Category: Arneson
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XXI: Gygaxian Frost Giants ~ Part III: Terror Beneath the Ice (1978)
Bundle of Holding Endeavor Please note that this week, following the July 4 fire in our neighborhood, the Bundle of Holding site is promoting Castle Oldskull to benefit the Kelly family as well as the Arapahoe County Research Patrol of volunteer teenager emergency responders. If you would like to contribute, and star in the next…
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XII: The Temple of Elemental Evil ~ Part III (1976)
Art on this web page was created by Bob Greyvenstein. Artwork © Grim Press, used with permission. All rights reserved. Hello, and happy Flanaess Growfest to you from the castleoldskull.com blog. For our next glimpse into Gary Gygax’s Temple of Elemental Evil campaign, we will be looking at many of the characters and their secret…
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XI: The Temple of Elemental Evil ~ Part II (1976)
Hello, and happy Matriarchs Festival to you from the castleoldskull.com blog. As we continue TSR and Dungeons & Dragons history series, we’re exploring the 1976 maps that Gary made for his Temple of Elemental Evil campaign. Today we look at Hommlet, the Temple grounds, the Cthulhu Mythos, and the mysteries surrounding the Elder Elemental God.…
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X: The Temple of Elemental Evil ~ Part I (1976)
Hello, and welcome to the castleoldskull.com blog. For our next TSR and Dungeons & Dragons history series, we’re going to be taking a look at one of Gary Gygax’s most famous and beloved creative campaign showcases, the (Lost) Temple of Elemental Evil. The way is sure to be perilous and awash with unholy revelation. So…
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VIII: TSR & Dungeon History ~ The Year 1973 (Part IV)
TSR & Dungeon History: The Year 1973 (Part IV) in today’s blog post, we look at pre-publication glimpses of Dungeons & Dragons, including the art design, the Don Kaye partnership, and a very fateful Gen Con. Read the earlier chapters in this series here, here, and here. The Summer of 1973: June 22 to September…
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V: TSR & Dungeon History ~ The Year 1973 (Part II)
TSR & Dungeon History: The Year 1973 (Part II) In today’s blog post, as we continue to explore the history of the Arneson and Gygax creative collaboration, we dig down toward one of Lin Carter’s innovative books (Imaginary Worlds) that could very well have inspired much of the theming and background behind pre-publication Dungeons &…
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IV: TSR & Dungeon History ~ The Year 1973 (Part I)
In today’s blog post, we take a look at the fateful beginning of 1973, and Gygax and Arneson’s collaboration on a little game that would come to be known as Dungeons & Dragons. TSR & Dungeon History: The Year 1973 (Part I) Introduction As the mists of history crystallize, more and more primary material from…
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III: A Grim Saga of Giant Foemen (Part III)
I believe Jack the Giant Killer may have again provided further inspiration for the giant chief, to either Gygax or Fletcher and Pratt. Consider the following: “He beheld a giant sitting upon a block of timber, with a knotted iron club by his side. His goggle eyes were like flames of fire, his countenance grim…
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II: A Grim Saga of Giant Foemen (Part II)
Each adventure in the G trilogy would thus feature a stronger set of giant foemen so that the difficulty of the sequential adventures could increase over time. As we know, Gary had already conceived the giants of Dungeons & Dragons (in 1972-1974) as being represented by five sub-species, from weakest to strongest: the hill, stone,…
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I: A Grim Saga of Giant Foemen (Part I)
Hurricanes with ghostly chorus Of the Norsemen grim and stark, Hurling oaths at giant foemen Hacking furious in the dark! — From North Wind at Night, by Norman Gale, as featured in The American Magazine, 1894. [1] In the year of 1978, TSR Games released a most remarkable product for its Advanced Dungeons & Dragons…