Arnesonisms & Gygaxisms

I collect some of the "stranger" things Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax have said in their game(s) on this page. Obviously what is strange to me may be perfectly normal to you, I intend no absolutism here...

"All creatures use the same saving throw matrices; the modifier is relative class, i.e. fighter, thief, etc. Items save on a special matrix." — Gary Gygax, Players Handbook, 1978, page 105

This implies that instead of class-specific saving throw matrices (which OD&D had) we would get one unified matrix for all creatures in AD&D. But that's not what we find in the Dungeon Masters Guide in 1979. Something close to "unified" (but skipping even the matrix!) was finally re-engineered by Delta in 2009.

"BLACK PEARLS: Treat as magic amulet good for one additional spell, which the magic user could normally perform. GOLD PEARL: As black pearl but for Clerics." — Dave Arneson, Blackmoor, 1975, page 24

This implies that in Arneson's campaign there were "magic amulets" that allowed magic-users to cast an additional spell. No such amulets (or indeed pearls) seem to exist in the rest of OD&D (or indeed AD&D). But I would guess that they inspired the "Pearl of Power" and "Pearl of Wisdom" magic items in the 1979 Dungeon Masters Guide? Of course those pearls work differently: the "Pearl of Power" allows a magic-user to "recall" a spell already cast while the "Pearl of Wisdom" actually increases the wisdom ability score for a cleric. Arneson's "could normally perform" could be read as "recall" if we try really hard, but it sounds to me like "one more spell slot" instead.

"Magic armor negates weight, so that movement does not consider any encumbrance from magic armor." — Gary Gygax, Players Handbook, 1978, page 36

"For game purposes all magical armor should be considered as being virtually weightless — equal to normal clothing, let us assume. This gives characters so clad a base movement speed equal to an unarmored man. Magic shields, however, weigh the same as a normal shield of the same size." — Gary Gygax, Dungeon Masters Guide, 1979, page 164

"When magic armor is worn, assume that its properties allow movement at the next higher base rate and that weight is cut by 50%." — Gary Gygax, Dungeon Masters Guide, 1979, page 28

This implies that Gary just couldn't make up his mind about magic armor and what it's good for or not. For AD&D anyway; in OD&D magic armor has almost no rules.

To be continued...