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]

Oh, really?! I had no idea they were being republished - I'll have to grab those! When you say you haven't gotten the manuscript for polishing, does that mean that some parts are actually going to be rewritten? I didn't know that there were so many Gord books - I only read the first two, although I did see that the bookstore had a used copy of the third when I picked up SoOC. I didn't get it because I knew I'd be tempted to read it before I found and reread the second. Time for an eBay search, I guess...

Not only are the Trolls doing the seven Gord the Rogue books but Piazo is reprinting the three Magister Setne Inhetep fantasy mysteries, releasing the Anubis Murders in trade paperback format at GenCon. I will be at their booth autographing for an hour or two furing the con.

As for changes in the iinitial Gord novel, they are mainly stylistic--a polish as I noted. No major revision has been done.

The Gord books are

SAGA OF OLD CITY
ARTIFACT OF EVIL
CITY OF HAWKS
NIGHT ARRANT
SEA OF DEATH
DANCE OF DEMONS
COME ENDLESS DARKNESS

Upon reading your first paragraph, I was going to ask if these editions would have any nifty character/monster/magic writeups included in an appendix, but I'm guessing maybe that won't be the case since you didn't mention it when you answered the cataboligne question. Alas. Of course, I suppose Gord can be cobbled together from your original afterword, and some of Catty's powers are easily gleaned from the story. I guess it's too much to hope that the original Clyde Caldwell art is going to be included, hm?

No additional material pertaining to the AD&D game will ever be added.

The cover artwork is not our (Trigee's) property, so it will not be reprinted.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Piratecat]

It kills me to know that I can't find my original Gord books. Glad they're being reprinted!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey Gary;

I dunno if you have been posed this question or not, but what kinds of wines do you enjoy? Do you prefer certain varietals, or certain AOC wines? Red and white is just too simplistic to divide such a wide field.

Myself, I am partial to chardonnay, riesling, and gewurztraminer wines as for my whites, and pinot noir, syrah, merlot, and cabernet franc for my reds. I do also enjoy the american Meritage wines, as well as the Bordeaux blends. I did have a nice Loius Jadot 2005 Beaujolais with some steak tartar and coq au vin recently; a very delicious meal indeed, and a good wine.

I had to turn down a free bottle of meritage due to the rules of compliance in my dorm. Bah, heathens. Let the others savages drink themselves to death with poor quality beer and tasteless spirits: let those who would want it, have their wine.

(Not to say people who prefer beer or spirits are savages, but rather I refer to the crowd who choose to blare music and intoxicate themselves beyond common sense every night at the local bar, rather then pay attention to their academics.)

I actually enjoy all manner of potables including ale, beer, porter, stout, hard cider and mead--not to mention strionger alcoholis brews such as all the whiskies and rums, Armagnac and Cignac. I simply enjoy them in moderation.

As for wine, I must confess to preferring dry French winrs of the Borddeaux and Burgundy regions--mainly the Grand Cru and Premier Grand Crue Classe ones. Reds in preference to whites, although I do love a Mersault and a bottle of Chateau d'Yqem (for desert). My favorite Champaign remains Cristal, with Rodidier Diamant Blu a close second. A good Piper' of Verve' are as appealing to me as a vintage Dom'. Also a nice sherry or port is great after dinner.

I will on occasion have a before dinner cocktail, usually a martini (Bombay Sapphire) or a manhattan at home, a friend's, or in a restaurant, but usually I have a gin & tonic, fine ale/beer, glass of wine, or straight whiskey (with a few drops of water in it to "open" it) when I am finished with the day's work.

The days when I enjoyed frequenting a saloon ended when the greatest dive on earth, Jane's Bar here in Lake Geneva, was closed.

Now damn! That sounds as if I belong to the Society of Lushington, but 'tain't so.


Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

It kills me to know that I can't find my original Gord books. Glad they're being reprinted!

Hi Piratecat,

Just don't hold your breath. the trolls have way too many projects on their publishing plate to manage the Gord hardbacks in expeditious manner.

Anyway, right now I am very vexed at them because it is unlikely that they will have my 3-5 player card/boardgame of the 100 Years War, King of England - King of France puiblished for release at GenCon as promised

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Hypersmurf]

It kills me to know that I can't find my original Gord books.

I've been carrying my copy of Saga of Old City with me for the last few months...

-Hyp.

 

[Tewligan]

I've been carrying my copy of Saga of Old City with me for the last few months...

-Hyp.

Heh - mine's been in my messenger bag since I bought it. Just finished it this morning, in fact!

Oh, and I checked Powell's website, and it turns out they DO have "Artifact of Evil" in stock at one of their warehouses. They're having it sent to the store, and it should be in my hands in a couple of days!

 

[Tewligan]

It kills me to know that I can't find my original Gord books. Glad they're being reprinted!

Hey PC, if you go to www.powells.com, they have another copy of Saga of Old City in stock, and they ship. Hm, although you probably want to just get the nice hardback copy when it comes out soon, I guess.

I'll recommend Powell's website to everyone, actually. Like I've said, they have a LOT of new and used books, and it's easy to search for stuff on their site. Check it out!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey PC, if you go to www.powells.com, they have another copy of Saga of Old City in stock, and they ship. Hm, although you probably want to just get the nice hardback copy when it comes out soon, I guess.

I'll recommend Powell's website to everyone, actually. Like I've said, they have a LOT of new and used books, and it's easy to search for stuff on their site. Check it out!

Indeed,

I have added it to my Favorites list after doing a few trial searches. They have mostly reprints, though. The place where I find more old books is www.bookfinder.com

Cheers,
Gary

 

[The Merciful]

Belated happy birthdays Gary! (I had my own yesterday.)

I resently found some of my old Finnish RPG magazines, and translated Fighting Fantasy books I tough I had lost while moving to my curent apartment. My interest in RPGs stated in late 80's with the solo adventure FF books, which were a bit of a craze on the schoolyard at the time. That led to interest in real RPGs, like D&D and RuneQuest, both of which had resently been translated into Finnish. I recal one of the Magzines (an issue I have lost) telling about how the Finnish language D&D game to be.

There were three companies in negotiations with TSR over D&D and AD&D. One was WSOY, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, and oldest pulishing houses in Finland at the time as well today. The one who got the license was called Protocal Productions, a company related the a local games hobby shop. I don't know who the third party was. As I remember the reason why Protocol Productions got the license was they were considered to show better understanding of RPG markets by wanting to start with publishing Metzen version D&D Basic set (followed by Expert etc. sets) and later publishing AD&D, while WSOY wanted to start right off with AD&D.

So in 1988 Finland got the red box. We got got all the way to the black Master set box, but AD&D never came out. All we saw was an add for AD&D 2nd edition and text "coming in Finnish" at the back of the magazine published by Protocl Productions. That was about the last time anyone heard of Protocl Productions I think - I don't know if the sales weren't big enough to keep a specialist publisher afloat or if there was some other reason the company vanished. The magazine was called Sininen Lohikäärme (Blue Dragon), by the way, and there were only 3 or 4 issues.

This made me think about:

1) What sort of policy TSR had with translated versions of D&D and AD&D while you were there? Did D&D or AD&D get preference? What did you look for in the foreign publisher? Any regrets?

2) What place, if any, solo adventures had in TSR's strategy? As support for (A)D&D or a products line in their own right? I have one solo module for Basic set D&D and one for Expert set, and recal ever seeing only one more solo module.


ps. I didn't say this first time I posted in this thread, so I say it in the second: thanks for being there creating the hobby. Cheers!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

...

...

1) What sort of policy TSR had with translated versions of D&D and AD&D while you were there? Did D&D or AD&D get preference? What did you look for in the foreign publisher? Any regrets?

2) What place, if any, solo adventures had in TSR's strategy? As support for (A)D&D or a products line in their own right? I have one solo module for Basic set D&D and one for Expert set, and recal ever seeing only one more solo module.


ps. I didn't say this first time I posted in this thread, so I say it in the second: thanks for being there creating the hobby. Cheers!

And a happy belated birthday to you

1) I was not responsible for licensing any of the TSR products to overseas publishers. I did have input if there were any questions though. Generally speaking if two or more were being considered, the company that was ready to invest the most into rapid production and was planning on extensive advertising and promotion got the nod. As I left TSR at the end of 1985 I can not speak to any of the long-term licensing results, although we did not do too well in Germany.

2) Although I was very much in favor of solo advcenture modules, stressing those that could be played thus and then run as a group adventure, they were not particularly popular, so they were dropped in favor of the standard version.

I do enjoy the virtusl comversation here!

Cheerio,
Gary