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).

Geomorphs of the Mad Archmage

The 1977 Basic Set included Dungeon Geomorphs Set One: Basic Dungeons (which appear to have originally been released separately, the previous year) as well as Monster & Treasure Assortment Set One: Levels One-Three, for stocking purposes.

A dungeon geomorph from Set One: Basic Dungeons (1976).  See also "Dungeon Construction Made Easy!" in The Dragon #6 (April, 1977)

My first exposure to these products was through the later compilations, Dungeon Geomorphs Set One to Three, and Monster & Treasure Assortment Sets One-Three: Levels One-Nine.  I tried using them to create a few dungeons, but was never entirely satisfied with the results.

I think the reason for this was that I didn't fully appreciate these products for what they truly were - components for a Gygaxian megadungeon, modeled after Greyhawk Castle itself, as discussed here and here on the Random Wizard blog, in 2013.

Dan Collins posted an excellent analysis of the first dungeon level beneath the ruins of Greyhawk Castle, about a year ago.  An example such as this back in the day would have provided welcome guidance for using Dungeon Geomorphs to create a megadungeon.

While a classic sample cross section of levels was depicted in OD&D vol. 3, a full megadungeon level never was.  Instead, the types of sample dungeons published were smaller, self-contained affairs (see this list of early sample dungeons for examples).

The individual Dungeon Geomorph sets, in addition to the later compilation set, each include some intriguing encounter key examples, which, as Allan Grohe notes, might have been drawn from Gary Gygax's home campaign.

Rob Kuntz's El Raja Key and the subsequent expanded version of Greyhawk Castle are the types of megadungeons that Dungeon Geomorphs were intended to construct.  (Zach Howard discusses a later, similar dungeon by Gygax in this post.)

It was left to Mike Carr to develop an introductory megadungeon, but in so doing, he incorporated more logical design elements.  This "second generation" megadungeon woiuld ultimately be published as module B1: "In Search of the Unknown".

El Raja Key

Soon after Gary Gygax began running adventures beneath Greyhawk Castle, Rob Kuntz started designing his own dungeon levels, beneath another castle ruin, that of El Raja Key (a name derived from the initials of his full name, Robert J. Kuntz), as discussed, here.

The front entrance to El Raja Key, from an imagined cover for the unpublished Kalibruhn supplement, as conceived by Grendlewulf. Illustration by Andy "ATOM" Taylor.

It's notable to recall that Kuntz was only 17 years old at the time, but would soon begin running games for Gygax himself in a shared pre-D&D campaign world, where the dungeons beneath El Raja Key would soon rival those of Greyhawk Castle, in scope and legend.

Kuntz eventually became co-DM of the OD&D Greyhawk campaign, to which he would contribute many of the dungeon levels from El Raja Key for the second iteration of Greyhawk Castle, involving several dozen levels in 5 interconnected stacks (to be covered in a future post).

Although complete maps for the 13 levels of the original Greyhawk Castle remain elusive (apart from a few tantalizing glimpses), this is not the case for El Raja Key, the complete maps for which were released as part of the El Raja Key Archive in 2016.

I have a copy of the basic edition of the Archive, and the hand-drawn maps for the dungeons beneath El Raja Key are fascinating to behold.  What follows is a brief overview of one of the earliest and most gameable of old school megadungeons.


The Upper Levels:

Level 1 - Includes 17 keyed encounter areas.  See this post on En World (November, 2019) for a description of "The Four-Way Footsteps", from a game session involving Gygax's first two player characters, Yrag and Mordenkinen.

Level 2 - Includes 18 keyed encounter areas, among which is a deadly invisible maze, and its guardians.  There is also an NPC described as the "Assassin of the Greenclaw" although I'm uncertain whether this represents an Assassin character, as per the Blackmoor supplement.

Level 3 - Includes 21 keyed encounter areas.  There is an intriguing description given for the spirit animating the statuette of a little frog, a new Figurine of Wondrous Power, similar to the Ebony Fly described in the Greyhawk supplement.

The first three levels of El Raja Key were at one time planned to be released in a special collector's edition by Pied Piper Publishing (discussed here, and here on Kuntz's "Lord of the Green Dragons" blog, back in 2009), but I don't think the project ever came to fruition.


The Lower Levels:

The lower dungeon levels are not presented with keys, but many involve some notable central feature:

Level 4 - Contains a huge crypt, with numerous sarcophagi.

Level 5 - Features a strange gallery in the upper northeast quadrant.

Level 5.5 - A vast series of mines, with a smelter for a mysterious ore.

Level 6 - Access to the lower levels is guarded by a black pudding (see Dragon #289, below).

Level 7 - Another labyrinthine level.

Level 7.5 - The Black Reservoir, accessed by a separate, hidden entrance through a tree stump in the swamp near the castle.

This level was incorporated into the second iteration of Greyhawk Castle, after Rob Kuntz became co-DM of the Greyhawk campaign, as mentioned here on the Acaeum forums.

A session with Ernie Gygax's character Erac was later featured in the article "The Expedition Into the Black Reservoir" (El Conquistador, vol. 1, no. 12, August 1974).

Level 8 - Natural caves and caverns.

Level 9 - A central cavern, containing a number of gambling machines.

Level 10 - Used for the Greater Caverns of Tsojconth.

In addition to being incorporated into the second iteration of Greyhawk Castle, design elements for this level, most notably the circular, central chamber, were used for the deeper, second level of "The Lost Caverns of Tsojconth", the tournament adventure for Wintercon V in 1976, as discussed by grodog, here.

Level 11 - Contains a stone plinth, with a great jewel (see Dragon #306, below).


Dragon articles:

Years later, Gygax would relate memorable episodes from the original Lake Geneva campaign in a series of articles in Dragon magazine from 2001-2004, entitled "Up on a Soapbox".  Those concerning El Raja Key include:

An encounter involving Gary's first character, Yrag the fighter, on the 1st level of the dungeon, is given in "Dungeon Hospitality - Falling for the Obvious" published in Dragon #292 (Feb, 2002).

Yrag discovers a ring of contrariness on the 3rd level of the dungeon, as recounted in "The Rewards of Roleplaying - Virtue Brings More Than Its Own Reward" published in Dragon #297 (July, 2002).

Mordenkinen's efforts to descend past the black pudding on the 6th level of the dungeon is described in "How to Train a Black Pudding - If You Can't Stand the Heat..." published in Dragon #289 (Nov, 2001).

Mordenkinen and his companions face a series of challenges on the 11th level of the dungeon, in order to gain a huge, faceted diamond, in "Best Shots - The Folly of Predictability" published in Dragon #306 (Apr, 2003).

Mordenkinen and Bigby's legendary encounter with an iron golem, in which Yrak is later slain, is told in "The Devious DM - The Other Side of the Screen" published in Dragon #307 (May, 2003).

The final story was originally recounted in an article by Gygax, entitled "Swords and Sorcery - In Wargaming" (Wargamer's Digest, vol. 1, no. 7, May 1974), which was republished with new, full-color illustrations in Dungeon #112 (July 2004).


Using "El Raja Key" in your campaign:

...its unstable magic caused it to appear and disappear throughout time and space. Its reappearance would thereafter be considered an ominous event and lead to legends about it from among those places in which it occurred.  This allowed me to "place" the castle within the ongoing storyline wherever I wished and to extrapolate a building story as to why it was thus occurring.

Robert Kuntz, from his blog, Dec 16, 2012

The megadungeon beneath El Raja Key is eminently playable, and would be well-suited to either an OD&D or B/X campaign.  Although the deeper levels aren't keyed, one could either use the Monster & Treasure Assortment (1977) or stock by choice.

Since the castle of El Raja Key would frequently change locations in Kuntz's "World of Kalibruhn" even hopping "dimensions" into the "World of Greyhawk" and elsewhere, there's no reason why it couldn't suddenly appear in the DM's own campaign world.

Beginning PCs might join forces in order to explore the mysterious castle in such a scenario.  The megadungeon is massive enough to accommodate multiple groups, while also being manageable in size.  I could easily see players reaching levels 10+ in such a campaign.

K1: Sunken City

Rob Kuntz prepared "Sunken City" as the D&D tournament adventure for Gen Con VIII, held August 22-24, 1975 at Horticultural Hall, Lake Geneva WI.  Revised and expanded, the adventure was released for use with Dungeons & Dragons by TLB games in 2016.

K1 Sunken City by Robert J. Kuntz.  Cover illustration by Jim Roslof.

Rob Kuntz was co-DM with Gary Gygax of the original Greyhawk campaign, and co-author with Gygax of the Greyhawk supplement.

Melan posted an excellent review of the module, in 2017.


The World of Kalibruhn:

Kuntz was already conceptualizing his "World of Kalibruhn" campaign, as early as 1973, the setting for his castle of "El Raja Key" and the "Lost City of the Elders".

In fact, "Kalibruhn" was almost published as OD&D supplement V in 1976.


The Sunken City:

The Sunken City is known as "Kyrruhn" (meaning "greatly accursed") by locals, a corruption of its original name of "Kalibruhn".

A coastal city, it was destroyed by an immense tidal wave.  The ruins are now submerged under 40 feet of water, although some of the taller buildings rise 10 to 30 feet above the surface.  Many of these are structurally unsound.

Kuntz had previously introduced a group of players to the Sunken City, prior to running it at Gen Con VIII, although their expedition was short-lived:

... a group investigating an area of the sunken city above the water line rounded the corner while investigating a complex of buildings.  A high level magic-user rounded the corner and, winning initiative, cast a particularly deadly spell that excised the heart right out of a randomly determined NPC fighter in the party.  Well he dropped dead instantly, and one player, Jim Goodfellow issued a high pitch scream stating his character ran away at top speed!  The other fledglings turned wattles and fled right after him.  That was their first and last encounter within the Sunken City of Kalibruhn!

from the El Raja Key Archive, 2016

In the preface to the module, Kuntz states that this encounter was the only one with a prior history, and that everything else was made up on the spot.


Overview:

The module contains a section on entering the Sunken City using rafts, negotiating its environmental hazards, and an overview of the various structures and random encounters.  There's a wandering monster table, as well as a floating debris/treasure table.

One of the buildings is an abandoned wizard's tower, VeJoun the Machinist, who specialized in clockwork mechanisms.  Another is haunted by a malignant spirit.  Yet another is inhabited by a powerful necromancer, who wields ancient, deadly spells (see above).

There are several new monsters, unique to Kuntz's "World of Kalibruhn" campaign, that serve to keep experienced players on their toes.  Some of these are aquatic, while others are undead.  One has a reputation, namely Za-Kark-Ksh, the Glutton, a legendary sea-troll.

There are also new magic items, including some fairly powerful ones, with names like "Zelles'sepda's Osspuncta" (a bone wand made from a legendary necromancer's hand), "The Master's Hand" (a sword forged of meteorite iron), and "The Inter-Dimensional Agereator".


El Raja Key Archive:

In order to run this adventure, one also needs a copy of the "El Raja Key Archive" (2016) a digital collection of Kuntz's maps, illustrations, and notes.  The map for the Sunken City is downloadable from the Archive (the map on the back cover of the module is only partial).

El Raja Key Archive (2016)

Those with a copy of the Deluxe or Collector's Edition of the Archive also get a Deluxe or Collector's Print of the module, which includes an additional encounter area "The Tower of Night".


The Wreck of the Revenant:

There is an intriguing backstory to the adventure.  The PCs can obtain clues to the location of a sunken ship, which holds the secret behind the destruction of the city (the subject of a planned, forthcoming mini-adventure by Kuntz).


Suggested levels:

The adventure is designed for 6-9 characters of 8th-10th level.  Six pre-generated characters are included, complete with backgrounds.  These are based on PCs in Kuntz's original campaign, played by Terry Kuntz, and others.


Gary Con X:

I had the pleasure of adventuring in the Sunken City, in a session run by Paul Stormberg at Gary Con X, in 2018.  He had us roll up characters (3d6, in order, of course) and allowed us to pick magic items from the rulebooks (since our characters were intermediate in level).

I rolled up a human, 8th level fighting-man "Vac-Tue" and outfitted him with plate +2/shield +1, a sword +2, crossbow of speed, and ring of spell-turning.  I also got 3 potions (water-breathing, speed, and invisibility).

Our group had a blast.  We narrowly escaped getting sucked into a sinkhole, battled Za-Kark-Ksh, the sea-troll, and raided the tower of VeJoun the Machinist.  One of the magic-users even figured out how to access VeJoun's clockwork "spellbook".


Using "Sunken City" in your campaign:

The Sunken City is a great adventure, and is highly recommended.  Nowadays, I would simply use the pregens and run through it in a few sessions.

As part of a campaign, the Sunken City of Kalibruhn might be located on the northern coast of any large island, or perhaps an unexplored, southern continent.