Weem Interviews Gary Gygax (2001) Part 2 of 2

Have you read Part 1 yet?

Back in 2001, in my early 20’s, I had been playing D&D for about 10 years and like many others, the Gygax name was an inspiring one. It was also around that time (1999) that I had begun designing websites – something that would eventually become my full time job. As such, I had a number of gaming sites. By 2001 I decided to approach this legendary man with an interview request for one such site, which he accepted.

My questions for him were coming from a fan’s point of view. I was not following the industry. I bought my books and played my games – that was about it. As such, some of these questions he had probably answered many times before and after, but I was not aware of them.

Until a few days ago, I had thought this interview was lost to time. Many times I had looked for it, including searches for it online – perhaps someone had copied it to their site etc – but those searches never found anything. Recently however, I found some old “data” disks – essentially backups of old sites, and while pouring through them I found this interview, as well as one I did with David “Zeb” Cook (of Planescape fame, among other things).

Here I present to you the last part of my 2001 interview with Gary Gygax…

W: Speaking of you playing, you also run games (DM) of course, what is your favorite house rule? 

GG: For tha past five years I have regularly run only a LEJENDARY ADVENTURE RPG campaign. (I am writing this on Thursday, and tonight is the night for the session:) As the system is “rules lite”, about half of what happens in an adventure session is winged, with whatever is needed for the situation made a rule pro tem. 

Aside from that, though, I generally ignore rules, not add more house ones. If the game is flowing smoothly, the players immersed in the actions of their characters, fun being had, then all is well. Rules are meant to facilitate that through explanation and quantification of things that are nor actual (spells, monsters, etc.). I see no benefit in adding more unless the enjoyment of the game is somehow enhanced by such. 

However… I do, now and then, add special “rules” for player’s characters, PCs—Avatars in the parlance of the LA game. For example, when a certain PC named Melf was called to task for failing in his devotions, said elf was given as penance a daily sunrise ritual. He had to greet the sun, prance merrily, as he sang a paean of joy: “When the sun in the morning peeps over the hill…” That brought much merriment to the other players assembled, for of course, for there was
role-playing involved in this activity. 

W: There are people who don’t know anything about tabletop roleplaying games who might say it is a game played by “computer geeks” only. How do you respond to this? 

GG: Aww, heck! You mean that you can’t just be a plain old “game geek” any more. Back in the 1980s, MILWAUKEE Magazine ran an article on GenCon, pictured me with a lot of the conventioneers arouns, titled the piece “Lord of the Nerds”. Very clever, that so-called journalist who did that. Today “nerd” is almost a laud, so it is being replaced by “geek”. 

There happens to be a community of interest amongst gamers, computer buffs, SF devotees, animie and comic book fans. Amazing how many of each sort also enjoy one or more of the other pursuits, if you will. These days, however, the “computer geeks” are the most numerous—counting those who play a lot of computer games. So it is likely most appropriate to characterize RPGers thus, rather than as “SF geeks”, or other geek classifications. 

Just goes to show that when someone is ignorant they tend to use an epithet to disparage as they stereotype… 

W: Ok, enough about the old stuff, let’s talk about Lejendary Adventure/Earth. When developing this new game, did you fall back on people that were around from the beginning days of TSR, or is this an entirely new game involving many new faces? 

GG: Answering your queries about “old time” things is fine, but I am likewise happy to respond to questions about more current activitiesJ 

I began the LEJENDARY ADVENTURE Game some six years back, aiming it at the computer, actually. Shortly thereafter, I determined to make it a paper RPG product first, then seek a producer for electronic versions. Aside from some play-test suggestions, and a bit of consultation and input here and there, I basically researched and wrote 11 books for the system all by myself. The books consist of six core rules ones (three for a new genre outside fantasy) and five sourcebooks. I also have written one adventure, co-designed another. 

Hekaforge Productions, with me as the guy in charge of the creative end of things, has more recently looked afield for freelancers. Quite a number have been found, and our schedule is filled through 2001 now. Two adventure scenarios by other authors are now available, and this number will grow rapidly. The same is true with freelanced sourcebooks and game-genre expansions. 

Of course I am still actively creating new material for the LA system…also for a line of generic products aimed at all GMs. 

Soon Hekaforge will begin publishing a line of fantasy adventure novels set on the LEJENDARY EARTH world. It will be some time before I have time to get to writing any tales for this line, though. As it stands, I’ve got about a year and a half of creative work before me at this moment, and I could easily add more, would have to, if it weren’t for “farming out” to freelance talent. 

W: I know at least one of the core books has been released, and if I remember right, another one is to come out shortly, or just came out. How has support for the product been so far? Are you getting some good feedback?

GG: Thanks for asking that:) We have all three core books out in three editions—a signed and numbered Author’s Edition with a very limited run, a Collector’s Edition with a limited printing too, and then the Regular Edition. The limited-run editions contain a serial adventure that is omitted in the regular books. The core books are: Lejendary Rules for all Players, Lejend Master’s Lore, and Beasts of Lejend. To support that we have a LM’s Screen, an introductory adventure, Lejendary Road, and a general adventure module, Enclave. The world sourcebook is coming soon—likely after several more adventures are published. 

The LA game really got its start online, and it is from the gamers on the net that it gets its greatest support. However, the Hekaforge Productions game line is carried by many fine distributors, has made it to the shelves of a fair number of game shops thus. (We are working to broaden that penetration.) 

W: Well, I should wrap this up otherwise I could go all day. Last question; there are a lot of gamers out here in California, when should we expect to see you out here again, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area 🙂 

GG: Darn, I wish I could say next month—for a stay of several months. I am not a fan of Wisconsin winters, especially after having lived in Southern California for three years time when the D&D Cartoon Show was in production and running. As it is, though, I haven’t the vaguest notion of when I’ll have the opportunity to make it to California. 

I had hoped that Hekaforge would be far enough along to perhaps attend DunDraCon this winter, but the company is still too small to afford such an outlay. Perhaps in 2002. 

There is some likelihood of me being in the Los Angeles area late this year, or early next. That depends on the development of another, basically non-game project with which I am associated through Trigee. Should that eventuate, likely a easy sell talking Gail into renting a car and driving up the coast to visit game shops between there and San Francisco, maybe do a fast demo of the new game system in the process. 

W: Gary, thanks again for taking time out of your schedule, I really appreciate it. I would have never guessed I get the chance to do this when I was a kid. Good luck with your future works. 

GG: Welcome, and thank you! 

Don’t hesitate to come back with any more questions either;-}> If you have a few more, shucks! Be happy to supply answers. 

Gary

———-

I remember the interview quite well despite my memory issues and the period of time that has lapsed. Looking back and remembering the experience, I laugh at the questions I had asked, but hope he understood (somehow) how big of a deal this was to me. I wish, for all of us, that we still had some more time with him.

Thanks again Gary.