coz said:
Gary, I remember reading a Dragon magazine editorial from way back by you where you spoke of some new medieval live action group and you mentioned something about prior involvement in the SCA. Could you shed any more light on the subject of you in armor swinging rattan at another guy's head (for some reason I just picture you as a 'stick jock').
Just how many children do you have? Have any of them gone on to game design?
And who played those original Greyhawk adventurers who became famous NPCs?
Well, that's going back a ways. In the early 70s there were a few SCA members here in Lake Geneva, two of whom played in my D&D campaign. I did indeed wield a rattan sword with helmet and shield, but only in practise. I never did join the SCA or make armor and cistume. As is still the case, gaming kept me too busy for that. LAcking proper leg protection, I still sport the broken blood vessels where enemy swords impacked leg. Never felt the pain of impact at the time though--too worked up with battle lust
I have six children, Ernie, Elise, Heidi, Cindy, Luke, and ALex. All have played D&D. The three boys still game. Ernie and Luke combined to write the LOST CITY OF GAXMOOR module, D20 by Troll Lord Games. Ernie's work prevents him from doing more design, and it seems likely that Luke too is facing that same stricture--writing adventure material demands a lot of time and effort. Luke is going to try to get to a sequal, THE LOST UNDERCITY (of Gaxmoor), but it will be some months before he can begin. Neither son want's any interference from their father. Alex is only 15, soon 16. He is a good player and fair GM too, but I don't think he'll be a dedicated writer. Such is life.
Lastly, when I started the Greyhawk campaign, the initial playtesters were son Ernie (Tenser, Serten, Erac's Cousin) and daughter Elise. In a couple of days time Don Kaye (Murlynd), Rob (Robilar, Otto) and Terry (Terik) Kuntz joined the gang. Of course in a few months we had a crowd of 20 and more persons, and when some split off to form their own campaign new people were there to take their places.
As Rob had begun his own campaign, I played a lot in it with various PCs--Yrag, Mordenkainen, Bigby, etc. I enlisted Rob as co-Dm for my campaign too, as it took two of us to manage the large player groups, and also to run all the game sessions demanded by smaller parties. Often times there were two long sessions a day in 1974 and 1975. I had to write material, so Rob ran many of them.
A few years later son Luke played Melf.
That's it
Gary