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Message: <blockquote data-quote="grodog" data-source="post: 5057538" data-attributes="member: 1613">That was the first version published, so, if you think about it, you started at the beginning, even if it wasn't Gary's and Rob's Castle.  So, you didn't do anything wrong <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />I've seen copies of CZ sell for $85-125 within the past few months, so you just need to keep an eye out on the auction.  I'd say that paying up to $125 or so is worth it for CZ if you're a big Greyhawk and/or Gygax and/or Jeffrey Talanian fan; otherwise, you're better off waiting for another (cheaper) auction.  There's a copy on eBay right now @ <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/GARY-GYGAX-CASTLE-ZAGYG-THE-UPPER-WORKS-NEW-BOXED-SET_W0QQitemZ180456289007QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a040872ef" target="_blank">GARY GYGAX CASTLE ZAGYG THE UPPER WORKS NEW BOXED SET - eBay (item 180456289007 end time Jan-20-10 18:39:13 PST)</a> (at $117 with 5 days left to go).Those Dark Chateau prices are way over-inflated:  you should be able to find copies of this in many games stores (it was released at least a year or two before CZ:UW), and/or used bookstores, and/or on Amazon and other bookseller sites.  There are two printings, in case you care, but I wouldn't pay more than $15 or so for it---not because it's not good, but because you should really be able to find a copy for $10 or less.  NobleKnight doesn't have any copies atm @ <a href="http://www.nobleknight.com/SearchResults.asp?search=kuntz" target="_blank">NOBLE KNIGHT GAMES - Where the Out-of-Print is Available Again</a> but they do have most of the rest of Rob's Pied Piper products in stock.That's both correct and incorrect:  the original level keys I've read from Castles Greyhawk and El Raja Key and Maure Castle were pretty barebones in terms of content, but that is not always the case---the original manuscript notes for Bottle City are pretty extensive in several areas as well.  In each case, however, the key difference of keyed encounters vs. the same encounters in gameplay is that Gary and Rob would riff off of the original notes, and improvise encounter content, dungeon dressing, and the general dungeons environment, both based on their whims at the time, as well as previous explorations, and in response to what the players were bringing to the table.  Several excellent reviews of CZ:UW were written in the few months following its release, if you want to assess whether or not you really want to shell out the $$$ for it; see Joe Bloch's @ <a href="http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-castle-zagyg-vol-ii-upper-works.html" target="_blank">Greyhawk Grognard: Review: Castle Zagyg, Vol. II: The Upper Works</a> and James Maliszewski's @ <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/12/review-castle-zagyg-upper-works-part-i.html" target="_blank">GROGNARDIA: REVIEW: Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works (Part I of III)</a> and my own @ <a href="http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_grodog_castle_zagyg_review_final.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_grodog_castle_zagyg_review_final.pdf</a> (I'm sure I'm forgetting a few that were out around the same time, too).  I explore, share, and develop my personal version of Castle Greyhawk @ <a href="http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_castle_grodog.html" target="_blank">grodog's Greyhawk Castle Archive: grodog's Version of Greyhawk Castle</a> and you were already pointed to Joe Bloch's levels.I'm a huge Greyhawk fan, and I wouldn't pay $200-$300 for a CZ:UW set (and I have spent quite a bit more than that on original Greyhawk manuscripts in the past, including six of Rob's original GH Castle level maps---ones that he is working on publishing this year, thankfully <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> ).  I agree completely; also worth checking out are The Living Room (an extended encounter originally set in Greyhawk Castle), and WG5 Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1985 TSR)/Maure Castle (Paizo's Dungeon #112, 124, 139, and continued on the PPP web site with some freebie downloads), as well as Garden of the Plantmaster (which has links to the Lost City of the Elders/WG5, too).  Other PPP releases were set in Greyhawk's wilderness, but within the Castle itself.Thanks for the plug, Jason!  Just to clarify:  my Castle Greyhawk research and lore at <a href="http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh_castle.html" target="_blank">grodog's Greyhawk Castle Archive</a> vs. the above link, which is my personal vision/version for Castle Greyhawk.  I've also been posting new level maps for my Castle Greyhawk dungeons to the Megadungeons! forum at Knights & Knaves @ <a href="http://www.knights-n-knaves.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=28" target="_blank">KNIGHTS & KNAVES ALEHOUSE :: View Forum - Megadungeons!</a> (several of those maps haven't quite made it into my site updates yet, but should soon-ish).</blockquote>

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