Quasqueton
First Post
Figuring the number of syllables in that term requires a calculator.
Quasqueton
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
What is Gygaxian?
- Thread starter fnork de sporg
- Start date
Quasqueton
The Shaman
First Post
Which is also a Gygaxian quality.Quasqueton said:Figuring the number of syllables in that term requires a calculator.
Quasqueton
First Post
That's the truth. He helped me build my vocabulary when I was younger, but now that I'm older (and a professional wordsmith, myself), reading his prose makes me laugh.
Quasqueton
Quasqueton
First Post
You'd get 1 fanboy telling you what he thinks it means in glowing terms, 2 fanboys jumping on you for asking the possibly insulting question, 3 fanboys using the post as a seque for asking EGG about liquor/food, and finally 1 post from Gygax quoting the first fanboy, saying he "pretty much has the right of it", and then 5 posts from Gygax responding to the liquor/food posts.
Quasqueton
The Shaman
First Post
Me too, but in a good way.Quasqueton said:
Fedaric_the_Axe
First Post
Quasqueton said:
And then there is the anti-fan boy fan boy that posts about the fan boys. Geesh.
Fedaric_the_Axe
First Post
Quasqueton said:
Ex-zealots, gotta love them.
Sundragon2012
First Post
I have to preface this by again saying that I appreciate Gary creating D&D in the first place and that I have nothing against him as a person.
Having said that....
What is it that is so compelling about Gygax except the romance of old familiar names like Xagyg and Mordenkainen or the broken bindings of your lovingly fondled 1ed DM's guide with the efreet on the cover? In fact I think that the 1e DM's Guide was more interesting by far than the later incarnations of the same book. There was cool, obscure stuff in that book.
When people talk about gygaxian I see a set of assumptions that seem IMO reminiscent of the RPing experiences of adolescents at best and my brother and I at 11 at worst. I am not trying to be insulting, but the things I read about Gary's campaigns ie. the nazi soldiers in a dungeon and other wacky crap seems to me about as similar to mature RPing as Hercules, The Legendary Journeys is to real greek mythology. I'm not even talking about some pretentious "mature" role playing, I am talking about:
Dungeons that have a reason to exist.
Monsters with ecologies that seem believable.
Paladins who do more than kill critters in holes in the ground because their detect evil ability rang off.
Actual 3-D characters who have motivations outside of their next gold piece.
Naming conventions that are believable within their millieu.
Moral complexity to plotlines.
Internally consistant environments.
And so on...
I'm not claiming that none of Gary's stuff was deeper, but that which is considered gygaxian seems well......very unsophisticated and a throwback to a time when gaming was just starting out and its potentials were far from realized. There is an old phrase that goes like this, "You can never go home." In gaming, I would take this to mean that even though we have wonderful memories of old gaming experiences, those experiences have been romanticized somewhat and that going back to those times really isn't possible because we mature and our tastes mature and change.
Some things, like Drawmij and Gygaxite deserve a fond spot in our memories but that IMO is where they belong.
Chris
Having said that....
What is it that is so compelling about Gygax except the romance of old familiar names like Xagyg and Mordenkainen or the broken bindings of your lovingly fondled 1ed DM's guide with the efreet on the cover? In fact I think that the 1e DM's Guide was more interesting by far than the later incarnations of the same book. There was cool, obscure stuff in that book.
When people talk about gygaxian I see a set of assumptions that seem IMO reminiscent of the RPing experiences of adolescents at best and my brother and I at 11 at worst. I am not trying to be insulting, but the things I read about Gary's campaigns ie. the nazi soldiers in a dungeon and other wacky crap seems to me about as similar to mature RPing as Hercules, The Legendary Journeys is to real greek mythology. I'm not even talking about some pretentious "mature" role playing, I am talking about:
Dungeons that have a reason to exist.
Monsters with ecologies that seem believable.
Paladins who do more than kill critters in holes in the ground because their detect evil ability rang off.
Actual 3-D characters who have motivations outside of their next gold piece.
Naming conventions that are believable within their millieu.
Moral complexity to plotlines.
Internally consistant environments.
And so on...
I'm not claiming that none of Gary's stuff was deeper, but that which is considered gygaxian seems well......very unsophisticated and a throwback to a time when gaming was just starting out and its potentials were far from realized. There is an old phrase that goes like this, "You can never go home." In gaming, I would take this to mean that even though we have wonderful memories of old gaming experiences, those experiences have been romanticized somewhat and that going back to those times really isn't possible because we mature and our tastes mature and change.
Some things, like Drawmij and Gygaxite deserve a fond spot in our memories but that IMO is where they belong.
Chris
Last edited:
ThirdWizard
First Post
Fedaric_the_Axe said:
Part right, part wrong.
You're thinking of this as an OD&D vs 3.X debate when its not, as you are comparing Gygaxian to d20. You're right in that you can have a character driven rolepalying game in any system. You're wrong in thinking that a character driven roleplaying game will be anything close to Gygaxian. You can run a Gygaxian game in Vampire. You can't run a Gygaxian game centered around political intrigue. As soon as the game starts go toward character development as any kind of important aspect of the game, you are no longer Gygaxian. Unfortunately, I don't know a term that would be the antithesis of Gygaxian off the top of my head.
Similar Threads
