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Preface +
Introductions
+
OA: Designer's
Notes +
CREATING
THE PLAYER CHARACTER +
Non-Player
Characters +
The
Effect of Wishes on Ability Scores +
Character Abilities
+
Strength
+
Dexterity
+
Constitution
+
Intelligence
+
Wisdom
+
Charisma
+
Comeliness
+
CHARACTER
CLASSES AND RACES +
Class
and Race Combinations +
Racial
Ability Score Limits +
Oriental Races +
Korobokuru
+
Hengeyokai
+
Spirit
Folk +
Oriental Classes
+
Oriental
Barbarianess +
Bushi
(Chanshi or Warrior) +
Kensai
(Master or Chujen) +
Monk
+
Ninja
(Vagabond) +
Samurai
(Knight or Noble) +
Shukenja
(Dang-Ki) +
Sohei
(No-Sheng or Temple Guardian) +
Wu
Jen +
Yakuza
(Tong Shu) +
Character Abilities
+
Multiple
Attacks +
Multi-Class
and Dual-Class Characters +
Alignment
+
Languages
+
Classes
and Subclasses +
FAMILIES,
CLANS, AND CASTE +
Birth
Rank +
Family
Structure +
Additional
Family Structure +
Master Family Chart
+
Ancestry
+
Assigning
Ancestral Holdings +
Birthrights
+
HONOR
+
Starting
Honor +
Gaining
and Losing Honor +
Altering
Family Honor +
Effects
of Honor +
MONEY
AND EQUIPMENT +
Starting
Money +
Gajin
and Rates of Exchange +
Equipping
the Character +
Weapons
+
Weapon
Equivalents +
Weapon
Descriptions +
Oriental Adventures Armor Illustrations
+
Oriental Adventures Weapon Illustrations
+
Armor +
Armor
Descriptions +
Barding
+
Miscellaneous Equipment
+ <check>
PROFICIENCIES
+
Weapon Proficiencies
and Weapon Specialization +
Non-Weapon Proficiencies
+
Optional
Peaceful Proficiency Bonus +
Success
and Failure +
Contests
+
Proficiency
Tables +
Artisan
Proficiencies +
Barbarian
Proficiencies +
Common
Proficiencies +
Court
Proficiencies +
SHUKENJA
SPELLS +
Spell
Explanations +
1st
Level Spells +
2nd
Level Spells +
3rd
Level Spells +
4th
Level Spells +
5th
Level Spells +
6th
Level Spells +
7th
Level Spells +
WU
JEN SPELLS +
1st
Level Spells +
2nd
Level Spells +
3rd
Level Spells +
4th
Level Spells +
5th
Level Spells +
6th
Level Spells +
7th
Level Spells +
8th
Level Spells +
9th
Level Spells +
COMBAT
+
Summary
of the Combat Sequence +
Surprise
and Iaijutsu +
Initiative
Modifiers +
Combat Procedures
+
Missile
Fire from Horseback +
Unhorsing
+
Disarming
+
Subduing
Opponents +
The
Psychic Duel +
Martial
Arts +
Styles
+
Creating
a Style +
Special
Maneuvers +
Principal
Methods +
Mental
and Physical Training +
Stunning
and Incapacitating +
Learning
Martial Arts +
Multiple
Styles and Combining Styles +
EVENTS
AND ENCOUNTERS +
The Calendar
+
Yearly and Monthly
Events +
Yearly
Events +
Monthly
Events +
Daily
Events +
ENCOUNTER TABLES BY TERRAIN TYPE +
MONSTERS
+
Climate Groupings
+
Creatures
from Previous Books +
The Celestial
Emperor and the Celestial Bureaucracy +
Bajang
+
Carp,
Giant +
Doc
Cu'o'c +
Gaki
+
Gargantua
+
Generals
of the Animal Kings +
Hai
Nu +
Ikiryo
+
Jishin
Mushi +
Kala
+
Men (Wako)
+
Nat
+
Nature
Spirits +
Oni
+
P'oh
+
Shan
Sao +
Shirokinukatsukami
+
Tengu
+
TREASURE
&& MAGICKAL ITEMS +
Magickal
Items Usable by Character Class +
Random
Treasure Determination +
Modifications
to Standard Magickal Items +
Potions
+
Scrolls
+
Rods,
Staves, and Wands +
Miscellaneous
Magic +
Armor
and Shield +
Explanation
of Armor Properties +
Weapons
+
Explanation
of Weapon Properties +
Oriental
Magick Items +
AN
OVERVIEW OF KARA-TUR +
Geography
+
Population
+
Shou
Lung +
T'u
Lung +
Wa
+
Kozakura
+
Gajin
+
DAILY
LIFE IN KARA-TUR +
Dress
+
Food
+
Buildings
+
Religion
+
Law
and Justice +
Manners
+
Names
+
BUILDING FLOORPLANS +
BIBLIOGRAPHY
+
FAMILY CHART +
Asrogoth wrote:
Gary,
I have read through the OA Compendium a couple of times.
I find the concept of honor to be a bit difficult to add to a normal campaign. I know that you are credited with the book's overall "editing". How involved were you in the production of it? What concepts did you think should be in there that eventually weren't (if any)? What concepts did you find to be less than desirable but that you still kept? Just curious.
Thanks.
Zeb Cook had the lead on
the OA ms, and he rode roughshod over the work
that Francois Marcela Froideval, ignored my direction, and by the time
I discovered all that we had to go forward with the work as presented.
At the time TSR was in severe
monetary difficulties, and the corporation needed OA
as a follow up to the UA success to
get it back into the black.
I was both overseeing the compilation of UA and adding parts to it, and working full time seeing to the operations of TSR.
cheers,
Gary
serleran wrote:
Do you have any inside knowings
of the once rumored resurgence of Francois Froideval's Oriental Adventures
for the C&C system? 
I heard you, or maybe it
was Frank, had been in discussions with the man on such a thing... but,
if its just a rumor, that's a dang shame one.
I was custodian of Francois'
Oriental material for many years.
At his request I returned
it to him when I was in Europe in 1999.
I mentioned TLG's interest
in publishing his work, but so far Francois has not been able to come here
and bring it with him.
He mentioned klast year that
he might fly to the States this summer.
His current problem is getting
his series of graphic novels back on schedule after having problems with
his illustrators.
Cheers,
Gary
Originally posted by bones_mccoy
Hi Gary,
Thanks for continuing to answer all our questions. I have a query regarding the OAD&D book OA.
In the 2E years David "Zeb" Cook always talked as though he wrote the whole thing by himself. Now I know this is not true but I was wondering what his contributions really were. What parts of the OA book did Zeb actually write?
To me it seems almost the
entire book has the Gygax feel. The only area that may have been Cook-authored
IMO seems to be the Kara-Tur bit at the end, but even that feels edited
by you. Also, I must say I really love the martial arts rules in this book.
So much fun, variety and imagination has been concentrated into those few
pages it is quite amazing. It is also quite excellent how the whole book
captures the feel of the Orient while still remaining an exceedingly playable
OAD&D
milieu. I for one feel you did a magnificent job on this tome and would
have liked to see much more from you set in the Orient had you remained
in charge of OAD&D. Did you have plans
for continued exploration into the East?
Fact is, and as little fondness
as I have for Mr. Cook, he speaks the truth when he claims primary authorship
for the OA work.
I conceived and oitlines
the work, Francois supplied a thick sheaf of material, and Zeb carries
the ball from there, as Francois was not as able in English as he is in
French (in which language he has been a best-selling author for about a
decade now).
As I was busy trying to keep
TSR from forced bankruptcy, Zeb had his head, and I could manage only developmental
editing at the end of the project.
Frankly, had there been time,
I would have had considerable rewriting done, as much of the material from
Francois that I found superior to Zeb's, was not used.
Ain't you glad? 
(Source: Dungeon
Hobby Shop Museum)
Quote:
<>
Additionally, if you don't
mind my asking, how were sales of the OA and UA
books?
I assume they were both considered
successful? And although you left the company by this time, do you have
any idea how the two Survival Guides sold, and the MP?
Although I have heard a lot
of criticism of UA over the years, I
have always enjoyed it immensely.
You added some classic concepts
to the game with the Cavalier and the Barbarian, and my group had a great
deal of fun with them. Thanks again
While some "traditionalists
were boo-hooing about US, it sold very, very well, blowing off the shelves
and providing the cash flow TSR needed to get it out of immediate trouble.
TheOA book sols less,but
did very well nonetheless.
In combination, those two
books were what saved TSR as had been pared down and cleaned out.
I was not involved in the
company when survival guides were released.
From what I heard from inside
sources, they were not very successful, although they did not loose money
for TSR.
Manyal
of the planes was said to have done better that the two survival
guides, but how much better I can't say.\
Cheerio,
Gary
Because of severe time constraints
I put Francois Marcela Froideval and Zeb Cook onto the OA
book project.
Although I had planned to
co-write that work with Francois, TSR needed is immediately after UA
was published so as to continue the positive cash flow from product sales.
Zeb took it upon himself
to delete much of Francois' material in favor of his own--which I found
inferior.
By the time the ms. hit my
desk it was too late for me to rectify that.
In all, the OA
work was done according to my outline and overall direction, but the end
product was not what I had envisaged or anywhere close to what I would
have designed.
Were TSR not at a desperate
pass, I'd have placed Francois in charge of the project and had it re-written.
So Cook's work in OA was evident, yes, and as he was mainly responsible for 2E, a product that lost about 50% of the AD&D audience, your observation is accurate.
As an aside, the publication
of the two new books was sufficient to bring TSR out of the red, what with
the internal measures taken to reduce waste and expense.
With that evident, I sent
the investment group packing, and told the three outside directors they
were history as soon as I could manage that.
That was a mistake.
I should have dissembled,
and not allowed my ire to be evident.
It is generally impossible to manage a large company and devote any considerable amount of time to creative work.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by mistere29
Well what versions of the
material do you use in your AD&D games
today. That's what i was really interested in. Or do you play mostly LA
now?
Thanks for all the info.
Right-o!
My regular campaign for the last six years has been a Lejendary Adventure game one. When I DM OAD&D I will use the UA material is the players are up for that, otherwise not. I have never played the OA material as written, but I have played in a game run by Francois using his Oriental rules. In fact I returned a thick folder of his Far East material to him on a visit to France back in the late 90s.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeadlyUematsu
From what I've read, a lot
of (the more preferable) material written by Francois Macela Froideval
for the 1st Edition Oriental Adventures was discarded
by co-author David Cook.
Could you render us a picture
of what this material would have been like?
Correct, Francois material
was much better IMO.
I don't know if it was professional
jealousy or simply that Zeb actually thought his ideas and work were superior,
but he ignored a virtually complete ms. from Francois.
It would have needed polish
because of Francois' being a native French speaker.
After seeing what Zeb did
to AD&D, I just think his design judgement
is low.
Sorry, I can't recall the details after more than 20 years, and I returned the large three-ring binder that held his ms. to him about a decade ago.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krieg
All quality products from
fine upstanding companies I am sure. 
I would pay dearly to see
the contents of that binder!
I suppose there was more
merit than one would at first assume in P.T. Barnum's observation, "There's
one born every minute."
There's no chance that Francois will reply to emails, and he threatens to assail me if I happen to reveal his addy. I'd urge him to publish his Orientsl material, but that would be done in French, so precious little help to us here...
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by MeiRen
Two questions: I'm a student
of East Asian History. I've always been curious, when you wrote "Oriental
Adventures", what sources did you use?
What was the overarching
theme/idea behind the book?
Why did you write it the
way you did?".
Zeb cook wrote the OA
book, not me, so you'll have to direct those questions at him. I was totally
occupied running TSR at the time the work was written and had no time for
creative efforts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zudrak
Okay, here's my question:
When Francois drafted his
OA
manuscripts, was it in his plans (or yours) to create a continent on Oerth
where the "orient" would exist or was he seeking to create a new continent/setting
to be created all on its own? I was wondering if Kara-Tur (which was set
on Oerth originally, IIRC, because I set it east of Oerik across the Solnor
Ocean from the North Province) was an idea created by you, Francois, or
Zeb Cook.
Thanks again for creating a fantastic hobby.
Michael / Zudrak
Well Michael...
Francois had a map of a continent and some islands to the east, and they were going to be added. The "Orient" wes actually to be past them, closer to the West Coast of Oerik.
Zeb took advantage of my being absolutely engrossed in the business affairs of TSR at the time--I was doing my best to keep the company from being forced into receivership, and i succeeded--but he managed to sink Francois' material and use only his own during that time.
BTW, Len Lakofka had an eastern
continental addition as well as the Lendore Isles,
so what Iplanned to so was
incorporate Francois' and Len's maps with Oerik,
complete the lower continent
below it, and have a real globe
So much for plans.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odhanan
Good morning Gary and everyone!
That's really interesting to read. I know Francois Marcela Froideval for being co-founder with Didier Guiserix of the magazine Casus Belli in France, and knew he was playing with you at some time.
Indeed, I know Didier and
his wife too, have been to their apartment in Paris.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odhanan
Was Francois playing Whismerhill
at your game table (I am not even aware if you know that character name)?
I heard this was his character at some point before making it into the
Chroniques
de la Lune Noire comics series, but do not know if it was you or someone
else who was DMing.
Yes, Francois was playing
Whismerhill (aka "Wimpmirill" acccording to my son Luke) with me as the
DM, also rob Kuntz and some others likely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odhanan
]Edit - last question: There
is a character that appeared in Casus Belli who was called "Gros Bill"
(Big Bill).
This was "the" powergamer
collecting magical items and optimizing everything for efficiency in the
game, and it still remains today the translation of "munchkin" in French.
Gros Bill seems to have been
one of the players at your game table. Does it ring any bell?
Thanks!
But of course. I met Gros
Bill in Paris and gamed with him in Francois' campaign, DMed for Gros bill
and other of Francois group at the time <big grin>
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gentlegamer
Haven't seen an answer, assuming
Gary hasn't seen it:
Right-O,
I totally missed that post.
sorry.
No question that Francois had a well run, cerafully thought-out campaign, but it was not really D&D, but rather a spin-off of that game that had moved into the realm of comic book superhero play. If you have seen any of his graphic novels, the Cronicles of the Black Moon, you will understand what I mean. that said, had be toned things down just a bit, the campaign would have been pure, if imaginatively evolved AD&D. Although none of even the most potent NPCs could slay deities, they and some of the Pcs, were as potent as demigods, Mephreton (sp?) most certainly at the top of that rank.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron
Gary,
I was thinking of running a West meet East campaign, something akin to my Portuguese ancestors exploring the orient in the XV-XVI centuries. As such, I just ordered a replacement copy of OA. I know that you were more a supervisor than a designer to that project. Still, I wonder if I will get in trouble mixing characters from both books and if it would hurt much to take out the Oriental Adventures' Non Weapon Proficiencies system?
Best wishes,
Ron
That sounds like a most interesting
campaign.
Indeed I was up to my a** in alligators at the time OA was being written, for TSR was in deep financial tropuble then. I assigned Froideval and Cook to the project, and Zeb dumped what I thought was superior material done by Francois in favor of his own work. As we had to get a product into print, OA came out as it did.
If you allow reasonable non-weapons proficiencies for both Occidental and Oriental PCs, I can foresee no problems being likely. You might want to take a look at the general skills I added to the C&C game system to have an inspirational basis in creating a new approach to such addition.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron
My plan is to keep the honor
point and start tracking them to the ocidental characters to measure how
they are seem by the oriental people. I was planing to jettison only the
NWP, as I don't think they are particularly well designed and I would need
some adaptation to give them to the western characters.
You might want to take a
look at the Repute/Dark Repute/Disrepute system used for the LA game, apply
something akin to it to the Occidental PCs.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by haakon1
Remembering back to the late
1980s . . . I don't think we used the NWP's for much, but they were good
for atmosphere, which I found important in OA.
It would be neat to do something like a diplomatic dinner party at the
cherry blossom festival, where the PC's have to use NWP's in poetry to
compete to gain influence. Very difficult for a gaijin, though. 
BTW, you've seen "Ran", right?
Akira Kurosawa doing "MacBeth"
in medieval Japan.
Gaijin or gwalo (spelling)
in the Chin Empire's protocols, only Imperial favor can make such persons
acceptable...
I have seen Ran and most of Kurosawa's other films. I got hooked on them when I was a young chap living in Chicage and sas Seven Samurai soon after I learned to play Shogi.
Cheers,
Gary
<i think Shogi was Garys'
favorite form of Chess: there should be a brief mention of it here>
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedungeondelver
Have you seen Kadokawa's
HEAVEN
AND EARTH, Gary?
It's a bit more recent (1990
or 1991, IIRC). It is however very pretty.
Lacks a lot of the subtext
of a Kurosawa film but if you want to watch Samurai armies go at it you
can't go wrong with that one.
Ah yes...
the struggle between the two
Japanese nobles IIRR.
There is a good deal ow warfare
therein, and I enjoyed watching it twice on my big screen telly...even
though Gail is not overly fond of such flicks 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by thedungeondelver
Yep! That's the one - Kagetora versus Takeda Shingen.
I'll bring you a DVD of it
if you like.
The DVE player we have is
operably only by my wide...who is not much of a fan of such movies.
Of course I would like to
have a copy for viewing now and then, and for son Ernie to copy and put
into his massive library of films and sporting events.
Ciao,
Gary
Chess was my main game untill
I discovered Shogo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Gary, do you enjoy playing
the ancient Chinese board game Go?
(For the curious, here's some
information on Go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_%28board_game%29
)
I have played Go, have a
cheap set around somewhere, but...
Playing that game drives
me crazy. All those little stones of black and white, so many of them,
so many intercises, and so fiddly the process. I grow impatient and tend
to lose
I much prefer Chinese (or
Korean) Chess to Go, and Japanese Chess, Shogi, is a game amongst
those at the very top of my chess game favorites--the others my own version
of Courier Chess and the original rules version of Double Chess,
as set forth in the Boy's Own Book, 1890.
Dr. McKnight, a friend of Fritz Leiber, bequeathed his 1870 edition of that book to me because he knew I had the later version. I do not recall if it has the same rules as the 1890 erition or not.
Cheerio,
Gary
Comments
Wishing I could have gamed
with you Mr.G
+1
<>
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marshal
Lucky
That was a good ripoff
of The Seven Samurai 
Agreed, although I found
the original Japanese film more entertaining than the American adaptation.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamesM
Ah, so there was a plan to
map and detail the rest of Oerth as well? That might well explain my dim
recollection of hearing of "Oriental" lands for the World
of Greyhawk setting around the time that OA
was being published. When said book was released, I was surprised that
the setting information included within it seemed to be self-contained
and without any connection to Oerth or indeed any other fantasy setting.
'Tis a pity you were never
afforded the opportunity to produce more material to flesh out Oerth fully.
Yes indeed, and I planned
to invite Len Lakofka and Francois Froideval to assist me in the design
of the whole planet Oerth. Zeb Cook tossed out Francois' OA
material in favor of his own, IMO quite inferior, material. Sadly, I was
too invoved in saving TSR from bancruptcy at the time to correct that ill-advised
decision, so there was indeed no link to the WoG
setting.
There were a whole slew of AD&D projects I planned, including the revised edition. Such is life :\
Cheerio,
Gary
James M: 6. Gary Gygax
once commented that the AD&D Oriental Adventures book published in
1985 turned out very differently than he'd originally conceived of it.
As one of the book's primary
authors, can you shed some light on what he might have meant by that?
David "Zeb" Cook: Well I imagine it did. I wasn't just the primary author, I was the author. The project had a bumpy history and I don't really want to go into it a lot, out of respect for others. But it essentially came to a point where the manuscript simply wasn't there. This wasn't Gary but other people that didn't deliver. TSR had major commitments for the book and it needed to be there. I had been advising because I had a passion for oriental history and so was tapped to step in and deliver the book on a very short deadline. Gary knew what I was doing; we met regularly, but what went in was my doing.
- Grognardia (Interview with David "Zeb" Cook, Part II)
