Original D&D Discussion - Gary Gygax on Jack Vance

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Original D&D Discussion :: Gaming with Dave and Gary and Rob :: Gary Gygax' Greyhawk :: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance

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derv
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Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Thread Started on Jul 4, 2012, 1:12pm »

I came across an article on the internet written in 2001 by Gary. It's titled "Jack Vance & the D&D Game". It's an interesting read that makes loose references to Appendix N and the development of Chainmail. Of specific mention is the fact that Jack Vance's writing directly shaped D&D's magic system. The articles only 4 pages. I'm not sure what it's origins are. Anyone have any ideas or input? Thought it might be of interest to you guys that like to dig into the history and motives behind the game.

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Finarvyn
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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #1 on Jul 4, 2012, 4:27pm »

It might help if you provided a link....

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #2 on Jul 4, 2012, 4:49pm »

I think this is what is being referred to:

http://www.dyingearth.com/files/GARY%20GYGAX%20JACK%20VANCE.pdf

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derv
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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #3 on Jul 4, 2012, 4:55pm »

That's it.

Old news?

« Last Edit: Jul 4, 2012, 4:57pm by derv »

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kesher
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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #4 on Jul 6, 2012, 2:30pm »

It was published, I believe, in the first issue of The Dying Earth RPG's companion magazine, Prismatic Spray. It's a great read!

It's long been known that Gygax was inspired by Vance's writing for the magic system (he even wrote for permission to use certain terms, like IOUN Stones), but I for one am happy to read that article again. Be Thou Exalted!

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derv
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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #5 on Jul 6, 2012, 3:51pm »

Thanks Kesher.

Actually, I never read any of Jack Vance in my younger years. It's only recent that I obtained an anthology of the Dying Earth novels. I'm really enjoying them, though, and see alot of gaming potential in the stories. That's why I found this article so interesting.

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Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #6 on Jul 6, 2012, 5:53pm via the ProBoards Mobile App »

Absolutely. And The Dying Earth RPG is (imo) a modern classic for the writing alone.

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #7 on Jul 10, 2012, 12:40am »

Jul 6, 2012, 2:30pm, kesher wrote:

It was published, I believe, in the first issue of The Dying Earth RPG's companion magazine, Prismatic Spray. It's a great read!

Quick correction: the article appears in Excellent Prismatic Spray #2.

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #8 on Jul 11, 2012, 4:54pm »

Gary's love for Vance's stories never diminished over the years; in fact, within a year of his passing, he mentioned that he was re-reading the _Demon Princes_ series. Vance is among my favorite writers, and were it not for Appendix N, I may not have ever read him.

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #9 on Jul 11, 2012, 9:26pm »

Ghul,
Good point. I think Appendix N introduced me to a number of writers I may never had the pleasure of reading.

« Last Edit: Jul 11, 2012, 9:32pm by derv »

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #10 on Jul 13, 2012, 3:06pm »

Tolkien, Howard, De Camp and Pratt led me to Gygax. Gygax led me to Vance, Lovecraft and Burroughs.

So, for me, D&D is part of a greater “Appendix N” hobby, rather than the other way around!

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #11 on Jul 14, 2012, 10:29am »

Falconer,
It's interesting to realize that a persons age may have influenced their exposure to Appendix N and, consequently, when they were introduced to D&D. Gygax and company were probably aware of a number of writers through the pulps such as weird tales, that were available cheap. When I was a kid, these pulps were still around in used book stores at reasonable prices, but I was more interested in the graphic presentations of magazines like Eerie or Creepy. Tolkien, I was well aware of only because of the 1978 animated movie of the Hobbit. When I tried tackling reading the works at a young age, I quickly lost interest because of its length and my reading level. C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I could handle

« Last Edit: Jul 14, 2012, 10:30am by derv »

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #12 on Jul 14, 2012, 11:58am »

Well, this would have been the 90s for me. I was huge into Tolkien — read Silm and HoMe voraciously — and I loved Lewis. I tried the fantasy literature of the 80s such as Feist and Dragonlance, but those were clearly not great. Luckily, I had an older friend who fed me a steady stream of great books. Arthuriana (Malory, Chrétien, the Mabinogion) quickly became my second favorite body of literature, right after Tolkien. I also loved Norse Mythology (Elder Edda, Prose Edda, Völsungasaga). He also introduced me to REH, Harold Shea, The Worm Ouroboros, Zimiamvia, and The Well of the Unicorn.

My parents always warned me away from D&D, so I didn’t start playing until I was 17. It was AD&D 2E, but later when I discovered 1e a few years later (after 3E was announced and built its hype on “The Return of 1E”), and much later OD&D, they naturally clicked for me. You can bet I was intrigued from a much younger age, though. I started collecting some MERP books a few years prior. I still have a mixed fascination and repulsion for MERP.

Anyway, yeah, VANCE!! There are many VERY amazing Appendix N entries, but in terms of D&Dness, The Dying Earth takes the cake! Imagine a premium 1e PHB combined with TDE in a single volume — that would be, like, the ultimate book, to me!

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Re: Gary Gygax on Jack Vance
« Reply #13 on Jul 14, 2012, 3:30pm »

Yeah, I was into fantasy reading before AD&D, so before Appendix N was released. Of course, Gary droppled little hints about Conan and Lankhmar and some of his favorites in the OD&D books so that pushed me in the right direction before we had a proper list.

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