Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Attn GenCon attendees spill the beans on Castle Yggsburgh

I have preordered my copy, but if anyone was fortunate enough to attend GenCon and see Castle Yggsburgh Volume 2, please let us know what you think!

Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:26 pm

Ohhhh sorry fellas, I must've walked by that booth a hundred times but never stopped to look. I regret not stopping by it last year to see Gygax, but this year I guess I was unrepentant.

Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:57 pm I Skipped It Too

Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:00 pm

You too Greyson? Good gawd we probably passed by each other at least once then!

Tue Aug 19, 2008 12:59 am

Information: 0

Goobers: 2

Laughing

Tue Aug 19, 2008 4:52 am

Here are afew early comments from the TLG bords:
http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=5858&mforum=trolllordgames

Scott

Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:08 am

Apprentices score, and the elder statesmen are enjoying their informational advantage

Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:25 am LOL

Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:08 pm

Hopefully somebody will do a more detailed write-up of the description(after they finish drooling over it). I'll point you all to one of GVDammerung's product reviews for what level of information would be EXTREMELY useful:

http://www.canonfire.com/cf/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2738&sid=47be09f15524d587fa25267289524bc6

If somebody does write an indepth review like the one I linked to, please post it under the "Published Material Reviews & Discussion" forum. Also, if somebody can take a clear picture of the boxed set contents arranged in a fan pattern with the map on the bottom of the fan pattern(don't need to show too much of its details), and agaisnt a plain background(a white bed sheet or table cloth spread on the floor works) that would be great.

Wed Aug 20, 2008 6:11 am

Hello fellow Hawkers,

I look forward to reading your candid thoughts and insights regarding Castle Zagyg: Upper Works. I travel light, so I don't even have my own copies yet. At Gen Con, I watched with a combination of horror and glee as the last of them flew off the display on Sunday, but hopefully the Trolls will begin shipping pre-orders and my comp copies sometime this week or early next week.

Cheers,
Jeff T.

Wed Aug 20, 2008 12:33 pm

Well heck Ghul, sorry I didn't stop in TL's booth. I'll try n say hi next year for sure. After I track down Greyson of course. ;) Congrats on the sales.

Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:56 pm

I'm hopeful to have my copy no later that Saturday (depends on if our DM and I can meet up before then, since he was the only guy in our grup to attend the show this year), and will very likely write a review.
_________________
Allan Grohe<br />https://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html<br />https://grodog.blogspot.com/

Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:50 am

It's interesting to me that the product descriptions says, "...first of at least three boxed sets to comprise this unparalleled mega-adventure." But, on their future releases page the only other product for the castle is Castle Zagyg: Dungeons. I wonder what the 3rd boxed set is. Castle Zagyg: Demi-planes? Wink

Don

Sat Aug 23, 2008 6:01 pm

Got the box today, and it's hefty. Look for a review sooner vs. later :D
_________________
Allan Grohe<br />https://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html<br />https://grodog.blogspot.com/

Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:27 am

Grodog, you terrible, terrible tease. Did you preorder or did you have some other way of getting it early?

Sun Aug 24, 2008 6:34 am

Man's got con-EGG-tions. ;) Looking forward to your review, 'dog. Tell it like you see it, I expect no less.

Best,
Jeff T.

Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:55 am

I have been awaiting this for 25+ years. From the comments it sounds like it will have been worth the wait.
_________________
Count Telemachus, Archmage of the Unicorn Conferderation

Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:48 am

Sat Aug 30, 2008 6:42 pm

Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:38 pm

I dont even know what to say. I got mine and this thing is so vast and dense it will take a long time to absorb it. No wonder everyone has been so slow to post a review.

Great first impression though.

Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:36 am

Some Spoilers

Yes, there's a ton of info to digest, which I think is stalling the discussion.
Some quick thoughts:
It's a great product loaded with tons of adventuring material.
There is some good commentary on the evolution of the castle/dungeons.
It has an old Gygax adventure feel. Jeff deserves a lot of credit for capturing that.
There are some broader Greyhawk connections. For example, one of the upper towers is controlled by the Scarlet Brotherhood, and includes a shrine of Nerull.
It is not the dungeons many have been waiting to see for 30 or more years. There is a lot of dungeon-type environment included, but only one actual dungeon level detailed, and it does include some well known features (the Old Guard kobalds), but for those that have been waiting to glimpse EGG's dungeons, even if it's in a distilled format, the wait continues.
What is included could make a good addition to the old Greyhawk Ruins dungeons, using it as the ruins on top of the Tower of Zagyg and adding bridges to the other two 'towers'.
That's all for now.

Scott

Fri Sep 05, 2008 6:35 am YOUR castle greyhawk

Just some random thoughts scott.

Even if the other levels of zagyg never see the light, I think I have a pretty decent dungeon that is just as authentically Gary/Rob. Seriously, make your own:

Gary wrote Hall of Many Panes, which would be very easy to add in some great staircase from the first level of the dungeon. There is a short story that Gary/Rob wrote called Expedition to Black Reservoir which I loved. It wouldnt be very hard to turn that into a level with a little bit of effort. With a little work, you can add the details of Gord's expedition into the castle (Yin & Yang, etc., Bocheiris the fish daemon).

Rob's Living Room and Bottle City products, as well as portals to Isle of the Ape, Dungeonland and Land Beyond the Magic Mirror. All of these were part of one version of the dungeon or the other, so the only question is where to put them.

Then, even though they weren't part of the original, Rob's Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure and/or Maure Castle in Dungeon should have a separate sublevel accessed through the shaft or the unopenable doors. Finally, Goodman Games has a product called Forest of Lanterns which could easily be another demiplane like Dungeonland.

That is ten easy additions you can make to your castle. When added to the Yggsburgh town and environs, Dark Chateau and Castle Zagyg Upper Works, that is enough adventuring for one group for years.

Agree/disagree? What else would people add/subtract to my list. I know Grodog has done some work on this, so I hope he pops by when I invoke his name. Personally, I think Gary would smile if he knew we were using the first glimpse of his castle and meshing it with a bunch of old school adventures that we all liked into a semi-recognizable whole.

Fri Sep 05, 2008 8:47 am

I agree.
And I’ve been running my own version of the dungeons for years, and that’s what I’d fall back on if the party makes it further than the detailed material.
In addition to what you've mentioned, I've also placed gates to the Lost City and Castle Amber adventures.

Scott