Book 5: The Storerooms
Finally, we reach the first level of the dungeons (and there was much rejoicing!) The first level is described in 50 areas, 10 of which deal with the Old Guard Kobolds, the rest has a assortment of other monsters, tricks, traps and NPCs to amuse the DM and his or her players. Not everything is hostile, so the party may find useful help here.
Unfortunately, this only takes up half of the book. The remainder describes new monsters, magic items, a few NPCs and ends with a glossary of terms that brought back vivid memories of Keep on the Borderlands. Useful material, to be sure, but I really want more of the dungeons at this stage.
Notes and Comments
Well, that's the contents of Castle Zagyg: the Upper Works. So, what do I think of it? Honestly: Vaguely disappointed, and that's despite it being made up of some great material. The reason for my disappointment is quite obvious: when you get down to it, the Upper Works, much like Yggsburgh a couple of years ago, is just another delay distracting people from the actual dungeons of Castle Zagyg.
The material here is aimed at a group of 4-6 characters of levels 1-4 using the Castles and Crusades system, although players using AD&D or D&D Basic shouldn't have any trouble in using the encounters with only slight adjustments. 3rd and 4th edition DMs will need to do more conversion work. My own 4e campaign has been using material from The Mouths of Madness for the last few months. It's been working very well and the conversion hasn't been too onerous.
What works about the adventure is the way that Gary Gygax and his amanuensis, Jeffrey Talanian, have created an amazing adventuring environment with many groups of rival humanoids, living in places that every so often have incredible magical effects. This isn't a high fantasy adventure where everything is astonishing: instead the magical areas are uncommon enough to not lose their impact when discovered.
There is no overarching storyline in the adventure; the dungeon was designed for groups to adventure through it pretty much as they will rather than being constrained by other matters. However, with the rival groups that live about the surface, there exist many possibilities for a DM and his players to become involved in the humanoid politics of the castle.
The adventure does note that Castle Zagyg should be an evolving site, with new groups coming in to replace those that are slain, and the balance of power shifting depending on the actions of the players and possibly the whim of the DM. Although inexperienced DMs can run this adventure as a simple "kill-em-all" dungeon, a more experienced DM would be able to make this a much richer place.
I really like this boxed set and I recommend that anyone who enjoys the "old school" form of dungeon delving obtain it. I would have far rather that this set have ignored the upper precincts (leaving only books 1 & 5 and adding further dungeon levels); especially given that Jeffrey Talanian and Gygax Games have now parted ways. The future of the rest of the Castle Zagyg project is quite unclear at the present time, and I truly hope that The Upper Works is not left as a monument to what may have been.
Finally, we reach the first level of the dungeons (and there was much rejoicing!) The first level is described in 50 areas, 10 of which deal with the Old Guard Kobolds, the rest has a assortment of other monsters, tricks, traps and NPCs to amuse the DM and his or her players. Not everything is hostile, so the party may find useful help here.
Unfortunately, this only takes up half of the book. The remainder describes new monsters, magic items, a few NPCs and ends with a glossary of terms that brought back vivid memories of Keep on the Borderlands. Useful material, to be sure, but I really want more of the dungeons at this stage.
Notes and Comments
Well, that's the contents of Castle Zagyg: the Upper Works. So, what do I think of it? Honestly: Vaguely disappointed, and that's despite it being made up of some great material. The reason for my disappointment is quite obvious: when you get down to it, the Upper Works, much like Yggsburgh a couple of years ago, is just another delay distracting people from the actual dungeons of Castle Zagyg.
The material here is aimed at a group of 4-6 characters of levels 1-4 using the Castles and Crusades system, although players using AD&D or D&D Basic shouldn't have any trouble in using the encounters with only slight adjustments. 3rd and 4th edition DMs will need to do more conversion work. My own 4e campaign has been using material from The Mouths of Madness for the last few months. It's been working very well and the conversion hasn't been too onerous.
What works about the adventure is the way that Gary Gygax and his amanuensis, Jeffrey Talanian, have created an amazing adventuring environment with many groups of rival humanoids, living in places that every so often have incredible magical effects. This isn't a high fantasy adventure where everything is astonishing: instead the magical areas are uncommon enough to not lose their impact when discovered.
There is no overarching storyline in the adventure; the dungeon was designed for groups to adventure through it pretty much as they will rather than being constrained by other matters. However, with the rival groups that live about the surface, there exist many possibilities for a DM and his players to become involved in the humanoid politics of the castle.
The adventure does note that Castle Zagyg should be an evolving site, with new groups coming in to replace those that are slain, and the balance of power shifting depending on the actions of the players and possibly the whim of the DM. Although inexperienced DMs can run this adventure as a simple "kill-em-all" dungeon, a more experienced DM would be able to make this a much richer place.
I really like this boxed set and I recommend that anyone who enjoys the "old school" form of dungeon delving obtain it. I would have far rather that this set have ignored the upper precincts (leaving only books 1 & 5 and adding further dungeon levels); especially given that Jeffrey Talanian and Gygax Games have now parted ways. The future of the rest of the Castle Zagyg project is quite unclear at the present time, and I truly hope that The Upper Works is not left as a monument to what may have been.
