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]

If you give the inch, they'll take the mile.

When I last lived in the UK, it seemed the old systems of measurement were still used for:
-- fevers in F degrees (but weather in C degrees)
-- beer in pints
-- car speed in mph, highway distances in miles and yards
The important stuff changes last, it would seem.

I remember having a very confusing conversation with a supermarket butcher when I asked him for a pound of ground beef. He wanted to know if that was money or weight, and when I said weight, made me do the translation, because his scale wouldn't do it. In the local butcher shop, though, they didn't have to ask any questions.

Degrees F. being smaller than those C. are more understandable for weather temperature as well as for body temperature I am sure.

Beer in pints and half-pints, no?

An Imperial gallon is larger than out 64-ounce one, but I have forgotten how much larger it is.

The road distances under a mile or fraction thereof here are given in feet, not yards, such as, "Stop 500 feet ahead."

It seems a shame that a furrow's length is recognized only at horse racing tracks these days. Of course it is 220 yards, a bowshot long.

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[Col_Pladoh]

same thing for the pumpkin bugbears, right?

Yuppers. It must go to show that I am a slow learner

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Prince of Happiness]

dont know if this is right, but, from wikipedia:

A koku (石, koku?) is a unit of volume in Japan, equal to ten cubic shaku. In this definition, 3.5937 koku equal one cubic metre, or 1 koku is approximately 278.3 litres. The koku was originally defined as quantity of rice, historically defined as enough rice to feed one person for one year (one masu is enough rice to feed a person for one day). A koku of rice weighs about 150 kilograms (23.6 stone or 330 pounds).

Excellent, thank you! I have a 50 lb. sack that I'm tearing through right now, so 330 lbs. That is my goal for the year: 330 lbs of rice.

 

[SuStel]

Degrees F. being smaller than those C. are more understandable for weather temperature as well as for body temperature I am sure.

[...]

It seems a shame that a furrow's length is recognized only at horse racing tracks these days. Of course it is 220 yards, a bowshot long.

The metric system is good for doing arithmetic. The traditional system is good for actually measuring things.

• 1 mile = 1 "see": the maximum distance you can see man-sized detail
• 1 league = typical distance you can walk in one hour
• 0°F = as low as the temperature typically gets in a temperate climate
• 100°F = as high as the temperature typically gets in a temperate climate
• 1 fathom = distance between fingertips with outstretched arms
• 1 inch = width of a man's thumb
• 1 foot = length of a man's foot
• 1 furlong = length of a ploughed field (furh-lang "furrow-long")
• 1 yard: I've heard it said that this was the length of a man's belt.

The old-style measurements are therefore much more natural than metric.

 

[jolt]

Burlappen, see my comments to Jolt above.

If anyone supposes I am going to creatively contribute to the IP of WotC gratis, they are sadly mistaken.


Gary

Nor should you. I sincerely apologize if my post/questions gave that impression even the slightest bit. That wasn't my intention at all.

jolt

 

[Burlappen]

Burlappen, see my comments to Jolt above.

If anyone supposes I am going to creatively contribute to the IP of WotC gratis, they are sadly mistaken.


Gary

Wow. And here were thinking you were the original creator being silenced by IP and legal issues being held over your head buy guys in suits. Nah. You're just vindictive. I love it. My respect for you has shot up through the roof! That's just great.

So let's talk product then:

Aerth = Epic of Aerth book
Learth = Chronicles of the Lejendary Gazeteer

Any other stuff I should add to my shopping list?

 

[Geoffrey]

My favorite measurement is the cubit (and no, I'm not joking). A cubit is the length from your elbow to the tip of your middle finger (so everyone's cubit is somewhat different). But it is very easy to measure cubits as long as you have at least one arm.

 

[Geoffrey]

Aerth = Epic of Aerth book
Learth = Chronicles of the Lejendary Gazeteer

Any other stuff I should add to my shopping list?

I haven't bought Learth yet (though I'm going to), but let me say that the Aerth book is one of the all-time masterpieces of FRPG products. It is a fantasy version of Earth, so ANYTHING you read in mythology, legendry, or weird stories has an instant place in Aerth.

 

[Geoffrey]

Gary, I'm sorry for this question. Please don't hesitate to throw up your hands, say that you can't possibly remember, and have a good laugh.

The FOREWORD of the Fiend Folio states that the book was completed in August 1979--just a few months after you finished the Dungeon Masters Guide. Yet the Fiend Folio's publication was delayed until 1981.

Now here's my question: Since the Fiend Folio was finished in 1979, how is it that there are a number of pieces of art in it dated by the artists as 1981? And all of these late-dated pieces are by artists from the U. S. (such as Erol Otus and Bill Willingham). During the two-year delay, did you and/or others decide, "Well, since this thing is delayed anyway, we might as well add more art to the book in the meantime"?

 

[haakon1]

Beer in pints and half-pints, no?

Technically, half-pints are available, but only foreigners and the occasional girl order them, in my experience.

An Imperial gallon is larger than out 64-ounce one, but I have forgotten how much larger it is.

Imperial pints are bigger too -- I believe 19.3 ounces, by the American sizing on a standard-sized bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale. I think the deal is 16 oz = 1 pint, 2 pint = 1 1 quart, 4 quarts = 1 gallon = 128 oz., just like ours, but the oz. themselves are slightly bigger.

I'm not sure about furlongs (sp?), but I do like knowing 640 acres = 1 sq. mile. If only I knew how many acres to grow a kuko of oats, I'd be all set.