Fakebook gems ;)
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Jim Ward (TSR author of Deities and Demigods, Metamorphosis Alpha, Gamma World and a slew of others) just posted his thoughts on DM’ing - thought you’d get a kick outta it :
Notes on Dungeon Mastering
I learned most everything I know about Dming from watching Gary Gygax at work. He was a gaming genius that made his game come alive and I loved it. This has given me a perspective few players have.My favorite saying is that Dms don’t kill characters, players kill characters. Several concepts should be taught early to players.
1 – They need to learn their characters can die. This keeps them on the edge of their seats and gives them a great deal of unexpected enjoyment. True it is a sad thing when a characters is killed. However, most of the great gaming memories are from having just survived.2 – They need to learn how to run. At the finish of most deadly battles in Gary’s game he would calmly remark that the dead characters could have run from the battle. Some fights are just too tough for the characters.
3 – Always warn your players at the beginning of the game that the adventure they are starting is very dangerous and they should always be careful. I have literally seen the deaths of hundreds of MA player characters. In the forty odd years that Gary Gygax played in my MA games he only died once when tons of fungus fell on him. He admitted after that he should have been more careful.
4 – Foreshadowing danger ahead is always a good idea. If there is a series of deadly traps ahead it doesn’t hurt at all to show one of those deadly traps already killing an orc.
5 – Getting treasure is fun. I know the larger main companies all maintain you shouldn’t be free with treasures of any types. Gary Gygax game out lots of treasures, mainly because he was testing how things would effect the game. I give out lots of treasures because I like to see the smiles on the player’s faces. It is ridiculous to maintain that too much treasure over balances the game. If the game is over balanced the Dungeon Master wasn’t creative enough.
I hope some of this helps.
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If the game is over balanced the Dungeon Master wasn’t creative enough.
Damned fucking right.
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Love it.
Were did you see this post? Yes i know Facebook, but was it on his wall, in your feed, somewhere else in that data stealing black hole of Facebook? If he shows up to Gamehole this year in Madison, WI - I’m going to shake that mans hand.
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he posted it to his FB wall… several months back, HE sent ME a friend request
needless to say, i was pleasantly surprised that one of Gary’s pals would take notice of lil’ ole me ! turns out he’s rather conservative too - so i said HELL YEAH, and now i get a regular influx of interesting gems and TSR history in my FB feed…he’s even working on a 5e module crafted by the Gygax boys…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/the-lost-city-of-gaxmoor-5e -
@dwarf said in Fakebook gems
:he posted it to his FB wall… several months back, HE sent ME a friend request
needless to say, i was pleasantly surprised that one of Gary’s pals would take notice of lil’ ole me ! turns out he’s rather conservative too - so i said HELL YEAH, and now i get a regular influx of interesting gems and TSR history in my FB feed…he’s even working on a 5e module crafted by the Gygax boys…
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/the-lost-city-of-gaxmoor-5eRead about that kickstarter
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if we’re rewarded in heaven by how much joy we’ve brought to others, then Gary Gygax will be one of the richest fellows up there !! as for me… well… bring marshmallows
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Good story I enjoyed that post
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since a very polluted cloud was arguing this point :
from Jim Ward on FB :
"Setting the Record Straight
I never claim to be an expert in AD&D. While I have read through 5E and written some product for it, I don’t know it well. I was around when AD&D and 2E were made and I have studied them carefully and written a ton of product in those lines.I admit to being an expert in general role-playing. I wrote the first science fiction role-playing game in Metamorphosis Alpha. I wrote the first Apocalypse role-playing game in Gamma World.
I’ve worked happily on lots of other game companies. Troll Lords let me write a third version of role-playing deities in OF GODS AND MONSTERS. I also wrote what I think is a fun horror campaign world for C&C in TAINTED LANDS.
Fifty or sixty products later I met Stephen Lee. He has a brilliant concept in his LOST 77 WORLDS. I had the pleasure of writing the basic rules and the advance rules in a great apocalyptic campaign world. After writing a few things, I talked him into doing a fantasy set of rules in DRAGONSCALES. I love that line. In both of those systems we use the original concept of drawing playing cards instead of rolling dice and so far the many play-tests have worked great. We are contemplating doing a horror campaign using a novel called LONG CLAWS that I think could be wonderful. Stephen has a facebook page for both the Lost 77 Worlds and Dragonscales.
If that wasn’t enough a pair of amazing writers called me wanting a fantasy campaign that they want to give away to help promote their novel line. Nick Cole and Jason Anspach created the FORGOTTEN RUINS and I had the pleasure of doing those rules and two tournament adventures for that line. It’s in editing right now and will release when the novels come out. They have a facebook page.
Forty some years later Chris Clark and I just finished writing THE STARSHIP WARDEN. It’s a 600 page book filled with detailed maps of the 17 starship levels, the dome, and 16 between levels. It took two years to write and will be a product in the Troll Lord line with a kickstarter in October.
That brings me up to date with Stephen Dinehart. He makes theme parks for a living. He asked me to make a fantasy/apocalypse campaign set of rules we are calling GiantLands. With the rules he plans on making a theme park using the role-playing concepts. He has a facebook page.
Why in the world am I bothering to post all of this almost ancient history? I’m noting a lot of wrongful critique of Gary Gygax and it irritates the hell out of me. The man had his faults just like all of us, but he created an entirely new genre of gaming. When ignorant people spout off about what he did and didn’t do, I feel the need to act. I make it my mission to post when I read such ignorant comments trying to show people what really happened in those long ago days. So, I just thought I would put some of my efforts on the record to make them harder to ignore when I pass away. No brag, just facts."
Rick Meyer: May I ask is this in reference to the Kotaku article that came out today?
James M. Ward I read the article. Many events in it are factual. However, I saw the Arneson notes. They are not near what Gary created. If Arneson created a complete game, one would think he would have published it. I have lost all respect for Mr. Kuntz because of his comments in this article. Gary treated him like a son and this is how he repays the man. Shame on him.
