Interview with Rob Kuntz: Part Two

A continuation of our interview with gaming luminary, Rob Kuntz (click here for Part One):

Q. The article "Swords and Sorcery - In Wargaming" (Wargamer's Digest, vol. 1, no. 7, May 1974) recounts a session refereed by yourself, in which Gary's legendary characters Mordenkainen, his companion Bigby, the Lords Yrag and Felnorith, and the Bishop Raunalf explore the 4th level of a dungeon.  Was this El Raja Key, or another dungeon?

This was an adjacent area in the precincts of Castle El Raja Key that was made into WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure and then in 2005 as Maure Castle.  It has a twisting history since 1973, mainly due to my efforts to retain its copyright and unlike Gary who lost the vast majority of his to TSR.

Q. The "El Raja Key Archive" (2016) is a veritable treasure trove of source documents from the proto-D&D games that you ran for Gary and others.  The first three levels of El Raja Key were at one time planned to be released in a special collector's edition.  Is this still in the works?

One-time.  I have always intended to get a lot of projects done, but bigger ones?  They have come and gone due to my ability to either fund them or not.  I will instead be looking into finishing Maure Castle for 1E and possibly 5E or Pathfinder, as well.  Otherwise Castle El Raja Key 2 has been in development as Castle Perilous for a CRPG offering for a few years.

"The Return of Robilar" (2023) by Robert J. Kuntz

Q. "The Return of Robilar" (Aug, 2023) covers material dating back to 1973.  Did you run Roblar as an NPC when you became the co-DM of the Greyhawk campaign?  Has any of the material been previously published, and if so, where?

Robilar was used as a foil by Gary to play-test new levels and adventures he was creating with us as co-DMs.  Otherwise he was retired up and until the Temple of Elemental Evil debacle which was the last time (1977) I played him.  The Return of Robilar is the first comprehensive information revealed on him since the Rogue’s Gallery.

Q. When Dave Arneson moved to Lake Geneva in early 1976, he ran a game for Gary and yourself at the Dungeon Hobby Shop, in which your famous characters Mordenkainen and Robilar explored the City of the Gods.  Was anyone else involved in that game?  Did Dave ever run another game for Gary and/or yourself?

No.  It was Gary as Mordenkainen and me as Robilar.  Dave never ran another game for us.  I did write up the adventure and it appeared in an early Oerth Journal edited by Erik Mona:  Journey to the City of the Gods, and with DM commentary by Dave.  That story is being included in my complete adventure tales.

Q. You helped Gary design "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" as the D&D tournament dungeon for Origins II, held July 23-25, 1976.  Was this adventure influenced by the City of the Gods?  Do you recall if the original City of the Gods was supposed to represent a grounded alien spacecraft, or was it an alien outpost of some kind?

I believe it was influenced by a Brain Aldiss tale, would have to check on that.  So, unlike CotG, which is a very large ship, the Barrier Peaks one was smaller.  Gary asked me to create the technology/robots and such for it, so that’s where my creation lies in it.

"Deities & Demigods" (1980) by Jim Ward with Rob Kuntz

Q. We were all saddened to learn of the recent passing of Jim Ward, with whom you collaborated on Supplement IV "Gods, Demigods & Heroes" as well as "Deities and Demigods".  Do you have any personal reminiscences or anecdotes that you can share about working with Jim on those projects?

I was in the middle of crafting LIVING ROOMS when I heard the unfortunate news of his passing.  I immediately dedicated that work to him.  I could go on about the early days with Jim, him and I driving to four institutes while researching Gods, Demigods & Heroes:  two university libraries:  Whitewater and Madison; Milwaukee Public Library; and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Jim and I would play marathon games on Saturdays when he was not involved playing Poker with his buddies in Elkhorn.  We’d rotate between DMing: Castle Greyhawk 2 when he played and Dragonkind when it was my turn.  Our longest stint was perhaps 20 hours!  He was really wrapped up in playing in Greyhawk, the first (with my brother) to really investigate my Bottle City level; and (again with my brother) to challenge the Temple of the Latter Day Elder Ones, and Fomalhaut (all Lovecraftian tie-ins that I am currently pulling the threads together for a work entitled Mythos vs. Medieval Man, wherein Jim will be credited as an early play-tester).  He also had a relationship (Bombadil, his PC) with a strange time traveler named Cosmodius.

He was so intent on finding out more and more that he took lots of chances in the game, Jim being a gambler at heart.  We even concluded a part of his adventure when we took a break at the Next Door Pub (best pizza I’ve ever had to date) whereat he kept asking me questions about what Bombadil was doing.  So, I devised a system on the spot and during our meal to forward the matter satisfactorily.

James was an inspired game designer and writer whose contributions to the industry were impactful.  He will be sorely missed.

Q. You've discussed how "Kalibruhn" was originally slated to be published as Supplement V, and have previously considered publishing it as a retro-supplement.  Do you still have any plans, along these lines?

It’s rather divided.  The supplement was never slated for publication.  I had been compiling parts for the campaign and was thinking about submitting it but then Supplement IV was announced as the last supplement, so that ended that angle. No immediate plans for releasing it.  It’s a historical oddity which I’d rather update at length, but then it would put me on a path to detailing my world.  The latter was never my intent; and I don’t believe the market needs another world, anyway.  The ms parts were included in the El Raja Key Archive but that’s only a part of something larger that I’d consider doing to eventually complete it.   Like I said, I am rather divided on this since different factions of people are divided, as well as they should be.  It’s an ancient artifact which perhaps will remain that way so as to not disappoint them or me.

"Gargax's Glorious Gewgaws" (2023) by Robert J. Kuntz

Q. "Gargax's Glorious Gewgaws" (Feb, 2023) is a fascinating blend of historical insights and useful gaming material.  I'm very interested in your discussion of how certain films, such as Seven Faces of Dr. Lao and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad influenced the early game.  What more recent films do you think are inspirational in the same spirit?

Well.  I was noting what influenced Gary’s mindset in creating and playing D&D back then.  It’s a very wide subject which I lightly, but solidly, touched upon.  I will, and do, expand upon the subject in various upcoming works including my memoirs.

Thank-you, Rob, for taking the time to share your insights and reminiscences!

For those of you interested in meeting Rob Kuntz, he will be a special guest at ARNECON 2 (October 4-6, 2024).

Interview with Rob Kuntz: Part One

Rob Kuntz is a key figure in the development of D&D, and continues to make valuable contributions to our hobby (click here for Rob's bio).  He recently agreed to answer several questions regarding the early days in Lake Geneva, as well as what he's up to, these days:

Robert J. Kuntz

Q. My friends and I recently made the trek to Lake Geneva for the 50th anniversary of D&D.  I remember meeting your brother Terry at prior Gary Cons.  Have you ever attended Gary Con, or any other old-school cons?  I would imagine that your presence as one of the key figures in the early development of Dungeons & Dragons would generate a lot of interest.

Yes.  North Texas RPGCon, Gary Con and the upcoming ARNECON.  I have not been invited to Gary Con since 2013 and after moving to France.  Yes, my appearance always generates a lot of excitement with me being the last founder and designer standing and still active.  But I can only attend conventions I’m invited to, so I will be appearing at ARNECON in October, a small but doughty convention which is building rapidly, and I hope to assist them in that regard.

Q. You recounted some details regarding that game of proto-D&D run by Dave Arneson for Gary Gygax and a few others, including yourself, in "Dungeons & Deceptions" (Kotaku, Aug 2019).  The article describes an unpublished work called "A Tale of Two Daves, Two Gygax's and Two Kuntzʼs".  Has this appeared in some form, in one of your other publications?

That was actually published as THE GAME THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING.  But we are updating that with new material and possible release through the documentary we are involved with.  It contains the oldest map made by me the day after the game session wherein Gary played and I DMed an experimental idea of using Arneson’s new concept to create stories.  That ostensibly makes me the first map-making DM before we continued interfacing with Arneson and The Blackmoor Bunch to create D&D.  That’s D&D’s beginning in Lake Geneva.

"The 4th Category" (2024) by Robert J. Kuntz

Q. Your most recent release "The 4th Category" represents the first chapter of your forthcoming "A New Ethos in Game Design: The Paradigm Shift Originated by Dungeon & Dragons, 1972-1977" mentioned on the back cover of "Dave Arneson's True Genius" (2017).  Does "The Fourth Category" provide any details or historical anecdotes regarding Gary's Greyhawk Castle and/or your El Raja Key playtests of D&D in 1973?

Not really.  For the record Gary created Castle Greyhawk 1 and he and I created Castle Greyhawk 2, late 1973.  I created Castle El Raja Key 1 one month after Gary created the first Castle Greyhawk; and then I created Castle El Raja Key 2 later on.  So, there are two distinct versions of each castle.

What is contained in The 4th Category is of more import than Castles.  It’s a culmination of 17 years of research and study which states that Arneson & Gygax, unbeknownst to both, created a new primary game category in games.  Not just a game, but the first game in a new category of games.  I would think that merits some raised eyebrows and really transcends to the realm of historical consequence when considered in light of current historical research.

Q. In your foreword to "Adventures in Oz" (Double Critical, 2022) you mention your "Entrance to Oz" dungeon level, included as part of Greyhawk Castle 2.  Did you ever run a group through that level, as co-DM of Gary's original Greyhawk campaign?

Our PCs had moved to outdoor adventures so my work on OZ languished uninvestigated.  I redid it as D&D Dreamlands, now Dreamlands, in 1985.

"A Walk Though Dream Land" by Andy Taylor

Q. Can you tell us more about "Dreamlands"?  I'm not familiar with that setting.

That was my move from OZ to my own form of Dreamlands.  It has appended rules for play as things don’t always match with real play circumstances, such as death, eating, sleeping and many other waking world circumstances.  It was utilized twice in play when I was living in Charlotte, N.C. for many years.  It’s set up to make players believe that they are still in the real world, just in a special part of it.  It was never published, but I have a gorgeous full color map of it drawn by me when my hand was steadier and the front cover by Andy Taylor.

Q. Any luck in getting the levels that you designed for Greyhawk Castle 2 back?  Do you think we'll ever see publication of the source documents for this major collaboration between yourself and Gary?

I possess full scans of my levels and keys.  The chance of ever getting Castle Greyhawk 2 made is probably nil.  One cannot deal with egomaniacs and revisers of history, though I have tried four times to do that.  I will not talk about getting my levels back at this time as that matter is in another’s hands at the moment.

"Dark Druids" (2015; 2023) by Robert J. Kuntz

Q. In February, 2023, you re-released "Dark Druids" (Chaotic Henchmen Productions, 2015) in an electronic format, an adventure involving the conceptual origins of Tharizdun.  When were the games this adventure was based on run?  Was it set in Kalibruhn, or another setting?  

It was set on the Wild Coast area in Fang Forest.  Gary and I figured that the area (then,1975 when I created Dark Druids) was the main adventuring area we shared using the Outdoor Survival map during the play-tests which then became the Wild Coast where most of the adventures were happening.  There is a dimensional entrance to Kalibruhn there (in Mistwood) which was created by the wizard Zayene when he fled Kalibruhn for what he called the Gray Lands (our Greyhawk campaign 1973 onward).

Q. A free map of "The Barbarous Coast" is available on the Three Line Studio website.  Was this setting inspired by the eastern coast of the map of the Great Kingdom from Domesday Book #9 (1971)?  Is it part of the Kalibruhn campaign setting?

It is a stand-in for the Wild Coast which I was forwarding as WoG’s first regional setting before Gary was ousted; and I undertook to complete it in 2002, thus the changes to the names (Jepton = Safeton, etc.).  A well known cartographer has recently rendered a professional hex map of it which will be included in a future release to finally finish this.  I had always felt that WoG needed a regional setting like they were doing with Mystara, so that’s where the whole idea started.

To be continued in Part Two, tomorrow.

AC11: The Book of Wondrous Inventions

AC11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" (1987) was the final supplement in the AC line of D&D game accessories.  Gnomes are referred to as "skilled mechanicians" (pg 28) in keeping with the emerging D&D perspective of gnomes as tinker-inventors.

The volume was released the same year as the first gazetteers, and includes references to GAZ1 "The Grand Duchy of Karameikos" (pg 89), GAZ2 "The Emirates of Ylaruam" (pg 61), and GAZ3 "The Principalities of Glantri" (pgs 86, 87, 92).

AC 11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" compiled by Bruce Heard.  Cover illustration depicting King Dorfin by Jim Holloway

Design Team:

On a recent Facebook post, Bruce Heard shared "I had a long list of general ideas which a number of freelancers grabbed and ran away with."*

*each contributor is listed alongside their entry or entries below, including some fairly well-known game designers.

The collection was edited by Deborah Christian

The cover and interior illustrations were by Jim Holloway

The Wondrous Inventions:

Entries are divided into appliances, constructs, dungeon devices, entertainment, home or business, practical services, structures, transportation, weapons & warfare.

Each entry contains a definition, history, description, construction, statistics, functioning, hazards, and staging possibilities for the invention.

A

Aldryk's Fire Quencher (Scott Haring; Austin, Texas)

The Animated Money Changing Machine (Bill Slavicsek; New York, NY)

Ardraken's Refreshment Simulacrum (Scott Haring; Austin, Texas)

B

The Barber's Aid (Deborah Christian; San Diego, CA)

Balthazar's Suite of Many Delights (Ray Winninger; South Holland, IL)

Beldane's Subterranean Borer (Ed Greenwood; Colborne, ONT)

Bladderwick's Human Catapult (Robin Jenkins; Lake Geneva, WI)

Blashphor’s Ever-Vigilant Baby Cradle & Nursery (Rick Swan; Des Moines, IA)

Borgora’s Inflatable Scare-Dragon (Bill Slavicsek; New York, NY)

Brandon’s Bard-in-a-Box (Deborah Christian; San Diego, CA)

The Clockwork Dragon of Mai-Faddah

C

Ch’Thon’s Astral Ball (Raymond Maddox; Slocomb, AL)

Castle in the Clouds (Sandy Petersen; Richmond, CA)

The Clockwork Dragon of Mai-Faddah (David E. Martin; Lake Geneva, WI)

D

Damos’s Ball of Bowling (Steve Gilbert and Robert Tuftee; New York, NY)

Darak’s Thaumaturgical Printing Press (Janet and Peter Vialls; Huntingdon, U.K.)

Death Engine (Scott Bennie; Abbottsford, B.C., Canada)

Disteron’s Dismal Disposal (Gary L. Thomas; Boise, ID)

The Train of the Dwarven Thane (Vince Garcia, with thanks to Dean Zook; Fresno, CA)

The Dreadnought (Stewart Wieck; Rocky Face, GA)

E

The Economy Super-Wash Laundromagic II (Graeme Morris; Cambridge, U.K.)

The Electric Cooker (Stephen Palmer; Egham, U.K)

Evem’s Mirror of Enviable Image (Greg Gorden; Chicago, 1L)

The Extra-Dimensional Safe (Helen Cook; Lake Geneva, WI)

Fleabottom’s Brick Mac

F

The Fiendish Exercise Machine of Bardolpho the Mad (Allen Varney; Austin, TX)

Fleabottom’s Brick Mac* (Robin Jenkins; Lake Geneva, WI)

*I used this contraption in a game, back in the day

G

Gnomish Submersible (Jeff Grubb; Home for the Mentally Woozy, New New Mistraven)

H

Honest Obie’s All-Night Armor Merchant (Scott D. Haring; Austin, Texas)

The Hot Air Balloon (Stephen Palmer; Egham, U.K.)

Hotspur’s Selecto-Staff (Stephen R. Bourne; Islington, Ontario, Canada)

House Vacuum (Helen Cook; Lake Geneva, WI)

J

Jaggar’s Transforming Gargantoid (Bruce A. Heard; Lake Geneva, WI)

K

Kruze’s Magnificent Missile (Ed Greenwood; Colborne, ONT)

L

The Levelmaker (Sandy Petersen; Richmond, CA)

M

Melrond’s Foolproof Dishwasher (Allen Varney; Austin, TX)

Moodarvian Rings of Emotion (David Ladyman; Austin, TX)

Morath’s Mobile Manor (John Nephew; Duluth, MN)

The Oddwaddle Centipede

O

The Oddwaddle Centipede (Robin Jenkins; Lake Geneva, WI)

Olaf Grunndi’s Stupendous Repository of Arcane Lore (Rik Rose; Cambridge. U.K.)

R

Rahn-Ko’s Ranger Fooler (John Terra; Randolph, MA)

The Rainmaking Machine (Thomas M. Kane; Farmington, ME)

Rumblebotty’s Flying Nightmare (Ray Winningcr; South Holland, IL)

S

Saonuihun’s Speeding Sphere Game (Michael DeWolfe; Victoria, B.C., Canada)

The Sultan’s Uncanny Ghost Ride (Janet and Peter Vialls; Huntingdon, U.K.)

U

Ungah’s Dungeon Cleaner (John Terra; Randolph, MA)

Volospin’s Dragonfly of Doom

V

Vanserie’s Wondrous Elemental Heater (Bruce A. Heard; Lake Geneva, WI)

Volospin’s Dragonfly of Doom (Bruce A. Heard; Lake Geneva, WI)

Appendices:

Dorfin's Little Shop of Horrors

The gnomes of Highforge (see GAZ1 — The Grand Duchy of Karameikos) are famous for their imagination and the number of devices the dwarves help them build.

All through their lives, they accumulate heaps of unused items. Added to this is a number of magical items they trade for or mysteriously find in their dungeons. Once their initial interest is gone, gnomes quickly forget their past inventions and get busy on others. Just recently, King Dorfin, the gnomish monarch, passed an edict allowing open sale of all unused inventions, as a way to clean up his ever-so-cluttered passageways. Thus was born Dorfin’s Little Shop of Horrors.

AC11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" (pg 89)

Creating Spells and Magical Items

This section was drawn from a similar section in GAZ3 "The Principalities of Glantri" (pg 64-7) and includes information on experience value for making inventions.

CM4: Earthshaker!

CM4 "Earthshaker!" (1985) by David "Zeb" Cook is a D&D adventure for character levels 18-20, set in the region of Norwold.

CM4 "Earthshaker!" (1985) by David "Zeb" Cook.  Illustration by Clyde Caldwell.

The PCs must determine how to deactivate a giant, steam-powered robot before it can wreak havoc in the Kingdom of Norwold.

Evoking Japanese mecha (aired in the U.S. as "Voyage Into Space", etc.), the module is an early example of steampunk (predating the term).

About the Author:

David "Zeb" Cook was hired by TSR in 1980.  He wrote I1 "Dwellers of the Forbidden City", A1 "Slave Pits of the Undercity" and co-edited the Expert Rulebook (1981) with Steve Marsh, also co-writing X1 "The Isle of Dread" with Tom Moldvay..

Further contributions to the D&D Game World included X4 "Master of the Desert Nomads" (1983), X5 "Temple of Death" (1983), M1 "Blizzard Pass" (1983), B6 "The Veiled Society" (1984), and AC2 "The Treasure of the Hideous One" (1984)

The Duchy of Vyolstagrad:

The Duchy of Vyolstagrad, located "somewhere near the Wyrmsteeth Range"

Earthshaker:

Earthshaker stands 1,280' tall (the Empire State Building is 1,250'), or 17' 6" in 25mm scale.

Earthshaker "was built at least 3,000 years ago,* probably by a race of evil gods similar in skill to dwarves or gnomes."

*this coincides with the Blackmoor era, although DA1 "Adventures in Blackmoor" was not published until the following year

The gnomes of Earthshaker.  Illustration by Ben Otero.

Earthshaker is home to a clan of 327 gnomes, who operate the machinery that powers the giant automaton.*

*AC11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" (1987) and PC2 "Top Ballista" (1989) consolidated this image of gnomes

"Tinker" gnomes also appeared in the second volume "Dragons of Winter Night" of the original Dragonlance trilogy (1985).

Clock of Timelessness:

The module introduces a clan relic for gnomes:

The clan's relic, the Clock of Timelessness, is a 5-foot clock with a skeleton movement (the inner works can be seen clearly).  Unlike Earthshaker, the relic is ornately decorated; gears are filigreed, armatures sculpted, and jewels are lavishly set in the clock's face.  The relic has all the standard powers of a relic as described in the Companion Rules.

In addition, the relic can be used to fashion the rare equation of time.  The equation allows time travel to any specific point in time.  First the keeper selects the date (down to the second) the equation will derive.  Then the keeper and his aides must study and record the movements of the clock in perfect detail for one year.  With this data, they must perform thousands of complex, magical, mathematical formulae in their heads.  Nothing of this can be written on paper and the slightest error will cause the end result to be imperfect.  Performing these calculations takes 20 years.

When the final formula has been completed, the keeper and the clanmaster can correctly set the clock.  When the clock is set, one person or object is instantly transported through time to the chosen date.  The transported object remains there for 24 hours and then must either transport again (by use of another equation of time) or fade into nonexistence.  Anything that fades disappears utterly and totally from the Multiverse as if it had never existed (although any possessions or previous deeds of a character do not change).

from CM4 "Earthshaker!" (1984)

New Magical Item:

Spade of Digging (pg. 21) from AC4 "The Book of Marvelous Magic" (1984)

Prerolled Characters:

The pre-rolled characters "are not entirely serious characters (as this is not an entirely serious adventure).  Each has some feature or characteristic that makes him noticeably less than perfect."

Alphonso Rodiphino (F18)

Fierlas Diaz (T19)

Bartolome de Tramalcos (C18)

McVay the Mighty (MU18)

apprentice "Boy" (MU1)

Tagus Firebreath (D12; attack rank J)

Hiera Lead-Spear (E10; attack rank B)

Trivia:

The entry for Jaggar's Transforming Gargantoid in AC11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" includes the following reference to CM4:

Far away to the south, beyond Specularum and the Sea of Dread, lies a mysterious continent. Legends say that only gnomes and their huge frightening machines populate this part of the world, called by some the Land of Earthshakers (see module CM4, Earthshaker).

It was there that Jaggar, a Glantrian Wizard-Prince, spent part of his life in exploration of the land. During his many adventures among the gnomes, he discovered Alphatian outposts that were quite hostile to the gnomes and their machines. As an answer to the horrendous gnomish creations, the Alphatians introduced the Gargantoids, their own version of the Earthshakers.

At the end of a huge battle against gnomish steam powered earthshakers and Alphatian magical gargantoids, the gnomes were defeated and Jaggar nearly captured. As a desperate measure, the prince managed to enter a gargantoid, and dehim to take over the magical machine and escape with it. He reappeared months later in Glantri and concealed the infernal machine in a secret cave coated with lead, high in the mountains.

AC11 "The Book of Wondrous Inventions" (1987)