Category: Gygax
-
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…
-
XX: Gygaxian Frost Giants ~ Part II: Perils of the Polar Worm (1978)
Back so soon, blood reaver? Hail and well met to you once again. This week we are in full dungeoneering gear, celebrating the Castle Oldskull fundraiser over at Bundle of Holding. Following hot (frostily?) on the heels of yesterday’s foray into the archives of Gygaxian giant lore, today on the CastleOldskull.com blog we continue our…
-
XIX: Gygaxian Frost Giants ~ Part I: Into the Frostlands (1978)
Intruders and foemen! Hail, brave and foolhardy ones alike. I hope you are all doing well in these trying times and continuing to enjoy your old school gaming with friends and family. My house almost burned down on July 4 due to others launching illegal fireworks and burning our wetland, but we’re OK – the…
-
XVIII: Gygaxian Middle Earth ~ Part II: Acid, Envy, & Bile (1969)
Hark seekers of dragon lore, and welcome to another blog installment from KDK and castleoldskull.com. Today we continue our exploration of Gygaxian Middle Earth, uncovering rare OD&Dities such as roc-hunted black dragons, Sauron outfoxed by a blowtorch, allusions to the Nibelungenlied, draconian steam explosions, and more. So put on your wizardly thinking hats, mind the…
-
XVII: Gygaxian Middle Earth ~ Part I: Balrogs & Betrayal (1969)
“We will deal here with the great Red Dragon (Draco Conflagratio, or Draco Horribilis) which is typified in Tolkien’s THE HOBBIT.” — Gary Gygax When it comes to Gary Gygax’s feelings about J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle Earth, most people remember that he was irritated whenever gamers believed (quite rightly) that a significant chunk of early…
-
XVI: Gary Gygax and The Book of Weird (1967-1973)
Hail and well met everyone, and happy late spring blizzard day (here in Colorado) from the castleoldskull.com blog. Today we are going to explore deeply in an unexpected direction, into an old book that tells us about alchemists, plate armor, moat frogs, ogres, trolls, berserkers, dwarves, witches, homunculi, and stranger things besides. A book by…
-
XV: The Temple of Elemental Evil ~ Part V (1977)
Hail and well met everyone, and happy Sun’s-Day to you all from the castleoldskull.com blog as we rest away from the dungeons and heal our wounds. Today we conclude the Lost Temple of Elemental Evil history series, detailing the adventures of Robilar, Tenser, Burne, Rufus, Otis, and all the rest as they deal with the…
-
XIV: Oldskull Workshop: Riddle of the Giant’s Bag
Fee, fie, foe, fum! Hello everyone, happy Friday and welcome from castleoldskull.com. Today, we’re taking a brief jaunt away from the Lost Temple of Elemental Evil history series to focus on another episode of Oldskull Workshop. Today’s Game Mastering topic is Gygaxian giant’s bags, and how you can make one of Gary’s best random tables…
-
XIII: The Temple of Elemental Evil ~ Part IV (1976)
Hello all, and welcome once again to our castleoldskull.com blog chronicle for the 1976 Lost Temple of Elemental Evil campaign. In today’s post, we take a look at the goings-on in rustic Hommlet, seedy Nulb, and the Temple ruins as explored by Burne, Rufus, and Otis. The events of this time are hazy and ever-shifting…
-
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…