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.

 

[Hypersmurf]

All the Trolls, and I as well, regret the loss of the old paperback even as we welcome with enthusiasm the prospect of its replacement with the new, author (slightly) revised, hardcover edition

Caldwell cover?

-Hyp.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Caldwell cover?

-Hyp.

Nope!

That's the copyright of either WotC or Clyde's estate. The trolls are having a new one done even as I write this.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[haakon1]

Whatever...

The original presentation of Hardby is found only in the original World of Greyhawk products

Cheers,
Gary

True. Having actually looked in the original sources now (well, the 1983 box set anyhow), I'd correct my original advice to look under Greyhawk City and the Wild Coast to find info on Hardby by adding that one should also look up Woolly Bay.

I think I've found all the references to Hardby . . . If you'll indulge me in quoting it, I think it's a good illustration of how "real" Greyhawk was written, for those who may not have seen your true version, only later pale copies. Note, gentle readers, how it hints at its depth without telling you everything, and of how it's written as an in-world geography lesson rather than being too gamerish.

.............................................

Woolly Bay: The wag who named this terminus of the Sea of Gearnat and made it stick is lost to history, but the appellation is not inappropriate. The small cogs which move up and down the Wild Coast are as often pirate as merchant. Considerable traffic moves through the area, from the west and from Greyhawk. Shipping rounds the Pomarj or Onnwal to and from the Sea of Gearnat, going east or west to or from Woolly Bay. Elredd, Fax, Safeton, and Hardby are all port towns, and most vessels can negotiate the Selitan to Greyhawk City, and the lighter craft can venture all the way to the Nyr Dyv beyond. Some unscrupulous captains still put in at the humanoid-controlled town of Highport to trade.

Greyhawk, Free City of (just the Hardby-related bits):
. . . This petty noble soon became quite rich and powerful and assumed the title Landgraf of Selintan. Greyhawk and the power of the new Landgraf grew rapidly thereafter, and his son and heir, Ganz, was wed to the daughter of the Gynarch (Despotrix) of Hardby, a sorceress of no small repute. Their descendents ruled a growing domain which rose to considerable heights c. 375 CY under the rule of Zagig Yragerne (the so-called Mad Archmage). It was Zagig who built the sprawling Castle Greyhawk (now a ruin) . . . In 498 CY it was declared a free and independent city, ruling a territory from Hardby on the Woolly Bay to the Nyr Dyv, between the eastern folds of the Cairn Hills and the Gnarley Forest, including much of what is now considered the northern Wild Coast region. These holdings have been lost over the intervening decades . . . The Despotrix of Hardby now pays tribute to Greyhawk to avoid being absorbed into the growing city state once again.

Wild Coast:
The western shores of the Sea of Gearnat have long been called the Wild Coast, for the region has been a haven for malcontents, dissidents, demi-humans, humanoids, and outcasts from other states. It is a fair but not particularly fertile area -- rolling countrside interspersed with woodlands, fens, and scattered clusters of dwellings. Parts of the Gnarley Forest, all of the Welkwood east of the Jewel River, and Suss Forest are considered as being in this region. The Wild Coast remains a free territory comprised of petty nobles, robber barons, guildheld towns, fishing and forest villages, freebooters, mercenaries, and displaced persons of all sorts. This is due to the remote and isolated position it holds, its lack of resources, and the fact that it has never been a desirable position strategically. Portions of the area have been under the control of Celene, the Prince of Ulek, the Gynarch of Hardby, and the Free City of Greyhawk at various times. The inhabitants, being of a mind otherwise, have always managed to regain their freedom.

 

[haakon1]

It is over the top to actually place careless and unthinking PCs into situations where they will probably (GASP!) lose levels ot their very game life. Modules that suggest that careful consideration needs be used at certain critical junctures are "old school," and any DM that dares to create such hazards on his own is obviously unenlightened and cruel, a killer DM...as if the brain cells of those that find challenges in play unacceptable were not already resting in peace

Old school adventures were stressful. I remember wishing mostly just to make it out alive from places like the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Why there were some scenes that seemed most pointy, zappy, and/or likely to turn everyone into permanent dungeon-dressing.

Luckily, OSHA has now arrived in the adventuring workplace.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

I think I've found all the references to Hardby . . . If you'll indulge me in quoting it, ...

Well done!

I do believe that you found all the references to Hardby.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Old school adventures were stressful. I remember wishing mostly just to make it out alive from places like the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Why there were some scenes that seemed most pointy, zappy, and/or likely to turn everyone into permanent dungeon-dressing.

Luckily, OSHA has now arrived in the adventuring workplace.

Wait until those panty-waist OSHA twits attempt to make my dungeons a safe adventuring environment. None will emerge whole of body and sound of mind!

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[tylerthehobo]

The reason was that the characters and dialog were not sufficiently "Gord-Like." That means that the tale needs a revision as to the key problem, how a new character is presented, and some punching-up of the dialog. Perhaps then it will get a nod from the Kindly Editor...

Cheers,
Gary

Well, I know a lot of us are looking forward to more Gord. Good luck with it, Gary. I hope we see more Gord not just in novel form but also shorter pieces in Dragon and such.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Well, I know a lot of us are looking forward to more Gord. Good luck with it, Gary. I hope we see more Gord not just in novel form but also shorter pieces in Dragon and such.

Kerry B and I are now exchanging email messages in regards a revision of the completed story and a springboard for a new yarn. A full novel about Gord is a poser, for his life is pretty well covered in the seven existing books. Perhaps a grand adventure by young Gord--that is in his late teens or early 20s--might be possible. Otherwise, a post-destruction epic can be done, one where a parallel Oerth exists, but that might infringe on WotC copyrights of the WoG setting.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[SuStel]

Wait until those panty-waist OSHA twits attempt to make my dungeons a safe adventuring environment. None will emerge whole of body and sound of mind!

That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "dungeon clean-up crew!"

Actually, this doesn't sound like a bad premise for a game...

 

[Col_Pladoh]

That gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "dungeon clean-up crew!"

Actually, this doesn't sound like a bad premise for a game...

My PCs and their companions are always seeking to clean subterranean places...of valuables as well as those creatures that think to guard them

Cheers,
Gary