Things you didn't know about D&D...

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Wow -- apparently Peasily is a wandering threadcromancer!

 

[Ulrick]

Try this

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0046/0046_01.asp

That link didn't work either sooo...

http://www.picdump.org/albums/stormbringer/0046_01.gif

 

[king_ghidorah]

Bugbears used to have pumpkin heads.

Sounds like Jack-o-Bears from Runequest. Which were, strangely enough, very dangerous bad guys.

 

[shady]

Originally posted by Piratecat:According to my Fiend Folio, the shadow demon was created by Neville White, who is also credited with having created the stunjelly and the qullan.

Johnathan

The Fiend Folio was I think based on the "Fiend Factory" series run in White Dwarf (when GW was a games importer). According to "Best of WD Articles 1" that was in turn based on a series called "Monsters Mild and Malign". It lists a top 10 set of monsters and their creators:

- Dahdi ("a mutant mummy that was turned out of the pyramid when it tried to wear the trousers and control the purse strings") - Mervyn Lemon
- the Needleman - Trevor Graver
- Hook Horror - Ian Livingstone (co-founder of GW and later CEO of Eidos, whence Lara Croft)
- Svart - Cricky Hitchcock
- Urchin - Nick Louth
- Russian Doll Monster - Mike Ferguson
- Githyanki - C Stross
- Necrophidius - Simon Tilbrook
- various imps - M Stolery
- Volt - Jonathan Jones

Necrophidius and Volt can now be found in Tome of Horrors
Githyanki in 3.5E MM1
Hook Horror is in MM2

 

[der_kluge]

Tasha's Hideous Laughter was named after a fan who wrote to Gary in crayon (I think) and had an idea for the basis of the spell.


The basis for the stinking cloud spell is supposed to be that of a skunk's scent.

 

[DaveStebbins]

This one is pretty well-known among Greyhawkers, but I like it anyway. The lilting name of the Drow city introduced in the D series is Erelhei-Cinlu. It was inspired by Gary's five children: ERnie, ELise, HEIdi, CINdy and LUke.

 

[grodog]

Gary and his group shamelessly stole from the names of people and places they knew for naming conventions all over the realms of Oerth. One of my favorite places is Allan Grohe's (grodog's) site ( http://www.rpg.net/ehp/imrryr/greyhawk.html ) which keeps a running chronicle of this stuff.

One the site DIDN'T chronicle is Boss Dahly, ruler of the city of Stoink in Cary's First Gord the Rogue novel. A direct "tribute" to Chicago's favorite "Boss."

Nice catch Henry, I'll add that in my next update

 

[grodog]

All the illustrations in the 1E PHB have titles. They appear in the French edition.

That's very interesting Zander, and I'd love to hear the titles

You should also submit that info to the Acaeum---I hadn't heard that before!

 

[grodog]

UNCONFIRMED: The Hero Builder's Guidebook suggests that Rary the Traitor's First name is "Medium". As In "Medium Rary" Any truth to that?

EGG has confirmed that in his various Q&A threads before: Rary was Brian Blume's PC, and that was in fact his name

 

[Steverooo]

The Origin(s) of the AD&D 1e Monk:

The AD&D 1e Monk, added to AD&D about the time it was being removed from D&D, was cobbled together out of a book (or a series of books). I can't recall the player or author, but the book/series was entitled The Destroyer.