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.

 

[darth]

Books and Influences

One of the ways that DnD influenced my life positively was the books that I read because of it. Of course, I had already read LOTR and C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but it was at Gary's suggestion that I read Fritz Lieber, Jack Vance, and Michael Moorcock. Other RPGs have gotten me to read HP Lovecraft and his circle, including the great Robert Howard.

One of my great interests right now is the development of fantasy as we know the genre today. Certainly, EGG has been one of the more influential names in the landscape. Many of the assumptions we make about a fantasy world come from him and from DnD.

Two questions, then, for the good sir:

What other books and authors might you suggest? I'd love to hear of ones that influenced you, or ones you think anyone might benefit by reading.

What are some things you're proud to have personally added to the landscape of fantasy? Obviously, many of your ideas were taken from previous sources (that's the topic of my research), but what ones do you credit to yourself, or to early DnD?

 

[Deedlit]

It's me again. Three questions for you

1. Are you familiar with Lodoss war?
2. If the answer to the first is yes, what do you think of it?
3. How does it feel knowing about all the series caused by your game, and people wanting to turning their campaign in it(Or a similar game created because of it's shortcomings), to a great fantasy series. Dragonlance, Lodoss War, and Forgotten Realms come to mind.

 

[Geoffrey]

Heh, all I can say is that I spent about five years putting it [Epic of Aerth] together--not all the time working on it alone, of course. The set of Eleventh Edition ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA that my most honored maternal grandfather bequeathed to me was much used in developing the details given in the EoA. What I longed for was a set of the Third Edition to reruse so as to perhaps get closer to the actual area conditions, but never was I able to find one...

Gary

The hard work you put into it shows, Mr. Gygax. Aerth is my favorite generic FRPG world out of all the multitude published. In the forward to the original Necropolis, Lester Smith (I think) mentioned that Aerth has its roots in your unpublished world of Oerth (with the published Oerth being a very different version). Can you expand on that?

 

[Lightfinger]

Gary,

What is your opinion on the RPGA?

What's it like working with Steve, Davis, and the rest of the Troll Lords?

What have you heard about Troll Lord's sponsored national campaign, Legends of Erde?


--David

 

[Col_Pladoh]

[snippage]

She said, "I'm not sure it would be quite the same as you talking to Gary Gygax."

I said, "Of course not. God probably doesn't drink Martinis."

ROTFLMAO

But seriously, if God was making the martinis, I'm sure they'd be the best ever. As for Him not drinking them, well, He did give us wine...


Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey Gary.
Im suprised no one has asked you this yet, but whats your take on these WotC lay-offs?

It came as no surprise to me, as I'd heard that more were coming after GenCon, also that Hasbro planned to move the WotC offices back East to be under their wing, so to speak. Whether what I was told was merely lucky guessing or some inside scoop doesn't matter now.

In all I've been very charry about the acquisition of a hobby game company by a mass-market toy and game one. Two very different cultures, markets, and IMO management needs for assuring the success of the different lines.

Let us watch awhile to see what further developments take place...

Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Re: lol

What is your favorite color?

Rainbow and the permutations thereof!



Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Re: Books and Influences

One of the ways that DnD influenced my life positively was the books that I read because of it. Of course, I had already read LOTR and C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but it was at Gary's suggestion that I read Fritz Lieber, Jack Vance, and Michael Moorcock. Other RPGs have gotten me to read HP Lovecraft and his circle, including the great Robert Howard.

Hey now! Look at my recommended reading list in the old DMG again, amigo. Both Howard and Lovecraft are named there and were actually major influences on my creation of the game.

One of my great interests right now is the development of fantasy as we know the genre today. Certainly, EGG has been one of the more influential names in the landscape. Many of the assumptions we make about a fantasy world come from him and from DnD.

Two questions, then, for the good sir:

What other books and authors might you suggest? I'd love to hear of ones that influenced you, or ones you think anyone might benefit by reading.

The aforementioned appendix in the OAD&D DMG has a pretty exhaustive list of those books I felt were influential and interesting--Merritt, Saberhagen, St, Clair, and Weinbaum for example. Also, if you happen to get a look at the MYTHUS game book, look for the recommended reading lists therein.

What are some things you're proud to have personally added to the landscape of fantasy? Obviously, many of your ideas were taken from previous sources (that's the topic of my research), but what ones do you credit to yourself, or to early DnD?

Heh, well, what is around now that wasn't "taken" from some other source. The trick is to combine existing elements so as to come up with something new and different from what was previously existing. That D&D did right well, methinks. So, what I am pleased with is authoring D&D and thus creating the source of inspiration for the whole RPG field we have today

Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

It's me again. Three questions for you

1. Are you familiar with Lodoss war?
2. If the answer to the first is yes, what do you think of it?
3. How does it feel knowing about all the series caused by your game, and people wanting to turning their campaign in it(Or a similar game created because of it's shortcomings), to a great fantasy series. Dragonlance, Lodoss War, and Forgotten Realms come to mind.

1. Good old PA sent me the Lodoss War material, but I haven't had time yet to sit back and watch. I mean to for sure as the weather turns less mild here and being outdoors is not longer pleasant.

2. As noted, that's not currenbtly answerable.

3. To have inspired so much creativity, to have thus provided enjoyable employment for many a gamer is as gratifying to me as is the fact that I brought so much fun and entertainment to millions of people In fact, I am still trying to to the latter now, 30 years later.

Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

The hard work you put into it shows, Mr. Gygax. Aerth is my favorite generic FRPG world out of all the multitude published. In the forward to the original Necropolis, Lester Smith (I think) mentioned that Aerth has its roots in your unpublished world of Oerth (with the published Oerth being a very different version). Can you expand on that?

Thanks, Geoffrey

It was Les who put that into the forward, and yes, I can expand on it a bit.

When I initiated the Greyhawk campaign, I envisaged a world of parallel earth sort. Thus the geography then assumed was pretty close to that of earth. Being busy running game sessions, creating dungeon levels, the map of Greyhawk City, writing new material, and also really enjoying "winging it," I never did a large-scale map for the world.

When IU was asked to create a campaign setting for TSR to market, I did a new and compact "world"--that only in part, of course, as that was all I could fit onto the two maps allowed. So that became the World og Greyhawk.

At that point my campaign play gradually moved from the amorphous "real" planet on which Greyhawk was located to the material one published by TSR. Being busy as ever, saving what amounted to duplicate labor was happily accepted.

After the split with TSR, I returned to my original concept, painted over a globe of the earth to match my original ideas for a fantasy alternate earth, and thus Aerth was born. My wife and some others thought I'd lost it when they saw me with acrylics and brushes altering the globe I still have it around somewhere...

Only after I had the fullly done globe of Aerth did I then set about the research needed to quantify all that was thereon.

Ciao,
Gary