D&D General The word "Dweomer" by Gygax
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
All the spells from Gygax's Dangerous Journeys used Dweomer. In fact, he had a whole category of spellcasting called 'Dweomercraeft' (with the AE stuck together). Cast by 'Dweomercraefters'
Lidgar
Gongfarmer
One thing our group enjoys doing is reading aloud "Gygaxian" descriptions from old modules. The intro to the Caves of Chaos (KotB) is one of our favorites:
The forest you have been passing through has been getting more dense, tangled, and gloomier than before. The thick, twisted tree trunks, unnaturally misshapen limbs, writhing roots, clutching and grasping thorns and briars all seem to warn and ward you off, but you have forced and hacked your way through regardless. Now the strange growth has suddenly ended - you have stepped out of the thicket into a ravine-like area. The walls rise rather steeply to either side to a height of about 100’ or so - dark, streaked rock mingled with earth. Clumps of trees grow here and there, both on the floor of the ravine and up the sloping walls of the canyon. The opening you stand in is about 200’ wide. The ravine runs at least 400’ west (actually 440’) to where the western end rises in a steep slope. Here and there, at varying heights on all sides of the ravine, you can see the black mouths of cave-like openings in the rock walls. The sunlight is dim, the air dank, there is an oppressive feeling here - as if something evil is watching and waiting to pounce upon you. There are bare, dead trees here and there, and upon one a vulture perches and gazes hungrily at you. A flock of ravens rise croaking from the ground, the beat of their wings and their cries magnified by the terrain to sound loud and horrible. Amongst the litter of rubble, boulders, and dead wood scattered about on the ravine floor, you can see bits of gleaming ivory and white - closer inspection reveals that these are bones and skulls of men, animals, and other things,. . . You know that you have certainly discovered the Caves Of Chaos.
I mean, come on, the vulture is just waiting for your corpse! Absolute classic. Similar descriptions abound in both ToH and ToEE.
The forest you have been passing through has been getting more dense, tangled, and gloomier than before. The thick, twisted tree trunks, unnaturally misshapen limbs, writhing roots, clutching and grasping thorns and briars all seem to warn and ward you off, but you have forced and hacked your way through regardless. Now the strange growth has suddenly ended - you have stepped out of the thicket into a ravine-like area. The walls rise rather steeply to either side to a height of about 100’ or so - dark, streaked rock mingled with earth. Clumps of trees grow here and there, both on the floor of the ravine and up the sloping walls of the canyon. The opening you stand in is about 200’ wide. The ravine runs at least 400’ west (actually 440’) to where the western end rises in a steep slope. Here and there, at varying heights on all sides of the ravine, you can see the black mouths of cave-like openings in the rock walls. The sunlight is dim, the air dank, there is an oppressive feeling here - as if something evil is watching and waiting to pounce upon you. There are bare, dead trees here and there, and upon one a vulture perches and gazes hungrily at you. A flock of ravens rise croaking from the ground, the beat of their wings and their cries magnified by the terrain to sound loud and horrible. Amongst the litter of rubble, boulders, and dead wood scattered about on the ravine floor, you can see bits of gleaming ivory and white - closer inspection reveals that these are bones and skulls of men, animals, and other things,. . . You know that you have certainly discovered the Caves Of Chaos.
I mean, come on, the vulture is just waiting for your corpse! Absolute classic. Similar descriptions abound in both ToH and ToEE.
FitzTheRuke
Legend
I always spell the colour grey with an 'e'. (Note the 'u' as well). I guess that I get away with it by being Canadian. We never know if we should do things the British way or the American way.
Sacrosanct
Legend
If you want to know why Gary used those words in DnD, it was because he was a fan of Jack Vance. Just go read Dying Earth and you'll understand. You'll feel your vocabulary expand exponentially lol
It will certainly become more colourful.
Orius
Legend
You got to be careful with that though, do Gygaxian badly and you end up with N2, The Forest Oracle.
Be hardcore. Skip Vance and go straight to Clark Ashton Smith.
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