1) You were one of the original players in Gary Gygax’s game that became Dungeons & Dragons. Looking back on it now, what were your initial thoughts of the game as presented by Gary at that time? What are your impressions of the path it took to its present form?
JMW: I was hooked from the second Gary described the game to me. While I was playing on Gary’s side porch I was transported to a magical land through Gary’s storytelling ability. The game was a bit complex to learn. It took me three months to finally figure out the use of all of the different dice.
If Gary were alive today and owned the game, it would be far different from what 5E has become. It has become a book keeping game, and Gary was the ultimate storyteller.
2) You wrote the initial Gods, Demi-Gods and Heroes as well as the AD&D sourcebook, Deities and Demigods. What do you feel that a sourcebook based in divinity adds to or detracts from a role-playing game?
JMW: The cleric of the game needed deities to worship. Those deities gave the players themes to use in their gaming. As time went on I have written other deity products and I have increased the role-playing concepts with those deities. Now for every different deity there is a special power that comes from worshiping that deity.
3) As the author of Pool of Radiance as well as the sequels, Pool of Darkness and Pool of Twilight, can you describe any difficulties you had writing a compelling novel while staying loyal to a system of rules devised to maintain a balanced role-playing game?
JMW: It wasn’t difficult at all. The story dictated what the antagonists and protagonists did in the story. It was easy to keep in the AD&D rules because I knew them so well.
4) The ‘Pool’ series was used as the basis of the SSI ‘Gold Box’ games, considered by some to be the most loyal to the D&D property. Can you describe any trepidation you had with converting your intellectual property into this new medium?
JMW: That is easy for me to answer. Chuck Kroegal and his people at SSI did all the real work. I supervised the creation of the game in that I told them what they could and couldn’t do in the game considering AD&D rules. I play-tested everyone of the games as the TSR representative.
5) When Dungeons & Dragons moved to 2nd edition, half-orcs and assassins are noticeably missing. Can you discuss the reasoning behind this design decision?
Half-orcs and assassins caused lots of problems in the game, not seen at its creation. Parents didn’t like their boys playing assassins. Often player character parties suffered from the acts of assassins. The game was purposely set up for good to defeat evil and those two concepts didn’t measure up with the ultimate goal of the game. They were easy to get rid of with little effect in the game.
6) In addition to the priceless contributions you have made to fantasy role-playing, you were also responsible for Gamma World and Metamorphosis Alpha, each with more of a science fiction feel. Can you discuss any differences in the process of creating these worlds?
JMW: LOL, first MA is not a world. I have described it as a dungeon in a can. Metamorphosis Alpha came first because I told Gary Gygax he needed a science fiction version of his game. He was kind enough to let me try writing it. I know he was happy with the result. The game has its seeds in the novel Starship my Brian Aldiss. It is a lost colonization starship and the players explore the 50 mile long, 30 mile wide, and 18 miles up and done.
Gamma World was the first apocalyptic role-playing game. It came about because TSR received literally hundreds of letters from fans that wanted a planet based version of MA. I had been reading lots of apocalyptic fiction, so it was easy for me to come up with ideas.
7) After leaving TSR, you continued to contribute to the gaming community as a member of both Fast Forward Entertainment and Troll Lord Games. What are some of your proudest accomplishments with these companies?
JMW: That is a tough question for me to answer. We made lots of product at the Fast Forward company. I think maybe THE BOOK OF SWORDS was one of my favorite things to write. From Troll Lords I have also done a lot of work. OF GODS AND MONSTERS is a pantheon book I’m very proud of. The STORYTELLERS THESARAUS I consider my master work. Coming out in the fall is the WARDEN a complete detailing of the dome, 17 primary levels, and 16 secondary levels. It is 680 pages of creatures, devices, and encounter situations.
8) What tabletop role-playing games, if any, do you continue to play? Have you branched out into the world of computer role playing games?
JMW: For firesidecreations.com I wrote THE LOST 77 WORDS and DRAGONSCALES. They are games that use a deck of playing cards instead of dice. I really enjoy playing those games. I’ve also written a lot of support product for those game systems. Currently, I’m outline a huge 4 adventure story arc for the Dragonscales system.
9) Gary Gygax famously printed his own inspirations in Appendix N of the original Dungeon Master’s Guide. What are some of your inspirations?
JMW: I gave Gary part of that DM’s list. He and I read many of the same fantasy and science fiction authors. All of the Robert Heinlein novels are high on my list. Roger Zelazny is also a huge favorite of mine. Bernard Caldwell with his historical novels have supplied me with a lot of inspiration.
10) As an accomplished author and game designer, if you had any advice to give others aspiring to follow in your footsteps, what would it be?
JMW: This is another tough question because it has huge answers. Read a lot of different gaming materials as well as fiction and science fiction novels. Study what other companies are doing and always try to one-up them. Don’t quit your day job.