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.

 

[mordelack]

As it is a game, I expect the agents to be rather of the super-spy sort. I did not see the new Casino Royale film, but as I know it was nothing at all like the book, and I am an Ian Fleming fan, I do not intend to see it.

Cheers,
Gary

Gary,

As you might remember I am a huge Fleming fan, and if it helps change your mind about seeing it, Casino Royale, in my opinion was the closest book adaptation in the series. While not perfect of course, at least it seems like they actually read the book this time before making the movie and didnt jsut read the title...
It was my favorite Bond movie ever, mainly because he was like the book bond, and wasnt SuperMan-Bond.

K.R.Bourgoine

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary,

As you might remember I am a huge Fleming fan, and if it helps change your mind about seeing it, Casino Royale, in my opinion was the closest book adaptation in the series. While not perfect of course, at least it seems like they actually read the book this time before making the movie and didnt jsut read the title...
It was my favorite Bond movie ever, mainly because he was like the book bond, and wasnt SuperMan-Bond.

K.R.Bourgoine

Oh sure...

As if I would trust your take on the matter


Gary

 

[John Drake]

Howdy Gary
Now, not that you would trust my opinion either but he has a very good point. Aside from the story being modernized (as the book was written in '52 iirc) and a few shifts in plot and character (Felix Leiter is black, M is a woman etc...) it is about as close an adaptation as From Russia, With Love or On Her Majesty's Secret Service was (very underated imho).
But speaking of spies and such, did you ever get to try your hand at the Victory Games RPG James Bond 007 ? Quite good imho, but not as "specific" shall we say, as Top Secret, the original. Sorry if this was already asked btw,thanks Gary!

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Howdy Gary
Now, not that you would trust my opinion either but he has a very good point. Aside from the story being modernized (as the book was written in '52 iirc) and a few shifts in plot and character (Felix Leiter is black, M is a woman etc...) it is about as close an adaptation as From Russia, With Love or On Her Majesty's Secret Service was (very underated imho).
But speaking of spies and such, did you ever get to try your hand at the Victory Games RPG James Bond 007 ? Quite good imho, but not as "specific" shall we say, as Top Secret, the original. Sorry if this was already asked btw,thanks Gary!

Felix Leiter black and M a female...and it is a close adaptation of Fleming's work
that's almost as aggregious as having a brown-haired, brown-eyed actor with an austrian accent play Conan

No, I never did play the James Bond 007 RPG. No pne O know was Gming it, so... I did my best to get the Blumes to support the Top Secret game with GM information material and more modules, works that lasted longer than a couple of sessions, but alas to no avail. I even had plans for European train cars for an Orient Express adventure. They are stuck away in a file somewhere.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[John Drake]

Felix Leiter black and M a female...and it is a close adaptation of Fleming's work
that's almost as aggregious as having a brown-haired, brown-eyed actor with an austrian accent play Conan

Yeah, I know I don't get why they just can't cast a Texan either, with a hook. Guess they gotta get the kids to see it ! (although you think A hook handed Texan would bring 'em in.....just Johnny Depp maybe?)
Daniel Craig's hair will bug you in that instance as well (that's my main gripe). But they still play the parts well and the story is top notch, very close to the source material.
The Conan thing I could not agree with you more on though, even though I enjoyed that film too (although I must say it has been years since I viewed it). They didn't make him talk a lot either in the film iirc. Very different than the books there as well. Thanks again Gary!

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Such illustrations are in the same vein as Li'l Abner in the newspapers, what graced the covers and interiors of the old pulp magazines I loved so well, Virgil Finlay's wonderful art especually, not to mention the EC comics line and Wallace Wood's illustrations, the Frazetta and Hildebrant covers. All part of action-adventue fandom I should suppose

Cheerio,
Gary

Virgil Finlay...ah, that shows good taste. Any opinion on Kelly Freas? I recall that you were reading the recent collections of Robert Howard's "Conan" stories; how have you liked the illos in those? The similar collections of Howard's "Kull," "Solomon Kane," and "Bran Mak Morn" have also been profusely illustrated. My favorite of these are the Kull book, illustrated by Justin Sweet. Sweet's art, in my opinion, does for Kull what Frazetta did for Conan - it perfectly captures the mood and feel of Kull's milieu, which is distinct from that of Conan.

 

[Quasqueton]

Gary,

Did you have an explanation (open or secret) in your campaigns for the existance of so many magic items in the game? Were they being continuously created by NPC mages, or were they ancient artifacts from prodigious eras, or something else?

Did you consider magic items rare and wondrous treasures, or fun and exciting tools for the PCs in the game? How did the Players in your campaigns treat magic items: amazing finds that filled them with awe, or standard articles with useful abilities, or something else?

Quasqueton

 

[Geoffrey]

Both New Sun and Viriconium describe very old Earth. They are essentially without magic - at least of the usual sort. There is a lot of very unusual magic, however. Usual people live on medieval level, but noblemen and adventurers can use plasma pistols, antigrav ships, energy swords, and exoskeletons.

As for monsters - on Urth of the New Sun cycle the typical animals are smilodons, arcotheriums etc. White wolves are rumoured to live in the walls of the invisible palace of the Autarch. Demented star-sailor uses teleporting mirrors to summon deadly and strange beings from far suns in order to kill his enemies. The alzabo devours the memories of its victims and speaks with their voices. The whole of Commonwealth is ruled by secret words and spells, which allow to direct the old forgotten machines and the servants of the Autarch. In the seas live the gigantic demons brought from stars. Their servants can become immortals, but must grow so great that they cannot walk upon the earth and must join their masters in the sea. In the Botanic Gardens of the Autarch all his subjects can for free see the enviroments from the oldest antiquity - and even meet denizens of that time, since the Gardens spread through time. Some of the soldiers of the Autarch are gen-engineered - eg dog-like faithful pandurs and winged anpiels.

All resources have been exhausted long ago, and now the mines serve to excavate the artifacts of antiquity.

Wow. That sounds very good.

 

[Geoffrey]

Here are the RPGs I am or will soon GM:
Lejendary Adventure
Lejendary AsteRogues (coming out late this year, I hope)
OD&D
OAD&D

Two questions, Gary:

1. Do you ever play Dangerous Journeys anymore?

2. What is your favorite Bond film? (Mine is From Russian with Love)

 

[Mythmere1]

My two cents on the New Earth, coming from the perspective of the Vance fan. It ain't Vance. It's got vivid writing and an eerily creepy Sword and Sorcery setting. It's not the modern pap. But it lacks the salt-dryness of Vance's wit. I can see why Vance is a good comparison, but it's worth knowing where the comparison lies. The scenery is similar, the society is nicely alien, and the writing is excellent. But it doesn't have the whirling command of words or the sardonic eye that Vance brings to a tale.

EDIT: not trying to say one is better than the other (though I personally prefer Vance), just trying to clarify why and to what degree it's similar to Vance. Vance wrote two novels relatively recently: Ports of Call and Lurulu. They're not the top of his form, but they are a good read.

I'd suggest Araminta Station, Throy, and the other book in that series (forget name). All by Vance. A bit complex in terms of some family relations, but a rollicking picaresque series of novels in the classic Vance style. You can't go wrong.