GARY GYGAX Q&A PART XLV
In general the player group in my campaign were not much interested in politics and warfare.
When I played, my PCs I was always meddling in politics and had a large army, so some
warfare was played out with Rob as the DM. The lands rules by my PCs, that is Mordenkainen
and his followers, were gained by his formation of a raiding force, that being developed into a
standing army. It was supported initially by raiding and pillaging opponents, then by the
resources of the territory gained by military action. As it was mainly against aggressive
humanoid forces and nomadic raiders, the settled states around his holdings were happy to
support and trade with the newly formed political entity.
Greyhawk was set up to enable both political play and large-scale warfare; and I agree that
Glen Cook's "Black Company" is a good reference for including such considerations in a
campaign. I made a stab at mass combat with Swords & Spells, but I believe its system was too
abstract for most D&Ders who were not inculcated in large-scale military miniatures play.
[EGG] http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71486&page=7&pp=15
To the best of my recollection, Mordenkainen was the only PC that made a habit of capturing
and enlisting NPCs in my campaign. Tenser, Otto, et al. were PCs created by their respective
players. I must say that Mordie was most assiduous in his fair treatment of Bigby, supplying
him with much in the way of magical rewards, treating him as an equal, and sharing fairly
with him, thus winning his loyalty--helped by Mordenkainen's high Charisma score certainly.
As an aside, when Jim Ward was playing his elf PC, that worthy read a curse scroll, and as luck
would have it the destination for his transferrence was the Starship Warden.The Vigilists
discovered the "mutant" newcomer, enlisted him in their ranks, and requisitioned his Fireball
Wand. that device became the most potent weapon in the group's arsenal. Meantime, the elf
gardened, raising herbs, sought means to return tohis own universe. Jim was not happy at all,
but the rest of us playing in his MA campaign were most pleased. [EGG]
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71486&page=8&pp=15
[Heh - I think Jim mentioned this [Jim Ward’s trip to the Warden] in a recent editorial he
wrote. He's still pissed. ]
Heh, and well the PCs that form the Vigilists know the evil elf's desire to recover his wand and
leave them, so a close watch is kept on him at all times. For once Jim is getting the shaft in his
own game, where characters work miracles to gain a tech item only to discover its damage
seems to work mainly against PCs and not his monsters. That wand of fireballs is a treasure
for sure [EGG] http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71486&page=8&pp=15
The monsters first encountered, by son Ernie's and daughter Elise's characters, were a nest of
scorpions in some rubble in the very first room of the dungeon they entered. The glint of
coins was mentioned to lure the incautious hand into attack proximity, but Elise's PC used a
dagger to poke around, and the scorpions were spotted. Eventually one managed to sting, but
the poison saving throw was made. They next encountered and defeated a gang of kobolds
with a chest of 3,000 copper pieces. Needless to say, they weren't pleased with the treasure.
[EGG] http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=71486&page=9&pp=15
Herb thought it was a good idea at the time [launching Robilar to the moon via a giant
catapult], rather as some SF writers on opur world thought that firing a space vessel
from a giant cannon to reach the moon would be workable.
Rob took the whole thing quite calmly, all things considered, the huge outlay of gold
pieces that Robilar had made. However, it soured him on Lunar exploration, which
saddened me, because I was planning on having thre moon a place like "Hothouse
World," with all manner of mutant plants and people on it, as well as some little
sprite-like races dwelling around the verge of the vast central jungle.
Ain't magic grand? [EGG] http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?
t=71486&page=9&pp=15
