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]

Howdy Bog97th,

Do not blame Piazo for the cancellation of the two zines. Lisa Stevens has stated clearly that Piazo was eager to keep on publishing both of them.

If ever you wish to play a vital game that is in the same vein as OAD&D, have a look at the C&C RPG from Troll Lord Games. OTOH, if you are interested in exploring new approaches to S&S gaming, have a look at my Lejendary Adventure system. It is rules light, skill-bundle-based, has retained archetypes even with skills as the basis for character creation, is easy to learn despite being totally different from class-based FRPGs, and is fun to GM and to play. It too is being published primarily by the Trolls.

I don't travel much anymore, but there is the upcoming 3rd Lake Geneva Gaming convention here in mid-June, and we are only 70 miles northwest of Chicago. Also, i will be at GenCon this year.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

likely Troll Lord Games as they are reprinting the other seven gord books in hardbound editions--we should have it done by the end of this year.

Cheerio,
Gary

All 7 in hardback? WOOT!!!!!!

 

[Mark CMG]

Also, i will be at GenCon this year.

Cheers,
Gary

Huzzah!

 

[Mark CMG]

Poppa G,

What is your first "gaming" memory (beyond pretend games as a kid), be it wargaming, minatures wargaming, etc.? I'd love to read some details on how that went. And if you have the time, could you tell of some highlights from the old Chainmail days? One of my first gaming loves beyond AH board games was pushing the painted lead around (on big felt sheets with model railroad trees and lichen and foam hills and mountains) with some friends in the early seventies.

Thanks!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

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" ?

Short answer:

The main moon of Oerth was a viable sphere, although none of my players ever made it there. Mars and Venus were likewise habitable ala ERB. Getting to those places was via portal or special spells that I never did manage to ger around to detailing.

For real space travel i intended to do a Science Fantasy genre spinoff of AD&D, absolutely nothing similar to Spelljammer.

When I designed the DJ system, and later the LA game, I made certain to have the mechanics such as to be compatable with genre additions to the fantasy one. We are about to finish the Lejendary AsteRogues Fantastical Science rules later this year. Avatars from different genres can indeed become at home in new settings.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

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.

Trusted confederates have assured me that my decision was a wise one, as I very mych dislike downers

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

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...

It is nearly astonishing to me that science now recognizes that parallel universes are likely to exist

Gygax's Paradox:

Given infinite time and space, everything that can happen has, is happening, or will happen. Thus there will be a universe of nothing but solid matter, and one in which there is nothing whatsoever. As a universe of nothing is nothing, it can not exist. So everything that can happen can not happen.


Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Poppa G,

What is your first "gaming" memory (beyond pretend games as a kid), be it wargaming, minatures wargaming, etc.? I'd love to read some details on how that went. And if you have the time, could you tell of some highlights from the old Chainmail days? One of my first gaming loves beyond AH board games was pushing the painted lead around (on big felt sheets with model railroad trees and lichen and foam hills and mountains) with some friends in the early seventies.

Thanks!

Playing pinochle at age five, taking over for my mother when she was called away from the card table, and actually taking suifficient tricks to win the bid she had made. then at age six i saw my older brother playing chess with men consisting of checkers with white tape on them naming each pawn and piece. I watched him and his pal play, learned the game thus, and played badly for yeard thereafter.

I am way too busy to relate much more about gaming. However, Terry Kuntz was really angry with me when we build point armies to fight it out...and mine consisred of a wizard, four armored footmen with halberds to guard him, and a superhero with magic armor and sword. When Terry would surround that fighter with his minions, my wizard would toss a fireball on top of him, the save needed for a magically armored superhero being pretty easy to make.

Chess was my main game untill I discovered Shogo. AH boardgames were my passion for many a year--1958 - 1965. Then miniatures sort of took over. Other than that we played on a sandtable most of the time, the accoutrements we used for the tabletop were tose you mention.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[howandwhy99]

Gygax's Paradox:

Given infinite time and space, everything that can happen has, is happening, or will happen. Thus there will be a universe of nothing but solid matter, and one in which there is nothing whatsoever. As a universe of nothing is nothing, it can not exist. So everything that can happen can not happen.

Gygax's Parallax:

"Knowing that, even with infinite measurement and timeless observation, the true arrangement of the cosmos originates and aligns with all things D&D. There are inner and outer planes, 9 hells, 7 heavens, 666 layers of the abyss, elemental planes of air, earth, fire, and water, and, on days when his memory holds, quasi-elemental planes."

 

[Naidim]

Trusted confederates have assured me that my decision was a wise one, as I very mych dislike downers

Cheerio,
Gary

Indeed, there is no happy ending for Thomas Covenant, which for me is one of the reasons I like it (and hate most movies to come out of Hollywood these days). Conquest is not always successful; endings, even when successful, are not always happy; and happiness is all about your point of view.

The stories made for enjoyable, unpredictable, reading.

I'd be so humble as to suggest "Daughter of Regals and Other Tales" first, and if you enjoy them, give chronicles another chance.

As to parallel worlds, Zelazny had it right with Amber long ago.