Gary Gygax On Jack Vance And The Dying Earth

"The Dying Earth is a marvelous, dark far-future world setting. The earth is no longer our world, just as the sun is no longer the Old Sol we see. It is a planet so ancient that its earlier history has been lost and forgotten. Of the later ages, a staggeringly long series of epics, information is revealed only in tantalizing snippets. All of its places are striking in that they are strange yet somehow familiar, and there is no question that something startling and new will be revealed at each turn. To my thinking, this milieu is creative far beyond the bounds of what has been offered in any material previously written....

In considering the Dying Earth milieu, one must be prepared to accept some differences between it and the standard world of fantasy derring-do. While much has been forgotten, the whole of the race of mankind has matured and grown ancient and cynical. Naivete there is aplenty, but behind it there is cynicism, duplicity, and treachery ... So the milieu is one where Machiavelli would be considered the norm in civilized places, while in the hinterlands the oddest of things are to be expected....

Does this mean that the Dying Earth can not expect some altruism, bravery, even a sense of wonder in its leading characters? Hardly! While such are rare enough here and now to be remarkable, these traits are definitely human, will persist as long as Homo sapiens in whatever evolved form remain extant. The trick to survival for such individuals on the Dying Earth must be cunning....

The Dying Earth is the perfect place for a sophisticated, whimisical, and enthralling fantasy campaign. It can be on virtually any scale, and feature whatever the participant group enjoys most. Combat and magic? Of course. The same is true of story and intrigue. To be forthright, the milieu is so broad as to invite any and all aspects of the RPG into play, and those in whatever mix and degree of emphasis is desired. Simply put, the Dying Earth milieu is just about a perfect one to transfer from fiction to game. The caveat is, don't think along 'conventional' fantasy lines. It is a place where long ages have altered things, even magic and the human archetype to some degree."

-- Gary Gygax, "Jack Vance and the D&D Game", from The Excellent Prismatic Spray, Volume 1, Issue 2

Gary Gygax On Jack Vance And The Dying Earth

"The Dying Earth is a marvelous, dark far-future world setting. The earth is no longer our world, just as the sun is no longer the Old Sol we see. It is a planet so ancient that its earlier history has been lost and forgotten. Of the later ages, a staggeringly long series of epics, information is revealed only in tantalizing snippets. All of its places are striking in that they are strange yet somehow familiar, and there is no question that something startling and new will be revealed at each turn. To my thinking, this milieu is creative far beyond the bounds of what has been offered in any material previously written....

In considering the Dying Earth milieu, one must be prepared to accept some differences between it and the standard world of fantasy derring-do. While much has been forgotten, the whole of the race of mankind has matured and grown ancient and cynical. Naivete there is aplenty, but behind it there is cynicism, duplicity, and treachery ... So the milieu is one where Machiavelli would be considered the norm in civilized places, while in the hinterlands the oddest of things are to be expected....

Does this mean that the Dying Earth can not expect some altruism, bravery, even a sense of wonder in its leading characters? Hardly! While such are rare enough here and now to be remarkable, these traits are definitely human, will persist as long as Homo sapiens in whatever evolved form remain extant. The trick to survival for such individuals on the Dying Earth must be cunning....

The Dying Earth is the perfect place for a sophisticated, whimisical, and enthralling fantasy campaign. It can be on virtually any scale, and feature whatever the participant group enjoys most. Combat and magic? Of course. The same is true of story and intrigue. To be forthright, the milieu is so broad as to invite any and all aspects of the RPG into play, and those in whatever mix and degree of emphasis is desired. Simply put, the Dying Earth milieu is just about a perfect one to transfer from fiction to game. The caveat is, don't think along 'conventional' fantasy lines. It is a place where long ages have altered things, even magic and the human archetype to some degree."

-- Gary Gygax, "Jack Vance and the D&D Game", from The Excellent Prismatic Spray, Volume 1, Issue 2

Dragons At Dawn: Experience Points

Anyone who has been following the old-school blogs for a while will remember the 2010 release of the Dragons At Dawn (D @ D) roleplaying game. Edited by D.H. Boggs, D @ D is a meticulously researched re-creation of the original fantasy game, as played by Dave Arneson at his gaming table from 1970-1973. That was prior to Arneson's collaboration with Gary Gygax, resulting in the 1974 printing of a little boxed set called Dungeons & Dragons.

D.H. Boggs did an admirable job of re-constructing those early rules and game approaches. Boggs also provided several direct quotes from Dave Arneson, on his approach to running a fantasy game and doling out experience points. I find Arneson's comments and original experience point system instructive, as it reveals just how far removed modern experience point systems are from the original purpose of the mechanic. Here's what Arneson had to say about experience points for roleplaying, as quoted in D @ D.

"The all pay lip-service to the roleplaying part, but they all end just having you roll different dice for different situations. There again, that has taken away from a lot of the spontaneity of actually roleplaying. When I do my games, I give roleplaying points for people staying within their character. If they want to go out and kill things, that's easy to do, and a lot of referees, that's all they do, but there's more to it. The richness is not in just rolling dice, the richness is in the characters and becoming part of this fantasy world." (Dave Arneson, Pegasus Magazine #14, 1999)

Not surprisingly, much of the criticism of later versions of D&D (and those other fantasy roleplaying games that have touted themselves as improvements to D&D) has been the focus, and pre-occupation, with making combat more prominent, cinematic, interesting, or (shudder) verisimilitudinous. Every version of D&D, and most competing systems, seem to spill inordinate amounts of ink creating ever-more elaborate and labyrinthine combat systems. This has culminated in what some players, of later versions of fantasy roleplaying games, lovingly refer to as "the grind", where most, or all of the gaming session is spent on one, or a few, combats.

Original D&D is oft-criticized for it's simplistic 'experience-for-gold-looted' mechanic. A fair criticism, from those who demand verisimilitude in their fantasy roleplaying. It is not realistic, they argue, that a person gains experience for lifting some gold and treasure out of a hole in the ground, don't you know.

D @ D uses a different set of methods for awarding experience points. One of those may be passing-familiar to those who use an 'experience-for-gold-squandered' mechanic.

"Wizards: Experience points are awarded to Wizards when they successfully complete the creation of a spell in the laboratory....Neither use nor casting of spells counts towards experience. If the player continues to make the same spell over and over, the referee may at some point opt not to recognize more experience points for it or give some lesser percentage. Likewise, the referee may opt to award more experience for successful new research.

Priests: Priests are awarded one experience point for every gold piece worth of treasure donated to their faith or otherwise spent in the service of their religion. Treasure must be gotten through the Priest's personal adventuring and cannot be donated by anyone else. Referees may take away experience points for any behaviour contradictory to the tenants [sic] of the Priest's faith.

All other classes: All other classes are awarded one experience point for every gold piece spent in accordance with the nature of the character. Referee's [sic] and players may develop special interests for the characters if desired, or simply award the points for any spending which is voluntary and not for some unusual project such as freeing a hostage or donating to a bridge construction project. Only cold, hard cash won through adventuring and subsequently spent may be converted to experience points." (page 43)

In the fantasy game originally played by Arneson, it was primarily through the recovery, and appropriate expenditure, of long-lost treasure hoards, that characters advanced in levels. Appropriate expenditure is a critical component for all classes, as it is only through the expenditure of gold (and the Wizard's case, both expenditure of gold for the spell-making materials, and time, in creating his spells) in ways meaningful to the character's motivations and interests that the characters can advance.

If you have not taken note yet, let me draw something striking about this experience points system to your attention now. No experience points for monsters killed in D @ D.

Monsters certainly appeared in Arneson's games, and were an obstacle to the recovery of treasure, but their destruction did not merit experience points.

Imagine removing the benefit of experience for monsters-killed and think just how radically this would change the nature of your fantasy roleplaying game.

Dragons At Dawn: Experience Points

Anyone who has been following the old-school blogs for a while will remember the 2010 release of the Dragons At Dawn (D @ D) roleplaying game. Edited by D.H. Boggs, D @ D is a meticulously researched re-creation of the original fantasy game, as played by Dave Arneson at his gaming table from 1970-1973. That was prior to Arneson's collaboration with Gary Gygax, resulting in the 1974 printing of a little boxed set called Dungeons & Dragons.

D.H. Boggs did an admirable job of re-constructing those early rules and game approaches. Boggs also provided several direct quotes from Dave Arneson, on his approach to running a fantasy game and doling out experience points. I find Arneson's comments and original experience point system instructive, as it reveals just how far removed modern experience point systems are from the original purpose of the mechanic. Here's what Arneson had to say about experience points for roleplaying, as quoted in D @ D.

"The all pay lip-service to the roleplaying part, but they all end just having you roll different dice for different situations. There again, that has taken away from a lot of the spontaneity of actually roleplaying. When I do my games, I give roleplaying points for people staying within their character. If they want to go out and kill things, that's easy to do, and a lot of referees, that's all they do, but there's more to it. The richness is not in just rolling dice, the richness is in the characters and becoming part of this fantasy world." (Dave Arneson, Pegasus Magazine #14, 1999)

Not surprisingly, much of the criticism of later versions of D&D (and those other fantasy roleplaying games that have touted themselves as improvements to D&D) has been the focus, and pre-occupation, with making combat more prominent, cinematic, interesting, or (shudder) verisimilitudinous. Every version of D&D, and most competing systems, seem to spill inordinate amounts of ink creating ever-more elaborate and labyrinthine combat systems. This has culminated in what some players, of later versions of fantasy roleplaying games, lovingly refer to as "the grind", where most, or all of the gaming session is spent on one, or a few, combats.

Original D&D is oft-criticized for it's simplistic 'experience-for-gold-looted' mechanic. A fair criticism, from those who demand verisimilitude in their fantasy roleplaying. It is not realistic, they argue, that a person gains experience for lifting some gold and treasure out of a hole in the ground, don't you know.

D @ D uses a different set of methods for awarding experience points. One of those may be passing-familiar to those who use an 'experience-for-gold-squandered' mechanic.

"Wizards: Experience points are awarded to Wizards when they successfully complete the creation of a spell in the laboratory....Neither use nor casting of spells counts towards experience. If the player continues to make the same spell over and over, the referee may at some point opt not to recognize more experience points for it or give some lesser percentage. Likewise, the referee may opt to award more experience for successful new research.

Priests: Priests are awarded one experience point for every gold piece worth of treasure donated to their faith or otherwise spent in the service of their religion. Treasure must be gotten through the Priest's personal adventuring and cannot be donated by anyone else. Referees may take away experience points for any behaviour contradictory to the tenants [sic] of the Priest's faith.

All other classes: All other classes are awarded one experience point for every gold piece spent in accordance with the nature of the character. Referee's [sic] and players may develop special interests for the characters if desired, or simply award the points for any spending which is voluntary and not for some unusual project such as freeing a hostage or donating to a bridge construction project. Only cold, hard cash won through adventuring and subsequently spent may be converted to experience points." (page 43)

In the fantasy game originally played by Arneson, it was primarily through the recovery, and appropriate expenditure, of long-lost treasure hoards, that characters advanced in levels. Appropriate expenditure is a critical component for all classes, as it is only through the expenditure of gold (and the Wizard's case, both expenditure of gold for the spell-making materials, and time, in creating his spells) in ways meaningful to the character's motivations and interests that the characters can advance.

If you have not taken note yet, let me draw something striking about this experience points system to your attention now. No experience points for monsters killed in D @ D.

Monsters certainly appeared in Arneson's games, and were an obstacle to the recovery of treasure, but their destruction did not merit experience points.

Imagine removing the benefit of experience for monsters-killed and think just how radically this would change the nature of your fantasy roleplaying game.

Magical Skulls In Dungeons And Dragons

I must admit being annoyed the first time I saw this photo, of a grinning Gary Gygax holding a skull. Being unschooled in the weird and fantastic literature from which D&D was derived, I presumed this picture was both shameless Gygaxian D&D boosterism and evidence that Gary did not understand his own creation. D&D, after all, is not about the macabre, strange or weird. D&D is no horror role-playing game, and is certainly not about skulls. It is about bold adventurers, slaying dragons, rescuing damsels, and generally acting in heroic fashion.

Oops.

As I continue my own Appendix N project, reading the fantasy literature referenced in the the original 1979 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master, I am struck by the number of stories that involve magical skulls.

Here are three examples, from books I am currently reading, or have just finished.

The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle, features a talking skull that reveals a secret passage to the protagonists, and who thirsts for a taste of wine, which he exchanges for the information, even though he can't actually taste anything.

The Magic Goes Away, by Larry Niven, features the animated skull of a Sorcerer. The Sorcerer cast a spell upon himself so that he could not die. Thus, even though his body has been destroyed, his spirit still resides within his skull.

Web of the Spider, by Andrew Offutt, features a magical skull, and when you peer through the bejeweled eyes of the skull, you can see the future.

I have not yet read even one twentieth of the Appendix N literature, yet at least three books have featured a magical skull. Is it any wonder, then, that The Tomb of Horrors should feature a skull, as the last intact remains of a former Wizard?

What is odd, is that there is no Skull artifact featured in the AD&D DMG.

Magical Skulls In Dungeons And Dragons

I must admit being annoyed the first time I saw this photo, of a grinning Gary Gygax holding a skull. Being unschooled in the weird and fantastic literature from which D&D was derived, I presumed this picture was both shameless Gygaxian D&D boosterism and evidence that Gary did not understand his own creation. D&D, after all, is not about the macabre, strange or weird. D&D is no horror role-playing game, and is certainly not about skulls. It is about bold adventurers, slaying dragons, rescuing damsels, and generally acting in heroic fashion.

Oops.

As I continue my own Appendix N project, reading the fantasy literature referenced in the the original 1979 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master, I am struck by the number of stories that involve magical skulls.

Here are three examples, from books I am currently reading, or have just finished.

The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle, features a talking skull that reveals a secret passage to the protagonists, and who thirsts for a taste of wine, which he exchanges for the information, even though he can't actually taste anything.

The Magic Goes Away, by Larry Niven, features the animated skull of a Sorcerer. The Sorcerer cast a spell upon himself so that he could not die. Thus, even though his body has been destroyed, his spirit still resides within his skull.

Web of the Spider, by Andrew Offutt, features a magical skull, and when you peer through the bejeweled eyes of the skull, you can see the future.

I have not yet read even one twentieth of the Appendix N literature, yet at least three books have featured a magical skull. Is it any wonder, then, that The Tomb of Horrors should feature a skull, as the last intact remains of a former Wizard?

What is odd, is that there is no Skull artifact featured in the AD&D DMG.

Appendix N: The Bells Of Shoredan

Roger Zelazny is probably best known (in Dungeons and Dragons circles) for his Amber series and Jack of Shadows novel, as both are referenced in Appendix N of the 1979 Advanced D&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

Perhaps less well-known are Zelazny's Dilvish the Damned tales.

Dilvish is a half-elf, imprisoned and tortured in Hell for two hundred years. His nemesis is Jelerak, a fallen white wizard who is the author of Dilvish's hellbound imprisonment. Dilvish escapes from Hell, and vows to exact revenge. Accompanying him in his escape and subsequent quest is his new-found mount and companion, a Nightmare that Dilvish names Black.

The Bells of Shoredan originally appears in Fantastic Magazine, March 1966, and is reprinted in Warlocks and Warriors, an anthology of heroic fantasy edited by L. Sprague de Camp and published in 1970, which I obtained at a recent book sale. In 1982, this tale was also published in a Dilvish The Damned anthology of 11 short stories.

In The Bells Of Shoredan, Dilvish and his allies are besieged, and it is up to Dilvish to evade the besiegers and raise a supernatural army. To do so, he must ride to the ruins of an ancient fortress and ring the Bells of Shoredan, which will call forth an undead army.

The fortress is the scene of Dilvish's great-grandfather's death: here he slew the King of the World using the Invisible Blade, before falling himself. It is also the place where the white wizard Jelerak contested with, and was corrupted by, the infernal powers. Now, Dilvish must enter the fortress and ring the bells, for it is foretold that only the blood of him who killed the King of World can awaken the army of the damned. In a ironic twist, joining and aiding Dilvish is a priest loyal to Jelerak!

Dilvish and the priest explore the fortress, and Dilvish battles the same fiend who corrupted Jelerak. Just as it appears that Dilvish will succumb to the demon, the priest distracts the demon, and Dilvish finds the Invisible Blade and slays it. He then rings the bells and calls forth his troops.

What makes this otherwise average tale enjoyable is Zelazny's prose and the melancholy mood, as the priest and Dilvish part company without any resolution to their conflicting allegiances and goals. A fun and brisk read.

Appendix N: The Bells Of Shoredan

Roger Zelazny is probably best known (in Dungeons and Dragons circles) for his Amber series and Jack of Shadows novel, as both are referenced in Appendix N of the 1979 Advanced D&D Dungeon Masters Guide.

Perhaps less well-known are Zelazny's Dilvish the Damned tales.

Dilvish is a half-elf, imprisoned and tortured in Hell for two hundred years. His nemesis is Jelerak, a fallen white wizard who is the author of Dilvish's hellbound imprisonment. Dilvish escapes from Hell, and vows to exact revenge. Accompanying him in his escape and subsequent quest is his new-found mount and companion, a Nightmare that Dilvish names Black.

The Bells of Shoredan originally appears in Fantastic Magazine, March 1966, and is reprinted in Warlocks and Warriors, an anthology of heroic fantasy edited by L. Sprague de Camp and published in 1970, which I obtained at a recent book sale. In 1982, this tale was also published in a Dilvish The Damned anthology of 11 short stories.

In The Bells Of Shoredan, Dilvish and his allies are besieged, and it is up to Dilvish to evade the besiegers and raise a supernatural army. To do so, he must ride to the ruins of an ancient fortress and ring the Bells of Shoredan, which will call forth an undead army.

The fortress is the scene of Dilvish's great-grandfather's death: here he slew the King of the World using the Invisible Blade, before falling himself. It is also the place where the white wizard Jelerak contested with, and was corrupted by, the infernal powers. Now, Dilvish must enter the fortress and ring the bells, for it is foretold that only the blood of him who killed the King of World can awaken the army of the damned. In a ironic twist, joining and aiding Dilvish is a priest loyal to Jelerak!

Dilvish and the priest explore the fortress, and Dilvish battles the same fiend who corrupted Jelerak. Just as it appears that Dilvish will succumb to the demon, the priest distracts the demon, and Dilvish finds the Invisible Blade and slays it. He then rings the bells and calls forth his troops.

What makes this otherwise average tale enjoyable is Zelazny's prose and the melancholy mood, as the priest and Dilvish part company without any resolution to their conflicting allegiances and goals. A fun and brisk read.

Appendix N: Web Of The Spider

"Girl," Ishcon interrupted, "do you know who rules this world?"

After a moment's hesitation, Tiana replied, "No one rules the world. A bunch of kings and such-like hollow-headed men pretend to."

At that moment, a dark shadow glided across the floor. Only a trick of the shifting light of these damned greasy torches, Tiana thought: yet Ishcon glanced about and she saw the desperate fury of a trapped animal flicker in his eyes.

"You do not understand and are wrong, he said in a sibiliant whisper. "You are better off not knowing: never mind. I dare not explain."

Such is the plot set-up for Web Of The Spider, the third and final book in the War Of The Wizards trilogy. Like the other books in the trilogy, Web Of The Spider is co-authored by Andrew Offutt, one of a select group of writers mentioned in Appendix N of the 1979 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide.

Web Of The Spider was published in 1981, several years after the DMG was released. Co-authored by Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon, the story clocks in at a respectable 268 pages, 60-plus pages longer than either of the first two books in the trilogy. The cover, by Rowena, shows a costumed Tiana, battling a fire-demon as she embarks on her quest to acquire the Skull Of He Who Sleeps. This book again features Tiana Highrider, Pirate Queen; Pyre of Ice and Ekron, two opposing sorcerers; and adds a new character, the nameless Gray Knight, whose face, memories and identity have been wiped clean by Pyre.

The Gray Knight is sent forth as Pyre's surrogate, in an effort to divine and prevent the latest plot of Ekron, whose earlier attempt, in The Eyes Of Sarsis, to awaken the Serpent of the World, had been foiled by Tiana and Pyre. Along the way, Pyre appears to the Gray Knight in mirrors, pools and other reflective surfaces, egging the Gray Knight on but never fully revealing what it is that the Gray Knight is expected to do.

Tiana, meanwhile, is on her own quest to discover who rules the world. Her companion: a skull, its jaws wired shut with silver, within which resides an impossibly-large ruby, nearly the size of the skull itself. Each time she removes the skull from its protective case, dread peril overtakes and nearly defeats her and her entourage.

And while the two sorcerers scheme against and battle each other, the real danger, the demonic ruler of the world, plots his final, horrifying, life-snuffing victory.

Like the other two books in the War Of The Wizards trilogy, this book is an entertaining, if imperfectly or perhaps ironically-rendered homage to the swords and sorcery genre. As fodder for role-playing game elements, this book is a gold-mine. Take, for example, the skull which Tiana finds. A better template for an artifact you will be hard-pressed to find. The island of the ruler of the world is truly a hellish place, and would be great fun to recreate as an adventure site. Temples to the Toad-god. Spider familiars that spin invisible nooses to strangle its master's betrayers. A ship crewed by the undead, which is the only safe passage to reach the ruler of the world. Desperate sea-battles against a fire-breathing dragon.

And then there is the mystery of the Gray Knight. He appears in the earlier books: how soon will you deduce his true identity?

Web Of The Spider is a fun read. While it's not for this book that Offutt is referenced in Appendix N -- that honour is bestowed upon him for his capable editorship of a fiction anthology, Swords Against Darkness III, for which he does not contribute a single story -- Offutt has a good grasp of swords and sorcery tropes, which he ably employs in his War Of The Wizards trilogy.

Appendix N: Web Of The Spider

"Girl," Ishcon interrupted, "do you know who rules this world?"

After a moment's hesitation, Tiana replied, "No one rules the world. A bunch of kings and such-like hollow-headed men pretend to."

At that moment, a dark shadow glided across the floor. Only a trick of the shifting light of these damned greasy torches, Tiana thought: yet Ishcon glanced about and she saw the desperate fury of a trapped animal flicker in his eyes.

"You do not understand and are wrong, he said in a sibiliant whisper. "You are better off not knowing: never mind. I dare not explain."

Such is the plot set-up for Web Of The Spider, the third and final book in the War Of The Wizards trilogy. Like the other books in the trilogy, Web Of The Spider is co-authored by Andrew Offutt, one of a select group of writers mentioned in Appendix N of the 1979 Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide.

Web Of The Spider was published in 1981, several years after the DMG was released. Co-authored by Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon, the story clocks in at a respectable 268 pages, 60-plus pages longer than either of the first two books in the trilogy. The cover, by Rowena, shows a costumed Tiana, battling a fire-demon as she embarks on her quest to acquire the Skull Of He Who Sleeps. This book again features Tiana Highrider, Pirate Queen; Pyre of Ice and Ekron, two opposing sorcerers; and adds a new character, the nameless Gray Knight, whose face, memories and identity have been wiped clean by Pyre.

The Gray Knight is sent forth as Pyre's surrogate, in an effort to divine and prevent the latest plot of Ekron, whose earlier attempt, in The Eyes Of Sarsis, to awaken the Serpent of the World, had been foiled by Tiana and Pyre. Along the way, Pyre appears to the Gray Knight in mirrors, pools and other reflective surfaces, egging the Gray Knight on but never fully revealing what it is that the Gray Knight is expected to do.

Tiana, meanwhile, is on her own quest to discover who rules the world. Her companion: a skull, its jaws wired shut with silver, within which resides an impossibly-large ruby, nearly the size of the skull itself. Each time she removes the skull from its protective case, dread peril overtakes and nearly defeats her and her entourage.

And while the two sorcerers scheme against and battle each other, the real danger, the demonic ruler of the world, plots his final, horrifying, life-snuffing victory.

Like the other two books in the War Of The Wizards trilogy, this book is an entertaining, if imperfectly or perhaps ironically-rendered homage to the swords and sorcery genre. As fodder for role-playing game elements, this book is a gold-mine. Take, for example, the skull which Tiana finds. A better template for an artifact you will be hard-pressed to find. The island of the ruler of the world is truly a hellish place, and would be great fun to recreate as an adventure site. Temples to the Toad-god. Spider familiars that spin invisible nooses to strangle its master's betrayers. A ship crewed by the undead, which is the only safe passage to reach the ruler of the world. Desperate sea-battles against a fire-breathing dragon.

And then there is the mystery of the Gray Knight. He appears in the earlier books: how soon will you deduce his true identity?

Web Of The Spider is a fun read. While it's not for this book that Offutt is referenced in Appendix N -- that honour is bestowed upon him for his capable editorship of a fiction anthology, Swords Against Darkness III, for which he does not contribute a single story -- Offutt has a good grasp of swords and sorcery tropes, which he ably employs in his War Of The Wizards trilogy.

Rewriting The History Of Dungeons and Dragons

There is an old axiom: history is written by the victors. While I do not own the magazine from which the original article was drawn, there is a brief history of the origins of Dungeons and Dragons, appearing on page 29 of the Best of Dragon Magazine I. Written by Gary Gygax, it summarizes his take on the development of D&D. By the time Gary wrote that article, D&D was well on its way to becoming a huge hit. For me, and many others on the periphery of the hobby, that article became the accepted history of the game for many years. As Dave Arneson did not have his own pulpit from which to preach, few were aware of his perhaps different perspective on the development of the game. The internet has been of great assistance in providing us with a more varied and fulsome account of the early days of the hobby.

Dave Arneson, who is credited with co-authorship of Original Dungeons and Dragons, played a different variation of the game than was revealed in those early D&D rules. In Dragons At Dawn, D.H. Boggs attempts to recreate that game. Mr. Boggs also provides us with the following alternate history of the Dungeons and Dragons game:

"One of the wargame rulesets that became a big influence on Arneson's fantasy campaign had been co-authored by Gen Con founder Gary Gygax. After Arneson demonstrated fantasy roleplay gaming to Mr. Gygax in the fall of 1972, Gygax became extremely enthused, and offered to write up the rules for Arneson and publish them. Arneson had no means to attempt this himself at the time and young Dave [24] had collaborated once before on a set of naval rules with the nearly decade older [33] and well connected Gary, so he readily agreed to have Gygax take the lead on typing up and publishing the rules. He mailed Gygax a 16 page manuscript of his rules and consulted with him by phone. This collaboration led to the first published fantasy RPG game in 1974; a game that has continued to grow and attract new players. However the 150+ pages as published by Gygax and business partner Don Kaye were somewhat of a compomise between the way each author actually played, with by far the majority of the rules coming from Mr. Gygax. It was a similar, and yet in many respects, a very different game from what Arneson had been playing with his group in Minneapolis."

I think the subtext of this alternate history is interesting. We are fortunate to have a wealth of information about the early days, via the various discussion boards and gaming sites. I like to think that, some 35-40 years later, old hatchets have been buried, festering wounds have been lanced, and those on either side of the Gygax/Arneson authorship debate are sharing the same pub table, enjoying a couple of pitchers of beer, a plate or two of nachos, and swapping stories of memorable D&D campaigns of yore.

Rewriting The History Of Dungeons and Dragons

There is an old axiom: history is written by the victors. While I do not own the magazine from which the original article was drawn, there is a brief history of the origins of Dungeons and Dragons, appearing on page 29 of the Best of Dragon Magazine I. Written by Gary Gygax, it summarizes his take on the development of D&D. By the time Gary wrote that article, D&D was well on its way to becoming a huge hit. For me, and many others on the periphery of the hobby, that article became the accepted history of the game for many years. As Dave Arneson did not have his own pulpit from which to preach, few were aware of his perhaps different perspective on the development of the game. The internet has been of great assistance in providing us with a more varied and fulsome account of the early days of the hobby.

Dave Arneson, who is credited with co-authorship of Original Dungeons and Dragons, played a different variation of the game than was revealed in those early D&D rules. In Dragons At Dawn, D.H. Boggs attempts to recreate that game. Mr. Boggs also provides us with the following alternate history of the Dungeons and Dragons game:

"One of the wargame rulesets that became a big influence on Arneson's fantasy campaign had been co-authored by Gen Con founder Gary Gygax. After Arneson demonstrated fantasy roleplay gaming to Mr. Gygax in the fall of 1972, Gygax became extremely enthused, and offered to write up the rules for Arneson and publish them. Arneson had no means to attempt this himself at the time and young Dave [24] had collaborated once before on a set of naval rules with the nearly decade older [33] and well connected Gary, so he readily agreed to have Gygax take the lead on typing up and publishing the rules. He mailed Gygax a 16 page manuscript of his rules and consulted with him by phone. This collaboration led to the first published fantasy RPG game in 1974; a game that has continued to grow and attract new players. However the 150+ pages as published by Gygax and business partner Don Kaye were somewhat of a compomise between the way each author actually played, with by far the majority of the rules coming from Mr. Gygax. It was a similar, and yet in many respects, a very different game from what Arneson had been playing with his group in Minneapolis."

I think the subtext of this alternate history is interesting. We are fortunate to have a wealth of information about the early days, via the various discussion boards and gaming sites. I like to think that, some 35-40 years later, old hatchets have been buried, festering wounds have been lanced, and those on either side of the Gygax/Arneson authorship debate are sharing the same pub table, enjoying a couple of pitchers of beer, a plate or two of nachos, and swapping stories of memorable D&D campaigns of yore.

Will McLean Cartoons: Wizards And Their Familiars

Another Will McLean cartoon, this time from page 44 of the 1979 ADnD Dungeon Masters Guide. In the above cartoon, two mercenaries are holding a Magic-user's familiar hostage, and threatening to kill it if the MU makes a false move.

Part of the glorious mess of OD&D and AD&D was the imprecision of the rules. Frustrating, no doubt, to those of us who may have been rules-lawyers, but a tremendous boon to others who wanted to take a germ of an idea and create their own grand experiment with it.

The 'Find Familiar' spell was one of those glorious messes. In the DMG, Gygax writes, "Purposely killing or causing to be killed a familiar is most likely to find great disfavour with the gods...". What specific disfavour that might entail was left entirely up to the Dungeon Master. Did it mean you would have a -1 adjustment to your rolls for the remaining game session? Or perhaps that all similar animals attack you on sight from then on? Did you really want to know what your malicious DM was waiting to spring on you, should you 'accidently-on-purpose' step on your unwanted rat familiar?

Will McLean Cartoons: Wizards And Their Familiars

Another Will McLean cartoon, this time from page 44 of the 1979 ADnD Dungeon Masters Guide. In the above cartoon, two mercenaries are holding a Magic-user's familiar hostage, and threatening to kill it if the MU makes a false move.

Part of the glorious mess of OD&D and AD&D was the imprecision of the rules. Frustrating, no doubt, to those of us who may have been rules-lawyers, but a tremendous boon to others who wanted to take a germ of an idea and create their own grand experiment with it.

The 'Find Familiar' spell was one of those glorious messes. In the DMG, Gygax writes, "Purposely killing or causing to be killed a familiar is most likely to find great disfavour with the gods...". What specific disfavour that might entail was left entirely up to the Dungeon Master. Did it mean you would have a -1 adjustment to your rolls for the remaining game session? Or perhaps that all similar animals attack you on sight from then on? Did you really want to know what your malicious DM was waiting to spring on you, should you 'accidently-on-purpose' step on your unwanted rat familiar?

Is Dungeons and Dragons A Swords And Sorcery RPG?

Considering that my introduction to swords and sorcery literature came long after discovering Dungeons and Dragons, I can perhaps be excused for failing to note the overt references to swords and sorcery in the D&D rulebooks of the day.

My earliest experiences with Dungeons and Dragons were in the campaigns run by friends of my older brother. Those campaigns were heavily informed by Mormon mythology: my character's name was Archeantus, and the other players had similar Book of Mormon names. I seem to recall us creeping through a cavern in one session, looking for the lair of the Gadianton Robbers.

Thus, my earliest D&D experiences were quite unlike those of you who were emulating the fantasy fiction of Howard, Lieber, Vance, Burroughs, Lovecraft and their ilk.

The earliest reference to swords and sorcery role-playing that I can find in D&D appears in the 1975 Greyhawk Supplement to the Original Dungeons and Dragons game. In that rulebook, Gary Gygax writes:

"If you enjoy fantasy you will never be sorry you were introduced to the swords and sorcery of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS games." - Greyhawk, pg. 3

And in the preface to the 1979 AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, Gary Gygax makes the following remark:

No two (Advanced D&D) campaigns will ever by the same, but all will have the common ground necessary to maintaining the whole as a viable entity about which you and your players can communicate with the many thousands of others who also find sword and sorcery role playing gaming an amusing and enjoyable pastime." - DMG, pg. 8

It may simply be a function of my ignorance of the meaning of the term swords and sorcery, but I don't consider either Original or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons to be a swords and sorcery roleplaying game. Generic fantasy, perhaps. But not swords and sorcery.

There are many reasons I hold that view. Here are two.

First, the inclusion of Magic Users as a playable class seems antithetical to a swords and sorcery game: few S&S stories feature a spell-caster as protagonist, and where they do, they usually pay a steep price for dabbling in the dark arts. Most spell-casters in S&S literature are at best distrusted, at worst, they are the dread antagonists of the story.

Second, few if any S&S tales include demi-humans such as elves or dwarves as protagonists. Where they do appear, they are malicious spirits or fearsome creatures of the earth.

There are more than a few old-school bloggers playing swords and sorcery campaigns, but most have house-ruled D&D to more fully emulate the genre, or are using a different ruleset to capture the feel of swords and sorcery adventures.

Is Dungeons and Dragons A Swords And Sorcery RPG?

Considering that my introduction to swords and sorcery literature came long after discovering Dungeons and Dragons, I can perhaps be excused for failing to note the overt references to swords and sorcery in the D&D rulebooks of the day.

My earliest experiences with Dungeons and Dragons were in the campaigns run by friends of my older brother. Those campaigns were heavily informed by Mormon mythology: my character's name was Archeantus, and the other players had similar Book of Mormon names. I seem to recall us creeping through a cavern in one session, looking for the lair of the Gadianton Robbers.

Thus, my earliest D&D experiences were quite unlike those of you who were emulating the fantasy fiction of Howard, Lieber, Vance, Burroughs, Lovecraft and their ilk.

The earliest reference to swords and sorcery role-playing that I can find in D&D appears in the 1975 Greyhawk Supplement to the Original Dungeons and Dragons game. In that rulebook, Gary Gygax writes:

"If you enjoy fantasy you will never be sorry you were introduced to the swords and sorcery of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS games." - Greyhawk, pg. 3

And in the preface to the 1979 AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, Gary Gygax makes the following remark:

No two (Advanced D&D) campaigns will ever by the same, but all will have the common ground necessary to maintaining the whole as a viable entity about which you and your players can communicate with the many thousands of others who also find sword and sorcery role playing gaming an amusing and enjoyable pastime." - DMG, pg. 8

It may simply be a function of my ignorance of the meaning of the term swords and sorcery, but I don't consider either Original or Advanced Dungeons and Dragons to be a swords and sorcery roleplaying game. Generic fantasy, perhaps. But not swords and sorcery.

There are many reasons I hold that view. Here are two.

First, the inclusion of Magic Users as a playable class seems antithetical to a swords and sorcery game: few S&S stories feature a spell-caster as protagonist, and where they do, they usually pay a steep price for dabbling in the dark arts. Most spell-casters in S&S literature are at best distrusted, at worst, they are the dread antagonists of the story.

Second, few if any S&S tales include demi-humans such as elves or dwarves as protagonists. Where they do appear, they are malicious spirits or fearsome creatures of the earth.

There are more than a few old-school bloggers playing swords and sorcery campaigns, but most have house-ruled D&D to more fully emulate the genre, or are using a different ruleset to capture the feel of swords and sorcery adventures.

Appendix N: Demon In The Mirror

Our exploration of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide Appendix N begins in the middle, a fitting place for Andrew Offutt, for reasons beyond mere alphabetic order. Offutt is neither the trailblazer nor capstone of fantasy literature, falling somewhere in the comfortable, hackneyed and squishy center.

On the surface, one has to wonder why Andrew Offutt is mentioned in Appendix N at all. The only Appendix N recognition he is afforded is in relation to the Swords Against Darkness anthology series, to which Offutt acts as series-editor and occasional contributor. In fact, Gygax’s Appendix N specifically mentions the third book in that anthology series. But within the pages of book three, Offutt’s singular contribution is in writing that anthology’s forward. In itself, authorship of a forward can hardly be worth mentioning, compared to the output of the other authors referenced in Appendix N.

If Offutt is not immortalized in Appendix N for his lucid and witty forwards, then for what? In fact, Offutt’s contribution to fantasy literature is much broader than mere editorship of an anthology series. He presides over the Science Fiction Writers of America Association from 1976 to 1978, and is widely published by 1979, having already written some 17 fantasy novels under his own name, with dozens more erotic fantasies to his credit, all published under pseudonyms. Some of Offutt’s fantasy novels are pastiches based on Robert E. Howard’s creations -- Cormac mac Art and Conan. Others are all his own, such as the War Of The Gods On Earth series, and the War Of The Wizards trilogy. Our reviews begin with the first book in Offutt’s War of the Wizards trilogy, entitled Demon In The Mirror.

Authorship of Demon In The Mirror is credited to both Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon, and is published by Pocket Books in 1978, predating, by one year, the publication of the DMG. A slim volume of 190 pages (not unusual for pulp fiction), the cover art is by Boris Vallejo, and reveals a practically-nude Tiana Highrider, protagonist of our story, astride her faithful mount Windsong, in a scene from the chapter entitled Incident In Dark Forest.

As the story opens, we find Tiana, a pirate-captain of former aristocratic stock, coming into possession of a set of sorcerous books, and a severed hand belonging to the wizard Derramal, who betrayed and killed her parents when she was just a child. She consults with another sorcerer, who reveals that, although Derramal has been dismembered and his body-parts scattered across the world, he still lives. The only way to kill him, she is told (and also rescue her long-lost brother) is to re-assemble Derramal’s body.

Demon In The Mirror is a typical questing tale, with Tiana traveling from location to location, collecting the dismembered parts of Derramal, piecing together the mystery of the Demon In The Mirror, and battling unwholesome fiends, and minions of other sorcerers that block her way. Unsurprisingly, considering Offutt’s penchant for erotic fantasy, Tiana is captured more than a few times and is bound and staked out, naked and in full presentation, as an offering to fell beasts and lustful antagonists. As is to be expected in such tales, she always slips her bonds, through skill, wit or guile, just in time to turn the tables on her adversaries.

In the end, she discovers the secret of the Demon In The Mirror. And so will you, long before the secret is revealed in the final chapter. Are the clues too obvious? Perhaps not in 1978, but the patterns of fantasy writing are now so obvious, 30 years later, that many readers of this tale will know, half-way through the book, who the Demon In The Mirror really is.

I promised, of course, to review the Appendix N books, not as literature, but as resources for developing your own fantasy adventures. As a resource, Demon In The Mirror is a gold-mine. You have nun-turned-vampire-infested chapels, magic mirrors, tricks and traps aplenty, ghoul-overrun tombs, were-beasts, deadly animated gardens, foul bat-demons, magical flying armor, shadows killed only with shadow-weapons, islands overrun with illusion-creating spiders, bands of forest bandits, treasures described in luscious detail, and epic battles won by magic and strategy.

Offutt knows well, how pulp (and erotic) fantasy is to be constructed, and he ably employs the tools of the trade in Demon In The Mirror. The writing in Demon In The Mirror is hackneyed, even for a book published in 1978. But it’s a fun read none-the-less, and will give you a wealth of new ideas for your next gaming session.

Appendix N: Demon In The Mirror

Our exploration of the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide Appendix N begins in the middle, a fitting place for Andrew Offutt, for reasons beyond mere alphabetic order. Offutt is neither the trailblazer nor capstone of fantasy literature, falling somewhere in the comfortable, hackneyed and squishy center.

On the surface, one has to wonder why Andrew Offutt is mentioned in Appendix N at all. The only Appendix N recognition he is afforded is in relation to the Swords Against Darkness anthology series, to which Offutt acts as series-editor and occasional contributor. In fact, Gygax’s Appendix N specifically mentions the third book in that anthology series. But within the pages of book three, Offutt’s singular contribution is in writing that anthology’s forward. In itself, authorship of a forward can hardly be worth mentioning, compared to the output of the other authors referenced in Appendix N.

If Offutt is not immortalized in Appendix N for his lucid and witty forwards, then for what? In fact, Offutt’s contribution to fantasy literature is much broader than mere editorship of an anthology series. He presides over the Science Fiction Writers of America Association from 1976 to 1978, and is widely published by 1979, having already written some 17 fantasy novels under his own name, with dozens more erotic fantasies to his credit, all published under pseudonyms. Some of Offutt’s fantasy novels are pastiches based on Robert E. Howard’s creations -- Cormac mac Art and Conan. Others are all his own, such as the War Of The Gods On Earth series, and the War Of The Wizards trilogy. Our reviews begin with the first book in Offutt’s War of the Wizards trilogy, entitled Demon In The Mirror.

Authorship of Demon In The Mirror is credited to both Andrew Offutt and Richard Lyon, and is published by Pocket Books in 1978, predating, by one year, the publication of the DMG. A slim volume of 190 pages (not unusual for pulp fiction), the cover art is by Boris Vallejo, and reveals a practically-nude Tiana Highrider, protagonist of our story, astride her faithful mount Windsong, in a scene from the chapter entitled Incident In Dark Forest.

As the story opens, we find Tiana, a pirate-captain of former aristocratic stock, coming into possession of a set of sorcerous books, and a severed hand belonging to the wizard Derramal, who betrayed and killed her parents when she was just a child. She consults with another sorcerer, who reveals that, although Derramal has been dismembered and his body-parts scattered across the world, he still lives. The only way to kill him, she is told (and also rescue her long-lost brother) is to re-assemble Derramal’s body.

Demon In The Mirror is a typical questing tale, with Tiana traveling from location to location, collecting the dismembered parts of Derramal, piecing together the mystery of the Demon In The Mirror, and battling unwholesome fiends, and minions of other sorcerers that block her way. Unsurprisingly, considering Offutt’s penchant for erotic fantasy, Tiana is captured more than a few times and is bound and staked out, naked and in full presentation, as an offering to fell beasts and lustful antagonists. As is to be expected in such tales, she always slips her bonds, through skill, wit or guile, just in time to turn the tables on her adversaries.

In the end, she discovers the secret of the Demon In The Mirror. And so will you, long before the secret is revealed in the final chapter. Are the clues too obvious? Perhaps not in 1978, but the patterns of fantasy writing are now so obvious, 30 years later, that many readers of this tale will know, half-way through the book, who the Demon In The Mirror really is.

I promised, of course, to review the Appendix N books, not as literature, but as resources for developing your own fantasy adventures. As a resource, Demon In The Mirror is a gold-mine. You have nun-turned-vampire-infested chapels, magic mirrors, tricks and traps aplenty, ghoul-overrun tombs, were-beasts, deadly animated gardens, foul bat-demons, magical flying armor, shadows killed only with shadow-weapons, islands overrun with illusion-creating spiders, bands of forest bandits, treasures described in luscious detail, and epic battles won by magic and strategy.

Offutt knows well, how pulp (and erotic) fantasy is to be constructed, and he ably employs the tools of the trade in Demon In The Mirror. The writing in Demon In The Mirror is hackneyed, even for a book published in 1978. But it’s a fun read none-the-less, and will give you a wealth of new ideas for your next gaming session.

Appendix N: The Usual Suspects

Appendix N of the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide recommends some inspirational reading. The authors that appear in Appendix N are a veritable who's-who of pulp, weird, sword and sorcery and fantasy writers.

Poul Anderson. Leigh Brackett. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lin Carter. L. Sprague de Camp. Phillip J. Farmer. Robert E. Howard. Fritz Leiber. H. P. Lovecraft. Michael Moorcock. Andre Norton. Fred Saberhagen. J. R. R. Tolkien. Jack Vance. Roger Zelazny. Andrew Offutt.

Andrew Offutt? I have to admit, while I've owned a copy of the AD&D DMG since 1979, I have never registered that name as being on the Appendix N list of recommended authors. It is almost by accident that I can to be in possession of books by Andrew Offutt. While helping myself to all of the pulp fantasy I could get my hands on, at a recent charity book sale, I started grabbing just about every book on the table that was less than 200 pages, and printed before 1980.

The name Andrew Offut was not on my Appendix N radar as I scanned the book-sale tables, but I bought his books anyway: at a dollar apiece, it seemed like a good deal. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Offutt is one of the Appendix N authors. Not only did he write Web Of The Spider, and two other books in the War of the Wizards trilogy, he also wrote three Conan novels, the War of the Gods on Earth trilogy, several stories appearing in the Thieves World series, and was the editor of the Swords Against Darkness short-story anthologies.

A surprisingly prolific fantasy author. I'm looking forward to reading his stories, having discovered that he was sufficiently influential in the development of Dungeons and Dragons to warrant an entry in Gygax's Appendix N.

Appendix N: The Usual Suspects

Appendix N of the original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide recommends some inspirational reading. The authors that appear in Appendix N are a veritable who's-who of pulp, weird, sword and sorcery and fantasy writers.

Poul Anderson. Leigh Brackett. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Lin Carter. L. Sprague de Camp. Phillip J. Farmer. Robert E. Howard. Fritz Leiber. H. P. Lovecraft. Michael Moorcock. Andre Norton. Fred Saberhagen. J. R. R. Tolkien. Jack Vance. Roger Zelazny. Andrew Offutt.

Andrew Offutt? I have to admit, while I've owned a copy of the AD&D DMG since 1979, I have never registered that name as being on the Appendix N list of recommended authors. It is almost by accident that I can to be in possession of books by Andrew Offutt. While helping myself to all of the pulp fantasy I could get my hands on, at a recent charity book sale, I started grabbing just about every book on the table that was less than 200 pages, and printed before 1980.

The name Andrew Offut was not on my Appendix N radar as I scanned the book-sale tables, but I bought his books anyway: at a dollar apiece, it seemed like a good deal. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Offutt is one of the Appendix N authors. Not only did he write Web Of The Spider, and two other books in the War of the Wizards trilogy, he also wrote three Conan novels, the War of the Gods on Earth trilogy, several stories appearing in the Thieves World series, and was the editor of the Swords Against Darkness short-story anthologies.

A surprisingly prolific fantasy author. I'm looking forward to reading his stories, having discovered that he was sufficiently influential in the development of Dungeons and Dragons to warrant an entry in Gygax's Appendix N.