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]

Howdily hey Gary!

I'm a huge fan of Orcus (the biggest one I know, though Nightfall and the Necromancer Games people could contest that), and I was wondering if you could share any thoughts/opinions/anecdotes about him from back in the day. I know this isn't really a question, but anything at all would be really great. Thanks!

As my campaign never got to the point where the PCs were of a level to dare any encounter with deities of even lesser sort than Orcus, the sum total of ,y development of the demon lords is pretty much contained in the core monster books.

The only anecdote I have regarding Orcus is this: When a party I was GMing was in the D3 module, they got into such trouble that they pleaded for divine intervention withoug being specific. As thos was successful (a d% roll of 00), I had Orcus appear, he being the most potent deity likely to have attention focused in that area. At that point the party was toast, so knowing that they again pleaded for divine intervention, this time specifying a deity opposed to a demon lord, but no more. Again they managed a successful roll, so Asmodeus appeared. Having an immediate understanding of what was happening, the two Evil deities did not fight, not did they bother with the foolish mortals who had summoned them. That was beneath them, of course. So they gated out and left the party to their fate. A couple of the characters actually managed to survive.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Geoffrey]

All the material in the D series was done exclusively by me, illustrations aside, of course. The additional areas of the underworld were sketchily detailed, but I have no idea where those notes have ended up

My players were not much delighted with the thought of continuing adventures there, so my efforts came to no useful end. My next plan was to detail the city or Erelheicindlu, but the lads absolutely refused to take their characters into the place

Cheers,
Gary

Why didn't the party want more adventures in this setting? Where they too frightened, or was it just not their druthers?

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

General question for any reader who DMed or played in G1: Has any party ever disguised themselves as the hill giant "kids," so as to roam around the steading that way? I set it up as a possibility, but as far as I know the disguise potential has never been used.

LOL, no but I wish we'd thought of that! The party I played with relied on invisibility to infiltrate the Steading, which worked well until one of our number was bumped into by a giant. In the resultant running fight our excessive use of pyrotechnics set fire to the place. It wasn't until much later, when I actually purchased the module, that I realized the pain we'd caused the DM in getting us to the next part of the adventure (which we completed successfully, though we met our doom in the Hall of the Fire Giant King attempting a frontal assault on the main hall). As a result of that fiasco, I've never gotten to be a player in the D series, though I did get to DM it.

Edit: I've had a soft spot for the pre-gen character with the silly name I played in that adventure ever since: Fonkin Hoddypeaks, elven Ftr/MU. I was rather put out when the 3E DMG used it as an example of how not to name a character! (In a subsequent foray I also had the privilege of running Beak Gwenders of Croodle, 1/2 Elf Ranger -- our own characters weren't high enough level at the time, so we relied on the supplied ones).

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Why didn't the party want more adventures in this setting? Where they too frightened, or was it just not their druthers?

They felt the risks weren't worth the possible rewards. It was much the same in regards to adventuring on the Isle of the Ape where they calculated that the likelihood of Pc death was too great for any possible gain thet might come from successfully managing the whole adventure. In sum I believe that they also didn't want to have to do all the roleplaying necessary to deal with the potent evil creatures they'd encounter regularly in the Drow city.

As a DM who never begged, I didn't grill them about their refusal...

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hi Olgar

Well, your not taking the opportunity to use the disguise seems to be the normal, so don't feel bad about the missed opportunity. A number of instances of fire in the Steading are known to me, even though I made a point of stressing to DMs how generally uninflammable the timers of the structure were.

A couple of years back I played Zigby my main Dwarf PC in a session my son Ernie was running using G2/ It had been so long since I'd written the adventure, DMed it, that I'd forgotten sufficiently to feel comfortable thus. Darned if I hadn't totally forgotten the misty cave where everything is slippery, and poor Zigby slipped and lost his +2 shield down a crevass. I was weak with the laughter caused from the mirth over my cruel tricks on PCs.

As for the WotC folks using Fondkin Hoddypeak as an example of what not to name a character, bah! They are a humorless lot thet take themselves and the game far too seriously, judging from that. It was a great joke on players, though, for all of those names were rether less than flattering even though the characters were buff Of course that sword cuts both ways, for I created the characters, and was poking fun at the game, the adventure, and myself in the process.

Beek (bask) Gwenders (chillblanes) of Croodle (to creep close as in to a fire), was a favorite of mine, as was Faffle (stammer) Dweomercraeft (magic).

Heh,
Gary

 

[Hadit]

I've had a soft spot for the pre-gen character with the silly name I played in that adventure ever since: Fonkin Hoddypeaks, elven Ftr/MU. I was rather put out when the 3E DMG used it as an example of how not to name a character!

Really?
I guess I missed that somehow.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Whoops, I misremembered. It was page 61 of the Hero Builder's Guidebook, not the DMG, that specifically mentioned not naming your character Fondkin Hoddypeak (or Gleep Wurp the Eyebiter, for that matter). Poor Gleep! Smashed by a giant ...

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Whoops, I misremembered. It was page 61 of the Hero Builder's Guidebook, not the DMG, that specifically mentioned not naming your character Fondkin Hoddypeak (or Gleep Wurp the Eyebiter, for that matter). Poor Gleep! Smashed by a giant ...

What's in a name? The play's the thing!

As I recall, for I don't have the book of lost words handy, the name was Gleed (for squint-eyed) Wurp (a glance of the eye), so his appellation wasn't quite as denigrating as Fondkin (little fool) Hoddypeak (crazy). I thought it suitable for an elf... A fighter named Redmod (anger) Dumple (beat into a shapless mass) was actually rather flattering, Or was that Frush (crush) Dumple?

Ah well,
Gary

 

[Hadit]

Hey Gary,

Have you had a chance to see a publication called Demonographia, by Trident Books? It is a complete collection of illustrations of demons as decribed in J.A.S. Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal (along with descriptive text).
Its a very classy book and quite useful for GM inspiration in regards to infernal adventures!

In case you are intrigued, Trident Books address is: P.O. Box 85811, Seattle, WA, 98105.

Take care, Duglas

 

[mythusmage]

The name I favored for the system was Infinite Adventures. (snip)
Cheers,
Gary

Well, in that case, Infinite Adventures it is. Got some people to contact, the rest of it I'll leave to your imagination.

 

[ScottGLXIX]

Dangerous Journeys was a system I was curious about for a long time, and I've recently started picking up and reading the books. It looks great so far. I'm really looking forward to starting a campaign.
Gary, a question regarding the Necropolis adventure. It's such a large and detailed book. Was that written for the Mythus system from the beginning, or was it something that you had been working on prior to the development of Mythus and then converted?
Scott

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey Gary,

Have you had a chance to see a publication called Demonographia, by Trident Books? It is a complete collection of illustrations of demons as decribed in J.A.S. Collin de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal (along with descriptive text).
Its a very classy book and quite useful for GM inspiration in regards to infernal adventures!

In case you are intrigued, Trident Books address is: P.O. Box 85811, Seattle, WA, 98105.

Take care, Duglas

Thanks Hadit

That sounds like an excellent work for the reference library of all GMs and writers in the fantasy genre. I'll put it on my wish list! Does Trident have a website? I was wondering what the price tag is...

Cheers,
Gasr

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Well, in that case, Infinite Adventures it is. Got some people to contact, the rest of it I'll leave to your imagination.

Golly Gee, Alan!

I wonder what you are hnting at...

Heh,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Dangerous Journeys was a system I was curious about for a long time, and I've recently started picking up and reading the books. It looks great so far. I'm really looking forward to starting a campaign.
Gary, a question regarding the Necropolis adventure. It's such a large and detailed book. Was that written for the Mythus system from the beginning, or was it something that you had been working on prior to the development of Mythus and then converted?
Scott

The Necropolis adventure was written for Mythus alone. I began it after the core rules were completed

Cheers,
Gary

 

[mythusmage]

Golly Gee, Alan!

I wonder what you are hnting at...

Heh,
Gary

If you're gonna ask me question, you'll have to start a whole new thread.

And since we're supposed to ask you questions; any possibility of an LA Modern?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

If you're gonna ask me question, you'll have to start a whole new thread.

And since we're supposed to ask you questions; any possibility of an LA Modern?

Ho-ho-ho!

Alan, it's your place to start a DJ thread, eh?

As for LA modern, a couple of the guys are developing material for their own campaigns, but the next official product in another genre will be the LEJENDARY ASTEROGUES Fantastical Science material...and I still haven't finished the campaign setting material... but the core rules are all ready to go.

Ciao,
Gary

 

[Hadit]

Thanks Hadit

That sounds like an excellent work for the reference library of all GMs and writers in the fantasy genre. I'll put it on my wish list! Does Trident have a website? I was wondering what the price tag is...

Cheers,
Gasr

They do... http://www.tridentbooks.us/

I confess that I've suggested a book to you that appears to be out-of-print now (having just perused the website myself)... I apologize.
(My copy was a gift from a book publishing friend.)

There is a copy available on Ebay for around $120 the last I checked. (Yikes!)

Nevertheless, when reading the Demonographia I was struck by the similarites between the demon descriptions within and some of the descriptions of AD&D demons and devils.
Was the Dictionnaire Infernal an inspiration for you when writing that part of the Monster Manual?

Take care, Duglas

 

[Col_Pladoh]

They do... http://www.tridentbooks.us/

I confess that I've suggested a book to you that appears to be out-of-print now (having just perused the website myself)... I apologize.
(My copy was a gift from a book publishing friend.)

There is a copy available on Ebay for around $120 the last I checked. (Yikes!)

Nevertheless, when reading the Demonographia I was struck by the similarites between the demon descriptions within and some of the descriptions of AD&D demons and devils.
Was the Dictionnaire Infernal an inspiration for you when writing that part of the Monster Manual?

Take care, Duglas

Whoa!

Not likely I'll part with over $100 for the book.

The demon descriptions found in the AD&D works I did are strictly from my own imagination, and I have never seen Demonographia. Must be parallel creative description-illustrative rendering of the same envisaged looks.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Geoffrey]

Mythusmage, you're intriguing me! Spill the beans, will ya?

 

[ScottGLXIX]

Yeah Mythus, spill the beans already. I'm currently in the process of tracking down copies of all of the DJ/Mythus material. I'd prefer a new set of Infinate Adventures books to the ok set of Dangerous Journeys/Mythus books I've been collecting.
I don't really know what's going on but, when Gary preferred Infinate Adventures, there was no Lejendary Adventures. Just something you might consider.
Scott