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]

sorry gary, im not teasing or anything, but i really dont get it.

why is natural?

Sorry, but I do not understand that statement.

What is there not to get in the explanation of why I created the Drow as they are stated in the AD&D game?

Cheers,
Gary

 

[rossik]

Sorry, but I do not understand that statement.

What is there not to get in the explanation of why I created the Drow as they are stated in the AD&D game?

Cheers,
Gary

no, i mean why is natural that women are more powerfull in drow society?
pls dont get upset, im not trying to upset you

 

[Col_Pladoh]

no, i mean why is natural that women are more powerfull in drow society?
pls dont get upset, im not trying to upset you

Okay, no problem.

Drow females are loke spiders in regards their superiority to the male. There are quite a few examples of females being larger and stronger than their male counterparts in the animal kingdom, and it seems that many of the theropod dinosaurs were likewise. The first mammal I can think of that fits the case in point is the hyena.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[rossik]

Okay, no problem.

Drow females are loke spiders in regards their superiority to the male. There are quite a few examples of females being larger and stronger than their male counterparts in the animal kingdom, and it seems that many of the theropod dinosaurs were likewise. The first mammal I can think of that fits the case in point is the hyena.

Cheerio,
Gary

now that you have said, seem obvious to me...
shame on me, i have to read more

 

[Geoffrey]

Gary, in your LA and A/D&D games, you include demi-humans right alongside humans as PCs. In your Dangerous Journeys: Mythus game, however, you relegated demi-human PCs to explicitly optional status, and gave them only 2 pages versus 17 pages of descriptions for human PCs.

Why the de-emphasis on demi-human PCs in Mythus as opposed to your other FRPGs?

 

[The Great Bear King]

Ah, well...

That's quite different and explains things

I do hope you are searching for a new gaming group!

Cheerio,
Gary

Don't worry, I will. I might even get Dirks, barbarian #2's player, to come along. However, Randy, the fighter's player is actually a rather fair and decent DM, he's just a nightmare of a player. Also the party druid and his bison tended to behave like Shaggy and Scooby. They were master cowards and proud of it.

 

[haakon1]

Whoa!

Way too many different groups to pick one of the general categories you list. I haved played with groups 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8.

Most of the groups I GMed for fit 4. 6, and 7.

Thanks for a good answer to a silly question.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

now that you have said, seem obvious to me...
shame on me, i have to read more

As I said, no problem at all

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary, in your LA and A/D&D games, you include demi-humans right alongside humans as PCs. In your Dangerous Journeys: Mythus game, however, you relegated demi-human PCs to explicitly optional status, and gave them only 2 pages versus 17 pages of descriptions for human PCs.

Why the de-emphasis on demi-human PCs in Mythus as opposed to your other FRPGs?

Frankly, I find human characters a lot more interesting than most non-human ones. In most cases they are played as stereotypes...badly played thus at that,

When the Mythus game was designed I hoped that the change from class-based to skill-based play would also facilitate emphasis on the human character in the game.

In the LA system I went back and included a large number of non-human races to opt for as an Avatar choice, but I weighed the game in favor of humans by giving Ordered, mainly human, ones a clear leg up on others. Although the edge is slight it is evident, and even non-Ordered humans have more freedom of choice selecting Abilities than do the non-human. The most desirable benefit-wise non-human Avatar races are the ones less likely to be chosen--Kobold, Trollkin, Veshoge.

Anyway, I hope that the racial mandates and guidelines set forth in the LA game make playing any of these non-humans at least a bit more unique and interesting than is usual in many other systems.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[JamesM]

Gary,

I honestly can't recall if you had any plans for a revision of AD&D or a new edition of it. I have the dim recollection that what became Unearthed Arcana was in fact but what one part -- and a modified one at that -- of what was originally a much larger "expansion" of AD&D. Am I remembering this correctly or were you generally happy with AD&D and saw no need for anything more than a new book here or there every so many years?

Thanks.