So who's played with Gygax as DM?

I've played with Gary on several occasions, most notably on his porch in his weekly Lejendary Adventures campaign in Lake Geneva. Hoo-boy, I really miss that game!

I've also played Original D&D with him at a convention, exploring a level of Castle Greyhawk (we all got et by ghouls!), and LA another time, exploring the Hall of Many Planes.

As mentioned, Gary is laid-back, easy-going, and extremely personable, whether in the short convention game mode or in long-term campaign mode. He rarely references books, unless it is a book he is currently working on, and even then he checks his manuscript only rarely. At least in the campaign I was in he was fairly easy-going about foodstuffs and minor common items, but then we were in Ludnum for pretty much the entire campaign (this was when he was working on The Canting Crew), so such common items were of little concern in general, save when we were declaring loot we were taking and keeping track of same.

Dice are always rolled in the open, for better and for worse. He's ultimately fair in all cases, though often likes to work up "creative" interpretations when things are close.

Rules, whatever the system, are always "Gary's Rules." The DM is always right, though he can be convinced at times with logical arguments.

Role-playing was encouraged, though not mandated in an overarching manner; to each his abilities and desires thereto, it seemed was the philosophy.

Altogether, if you ever get the opportunity to play with Gary as your DM (or LM, or CK), by all means do so! It's an experience you will remember fondly, always... even if you die horribly! :)
 

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I had a chance to play in Gary's Exalted campaign last summer that he based off of the first season of the Avatar anime. My grasp of the Exalted rules was pretty weak, but he was always great about showing me the system. I was running a Solar with maxed out Earth Discipline (an Earth Bender, if you've ever seen the show). I bought the farm when a frackin' goblin terrorist set off a nuke. Killed the entire party except for my friend Dan, who rolled a 00 on Gary's Radiation Mutation Table (seriously: the only time I've seen that roll happen in real life - it was right out in the open). Anyway, he got a bunch of super powers like Teleportation and Telekinisis (iron only) while the rest of us were reduced to black splotches on the dungeon walls.
 

OK, I'm full o' the crap. I've never had the pleasure of playing with Gary, Wolfgang, Monty, or any other TSR/WotC luminary. I think it's cool that you guys got a chance to game with someone that's been responsible for so many countless hours of entertainment in our lives. I'm not sure I'd actually want to game with Gary Gygax (as I'm not sure his game style is what I'm looking for in a game), but I'd certainly like to shake his hand and give him a heart-felt "Thanks". :D

~Qualidar~
 

I've unfortunately not had the chance to game with Gary...yet.

One thing I suspect based on the stories I've heard, however, is that the way he runs a game at a con isn't necessarily representative of how he runs his regular weekly game.

(Which is probably true of many a DM.)
 


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