Creatures that Were Featured: Remorhaz Little Known History

One day while going about my TSR duties at Williams & Marshall Street, EGG waved me into his upstairs office and showed me the picture posted here. He noted that it had been drawn by Erol
Otus, that he liked it, but didn't have any statistics for it, nor even a name. He handed it to me asking if I'd create the beast; and so I did, name and all, though no proper credit appeared in the DRAGON's Creature Features that I am aware of. Erol is another interesting soul who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with again, after so many years, at GENCON 40. If anyone knows his e-mail, please send it to me so I can invite him to discuss his past, present and future art projects and pull down some insight from one of the "old time" artists who strongly influenced the D&D game in its many phases.

In Memoriam (1938-2008)

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.

Addendum to El Raja Key's Arcane Treasury

We've posted two addenda to ERKAT, a treasure table and an index.

"Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wagh’nagl fhtagn."

I've spent a lot of time over the last year delving deeply into the literary origins of Dungeons & Dragons -- the books and authors that influenced its creators and its earliest players and referees. My "Bible" for this is the fabled Appendix N from the Advanced D&D Dungeon Masters Guide, where Gary Gygax laid out a list of "inspirational and educational reading." The books and authors Gygax noted as being most immediately influential on him were almost all fairly old -- some might even say "old fashioned" -- by the time the DMG was published in 1979: L. Sprague de Camp, Fletcher Pratt, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, Abraham Merritt, and H.P. Lovecraft.

The last name in that list is quite interesting, since Lovecraft is the only author among them that's generally considered a "horror" rather than "fantasy" writer. Leaving aside for the moment that such a fine distinction is of fairly recent vintage (and not completely accurate even in this case), HPL does rather stand out as an anomaly. Lovecraft's protagonists are scholars rather than swordsmen and are often "rewarded" for their efforts with the insanity that comes from the knowledge of humanity's ultimate insignificance within the cosmic scheme -- hardly the stuff from which D&D adventures are made!

Or is it? Certainly Lovecraft's worldview was very different than that of his friend and correspondent, Robert E. Howard, for example, but it was by no means devoid of heroism. For Lovecraft, humanity and all its works are as nothing compared to the Great Old Ones and their servants. Despite the inconsequential nature of human existence, some few soldier on, braving the dark and sacrificing their lives and minds to preserve all that they've known and loved for just one more day. There may be no stopping the inevitable time when the stars shall again be right and dread Cthulhu and his minions arise once more, but a heroic few will nevertheless attempt to stave it off for as long as they can and their struggles to do so make great fodder for D&D.

The earliest players of the game recognized this, which is why issue 12 of The Dragon included an article on "The Lovecraftian Mythos in Dungeons & Dragons," much as early printings of 1980's Deities & Demigods did as well. The Original Campaign was no stranger to such horrors either. The Temple of the Elder Gods was one of its early adventures and it drew heavily upon Lovecraftian themes, as did its "sequel," Fomalhaut and even parts of the Bottle City. And of course, the faction of drow attempting to establish an alliance with the giants in the classic G-series modules worshipped a tentacular deity known as the Elder Elemental God, a being of writhing, amorphous appearance. Likewise, the evil deity Tharizdun -- whose name was derived from the earlier Tharzduun -- has decidedly Lovecraftian overtones, being imprisoned to prevent his destruction of the world and served only by madmen.

Like so much in D&D, even Lovecraftian ideas are imported to serve the game, not vice versa. Consequently, a HPL purist would probably balk at the somewhat humanistic spin given to many of the Old Gent's ideas, never mind the treatment of the Great Old Ones and their servants as mere monsters, albeit very powerful ones. In D&D, victory against the dark isn't necessarily eking out just one more day of respite before the final, mind-shattering End comes. That approach, so powerful and poignant in Lovecraft's own writings, is a poor fit for the pulp fantasy superstructure of D&D. The earliest creators of the game understood this, but it didn't stop them from drinking deeply from the works of Lovecraft and his imitators, all of whom left an indelible mark upon the game that's visible, however faintly, even today.

EGG & the Prisoners of the Maze Introduction

As we approach a full year since Gary's passing on March 4th I am sure a lot of us have been reflecting upon his enormous contributions to FRPG and what far-ranging impact that has had on each singular life that this has positively influenced.

I have been giving much thought to my past association with EGG, from family friend when I was a precocious lad who was considered a family member by the Gygax "Clan" (ah, but the Swiss are so like that with their cantons) to the many times and projects and laughs and, yes, arguments we shared over the years. But as his childhood friend and co-founder of TSR Rules, Don Kaye, once said to me about such disagreements he had himself had with EGG: "Rob, don't let it bother you. I've argued with him for years, not because I was right, but just to keep him honest," which we both laughed at.

One of the many things EGG and I agreed on during his time was the direction of the Greyhawk Project 1979 onward, and one of its component parts, The MAZE OF XAENE, which I had been crafting. Gary was very excited about this as it was central to the ideas of what both of us had been writing about in the DRAGON and the route that we were taking the campaign, of course.
But many folks do not know to date that EGG himself wote the introduction for the first adventure in the series, Prisoners of the Maze, which I append hereafter (warning, pretty long).

For some reason I've always immensely appreciated this introduction. Others have criticized his writing, but look here, again, to see some very excellent exposition and meaningful dialog.
Though the project ended up not going to print at TSR with all of the infighting and politics of the time, it still remained a work to me that epitomized the direction that we were both in accord on with the setting's direction as we saw it then. The next project in line for us was the complete
publication of the our Original Castle Levels, and whcih EN Shook (now PPP's VP) was faithfully re-rendering then.

Note that I've bolded the word, moons, below. And I suppose Grodog or someone will tell me what I already know as to the reason why that was written by EGG...



INTRODUCTION
The secret league has voted. The council has met in secret discussion. A verdict has been reached. They, the representatives of the hoped for re-ascendancy of the Kingdom, would put an end to the reign of Ovar the Crazed. These plotters would have the King assassinated and an ordered and glorious kingdom reestablished once again. These savants of power would bring __________ (fill in your Kingdom) to the fore, with its riches and splendor, its influence and might again supreme, and with their number rightfully directing the kingdom. It is your duty to be the embodiments of action!

You and your council brothers have been directed to come before the assembled members. As you enter the draped chamber and sit in a chair next to a long intricately carved table made of priceless teak, your blood races with excitement, then chills. These cloaked figures represent unknown embodiments of power and strength. Even the air of this underground hall exudes an undefinable weirdness. To dare such an undertaking requires either madness or power or both. A cowled head turns towards where you sit; from it comes a rasping voice:

"You are to be the babes who uproot the rotten and impure tree. Be merciless! In its destruction you create a new foundation, one that will be the answer to the peoples' hopes. In its place a greater tree will grow, one whose top will embrace the sun, whose limbs will touch the moons, and cause our former tormentors to wither away!"

An arm points towards an area where the curtains are drawn back to reveal a small door. You and your brothers bow, and then back from the chamber, each filled with his own inner purpose.

It is exhilarating business to serve as executioners of someone not fit to command a rabble of southern savages; and it is quite a different task to stand long before the council's combined gaze: THAT makes one's blood congeal!

You converse in whispers as your party moves steadily and silently through seemingly endless corridors and passageways. Eventually, the floor changes from coarse stone and brick to polished black marble. Torches, lanterns and cressets light the hallways now. In moments you will be standing before the platinum worked portals of the King's lesser throng room. Where you've been in the gargantuan tower none of you know; but where you are bound is certain: At one stroke you will seal the future of the Kingdom and avenge the lives and blood of the thousands who have died in Ovar's mines, torture rooms and slave pens.

A pair of gigantic guards, covered with black mail and with skull like helms stand to either side of the doorway. At your approach, each guard slams the adamantine butt of his long halberd on the floor; and with the sound echoing down the corridor, grasps the gold ring on the door by which he stands, and heaves. The large portals swing open without noise. As you enter, the opulence of the throne room nearly causes you to falter in your steady and purposeful approach to destiny.

All of you draw a deep breath when the great valves shut behind you. You have done it! You are before the crazed tyrant Ovar! He has seen no threat to your entreat for a private audience. He has allowed you to come before him to discover the "new plants" you have supposedly discovered on an alleged voyage to the Horse Lords: miniature flowers, only fractions of an inch tall, and with their miniature insect life as well!

There sits the despot, patiently awaiting you on one of his thrones of obsidian and silver. Ovar smiles upon seeing the cloth draped coffer you bear, for he thinks it contains the tiny flowers he intends to be the culminating pieces in his collection of flora and fauna. You kneel hands touching the lustrous marble floor. Ovar bids you rise and approach to where the sumptuous rugs of red silk and silver thread are spread. As you near the throne you are elated. NOW! Each of you attacks by bounding with drawn weapon or by quickly motioning in spell casting. Just as suddenly Ovar disappears from his throne!

Confusion! Terror! Have you been betrayed? How was Ovar aware of the plan? How could he have escaped so easily and swiftly? You turn to flee, but know that your escape chances are slight indeed, but any chance is better than none. First, the trollish guards no doubt waiting outside; then a sprint to lose pursuit in the labyrinthian passages of the tower. At this moment you see HIM! It is the most powerful of mages, the dreaded Zayene.

Each of you tries to confront the court wizard, but all of your actions seem weak slow, and disjointed. The dreaded mage smiles evilly as he watches you. With laughter on his cruel lips, and an unnatural light glowing from his eyes, Zayene draws a handful of tiny orbs from the breast of his robe and hurls them at you in a single motion quicker than the strike of a giant snake! As the orbs reach positions over the heads of each of your fellows, they stop abruptly and hang suspended. From each floating orb pours a luminous cascade of strange colors: yellow gold; leaf green; glowing brown; translucent white. Your associates' figures become pale and insubstantial; and then your own arm is transparent! The room fades, but the leering face of Zayene seems to grow larger and brighter, filling the whole universe. Then . . . blackness! Thus begins MOZ Part 1, PRISONERS OF THE MAZE.

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.

Welcome

Welcome to Pied Piper's new blog! I have invited a select number of folks to have posting rights here and I do hope that you take advantage of them, if not regularly, at least when the mood strikes.

The idea of this blog is to separate the chaff from the wheat with our products and ideas, and we have also created a new forum as well that will go live very soon. This blog will facilitate the open discussion and commentary on PPP's products and related fantasy industry topics and other material related to both, such as overlapping fantasy fiction and essays of the sort that would, by discussion, contribute to the a widening base of knowledge for its readers.

This is also a good place to ask me questions of any sort relating to my past designs and involvement within this industry 1968-present, to conduct an interview, for instance,

or at least to arrange for one.

The folks I have invited here are pretty representative of a cross-section: fans, collectors, reviewers, historians, friends, colleagues, and other professionals, such as artists, authors, business owners, graphic designers and game designers, etc.

I am sure that we will all pleasantly enjoy ourselves; and the list of invitees will no doubt be added to, with Gronan being amongst those who I could not find an email address for.

Rob Kuntz