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]

Hi Gary -

I've been remiss in checking in on this thread lately, so I may have missed it if you told how you liked Gene Wolfe's "The Knight." Did you like it enough to read "The Wizard"? If so, did you enjoy the story as a whole?

Hi Colonel

I went through The Knight with verve. Then I started in The Wizard and found it slower going. I am only about half way through the book, reading some original Conan as well as a Planet Stories Moorcock novel from Paizo instead of finishing it. I am having trouble relating to the "good" frost giants...

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey! (Wow...Gary Gygax...heh)

I read something really interesting in the last Paizo produced Dragon magazine (before the rights reverted to WotC). They quoted you from a 1984 interview with Polyhedron saying:

"By the way, action takes place on Yarth, a place somewhat similar to Oerth, the setting of Greyhawk et al. It has fewer magical properties than Oerth, but more than Earth. It is not impossible that additional works will be contracted for in months to come, action being set on Yarth or perhaps another alternate world, Aerth. On Earth, magic is virtually non-existant. On Uerth, dwomers are weak, chancy things. Yarth has a sprinking of things magical, and Oerth is pure magic."

Now I am well aware of what has been done with the various D&D settings by other people, but I'm curious to go to the man himself:

What's the structure of YOUR Greyhawk cosmology? How do the different settings (Earth, Yarth, Oerth, etc.) connect?

Any more info you have on what Yarth, Aerth, and Uerth are like in contrast to Greyhawk and Earth?

I read what you wrote and was really intrigued.

What I was expounding on was a cosmology of parallel worlds to Earth, each with varying magical activity. I did not mention the technology level of those worlds or other parallel worlds in the series, but they too exist in that multiverse.

Aerth was detailed for the Dangerous Journeys game system, but not that envisioned in 1984 as a direct connection to Oerth was no longer possible. Since then I have designed the Learth, the world setting for the Lejendary Adventure FRPG. It too is separate as the Aerth is no longer my IP either. At least the baseling, Earth, remains available to all designers seeking to devise a connected series of parallel worlds

So many game projects, so little time...

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

The Drow of Oerth maybe.

The Drow of Phaeree (Aerth), rivals of the Slaugh, might want to escape the awful sun they have in Inner Phaeree which is sickly and ghastly.

No Drow on Learth...but there are Dockalfar and Huldra and maybe Ulfs...

An excellent creative alternative, JRT

When you visit let's discuss you detaiing the material

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Tut tut. Easily enough explained away, if one needed to keep such details:
-- Special Branch. Anti-terrorist police are armed, as needed.
-- MI-5 undercover as bobbies.
-- UNIT or Torchwood Institute from Dr. Who undercover as the Met. (Indeed, the Torchwood Institute is much newer than the Dungeon adventure, but nonetheless).
-- Alternate universe. Perhaps Jerry won the war?

Nod, this proves the adventure is set pre-1974. I suspected AD&D money was British, but the 20:1 ratio of sp to gp makes sense in old silver dollars and $20 eagles too.

Theory: Like our founder, all D&D players appreciate good English pubs and/or exhibit other minor habits of pro-Britishness, if only dwarves with bad Scottish accents. Debate.

All I can say is: that's really stretching it...and if Germany won WW II there would be Polezi and Gestapo walking about, not Bobbies

And to think the Brits gave up their proper system of measurement for a French kickshaw. Only the USA won't give an inch in that regard!


Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary, did you ever use the Rakshasa as a boss monster or other important foe? Seems interesting, but a little odd to integrate in the average campaign.

I do remember your story about getting the idea for putting it in AD&D from a TV show, rather than directly from Indian mythology.

I got inspired about this monster when I saw one in a museum . . . errr, a statue of one!

Yup!

As the AD&D rakshasa is not a potent demon, I did indeed have a couple of them as the head of a group of nasties bent on wreaking havoc. As some nagas were opposing them the PCs could get assistance to defeat the tiger-demons.

My original inspiration for the AD&D rakshasa was indeed an episode of The Night Stalker.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Heh, now that's an interesting thought...

Happy Halloween, Gary (and fellow readers).

I'm wondering this morning, if your camapaigns ever had seasonal themes? I remember the Halloween issues of Dragon were always among my favorites.

The vampires would appreciate the Drow efforts to bring darkness to the world...as long as that gloom didn't affect their food supply...likely drow.

Food for all on a lightless workd would be a real problem, wouldn't it?

Anyway, no, I never did have the time to seasonally theme adventures in my campaign. Seems as if the PCs always had their own theme going.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[JamesM]

My original inspiration for the AD&D rakshasa was indeed an episode of The Night Stalker.

Ironically, I just watched that very episode the other day. As a child, it was one of my favorites and certainly colored the way I used rakshasas in my old AD&D campaign. Nice to hear you obviously derived as much inspiration from it as I did.

 

[JamesM]

Gary,

Did you ever consider using a vague monotheism à la The Lord of the Rings in AD&D rather than polytheism? I'm assuming not, given things you've said in the past about angels vs. devas, etc. I ask primarily because I've always found the medieval trappings of the game somewhat at odds with its pulp polytheism.

Thanks.

 

[Nagora]

Nod, this proves the adventure is set pre-1974. I suspected AD&D money was British, but the 20:1 ratio of sp to gp makes sense in old silver dollars and $20 eagles too.

Actually, decimalisation (the first of the Great Dumbing-Downs) was started in 1969 and completed in Febuary of '71 - long before punk rockers which were long after horse-drawn carrages. This, along with what was said about The Borribles pretty well confirms that the adventure was not set on Earth at all.

I have run some sessions with AD&D characters in London, as well as in the Denver of Car Wars (I wonder what happened to that fire elemental). I ruled that magic gave no saving throws to "Earthlings" but that firearms always did maximum damage to the PCs; it balanced quite well and everyone had fun romping around Piccadilly Circus pretending to be an open-air theatre troop and avoiding the cops while frantically trying not to attract the attention of Orcus to this new world. Orcus was a running opponent in our game from about 8th level onwards though he never appeared in person.

Which brings me to a question for Gary:

You've mentioned a few times the fact that no one in your campaign would ever have been able to take on a Demon Prince. Yet I think many people would consider Mordy more than so able on his own, let alone with Robilar and some of the other "big names" in tow.

I think this reflects a general difficulty for DMs to really get to grips with the level of challenge such an opponent is supposed to represent (for instance, there is an active thread over at Dragonfoot's 1st edition forum about why Asmodeus is a whimp because he "only has 199" hit points).

In broad terms, Gary, how would you recommend a DM doing justice to the power of the top ranks of the Evil planes when encountered by high level PCs?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Ironically, I just watched that very episode the other day. As a child, it was one of my favorites and certainly colored the way I used rakshasas in my old AD&D campaign. Nice to hear you obviously derived as much inspiration from it as I did.

Heh...

I was no child, but I surely found the first few episodes of The Night Stalker compelling

Cheerio,
Gary