Armies of Oerth, Part III: Robilar

Using the Field of Glory wargaming rules & Dragon Magazine #37, I am continuing Gary Gygax's Orders of Battle for certain renowned figures from the World of Greyhawk. Of course, one thing to remember is this list is thirty years old. I am sure the Lord of the Green Dragons has undoubtedly updated it since this time.

Due to the composition and size of this army, I will be using the ratio of 25 men-at-arms/model base per the recommendation in the FoG rules.

Robilar's Army List

Commander-in-Chief: Robilar (Fighter of 19th level) = 1 base
Sometime over one year ago, Robilar freed a demon, and in the ensuing difficulties, forces aligned with Good sacked and destroyed his stronghold west of the City of Greyhawk. Many of the higher-level figures were slain, but Robilar still has Otto, a high-level magic-user, and Quij, an Orcish hero of high abitlity but low intelligence, as well as some relatively low-leve1 cohorts. It is reported that the following force escaped and is now somewhere in the Pomarj region.

Heavy Cavalry: 50 (Regulars) = 2 bases
(3 models/base; knights on horses, heavy armour & barding, hand weapons)

Medium Cavalry: 100 (Regulars) = 4 bases
(3 models/base; riders on horses, leather armour & moderate shields, hand weapons)

Light Cavalry: 50 (Regulars) = 2 bases
(2 models/base; riders on horses, no armour & small shields, hand weapons)

Light Horse Crossbowmen: 50 (Regulars) = 2 bases
(2 models/base; riders on horses, no armour & small shields, crossbows)

Heavy Infantry: 100 (Elite Orcish) = 4 bases
(4 models/base; foot troops, heavy armour & substantial shields, hand weapons)

Light Infantry: 100 (Levied) = 4 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & small shields, hand weapons)

Heavy Archers: 50 (Elite Orcish) = 2 bases
(4 models/base; foot troops, heavy armour & substantial shields, bows)

Light Crossbowmen: 50 (Regulars) = 2 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, no armour & small shields, crossbows)

Pole Armed Infantry: 100 (Regular Orcish) = 4 bases
(2 models/base; foot troops, leather armour & moderate shields, pole arms)

This is 27 bases with 71 models on them.

This force is known to be Lawful Evil, but even the minions of Hell eye the army with suspicion due to its chaotic actions.

Next up: Tenser

Ciao!
Grendelwulf

Adventures With 1st Edition Lethalness

I have always thought that the summaries here of Maure Castle's/Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure contained excellent examples of 1st Edition AD&D (and before) lethalness.
The person's summaries of his group's experiences actually make me less enamored for having been mentioned as the "author" but somewhat more proud, instead, as a DM having always embraced a concept I was so often faced with as Robilar, who was constantly challenged across the gaming table by EGG's DM contrivances. Greyhawk Castle and Castle El Raja Key could be very lethal, and in many ways. Not that they were party killers (PK), but there were always chances that this might happen if the players did not think, of course. It is noteworthy that the above summary hits on many levels, as in "How" one dies that makes a legend, etc. It does bring back memories of the beginnings of D&D adventuring where all you could do in death was to become a legend; and by escaping same you became that same legend, a veteran, who was well respected by others in the party for having smarts, or at least luck. It was really refreshing reading that summary.

Can any of our other astute and informed members list other adventure modules that are in their experience as lethal or at least point towards being so? The systems are not important, but a nod towards 1st/2nd/OD&D would be nice (not including Tomb of Horrors, which is mentioned in the above summary).

Will the Real Robilar Please Stand Up...

Robilar in reality as my PC, then as a fictional icon in many supplemental, published works, has had quite a history indeed. Over time I had tried to reconcile his changed history, a point somewhat reached, in part, through the publication of WotC's Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, that Erik Mona had a skillful hand in reconstructing. Therein we find that there was "another" Robilar, which indeed nicely accounts for the Rary the Traitor revision of his history. No doubt this was inspired by the exchange that Jason Verbitsky and I had on the Greytalk-L in 1997, which I append hereafter. And where is Jason these days? I'd like to invite him to contribute more decisive and enlightening commentaries on the state of our industry, and of Greyhawk, past and present.

****
Subject: Re: [GREYTALK] Robilar's return
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 01:03:24 -0700
From: Jason Verbitsky
To: rjkuntz@gci-net.com
CC: GREYTALK MAILING LIST

rjkuntz wrote:
>
> I have begun taking notes and making sketches for a reworked version of Robilar's castle in the the Gnarley Forest; though with my deadlines for Troll [Magazine] and a novel synopsis forthcoming I have had little time to push this one forward beyond 2 pages of opening text by Robilar's wizard, Otto, who is the narrator for this. I see it as an adventure/narrative with Otto dipping in and out as I paste together Robilar's singular adventures--much like a stream of short stories, but as AD&D formats--and Otto commenting on where R. proceeds to after each (ie., adventure --> narrative --> adventure --> narrative, etc.) This would culminate in his return (possibly with a novel I have in mind) and a minimodule (possibly through DUNGEON) and/or a full module detailing his castle and territories near the Wild Coast.
>
> The adventure could be run solo or with these addiional NPCs:
>
> --Quij the orc hero companion
> --Djinn (yep, someone would have to play Robilar's djnn!)
> --and possibly Otto (in parts only)
>
> The main part would delineate Robilar's whereabouts after his castle was abandonned and sacked (I headed him east towards (what would be France) a temple to Zuggtmoy, ostensibly overseas, now west! perhaps DA#1 map or Oreik's Empire of Lynn). He was carrying an artifact of evil, an orb (cf, Eldritch Wizardry artifacts, and later 1st ed. DMG), which was affecting his mind and obsessing him with uncovering the other parts. Also, I have good premises for explaining away the Rary stuff (since Robilar had access to many clone spells (i.e., the first clone spell, as devised by Dave Arneson, was located and found by Mordenkainen and Robilar in their adventure to the City of the Gods)), and this could easily be done with this outline:
>
> 1) Robilar's castle is sacked
> 2) Rary turns up there and roots through the remains
> 3) Clone spells are found
> 4) Robilar skin samples are found
> 5) Rary devises a plan to defeat the Circle with C-Robilar, who is
> their trusted friend. That is why the C-Robilar (perhaps) was able to
> get so close to and destroy the clones of the Tenser, etc.
> 6) They depart for the desert to hide (near Maure Castle maybe?)
> 7) The real Robilar is now insane, wandering but still driven by the
> artifact and his need for revenge (and possibly a little rest).
> 8) Otto affects temporary cures as Robilar is assylumed in Lynn and
> finally locates the hiding place of Rary.
> 9) Robilar starts his long return as described through
> narrative/adventure again. This culminates in several things...
> A) Robilar changing alignment back to true Neutral (tis where he
> started before the artifacts came into the picture)
> B) The rebuilding/repopulating of his stronghold
> C) Reganing of his Green Dragon Inn in Greyhawk City
> D) The destruction of his enemies
> E) The ressurection of a TSR legend?
>
> Can I get some input here? Would this be something, anything, of interest to you folk to see published? If so, I will write a synopsis based upon this and submit it to Harrold Johnson for his consideration. I had already informed him that I had some Robilar deas, that's it. But this could solidify an approach. Let me know gentlefolk!
>
> Rob

Some input? Sure. Here's a little feedback (for whatever it's worth):

Rob, I think that as Robilar is your character you should have had a say in anything that was done with him. Before TSR published the whole Rary-Robilar caper (Greyhawk Wars & Rary the Traitor) they should have first asked you about Robilar's actions and offered to let you (and/or whoever ran Rary) to write a sourcebook about the characters. If they did offer you this chance and you passed it up, then anything that you publish on Robilar in the future should incorporate those events in _Rary the Traitor_. Wether or not this was the case, you have generously offer to reconcile the FtA Robilar with the real Robliar -- your own.

I think your clone idea for Robilar is an excellent one because: 1) it lets you, the creator of the character, determine Robilar's true actions. 2) yet it incorporates the FtA version of 'Robilar' at the same time. Which bridges the gap between original and FtA campaigns nicely. This is just the thing that needs to be done in any new Greyhawk attempt.

Here's what I'd personally like to see about Robliar from you based on what you've said:

1) A full character sheet and biography detailing everything that Robilar did. Your narrative approach should do this nicely -- be it by Otto as you suggest or by Robilar himself as I would have expected from the _Rogues Gallery_ entry, but it's your call.

Pray tell us all tales of his many adventures that he remembers so well, for now is the later time for you to tell "those who might wish to know his odd facts" (RG 46). This would make an excellent article or series of articles in DRAGON magazine for instance -- I'd re-subscribe to DRAGON if I knew this would happen...

BTW, how does Iggwilv (cf. AoE 330) fit into the story of the freeing of Zuggumoy? Is it a seperate version of the freeing of the demon princess? Or was she there with Robilar and just telling the tale her way to Iuz?

2) The mini-module that you mentioned as you suggest through DUNGEON is likewise an excellent idea which would cause me to resubscribe to that magazine as well. Part of what I liked about _Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure_ was that the pre-generated characters weren't 'no-names'. I think it would be a blast to run Robilar, Quij, and Djinn in an ,adventure!

Also by using 'name-brand' pregenerated characters you can easily add a one page summary of what would have happened if the module wasn't run in the campaign. Wouldn't that have been a nice touch in the GDQ or T modules? Gives a better base timeline to work from. If the players use their own characters then changing what happened comes naturally.

3) (An) article(s) or a full sourcebook detailing Robilar's castle and territory in the Gnarley Forest. Both versions would be nice: before it is sacked, and after it is rebuilt (and possibly even a intermediate ruins version as well). This would also allow for Both original and FtA campaigners to make use of the material.

4) You mention Robilar 'regaining' the Green Dragon Inn. Like Robilar's Castle this would make a good article (or series of articles) or a sourcebook. Again it could work in different periods if it dealt with all incarnations of the Green Dragon Inn: before Robilar gained it, how he gained it, while it was his, how he lost it, while it was someone elses, how he regained it, and how it is then.

5) Possibly a sourcebook with all of the above material and more in it; One that ties together everything to do with Robilar. This would allow us all to see the work piecemeal as you create it in the periodicals (and creating sales for TSR via subscriptions, and back issue sales) so we don't have to wait for it to be done. And so there is still room for revisions and expansion to be done once and for all in a sourcebook. Or you could jump right to the sourcebook. A lot of work, but a lot of great material able to be used by all Greyhawkers of whatever ('official') time-period or version of history.

Basically, I'd first like to see you detail everything about the old original Robliar, reconcile this Robiliar with the FtA Robilar, and then afterwards go on developing him as an important personage in the World of Greyhawk's future as you see fit (while reconciling it with FtA). That way the material that you write will be useful to the most Greyhawkers (IMO).

As for the discussions about creating a future Greyhawk that is all well and fine; but the future is build upon the past and the more strongly that the original (i.e. Pre-Wars) campaign is detailed (preferably by those involved in it) the more solid any future history of Greyhawk will likely be. Please, Rob, tell us all about Robilar and make solid that historical foundation so that Greyhawk can thrive in the future.

Well, those are some of my thoughts on the matter of Robilar since you asked. I don't know if feedback of this sort is what you were looking for, but there they are for whatever they're worth to you...

Best of Luck with Robilar whatever you end up doing with him. I look forward to seeing what you are going to do with him.

JV

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
His Dread and Awful Presence, the Hierarch
Jason Verbitsky
JV@bc.sympatico.ca
* * * * * * * * * * * * *

P.S. This is my first 'real' message to the list since my all too lengthy
absence, and the last where I'll use the 'Hierarch sig' as I have
realized that it can clutter up searches of the list archives. However,
I still, naturally, maintain my interests in the Horned Society.

Beginnings

“Know, sir, that we are a company of righteous fellows, most evilly disposed in one way or another by the false-knight, Baron Teric whose castlewick at Edgewood on Wild Road is the bane of freemen and a nest of caitiffs.

--The Gnome Cache (Chapter Two) by Garrison Ernst, The Dragon #2 (August 1976)

Garrison Ernst was, of course, a pseudonym of the late Gary Gygax and the fantasy serial The Gnome Cache is one of his earliest published works of fantasy fiction. Whatever its defects as literature, it's an invaluable record of the early days of the Original Campaign. The serial introduces us to Oerth, a parallel world "very similar to this earth in many ways, but ... also quite different." Over the course of its six chapters, we learn of places whose names are immediately recognizable, such as Blackmoor, as well as those whose names are close to ones we already know, such as the Great Kingdom of Thalland, and those that are more unfamiliar, such as Nehronland. We also hear of personages great and small whose names are similarly familiar, like Saint Cuthburt [sic] of the Cudgel and the villainous Baron Teric mentioned above.

It's important to bear in mind how much the Original Campaign evolved significantly over time, from its origins in the Castle & Crusade Society of the International Federation of Wargamers to the more well-known form under which it was published by TSR in 1980. As The Gnome Cache attests, even the names of places and characters evolved over time, making it sometimes difficult to determine correlations between earlier versions and those that came later. Likewise, alterations were sometimes made for publication, further muddying the waters by creating the false impression that "official" publications were fully accurate representations of characters, places, and events in the Original Campaign.

One of the things I've most enjoyed over the past year is unearthing the "secret history" of the Original Campaign. Discovering, for example, that the earliest map of the setting was based on the geography of North America, with the Free City in roughly the same position as Chicago (with whom it shares a historical penchant for political corruption), made me feel as if I were an archeologist of gaming antiquity. In a sense, I was, since much of this information had lain hidden from view for decades. For that reason, I am especially grateful to this blog's host, the Lord of Green Dragons himself, for the work he's done in contributing to not only my understanding of the Original Campaign's history, but the understanding of interested gamers everywhere. Here's hoping that the next year will bring even more of this hidden knowledge to light.

Trolls Anyone?

Castle Greyhawk was notorious for them. Robilar, Terik and Tenser fought them (often en masse) and Robilar suffered at their hands the one time he lost his bearings in the Castle (a tale that is already written about that 1972 adventure and will be appearing in the book due out late this year or early next: Lord of the Green Dragons™). Enjoy watching an elf geting his come-uppins' from the FC ink for one of the Six Original Castle Levels I am finishing for release this year. Drawn by Edward Kann, one of our team members.