms of an English game into german . Great guys!

Once again thank you both for your answers!

 

[haakon1]

Im playing lacrosse here in Germany and the US Soldiers I am playing with actually start to translate the English terms of an English game into german . Great guys!

Technically lacrosse is an Iroquois and/or Ojibwe game, with a French name. Or geographically, a New York/Quebec game.

Sorry, but I'm supposedly (according to a crazy great uncle) very very partially descended from New York native Americans, so I must defend their honor against English cultural imperialism. Especially since we're really mostly Irish.

 

[Leontodon]

I know that, but the technical terms are all in English. And modern lacrosse has not very much to do with the Indian version (the number of people getting killed during a game plunged dramatically, and there are only 20 players on the field not some hundred to provide some differences ).

So clearly technical terms like cut, stick, pick and so on are English nowadays.

As to the french part of it, yes its name was invented by a french missionary and I think many Quebecoise play it and maybe have their own technical terms like most french speakers always seem to have their own terms.

I would be hesitant to refer to lacrosse as being some part of English imperialism, there were just europeans who thought it would be funny and as far as I know native Indian players are highly respected in this sport and have own teams (Irokese are one example).