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.

 

[Bog97th]

Wish you where still in charge

Old school gamer her gary...I wish to express my anger over the canelations of bot h Dragon and Dungeon. I have posted my thoughts on many forms over the last few days and have written Hasbro and Pazio about this issue. Hope with some pressure they might change there minds. I don't think we have a chance at it but it's gotta be worth a try.

On the other side of the coin I wish to express my grattiude to you for helping start the most amazing gme I have ever played and will play.

Many a day has been put into creation of dungeons and the like. And many a ferious pizza has died by my 5" butter blade of death. And man I could have bought "Coke" for how much I bought of the little tiny cans of healing potion

I live and love the game I found back in 1981 and will continue to play it the way I envision it no matter what screwy crap Hasbro does to the retail side of the hobby.

Thank you again wise mage and may your Dragon live forever!

ps. some day I'd like to shake your hand. Let us know the next time you do an apperance in Chicago, I love that town! I live in Northern Michigan and I'm willing to travel there any time

 

[Col_Pladoh]

I think Mr. Fisher was asking about the World of Greyhawk boxed set.

One would think that the boxed set could remain in print as a "bare-bones" guide to the campaign, then additional detail added through campaign gazetteers or through adventure modules.

You are most likely correct, but what I said applies to the WoG as well as to the game per se. In truth I had plans to create material detailing the various states and major terrain features of the world setting, as well as completing the world with a second boxed set.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Urizen]

No problem!

I would indeed have kept a boxed intriductory set of the D&D game in print...just as the publishers of Monopoly have kept that game on the shelves. Also I would have consolidated the remainder of the D&D game into a large book as was done by TSR after I left.

As for AD&D, I planned to revise it and add skills. (See the C&C game for how I would have handled that.) Later editions would contain few changes--mainly corrections and minor additions to existing material.

Cheers,
Gary

Hiya Gary.

First, I just want to say thank you for bringing Dungeons and Dragons to the world. Your game has brought me so much enjoyment over the years. Honestly, the game has had such an impact on me that I don't know what my life would be like without it!

Have you seen the OSRIC system? This might strike you as silly, but, you mention things you would have done for AD&D, which makes me wonder if you had considered possibly doing a revamped version using the OSRIC game set?

OSRIC - for all intents and purposes - is the first edition of Dungeons and Dragons.

I for one would love to see what you would have done if you had gone forward with the revision.

 

[SuStel]

I think that's something that hurts D&D in the long run: Not having a single boxed set that is essentially unchanged from decade to decade (just like Monopoly).

Has hurt. Has killed. The damage was done a long time ago.

As I see it, TSR's original plan (and much superior) was to produce games, not just to produce D&D. When you need to put out new product, you put out new games, not new revisions of the same game, and not endless supplemental materials for the same game.

Imagine if a company tried to be successful by selling nothing but Scrabble. Once everybody buys a copy, what else can you do to make money? Put out revised sets, put out expansions and aids... things nobody really needs to play Scrabble. This is what happened to TSR under You-Know-Who, and it's what's happening to Wizards of the Coast now.

Having such a set, of course, would not preclude all kinds of additional D&D products for hard-core gamers.

Hard-core game buyers, you mean. There are plenty of hard-core gamers who buy one game and play it.

 

[Shadeydm]

In truth I had plans to create material detailing the various states and major terrain features of the world setting, as well as completing the world with a second boxed set.

Cheers,
Gary

Wow, I wish it had come to pass!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Colonel,

I know you're not a big fan of JRRT, but I do have to recommend The Children of Hurin. Only 259 pages, and that includes the preface and introduction. It seems to me to be Tolkien's take on Greek tragedy set in a fantasy milieu. Without dropping any spoilers I have to just say that I got the last 1/3 (or so) of the book and thought, "OMG, no way!" Had to go back and reread a bit just to make sure I was following what was going on correctly

BTW, the book also fetures a damn cool talking sword. I'd have to think JRRT was a bit influenced by Michael Moorecock in this area if the story hadn't been written some time before the appearance of Stormbringer

As for your other comments, I have to completely argee with the necessity of rereading Jack Vance on a fairly regular basis. Rarely have I read an author whose prose I enjoyed so much. I also hope that the outline of the new Gord novel progresses apace. And don't forget to put in the appearance of Mordenkainen and Bigby! (Heh, I know, I know...)

Gray Mouser

when i am out of reading material that I am excited about likely I will picj up The Children of Hurin. After all, I did really enjoy reading The Hobbit. Perhaps the "singing Sword" wielded by Prince Valiant was a source of inspiration for JRRT. Anyway, IIRR there are some talking swords in fairy tales. It has been decades since I read those of Andrew Lang where I think they appear.

As for Vance, how thoroughly I agree. His prose is so exceptional that reading it is a sheer joy. I recall how I lingered over Night Lamp, wishing it were 400 or more pages in length.

Because i have had too much other stuff to do today, I have made no further progress on the detailed outline for the new Gord novel, still only nine chapters set forth. I'll add one or two more today yet...with luck.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

I think that's something that hurts D&D in the long run: Not having a single boxed set that is essentially unchanged from decade to decade (just like Monopoly). Having such a set, of course, would not preclude all kinds of additional D&D products for hard-core gamers. But only a small fraction of people want to essentially game full-time. But lots of people are amenable to an occasional 2-hour D&D game. That sort of casual gaming would be best served by a static boxed set with a short rulebook (say, 64 pages) that stays the same except to fix typos. That way people would always know how to play rather than having to digest 1,000-page "core" rules that change all the time.

Just so!

I urged Peter Adkison to reprint the D&D line, revise OAD&D a bit, and then produce a super new D&D line. Ah well...

Cheers,
Gary

 

[T. Foster]

Hi Gary,

There are a handful of references in your later-era AD&D writing to space travel -- in the description of Celestian in the WoG, in some notes in Dragon articles, and perhaps a reference or two in spell or item descriptions in UA -- that were never developed and I'm curious what you envisioned this aspect of the game being like. How, for instance, would the play-experience of traveling to different planets have differed from traveling to different planes? How would you have avoided a 'sci-fi' feeling (or is that something you would have embraced)? Was this notion inspired by Jack Vance's story "Morreion" (the same story that gave us IOUN stones)? How close would a Gygax "D&D in space" supplement have looked to TSR's "Spelljammer" ?

 

[Mr Vergee]

Donaldson I gave up on after about 50 pages.

Funny, I did the same when I first wanted to read the book. Then I gave it another go. Suffice to say that I was happy I did.

 

[Henry]

...In truth I had plans to create material detailing the various states and major terrain features of the world setting, as well as completing the world with a second boxed set.

You know, with as many people having advanced science by leaps and bounds because of the inspirations of Star Trek, I wonder if we ever see the discovery of Parallel Universe Gateways in our lifetime because some gamer physicist wanted the GARY GYGAX WORLD OF OERTH boxed set...