GARY GYGAX Q&A PART I

[Are the maps published in WGR1 Greyhawk Ruins the, or part of the, original ones you used back
then?]

They were TSR's contrivances and have no association whatsoever with the original castle. Neither
EGG or myself were consulted on the project. But it's history now; and PPP's Lake Geneva Castle and
Campaign product line will detail all of my levels originally created for said Castle, Outdoor and City
(and Bottle City and the Original Living Room are but the tip of the iceberg with that) and Gary himself
is publishing his version of it as Castle Zagyg, which may include original pieces, but the details of that
project are best sought from him. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1946

His [Robilar’s] castle was located SW of the City and that has been online information ever since I have
been online, and of course before that everyone form the LG campaign knew of this location as well.
[RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1947?page=1

Robilar bought the inn with gold he found in the Castle.

Petty simple. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1948

Robilar must secretly acquire the inn again after being forced out of the area by the (l)awful forces of
good, so it is assumed that the city, at the instigation of those good forces, especially Tenser, had it
confiscated.

Don’t know what EC [Erac’s Cousin] named his inn. [RJK]

http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1948

It [the Green Dragon Inn] was in the old original city, before it was expanded. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1948?page=4

It [the Green Dragon Inn] was on the first map, then when I became Co-DM the city was expanded into
4 8x11's; ostensibly I've always viewed the first map as OLD City GH, as the wealth which was brought
out of the castle and circulated in the city made it grow at a rapid rate, at least that was Gary's assertion
then. That would make the other 3 maps the newer city by expansion, with the GDI being located in
OLD City. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1948?page=4

[Rob, about what year did you first roll up Robilar?] 1973 [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1951

[Robilar’s first adventure]

Ernie Gygax as Tenser

Elisa Gygax (Ahlissa)
Terry Kuntz (Terik)
Rob Kuntz (guess who?)

Onto the first level of Castle Grehawk! I have recounted this elsewhere, but beat on some centipedes
and then Robilar stayed behind to test the scene while the others exited the castle. During his stay in an
empty room it was invaded by several giant lizards and he retreated out another door and beat it out of
the Castle.
So starts Robilar's solo adventures--I was a maverick from the very beginning and it only got better later
on. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1951
May have been late 1972 [that Robilar was rolled up], can’t remember, so thanks for the time-stamp.
[RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1951?page=2

I played Robilar for the last time in 1987. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1951?page=2

[What was the largest party Robilar ever adventured with (I mean, with other player characters)? Is
there any story to go with that?]

Probably 6-7 in the earlier days. That then was too much for my wonts, which spurred me to seek solo
adventures when possible.

No stories that I can recall in keeping with those of his solo exploits, the latter being what made him
legendary.

Most notable adventure was probably the trip back from China or the City of the Gods. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1951?page=15

EGG never described him [Quij], really. I suppose he'd have a snout (always nosing around, getting into
things he shouldn't) and is of an unknown tribe which had infiltrated Castle Greyhawk. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949

Yep, monthly upkeep and support costs had a lot to do with having orcs. We had to do tallies of costs
and extract the totals from our gold reserves; and the tallies were inspectable by EGG at any time, and
penalties would be assessed if we were caught fudging the numbers. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949

[Seriously, its a shame that one of the core aspects of the D&D phenomena (armies) has been shunted
for the ol' "diet fellowship" formula of less than a dozen...]

I agree with Gene wholeheartedly and without reserve! The aspect of campaign-play is the potatoes of
the meat and potatoes of D&D. Missing that, you've never experienced one of the game's fullest and
finest aspects. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949

"Didn't Quij once save Robilar from some trolls, rather amazingly when Robilar was
unconscious/incapacitated?"

Nope, but he fought alongside Robilar and Teric facing Trolls, and killed one by himself.

"Did Gary really elevate Quij to "hero status" (4th level) after this encounter?"

Yes, he was elevated by EGG due to the circumstances of him slaying the troll single-handedly, which of
course "meant" that he was an exceptional orc.

"What kind of stats did Quij end up with?"

4th level orc with 12 hp and chain armor and shield and sword, nothing spectacular for OD&D. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949?page=4

The troll never hit him and Quij (then unnamed) killed him within a 3-5 blow span with high damage
on each hit.

Just one of those numerical thingies gone askew, we've all seen 'em, but Gary was aware of the chances
too, so his reaction, I believe, to raise his level, not only for defeating the Troll, but for him actually
surviving a lop-sided contest--heroic, to say the least. Thus was created the first orc "hero" (bragging
rights when among other orcs, included). [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949?
page=4

Nope, [Quij] never was killed--or assassinated. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1949?

page=4

Those [green, black, white, blue, etc. dragons and frost, hill, stone, etc. giants] were originated for D&D
during the play test phase of the game. The Chainmail versions were generic giant and traditional red
dragon as you've noted. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1952

Great for retrievals of magic and money though, the [green dragon] Gas, as noted elsewhere in Robilar's
history.

Tenser (as a neutral wiz before turning goody-goody) had red dragons and was always complaining
about fried magic items and massive lumps of recooling gold and silver which had been melted from
their breath weapons. EGG loved telling him about all of the various items he'd fried as Ernie sifted
through the charred remains (whether they were magical or not, Ernie never knew), and in detail...
[RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1952

Well, losing my castle was a major defeat, but I decided to abandon it because EGG was noticeably
intent on getting even with me for the ToEE sacking I’d perpetrated.

The fight against the Trolls in the lower caves didn't go well (I've written an account of that which will
be compiled into a book of stories from those days--hey Gronan, if you remember any, fling um my
way).

The fight against the dragons I captured lost me my efreeti.

The running from the Black dragon into a purple worm, then back to black dragon fiasco while being
pursued by the 'worm, which I barely escaped from with some fast thinking.

Being captured and nearly sacrificed by "Aztecian-types while journeying back from China.

He was cornered early by wights (at 3rd level) but by the saving grace of Mary Gygax's complaining that
we were playing this new D&D game too much was I saved from that.

No, none that actually handed me too much of a defeat other than losing the castle, but I was
considered a smart player. I knew when to run and knew EGG was always gunning for the PCs, so going
invisible (ring) with elven boots and creeping around let me choose times to attack or clued me in on
when not to, or when to beat it, etc. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1953

A condensation follows, as I've written of that encounter for the compilation.

I went up a passage in the Castle containing cells. When I got past one a wight came out which I hadn't
seen in passing. Instead of fighting it I ran onward (it followed) and the passage did a U-turn revealing
more cells, and another wight came out of one in front of me. So, one closing from the rear, one in
front, and no where to run. I was 3rd level, iccch! I saw my doom fast approaching , but then:

The door to EGG's study is flung wide open, almost hitting me where I sat and Mary Gygax bursts in
screaming to high heaven that "You're always playing this game!" (This is of course during the play test
phase, we don't know how successful it will be, etc., etc.) She continues screaming and slams the door
shut.
Gary merely held hand to head with the onset of a headache and looks at me and says: "On a one or
two, it's all been a dream," and he rolls the die and it's a 2. Phew. Thanks Mary!

I returned that favor for Jim Ward's PC Bombadil after his crushing at the hands of the Dark Druids (his
Castle and characters were all wiped out), and that is part of the story as well that I've written.

There you go. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1953

[Robilar was] Never killed, GW. Close to it several times, but no DOAs. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1953?page=2

Exactly. Rary made the clone after finding the original clone scrolls (from the City of the Gods
adventure into Blackmoor) in the ruins of Robilar's sacked castle. As Robilar was adventuring thousands
of miles away in Lynn he was not aware of his growing insanity, and this was partially cured by priests
he met there (as long as he wore a potent charm which had to be restored on a time schedule). The
insanity was at first attributed to the evil artifact he bore, but once parted with it, his mind did not
change, but worsened.

That's my take to realign Robilar back to his original status from what the later TSR writers crafted for
him in RtT, et al. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1955

Well, think of both of the Castles as emulations of real life: your two next door neighbors might be a
little old woman, frail and not much worthy of a mugger, but let the same mugger attempt your other
neighbor, a retired wrestler who is now an iron worker and an ex-marine...

The levels had a general leveling of monsters to them, yes, so these coincided with the encounter-level
spread, but only for the most part. Their designs always incorporated things, which just like in real life,
were there to be dealt with at higher levels or under strict and understood circumstances. A good
example of that is the iron golem in WG5. Looks beatable until you swing a sword or toss a spell, then
the playing field becomes strewn with readily sought remedies amid many questions and concerns.
Should we stay and fight? What are the remedies (if any) and if the DM is fair (which EGG and I were),
where are they? In the box, around the corner? On the previous level and we missed these? Or is it
meant to be defeated at all? There were some encounters like that (and keeping in mind that these are
not adventure "modules" all scaled and nice and at all times understandable for your buck's worth, but
they comprise adventure material none-the-less). So the fountain of snakes? Nothing could be done
about that, as it poured forth an endless stream of snakes. Sure, many players combated them, until we
informed them that there was no decrease that they were aware of, except as measured by their own
flagging energies. The Juggernaut was on an early level too. Player reaction when nearing its known
area?-- Avoid!

In Blackmoor even, the playing field was not even, especially in the days when Dave's players were
establishing what their environment consisted off, how much there was of it and to what degree, and
how fast they could run away if need be.

Real life places challenges at all places and times and at different degrees oftentimes not corresponding
to ones current means for successfully dealing with each and every eventuality, so Greyhawk, ERK and
Blackmoor were the same in that regard--the challenges were of many levels and were interspersed.
Some were paradoxes, some meant to be dealt with later, some readily ascertained and others easily or
not so easily dispatched.

Once our players understood that, then it wasn't difficult for them thereafter to bet on dangerous
situations spawning from even the tiniest occurrences. This kept them on their toes, kept them
interested and often kept them running, or, if they were foolhardy or overbold, kept them re-rolling
new PCs to replace the ones which perished.

To me this will always be the essence of good solid and awe-inspiring play<>DM'ing. That's
"homebrew", and though a designer I be, no written adventure will ever, IMO, replace that level of play,
as they are separate beasts, for sure. [RJK] http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1956

Evolvement was a natural thing, as we watched our players evolve. Good for the goose, etc...

When we restocked, evolvement sometimes took place if the encounter had been successful in
defeating something, or had otherwise survived a long time compared to others, we might reason an
explanation and incorporate an advancement.

Some encounter areas were linked (confederates here and there) and shifting more numbers or more
dangerous (higher leveled leaders) to a place that was attracting PC attention could be done as well.

EGG and I were mutable when it came to strategies for countering the destruction of our castle. [RJK]
http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/1956