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.

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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.

Gary_Gygax_Gen_Con_2007.jpg
 

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Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax
Henry said:
I don't suppose you'd be willing to write up the original "how the encounter operated" in a sealed envelope to be opened in the event of your demise? ;)

(That's D&D fans for ya; other family or friends want to know who's getting what in a will -- D&D players want to know the campaign secrets.) :lol:
That is not beyond the realm of possibility...if I get around to it :lol:

:uhoh:
Gary
 

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mhensley

First Post
Col_Pladoh said:
'Vicious little Vikings fan kills family pet in Lincoln Park."

LOL :lol:

Yeah, I guess there really hasn't been much of a Packers-Bears rivalry lately. It seems that over the past couple of decades or so whenever one team has been good, the other has stunk. The Bears should easily win the Norris division this year.
 

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax
mhensley said:
LOL :lol:

Yeah, I guess there really hasn't been much of a Packers-Bears rivalry lately. It seems that over the past couple of decades or so whenever one team has been good, the other has stunk. The Bears should easily win the Norris division this year.
A few years back I accompanied a friend who was giving the Bears a motivational talk after brekfast before they played the Packers in Lambeau Field. It was late in the season, really cold oin Green Bay, so I was all bundled up in winter togs and a helemt hat with the distinctive orange C on each side, it well covered with various Bears pins. After breakfasting with the team, hearing the motivational speach, four of us went up in tha back row of an end zone corner where the Packers stick visiting Freeloaders.

The Packers spanked the Bears that afternoon, but their fans were really nice to the two if us sporting Bear stuff. They razzed us in friendly manner in the stands and on the way out, but nary a one was actually impolite. After that I determined to show the PAckers fans the same courtesy :cool:

That is the general fan populace, not the chaps I know here in Lake Geneva that are Packers fans. They give and take far more guff, as the fans here are about equally divided between the two teams :lol:

Cheers,
Gary
 

Lanefan

Victoria Rules
I hope this hasn't been asked too many times already, but:

In AD+D (and Basic?), what was the rationale for having Strength 18 broken down into several "%" gradations, with Giants starting at 19, instead of having each gradation have its own number (thus 18.01 = 18, 18.41 = 19, etc., to 18.00 = 24) and have Giants start at 25?

Reason I ask is that when Cavaliers came out in UA and introduced the idea of %-ile stat increments, we took one look and immediately decided that such a system would work for any class...except, how to apply a %-ile increment to high strength that was already on a % system?...so we converted to full numbers as above. Since then, I've always wondered why it was designed the way it was.

Thanks!

Lanefan
 

thedungeondelver

Adventurer
Here's a "doggie tale" for you, Gary:

A little boy met Hillary Clinton at a public function in New York. He was there with a whole basketful of newborn puppies, barely old enough to be separated from their mother. He showed them to the former first lady and proudly said "Missus Hillary, these are democrat puppies!"

Well the Senator was quite taken by such an obvious future lefty, so she invited the boy, his parents, and the dogs to the next fundraiser, some weeks later.

They showed up and Mrs. Clinton invited the boy to the podium to tell all of the attendees what kind of puppies he had. "They're Republicans!" the young man said, beaming.

Hillary was flabbergasted. Barely able to squelch her anger, she asked the boy if he hadn't told her just recently that the little newborn dogs were Democrats. "Yep!" the young man said, obviously about to burst with pride. "But then they opened their eyes!"

zing!

Oh, and a semi-private one for you, Gary: "Dunkin' Doenitz."
 

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax
Lanefan said:
I hope this hasn't been asked too many times already, but:

In AD+D (and Basic?), what was the rationale for having Strength 18 broken down into several "%" gradations, with Giants starting at 19, instead of having each gradation have its own number (thus 18.01 = 18, 18.41 = 19, etc., to 18.00 = 24) and have Giants start at 25?

Reason I ask is that when Cavaliers came out in UA and introduced the idea of %-ile stat increments, we took one look and immediately decided that such a system would work for any class...except, how to apply a %-ile increment to high strength that was already on a % system?...so we converted to full numbers as above. Since then, I've always wondered why it was designed the way it was.

Thanks!

Lanefan
Simply put, the percentage incriments that an 18 score in Strength were divided into was to give Fighters more viability in regard to other classes.

Wny no 19? That too is self-evident. One can't roll above 18 with 3d6 :lol:

Cheers,
Gary
 

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax
thedungeondelver said:
Here's a "doggie tale" for you, Gary:

...

Oh, and a semi-private one for you, Gary: "Dunkin' Doenitz."
:confused:

I heard that in my teens, the animals being kittens, and being touted as a certain religion. Such is life, eh?

More "oil slick" frosting on the pastry model of a Britsih life preserver, danke!

Und den ich bin dunkin'!

:lol:
Gary
 

Lanefan

Victoria Rules
Col_Pladoh said:
Simply put, the percentage incriments that an 18 score in Strength were divided into was to give Fighters more viability in regard to other classes.
Of course; makes sense.

Wny no 19? That too is self-evident. One can't roll above 18 with 3d6 :lol:
True, but you can convert the %-roll to the corresponding number, so if a Fighter rolls 18 for Str. then rolls 45% (the next increment up), that converts their Str. to 19 (with Giants as 25+). By the same token, you can't roll less than 3, but a Half-Orc with natural Cha. 3 goes to 1, if memory serves.

Was it for this reason %-ile increments were only given to Cavaliers, rather than introduced for all classes? The idea obviously caught on; stats slowly improving by level is now built in to the 3e core rules, though as a straight +1 to one stat every 4 levels.

Thanks again!
Lanefan
 

Gray Mouser

First Post
Hell Hounds and Rings of Fire Resistance

Colonel,

I was recently perusing the description of the Ring of Fire Resistance in the DMG and noticed this sentence:

Very large and hot fires, molten lava, demon immolation, hell hound breath, or a wall of fire spell will cause 10 hit points of damage per round (1 per segment) if the wearer is directly within such conflagration. DMG, p. 130, emphasis added.

A check of the MM reveals, however, that Hell Hounds only do 1 hit point of damage per hit die with their breath weapon, i.e., 4-7 hp's of damage per breath attack (1/2 if saved), depending on the hit die of the Hell Hound in question.

My question is: Which text takes precedence? If the MM is correct should Hell Hound breath be treated at red dragon breath, pryohydra breath, fire balls, etc (i.e., +4 to save and all damage done is -2 on each die roll)? This seems logical except that Hell Hound breath damage isn't generated with die rolls. Perhaps simply giving the +4 to save and damage from 2-5 points (depending on hit die)?

Thanks in advance.

Gray Mouser
 

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax
Lanefan said:
Of course; makes sense.

True, but you can convert the %-roll to the corresponding number, so if a Fighter rolls 18 for Str. then rolls 45% (the next increment up), that converts their Str. to 19 (with Giants as 25+). By the same token, you can't roll less than 3, but a Half-Orc with natural Cha. 3 goes to 1, if memory serves.

Was it for this reason %-ile increments were only given to Cavaliers, rather than introduced for all classes? The idea obviously caught on; stats slowly improving by level is now built in to the 3e core rules, though as a straight +1 to one stat every 4 levels.

Thanks again!
Lanefan
Note that a character with an 18 that receives racial bonuses does not go above the 18. It is easy to be a loser, but most difficult to be so far superior to all other humans in some regard.

All fighters and paladins got the d% bonus for Strength, not just calaviers.

Cheers,
Gary
 

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