GARY GYGAX Q&A PART XXXII

[was the Elder Elemental Eye worshipped by Eclavdra and her minions an avatar of
Tharizdun?]

No, the Elder Elemental God I envisaged as an entity of vaguely Chronos-like sort, a deity of
great power but of chaotic sort, and not always highly clever in thought and action. Big T on
the other hand is the epitome of pure, reasoning and scheming evil.

Eclavrdra, being more of the mold of Tharizdun, would prefer to have as "master" a powerful
deity she might hope to influence, thus the EEG. [EGG]
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22566&page=23&pp=30

[In the times you ran that module, (how many times did you run it, if I may ask) Did Nilonim
(the drow prisoner chained in the Lloth Temple to be sacrificed to her, who was neutral with
good tendencies) ever become significantly involved with the PCs? Did you have particular
reasons for putting him where he was?]

I ran the Vault' module three or four times, first with my personal group, then with TSR
staffers, then at a con or two. Never once did any party get to Nilonim,. He was there to test
the players, to see if they were in a kill first and talk later mode, and to call their attention to
such mindset if they found and slew him. It was to provide some role-play and questioning
opportunity outside the city encounters as well. Nilonim was placed where he was, in peril, to
sort of give the PCs a hint he might not be Evil to the core as most in the place are. [EGG]
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38912

[...what happened to the treasure? What did you spend it on? Or does Mordenkainen have a
great pile of gold and platinum underneath his stronghold that a new generation of
adventurers can seek to obtain?]

Building a vast stronghold, and employing lots of henchmen and troops, tends to take care of
excess wealth Any leftover treasure went to dragons Ghorki and Porki for their bedding
[EGG] http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38912&page=2&pp=30

Thinking back, I believe that the "nine" [in the poem in ToEE] was meant to refer to
Thrommel being the ninth of his line in succession for the crown--and his level, which of
course could not be "known" per se. the trouble is, one forgets to set forth all the information
created as backstory.

As for Lareth, yes, I did plan to develop Lolth in a different direction. The Q1 module sort of
shot that idea down in flames...
She would have made a comeback via the EEG, though, as he was planned as the central
baddie in another adventure module...that I never got around to writing [EGG]
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38912&page=2&pp=30

[Concerning the final encounter areas in each of the “D” series modules … did you envision
the caverns and warrens area at the end of D1 to “behave” like a classic dungeon exploration
where the creatures stay more or less in place until they are “triggered”, or did you see it as
more of an encampment where the creatures there will try to actively repel any intruders that
don’t belong there, or perhaps just as a merchant checkpoint where the party is actually
intended to bypass most of the encounters there. I can see the potential for any of the three.]

When I DMed NPCs and monsters tended to stay where they were unless something drew
their attention and brought them out. Thus, and of the options you note above might come
into play. It was up to the PC team to manage. If they crept about and attacked with relative
stealth, the adversaries would noy act in concert. Likewise, they could bypass most of the
opposition. The groups I DMed through the module tended to seek bypassing, although one
very strong party made a point of wiping out all the enemy that they could find. [EGG]
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38912&page=4&pp=30