FF

ADQ: Some of the monsters in the AD&D
books are pretty useless, and many are
never seen in the modules. Is anything
going to be done about this soon?
ADA: Work is being done to update and
improve the FIEND FOLIO Tome. It is
possible that all the monsters could be put
in 2 big volumes: A-L and M-Z; but
those plans are still at the discussion stage.
(Polyhedron #20, answer by Gary Gygax)

Quote:
Originally posted by Skarp Hedin
Hi Gary,

It's very nice of you to be sitting around answering question after question here.. and when I saw this:

I just had to ask: So, then, what monsters did you designate as "must be cut" from the Fiend Folio?

Hey! I don't sit around, but when I see a notice that a reply has been posted to this thread I get back here in due course

As to the should-have-been-gornished entries in the FF book, well, it's 20 years, and damned if I can recall many off hand.
I haven't one of those books handy, or I'l flip through and answer in detail.
I surely didn't care much for the Needleman, and I do believe that the Disenchanter was another that I found rather too flimsy a creature to include.
The treatment of the Kenku (sp?) also was not liked by me--katana-armed sparrows didn't do it in my view.

Alas, all that's water under the old bridge, as every entry I said should be cut was left in.
Bah! :rolleyes:

Heh,
Gary

Quote:
Originally posted by S'mon

Hm - so if I want Slaad in stuff I write I now theoretically (ie assuming WoTC has enforcable IP rights in the use of the current version of Slaad) have to base them off their original appearance in White Dwarf magazine, which was copyright to the original author... assuming he didn't object.

-S'mon, copyright law guy

Hi S'mon

As I recall, when Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston brought the Fiend Folio material to TSR for a book proposal, they had releases from all the contributors.
Likely those are in the WotC files nowadays. So I expect that WotC does have all rights to the various creatures that appeared in that work.

Cheers,
Gary

S'mon,

Darned if I can remember if the GW chaps had obtained additional releases from the authors of those creatures appearing in the Fiend folio or not. I think Kevin and/or Brian Blume cut the deal for publication. All I remember clearly is that I went through their list of monsters and deleted quite a number that I didn't want in an "official" bestiary, and created some new entries to replace them, and had others add theirs; then that Lawrence Schick left most of them in the work--he was leaving TSR thereafter, so I suppose he was showing me something...

Bah! :rolleyes:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Also, regarding the AD&DFiend Folio:

Do you know why its publication was delayed for a couple of years?
The FOREWORD to the Fiend Folio is dated 1979, Deities & Demigods (published in 1980) mentioned the Fiend Folio, yet the Fiend Folio wasn't actually published until 1981.
Also, how good (or bad) do you think the Fiend Folio is?

The Games Workshop fellows, Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson originally approached TSR about publishing the best entries from their magazine, White Dwarf. as a supplemental monsters volume. Then Don turnbull was appointed as head of TSR UK, and so the ms. went through his hands.

I found about a quarter of the entries in the FF unsuitable, and that is why there are additions therein not found in the magazine's pages.
When I had gone through the material I instructed Lwrence Schick to delete the ones I had indicated.
Being the pinhead he is, Lawrence ignored that direction, for he planned to leave the company soon.

That said, I found a fair number of useful critters in the work--and not just those I pit into it--and were I playing AD&D I would surely use them still.

Cheers,
Gary

Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Gary, I'm sorry for this question. Please don't hesitate to throw up your hands, say that you can't possibly remember, and have a good laugh.

The FOREWORD of the Fiend Folio states that the book was completed in August 1979--just a few months after you finished the DMG.
Yet the Fiend Folio's publication was delayed until 1981.

Now here's my question: Since the Fiend Folio was finished in 1979, how is it that there are a number of pieces of art in it dated by the artists as 1981?
And all of these late-dated pieces are by artists from the U. S. (such as Erol Otus and Bill Willingham).
During the two-year delay, did you and/or others decide, "Well, since this thing is delayed anyway, we might as well add more art to the book in the meantime"?

Shirt answer:

I received the ms, for the work in the year indicated.
Art has nothing to do with with a completed ms., it is window dressing even in a bestiary and managed by the line editor(s).
TSR simply sat around on the ms. for a couple of years.

What really irritated me about it is that I told Schick to kill some of the truly silly monster entries, gave him some of my own work to replace them, and the fool included the crap likely just to be a pain as he knew he was leaving the company then.

Cheers,
Gary

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentlegamer
I'm sure we can all figure out what the silly monsters were, but can you remember any of the replacement monsters of your own that you wanted included?
I'm assuming they showed up in MMII.

There is a list of authors in the back of the Fiend Folio, and all that i created for the work are listed there with my attribution

Cheerio,
Gary