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Fifty Years of Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk

Fifty Years of Gary Gygax’s Greyhawk

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Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk by Garg Gygax and Rob Kuntz
(TSR, 1975; reprint edition 2003). Cover and interior art by Greg Bell

Fifty years of Greyhawk and an amusing Castle Zagyg anecdote.

It has been 50 years since the release of the first and perhaps most important supplement to Dungeons & Dragons. It was none other than Supplement I: Greyhawk, by Gary Gygax and Robert Kuntz. This pivotal, 68-page book is not likely to be celebrated by the entity that owns the rights to D&D, because they do not look upon the original materials or its creators favorably. But we don’t need them to celebrate the anniversary of this great achievement.

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Where Dreams and Nightmares Come True: Greyhawk Adventures: Saga of Old City by Gary Gygax

Where Dreams and Nightmares Come True: Greyhawk Adventures: Saga of Old City by Gary Gygax

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Greyhawk Adventures: Saga of Old City (TSR, October 1985)

Greyhawk…

A cruel city.

A harsh, pitiless city for a young orphan boy with no money and no friends — but plenty of enemies!

Enter the Old City of Greyhawk, that marvelous place where dreams — and nightmares — come true. Travel through the world of Oerth along with Gord, the boy who becomes a man as he fights for his survival in a world of mysterious wizards, fearsome monsters, dour dwarves, and beautiful women.
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Rules for Mega-Dungeon Adventuring: Dragonslayer by Greg Gillespie

Rules for Mega-Dungeon Adventuring: Dragonslayer by Greg Gillespie

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Dragonslayer (OSR Publishing, February 7, 2024). Cover by Jeff Easley

I’ve admired the mega-dungeon adventures of Greg Gillespie for several years, particularly Barrowmaze and The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia. Most recently, Greg published his own set of rules to go with those adventures. It’s called Dragonslayer, and I think it’s excellent. Here is the description from the back of the book:

Journey to a realm of myth and magic, where ancient legends and terrifying minsters come to life, and adventure awaits…
Inspired by the timeless role-playing tradition of the early 1980s, this ruleset seamlessly integrates the simplicity of B/X with the chrome if First Edition. The book has everything you need: classes, spells, monsters, and treasure, combined in a single volume.

For those who don’t know, “B/X” is the acronym for the Basic and Expert rules of Dungeons & Dragons.

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The Intersection of Hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons, John Eric Holmes, and Tarzan

The Intersection of Hobbies: Dungeons & Dragons, John Eric Holmes, and Tarzan

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Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set by John Eric Holmes, based on Dungeons & Dragons by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (TSR Games, 1977). Cover by David Sutherland

There are many intersections between my favorite hobby (which is also my line of work) and my favorite fiction. One of these intersections is represented by Dr. John Eric Holmes and the fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs.

When I was a youth, the first Dungeons & Dragons set that I owned was edited by Dr. Holmes. That “basic” set served as the foundation to my understanding of all things D&D. Now, this was in 1981, when I was in the fifth grade. This was also the year in which I was devouring Tarzan novels, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. My keen interest in Tarzan was fueled by the CBS Saturday morning cartoon, Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle.

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The Dreams in Gary’s Basement: Gary Gygax and the Creation of Dungeons & Dragons

The Dreams in Gary’s Basement: Gary Gygax and the Creation of Dungeons & Dragons

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The Dreams in Gary’s Basement, Blu Ray version (rpghistory.net, 2023)

On the eve of Gary’s Gygax’s birthday, July 26, 2019, I was in sunny California getting ready to be interviewed by the Dorks of Yore for their documentary, The Dreams in Gary’s Basement: Gary Gygax and the Creation of Dungeons & Dragons.

The interview touched on my experiences working with Gary from 2005–2008, a time that I will always cherish. Gary was so generous with me — a friend and a mentor who not only showed me the ropes, but also put trust in me. It was such an honor and a privilege to get to work with one of my childhood idols.

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The Best of Bob: 2024

The Best of Bob: 2024

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Happy 2025! Let’s kick butt for another year. Or at least, limp to the finish 52 weeks. from now. I take what I can get. I started a Best of Bob feature last year. And while it may seem I’m constantly finding folks to write my column for me (hey – it’s a gift!), some of you Black Gaters may be surprised that I occasionally actually write my own essays for the Monday morning slot. John O’Neill is too savvy an editor for me to completely fool him for over decade.

So here are what I thought were ten of my better efforts in 2024. Hopefully you saw them back when I first posted them. But if not, maybe you’ll check out a few now. Ranking them seemed a bit egotistical, so they’re in chronological order. Let’s go!

1) Roaming the Old West, with Holmes on the Range (February 5, 2024)

It might look like I just throw something together every week (and looks aren’t always deceptive). But when I can find the time, I love putting together something special. And after reading/re-reading the entire series, I really nailed a three-part series on Steve Hockensmith’s Sherlock Holmes influenced, Old West mysteries about cowboy brothers Old Red and Big Red.

I followed up a pretty solid series overview, with the first-ever comprehensive chronology! And then, we rounded it out with a great Q&A from Steve himself. This is a terrific series: a great read, and solid on audiobook. Late in the year, the first two novels in a spin-off series that’s more Old West adventure than Holmes-flavored, came out. I’m looking forward to more of all aspects of the Double-A Western Detective Agency.

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From Al-Qadim to The East Mark Gazetteer

From Al-Qadim to The East Mark Gazetteer

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Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures (TSR, 1992). Cover by Jeff Easley

Al-Qadim: Arabian Adventures, by Jeff Grubb (with Andria Hayday), was one of the finest settings produced by TSR during the AD&D 2E (Second Edition) days.

“Magic carpets, ghoulish vixens, genies rising from the sand in a whirlwind of smoke and fire — such wonders, spin into tales by the fabled Scheherazade, enchanted a king for a thousand and one nights.”

The setting is inspired by Sinbad, Ali Baba, and other classics from Arabian Nights.

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Gary Gygax’ 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 11 to 17)

Gary Gygax’ 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 11 to 17)

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So, if you are reading this post right now (and you’d have to be, to see these words), this is Part Two of a look at Gary Gygax’ 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery. It would make sense to go read Part One, before reading this. Like, a LOT of sense. But if you’re here and you’re determined to plow ahead, below is the first part of the intro to last week’s post, so you understand the deal. Then you can move right on to Step Six.

Though you really should go back and read Part One and Part Two.

My Dungeons and Dragons roots don’t go back to the very beginning, but I didn’t miss it by much. I remember going to our Friendly Local Gaming Store with my buddy. He would buy a shiny TSR module and I would get a cool Judges Guild supplement.

And I remember how D&D was the center of the RPG world in those pre-PC/video game playing days. And Gary Gygax was IT. It all centered around him. So, I read with interest a book that he put out in 1987, less than twelve months after he had severed all ties with TSR.

Role Playing Mastery is his very serious look at RPGing. He included the 17 steps he identified to becoming a Role Playing Master.

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Gary Gygax’s 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 6 to 10)

Gary Gygax’s 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 6 to 10)

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So, if you are reading this post right now (and you’d have to be, to see these words), this is Part Two of a look at Gary Gygax’ 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery. It would make sense to go read Part One, before reading this. Like, a LOT of sense. But if you’re here and you’re determined to plow ahead, below is the first part of the intro to last week’s post, so you understand the deal. Then you can move right on to Step Six.

Though you really should go back and read Part One afterwards. There’s more to come next week.

My Dungeons and Dragon s roots don’t go back to the very beginning, but I didn’t miss it by much. I remember going to our Friendly Local Gaming Store with my buddy. He would buy a shiny TSR module and I would get a cool Judges Guild supplement.

And I remember how D&D was the center of the RPG world in those pre-PC/video game playing days. And Gary Gygax was IT. It all centered around him. So, I read with interest a book that he put out in 1987, less than twelve months after he had severed all ties with TSR.

Role Playing Mastery is his very serious look at RPGing. He included the 17 steps he identified to becoming a Role Playing Master.

If you’re reading this post, you probably know that Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson co-created Dungeons and Dragons circa 1973-1974. Unfortunately, it was not a long-lasting partnership and lawsuits would ensue. While both were instrumental in creating D&D, it is Gygax who is remembered as the Father of Role Playing.

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Gary Gygax’s 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 1 to 5)

Gary Gygax’s 17 Steps to Role-Playing Mastery (Steps 1 to 5)

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Role Playing Mastery by Gary Gygax (Perigee Trade, August 3, 1987)

My Dungeons and Dragons roots don’t go back to the very beginning, but I didn’t miss it by much. I remember going to our Friendly Local Gaming Store with my buddy. He would buy a shiny TSR module and I would get a cool Judges Guild supplement.

And I remember how D&D was the center of the RPG world in those pre-PC/video game playing days. And Gary Gygax was IT. It all centered around him. So, I read with interest a book that he put out in 1987, less than twelve months after he had severed all ties with TSR.

Role Playing Mastery is his very serious look at RPGing. He included the 17 steps he identified to becoming a Role Playing Master.

If you’re reading this post, you probably know that Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson co-created Dungeons and Dragons circa 1973-1974. Unfortunately, it was not a long-lasting partnership and lawsuits would ensue. While both were instrumental in creating D&D, it is Gygax who is remembered as the Father of Role Playing.

In 1987, Gary Gygax put out a book entitled Role-Playing Mastery, which gave guidelines on how to excel as a player in role-playing games. At that time, there were essentially two versions of Dungeons and Dragons. The Original, or ‘Basic’ game, had evolved under Tom Moldvay’s rules development.

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