Tag Archives: Gary Gygax

Should Charm Person Work Like a Jedi Mind Trick?

Posted on January 29, 2019 by David Hartlage

In three original, brown Dungeons & Dragons books, what spell ranks as the most powerful? At 6th level, disintegrate could turn someone to dust, but charm person could put someone “completely under the influence of the Magic-User until such time … Continue reading →

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The True Story of the Cthulhu and Elric Sections Removed from Deities & Demigods

Posted on January 8, 2019 by David Hartlage

Just a couple of years after its release, the original Deities & Demigods from 1980 became legend. The first copies included sections featuring the Melnibonéan mythos from the Elric stories by Michael Moorcock and the Cthulhu mythos from the tales … Continue reading →

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Should a Dungeon Master Invite Players to Help Create the D&D World Beyond Their Characters?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1970, Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson joined the Castles & Crusades Society, a group of miniature gamers formed by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. The group imagined a Great Kingdom and parceled out territories to players to develop for … Continue reading →

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Unfrozen DMs, Annoying Spells, Dynamic Battles, and More Insights from the Comment Section

Posted on December 11, 2018 by David Hartlage

Time for another trip to the comment section. The unfrozen dungeon master In The Plight of the Unfrozen Dungeon Master, I wrote about DMs returning to Dungeons & Dragons and adapting the changes in the way folks play the game. … Continue reading →

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How to Use the Players’ Metagaming to Mess With Their Heads (and Improve Your Game)

Posted on December 4, 2018 by David Hartlage

In the original Dungeon Master’s Guide, Dungeon & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax suggested speeding overcautious players by rolling “huge handfuls of dice” to raise fears of nearby monsters. Of course, the characters in the game world never hear the die … Continue reading →

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Why Gary Gygax Added Unrealistic Hit Points, Funny Dice, and Descending AC to D&D

Posted on November 20, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1972, Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson introduced his Blackmoor campaign to co-creator Gary Gygax. The campaign stemmed from Gary’s Chainmail rules, but Dave’s game transformed the rules for miniature-figure battles into something new and irresistible—something that broadly resembled … Continue reading →

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The Tangled Origins of D&D’s Armor Class, Hit Points, and Twenty-Sided Die Rolls To-Hit

Posted on November 13, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1977, when I first read the Dungeon & Dragons basic rules, the way armor class improved as it shrunk from 9 to 2 puzzled me. Shouldn’t higher numbers be better? Players just used AC to find a row on … Continue reading →

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The Game-Design Trends That Turned D&D Into a Game Gary Gygax Disliked

Posted on October 16, 2018 by David Hartlage

The second edition of Dungeons & Dragons that reached gamers probably stayed close to the edition co-creator Gary Gygax might have designed. But later, Gary would say, “In my estimation second-edition AD&D began to lose the spirit of the original.” … Continue reading →

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How Much Would Gary Gygax’s Second-Edition D&D Have Differed From the Version That Reached Gamers?

Posted on October 9, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1985, Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax shared his plans for a new, second edition in Dragon magazine. Even as his column reached print, Gary was forced out of TSR, ending his work on D&D. This left D&D fans … Continue reading →

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Gary Gygax’s Thwarted Plans for Second-Edition Dungeons & Dragons

Posted on October 2, 2018 by David Hartlage

In 1985, D&D co-creator Gary Gygax wrote a column for Dragon magazine describing his plans for a second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. “This task does not preclude later supplements, changes and yet new editions (a Third, perhaps a … Continue reading →

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