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]

Here here! As a guy who majored in history/poli sci and works with translating numbers into business decisions, I've got to wonder how much of my mind's development I owe to picking up the PHB in 1981 . . . quite a lot, I'd say.

Thanks Gary!

Welcome, but...

My contribution is minimal. It was something that stimulated you to develop your own potential, rather as might a grammar school teacher through recommending books whilst directing a course of study so as to make it interesting.

Ciao,
Gary

 

[haakon1]

There is absolutely no connection. I did the two maps on hex paper of the maximum sixe that TSR's printers could manage at the time, free-handing the work so as to get in all the cultural types I thought would make for an interesting campaign

Thanks so much for answering that. Your map has made and is making for an interesting campaign.

It'll stay on my wall tacked up next to a Tolkien map 'cause I know the DM is always right, even when the Father of the Game says, "Nah, I really wasn't thinking that."

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Thanks so much for answering that. Your map has made and is making for an interesting campaign.

It'll stay on my wall tacked up next to a Tolkien map 'cause I know the DM is always right, even when the Father of the Game says, "Nah, I really wasn't thinking that."

Fact is that I have never compared the three maps in question, JRRT's Middle Earth and the Oerik pair, so it might seem there is some connection. However, I do believe the scale of the Middle Earth map is smaller than that of the World of Greyhawk, so a side by side comparison would not be meaningful.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[haakon1]

How right you are. I have no creative rapport with the new system, nor the old world setting as altered...

IMHO, the new system is better for players than for DM's ("options" = complexity), and after a certain level, the complexity just breaks the whole game.

For me, I ignore new Greyhawk in many areas, but I steal its ideas liberally. For example, WOTC says Bissel was conquered by Ket, and Sterich and Geoff were conquered by the Giants. I say, no PC's defeated the Giants, so Geoff and Sterich were in trouble but survived due to the heroism of now retired adventurers. And in present day, Ket has invaded Bissel with a huge force of mercs and a secret alliance with Iuz. Why is there a war? BECAUSE newer PC's took Daoud's Wondrous Lanthorn from the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Ket coveted it, and had their elite adventurers bested by the PC's. Iuz is angry because the PC's resurrected his rival former vampire sister (how Robilar like!). Yet another new party is going on lots of little missions to help the Bisselite war effort, and has benefited from the hospital powered up by the Lanthorn.

Works for me . . . I totally get it that it doesn't work for you, especially in the official form. Fair enough. You gave us the tools to have fun with this stuff forever.

 

[haakon1]

My contribution is minimal. It was something that stimulated you to develop your own potential, rather as might a grammar school teacher through recommending books whilst directing a course of study so as to make it interesting.

Precisely, but it's nice to be able to thank you "personally" for the positive influence you've had on so many people, and to hear your wise and humble answer.

 

[oldschooler]

Hi Gary,

I've a general question regarding many of your creature concepts, as far as how they came about and/or changed over the years.

Kobolds: did they always look like lil' dog-lizards, or were they originally just a lesser form of goblin?
Hobgoblins: I've always known hobgoblins as being "good guys" in a way. How did you come up with them as larger, meaner goblins?
Gnolls: originally described as a cross between 'gnomes and trolls'... How did they become the hyena-men we know and love today?
Gorgons: I would have pictured a hideous snake-lady with asps for hair, but you split the creature into the Medusa (named for the popular gorgon) and Gorgon (an iron-clad bull)? How did that happen?
Hydra: why mention the snake-like original (Monsters & Treasure), then give it dinosaur-like legs?
Troll: I know you like the regenerating, green, rubber dude; but what ever happened to true trolls (of Scandinavian myth)?
Where did the concept for the 'dungeon cleaning crew' come from (some of my favorite critters by the way)? I'm guessing the old classic horror flick The Blob but...

 

[Gray Mouser]

We toasted Dave on thursday last as four of us worked on getting the maps for YGGSBURGH into shape for a final pass.

Hmmm, I haven't been getting notices about postings recently so I just happened to be checking the board and saw this reply. Glad to see things are coming along with the CZ project!

The module Frank Mentzer and I will co-author is one that was originally done for AD&D and will be translated to the C&C game system in due course. It is not tied to the ZAGYG'S CASTLE project.

Cheers,
Gary

And more good news!

Gray Mouser

 

[Palaner]

Hey Gary,

I love the concept of evolving media, and D&D is no exception. After all, it is, what I think, the first game to ever become a medium in itself. What do you think is (or should be) the future of the roleplaying game?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hi Gary,

I've a general question regarding many of your creature concepts, as far as how they came about and/or changed over the years.

Kobolds: did they always look like lil' dog-lizards, or were they originally just a lesser form of goblin?
Hobgoblins: I've always known hobgoblins as being "good guys" in a way. How did you come up with them as larger, meaner goblins?
Gnolls: originally described as a cross between 'gnomes and trolls'... How did they become the hyena-men we know and love today?
Gorgons: I would have pictured a hideous snake-lady with asps for hair, but you split the creature into the Medusa (named for the popular gorgon) and Gorgon (an iron-clad bull)? How did that happen?
Hydra: why mention the snake-like original (Monsters & Treasure), then give it dinosaur-like legs?
Troll: I know you like the regenerating, green, rubber dude; but what ever happened to true trolls (of Scandinavian myth)?
Where did the concept for the 'dungeon cleaning crew' come from (some of my favorite critters by the way)? I'm guessing the old classic horror flick The Blob but...

Sigh...

Kobolds are humanoid, mainly forest-dwelling creatures that Dave Sutherland gave the canine visage and scaley skin.

I made hobgoblins larger, although the prefix "hob" indicates little" because goblins had been made too small and weak for challenging higher-level characters. goblins and hobgoblins are treated in various ways from mischiveous to darkly malign in folklore. I went with the latter for game purposes.

Who says a cross between a gnome and a troll can't have a hyena-live visage? After all, it was me that mentioned the origination of the species. I just decided it was too bland and needed something more evil. I dislike hyenas intensly...

You clearly are not steeped in medieval bestiary lore In that regard the gorgon is a scaled bull, so rather than having only three sisters the D&D game had a rade of medusas and a race of gorgons.

As for me giving a hydra legs, where do you see my name in the illustration?

Scandanavian trolls are pretty borinng, and who needs such critters when they can't go into sunlight? So I used Poul Anderson's model for a more challenging and fearsome monster.

Because of the large and varied ecology of the D&D dungeons and underground, it was necessary to have scavengers of all sorts, so I made up the gelatinous cube, carrion crawler, ocher jelly, etc. There was no particular inspiration save for nature--amobeas, insect larva, and imagination.

Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hey Gary,

I love the concept of evolving media, and D&D is no exception. After all, it is, what I think, the first game to ever become a medium in itself. What do you think is (or should be) the future of the roleplaying game?

Heh,

I seldom if ever engage in pointless speculation

The future of the RPG will be determined by many more persons than me. I believe the game form will persist into the foreseeable future. It seems pretty certain that the majority of play will be online, that next will come the computer RPG audience--when AI makes such games actually more akin to what the game form is supposed to be--and last but not least will be the group playing face-to-face.

As I have noted before, the analogy one might use is that of televsion, motion pictures, and stage plays.

Cheers,
Gary