Not to Be

In the past, I've written about D&D products that were announced or referenced but that, for whatever reason, never came to pass. While reading issue #55 of Dragon (November 1981), I came across references to some more (and some of the same) in Gary Gygax's "From the Sorceror's [sic] Scroll" column.

Of the five projects listed here, arguably only one – regular World of Greyhawk information via Dragon columns – was ever realized. TSR did release a City of Greyhawk boxed set in 1989, but I don't believe it bears much connection to the city from Gygax's campaign, having been written by Doug Niles, Carl Sargent, and Rik Rose. Likewise, we never saw any "smaller-scale maps of important areas of the Flanaess," unless you count some of the material included in Greyhawk modules from the late '80s and early '90s. Again, how much Gygaxian material any of these modules contain is likely tiny. This column is the first time I'd ever seen reference to "miniatures rules for large-scale battles between the states of Oerth" and I'm intrigued by the concept.

The last project mentioned, concerning the Greyhawk Castle and dungeons, is the most interesting. The fact that this project never saw much progress is well known and a source of much consternation from those of us interested in the earliest megadungeons of the hobby. Rather than simply give vent to my bitterness on this topic once more, I'd like to focus instead on Gygax's parenthetical comments about dungeon design. He says:

As with most extensive dungeon complexes, much is developed and kept in the head due to actual play, and some areas are so difficult as to be impossible for those not used to our DM style.

This is a very remarkable statement and one that rings true with my own experience. Mega or "tent pole" dungeons are in a constant state of flux, owing to the activities of the various factions that inhabit them, not to mention the actions of the player characters. Consequently, when refereeing a dungeon of this sort, it's often easiest to keep a very loose key rather than a more detailed one of the sort that works best for a published product. The process of converting Gygax's sketchy written material and mental notes into something fit for sale would no doubt have been an onerous one and I'm not at all surprised it never came to pass.

Retrospective: Castle Greyhawk

Worst. Module. Ever.

I try very hard not to be hyperbolic on this blog; I know I often don't succeed. But I am hard pressed to think of any module published under the Dungeons & Dragons banner that was worse than 1988's Castle Greyhawk. Consider: Gary Gygax's legendary Castle Greyhawk had never seen publication except in snippets (such as Dungeonland, Land Beyond the Magic Mirror, and Isle of the Ape). There were occasional -- unrealized -- intimations by Gary that TSR might one day published this megadungeon in a more complete form. When module WG7 was released, as part of the World of Greyhawk brand, no less, I am sure many expected it to be the fulfillment of a long-held dream. I know I did.

Unfortunately, Castle Greyhawk is more nightmare than dream -- a puerile, unfunny collection of shlock. "The common theme of this dungeon is that no joke is so old, no pun is so bad, and no schtick is so obvious that it can’t be used to confuse and trip up PCs!" That sums it up pretty well in my opinion and, if it hadn't been for the fact that the module was released in the wake of Gygax's ouster from TSR -- an event that shook the industry and the hobby -- I probably wouldn't regard this module with such bile. As it is, the entire thing comes off as a sophomoric attempt to belittle one of the co-creator's of the game and to destroy the game world he created for it.

Now, I'm not sure that it was in fact such a thing. Given that its twelve levels were written by a variety of freelancers, some of them extremely talented and well regarded (Paul Jaquays and Steve Perrin being stand-outs), it's quite possible that the whole thing wasn't so much a concerted attack on Gygax as a project that got out of control and took on a ridiculous life of its own. On the other hand, as many on this blog can attest, the late 80s were a time when many at TSR did make a real effort to besmirch Gary's reputation (This is when the ludicrous "Gary was a cokehead" rumor was started, after all). Likewise, Castle Greyhawk's ham-handed use of puns and pop cultural references (to Star Trek, for example) could quite plausibly be interpreted as pointed at Gygax, who both enjoyed humor and often included allusions and outright borrowings from pop culture in his home campaign.

My own sympathies lie with those who see WG7 as anti-Gygax, but I can't be certain there's any truth to it. Another possibility might have been that, while its origin wasn't defamation, the fact that it could be read that way tickled some of the higher ups at TSR, knowing they could hide behind plausible deniability should anyone confront them on the matter. Interestingly, this module's implicit criticism of Gary lives on at the Wizards of the Coast website, where an article by John Rateliff blames Gygax himself for laying the groundwork for this terrible module: "the parody element [of Dungeonland and Land Beyond the Magic Mirror] opened the door for the later WG7, Castle Greyhawk (1988)."

Since the article contains numerous factual and interpretive errors about the history of the hobby (such as not knowing who Eric Shook was, for example), it's easy to dismiss as errant nonsense, but it speaks volumes about the long shadow Gary casts over this hobby. He was a colossus and it's perhaps unsurprising that so many people wanted to "expose" him as having feet of clay. It's regrettable that Castle Greyhawk was ever published. Whether or not it was intended as a jibe against Gary, few can say, but I think it's certain that this module was ill-conceived, badly done, and a slap in the face of Greyhawk fans, who'd been hoping to see more of the real Castle Greyhawk, a dream that remains unfulfilled over 20 years after the release of this module.

REVIEW: El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury

Fantasy has always embodied the spirit of impossibilities come to life and the ability to interact within a fictional strangeness, and sometimes, to even understand it. The freshness of mystery and suspense that that brings to the game can be readily manipulated by a competent DM, and so too can it be enhanced by uniqueness, whether self-created or borrowed from books meant to help with that.

I've touched on the topic of my disenchantment with magic items (no pun intended) in this blog before. To summarize: I think one of D&D's biggest flaws, one that's been amplified as the years -- and editions -- have dragged on, is the reduction of magic and magic items to an alternate technology, often of a very base sort. It's one thing to use a spell or item in a way that mimics a mundane technology. Anyone who's run a campaign long enough has seen clever players do such things and I don't (generally) have an issue with that. It's another thing entirely, though, to create spells or magic items whose sole purpose is to mimic mundane technology, which is to say, that have no other use other than to introduce some modern convenience into a fantasy world. Worse still are those spells and magic items whose sole purpose is to provide some mechanical benefit -- +2 to Armor Class or +10 to Stealth checks or whatever -- rather than the mechanical benefit arising out of another in-game purpose.

So it was with great interest that I purchased El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury from Pied Piper Publishing, because I felt pretty certain that one of its authors, Rob Kuntz, felt similarly about the matter. ERKAT is a 96-page perfect-bound volume that sells for $24.95, written by Kuntz and Eric N. Shook, whom Kuntz credits with "the majority of the design work" in his introduction. Its contents consist of an alphabetical listing of nearly 150 magic items. Unlike those described in Daemonic & Arcane, these items appear to be wholly original to this product, without any antecedents in the Greyhawk campaign. If I'm mistaken on this point, I think it's still safe to say that the majority of these items are wholly original and created for publication in ERKAT. In itself, this is no flaw, as I'll explain, but it may be a disappointment to some who assume that every Pied Piper Publishing release is based on material created for or used in the Lake Geneva campaign Rob Kuntz co-DMed with Gary Gygax. The impression I get is that ERKAT describes the kinds of magic items that might have appeared in the Greyhawk campaign, even if they never actually did so.

As I said, this is a departure from previous Pied Piper products, although it's not an entirely unwelcome one. Much as I crave more "historical" products, I actually think there's a great need for new material written in a way that's consonant with the "philosophy" behind the early days of the hobby. Kuntz's introduction makes it apparent that he not only understands that philosophy but believes it has a lot to offer the hobby even today. In that sense, ERKAT is what one might call a "neo-old school" product -- a terrible term, I know -- as it uses old school principles to present original material that's not explicitly an ape or a simulacrum of anything that's gone before. It's a bold approch and one of which I approve, even if the final result doesn't quite fulfill the promise I see in it.

Let me be clear, though: this is a very good product. It's certainly the most polished and "professional" product PPP has published to date. The writing is clear, the editing solid. The artwork, particularly Eric Bergeron's cover, is attractive and even evocative at times. This is a very well put together product and one that I hope is the first of many similarly well made products from PPP. More importantly, the ideas to be found with ERKAT's page are, for the most part, top notch. Most of the magic items described within are singular items. They're not the products of a magical assembly line, endlessly cranking out +1 swords to be deposited in treasure troves throughout the fantasy world. Instead, we're treated to unique items like The Escutcheon of the Gorgeous Maw, a shield with a ravenous mouth, and The Two-Faced Memorial Mace, a weapon whose efficacy reflects the religious standing of its wielder.

There are no "throwaway" items in ERKAT; you can tell from the sometimes lengthy descriptions that each one is the result of a kind of mad genius who understands the virtues of mystery, danger, and whimsy in the crafting of memorable magic items. I personally appreciate this, since my own talents in this area are meager. Reading through ERKAT, I had no trouble finding many items that I'd readily drop into my Dwimmermount campaign. There were also many items I'd never include and it's here, I think, that ERKAT falters at least a little. Items like D'Trampa's Magic Coach, a magically summonable taxi, for example, are a little too obviously "jokey" for my liking, though I readily concede that I tend a bit more toward the serious when it comes to how I run my campaign than do many old schoolers. Given the large number of items included in ERKAT, I don't think its authors can be faulted for including a few misses in with their many hits, however.

My main criticism of the book lies in its sometimes-wordy descriptions of its magic items. On some level, this is understandable. ERKAT has very few explicit mechanics in its descriptions and, even when it does, they're presented in an almost "impressionistic" way. That's not to say they never mention "2d6 damage" or "-3 penalty" or "for six rounds" at all, because they often do. Compared even to AD&D's magic item descriptions, though, those in ERKAT are notably lacking in "crunch," which necessitates being a bit wordier when it comes to elucidating their effects. I won't go so far as to say it was a "mistake" to adopt this approach. I do think, however, that it did a less than ideal job in highlighting the loose, free-wheeling nature of old school design and play. I'd have much preferred slightly more laconic entries, if only for compactness, never mind the implicit invitation to each referee to interpret the effects of these items as he sees fit in his own campaign. I'd say that James Mishler's many magic item descriptions come very close to my ideal, as do the descriptions in PPP's other product, Daemonic & Arcane.

In the end, though, despite my criticisms, this is an excellent book and represents a terrific step forward for Pied Piper Publishing, both in terms of presentation and content. While I hope PPP will continue to provide many more historical gaming products, I also look forward to seeing more original material from them. If it's as good as El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury, it will be very good indeed.

Presentation: 7 out of 10
Creativity: 9 out of 10
Utility: 8 out of 10

Buy This If: You're looking for a collection of unique magic items whose use is not always immediately apparent.
Don't Buy This If: You prefer magic items to be straightforward in their use and have lots of game mechanics attached to their functioning.