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

[Tav_Behemoth]

The "C Stross" who invented the githyanki and githzerai is Charlie Stross, science fiction writer and author of Singularity Sky and The Atrocity Archives.

That is the single coolest thing I've heard all day! Stross is one of the greatest new talents to hit SF in years -- who would have thought he also came up with an iconic D&D monster (kinda SFnal now that I think of it -- all those planar-travelling ships...)

 

[rounser]

Hey I never knew those guys got any lovin'!

I always pronounced them cwullan with a short u and long a. Does that help?

Cheers!

Yup, no worries. Rolls off the tongue. Even the spelling and pronounciation are a bit chaotic!

Don't know if you've noticed, but they've found a new home in Greyhawk's Blackmoor as minions of the Egg of Coot:
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~monax002/Council/OJ5/blackmoor.html

I think the glove fits well.

Come to think of it, there's not nearly enough Chaos (with a capital "C") in D&D these days. I think that was more Warhammer's bag, although even that seemed to treat it as a synonym for "destructive and corruptive evil"...chaos warriors, chaos sorcerors and chaos demons seemed to boil down to evil with an emphasis on corruption and taint. But a world where Law versus Chaos is emphasised far more than Good versus Evil is a refreshing concept, if a bit difficult to pull off (it's difficult to see entropy as anything but destructive to society, which is based on organisation, and difficult for me to envision believable, functioning society split along the law/chaos axis rather than the evil/good one).

At least the qullan are true chaotics. Elves, for instance, usually seem to be played as far too organised and civilised to deserve the title (even the drow).

 

[Algolei]

I think the television programme University Challenge has emerged in a number of countries but, if you don't know it, it's a knowledge quiz for teams representing individual universities.

In the mid-nineties, I happened to be watching it, when the following question came up - and I distinctly remember its odd wording:

"Which game, invented in 1974 by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax, was an evolution of earlier computer wargames?"

Now, one of the geeks buzzed and answered, "Dungeons & Dragons." He won the points and never got a date again.

But 'earlier computer wargames'? What waffle.

Anyway, I've been looking for outlet for that piece of trivia for years, so thanks.

Maybe they were thinking of 3E?

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

*Looks around*... Diaglo hasn't posted on this thread yet?

 

[Zander]

Hello, Krusty!

Hope all is well.

I just want to say brilliant job to Plane Sailing, the Shadow Demon was such an iconic monster - not least as Vengers sidekick.

I totally agree. Hats off to Plane Sailing. It's difficult to imagine D&D without the Shadow Demon. I always thought that he was among the characters of the D&D cartoon that made it great. I have the complete D&D cartoons on DVD.

Krusty, you can watch them the next time you're in town. Will you be coming for Dragonmeet (4 Dec)?

 

[francisca]

I occasionally game with a fellow who collects original artwork used for D&D books covers, etc.. One of the pieces in his collection is Keith Parkinson's art for the cover of DL4, which features a flying mountain with a small city on it. In the picture, you can just make out Dr. Who, the Tardis, and K-9.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

There's a half-qullan in one of R.A. Salvatore's books; one about Wulfgar, I think.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I totally agree. Hats off to Plane Sailing. It's difficult to imagine D&D without the Shadow Demon. I always thought that he was among the characters of the D&D cartoon that made it great. I have the complete D&D cartoons on DVD.

Thanks guys!

You should see the virtual royalties I've got in my virtual bank account because of the Shadow Demon

Cheers

 

[MrFilthyIke]

 

[Laman Stahros]

Now, one of the geeks buzzed and answered, "Dungeons & Dragons." He won the points and never got a date again.

But 'earlier computer wargames'? What waffle.

Anyway, I've been looking for outlet for that piece of trivia for years, so thanks.

Actually, I had heard about this before. From what I heard, D & D (OD&D) is based on an old college computer MUD game that was on the college computers in Wis., Minn., and the St. Louis area.