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]

Gary

Was it your choice to include references to Baba Yaga in the 1e DMG? Was it intended for her to be a historical figure on Greyhawk? Was there any particular reason for the choice?

Short answer

I liked Baba Yaga since i was age three and my mother read stories about her to me from Jack & Jill magazine. So all references to said legendary Russian witch were directly from me. She appears in three forms in the Lejendary Pantheons work, all of them demi-deital.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Gray Mouser]

Glad you enjoyed the essay. I suppose you weren't much into wargaming when it was originally published

Heh, not that my parents have ever mentioned

I have played both "Axis and Allies", "Conquest of the Empire" and Avalon Hill's "The War of the Ring." Those are probably the closest I have come to wargaming in my day. Out of the three "Conquest of the Empire" was probably the most fun as I really enjoyed the ancient civilization period it was set in.

Gray Mouser

 

[TerraDave]

I generally drink Samuel Adams Bosten Ale, Guniess Stout, Samuel Smith Porter or Nut Brown Ale, or several of the offerings from a local brewery, New Glarus Brewing that offer a good ale (Fat Squirrel) and many special sorts throughout the year.

Cheers,
Gary

Ah good, we are back to food and drink...

...to link back to my earlier question, I would recomend Newcastle Brown Ale, not too hard to find here in the States, and from Northumberland, home of St. Cuthbert and not far from his remains at Durham

I am actually going to be using Homlet (again) in the campaign, and have made this the official ale for our game

 

[Darrin]

Regarding the Flannae

Gary,

I haven't really played DnD all that long, I started just a few months before 3.5 came out. Anyhow, the last game I participated in was Greyhawk, utilizing 3.5 rules mixed with the old Greyhawk setting. I was particularly fond of the Flan set of humans, as they were a unique blend of Native American culture and celtic. I found that the Flan were the oldest in the Greyhawk Setting, yet they seemed to have the least information on them. The best I found was the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, and even that was skimpin on the details. Why is it that the oldest people in Greyhawk have the least information? Is there anyway I can get a good background of them. Also, I noticed that the LGG had samples of different languages, yet I did not see an example of the Flan language. Would that be because, like the Navajo, they had no written language. Any expanding on this topic that you can do will me most helpful.

Or -- anyone else for that matter.

Lost in Greyhawk, Darrin

 

[dead]

Dear Gary: A hypothetical situation

Dear Gary,

If you won a million, trillion, squillion dollars and purchasing back the rights to D&D was just a drop in the ocean, would you:

a) Not even bother buying back the rights for D&D. That's behind you now. You would use all your money to promote and publish LA.

b) Buy back the rights and personally author the 4th edition the way *you* think it should be.

c) Buy back the rights and act as a consultant/creative director but otherwise focus on LA.

d) Buy back the rights but leave it unchanged.



Also, what would you do with GH if you bought back the rights. Would you:

1) Dump it as a setting. It's seen its time.

2) Dump all material after you left and begin again from the '83 boxed set.

3) Acknowledge WotC/TSR's "canon" version and take it up from there.


I'm very interested to hear your comments.

Thank you.

 

[mistere29]

Yuppers, my bad. I had the wish spell in mind, a 10-year aging effect. and single-use with a year lost would not be a factor to any adventurous, long-lived demi-human, I agree,


Gary

Somwhere in the DMG is a chart that has age modifers for demi-humans. The gist of it is that magical aging assumes a human life span. If a race lives twice as long as humans, for example, then all aging effects are doubled.

Plus there is always the system shock roll.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Heh, not that my parents have ever mentioned

I have played both "Axis and Allies", "Conquest of the Empire" and Avalon Hill's "The War of the Ring." Those are probably the closest I have come to wargaming in my day. Out of the three "Conquest of the Empire" was probably the most fun as I really enjoyed the ancient civilization period it was set in.

Gray Mouser

Those aren't board wargames amigo. Real wargamers have played Drang Nacht Osten for a few weeks before giving up, or else know and play 20 Avalon Hill Company military game titles and have a collection of SPI games (never played usually).

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Ah good, we are back to food and drink...

...to link back to my earlier question, I would recomend Newcastle Brown Ale, not too hard to find here in the States, and from Northumberland, home of St. Cuthbert and not far from his remains at Durham

I am actually going to be using Homlet (again) in the campaign, and have made this the official ale for our game

Not only have I had a few pints of Newcastle, but I've enjoyed a variety of real ales locally brewed in the pubs of Old Blighty

Most of my group have to drive some distance home after a game session, so we don't get to enjoy much in the way of good brews when we play...and when I drink alone i prefer to be by myself

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[MrFilthyIke]

...and when I drink alone i prefer to be by myself

Kinda the definition of drinking alone

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary,

I haven't really played DnD all that long, I started just a few months before 3.5 came out. Anyhow, the last game I participated in was Greyhawk, utilizing 3.5 rules mixed with the old Greyhawk setting. I was particularly fond of the Flan set of humans, as they were a unique blend of Native American culture and celtic. I found that the Flan were the oldest in the Greyhawk Setting, yet they seemed to have the least information on them. The best I found was the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, and even that was skimpin on the details. Why is it that the oldest people in Greyhawk have the least information? Is there anyway I can get a good background of them. Also, I noticed that the LGG had samples of different languages, yet I did not see an example of the Flan language. Would that be because, like the Navajo, they had no written language. Any expanding on this topic that you can do will me most helpful.

Or -- anyone else for that matter.

Lost in Greyhawk, Darrin

I have had no input in regards to the WoG since 1985, so you will need to direct your comments and questions to wizards.

I can say that the Flan were not meant to be anything like the American Indians. they were of Hamatic-like racial origin, Negroes if you will. Little is known of them because they were generally absorbed into the waves of other peoples immigrating eastwards through the continent, so their culture was generally lost.

Cheers,
Gary