The current "Real Deal" on Castle Zagyg by G. Gygax

[Col_Pladoh]

Any ideas on when this will be published? I love TLG material, but I have little faith in their ability to get stuff out in a timely manner.

Depends on what you call "timely." Computer games take about three years to get to beta-test version. I do believe that the CZ castle and upper set of dungeon levels will be available in about a year and a half, thereafter additional sets of levels following in three-month intervals, so that the main whole will be completed a year and a half after the initial release.

Take note that I am crystal ball gazing here...

Cheers,
Gary

 

[howandwhy99]

Hi. Thanks for posting. I for one am an eagerly awaiting fan. I just have a few questions.

For anyone fretting about Rob's levels not being in the CZ work, that is not an issue. They were never going to appear there, not were more than one or two of my originals. Ideas from the levels he contributed to my castle were to be done in the usable version, and some will be included in altered form in the CZ work that I am overseeing. The same is generaly true for the large number of levels I drew up--around 35 of the total of 45 in the collection. The fact is that the agglomeration was never suitable for use by all GMs, as will be fully explained in the introduction to the work.

Did you mean "no(r) were more than one or two of my originals"? I'm just wondering why the originals weren't appropriate I guess. I can understand homebrew material not fitting in with previously published material.

The number of levels and maps included in the offering is about all that could be logically fit into such a work. This is not to say thet additional sideand sub-levels can not be added, and that whole modules will not be especially designed for GMs to use in sending their PC parties into a "change" or transporter area--just as I did with The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, Dungeonland, and Isle of the Ape. As a matter of fact I sent PCs to Barsoom, the Carabas on the planet Tshcai, and to areas of Greek mythology as well as underwater. Those that use the CZ castle and dungeons in their campaign can expect to fins places within the dungeon levels where there are places transference to such areas can take place if the GM desires...using the modules that will eventually provided by Trolls or his own creations.

So you're saying the other levels may be some of those later published by the Troll Lords? That would be awesome.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Hi. Thanks for posting. I for one am an eagerly awaiting fan. I just have a few questions.

Did you mean "no(r) were more than one or two of my originals"? I'm just wondering why the originals weren't appropriate I guess. I can understand homebrew material not fitting in with previously published material.

Haste makes waste. I am busy doing editing work, so I don't pay proper attention to my posts...

I did indeed mean to enter the word "nor." The reason is beacuse the the level maps used in the original castle dungeons did not align properly, had many changes on them, and the encounter notes are one-liners, often scratched out as the monsters in the place were wiped out by PC parties. As I have often relayed, the adventures were extemporized by both Rob and myslef.

So you're saying the other levels may be some of those later published by the Troll Lords? That would be awesome.

More of whole adventure modules accessed by transporter from the castle dungeons, but indeed it is quite possible that sets of additional side levels could be offered, these to be discovered by the PC party as they move through a main area. That is how it was managed in my original dungeons

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would love, love, love to see something "new" like Dungeonland or Isle of the Ape, after the castle and dungeons are finished. Dungeonland/Land Beyond the Magic Mirror remain some of my favorite modules. (In fact, I have two copies of EX1 on my shelf, one still in the original wrapper for reasons I'm not sure I can articulate to myself, since I'm not a collector-type, per se.)

 

[howandwhy99]

More of whole adventure modules accessed by transporter from the castle dungeons, but indeed it is quite possible that sets of additional side levels could be offered, these to be discovered by the PC party as they move through a main area. That is how it was managed in my original dungeons

Hey, with a place this big I see no reason to put a final cap on it. As long as you're enjoying the work add as much as you like, right?

The real question is: Whatever happened Eneever Zig?

 

[rgard]

Hi Henry,
In the final month of 1972 and through all of 1973 I would estimate that only about one day in a week saw no adventuring taking place, short ones lasting a copuple of hours, long sessions going o9n for eight or more. Of the initial 13 levels I created for the castle dungeons, all but two or three were explored fully and sacked totally, thus i created several sub-levels for them so that new PCS would have someplace to go where there were monsters and treasure.

In the late spring of 1975 I became so busy with work that I could not serve as DM every day, so Rob took over about 75% or so of that role. As he had a lot of time, there were adventures held daily as before.

In short, the D&D game play was intense, and more than half of it was subterranean delving.

Cheers,
Garu

Hi Gary, sounds like my experience with D&D back in the late 70s and early 80s and the less than stellar GPA I 'earned' at the University of Michigan.

Also, I thank you for plugging my store over on your Q&A thread. I thought I had thanked you before but I can't find post doing that.

A side note to other DMs...I never throw anything out that I created for a campaign. I still have maps of dungeons and contents of the rooms listed from the campaign I ran back at school those many moons ago. In fact, I have run one dungeon for different players in OD&D, 1e, 3e and 3.5e. Also, no NPC ever gets binned ever either...especially with the work it takes to fully detail the feats and skills in 3.x.

If you have the space (and that now can mean a couple of writeable cds) save it all. It reduces your work for future campaigns and if you continue to build on existing work, you will have amassed enough information to make a truly detailed rpg experience for your players!

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Col_Pladoh]

Yes Indeed,

There should be room for as many as a dozen modules to which the PCs can be magically transported. I believe that I have suggested about nine currently. Also, added levels are often even better, as the party that wants to delve into dungeons will be most satisfied thus. A new side level can easily have egress to more and deeper lavels.

Cheers,
Gary

 

[Treebore]

I have one nagging question. Are you going to answer how the ecology of the Dungeon works, or am I?

I mean, if your not, I have no problems sticking someone like Halaster Blackcloak (the guy who maintains the ecology of the many levels of dungeons below the city of Waterdeep in the FR setting) as a way to explain things, along with super magical portals that randomly teleport/permanently summon creatures into the Dungeons, etc...

But if you are integrating explanations into it, I think its obvious that would be much better.

Irregardless, I am starting to believe this is going to become my favorite dungeon of all time. Which will be fitting considering who the main person behind it all is.

Wow! I'm starting to have twitches and sensations I haven't experienced since reading through Tomb of Horrors for the first time!

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Ecology of the dungeon?

There are monsters there. They have stuff. We kill them and take their stuff. End of story.

 

[Col_Pladoh]

A a matter of fact, as the dungeons are the work of the mad ARchmage, there needs be no explanation of how things became and remain as they are. That said, I am indeed setting forth a exology that enables the imaginative fantasy realists ( ) to envision how there is a natural balance, sorta, in a place such as that presented. Likely those things were afterthoughts added by Zagyg so as to not have to worry about feeding and watering every "pet" on every level...

Cheers,
Gary