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]

cartoon voices definitely count.

Yes indeed, and I'l enjoy doing more VO work, as I had a blast doing the Futurama show.

Not only does that sort of work count, but being the co-producer for the 26 D&D Cartoon show episodes is also not shabby, especially since i got to work not only with the network but also all the great folks at Marvel Productions

Cheers,
Gary

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Yes indeed, and I'l enjoy doing more VO work, as I had a blast doing the Futurama show.

Thanks for doing the VO for Futurama. That show was, in my opinion, some of the
funniest stuff on TV ever. Having you guess star with no less than the other good
folks in Anthology of Intrest makes it one of my most beloved episodes. EVAR.

 

[Vargo]

Gary,

First off, thank you again (I've said it before) for giving us this wonderful game.

Secondly, why did you do the percentile stat thing for Strength, then continue on up to 25 for all stats? I know some EARLY books I saw (I seem to remember a Dieties and Demigods precursor) had percentiles for stats other than strength - what was the evolution of that?

 

[BOZ]

Short answer: I am not now, not have i ever been, a rules lawyer. Rule-playing is distasteful to me. The rules I use in any play session depend on underlying game, the player group, and the demands of the scenario. As the GM I pick and choose what I think will best suit the situation.

amen to that! we have a guy who loves to call out on the DM "but the rules say..." when the DM makes a decision... i just want to slap the guy. the rest of us usually have to talk him out of arguing it, while he grumbles and mumbles and flips through the rulebooks to try to prove his point, and then if he finds what he was looking for he brings it back up again several minutes after we have moved on, and if he doesn't find it he says something like "but you've let me do that before"

...oy. i'm kinda glad he hasn't shown up in a month or so.

 

[TerraDave]

Well, amigo,

When one "creates" a fantasy world setting that is totally divorced from our world, it is logical that special, unique deities are needed to fill it, for clerics subsume deities that are served. Thus I began adding deities to my campaign early in 1973, and those became the first deities of the World of Greyhawk.

BTW, as the Lejendary Earth world setting is a parallel earth, the deities used for it are all based off of those from our mythology.

Cheers,
Gary

Esteemed Col. your answer makes perfect sense. Maybe I should rephrase the question: why the long delay before your dieties where shared with the rest of the world? And, did you use "real world" divinities in your original Castle Greyhawk campaign, in addition to Saint Cuthbert of course

 

[Jdvn1]

Yes indeed, and I'l enjoy doing more VO work, as I had a blast doing the Futurama show.

Not only does that sort of work count, but being the co-producer for the 26 D&D Cartoon show episodes is also not shabby, especially since i got to work not only with the network but also all the great folks at Marvel Productions

Does that mean cartoon shows should start trying to find ways to incorporate roleplaying legends?

I wonder if someone could pull off a more adult roleplaying cartoon -- and not offend a lot of people.

 

[oldschooler]

Short answer: I am not now, not have i ever been, a rules lawyer. Rule-playing is distasteful to me. The rules I use in any play session depend on underlying game, the player group, and the demands of the scenario. As the GM I pick and choose what I think will best suit the situation.

Cheers,
Gary

Actually, what I was really thinking of was the products you use in certain situations, not so much the rules themselves.
For example:
When playing OD&D, do you stick with the original set with maybe the Greyhawk supplement (or all the supplements) or go with a later set (like Moldvay's Basic or the Rules Cyclopedia). Do you even acknowledge any difference in the various incarnations?
Or:
When you play AD&D, how much of say, Unearthed Arcana do you actually tend to use? Are the paladins in your games a subclass of fighters or cavaliers? That's the kind of stuff I've been wondering about in your old school gaming sessions

 

[andargor]

Just a quick note to say hi to Gary.

Will there be a Part MMCLII?

Andargor

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Thanks for doing the VO for Futurama. That show was, in my opinion, some of the
funniest stuff on TV ever. Having you guess star with no less than the other good
folks in Anthology of Intrest makes it one of my most beloved episodes. EVAR.

Heartening to learn you enjoyed the episode. As I said, I sure had a blast reading the script, doing the voice over. while I'vE never aspired to being an actor, I would actually enjoy being a VO one

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary,

First off, thank you again (I've said it before) for giving us this wonderful game.

Secondly, why did you do the percentile stat thing for Strength, then continue on up to 25 for all stats? I know some EARLY books I saw (I seem to remember a Dieties and Demigods precursor) had percentiles for stats other than strength - what was the evolution of that?

Well,

At first blush I decided that 18 was the maximum for a human, but then to make fighters more viable, and because the concpt of degrees of strength in the 18 cap followed logically, I used the percentile measurement. As for strength over 18, any such ability is superhuman and must be magically endowed in my view. The 18/% did give the fighter a real boost

To the best of my recollection, I have never suggested percentile breakdown for stats other than strength.

Cheers,
Gary