tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post3871285754109827555..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Retrospective: Castle AmberJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65812154434909574872011-12-13T21:30:49.634-05:002011-12-13T21:30:49.634-05:00I have a copy of this and The Lost City that I'...I have a copy of this and The Lost City that I'm going to put my players through again one of these days. I'm thinking of keeping the basic idea of CA but pumping everything up to 25th level or something ridiculous just to add to the mayhem.Matt Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03208208757989655639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43859035374152880542008-10-29T08:20:00.000-04:002008-10-29T08:20:00.000-04:00I am running Castle Amber as a PbP right now on th...I am running Castle Amber as a PbP right now on theRPGsite.<BR/><BR/>What's not to love about this one?StormBringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13093609703603909096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65010808606436131372008-10-24T00:58:00.000-04:002008-10-24T00:58:00.000-04:00Trent's correct, and the discussion was over o...Trent's correct, and the discussion was over on Fin's board @ http://odd74.proboards76.com/index.cgi?board=philosophy&action=display&thread=137<BR/><BR/>Also, semi-relatedly, there are some differences between the original version of the Appendix N list in TD#4 (Dec 1976) and the DMG (1979): one authors not in Appendix N appears in TD#4 (Algernon Blackwood; I thought there were two, but upon closer inspection, looks like just one since Saberhagen does appear in both lists; I'll have to check my other printings of DMGs to see if the list evolved in them); and, Gygax seems to have read less (or at least not recommended ones he'd read) in 1976: Anderson just lists Three Hears & Three Lions; MM just lists Stealer of Souls and Stormbringer, for example.<BR/><BR/>Allan.grodoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800184312511280050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11725819618754215062008-10-22T22:53:00.000-04:002008-10-22T22:53:00.000-04:00It's funny: I was convinced CAS was included in Ap...It's funny: I was convinced CAS was included in Appendix N and, as you say, he's not. Go figure.<BR/><BR/>As for the rest, I think that's very interesting. Since I'd been laboring under the false presumption that Gary read and liked CAS, I'll have to give some thought to the consequences of this revelation.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-79662185433142828932008-10-22T22:47:00.000-04:002008-10-22T22:47:00.000-04:00I knew of his name, of course, from having read, a...<I>I knew of his name, of course, from having read, among other things, Appendix N of the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide.</I><BR/><BR/>Point of order: CAS is conspicuously absent from Gygax's DMG list, and when asked about him in later years Gygax always denied that CAS was a particular influence on him -- I suspect Gary felt his stories had too much florid description and not enough action. As I mentioned once before (don't remember when or where, but I remember that grodog responded at the time) I see the CAS influence as being perhaps the key difference between Gary Gygax-style D&D and Rob Kuntz-style D&D (Rob, unlike Gary, has always been a vocal fan of CAS). To the basic mixture of Tolkien, Howard, Vance, and Leiber (i.e. baseline D&D) Gary added more A. Merritt and de Camp & Pratt, Rob Kuntz added more CAS.Trenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01889179660165006042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22285045847718929012008-10-22T22:00:00.000-04:002008-10-22T22:00:00.000-04:00Zachary,That's a tough call, but my immediate thou...Zachary,<BR/><BR/>That's a tough call, but my immediate thought is that 1985's <I>Isle of the Ape</I> is the last truly old school module that TSR ever produced. That said, I'm actually not a huge fan of the module, so my preferred pick would be <I>Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure</I> from the previous year.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2415432771246505732008-10-22T21:51:00.000-04:002008-10-22T21:51:00.000-04:00Might I ask, James, has this one been on your mind...<I>Might I ask, James, has this one been on your mind because of the Haunted Chateau? Is this an influence to that piece?</I><BR/><BR/>Most emphatically yes. When I wrote the adventure during the summer for the Otherworld contest, I didn't realize until I was almost done that I'd been writing an homage to <I>Castle Amber</I>, but I was, right down to my use of the word "chateau" and all the Francophone names for NPCs. As I worked on the expansion and revision, I decided to run with the idea and make the most of it. My adventure isn't <I>Castle Amber 2.0</I> by any means, but it shares a lot with the original module and I make no bones about that.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25774816526410938872008-10-22T20:58:00.000-04:002008-10-22T20:58:00.000-04:00James, in your opinion, was was the last high-qual...James, in your opinion, was was the last high-quality old school module put forth for D&D? Do you see the line being crossed into different module design intent, or can you even peg it down?Zachary Houghtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01166638173640517627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-76766409481773322402008-10-22T17:12:00.000-04:002008-10-22T17:12:00.000-04:00This is a great module for the same reason that th...This is a great module for the same reason that the old Looney Tunes are: you can find the entertainment in it no matter what your age. The entertainment just comes from appreciating it different levels depending on your age.<BR/><BR/>It is a great "funhouse" setting, which was how I experienced it when it came out. As a young gamer, I got a lot of miles out of the weird and wacky antics of the Amber clan.<BR/><BR/>Twenty-five years later, I'd run this as a completely different animal. Not only being older, but more familiar with the source material, it come out being more melancholic and unsettling than wild and wacky.<BR/><BR/>Might I ask, James, has this one been on your mind because of the Haunted Chateau? Is this an influence to that piece?Michael Curtishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13217338828086458862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3722496976476399822008-10-22T17:11:00.000-04:002008-10-22T17:11:00.000-04:00What is sad is the realization that, in retrospect...<I>What is sad is the realization that, in retrospect, 1981 was probably the highwater mark for the old school.</I><BR/><BR/>Honestly...I think it would be hella cool to give "Old School" a comeback. <BR/><BR/>Get some creative folks, with some experience and churn out some high quality products and get folks interested in it as a way of playing and not just "nostalgia".<BR/><BR/>"Old School" Roleplaying where RAW is not the whole of the law is more of a standard than an exception.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02269727660667017348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27639701050063486522008-10-22T14:09:00.000-04:002008-10-22T14:09:00.000-04:00For me, Isle of Dread is my favorite adventure. I ...For me, <I>Isle of Dread</I> is my favorite adventure. I never really cared for <I>Castle</I>, even though I played it many times. For me <I>IoD</I> had more room for me to play with.Rogue Gameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677589366040436360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-91249342242201725692008-10-22T13:52:00.000-04:002008-10-22T13:52:00.000-04:00One of my all-time favorite modules.In addition to...One of my all-time favorite modules.<BR/><BR/>In addition to the CAS homages there's Edgar Allen Poe mixed in to great effect as well. And brain collectors. Hard to go wrong with brain collectors.Maxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07615194097431562045noreply@blogger.com