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]

Gary,

When you are preparing a town for your own refereeing (as opposed to preparing one for publication), how do you organize your notes? I've seen a number of techniques, including detailing individual buildings, detailing sections or neighborhoods of the town as if they were dungeon rooms, and just creating encounters to throw in as the referee decides.

A sketch map of the community, a few places of interested highlighted in color, and then wing it. As the PCs develop something interesting by interacting with what I present that becomes a fixture in the town. This might be a particular street thief, a tavern, a stable with a shifty owner, whatever...

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[haakon1]

Halflings

I think of halflings as being a special ancient crossbreed of elves and dwarves. Special because in "modern" times, those two races cannot breed (and FYI IMC, though elves and humans can, and orcs and humans can, elves and orcs cannot). Tallfellows have more elvish blood, Stouts more dwarvish.

Gnomes, goblinoids (goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears), and ogres don't breed at all with the others, IMC, being completely different genuses.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Why not?

All of that is the purview of the Game Master in any campaign world.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[SuStel]

All of that is the purview of the Game Master in any campaign world.

Furthermore, one hopes the breeding details do not escape the Game Master's head...

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Furthermore, one hopes the breeding details do not escape the Game Master's head...

Can't be much different from what every farmboy knows at about age six

Cheerio,
Gary

 

[triplehex]

Music

Gary,

Our group often uses music in conjunction with our games, to suggest atmosphere or theme, or to highlight a dramatic turn in the action. Did you and your players listen to music when gaming in the early days of D&D, and if so, what were some favorites?

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Gary,

Our group often uses music in conjunction with our games, to suggest atmosphere or theme, or to highlight a dramatic turn in the action. Did you and your players listen to music when gaming in the early days of D&D, and if so, what were some favorites?

Actually it was all I could manage to keep the players from constantly chattering. Adding music to the commotion would have made DMing impossible. All of my groups have enjoyed a lot of socialization during play.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Nagora]

Hi, Gary,
Just got the East Mark and Yggsburgh sets. Very nicely done (and thank the Troll Lords for printing black text on white paper - something that's been going out of style in RPGs for the last decade or so); good to see a Darlene map again too.

I have one question at the moment: on pages 18-19 of the Yggsburg book the mayor's salary is listed as 15,000 plus a 10% share of civic profit whereas the councilors' income is listed as 240,000 and a 5% share. Is that really correct or has a zero wandered into the councilors' pay or out of the mayor's?

 

[ghul]

Hi Nagora,

I can help with this one, even though I'm not Gary. When Gary laid out the income and goods/service price lists in the Yggsburgh book, he did so using $ amounts that were supposed to be translated to gold piece equivalents. The editor made a few mistakes along the way, but we are presently addressing this in the Yggsburgh Town Expansion modules (Moat Gate and Town Halls District presently available). This includes revised price lists in the shops as well, should the GM wish to adopt Gary's suggested system in which the exchange rate is such: 1 gp = 50 sp = 500 cp.

Anyway, the mayor was presented by Gary as earning $300,000 per year, and each Council member earning $240,000. So, as you note, the editor did not exchange the $ amount for the gp amount.

 

[Nagora]

Hi Nagora,

I can help with this one, even though I'm not Gary. When Gary laid out the income and goods/service price lists in the Yggsburgh book, he did so using $ amounts that were supposed to be translated to gold piece equivalents. The editor made a few mistakes along the way, but we are presently addressing this in the Yggsburgh Town Expansion modules (Moat Gate and Town Halls District presently available). This includes revised price lists in the shops as well, should the GM wish to adopt Gary's suggested system in which the exchange rate is such: 1 gp = 50 sp = 500 cp.

Anyway, the mayor was presented by Gary as earning $300,000 per year, and each Council member earning $240,000. So, as you note, the editor did not exchange the $ amount for the gp amount.

Thanks for that; I had wondered about the gp:sp:cp ratio too but was going to use 1gp=20sp as per AD&D. 1:50 is fine too.

So: the Mayor's salary is correct and the councillors' should be 12,000, yes?