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 have this vague memory from the mid-1980s when there was word of a new supplement, a 2nd Unearthed Arcana?, for AD&D which would include new classes like the Mountbank (and others which I'm afraid my aging brain can't remember). Presumably this changed and the second edition was developed instead (which to be honest is when I lost interest in RPGs - I've only returned relatively recently).

Any way, I wondered if (a) this was true and (b) if it was how far did you get in the development of the new classes as I'd love to see some new (?) material from you for AD&D.

Sorry for being so vague but we are expecting our 2nd baby any day now and we aren't getting much sleep !

Also, apologies if this has been asked before!!!

Howdy Erekose,

No problem, and I'll answer as best as I can

I was indeed planning a revised edition of the AD&D game with several new classes included. that never came to fruition, of course, as I parted ways with TSR at the end of 1985. As my settlement agreement forbad me to so anything pertaining to D&D or AD&D, I scrapped whatever notes I had for the revsion. Under the circumstances I have no further comment on what I planned.

The 2nd Edition of AD&D was done after I left the company, and I had nothing to do with it.

Children are marvelous, even if they do disrupt most everything and demand a lot of time. Enjoy the blessing

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

That sounds interesting. Hundred Years War period? Anything you can tell us beyond the name?

Thanks!

Indeed, I am not keeping this a secret. I was playing a test version of the KoE-KoF game at various cons about 10 years or so back

The game is for 2 to 5 players, best with 5. It covers the time of the 100 Years War, but it is not a military game, but rather an historically based strategy card game played on a mapboard. Each player in the game has something to do each time one of the five participants acts during a turn. There are up to 15 turns in a game, although there can be a winner sooner. The two major powers are the Angevin Empire (going firstand with the most cards in hand) and France (playing last in a turn and with the second largest playing hand). The other players represent Flanders, Savoy, and Toulouse. As Toulouse is out of play near the end of the game because of the Cathar Crusade against it, its otherwise favorable board position is balanced.

Essentially all the players act, in turn, to further their aims and thwart those of their adversaries, even as they must trade cards with them to be able to act efficiently.

Any of the five countris can win. If none manages a victory by the end of play, France wins automatically.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Did you miss my questions above, Col_Pladoh, in post #4?

http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=2930451&postcount=4

Quasqueton

Ciao Quasqueton,
Yes, I did miss your post. Perhaps that occured because of a subconscious blind spot. The fact is I don't talk shop details online...or even in seminars at conventions. That is reserved for those designers I am working with creatively. The main reason for that is that I tend to create spontaneously, go back and alter, add, and polish, if I like the work, after it is done in rough draft

That said, I can respond in regards to design theory at TSR. When I was there no such formula was advicated. It was expected that the author of an adventure would create best when creating freely.

The ToH and G-D series were originally created strictly for the players in my campaigm, including co-DM rob Kuntz.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Quasqueton]

The fact is I don't talk shop details online...or even in seminars at conventions.

I can understand this, but I wasn’t looking for details. I was asking just if there was a general philosophy/theory/guidelines for adventure design in the “early days”. And you’ve answered that question – you (and everyone) generally designed “freestyle”.

The ToH and G-D series were originally created strictly for the players in my campaigm, including co-DM rob Kuntz.

Were the tournament adventures and the published versions of the adventures the same as your campaign versions?

Thanks.

Quasqueton

 

[Treebore]

There is a lot to be said for freestyle. Freestyle allows you to say, "Ooh!! Thats a cool idea! Lets make it happen!" Where a formulated approach all to often has this happen: "Oooh!! Thats a cool idea! But it can't happen because rules x,y, and z of game/adventure design says it can't. Darn! That would have been a cool idea!"

I much prefer the "Lets make it happen!"

 

[Col_Pladoh]

...

Were the tournament adventures and the published versions of the adventures the same as your campaign versions?

Thanks.

Quasqueton

Ciao,

There was little change from the campaign version of the modules in the publioshed versions--added pregen characters is about all as I recall.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

There is a lot to be said for freestyle. Freestyle allows you to say, "Ooh!! Thats a cool idea! Lets make it happen!" Where a formulated approach all to often has this happen: "Oooh!! Thats a cool idea! But it can't happen because rules x,y, and z of game/adventure design says it can't. Darn! That would have been a cool idea!"

I much prefer the "Lets make it happen!"

Treebore, I quite agree.

Formula writing is mediocre. Spontaneous creativity can be dreadful or masterful

 

[Treebore]

Plus the dreadful are often good for a laugh. Or two.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Plus the dreadful are often good for a laugh. Or two.

Back in the late 1970s there was a fanziine titled The Apprentice that ran a module called "The Pigeon Cliffs of Mentadora." It was hysterically funny, althogh it was meant to be serious. For example, the giant pigeons, tumbler, homing, etc. caged there each ate "an orc a day." Poor birds...there wasn't an orc to be found anywhere in the whole module.

I panned it as being most amusing but dumb in Dragon magazine, naming the publication. I was informed that the fanzine sold about three times as many copies next issue, and the back inventory of the "pigeon" issue sold out completely immediately after my review appeared in print. The publisher and author of the module in the zine wouldn't speak to me despite the benefit I brought to his enterprise

Cheers,
Gary

 

[genshou]

I panned it as being most amusing but dumb in Dragon magazine, naming the publication. I was informed that the fanzine sold about three times as many copies next issue, and the back inventory of the "pigeon" issue sold out completely immediately after my review appeared in print. The publisher and author of the module in the zine wouldn't speak to me despite the benefit I brought to his enterprise

Funny how these things work in the opposite way you intended them to!

Speaking of adventures, have you used any of the free 3.x adventures available on the WotC site, and if so, what are your opinions on their quality? I'm especially interested in hearing what you think of Wreck Ashore, if you're familiar with it.